Chapter 41

 So it was incomparable. She was just a bedchamber maid. It was miserable that she saw this bedchamber maid as her archenemy. But no one could accept this woman as she was. This woman who wore the beauty of a princess yet was called a servant girl. Guinevere recalled the dizziness she felt the moment she first saw her.

 When she left Treden and just arrived in the kingdom, the Duke was away. At that time, she didn’t know about women called servant girls, or in other words, knights’ bedchamber maids. There was no custom of bedchamber maids in her homeland, Treden. She didn’t expect there to be a woman who had been physically intimate with the Duke for a long time…

 As if captivated at first sight. The woman kneeling before her was also like that. Guinevere lost everything at once. The noble ladies said that bedchamber maids were no different from prostitutes in brothels. At that time, even Sirena was nothing more than the king’s favorite, so it was natural for Guinevere to think that way.

 Amidst everything being overwhelming and unfamiliar, she first saw the woman following the Duke. Since knights entering the royal palace didn’t bring their servant girls unless there was something special at the royal palace, it was the first time Guinevere had encountered a “servant girl.”

 Should I think of her as the Duke’s concubine? Since they’re slaves, they’re lower than that, so should I not worry about it? The Duke was a beautiful, handsome man, flawless as if he weren’t human. To be that man’s woman. To warm that man’s bed……

 She suddenly recalled her fifteen-year-old self who knew nothing. That day when she ended her life in Treden. The first day when she left her homeland holding her wet nurse’s hand after a long agreement. And the second day when the life on the ship became tedious. And the morning of the fourth day. Duke Durac was waiting for her in that fourth morning. The man had hung his breastplate and red cloak to one side and wore a long sword at his waist to fulfill Kylaq’s etiquette.

 Duke Durac, who led a group of knights on behalf of the young king, shone alone in the morning light. As soon as Guinevere saw him, she recalled the heroic poems she had read while crossing the long strait. Knights. Noble and lofty. Those filled only with righteous intentions. The neat knight who had accompanied her mother was also beautiful, but not this overwhelming.

 I want to have him. I want him. Like that knight who attended to my mother’s bedchamber. She wished this man would risk his life for her. Just like all the knights in heroic poems. She wanted him to revere and love her, the queen. Amidst the overwhelming prospect of starting a life in a foreign country, her passion burned hotly. Could I have him? Could I possess this young knight sent by the king?

 Duke Durac was truly a flawless knight. All the knights in romances seemed to be based on him. Sleek and thick muscles. Intense eyes that made women unable to move. A position as lofty as the royal family… He was the one who inherited the bloodline of the Northern Kingdom, once the most powerful on the continent.

 Guinevere fell helplessly in love. Even the young king didn’t appear in her eyes. Although his long, smooth hands were beautiful, the king wasn’t a knight, was he? But Duke Durac was a knight and once the heir of the kingdom where only knights could succeed to the throne. How could she not fall in love? He had everything… And how could she not be jealous? This woman who wore the shell of a princess but was called a servant girl. The woman who had everything of the one she loved…

 *** 

 Alexander looked at the Duke with his neat face. While the queen’s servant’s face was extremely pale, the Duke was incredibly calm. As if he were receiving a report on meaningless news unrelated to him. Alexander had always found this man interesting, so he felt like laughing from the moment the queen’s servant began to speak with trembling.

 “For that reason, we wish to search one of the eastern bedrooms in the royal palace, so please give your approval.”

 The servant was trembling and swallowing. Alexander looked at the pale face for a long time and then turned his gaze. Duke Durac was still quiet, and that quietness was like a tropical night before a storm. He gently stroked the head of his second child cradled against his chest and then spoke.

 “It’s not possible. Detaining the Duke’s bedchamber maid without permission is not in accordance with Kylaq’s etiquette. If you want to charge her with a crime, transfer the bedchamber maid’s identity to the police bureau. Follow the formal procedure.”

 “B-but……”

 “The queen is always like this. How many times is this now? She’s been married into Kylaq for over a decade, yet how long does she plan to ignore Kylaq’s etiquette?”

