TCNS 13

Chapter 13: The Maid, Catherine (3)

Something felt off.

The stares from the maids that greeted me as soon as I entered the prince’s palace.

The atmosphere that seemed strangely subdued.

‘What’s going on?’

I furrowed my brow as I looked around.

Edwin gave me a puzzled look. “What’s wrong?”

“The atmosphere feels strange.”

“Atmosphere?”

Edwin blinked as if he had no idea what I was talking about.

At that moment, I caught sight of the maid who had brought Edwin’s washbasin this morning. Despite what had happened earlier, she seemed unusually cheerful. Like someone who had received some good news.

“You there.”

“Y-Yes, Nanny?”

The maid jumped in surprise when I called out to her.

“Why are you so startled?”

“I-I wasn’t startled at all.”

She seemed to be watching my reactions, but soon her attitude shifted.

“Why did you call me? I’m quite busy.”

Her slightly condescending tone made me frown.

“Did something happen while I was away?”

“What do you mean?”

“It seems like the atmosphere here isn’t great.”

“Oh.”

The maid let out a brief sigh before giving a reluctant smile.

“Well, it’s like this. One of the annex maids disobeyed the head maid’s orders. How impertinent, right?”

An annex maid?

I had a bad feeling.

As my expression changed, the maid gave me a smirk. Though her lips curled up, her eyes remained cold.

“That lowborn dared to bring a meal to His Highness without permission. The kitchen didn’t even know about it.”

Edwin’s eyes widened like a startled rabbit. “What is she talking about?”

That was exactly what I wanted to ask.

“What happened to the maid?”

“What else? The head maid punished her personally.”

The maid chuckled, clearly pleased.

“She’s probably locked in the food storage right now. Anyway, I have things to do.”

She gave Edwin a slight nod before walking away.

The moment the maid disappeared, Edwin looked at me, demanding an explanation.

“What did she mean by that? Someone got punished for bringing me a meal?”

Edwin’s voice was unusually sharp. Though I couldn’t tell why, he seemed anxious.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

Only then did I realize that Edwin had been clutching my skirt the entire time.

The young prince’s small hand had turned pale. His tiny face was filled with fear.

Instead of answering, I gently removed his hand. “It’s nothing, really. Your Highness should take Princess Emilia and go up to your room first.”

“What? What about you?”

“I have somewhere I need to go.”

“Hey, don’t you dare leave! Hey!”

I handed Emilia to Edwin and quickly moved away. I could feel Edwin’s eyes fixed on me, but I ignored him.

***

The food storage, which I found after asking the maids working in the kitchen. The door was firmly locked.

“Catherine, are you in there?”

“Nanny?”

After a brief silence, a small voice came from inside the storage. It was definitely Catherine.

“What happened?”

“Well, the head maid found out I brought His Highness a separate meal.”

Catherine’s voice faltered as if unsure what else to say, but then she added brightly, as if to reassure me, “But the head maid was lenient. She said she’d let me out if I reflected here for just one day. It’s not so bad.”

I frowned at her trembling voice.

I was the one who had asked her to disobey the head maid’s orders. This was my responsibility.

“Nanny?”

“Wait there.”

“What?”

Click, click, clank—.

The lock on the storage door made a loud noise as it fell.

When I opened the door, there was Catherine, bound with ropes, staring at me blankly. Her hair was half undone, her lip was split and bleeding. She looked an absolute mess, as if she’d been slapped.

“Nanny…?”

Catherine’s face was still blank, as if she couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing.

“Nanny, h-how did you…?” she mumbled, staring at the fallen chain and lock on the floor. “The key should be with the head maid…”

“You don’t need a key to open a lock.”

I tossed a bent hairpin onto the floor, and Catherine gasped.

“W-Wait! Nanny, if you do this, you’ll be in trouble too!”

“Stay still.”

“No, you shouldn’t—ah!”

Ignoring her protests, I untied the rope, but then I heard her groan in pain.

“What’s wrong…?”

I couldn’t finish my question, frowning as I saw the bloodstains on her frail back.

‘This is…’

Through the torn fabric, I could see countless scars—whip marks. At that moment, my mind went cold, like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over it.

“…Isn’t it strange?”

“What?”

I spoke more to myself than to her.

“Who do you think is the rightful owner of this palace?”

