Who Brought the Head Maid Back? - Chapter 42

Amy was startled.

“Pardon? For me to dare”

But Noah was adamant.

“To me, Amy, you are closer than anyone else in the world. I believe it is only natural.”

“Still”

“I do not want to make this an order. You will do that for me, will you not?”

When Amy did not yield easily, he practically started to plead. Then, he pulled out his final ultimate move.

“We are friends, are we not?”

Having heard that, she had no choice. Amy nodded as if defeated.

“I understand, Your Highness.”

Noah’s face brightened instantly. Unable to contain his joy, he took Amy’s hand and murmured as if to himself.

“Now, even if I am sick, I will not be lonely.”

Amy did not answer. However, Noah could feel her squeezing his hand tightly in return.

“Head Maid Amelia.”

Upon returning to the outer palace, the Crown Prince’s Head Maid was waiting for her, as expected. Within just a few days, her previously plump face had noticeably thinned. It seemed the Crown Prince had been hounding her relentlessly.

“He said to bring you today no matter what.”

“I am busy.”

Amy quickened her pace without so much as a glance. The Crown Prince’s Head Maid struggled to keep up, trying to persuade her.

“But he truly has not eaten a thing today. If the health of the Crown Prince, a guest of the Duchy, fails, would that be a good thing for the Duchy and the Grand Duke?”

Amy, who had been walking with long strides, came to a dead stop. She glanced at the Head Maid, who had also stopped and was panting while leaning against a stone wall, and thought.

‘She is not wrong.’

Until the Empress and the First Prince were fully at each other’s throats, it was better to be cautious. Amy brushed her hair back in annoyance, changed direction, and began walking toward the annex where the Crown Prince was staying. It was the first time she would see him in two weeks since the poisoning attempt.

“Your Highness! Head Maid Amelia has arrived.”

The Crown Prince’s Head Maid straightened her chest triumphantly and raised her voice. Amy, with an indifferent expression, walked slowly into the inner chamber. The Crown Prince, who had been lying in bed malingering as a form of protest, sat up abruptly in surprise.

“Really? Amy really came?”

“You look perfectly fine, do not you?”

When Amy spoke with a look of disdain, the Crown Prince stared up at her blankly and muttered.

“It really is Amy.”

“Since there is no fake Amy, that would be correct.”

Answering dryly, she plopped down into the chair next to the bed without waiting for permission. Of course, no one dared to comment on that. Sensing the opportunity, the Crown Prince’s Head Maid quickly sent a maid to the kitchen to fetch food.

“Amy”

The Crown Prince elongated her name, drawing his lips downward in a pout. Amy did not even acknowledge his attempt at being cute and spoke coldly.

“For what reason did you call me?”

The Crown Prince grumbled, sticking out his lip.

“Your tone is too barren. It does not feel like my Amy.”

“Who is ‘our Amy’? At the very least, it is not me.”

“Then my Amy?”

The Crown Prince blinked and tried to look adorable. Amy stood up without a word.

“It is a joke, a joke! Do not go!”

The Crown Prince hurriedly grabbed her, and Amy glared at him out of the corner of her eye.

“Please be careful. Since coming here, I’ve realized that I have less patience than I thought.”

“I will be careful.”

Watching the Crown Prince’s lips quiver as he was cowed by a single word from Amy, the Head Maid felt her blood pressure rise. She felt she finally understood why the Empress hated Head Maid Amelia so much.

‘She makes a complete fool out of him.’

Muttering that raising sons is a waste of effort, the Head Maid shook her head, only to hear the Crown Prince say something even worse.

“Because Amy is not here, no one looks after me.”

Both Amy and the Crown Prince’s Head Maid were startled. Was that true? When Amy looked at the Head Maid with a skeptical gaze, the woman shook her head frantically in horror, signaling she had never done such a thing.

“If you offer a lot of money, people will line up to do it.”

Amy, having lost interest again, brushed the dust off her skirt. The Crown Prince, thinking Amy was joking, laughed and nudged her arm.

‘I am serious, though.’

Amy knit her brows to endure the annoyance. Just then, the Crown Prince brought up an unwelcome topic.

“Wait, do you know? Even if I say I am sick, Lady Esmain does not even bat an eye.”

Lady Esmain. The moment she heard that name, Amy felt as if time had stopped. Simultaneously, she could feel a cold moisture clinging to her skin. The sensation of her head spinning from the pain of hunger.

Unaware that Amy’s face had turned pale, the Crown Prince continued to complain.

“I do not know why a woman would be so cold. She has no affection whatsoever. She is so different from Amy.”

