The Evil Empress Adores Me-Chapter 5

I shook my head, denying it.

"It’s nothing like that."

"Still, you should get up. A child needs to sleep early," Rose Unni said, getting to her feet and extending her hand to me.

As I took her hand and began to rise, I heard a sarcastic voice calling my name.

"Oh no, Charles."

Could it be...?

I furrowed my brow instinctively.

"You're already complaining just because you're cleaning the corridor?"

It was Becky. Of course, it was Becky.

I tried to hide my suspicious gaze as I looked back at her.

"A trainee maid at the Imperial Palace shouldn't be whining like this. It seems like you need more training," she sneered.

Rose Unni, who had already stood up, was now glaring at Becky with a fierce expression.

Wait, what?

I widened my eyes in surprise.

"Unni, I’m fine! Please don’t fight!"

Startled, I tugged at Rose Unni’s sleeve.

But Rose Unni didn’t move away. She stood firm, wrapping herself around me as she continued to glare at Becky.

"Isn’t it enough that you’re dumping all your work onto a child? Now, you’re throwing tantrums too?"

"What did you say?"

"How is someone this incompetent allowed to stay here as a trainee maid?"

Rose Unni’s voice was laced with scorn.

The beautiful lips that usually smiled sweetly now spat venom I had never heard before.

I was both alarmed and secretly thrilled.

I held my breath.

‘Someone is openly standing up for me... this has never happened before.’

A rush of emotion surged in me, but then I snapped back to reality.

I shouldn’t be feeling touched right now!

What if Unni gets hurt because of me?

I grabbed at her sleeve tightly.

"Who do you think you are, butting in like this?"

At that very moment, Becky growled with an aggressive tone.

I froze.

Becky scanned Rose Unni from head to toe.

"I’ve never seen this maid before, and she doesn’t look like a high-ranking one either..."

I bit my lip.

Normally, maids wear brooches with crystals on their chests to prove their rank.

Regular maids wear rose crystals, senior maids wear white crystals, and the head maid «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» of a palace wears yellow crystals.

‘But... Unni doesn’t have any brooch on her.’

I had assumed she just didn’t want to reveal her identity to me and had taken it off.

I couldn’t help but glance up at Rose Unni nervously.

She had a mysterious expression.

Hmm, how should I describe that look? Contempt?

Yeah, that seems right.

It was as though she was looking at a sparrow with disdain...

"At best, you’re just a trainee maid, so who are you to give orders?"

Becky, it seemed, was completely oblivious to the danger she was in.

Even though Rose Unni had that fierce expression, Becky hadn’t realized the gravity of the situation at all.

"You probably need some training too," Rose Unni said with a calm but firm voice.

"Training?"

Rose Unni tilted her head slightly as she looked at Becky, who continued to provoke her.

I narrowed my eyes, determined.

‘I need to protect Unni!’

At the same time, Becky’s gaze landed on the bucket in front of Rose Unni.

The bucket was filled with filthy water.

As soon as she saw it, Becky’s lips twisted into a vile grin.

"Training!"

Becky lifted her foot.

No! Don’t you dare hurt our Unni!

How dare she splash filthy water at Rose Unni?!

Without thinking, I lunged forward just as Becky kicked the bucket.

And the result...

SPLASH!

"Charles!"

Unni screamed as the cold, dirty water splashed all over me.

I shuddered from the icy water covering my body.

Normally, an adult would only get their skirt and ankles wet, but because I was shorter, the water reached up to my stomach.

But that wasn’t the problem, was it?

I quickly turned around to check.

Unni, did the dirty water splash on you?!

"Unni, are you okay?"

"Charles! You’re soaked through!"

Unni cried out in alarm, hurrying to crouch down to my level.

I looked down at my drenched apron.

Even my boots were filled with the filthy water, making them feel uncomfortably sticky.

But I hated seeing Unni’s distressed expression even more.

So, I forced a smile.

"It’s okay, don’t worry about it!"

