Rise of the Unfavored Princess

Ch. 42: What Janice Heard

At that moment, the lighthearted chatter of approaching maids made its way to Janice’s ears. Lately, her senses had been more keen than usual, noticing the subtle fluctuations of temperature in the air and hearing the faintest mocking whispers from those around her.

Noticing Janice suddenly tensing up, Felix asked, “Is something the matter, Miss Janice?”

“This way!” Janice said hastily.

She grabbed Felix’s arm and tugged both himself and herself into a narrow nook that wasn’t visible from the walkway. Felix’s breath came out in a rush at the proximity between their two bodies. Janice, who at 18 was two years his senior, was taller than his short self and his line of sight landed directly on her generous bosom. The young manservant gulped as heat rushed through him.

Janice was vigilantly watching the approaching party and didn’t yet notice the situation. Two maids walked into view, tittering over nonsense as usual.

“Huh? What’s this bucket doing here?” one asked, nudging the soaking wet bucket in a pool of dirty water.

“Who knows? Just some lazy bum who can’t do her job properly,” said the other, rolling her eyes. She was annoyed at having to leap and jump over the spilled water.

“I’d wager,” she continued, “It’s that brat Janice who ran off in the middle of her task.”

.....

The other maid laughed as Janice’s blood boiled. The maids in the blasted Sunrise Palace spoke too liberally of her. If she were in charge of the place, she’d fire them all from the palace, no the capital!

“You’re probably right. I thought we were lucky to work at the Empress’ palace with such a kind mistress, but Janice is starting to ruin my experience here.”

One of them stuck out her chest like a peacock and in an obnoxious voice poorly imitating Janice said, “Do you call this food? And so little of it? How will I serve her majesty when I won’t have the strength to rise from bed?”

She was reciting one of Janice’s infamous breakdowns, where she had furiously berated the chefs in the lower kitchen for the subpar meal. Janice’s fists clenched tightly and she saw red. She hated being mocked or made a fool of and wanted to scratch their ugly faces with her long nails. If it weren’t for the fact that the Empress had told her to keep the arrangement between herself and Prince Julian’s manservant a secret, she wouldn’t be hiding within the nook so pathetically.

“Their names,” Janice said, the venom dripping off her voice.

Felix was briefly startled but quickly replied. “Erm... Milly and Brenda.”

The hidden pair watched the giggling maids stroll off with different expressions, Janice in fury and Felix in indignation. In his heart, Janice was a saint who could do no wrong but was discriminated against for her beauty. Meanwhile, Janice finally noticed the short distance between their bodies. Her eyes trained down and involuntarily landed on his neck, which was turning red under her probing stare.

Felix swallowed nervously and a thick vein on the side of his throat bobbed, bringing rise to a feeling Janice couldn’t place. Her slender tummy rumbled and she felt hungry, but for what?

Swallowing down the drool that had just filled her mouth, Janice instructed Felix in her sweet voice to return to his post before he was missed. The boy was a short, blushing mess, stumbling over his words as he stumbled off. Janice was left alone to face her feelings. She knew there was no way she had a crush on Felix, especially considering his lack of power, short stature, younger age, and ugly appearance.

Slightly alarmed by what just happened and the mocking maids, Janice was unusually quiet as she walked past the fellow maids she’d usually bicker with on the way to the Empress’ chambers in Sunrise Palace. She just wanted to deliver the information Felix had told her and leave as soon as possible.

The ornate doors quickly came into view and a maid with Empress Katya’s pin on her chest approached Janice. She was one of the personal maids of Katya and frequently stood guard before the door. This maid, Kora, was also well aware of the deal between the empress and Janice, but unlike Linette, she was much better at masking her disgust.

Kora looked down her long nose at Janice, her face serene while her murky blue eyes shimmered with her distaste. Janice similarly sneered at the girl before her. This lowly girl only got her position as one of the Empress’ personal maids out of sheer luck. And at the end of the day, no matter how important she was, Kora was still just a servant. Someday, it would be Janice looking down her nose at her.

“Do you have information?” Kora asked in a low tone.

