CH 3

Millicent did not decline because she was actually hungry. With a  little knife she cut a slice of cheese and put it on the bread. 

“My maids are five witty ladies,” Queen Jadalin said. “They are chosen from the most distinguished families of the Holy Kingdom of Kintland.”

She said, taking a sip of her wine. 

“They are also five swindlers who act like sheep grazing in the pasture, but who are bloodthirsty for profit behind the scene.”

“So you want me to kill them for it?” Millicent asked.

“No,” Jadalin said, slowly getting to her feet. “Did you know that His Majesty the King returned some time ago?”

“Yes, I heard he won a great victory in the war.” 

The Queen stood in front of the portrait, dragging her silk slippers. 

“As soon as he returned to the palace, he declared to me,” Jadalin stared at the handsome man in the painting. His hair as black as coal. Eyes gray with a seemingly blue tinge, a nice hat with feathers, a red leather doublet, a locket necklace wrought of gold…

Perhaps it was the king, who spent more than half of the year on the battlefield. Millicent was distracted from eating the bread in her hand, though the man’s impression was somehow familiar.

“Sooner or later, a royal mistress will be chosen.”

If there had been even a letter opener in her hand, the queen would have stabbed and tore at the portrait right away. 

“And that, of all people, he will choose one from among my maids.”

Jadalin frowned.

“You mean the King’s official mistress?”

Millicent mobilized all her simple common sense. The king’s highest favorite, or Royal Mistress, was a position that referred to the so-called ‘Kingdom’s best lady’. 

Like the Queen, she would have her own residence at the court and was guaranteed a huge pension. She also had power to intervene in the affairs of the country.

Above all, if the queen was  unable to bear an eternal legitimate son, the bastard born to the royal mistress may be given the right to inherit the throne.

“It’s not that bad, is it?”

Millicent asked indifferently.

“The Royal Mistress would also play the role of taking on the resentment of the people on behalf of the king and queen.”

Look back at the king’s favorites in the past. If a bad harvest ruined the wheat crop or a plague broke out in the village, they were maligned as having lost God’s favor because of the damn mistress.

“Anyway, the women of the kingdom are stupid,” Jadalin said. “In my homeland, men are not in the habit of wanting more women.” 

The queen’s home country would probably be the Bodegas Empire. She was originally the eldest daughter of Emperor Valentina of the Bodegas Empire. She worshiped motherhood and was the chosen successor to the next emperor, following the tradition of only giving the right of succession to princesses. 

However, in the year she turned 14, Jadalin was ousted by her mother. The entire succession process was suspended. Instead, she moved to this kingdom to get married…..

Perhaps something happened.

“If there was such a one, I would give him a thorny whip to teach him a lesson.” Jadalin added harshly.

Millicent surmised that the tradition across the border seemed quite different. 

Jadalin mused, “My dear King knows that fact.”

“He doesn’t even care about women, he just made that threat on purpose to make me feel insulted.”

“Are the two of you not getting along?” Millicent asked distantly. 

It had been a long time since their wedding, but she had never heard the sound of bells announcing the birth of a prince or princess. 

“If indifference were a human being, it would be your king,” Jadalin said indifferently, as if he were not her king. “Of course, I am not much different, but…” 

The queen laughed. It was an empty cynicism.

“You can kill the maids of honor if you like.” 

Millicent interrupted with a frown. 

“But if I kill not one or two, but all five, I’m afraid the Queen will be the first suspect.”

She was going to talk about it, fearing that she would be annoyed and withdraw her request.

“The desired sea.”

Jadalin responded with surprising enthusiasm. 

“Because then people would be afraid of me. They will learn the hard way what it is like to challenge my authority,” the queen bit her lip. “Our amiable king must also realize that I am not a woman to be obeyed as he inflicts insults.” 

“And if my suspicions turn out to be true?” Millicent asked. “If my tail is stepped on, I am afraid that His Majesty will stand before the tribunal of the Holy Land to instigate the murder.”

“So you must never be caught. Even if you’re tortured with needles in your fingernails, you will keep your mouth shut,” Jadalin said easily and chuckled. “Don’t worry too much.”

“If you are arrested for murder and locked up in Cathedral Tower, I will kill you and shut your mouth before you can say a single word or smile.” (Jadalin)

Millicent felt the coldest heart in the world in that smile. 

“I didn’t pay the advance,” Jadalin went a step further and tied Millicent’s feet tightly with gold coins so that she could not pull away. 

“Now, here’s your share.”