"You’re telling me it’s okay? You’ll catch a cold like this!"

Unni exclaimed, frantically trying to wipe me down with a handkerchief.

I stepped back, refusing the handkerchief.

"What if it gets dirty?"

"Don’t say things like that!"

She scolded me as she scrubbed my damp face and belly with the handkerchief.

As much as I appreciated her, there was something more pressing than my soaked body.

With tired eyes, I stared at the floor covered in dirty water.

"Ugh... I guess we’ll have to clean again."

That’s right. The corridor we had spent a whole seven hours cleaning was now dirty again!

Wait, there’s dirty water on the walls too?!

Why does this have to happen when Rose Unni is around?

I glared at Becky.

"Cleaning is how you improve. So do it again."

Becky strutted in front of us, her face full of malice.

She added, "You think you’re getting praised by the head maid just because you did some laundry?"

"Excuse me?"

"Of course, you can’t see anything because the head maid is protecting you, right?"

What? What is she even saying?

I stared at Becky in stunned silence.

But she wasn’t done yet.

"You’re so young, yet you take on all the hard work and hog all the praise from the head maid..."

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

Becky gave me a side glance, a smug smirk on her face.

Then, as if to make sure I heard, she added,

"Shouldn’t you be able to handle this kind of cleaning with no problem?"

...How should I even respond to that?

I opened my mouth, but words failed me.

Her words were so ridiculous that my mind went blank.

Did she think I wanted to take on all the hard work?

It was because she and the others were lazy and dumped everything on me that I had no choice but to do it!

"You should show us how capable you really are. Right?"

Becky looked at me with a cold, accusing stare, as if she was completely justified in her behavior.

Where was the logic in that?

I couldn’t hide my disbelief.

"Getting all the attention from the head maid and then walking around with your chest out in front of everyone!"

So irritating, really!

Becky clicked her tongue and finished her rant.

"Even if you keep flattering the head maid, do you think you’ll be assigned to the Emperor’s or Empress’s palace?"

What? Who even wants to be sent to the Emperor’s or Empress’s palace?

I was in disbelief.

But Becky, seeing my silence, seemed to think I had no argument left to defend myself.

She crossed her arms smugly, glaring back and forth at me and Rose Unni.

Her face dared us to say something back.

Just then...

"Her Majesty the Empress!!"

The sound of high heels clicking down the corridor rang out, accompanied by a panicked shout.

I couldn’t believe my ears.

...The Empress? Did she just say the Empress?!

Becky looked confused.

I instinctively looked up at Rose Unni.

Unni had a tense expression on her face, but she quickly turned her back to me.

"Unni?"

I whispered her name quietly.

Unni only bit her lip in response.

An older maid appeared in front of us.

She wore a brooch with a yellow crystal, which meant she was the head maid of a palace.

She was panting as she hurried to give her respects.

"Your Majesty the Empress!"

"..."

"Your Majesty the Empress?"

The middle-aged head maid tilted her head, seeing that Rose Unni hadn’t responded.

Rose Unni squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then briefly glanced at the head maid.

"Ah, you’ve arrived, Head Maid Hayden."

Head Maid Hayden.

I felt a chill run through me as I recalled the name.

I knew that name.

I had made sure to remember all the names of the maids from the Empress’s palace to avoid them.

But now... I had to face this reality.

I clenched my fists tightly.

This was beyond my imagination.

"You didn’t return until late, so I came looking for you... What is going on here?"

Head Maid Hayden scanned the area with a fierce gaze before turning her eyes on Becky.

Becky still seemed confused, unsure of what was happening.

After a moment, Rose Unni sighed deeply and straightened up.

Her expression, which had always been gentle like a spring breeze when she looked at me, now transformed into the proud face of an Empress.

That look was so... unfamiliar.

"Becky, the trainee maid, was it?"

"W-what... The Empress?"

Becky stammered, trembling in fear.

Rose Unni smirked, a chilling smile I had never seen before.