“If I didn’t, why would I be here?” Janice replied haughtily. She already worked at Sunrise Palace, but she had to undergo all this fanfare just to gain entry. It was infuriating.

Kora didn’t reply, only dismissing the two guards on either side of the door with a wave. Inside, the door was opened by two servants and Janice walked into the dim hallway. There was a faint smell of incense in the air, the minty scent both refreshing and calming.

“Right this way,” Kora said, turning around this corner and that. She knew her way around the spacious palace, even larger than the Rose Palace, exceptionally well. They arrived at the doors of the same sitting room that Janice had first met the Empress in and the beautiful maid felt a pang of disappointment. She had wanted to see more of the palace so she could have an idea of how to design her future manor or castle.

There were no guards in front of the door this time, perhaps to further ensure that no one would eavesdrop. Kora stepped in, the door open just a sliver so her slender body could fit through. But through that slit, Janice could clearly see the Empress seated, with Linette at her shoulder, and a young, quivering girl before them.

They seemed engrossed in their conversation and Kora took note of this as well, for she stood in the corner of the room with her head bowed. A force within Janice compeller her to wedge her boot into the door before it properly shut, leaving a gap for her to listen to the conversation.

“S-S-She said she is from around the D-D’anjou Mountains,” the kneeling girl whimpered. Janice could not help but smile in satisfaction as she recognized the voice of the insolent servant overseer who had torn off her Rose Palace pin when she was abruptly fired.

“Why doesn’t she have any files within the palace? How was there such an oversight?” thundered out Linette.

“D-During the fire 10 years ago, the portion of the Servants’ Quarters containing the files of every servant in the palace suffered some damage. There were e-efforts made to replace them but a few people in the palace may still be unaccounted for,” the girl replied.

Janice scratched her head, confused by the conversation. She had no clue who they were speaking of, but she opted on listening in anyways. With her amazing hearing, it was as if Katya was directly speaking into her ear.

“Hmmm...” Katya started slowly, her voice low and melodic, “so you mean to tell me that those in charge of the Servants’ Quarters, of which you are one of, failed to fulfill one of their most important tasks? Wouldn’t that mean there could be several unaccounted for parties strolling around the palace? What if one of them develops bad intentions towards the royal family?”

It was easy to follow the empress’ train of thought and the kneeling maid quivered like a leaf in the wind as sweat matted strands of hair to her forehead.

“If one of those unaccounted for people were to, let’s say, attempt to assassinate me or even the emperor, who would be responsible? Would you be able to bear the brunt of such a crime? With so many consequences behind it, the punishment could even extend beyond you to your family. Would they be able to bear it?” Empress Katya finished slowly.

“Please, your majesty!” the girl cried, throwing her forehead to the ground in a trembling kneel. “P-please have mercy for my oversight. The fire burned so quickly and viciously, I truly could not save anything!”

Janice could see disappointment make itself known on the Empress’ composed face, the corners of her red lips turning downwards ever so slightly. It was a captivating sight and one that reignited her jealousy.

“More excuses?” Empress Katya murmured quietly, her voice crystal clear in the otherwise silent room. “Linette.”

“Present, your majesty,” replied Katya’s most trusted personal maid. She rushed to a nearby desk to pick up an oakwood box, the lacquered container painted with intricate designs. Linette had a look of grim satisfaction as she popped the latch and turned its contents towards the empress. Linette’s back was to Janice, so she could not see what Katya grabbed from it.

“Your hands,” Katya said, “they’re rather pretty. Do you use them much?”

Not only was Janice confused by the sudden change in topic, a big fat question mark was also audible in the overseer’s response.

“N-no, your majesty.”

“That’s good. But it’s a lie, isn’t it? We use our hands so much every day. To hold our utensils, peel our fruit, there are endless purposes for them. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yes, y-your majesty.” the girl on the floor replied. The warbly tone was starting to diminish as she started to let her guard down. Wrong move.

“Let me see them!” Empress Katya said boldly with a disarming smile.

A shaky, tentative hand rose from the floor as the girl immediately complied. Janice started to zone out from the boring change of topic, but the sudden whimpers from the room were too alarming to miss.

