Who Brought the Head Maid Back? - Chapter 26

The time for the evening banquet arrived. After resting in his guest room during the afternoon, the Crown Prince appeared in the hall with the majesty of a peacock, having changed into a flamboyant outfit. Amy, the steward, and the chef presented the painstakingly prepared dishes to the head table one by one.

Contrary to expectations of him being difficult, the Crown Prince ate and drank quietly. Just as Martin had suggested, it seemed he was too exhausted from the journey to pick a fight. However, the relief was short-lived. Once he had filled his stomach to some extent, he finally began to stir up trouble.

“Why does the wine of the North taste like this?”

The Crown Prince slammed his pewter cup down with a loud bang. Amy smiled and tried to soothe him.

“The wine here is less sweet. It is due to the climate, so please understand—”

At her reaction, he shouted even louder, as if he had caught a golden opportunity.

“I am pointing out the attitude of hosting a guest! At the very least, you should have researched my preferred tastes. The Grand Ducal inauguration banquet is coming up; will you make these same excuses then? Is this how a Grand Duke receives guests?”

The Crown Prince continued to rant, giving Amy no room to intervene.

“How can one govern a country without knowing such basics? Tsk. There is nothing more to say—bring me wine from the Cammoa region. I must drink it tonight.”

” ”

Amy’s jaw tightened as she gnashed her teeth. She caught Noah, who was about to step forward with a fiery gaze, by the arm. She had no intention of letting her master bow his head to someone like the Crown Prince.

Taking a small breath, she forced another bright smile. The Crown Prince flinched slightly at the expression.

“I will have it prepared immediately, Your Highness.”

” … Very well.”

The Crown Prince replied awkwardly. He had lashed out out of habit, but seeing Amy, he seemed to have regained his senses. He glanced at her anxiously. However, she simply turned on her heel and strode out of the hall.

‘In all my time as the Head Maid of the Crown Prince’s palace, I never once saw that brat drink wine from the Cammoa region.’

It was a random excuse he had thrown out just to spite Noah. Amy ground her teeth.

Once outside, Amy whispered quickly to Melbourne, who was following behind. “Call Sir Bradley from the guardhouse.”

Just then, someone jumped out from behind a pillar next to the door and blocked their path.

The woman with disheveled red hair and a face full of freckles, as if sesame seeds had been sprinkled across her nose, was Sally—one of the Crown Prince’s attendants whom Amy had been shocked to see earlier.

“Sally?”

Surprised by her sudden appearance, Amy checked to make sure no one was around before grabbing her arm and pulling her into a nearby corner.

“What are you doing here?”

As Amy pressed her, Sally grinned and stammered. “E-Amy. H-how have you b-been—”

“This isn’t the time for that. Why are you here?”

“I… I missed y-you, so—”

Realizing Amy was angry, Sally’s eyes darted around before she lowered her head. Her hands, clutching her skirts, were trembling. Amy pressed her hand to her forehead and let out a deep sigh.

“I told you to go back to your hometown. Didn’t you get my letter?”

As soon as Sally sensed Amy’s voice softening, she looked up and began to chatter. “I-I did. But my f-father, he’s g-gambling again, so—”

“Ah ”

Sally was a maid who had entered the Crown Prince’s palace around the same time as Amy. While Amy was thorough and pursued perfection, Sally was someone with a natural talent for ruining everything.

It had reached the point where it was taken for granted that Amy would clean up Sally’s messes. One might think they wouldn’t get along, but strangely, the two maintained a fairly good relationship.

‘That man who doesn’t deserve to be called a father has held her back again.’

Amy looked at Sally with pity. The two had become close due to the commonality of being born into loveless homes and having their parents bleed them dry.

Before moving to the Second Prince’s palace after her regression, Amy had left some money and a letter for Sally. It told her to quit her job as a maid and return to her hometown.

‘She needs to leave before the aftermath of the civil war reaches the capital.’

Unaware of Amy’s complex feelings, Sally only talked about lighthearted things.

“Y-you saw, right? The Crown Prince is s-still waiting for you. Amy, i-if you go back now—”

Despite her difficult life, Sally longed for fairy-tale romance and happy endings. Thus, she wanted Amy and the Crown Prince to work out.

“Nonsense,” Amy said bluntly. She had told her until her ears were sore that such a thing would never happen, but this easygoing friend remained unchanged. Glancing at Melbourne, who was waiting behind her, she added, “I don’t have time for this right now. We’ll talk later.”

“Wait!”

Just as Amy was about to leave, Sally hung onto her arm. “S-so, that Camnoa?”

