/
Since Marie returned to the palace, her relationship with the Crown Prince had subtly shifted. While still serving as his personal maid, she also began taking on additional responsibilities, akin to those of a secretary, assisting with administrative tasks.
“At 2 PM, you have a meeting with the Prime Minister.”
“Alright, what’s the agenda for the meeting?”
“It’s about the recent incident in the southwestern region.”
The Crown Prince nodded. Upon returning to the capital, he resumed wearing an iron mask.
Handing out the organized documents to the Crown Prince, she said, “These are the pending documents for approval. I’ve categorized them based on their urgency, whether they require immediate attention or not.”
Upon hearing that, the Crown Prince examined the documents, his eyes lighting up with admiration.
Just as she’d described, she managed to organize everything. To organize documents like that required not only the ability to read, but also a deep understanding of the respective subjects.
“It will definitely make my work a lot easier. Thank you.”
With an awkward expression, Marie nodded her head. ‘To think that throughout my life, I’ve endured bullying, believing that I was a worthless and untalented person.’
No wonder she wished to become capable when she made a wish to the prisoner. The idea of having such ability had never crossed her mind before.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince hesitated for a moment before saying to her, “I’m glad to have you by my side.”
Marie accepted the compliment with a bow, replying, “Thank you, Your Highness.”
While Marie seamlessly transitioned into her new life at the palace, she suddenly encountered a problem in the form of two princess candidates, named Ariel and Rachel.
“Greetings, Delphinas.”
As Marie was on her way to the Crown Prince’s office, she unexpectedly encountered two familiar faces in the garden: Lady Ariel and Lady Rachel.
‘Why are these two rivals together?’ Marie thought, her brows furrowing.
Seeing them engrossed in conversation over tea made it evident that it was more than just a coincidence.
“It’s been a while, Hon. Hilderren. How have you been?” Rachel greeted Marie with her usual kindness, offering a friendly smile.
On the other hand, Ariel frowned and turned her nose up, completely ignoring Marie.
“Did anything special happened?”
“None, Lady Rachel.”
“It’s been a long time since we last saw each other. Please come visit the annex sometime.”
Marie’s expression became awkward upon hearing Rachel’s invitation. It seemed that she couldn’t easily face Rachel after what happened that day. Although Rachel extended the invitation amiably, it didn’t feel sincere.
“Thank you. I will make sure to visit next time.”
“Yes, I’ll be waiting.”
After a brief conversation, Marie left to carry out the crown prince’s orders. “Well then, I must go and do what His Highness has asked for
”
“Oh, right, you must be busy. I shouldn’t have kept you. Take care.”
As she continued on her way, Marie became suddenly curious. “I wonder who will be the Crown Princess?”
Even though the attention surrounding the selection had waned, it was still ongoing.
‘Ah, I don’t know. His Highness hasn’t said anything about it.’
While traveling in the southwestern region, Marie and Rael talked nonstop, yet he never once brought up anything about the selection process, which was quite puzzling.
‘Well, it’s none of my business anymore. His Highness will surely make a wise decision on his own.’
Marie didn’t dwell on the selection process anymore; it was no longer her concern. She had already made up her mind to serve him, and above all else—
“I have no romantic relationship with the Crown Prince,” Marie mumbled under her breath.
Little did Marie know that she’s the only person who believed there were no romantic feelings between her and the Crown Prince.
While the Crown Prince dealt with his feelings in secrecy, those around them gradually started suspecting that there might be something more to their relationship.
“Will Marie become the Crown Princess?”
Some speculated that she might.
While most believed it wouldn’t happen, one could truly know, given their ambiguous relationship.
Among those who had suspicions were Ariel and Rachel, the Crown Princess candidates.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” Rachel said, sipping her tea elegantly. “For her to say, ‘I must go and do what His Highness has asked for’
 Oh to be favored by the Crown Prince like that
 lately it feels like he’s forgotten all about us.”
Ariel’s expression turned disgusted as she listened to Rachel’s words.
“Lady Ariel, aren’t you curious about what went down between His Highness and Hon. Hilderren during their time in the southwestern region?”
“What are you implying?”
“It’s just a bit strange, that’s all.”
Rachel blinked her eyes with a fairy-like innocence and asked, “Do you think something happened between them after they returned from the southwestern region? It seems like Hon. Hilderren has become unusually close to His Highness. Not to mention, she seems to have taken on more significant responsibilities beyond just being a maid.”
“
.”
“Although course, it’s not uncommon for high-ranking maids to take on secretarial roles at times, given Hon. Hilderren’s position.”
