Rows and rows of maids carrying gold-coloured platters draped in gold entered Moonlight Pavilion, followed by a well-dressed young lady with black hair.
"Good morning, Your Highness," she greeted with a slight, half-bow. "My name is Mariam Harington. I am one of the ladies-in-waiting of the Moon of the Emperor, Her Royal Highness Empress Naika. To officially welcome you, she has sent all these gifts," she said, gesturing with her hand before continuing. "She asked me to inform you that she is currently very busy with national matters and would send you an invitation once she has time to spare."
"Please convey my appreciation to Her Royal Highness, the Empress. This humble one is so grateful for the gifts and warm welcome. I would love to send a gift with you, but I currently have nothing of worth to gift to the Empress. Please be assured that I will return the favour once in a position to do so, as I just got promoted from being a maid unexpectedly," Evie said.
She was very much aware that this was a background verification check, and she wanted to make it extra clear that she was not there to compete for favours. To do that, she had to state and make her level clear: just a maid promoted out of nowhere.
Despite Mariam being very proper with her communications, Evie had spent a whole semester studying communication units during university and was very well-versed in body language. So, behind the respectful tone, she could see clearly her lifted chin in haughtiness and was very sure she was looking down on her. So, Evie took the initiative of waving the white flag; she wanted no beef with anyone, especially not with the Empress. She winced internally as she remembered the whipping she woke up to, and her back and buttocks stung in phantom pain.
"Sure, Your Highness. I will inform the Empress about your words," Mariam said, surprisingly more respectful than before, her bow lower. "Put this down and follow me," she commanded the maids, and she then turned her back, leaving with the dozen maids trailing behind her.
Evie sighed in relief, turning to Helga. "Go bring me the Moonlight Pavilion recording documents so that I can record this gift in, and you will be the one to store them in a good place. And if any problem arises from them, you will be the one to answer," she said with a strict tone to emphasise how important those gifts were. She was in an era where misplacing one royal gift could end up killing her, and she needed to be extra careful now. Today, the Empress's gift was a wake-up call for her, which strengthened her resolve to look for an exit more.
"She really said that?" the Empress asked, sitting on her throne, turning her face slightly to the woman fanning her. "At least she has more sense than that explosive wench," she said, her words in complete contrast with the elegance she was exuding. "What do you think, Doris?" she asked, looking at the woman in the eye.
"That's bad news, Your Highness," the woman named Doris said. "Remember, the cleverer they are, the harder it is to get rid of them. I would rather Lady Isabella; she is very violent but rarely thinks. You can play her like a fiddle," Doris replied.
"You see, Mariam? Learn from her. Now, put a clever maid beside her," the Empress said, leaning on her throne.
Meanwhile, Evie was flipping through the gifts and recording them one by one, unaware of the surprising effect her words had on the other parties.
When Evie finished the recording, she sat on the pavilion hill gazebo, trying to come up with different ideas. Maybe with my skills, I could convince the Emperor of the Starian Empire to release Elara's parents and brother, she thought, shaking her head at the thought. Or even infiltrate the Starian Empire palace and seduce the emperor and try to change his mind, she thought again and sighed. "Ugh, is there any other option that does not include seducing a man?" Evie muttered under her breath, her head dropping to her chest in disappointment.
"Your Highness, does your head hurt?" Lila asked.
"No, I am okay," Evie said.
She didn't have a plan currently, but she had centuries of knowledge ahead of these people, and she was confident that one way or the other, she would come up with a good idea on what to do. Her only immediate task ahead was how to avoid the emperor and escape.
"What do you mean they are the same person?" the Emperor asked, jumping to his feet from his seat. "What do you mean?" he asked, looking at Arthur, holding his earlobe as if disbelieving what his own ears heard. "Can you repeat that? It is no time for jokes, Arthur. Trust me, I will have your head," the Emperor said, looking at Arthur with his red eyes bulging from their sockets, the veins in his temples visible.
Arthur had been with the Emperor, and he had rarely seen him lose composure to this level; he felt chills. "I promise you, Your Royal Highness, I have counter-checked multiple times. Lady Elara was assigned to the library after she recovered from her wounds," Arthur said, holding his neck for reassurance.
"How is that possible?" the Emperor said, returning to his seat, his gaze vacant. Only one sentence echoed in his mind: "Make it fifty, we don't have all day." It was as if he was transported to the day he lost the hopes that had reignited after a long while of him becoming a father the day a mere maid snatched his chances of making his ancestor proud by giving them an heir, for being careless. He only spared her from the guillotine because it was an honest mistake of two people colliding. And as much as he was gutted as a father, he was also an emperor whose one word carried a death sentence, and he had to restrain himself from going berserk and acting on his feelings.
He felt pure, unadulterated hatred. How can the smart girl in the library turn out to be her? He felt a huge wave of disappointment rush through him. If he had only known the hope was false the same person he hated was going to be the one to bring him the hope he lost.
"Inform the kitchen, as well as that maid, I am going to have my dinner at Moonlight Pavilion," he said, exiting the study in a hurry as his lungs were constricting and he needed fresh air.