TMLITTKM | CHAPTER 09

Chapter 09 …

“Father really has no shame.

He shoved a girl with nothing but her face to recommend her to the Crown Prince.

The prince may be insufferable, but imagining him stuck with someone like you it’s almost pitiful.”

The Crown Prince.

At the mention of him, my mind snapped back into focus.

Yes, he was the one who truly mattered right now.

I didn’t have the luxury to waste time bickering with a fool like this.

Honestly, I was just tired of it all.

Maybe he noticed the change in my eyes, because Aiden’s lips curled into a sneer.

“What, you’re about to die of happiness just because the Crown Prince sent you a few flowers?

You vulgar little thing.

You don’t even know how to hide it, wagging your tail like some stray dog.

After being ignored all this time, now that he spares you the slightest glance, you think it means something?”

He lifted a finger and tapped my forehead twice, almost mockingly.

“Wake up.

Don’t fool yourself.

The Crown Prince could never be sincere about you.

He’s just suddenly found Father’s power worth noticing.

So you’d better play your part well, understand?

That’s the only use you have in this house.”

He was halfway through the door when he suddenly paused, glancing back.

“Oh, right.

Father said you’re expected at dinner tonight.”

With that, Aiden left the room, Kate scampering after him.

She nearly made it through the doorway before looking back at me, sticking out her tongue, and darting off.

“…Ha.”

So much for lying low.

If I wanted any peace in this house, I’d need to deal with that one first.

I turned, lifted a withered flowerpot, and retrieved the object hidden beneath it.

A ring with a blood-red stone glinting with a wicked light.

After collecting my thoughts, I slowly made my way down to the dining room.

‘So, I really am going to end up in the Crown Prince’s palace… The question is, can I survive it?’

The moment I reached the dining hall, those tangled worries were abruptly cut off.

“What took you so long?

The whole family’s been waiting,” snapped Natalie Wentworth, the Duchess.

“Oh, Mother, what do you expect from her?”

drawled the red-haired Aiden, lounging beside her.

The same Aiden who had just spent the afternoon spitting venom at me and now had the gall to pin his delay on me.

Seated quietly next to him was a boy with a softer look, Eric Wentworth, the second son.

“Sit down,” commanded the head of the table, Philip Wentworth, the Duke himself.

The Wentworths were a family of imperial merit, leaders of the aristocratic faction.

“My apologies for being late,” I said, bowing slightly as I sat.

But then… silence.

The dining room fell still.

Not just the family, but even the servants and maids froze in place, all eyes fixed on me.

Strange.

All I did was offer a polite apology.

Was that so unlike Amelia?

The Duke regarded me with a measured gaze before speaking, his voice low and heavy.

“Since we’re all gathered for once, let us at least have a quiet meal tonight.”

“Don’t let her fool you, Father,” Aiden interjected smoothly.

“I saw her tearing into a maid earlier, like a cat with a mouse.”

At that, Duchess Natalie gave a soft, knowing laugh.

“Of course.

I knew there had to be a reason.

I was starting to think she’d eaten something disagreeable today.”

“Ahem, bring out the food.”

It had been days since I finally managed to drag myself out of bed, yet not a single person asked if I was feeling any better.

Instead, the room brimmed only with sneers.

If it had been a real illness rather than a feigned one, I might have truly drowned in the loneliness of it all.

A bowl of soup and a small plate with a cut of fish were placed in front of me.

Of course, the one who brought them was none other than Kate.

My gaze snagged on her as she exchanged a knowing smile with Aiden.

“Duke, this is a grilled sea bass specially brought in from my family estate, along with a rare truffle soup.”

“Mmm, it looks delicious.”

“Please, try it.

I promise it’s exquisite.”

Natalie, the Duchess, beamed with pride as the Duke lifted his spoon and tasted the soup.

I followed suit, taking a spoonful and bringing it to my lips.

‘What the…?!’

The flavor that struck my tongue was so violently salty that I nearly spat it out on the spot.

Somehow, I forced it down and immediately washed my mouth with water.

