Chapter 16
Remember when I asked you whether working as a maid was hard or not? To this day, your answer is still vivid in my mind.
What did I say back then? I thought as I went through the sea of memories.
But the Empress beat me to it.
You said that you were glad you were abandoned at the palace, that you were a lucky girl.
Its true, for a commoner orphan like me to be given a chance to serve as a maid is an honor
Thats also what you said back then, the Empress said with a sad face.
I began to choke up amidst the sorrow.
You know Charlizeyou were the only one who saw me as Eloise and not the Empress.
I
When I was with you, I never felt lonely. Thats why I wanted you to be happy.
The Empress gently tilted my head up.
Her red hair flowed along the zephyr, the wind carried a smell more enchanting than a rose.
it was the scent of Sister Rose that I so dearly adored.
Since youre like my sister
The Empress eyes turned serious.
A long sigh could be heard amongst the mild spring breeze.
I want to see you smile like a normal child who is free of any worries.
Then
But whatever the reason is, I shouldnt have lied to you. Im so sorry, Charlize.
The Empress deeply bowed her head to me.
I let out a small gasp of surprise.
Your Majesty, even if you are wrong, I wont tell you off, butbowing your head to a child like me!
No, its my fault.
But, even so
I dont want to lose you, so I want to sincerely apologize, she said firmly.
I blinked my eyes in bewilderment.
Is it really okay for me to be sitting here while blankly staring at the Empress, who is currently bowing to a maid?
Thatthe apology before I could comprehend the situation, my lips already started to form an answer.
I nodded carefully.
I accept it.
When the Empress heard my answer, she raised her head in disbelief.
Her eyes were brimming with joy.
Ireally?
Yes.
Charlize! the Empress exclaimed as she rushed towards me and pulled me into a tight hug.
There, there.
Your Majesty..Im out of breath!
I caught my breath before, encircling my arms around her and hugged her tighter.
Tears were starting to fill my eyes as her warmth enveloped my body.
Me too I like the Empress very much,I whispered sincerely.
The Empress shoulders stiffened when she heard my proclamation.
Huh, whats wrong with her?
When were alone, you can call me Sister Rose.
Yes?
And you dont need to be so formal, the Empress said as she opened her shut eyes.
Her voice was full of sincerity, but it still contained authority and dignity. It was so firm that I unconsciously hunched my shoulders.
But how could a maid talk to the Empress casually?
Ha, but Im afraid that Ill mix your titles up
Still!
Welldidnt you say that it was simply for honorifics?
I stared into the Empress eyes.
You did. What would happen to me if I somehow slip up in an important event?
I felt cold sweats running down my back when I imagined the consequences.
Do we really have to? the Empress dejectedly asked me.
Yes, if I happen to make a mistake, wont there be a big problem?
The Empress slightly nodded her head at my concern.
But she was stillverydispleased.
But I cant let go of the title Sister Rose
Well, I can still call you that.
Its not that hard.
I blinked my eyes.
Then, the Empress asked me a question.
More importantly, have you been applying the ointment I gave you to your hands?
The ointment?
I forgot about that.
But then again, I was having a hard time with the Empress because of my complicated feelings.
Uh, yeah
Really? But why is it healing so slowly? Its really upsetting
The Empress brushed the back of my hand with a forlorn expression at my white lie.
I laughed when I saw her reaction.
Now that the misunderstanding between the Empress and I has been cleared, the trouble is over! Its a happy ending!
From now on, all I have to do is live my life leisurely, right?
I think sowait.
I nervously gulped as I felt a chill ran down my spine.
No, I dont think this is it. I think there was something more in this story
I analyzed the current situation.
In the original novel, the Empress played the role of the antagonist, an evil woman.
To simply put it, the Empress was in the opposing party against the main character of this world.
And the main character in the original was
The crown prince who was confined in the deepest parts of the Imperial Palace after the late emperor lost his throne.
He was the Emperors Achilles heel: Damian Karpel de Winsor
If I were to be honest, I didnt care that much about him.
Thats because I believed that the Empress and I would never have any interactions, let alone come in contact with her.
But right now, youre a very precious person to me.
At that moment, I got goosebumps all over my body.
Whoa, I just remembered what was written in the original novel
My mouth dried up when I thought of the Empress terrible future and my fingers started to squirm nervously.
When I came to my senses, the Empress was looking at me anxiously.
Charlize, you look so pale. Whats going on? Are you okay?
Oh no, its nothing.
Leaning my cheek against the Empress warm hand, I made up my mind.
I couldnt let the story go on its original path.
Sister Rose, Ill protect you no matter what!
So lets live happily together!
* * *
That evening
When I came back from the excursion, I laid down on my bed.
The fluffy mattress bounced under my weight.
It was a pleasant feeling, but unfortunately, I didnt enjoy it a bit.
Ha
I sighed heavily as I thought about my current situation.
Frankly speaking, my ambitious survival strategy was as good as a bust.
I couldnt avoid the Empress who would kill me in the future, and right now, I was even working under her as a maid.
With my head buried in the pillow, I jumped out of my bed.
No, we have to sort this out somehow before the plot begins.
My goal is to
Let Sister Rose Live A Happy Life As The Empress till The End, Without Being Killed!
First of all, I liked Sister Rose a lot.
Its obvious that youd want someone you like to have a happy life.
Besides that, there was another reason to protect my sister.
Im the Empresss maid. Sister Rose should be holding the Empress title in order to ensure my survival.
I sat in front of my desk with a determined look on my face and took out my cherished notebook.
I wrote down the name of the crown prince in bold letters.
He was the only direct descendant of the late Emperor and heir to the throne. His middle name, Karpel, was only given to the emperor and his heirs.
But since his Uncle Vincent took the crown, he was deprived of the throne.
YeahVincent.
He was the current husband of the Empress.
I furrowed my brow.
One by one, I wrote down all the information I knew under the name, Damian.
Gods Power.
The power that was rarely found in the direct lineage of the Imperial Family. It was inherited from the god Aurelia, who helped the founding Emperor establish the Western Empire.
In other words, Damian was someone special since he had awakened the power of the gods after a hundred years.
Well, it made sense that he had that much of an advantage, being the storys protagonist and all.
I twirled the pen again.
The power of the male lead is a double-edged sword?
After finishing the sentence with an ugly question mark, my mind was in chaos.
First of all, the fact that he was born with the power of divinity itself proved the legitimacy of Damian.
Thats also the same reason why Vincent was so afraid of the backlash from those around him that he had to take the throne in the form of sympathy.
He gave a good excuse: Ill return the throne when the crown prince is fully grown.
In a way, Damian was able to protect his status as the crown prince.
Instead of glory and power, the person who inherited Gods Power would face a lot of pain during his childhood.
Gods Power is something that shouldnt fall into a humans hands.
The founding emperor, Karpel, signed a direct contract with God. By doing so, the power passed down to his hands was forcibly manifested through a contract that hadnt been cut off.
The powerful but uncontrollable force has been constantly tormenting Damian.
Right now, the crown princeshould be eight years old, right?
He probably was since hes three years older than me.
So what I have to do is pretty simple, right? I thought as I laughed confidently.
All I have to do is educate the crown prince well so he doesnt do anything bad to Sister Rose!
The first step that I needed to do was get close to the main protagonist.
I mean, its not that hard to deal with a fat kid, right?