Chapter 1
Lila really went all out with her makeup today. Did she just slap the whole cosmetics store on her face? Her cheeks were so red.
I kept my head down, holding a coffeea tray, standing obediently in the corner of Drogten Hall.
Lila was sitting beside the king, speaking in a soft, gentle voice.
The servants in the hall were frozen in silence, not daring to make a sound.
I didn't dare make a sound, only muttering inwardly. This scent was so overpowering, sweet and sickly, just like the smell outside an apothecary.
Suddenly, the king, Orion, set down the memorial he was reading.
He turned his head, his gaze drifting past Lila and landing straight on me.
My heart skipped a beat. Why was he staring at me? I was just a coffee girl.
Orion's eyes were cold and oddly curious, like he'd spotted a cat that could talk.
I buried her head even lower and muttered inwardly. From this angle, the king's chin looked even shorter.
Orion suddenly snapped his gaze away.
I let out a sigh of relief. Nothing happened.
He was probably just looking around. There was no way he could hear what I was thinking.
*****
Orion stared at the maid in the corner holding the coffee tray, his temples throbbing.
This wasn't just his imagination. Ever since this morning, there had been a voice in his head, not his own.
The voice was lazy, like a cat yawning, rambling nonstop.
At first, Orion thought he was cursed or something.
He summoned the imperial physician to check his pulse, but the doctor assured him he was in perfect health.
Orion tried pacing around the hall, and the voice would get louder or softer depending on where he was.
When he got to the doorway, Orion could barely hear it.
But when he stepped into the corner…
Was the king pacing because he needed to pee or something?
Orion froze in his tracks. He took a deep breath, turned, and walked back to the imperial desk.
"You may all go," he ordered.
The servants filed out one by one. Vita, the maid with the coffee tray, followed them out.
Sure enough, the voice in his head faded away.
Orion closed his eyes, pressing his fingers to his brow. He needed to confirm something.
"Attend me," Orion called out.
"Your Majesty." Aron bowed as he entered.
"What's the name of the maid in the corner with the coffee tray?" Orion asked.
Aron paused. "Your Majesty, she's a maid from the Imperial Culinary Bureau. Her name is Vita Becker."
"Have her come to the Imperial Study tomorrow to attend to the writing materials," Orion ordered.
Aron paused, looking uncertain. "Your Majesty, she's just a kitchen maid. She can barely read. I'm afraid she might not be suitable to serve in the study."
"Are you questioning my orders?" Orion said coldly.
Aron immediately dropped to his knees. "I wouldn't dare, Your Majesty! I'll take care of it right away."
Orion watched Aron's cowering figure as he scurried away.
The king was in a bad mood today. It looked like Aron was about to get yelled at again. But honestly, he totally had it coming. Last time he docked our Imperial Culinary Bureau's coal allowance for half a month, and my feet ended up covered in chilblains during the freezing winter.
Orion froze. That voice. He shot to his feet and threw open the window.
In the courtyard, Vita was walking out with the coffee tray, not even ten steps away from the window.
She was short, walked with her feet turned out, and her hairpin was lopsided, not that she cared to fix it.
There was some leftover apple pie in the Imperial Kitchen today, right? Last time, Abigail said she saved two pieces for me, but Luna snatched them away. Luna was such a witch, always picking on me and Alyssa. I swear, one day I'll…, forget it. No way I could take her on.
Orion slowly sat back down. He was sure of two things now.
First, he could actually hear what that maid, Vita, was thinking.
Second, every thought she had was genuine. She wasn't lying, not even once.
Like how Aron had been embezzling the coal allowance.
Orion had long suspected the palace staff were lining their pockets, but he just couldn't get any solid proof.
And that medicinal smell clinging to Lila.
Orion thought the incense was weird too, but the imperial physicians had checked it three times and insisted it was just regular calming incense.
Vita was just a kitchen maid who barely knew her letters. She had no hidden agenda, just plain honesty in her thoughts.
'Maybe what she's thinking is the only thing I can truly trust in this whole Imperial Palace,' Orion thought.