And that too in a significant amount. The pouch she tossed was heavy, and when she opened it, she saw shiny gold coins and jewelry.

“Is this an advance payment?”

“Yes. I’m always generous in distribution. If you finish the job nicely, it will be doubled.”

Jadalin studied Millicent’s face with interest. 

“For someone who is surprised, you don’t seem very agitated ……”

Millicent shrugged her shoulders.

“Cardinal Mulally told me about you.” 

After some searching, Jadalin said.”

“You’re just as I heard. You really are so ordinary that you could easily blend in anywhere.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” 

“But at the same time, you’re strikingly pretty.”

The queen’s gaze began another search. A white hat that always covered her shaggy hair without missing a strand, even with a generous coating of lavender oil. Large, bright blue eyes. Full lips. Heart-shaped face. A long, slender neck…

“Your eyes are especially beautiful.”

Jadarin tilted her head. 

“Shaded like blue waves reaching the seashore.” 

Millicent, who had never once thought deeply about her eyes, did not answer. 

The queen’s pale brown eyes narrowed as if she could see right through her opponent, “Oddly, they seem somewhat familiar.”

“I heard you use poison a lot?” 

For the first time, Jadalin asked a question that Millicent could answer. 

“Yes,” she said, “It’s the cleanest way.”

“Clean?”

“I know a lot about medicinal herbs. And how to use them without leaving a trace.”

“Can you handle a situation where you can’t use poison?”

“I don’t like being messy, but  knives and ropes aren’t bad.”

Jadalin smiled slightly at the cool reply. 

“How many people have you killed?

“I haven’t counted.” 

Millicent shrugged. She  wondered if there was guilt or remorse. But as usual, no matter how long she waited, she felt no such emotion. 

“I was told by Cardinal Mulally that it was not a small number.” 

“Then I suppose that’s true.” 

The monotonous reply that followed seemed to whet Jadalin’s appetite. Jadalin downed a glass of wine.

“Your name is Millicent…What about your family?”

“Witches, and were burned to death once upon a time.”

Millicent could have made it up as she went along, but she spoke truthfully on purpose. She wanted to see the Queen’s reaction. She was curious if she would be freaked out and screamed like others.

“You?” Jadalin was surprisingly nonchalant. “A witch who, unlike your family, has been lucky to survive?”

“That’s right.” Millicent, too, answered nonchalantly, concealing a fair amount of admiration.

“We did indeed burn to death together, but strangely enough, I came back to life.”

An unexpected regression, perhaps? Millicent thought cynically. The feeling of being tied to a stake with her mother. The screams of the people who had surrounded and watched the scene. The heat started as a small flame and spread into a blaze. The agony of burning death….

Everything was so raw, but anyway, when she opened her eyes, she began to live a new life. 

“Really, it’s like a witch saved by Satan, isn’t it?” 

Well, good is good, Millicent shrugged. 

Jadalin laughed, “You speak nonsense like you mean it.” 

It was a brighter smile than before. It made her front teeth look as big as rabbits’. It was peculiarly attractive. 

Millicent didn’t expect her to believe her, but she didn’t even get angry. The queen seemed to think Millicent’s confession was a trivial joke. Not a bad result. 

“What’s your last name?”

“Doesn’t exist.”

Jadalin said, raising an eyebrow, “Well, the name Millicent is probably a fake to begin with.”

With that, the queen seemed ready to end the conversation, which had degenerated into a trivial chat. 

“Okay, Millicent. I expect you to faithfully fulfill our contract,” Jadalin said. “Everything happens in the palace. Remember why I brought you here, even made you a maid.” 

Millicent sadly put the knife and fork aside. She left only a faint glance at the uneaten cookies. 

“And watch out for the king.”

Jadalin suddenly lowered her voice. 

“He’s a man with a twisted streak.”

“Twisted?”

“I don’t exactly know…”

Jadalin looked uncomfortable.

“He’s not the easiest kind of person to grasp.” 

Trying to understand with just that much explanation, Millicent was confused.

“It would have been easier for you, too, if you had taken advantage of the king’s vacancy at court. In his absence, I and Cardinal Mulally took over state affairs.”

“Yes, I know.”

“He said he would be away from the court for a long time, why on earth did he return so suddenly?” 

She did not ask Millicent. The queen was looking at the portrait again and muttering to herself. 

“And why is he talking about selecting the royal mistress as if he had planned it in advance?”

It was a question Millicent was certain she would not be able to answer. So, she just said a few words of greeting and left the queen’s residence.