 “I-ignore? Your Majesty. Her Majesty the Queen is just still ignorant of the etiquette……”

 “That’s not the kind of excuse that can be glossed over!”

 “I-I’m sorry, I apologize!”

 The servant bent his knees. Alexander wrinkled his face with anger and then glared harshly at the servant. Suddenly, the prince who had been sleeping in his arms whimpered and opened his eyes. The prince’s wet nurse, who was waiting by the king’s side, took the prince with a flustered face.

“Please give your approval, Your Majesty.”

 It was a low but clear voice. Alexander narrowed his eyes and examined the man’s expression. Duke Durac was no ordinary person. Not because of his position as a duke, but the history of his family and the military forces he possessed aroused suspicion and vigilance in the king. Therefore, Alexander always remained wary of Duke Durac. The Duke’s woman. The Duke’s child. Nothing escaped his notice.

 Alexander stared at the Duke, recalling the servant girl who was said to be detained in one of the queen’s chambers. He still couldn’t tell what the man was thinking. Alexander hadn’t granted the queen’s request not because the subject was the Duke’s servant girl, but because he disliked Guinevere. For a woman he had never liked even for a moment to try to use his hand to eliminate her rival. He couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

 “You may leave.”

 Alexander gestured to the servant. The Duke, who had been smoking tobacco and drinking absinthe, raised his gaze.

 “Please give your approval.”

 “What are you thinking?”

 “I don’t wish to stay at the royal palace for long. With the child’s celebration day approaching, I don’t want to deal with the unfortunate event of handing his mother over to the police bureau.”

 “Guinevere must have tampered with the quarters assigned to your woman.”

 Larque smiled faintly. Alexander stared at that smile and frowned. It seemed he had something prepared. Well, whatever tricks Guinevere was playing would be extremely shallow. There was no way that woman could defeat the Duke.

 Suddenly, a deep fatigue washed over him. He thought there was no need to care so much about something that wasn’t even about his own woman. Alexander rose from his seat. Although he had responded coldly to the detained bedchamber maid’s situation because he disliked Guinevere, there was no need for him, as the king, to step in.

 It wouldn’t be bad to pretend to maintain neutrality and stand by, then appear and appropriately step on the Treden woman when she caused a commotion.

 “Do as you wish, Duke. I don’t find that woman’s outrageous behavior endearing either.”

 Alexander turned around. He missed Sirena. He didn’t want to be apart from her even for a moment, but he was busy holding banquets and hunting. He lightly rubbed his forehead and took a step. Larque bowed his head neatly and sat back down. The remaining absinthe in his glass sparkled with a clear green light.

 *** 

 “The Duke is coming here?”

 Guinevere, who had been removing her makeup to go to sleep, turned to her maid with a shocked expression. She had planned to take action in the morning after spending the night, but now the Duke was making an unexpected visit. Guinevere looked at the mirror with a surprised face, then applied red rouge to her lips again. She patted her eyes with pearl powder and drew her eyebrows with ink, transforming into a bright appearance as fresh as the morning.

 “What should we do about your dress, Your Highness?”

 The maid asked carefully. At the maid’s words, Guinevere looked down at her attire. She had just taken off her dress to lie in bed and was wearing a chiffon chemise gown. After some deliberation, she decided to receive the Duke as she was.

 The maid briefly showed a surprised expression but soon erased her emotions and disappeared. The queen carefully examined herself in the long mirror. The Duke coming here. Was that girl so important to him? She felt excited, but the more she dwelled on it, the more her heart ached. She hadn’t expected him to respond so quickly.

 Guinevere closed her eyes and opened them again, pressing down on her pounding left chest. In truth, it would be fine if the Duke didn’t love her. Love was beyond her wildest dreams. Just as Alexander disliked her simply because she was a princess of Treden, the Duke might dislike her in the same way.

 She had always approached him first, but each time she approached, she felt that the Duke was indifferent to her. Nothing else. If he showed even the slightest kindness, she could gain strength from that alone. The courage she mustered with difficulty was torn apart ruthlessly, ridiculously each time.