Senior Maid Wember opened her mouth while slightly pulling me.
“The maid is going to serve Her Majesty’s meal so we can have our dinner first.”
“Can we do that?”
“Of course, there’s no one who starves in the Empress’ Palace.” the senior maid answered with a mischievous smile.
She patted my shoulder gently.
“You can look forward to today’s dinner.”
“Pardon?”
“The Imperial Palace’s cuisine is well-known for how delectable it is. You won’t be disappointed.”
‘That’s amazing!’
‘If she said that, then it must be very delicious, right?’
My eyes brightened with anticipation.
“You’re hungry, aren’t you? Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Wember burst into laughter upon seeing my excitement.
Her chuckling ceased as she walked ahead, guiding me to the dining hall as I followed after her.
* * *
Meanwhile…
At the center of the spacious dining room, the Empress sat absentmindedly.
She showed no interest in the food set before her.
Instead, she asked, “How is Charlize doing?”
“Pardon, Your Majesty?”
At the sudden question, Hayden, the head maid standing beside her, tilted her head in confusion.
The Empress asked once more.
“It’s her first day at this palace. Do you think she’s adapting well?”
“Yes, it seemed so to me.”
“Oh…”
The Empress’ expression seemed to relax at the answer.
Lady Hayden smiled and added, “She’s an adorable child. She’s very friendly and quick-witted.”
“…right, Charlize really is an adorable child.”
On the Empress’ frigid face, a vague smile spread for the first time.
The head maid, looking at her smile, spoke carefully, “But I think the child’s growth is a little late.”
At that remark, the Empress’ face turned sour.
In general, children over five years old were mostly articulate unless they have problems in their early years.
Children, especially girls, tended to develop their linguistic skills very quickly, however, Charlize’s verbal ability was still lacking.
“Although, I think her vocabulary level and judgement is far superior to her peers…”
The head maid continued in a suspicious tone.
“It’s just a lingual ability. Is there something wrong with it?”
“That’s…well, it’s much better than before.”
The Empress let out a sigh.
“When I first met Charlize, her speaking skills were clumsier than they are right now.”
“What do you mean, Your Majesty?”
“It turned out, she’s been neglected in the maids’ education hall.”
At first, the Empress didn’t hold much interest in Charlize.
She just thought the young maid was interesting.
(TL/N : Italic signifies flashback.)
On one of their meet ups, Charlize whispered bits of words to Rose as she clung onto her body.
“I really like being with Sister Rose.”
“Why?”
“Because you never feel annoyed whenever I talk.”
She had felt pity for Charlize, who was smiling innocently at her.
After that day, the Empress had investigated Charlize’s background.
From the investigation, she found out that ever since Charlize’s mother, a maid, had abandoned her, Charlize has been living a dreadful life as a maid.
The people of the maid education hall were too busy with their work and Charlize’s presence seemed like a nuisance to them.
When the child would try to speak, someone would scold her.
“You useless mute, you’re a waste of space in our education hall!”
Ever since she heard their harsh remarks, Charlize chose to keep her mouth shut. As time passed by, the child’s speaking ability continued to deteriorate.
And in such a state, she met the Empress.
“I think Charlize is afraid to talk to anyone.”
“…Your Majesty the Empress.”
“So I drove out the probationary maids who were harassing Charlize…”
The Empress narrowed her eyes.
They were all maid-in-trainings, yet they kept ordering Charlize to carry out their chores.
The moment she heard Charlize cry, her logical side was long gone.
So she made her own decision.
She sent in a head maid and transferred the probationary maids who were harassing the child.
But despite doing such measures, Charlize’s life remained miserable.
“It was my mistake.”
“What do you mean, Your Majesty?”
“When I exerted my influence, it only made Charlize suffer even more.”
The Empress might have been able to prevent some of the harassment from happening, but even if she had done so, she still couldn’t prevent the persecution that Charlize faced behind the head maid’s back.
“Besides, it seems that Charlize doesn’t want me to get involved in her problems.”
Thus, the Empress changed her mind.
She took Charlize to her own palace, where her eyes could reach.