Episode 9: I Won’t Hold Back
“Stella said it. She said I could come anytime!”
“It’s far too late. Her Majesty the Empress needs to rest.”
“I came to tend to you! Don’t you trust me, your closest confidante?”
Enric frowned as he listened to the squabble between Michelle and the servant.
“What’s with that woman, calling her master’s name so casually?”
“That’s not really for you to say.”
“Showing up at this hour claiming you’ll nurse her? You need a proper excuse.”
Enric looked thoroughly displeased. He seemed to have completely forgotten that he had sneaked into the Empress’s bedchamber himself.
And that he had been speaking to me informally from the very start.
“She’s my husband’s one and only friend. My husband, Michelle, and I grew up together.”
“So she’s not the master’s friend. Shall I throw her out?”
It was as if Enric had read my thoughts. He was arrogant, yet perceptive.
I was about to order Enric to stay put when Michelle barged in without waiting for my permission.
At this point, it was almost confusing who was the Empress and who was the maid.
Michelle, scanning the dim room, spotted Enric and let out a sharp, metallic-sounding exclamation.
“Oh my! Who is this?!”
Her voice was loud enough for everyone in the palace to hear.
“Stella! You really dragged a man into your bedroom?!”
“Did you come to see this spectacle?”
“Don’t misunderstand my feelings for hatred. I couldn’t sleep worrying about you…”
“How strange. You had a fever two days ago.”
Michelle pretended not to hear, turning her head.
Like a merchant appraising goods, she stared Enric up and down with blatant curiosity.
“As rumored, he’s incredibly handsome! Unique complexion, great physique. I didn’t know Stella had this taste.”
Enric, who I expected to grumble, instead studied Michelle with an expressionless face.
He looked like a predator about to sink its teeth into its prey.
I held my breath for a moment and looked at Enric’s golden eyes that glimmered like molten metal.
I thought no work of art could be as captivating as him.
“While Cliff was humiliated by the Prince of Autonia, you were… enjoying yourself with a slave? Pretending to be ill?”
Michelle even muttered as if sad.
“Disappointing, Stella. Even if others spout lowly words, I believed in you alone.”
Despite her words, her cheeks flushed pink.
She seemed pleased to have found a reason to spread gossip about me.
‘Just deciding to live differently doesn’t make the obstacles in life disappear.’
If it were the old me, I would have maintained the Empress’s dignity and politely sent Michelle away.
If I could endure, it could be handled quietly.
‘Why should I tolerate a maid barging in at night without permission?’
I glared at Michelle for a moment. I wanted to live freely, but I had never actually tried, so I hesitated. Taking a deep breath, I said what I had long wanted to.
“Michelle. Shut up and leave.”
‘Did she hear me wrong?’
I warned Michelle again in a lower voice.
“Leave my bedroom; you’re being too noisy.”
Startled, Michelle covered her mouth with her hands. Tears quickly filled her large green eyes.
“How can you say that? I’m your friend!”
“You were once my friend. But now, you’re just a maid who speaks informally to the Empress.”
I said it without batting an eyelash. It felt refreshing to voice my true feelings.
“You can’t do this to me! Have you already forgotten what happened? If it weren’t for me, you would’ve…!”
Michelle always brought up that incident from ten years ago when she was at a disadvantage. At fourteen, we were fearless.
We were merely curious about the outside world. We had no idea a brief rebellion could cause such problems. I owed Michelle.
And for ten years, I repaid that debt faithfully, overlooking her indulgences. But even that was going to end.
“You’ve enjoyed far too many privileges. No more.”
“Stella!”
“From now on, you’re forbidden from calling me by my name. Behave according to your rank.”
I didn’t expect Michelle to obey me quietly.
I thought she’d cry or throw a tantrum, but her expression vanished.
Frozen like a marble doll, her glossy eyes fixed on Enric.
“What if it leaks that the Empress brought a sex slave into her bed? Even Cliff wouldn’t be able to protect you then.”
“……”
“Aren’t you ashamed before the goddess Ahala?”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Of course not. No matter how harsh I speak, you are my precious friend.”
Michelle’s smile was graceful, almost elegant.
‘Was Michelle always like this? She only teased my nerves with trivial schemes. She did try to drown me once and almost got hanged.’
As I was studying Michelle, Enric, who had been silent, broke the quiet.
“Master, how long must I endure this insolent woman?”
“Enric?”
“If you command, I shall punish her for her offense.”
Enric bowed neatly. He truly looked like a knight trained in the highest etiquette.
I suddenly remembered what he had said in the underground warehouse:
“I hate formal speech because it’s bothersome.”
Could it be that he didn’t speak formally not because he couldn’t, but because he was genuinely lazy?
He only remembered events before he was fourteen—so how did he remember etiquette? Could he have lied to me…?
A wave of unease rose, but I pushed it away. Enric winked at me.
It seemed like a signal to play along. What other side of him would show tonight?
This night had been a series of surprises and embarrassments.
“You probably don’t know because you’re a slave. I am Michelle, the Emperor’s childhood friend.”