“Obviously, it’s His Highness Prince Edwin…”

“But you were whipped and locked in here just for preparing His Highness’s meal.”

Catherine fell silent at my words. She had to know that this situation was unjust. She had prepared a meal for the master of the palace and was punished for it.

It was completely absurd.

‘Indeed, it makes no sense.’

Unless Edwin was nothing more than a Shabby Prince.

I slowly stood up.

“Let me ask you one thing.”

Catherine looked up at my words.

“Why did you help me, knowing you’d be punished if you got caught?”

Catherine forced a smile, trying to brush off my question. “I wasn’t helping you, Nanny…”

“I’m serious.”

Hearing my serious tone, she hesitated, then looked down. “…Grateful.”

“What?”

“I was grateful.”

She kept her head bowed as if avoiding my gaze, her voice soft. “I’ve always been bullied by the main palace maids, but you were the first to step in and help me. So, I just…”

I stood still for a long time.

“Catherine.”

“Yes.”

“I really dislike inconveniences.”

“I-I’m sorry. I said I wouldn’t get caught by the head maid…”

Catherine seemed to misunderstand my intention and looked like she was about to cry.

Seeing her like that, I added indifferently, “But there is one thing I hate even more.”

“What’s that?”

“No matter how logically I think about it, I can’t accept this situation.”

With that, I turned away, leaving Catherine looking dumbfounded.

“For now, return to your quarters.”

“Nanny! Wait, ah!”

Catherine tried to follow me, but her legs gave out and she collapsed back to the ground.

“What’s wrong?”

“M-my legs are numb…”

How troublesome.

Then again, Catherine being in this state was partly my fault. I frowned slightly and helped her up.

Catherine looked at me with an expression filled with gratitude.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“What?”

“This is my fault, so helping you is the least I can do.”

Catherine stared at me blankly, as if not understanding what I meant.

I sighed and added, “I’m saying don’t thank me.”

At that, Catherine let out a small laugh.

Laughing after being whipped?

“Why are you laughing?” I asked, unable to understand, and she grinned mischievously in response.

“Do I need a reason to laugh?”

“If you have the energy to laugh, then start walking.”

“Nanny.”

As she put her arm around my shoulder to stand, Catherine suddenly spoke, “Nanny, you’re really unusual.”

Her words reminded me of something Edwin had said to me before.

“You’re really strange.”

It seemed I had become both strange and unusual.

“I’ve been hearing that a lot lately.”

“And I think you’re a good person.”

A good person, she said. I couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“Nanny?”

Catherine’s expression turned puzzled, perhaps finding my reaction odd.

“All the good people must be gone, it seems.”

A good person? Referring to an assassin as one? That was the most absurd thing I’d ever heard.

Catherine, on the other hand, seemed to take my words as nothing more than a joke.

“Oh, nanny, you’re too much!”

She still had that bright, carefree smile on her face.

***

When I entered the annex with Catherine, the maids came rushing out, their faces filled with alarm.

“Catherine!”

“Oh my goodness, what happened?”

“Are you okay?”

“Did the head maid release you?”

Their concern for Catherine was genuine, written all over their faces.

“No, it wasn’t the head maid. It was the nanny who freed me.”

“What?”

At her words, all their gazes shifted to me at once. Feeling slightly awkward, I gave them a small nod.

The annex maids seemed just as uneasy. They glanced at me nervously, as if they were seeing Rachel Brown for the first time.

“She’s the new nanny?”

Apparently, the real Rachel Brown had never even set foot in the annex before. Ignoring their curious stares, I opened my mouth to speak.

“Catherine’s injuries are severe. I believe we need to relocate her.”

“Oh, this way—!”

The maids finally snapped out of their daze at my words. Supporting Catherine, I followed them into the quarters.

Once I laid her down on the shabby bed, the maids immediately began bustling around, attending solely to her.

‘They remind me.’

The way they dashed around for Catherine’s sake reminded me of my old comrades from the past.

“Captain! You’re all beaten up again!”

“Should I apply some ointment? You don’t want it? You think I enjoy doing this? I’m only patching you up so the whole organization doesn’t fall apart if you die!”

The voices of my long-time comrades echoed in my mind, and I quietly lowered my gaze. For some reason, my mouth tasted bitter.