“Cammoa.”

“T-that wine ”

Sally stammered through her story. During the journey to the North, she had heard at a stop that Cammoa wine has a very high alcohol content, and the Crown Prince had mentioned wanting to try it once.

‘As I thought ’

Amy’s eyes flashed coldly. Sally shook her arm as if to soothe her. “S-so… even if you b-bring anything and say it’s C-Cammoa, he w-won’t know the difference. The Prince.”

” ”

It was a decent idea. Even if he drank the real thing later and realized he’d been tricked, there would be nothing he could do by then.

‘Still, he’s small-minded and holds grudges; he’ll seek revenge until the end.’

Amy began to sketch a rough plan in her head. She would send a carrier pigeon to the House of Colman, which was relatively close, have them set out with the wine, meet them halfway, and bring it back. At the very least, she could serve it tomorrow. How fortunate it was that Count Colman, despite being critically ill, was a wine enthusiast…

“I’ll handle it, so don’t you worry.”

“B-but—”

Amy gently shook off Sally’s hand and went to Melbourne. Sally looked down at her empty hands and clenched her fists.

Just as Amy was about to explain her plan to Melbourne, another person popped out.

“Mrs. Weaver?”

This was another unexpected person. Amy had sent food up to the guest rooms early, thinking the lady and her son would be tired after their long journey. What was she doing here?

“I… have something to tell you.”

Mrs. Weaver swallowed hard, took a step forward, and whispered something into Amy’s ear.

” … What?”

Amy’s eyes went wide.

“This is wine from the Cammoa region.”

The Crown Prince stared with wide eyes at the pewter cup Amy placed before him. How on earth did she bring this so quickly?

‘It’s obvious; she’s brought something else to trick me.’

Snorting inwardly, the Crown Prince took a sip of the wine. Then, he nearly coughed it back out.

“Is something the matter? Is this not what you usually enjoy?”

Amy opened her eyes wide and stared at him as if she were about to devour him, though she wore a smile on her lips. The Crown Prince broke into a cold sweat while covering his mouth with a handkerchief.

“O-oh, no… that’s right. I enjoy… drinking this…”

Hearing his words, Amy gave a sinister smile. Usually, the Crown Prince had the palate of a child and only liked sweet things with low alcohol content. Enjoy it, my foot. She immediately feigned innocence again and widened her eyes.

“Then you must know well. It is clearly the genuine article.”

The Crown Prince nodded hurriedly, fearing his heart might stop under Amy’s savage gaze if he didn’t agree. But Amy wasn’t planning to end it there.

‘I’ll drive a nail into this spot so he never even dreams of picking a fight again.’

Suddenly, Amy put on a dejected expression.

“I know Your Highness the Crown Prince is concerned for your younger brother who has risen to a high position. However, since the Grand Duke only recently received his title, any problems that arise are my fault for not serving him properly. It cannot be helped if people say it was only natural for me to be kicked out of the Crown Prince’s palace.”

At those words, a spark flew in the Crown Prince’s eyes.

“No, I never heard such—who dares to utter such nonsense!”

“Who would dare speak such things before Your Noble Highness? But it reaches my ears quite clearly.”

“If such a thing happened, you should have told me sooner, you—”

Looking at a discouraged Amy, the Crown Prince became restless with pity. Amy let out a heavy, pointed sigh.

“Now that I don’t hear such insults, my heart is at peace. Perhaps, as the rumors say, I was unnecessarily greedy. Regardless ”

She raised her hand to stop the Crown Prince—who was about to argue—as if correcting a dog’s bad habit, and feigned a sorrowful look.

“But if you are seen being criticized even after coming all this way to the banquet—”

The Crown Prince flinched. Amy raised her eyes, stared at him intently, and then dropped her gaze.

” … That too is due to my lack of virtue, so there is nothing to be done.”

” ”

Caught in a situation where he could do neither this nor that, his anxious eyes darted around. Just then, he caught sight of his half-brother, who was staring blankly only at Amy with an expressionless face.

His heart sank.

The Crown Prince looked at Noah with a trembling gaze. In his mind, he recalled the circumstances that forced him to come here.

‘Rumors are circulating that the leader of the civil war that started in the South is of Blue Blood.’

The Empress, who had secretly summoned the Crown Prince, had suddenly dropped that bombshell on him.

‘Blue Blood? Does that not mean a member of the Imperial Family? That is impossible.’

The Empress turned her head away, avoiding the gaze of the Crown Prince who was vehemently arguing.

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