Amy took a deep breath, suppressing her anxiety. Suddenly, Noah’s suggestion, that they should care for each other when they were unwell, flickered in her mind. Her heart, which had been beating out of rhythm, found its pace again.

“In my view, that does not seem to be the case.”

“What?”

As the Crown Prince looked puzzled, Amy spoke calmly.

“It is because she has affection for you that she stays by your side.”

Meaning, if she had not, she would have fled long ago. As the Crown Prince’s face stiffened, Amy added.

“She is quite different from me.”

“Amy.”

“Please treat her with care.”

Amy said this while looking directly into the Crown Prince’s eyes, hoping he would realize that holding onto her was futile.

How much time passed? Soon, the Crown Prince’s complexion turned ashen, and his eyes began to waver uncontrollably. He had finally accepted the fact that she had completely abandoned him, just as she wanted. Yet, he still did not want to believe it.

The Crown Prince’s cheek twitched as his lips moved.

“Amy, did you ever sincerely think about becoming my partner?”

Amy was momentarily taken aback. Since her regression, she had imagined receiving this question several times. Each time, she had planned to say proudly and without hesitation that she never had. But now that the moment had arrived in reality.

“To be honest, I thought it would be difficult. Because the Empress would have opposed it until the very end.”

She found herself saying those words. Absurdly so.

‘Did you forget what happened before the regression? When my situation turned miserable, he was the one who turned away and left, pretending not to see me. He is a coward.’

A head-on confrontation was always terrifying. Amy tried to calm her racing heart and continued her thoughts calmly.

‘Even looking at the time before the regression, the Crown Prince proved to be a useless card. I cannot hold that card again out of past sentiment.’

Steeling her heart, she looked the Crown Prince straight in the eye.

“I believe this is as far as you and I go.”

Now was the time to completely part ways with the man who had once kindly pretended to be scared just so he could hold her hand on a thundering night.

“Right. If it were Mother, she would have done that.”

The Crown Prince stared at the floor with gloomy eyes and nodded slowly. Amy felt a sense of relief that he had finally understood their situation.

‘As long as you do not touch Lord Noah anymore, I will stop here as well.’

Thinking of Noah, Amy’s gaze darkened.

‘The Crown Prince would not know. If Lord Noah had lost his life at the banquet, I would have personally torn you apart.’

Recalling that moment, a murderous intent surged within her, and she clenched her fists. Then, she was startled.

‘When did my feelings for Lord Noah become this deep?’

Before she could even look into her own heart, the Crown Prince spoke sharply, cutting through her thoughts.

“I understand. You may leave.”

As if waiting for those words, Amy stood up immediately.

“Yes. And according to the agreement with the Empire, your return date has been set for one week from now.”

With that final notification, Amy left without looking back. Because she looked so light and unburdened, the Crown Prince felt even more wretched.

He closed his eyes tightly and opened them slowly. There was no longer any lingering thought on his face.

Amy thought everything was over with that. But she had forgotten how obsessed the Crown Prince became with a toy he could not have.

“Who arrived?”

At the news delivered by Marie, Amy jumped to her feet in surprise.

“Sir Jack and Sir Dwayne. They arrived about a week earlier than scheduled. They should have passed through the castle gates by now.”

Marie chatted away excitedly. She said the maids had already rushed out in a swarm to see them. It was the first bit of welcome news since the banquet had been turned upside down by the attempted poisoning and the nobles had fled like a receding tide.

“Will the knights on the Crown Prince’s side finally quiet down now? Phew”

Marie shook her head. Although they still behaved arrogantly, Vernon was controlling them well, and since they had not caused any trouble beyond reason, the conflict remained quiet beneath the surface.

Amy left the office and walked quickly down the stairs, glancing back.

“Surely, you girls are not still planning to harass the knights, are you?”

“Oh, Head Maid. How could fragile women like us do such a thing?”

Marie cupped her cheeks with both hands, widening her moist eyes and fluttering her eyelashes. Of course, Amy did not fall for the blatant acting.

“If a fire breaks out in the knights’ quarters, if someone falls down the stairs, or if their weapons are damaged, consider yourselves all summoned. I’ve told Mrs. Weaver as well, so do not try anything clever.”

“Yes”

Marie pouted in disappointment, but her mind was racing.

‘She did not say anything about messing with their food.’

She was giggling to herself when she stopped in her tracks. Jack and Dwayne, having already passed through the gates, were walking across the courtyard of the outer castle surrounded by people. They seemed to be on their way to report their return to the Grand Duke.

“Head Maid!”

Dwayne raised both arms and waved them wildly like a dog seeing its owner after a long time. Jack stopped and bowed politely. Amy quickly approached them and scanned their appearance.

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