Michelle spoke kindly, meaning the slave had no business interfering.
Enric murmured coldly.
“Does the Angel Empire even have a title for being the Emperor’s childhood friend?”
“…What did you say?”
“I am not a slave; I am the Empress’s personal knight. Knights are recognized as barons. And you?”
Michelle turned to me, incredulous.
“You actually gave a title to a slave?”
“Yes.”
“That’s impossible! Neither Cliff nor the ministers would accept it!”
“The Empress has the discretion to grant titles. If there is sufficient reason, even the Emperor cannot revoke it.”
“Cliff won’t approve! Providing sexual pleasure to the Empress isn’t enough to deserve a title!”
Michelle’s green eyes glinted dangerously. Her delicate, cosmos-like, naive face twisted into something fierce.
She was shaken by the fact that Enric had been granted nobility.
‘Low birth is your weakness. Even with privileges, you are still just a country baron’s daughter.’
I smirked and pointed at the spy Enric had captured.
Michelle flinched when she saw the unconscious man.
“Enric captured the assassin. Without him, the Empire would have lost the Star-Eyed One.”
Though he was a spy, not an assassin, it didn’t matter much.
It was a crime worthy of death just for spying on the Empress’s bedchamber. Michelle asked fearfully:
“Is he dead?”
“He attempted to assassinate Her Majesty. I wanted to kill him a hundred times, but I refrained. We need to interrogate his mastermind.”
Enric answered casually. A wolf, it seemed, but with many fox tails.
“Enric was knighted because of his merit.”
I said. Michelle paused, then snorted.
“You love him enough to make such excuses for a title?”
“Excuse?”
“It’s too coincidental. The assassin hiding when alone with him, the guards standing by quietly.”
“Are you saying I orchestrated it?”
“If it wasn’t someone’s order, wouldn’t it be impossible? I suspected logically. If it displeased you, sorry.”
Michelle tilted her head, showing no remorse.
Then Enric drew a dagger from his chest. In the blink of an eye, he placed it against Michelle’s lips. Still eerily precise.
“How dare you doubt Her Majesty.”
“Ugh!”
“If you are a maid, act like one. Speak informally to your master again, and I’ll cut your tongue out.”
Startled by the threat, Michelle shivered like a small animal. Anyone would have been softened by that pitiful sight.
Enric had no interest in her beauty.
“You’d better remember me before toying with that filthy tongue. I could cut your throat entirely.”
As he threatened her, Enric tossed the dagger into the air.
He caught it mid-spin and slid the blade along Michelle’s neck, pressing against her throat.
“Ahh!”
Michelle screamed and fainted.
The next morning, the palace was abuzz.
Rumors spread that the Empress staged an assassination plot to grant a title to a favored slave.
—
How long had it been since I did nothing and rested? It was the first time since entering the palace.
At first, lying down felt strange and uneasy.
Anxious that I must work, my fever even returned.
‘I’m just taking care of my health—why feel guilty? No one else is bearing this pain for me.’
Normally, I would have met the Autonian envoy despite being ill, but for days I spent leisurely in bed. The only daily task was receiving Joan’s report.
“There are many who wish to insult Your Majesty.”
Under Joan’s glasses, shadows darkened his expression.
He seemed troubled by the rumors surrounding me.
“I don’t care.”
“I fear Your Majesty’s honor may be trampled.”
Joan’s loyalty was steadfast. But I wanted to prioritize something more precious than honor.
My time, my heart, my happiness, my smile—surely I could enjoy that before I die.
“The assassin in prison has been killed.”
“Handled sooner than expected.”
“The rumor that it was Your Majesty’s own plot will gain credibility.”
“That’s why I had him killed.”
“Aren’t you troubled at all?”
I didn’t answer. I genuinely wasn’t.
“The envoy has expressed dissatisfaction. Leaving it to the Emperor could result in a break of relations.”
“If ties with Autonia are severed, the Colonatus Empire will begin provocations.”
“Colonatus’s Crown Prince Ricardo is expanding his power. Rumors say he killed his father and usurped the throne; he’s ruthless.”
“Do you think I don’t know? It was Ricardo who attacked my carriage and killed Dewey.”
The Colonatus Emperor candidates were secretly raised.
Ricardo, the Crown Prince hidden behind a golden mask. No one had seen his face, but he was called the Sun Crown Prince for his excellence.
Skilled in swordsmanship and strategy, he defeated many rivals and established himself as the heir apparent.
In contrast, Cliford was painfully incompetent.
Continental observers compared Ricardo and Cliford, predicting the Empire’s future.
Some believed Angel would become a vassal of Colonatus.
If the alliance with Autonia ended, their predictions might come true.
“Your Majesty must act. Before Prince Gillian departs.”
“Indeed.”
“Shall we prepare the audience hall? Prince Gillian will arrive immediately.”
Joan’s face brightened. I asked him a different question.
“Joan, what would you do if I had something more important than state affairs?”
“Could it be… Enric, Your Majesty?”
