CH 33

Before long, maids appeared with trolleys.

“Your Highness, the princess, I brought you a meal.”

It was questionable why they still called Philomel the princess. There’s no way that the news of the fake princess that spread across the country didn’t reach only within the imperial palace.

“I’ll set up a simple table so you can eat in bed.”

“It’s not that I’m immobile, and it’s okay to eat at the table.”

“Please give up your will. Your Highness needs absolute rest now.”

It was clear patient treatment. In addition, all the food prepared was nutritious.

“We will go back so that Your Highness can rest in peace. Call me anytime if you need anything.”

The maids finished their duties and left the room before they had time to ask for any information they were curious about. She didn’t want to be indebted to the imperial palace, no after she had just declared that she would leave… but then she growled.

She was too hungry for that. Come to think of it, she had an empty stomach after the loaf of bread, soup, and spoon she ate at the dining room last night. She poured out the words she wanted to say, and it was such a cool feeling that her appetite returned after a long time.

‘I don’t know. Let’s think about it after filling the stomach first.’

Philomel picked up her fork. After she finished eating, the chief servant brought her medicine this time. She carries the fruit of the World Tree, which even Philomel knew well.

“I’m not a patient…”

Fainting was because she was surprised by the car that had been disturbing her sleep for several days, and it was not a problem with her body. But the chief chamberlain didn’t seem to think so.

“She’s a patient. Her face has become half-shaven. Oh, she’s very thin, but only her skeleton remains like this.”

Although she had lost some weight due to his escape life, that was a clear exaggeration.

“It’s amazing how well you walk around.”

To the chief chamberlain, Philomel seemed to be in critical condition, not knowing when she would collapse. With his worried gaze, she eventually took the medicine and drank a cup of tea after dinner. As a result, her body was very stretched. She had lived as a noble princess all her life, and her body screamed of joy after suffering from an uncomfortable bed and tasteless food for the past few days. She said that the human heart was cunning, and after she sat down her appetite, she longed for a bath and clean clothes.

She looked around at the dress she was wearing. She hadn’t changed for days and was even dirty from lying on the floor in her cell. When she finally looked at the condition of the bed that she had covered with the clothes, she was very dirty.

“…This is expensive.”

The one-of-a-kind bedding that fairies made for the emperor of the empire over several years. The quilt was elaborately embroidered with the myth of Belerov’s founding. She was also told that she was invaluable in money, as she was even blessed by the Fairy Queen herself. Fearing that it would not be erased, she tried to rub it with her clean sleeve, but only spread her dirt.

… The son of the sun god Beleron and the founding emperor’s face became mottled.

“I don’t know! I didn’t lie down because I wanted to lie down.”

Philomel gave up her fuss and lay down again.

‘…I can’t believe I’m going to kill myself with this?’

Philomel shook her head and decided to think about the future direction. She was really glad she didn’t die. She’s a nonsense cow who says she stays on, here’s…

Bang!

But then, without knocking, the open door made a loud noise as it hit the wall.

“Dad! I’m here!”

Her beautiful golden hair rippled. She was Ellencia.

“Let’s continue playing backgammon, which we stopped doing last time!”

Philomel and Ellencia’s eyes met.

“O…”

“…”

Ellencia, who had turned into rabbit eyes, strode forward.

“Oh my God! Philomel, right? When did you come?”

“… This morning. It’s been a while. Princess Ellencia.”

Philomel responded by raising her words to Ellencia. It was revealed that she was a fake princess, so she was the true one.

“You’re fine! You don’t know how worried he was when he heard that you were missing.”

Ellencia approached Philomel and smiled as if she were meeting a long-lost friend of hers. That may have been natural to the kind Elencia, but it was awkward to herself.

“Thanks. Why are you so worried about me?”

Philomel felt ashamed of her own appearance. Her clothes were dirty and her hair was messy. Standing in front of Eustis, she was unconscious, but for some reason she wanted to show Ellencia that she was okay. Maybe it was because she was in the exact opposite position of her previous encounter with a country girl as the princess.