‘She did this on purpose, didn’t she?’

When I stole a glance at Kate, her expression was caught between barely restrained laughter and smug triumph.

This clearly wasn’t her first time pulling such a trick.

Perhaps that was why earlier the Duke had sighed and said he hoped for a quiet meal.

Maybe Amelia’s “outbursts” and “disruptions” at family dinners were less about her temper and more about being pushed past her limits by moments like this.

The novel, of course, had never explained any of that.

Amelia wasn’t the protagonist; her outbursts were described only in passing, while the reasons behind them were merely glossed over.

“What of the Crown Prince these days?

If he’s still sending flowers to her, it seems he’s lost his wits entirely….”

I bit down hard on the retort that rose to my lips.

And you think you’re sane?

Choosing instead to focus on the mention of the Crown Prince.

Every scrap of information about him was precious to me now.

Aiden’s question earned a calm response from the Duke.

“He regained consciousness a week after falling from his horse.

Since then… he seems to be keeping quiet.”

His eyes flicked briefly toward me.

The message was clear: aside from calling for me and sending flowers, the Crown Prince had done nothing else.

“Heh, still in pain, then.

What a pity, Amelia.

But… you haven’t touched your soup, have you?”

The deliberate way he pointed it out, knowing full well I hadn’t eaten because of the way Kate had tampered with it…

I couldn’t help but wonder: did Aiden already know about the soup being ruined?

Of course he did.

He was close to Kate, after all.

“Such a waste, when such fine ingredients were used.”

Only then did I notice the Duchess’s bowl, completely emptied.

“Mother, you finished yours.”

“Of course.

I consider refusing food utterly vulgar.”

“It doesn’t quite suit my taste.

Would you like a little more?

I only had a single spoonful before leaving it untouched.”

I straightened slightly, sliding my bowl of soup across the table with a pleasant smile.

The Duchess hesitated, unsure of my intent, but thankfully the Duke stepped in to help me along.

“If it pleases someone else’s palate, then let them eat it.

The ingredients are costly. Better you finish it.”

“My, such a waste otherwise…”

Still, she pulled the bowl toward herself.

Clearly, this little trick had been kept from her as well.

I watched closely as she lifted a spoonful.

“Pffft! Cough, cough!”

As expected.

The moment she tasted it, her body recoiled.

It was barely fit for human consumption.

“Are you all right?”

“Y-yes, of course.

Duke, you must try the sea bass. It’s excellent.”

“As you wish.”

She quickly steered the conversation elsewhere, nudging the soup bowl aside with a discreet push.

But her eyes, sharp as daggers, flicked toward me.

She must have guessed what had happened.

Strange, though—why glare at me, when I was the one humiliated?

Ah, perhaps because protecting her son mattered more than her own pride.

Silently, I drew something from my pocket.

“By the way, Kate. Weren’t you looking for this earlier?”

All eyes fell upon the ring I held up, its ruby flashing under the light.

Aiden’s face drained of color, horror written plainly across it.

Kate, either blind to his expression or desperate enough to ignore it, rushed forward with an eager cry.

“Yes!

That’s mine!”

“Is it?

I only asked because I found it rolling around my chamber floor… but if it truly belongs to you.”

“Give it to me, now!”

She lunged closer, snatching at my hand.

But I didn’t yield it right away.

Instead, I stalled, letting my gaze flick toward the Duke.

“I said give it back!”

Kate seized my wrist, trying to pry the ring from my grasp.

The Duke could see it clearly: a mere maid laying hands on the Duke’s daughter.

“What insolence!”

The Duke’s thunderous rebuke came at once.

Kate jerked back, pale and trembling, retreating to her place.

Even if I had been made to endure salt soup and the family’s scorn, I was still seated at this table.

Kate was not.

That alone marked the gulf between Amelia and her.

In this household, rank and status were the Duke of Wentworth’s highest virtues.

And when a maid failed to honor those virtues, the disgrace naturally fell upon Natalie, the Duchess herself.

“How on earth have you been running this household, that a mere servant dares to behave so brazenly?”