“Please, your majesty,” the girl whined from the floor, her voice thick in tears.

“Please, what?” asked Katya impassively. Janice couldn’t tell what was happening, but she could only vaguely guess that some sort of physical punishment was being inflicted on the overseer. Linette was standing off to the side with a gleeful expression so it couldn’t be her inflicting the damage. Janice’s eye involuntarily slipped to the woman wearing a glimmering tiara, her face not revealing any of her actions.

Violence wrapped up in a pretty, blonde package.

For the first time since she was brought to the Sunrise Palace, Janice felt the unmistakable fluttering of fear in her belly. It would be in her best interest to finish off Princess Winter and exit the palace sooner rather than later.

The mystery was killing Janice making her sweat as the tears went up another crescendo.

“What is the matter? Didn’t you say you don’t need your hands?” Katya asked as if she were truly confused.

“No! No! I was wrong! I need them! Please stop!” the girl wailed.

Her body flailed on the floor in reaction to the pain, but she did not dare remove her hand that Katya was somehow harming. Janice couldn’t help but be impressed by her tenacity. There was no doubt that if she did drag her hand away and mistakenly struck Empress Katya’s person, the overseer would be dragged away to the dungeon.

“Hmmm. Linette.” The empress seemed fond of making a low hum before she spoke, only adding to her frightful demeanor. A bead of sweat trickled down Janice’s forehead and she made the gap in the door a tad smaller to lessen her chances of being caught and subjected to the same torment. Janice was a brave girl, but only with opponents weaker than herself.

Someone like Winter, a princess whose worth was lower than the cheapest scullery maid was worthy of her ire, but she tended to steer clear of fiercer competition. That was part of the reason she had decided to make her way into the city. While the son of the chieftain was easy enough to beguile, even with her then slightly above average looks, his mother guarded him like a lion guarding her cubs and she was most definitely NOT fond of Janice.

Janice did not see what the empress did next, but the screams rose to another level along with another round of tearful crying. Even in her fear, Janice did not forget to scorn the overseer, who in her mind was receiving well-deserved karma.

“Your majesty! I-I promise to gather information about any servants we missed. I’ll do a census of the entire palace! Find those who were missed! Gather information!” the overseer finally spewed out.

Her body, which was writhing on the floor in unimaginable torment, slowed down its frantic movement and Janice gathered that what she had just said to the empress was what Katya had wanted to hear.

“And that nursemaid?” Katya asked quietly. She placed something back in the box and Linette returned the lacquered container back to the ornate writing desk.

“I shall be extremely diligent in retrieving information for your majesty. Where she was born, her family, what she likes to eat for breakfast, I shall learn it all!” The overseer punctuated her words with another bow. Her voice sounded raw as if she had just run a lap around Winifred Plaza rather than speak to the empress.

Empress Katya just nodded and gestured for Kora to escort the drained overseer from her room. Noting that the door she was eavesdropping from was the only exit from the sitting room, Janice let the door shut quietly and walked away a few steps for good measure. She did not dare imagine the consequences that would follow if they knew she had heard them.

Janice had moved in quick haste and it was a good decision for scarcely had she started examining her fingernails as if the cracked, dirty things were worth her attention, Kora opened the door with a sinister creak. Janice could feel the maid’s eyes run over her suspiciously, perhaps trying to ascertain whether Janice was eavesdropping. Thankfully, the overseer began mewling like a child from the pain, and Kora, who appeared to be quite strong, quickly lugged her away.

The hand the overseer was cradling to her chest was horrifyingly black as soot, the hand curled in on itself as if it were burnt. Janice grimaced at the sight of the overseer, whose snot dripped freely from her nose, a far cry from her usually dignified appearance. This image hung in Janice’s mind as Linette guided her into the room. Without her usual attitude, Janice reported everything Felix had told her, word for word, and she wordlessly accepted the pouch of silver coins without complaint.

As Janice slowly walked back to her humble bed in a trance, she promised to herself to keep the emperor off her list of targets, for now at least. And so it was from this that the lower maids of Sunrise Palace enjoyed a few peaceful days without any bickering or complaining.