Ariel frowned and tilted her head, asking, “Are you suggesting that something scandalous happened between that lowly maid and His Highness during their time in the southwestern region?”
Rachel’s head jerked up in surprise. Then, in a seemingly tone of disbelief, she said, “Oh my, how could I possibly know such a thing? I was just thinking that
 Well, they traveled together for a long time, so who knows what might have happened while they were alone together
”
Rachel blushed slightly, shaking her head in embarrassment. “Of course, His Highness wouldn’t do that. He’s a man of integrity and honor. But
 well, he’s still a man after all, so he might have been tempted
” she said tentatively, but then quickly shook her head again. “But surely not. No matter how tempting it may have been, it couldn’t have happened.”
“
.”
However, Ariel’s complexion had already turned red with anger, her hands trembling as she gripped the teacup tightly.
‘Is it possible that a lowly maid like her is actually with His Highness?’
Ariel shook her head, trying to convince herself that it couldn’t be true, but the recent closeness between the maid and the Crown Prince was undeniable.
‘Could it really be true? With that lowly maid?’ Ariel wondered, unable to shake off the imagery of Marie seducing the Crown Prince.
Rachel sighed heavily and asked, “So what should we do now?”
“
..?”
“I actually thought that you, Lady Ariel, had a better shot at becoming the Crown Princess than me. Of course, I’m not giving up easily; it’s just that I’m aware of the significant gap in our social statuses.”
Upon hearing that, Ariel became puzzled. Why was Rachel bringing that up all of a sudden?
“To be honest, I don’t mind at all. Losing to someone as amazing as you wouldn’t be embarrassing.” With a sorrowful look in her eyes, Rachel said, “But
 Although it’s unlikely to happen, if I fail to become the Crown Princess because of a commoner maid, I think I’d die of humiliation.”
Ariel’s expression hardened. “What are you talking about, Lady Rachel? That lowly maid becoming the Crown Princess
?”
“I apologize if my words offended you. I don’t actually think it would happen, but
 but I’ve heard rumors about it.” Rachel quickly shook her head. “I really don’t know much about their relationship. If, by some far-fetched scenario, that maid were to become the Crown Princess, I wonder how the Schulian Duchy, one of the highest-ranking noble families in the Empire, would react
”
As Rachel was saying that, Ariel pushed back her chair and stood up, her face burning red.
“Don’t worry, that will never happen.” Ariel said firmly, her expression fierce. “I will put that lowly maid in her place.”
Gnashing her teeth, she stormed off the garden.
As soon as she was alone, Rachel let go of the worried expression she had shown to Ariel and took a sip of her tea.
“
How easy,” she murmured, her voice as cold as the now lukewarm tea.
Meanwhile, Ariel couldn’t stop brooding over the matter, glaring daggers at Marie.
‘That lowly maid will be the Crown Princess?’
How utterly ridiculous. Losing to Rachel was bad enough, but losing to that lowly maid would be unbearable.
To find out more, Ariel questioned some of the palace maids. When she heard the rumors circulating among the noblewomen, her rage skyrocketed.
“I won’t let this slide,” Ariel declared, clenching her teeth in anger.
Of course, Ariel didn’t believe the rumors were true at all. However, the fact that such rumors were circulating made her extremely infuriated.
“I need to give that lowly maid a lesson and put her in place.”
Since Ariel had never liked Marie from the beginning, she was immediately compelled to do so. But just as she was about to act on it, she realized something that made her pause.
‘But what excuse can I use to berate her?’ Ariel thought, struggling to find a valid reason to scold Marie. Baseless rumors wouldn’t cut it as Marie hadn’t done anything particularly wrong. In fact, she excelled and received praise in everything she did.
‘Fine! There has to be something she’s done wrong. Let’s keep an eye on her.’
With that in mind, Ariel fixed a venomous gaze on Marie for quite some time.
The suddenly, Ariel found the perfect excuse to scold Marie when she saw the maid acting improper towards a prince.
‘That’s a serious offense that amounts to insulting the imperial household!’
With that thought in mind, Ariel approached Marie with a triumph expression.
“Marie! What do you think you’re doing?! How dare you act improper towards His Highness!”
Marie, in the midst of her magic show, was caught off guard at the sudden appearance of Ariel.
“
Pardon?”
“Would you stop acting shameless?!”
The prince, who was by Marie’s side, also wore a puzzled expression at Ariel’s abrupt intrusion.
“Who is she?” the prince asked Marie in a perplexed tone.
The Prince was none other than Oscar, the same little prince whom Marie had saved from facing a harsh punishment in the past.