“Are you going to live here now?”

“It’s not like that…”

As she slurred her words, Ellencia looked around her head without digging further.

“By the way, where is Daddy?”

“Well, it looks like he was going somewhere.”

Rather, it was Philomel who wanted to ask. She was at a loss as to how to explain where the owner was going and how she was occupying her private room.

“What is that?”

Philomel pointed to the object Ellencia was holding and turned her words away. She saw a plate and a box made of paper.

“Oh, this? That’s great! Will Philomel play dice with me?”

She was led by Ellencia’s hand and sat down at a table on one side of her room. It was the table often used by Eustis and Philomel for teatime.

“Have you ever played backgammon?”

The late Elencia took out dice and small pieces from the table spread out on her table.

“I’ve never tried it, but I know roughly what it is.”

She watched her maids play a few times to pass the time. It was a way to move his pieces on the board as much as the number that came out by rolling the dice. The position of the horse was lowered or raised according to each phrase written on each of the several spaces drawn on the board. All started as serfs, and whoever reached the emperor first was the victor.

“It was a game I enjoyed passing on when I was at the wedding house, but when I came here, a maid saw me bored and brought it to me. Now, my dad or nanny plays with it.”

“A nanny?”

“She was my mother’s nanny too! I heard that Philomel was also raised by her nanny.”

One more reason to leave the imperial palace was added.

“Last time I was with my dad, something urgent happened and he left. So I came today…”

“He will be back soon.”

It was a scene in the novel, but the emperor playing a game that would be played by commoner children was not well drawn. It was a little funny to see the real emperor play a game of targeting the emperor.

‘I have to do well to maintain my current status, and if I don’t do it, I will lose my status.’

Anyway, the two started playing.

She didn’t know why she ended up playing dice with Ellencia in the imperial palace. She couldn’t help but think that she was caught up in a sunny attitude. However, it was not a bad feeling because the first game she played was quite fun.

‘I wanted to try it too when the maids were playing.’

She always acted like I wasn’t very interested, but she really wanted to play together. The two of them alternately rolled the dice, going ahead and behind, advancing the horse. It was a dead-end. Philomel moved her horse, and on the arrival column, it was written, ‘You will enter the palace as a maid.’

She changed her job from a merchant to a lady-in-waiting. Among the nobility, only those with guaranteed identity could become maids, and they were in their own middle-upper class.

“Philomel, is she going to be a handmaid?”

“Yes. That’s right. It’s the princess’ turn next.”

“Not for play, but for real. Do you want to be my maid?”

Philomel, who was moving her words, raised her head and looked at Ellencia.

“Since there are things I still don’t know, I want Philomel to teach me a lot. And I’m worried about Philomel. She’s been living in the imperial palace for a while, but now you had no place to go. So live here as my maid. Yes?”

Her innocent face made Philomel speechless.

“…I just decline because he wants to take care of my situation. I do… I have no intention of remaining in the imperial palace.”

Philomel replied, trying to stay calm. The fact that she became Ellensia’s maid made her goosebumps. It wasn’t that she hated maid work or was overly proud. It was because becoming Ellencia’s handmaid was the development of <Princess Ellencia>.

When Ellensia appears and it is revealed that she was a fake, ‘Philomel’ was in danger of being punished for impersonating the princess. However, Ellensia, who took pity on her teeth, appealed to her emperor for mercy, and she went further and put her ‘Pilomel’, who should be kicked out, as her own handmaid. ‘Pilo’, served by her evil, repays her favor with her enemies, but her words.

Even if she tried to escape, couldn’t she escape her fate? Was it her fate to become Ellencia’s handmaid even if she didn’t want to? A cold fear spread through her chest.

“Really? Can’t we just stay here? I’ll take good care of you.”

“I will only accept the heart of the princess.”

“…Chi, I got it. That’s too bad.”

Ellencia repeatedly did not recommend and rolled her dice handed to her by Philomel.

The sound of the rolling dice rang strangely loud.