During my break, Mike bided his time for me at the appointed place. I met him in a furniture-storage room close to the royal quarters.
“I’ve been waiting for you, Victoria.”
“There are a few things I want you to investigate, Mike.”
He raised an eyebrow at one of the tasks I gave him, but I made sure he understood it was important.
“How is Nonna doing?” I asked.
“She’s staying at the Asher family estate under Lady Blythe’s care.”
“Lady Blythe? Why?”
“I don’t know the details.”
“I see. Something must’ve happened, then. I just hope she doesn’t try to sneak into the palace.”
Mike’s gaze shifted ever so slightly—an unusual reaction for someone as stoic as him. Has Nonna already infiltrated the castle?
Well, if she was at the Asher estate, at least she hadn’t been caught.
“I’ll write her a letter, then. Could you deliver it? I want her to know I’m safe, since it might prevent her from doing anything reckless,” I said.
“Of course.”
Mike promptly handed me a paper and pen. I quickly scribbled off a short message at the table.
Dearest Nonna,
I‘m working in a safe place. Let‘s train together near that abandoned house when I come home. Until then, I want you to be a good girl and wait for me patiently.
Love, Mother
“Is that all?”
“Yes, this will be enough. Thank you. I should get back now.”
“Take care, then. Here, this is what you requested yesterday.”
“I appreciate it.”
After Mike left, I changed into the uniform he gave me, which was what the lower-ranking maids wore, and hurried to the staff dining hall. I’d learned from the guards this was their dinner hour.
The dining room was packed, filled with boisterous laughter, lively chatter, and the clatter of dishes. Since the maids normally had to stay silent at work, they seemed to let loose here and speak openly.
I kept my head slightly bowed as I collected a bowl of soup with bread, along with thinly sliced chicken drizzled in brown gravy.
“Salt and vinegar are on the table, so help yourself. You new here?” a maid asked.
“Yes. It’s nice to meet you.”
I sat near a particularly lively group of maids and began eavesdropping.
“Don’t you think there are too many guards around lately? No matter where I work, they’re always glaring at me! It’s positively unnerving!”
“I know. It makes your heart race even when you’re not doing anything wrong!”
“Hey, you over there! Can you pass the salt?”
I hunched my shoulders slightly, looking nervous as I handed it over.
“H-here you go.”
“Thanks. You’re new, huh?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Are you from the south or something? You’ve got an accent.”
“I’m from Cadiz.”
“Oh, okay. Well, hang in there.”
“Thank you.”
From that day on, I had dinner in the staff dining room every evening. I didn’t dine with the higher-ranking maids because there were too few of them to blend in with, and they didn’t speak as freely as the lower-ranking ones.
Plus, the junior maids had no direct contact with the crown princess, but rumors often spread to unexpected places. There could be useful information among the seemingly trivial chatter.
Still, I didn’t hear anything noteworthy even after I started visiting the staff dining hall daily. Over two weeks passed before I finally learned something intriguing.
“Hey, Marin. That’s a really fancy fragrance oil! Did you buy it?” a maid asked.
“No way. I just picked up the empty bottle and refilled it with plain horse oil. Seriously, can you believe someone threw away such an expensive thing? I can’t believe this place sometimes,” said another maid, Marin.
“Oh, it’s just horse oil? Still, that was a lucky find. Where’d you get it?”
“The garbage. I was gathering fallen leaves to toss out and found the bottle under the pile. The wind must’ve blown the leaves on top of it away.”
“Wow, that’s amazing. If you find another one, will you give it to me?”
“Sure, if I come across another one, it’s all yours.”
I made a note of the maid who had found the bottle and then returned to my room that night.
The next day, I set my plan into motion during my break before dinner.
I was refilling the oil in the lamps on the floor where the junior maids lived. I waited for the maid who’d found the bottle to leave her room. Since I had to stand on a stepladder to do my work, I blended into the background. Even though this task was typically performed during the daytime, no one ever paid attention to people refilling oil lamps.
When the maid finally left her room, I noted its location and waited for the other maids to leave as well. They staggered their mealtimes, so I had to act fast before another group returned.
I quickly unlocked her door, slipped inside, and began rummaging through the maid’s drawers.
It didn’t take me long to find the vial I was looking for. It was small and made of clear, high-quality glass. Cheap glass had bubbles in it and wasn’t as thin as this bottle. I took off the lid and sniffed it; there was indeed horse oil inside. After I checked the scent on the interior of the lid, too, I carefully returned the bottle to its place.
But just as I was about to leave, I heard footsteps and the sound of a key turning in the lock. They’re back way too soon!
“This evening was so busy, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, it was crowded.”
I’d quickly slid under the bed before the door opened. This was bad. If they found me here, I’d be accused of theft, and it would cause a scene. I had no choice but to hold my breath and stay hidden.
The two maids sat down on their beds, chatting.
“I wanted to take my time and enjoy my dinner.”
“I know, but there were so many people standing and waiting, so we had to practically wolf down our food.”
Ultimately, I needed to bide my time under the bed for two whole hours until they finally fell asleep and began lightly snoring. Only then did I crawl out and leave the room.
I rushed back to my chambers; I needed to sleep, too.
Mike showed up at Edward Asher’s estate to deliver a letter. The moment he handed it to Nonna, she clasped it against her chest and hopped up and down with joy.