"Oh, my~ Fancy meeting you here, Lady Kathrina," Maria purred, gliding through the grand hall, her gaze settling on Kathrina.
The amusement that once graced her face during their last encounter was nowhere in sight.
Her eyes were dark.
Dangerously so.
Behind Kathrina stood her maid—haggard and worn. Though her face had been meticulously painted with layers of makeup, it did little to conceal the exhaustion etched into her features. The faint traces of sleepless nights, the barely masked eye bags... she had been through hell serving her mistress in the past few months.
"Likewise," Kathrina responded, her gaze sweeping over the opulent hallway, gilded chandeliers casting a golden glow upon the polished marble floor. "I simply couldn’t stay still any longer, considering the entrance examination starts in just ten days."
Her voice was measured, but her next words carried an unmistakable edge as she locked eyes with Maria. "Where is Yuriel?"
There was something feral in the way she asked. It was only a matter of time before she lost her mind.
Maria, ever the picture of poise, tilted her head slightly, a soft chuckle escaping her lips. She lifted a delicate hand, resting her fingertips gently against her mouth as if amused by the mere suggestion.
"My, my, my~ Are you, by any chance, insinuating that I had a hand in the disappearance of my dear brother’s servant?"
Her voice was a velvety purr, saccharine and insincere.
At this, Kathrina’s knuckles cracked as she clenched her fists.
"...Of course not. How could I possibly accuse a royal of such a shameful act?" Her words were smooth, careful—but her eyes betrayed her. "It is only natural, however, to suspect that someone of high standing might be involved in something so... elaborate."
A slow, cold smile tugged at her lips, one that never reached her eyes.
Maria let out a soft hum of amusement, gracefully sliding open a fan to conceal the growing smirk threatening to betray her act of innocence.
"Oh? And why, pray tell, would you say that?" she asked, feigning curiosity.
Kathrina took a step forward.
"He disappeared for three whole months. No clues. No witnesses. Not a single trace left behind. It is beyond impossible to consider that normal. Or don’t you think so, Princess?" Her voice dripped with accusation.
Maria sighed, tilting her head in thought before placing a hand over her heart in mock distress.
"You know... I have actually been thinking about that. Do you have any suspects?" she asked sweetly. "Because I, for one, cannot fathom who would do such a terrible thing to the prince’s most loyal servant. Yuriel was so obedient, so handsome, so utterly charming..." She sighed dramatically. "It truly pains me to think that someone—so malicious, so conniving, so utterly heartless—could bring themselves to harm him."
She clicked her tongue in distaste, shaking her head as if she were truly mourning the loss.
Kathrina’s grip on her composure was slipping—by the minute, by the second.
She wanted to kill this bitch. Right here. Right now.
She was no fool.
She knew Maria had a hand in this.
She could still recall that day so clearly, as though it was yesterday. Maria had casually mentioned sending him on an errand, a statement that had infuriated her to no end. The very idea of someone like Maria holding any sway over her beloved was intolerable, but there was nothing she could do about it. And as much as she despised Maria, she loathed the foolish prince even more.
For the past two months, she had fed him a sliver of hope, making him believe they could be something. She knew Lodrick had grown obsessed with her—it had started the moment she fell for Yuriel. And that only made her disgust for him deepen.
But his feelings never mattered to her—not even for a moment. From the very beginning, the only reason she entertained Lodrick was to manipulate the fool into handing Yuriel over to her. Yet, no matter what tactics she employed, no matter how many methods she devised, Lodrick never agreed to that one wish of hers.
It had something to do with his mother.
Another person Kathrina despised.
Of course, she had done her research. There was something undeniably strange about the queen—an unhealthy attachment to Yuriel, something Kathrina found particularly distasteful. More than that, she suspected the queen was responsible for Yuriel’s mother’s death. It was said that the last time Yuriel’s mother was seen alive, she had been heading for a meeting with the queen. Shortly after, she was found dead. Yuriel had only been seven at the time.
Kathrina had a gut feeling that meeting was the key. That it was tied not just to Yuriel, but to his mother’s death.
But none of that mattered right now.
The reason she had tolerated Lodrick for the past month was to use his power for her own ends. That was how she knew Maria had taken possession of Yuriel—but despite her efforts, she couldn’t trace him. No matter how much she searched, Maria had covered her tracks flawlessly. An entire village, Lymieo, had been wiped out in the process. No one knew what had happened, and those who tried to uncover the truth were silenced. The official story was that a dragon had destroyed the village, its corpse used as evidence.
But Kathrina knew better.
There was something deeper at play. Maria must have had a hand in Lymieo’s destruction. And perhaps, it had all been to erase any trace of Yuriel.
"I actually do have some names..." Kathrina finally admitted.
"I pray tell," Maria said, her fan still hiding her smirk.
"No need for that, princess," Kathrina replied, her tone laced with determination. "I will find the one responsible, and I will take back what is mine." She bowed before turning on her heels.
Maria watched her leave, her expression unreadable.
"Is that so?" she murmured under her breath. A slow smile crept onto her lips.
"But it’s already too late. He has fallen."
....
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