“This is impossible. There is no regulation stating that the head maid must be present on the wedding night…”
At that moment, a distant memory flashed through Katharine’s mind.
Long ago, when she was taking lessons to become queen, the court tutor had mentioned in passing:
It was tradition for the cardinal, priests, and the king or queen’s head maid and servants to be present on the wedding night, barring any special exceptions.
This was to offer prayers of blessing to God at the sacred moment marking the beginning of a new era, praying for the royal family’s prosperity.
They also played a role in indirectly advising or guiding the inexperienced royal couple if they encountered any unexpected difficulties.
The nobles considered it a great honor to be present at such an occasion.
When first learning this, she had simply thought “Oh, so that’s how it is” and didn’t pay it much mind.
After all, she never imagined she would end up in the position of a maid.
As Katharine was at a loss for words, Charlen ordered, “Only those who are needed should remain. Everyone else, leave.”
“Your Majesty. The royal laws clearly state that one may not be present in case of special exceptions.”
“I just explained sufficiently. You have a duty to fulfill as a maid. And what exception do you have?”
Charlen, who had been untying the strings of his robe, paused and turned to look at her.
“You speak as if you’ve become something special just because you were once almost queen. You are nothing more than my wife’s maid. Do not forget your place.”
“Your Majesty!”
“This is the sacred moment when the king and queen first unite. Be quiet and show some decorum.”
Charlen walked to the bed, revealing his upper body with its pleasingly defined muscles, as if he would no longer engage with her.
His face was as dry as a priest entering an important ritual, unswayed by any emotion.
It was far too arid an expression for a newlywed groom about to spend his first night with his bride.
“Your Majesties, please sit facing each other,” said the cardinal.
Charlen and Rose climbed onto the bed, holding hands and pressing their bodies close.
What followed was a series of scenes so horrific that Katharine wished she could bite off her tongue and die.
With a face as pale as if she might collapse at any moment, Katharine squeezed her eyes shut, unable to look directly at the scene before her.
“Look at me.”
Katharine heard Charlen’s voice.
Raising her head, she met the eyes of a man flushed with heat through the damask curtains surrounding the bed.
He stared at Katharine as if he would devour her, slowly reaching his peak.
So much for the sacred union with the queen.
Until the final moment when he released his last heat, he did not take his gaze off Katharine for even an instant.
* * *
It was only at midnight that Katharine finally gained freedom. As soon as the wedding night ended, she ran out of the bridal chamber in a daze and rushed to the bathroom.
She buried her face in the toilet and violently retched several times.
In truth, she had been in a dazed, dreamlike state ever since receiving notice of the broken engagement, but now she felt as if she was finally snapping back to reality.
She had been gravely mistaken about the man called Charlen Riche all this time. He was certainly not a man who fell within the range of normalcy.
‘Charlen resents me. He brought me in as a maid deliberately to cause me pain, blaming me for the meaningless loss of the child in my womb who could have become a prince.’
If that wasn’t the case, there was no other way to explain his chilling gaze through the dark curtains.
Katharine spent the entire night wide awake on the cold bathroom floor.
The night that seemed like it would never end finally passed, and the faint sun that rose without fail now illuminated the dew-soaked earth intensely.
Her whole body trembled as if with chills from being curled up on the cold floor all night, but if she didn’t keep her nerves on edge like this, she felt she might truly crumble then.
Katharine washed away the tear stains from the night with cold water and changed into a modest but neat brown dress.
As she walked alone down the vast corridor to wake Rose, who would still be sleeping, a familiar figure became clear from the opposite direction.
It was Charlen.
“…”
Like mortal enemies meeting on a narrow bridge, the two stopped simultaneously, keeping some distance between them.
Perhaps because he had never once been in a subordinate position, Charlen had a peculiar expression that seemed to look down on others even when his face was expressionless.
He wore exactly such a face right now.
“Did you sleep well last night?” he casually greeted her.
As if silently pressuring her, ‘Of course, you should receive my greeting gladly.’
At this point, Katharine no longer wanted to act as if she harbored lingering anger or resentment towards him, clinging to the dregs of her former emotions.
Katharine gave a light bow to the king, as a maid would when greeting the monarch for morning salutations.
She was amazed at herself for being able to do this much when the nightmare from last night was still so vivid.
“…This feels strange. There’s no need to be so formal, as if you’ve become a different person overnight. We’ve known each other for how many years? At least when there are no eyes watching, you can treat me as you used to.”
“No. As you said, I am now the queen’s maid. I intend to observe court etiquette to the fullest, as I don’t want to be faulted for anything.”
“You’re subtly mocking me while pretending to be polite. Right. You were always that kind of woman. Pretending to smile properly while saying whatever you wanted to say.”
A faint wrinkle appeared between Charlen’s brows, as if this wasn’t the reaction he had expected.
It seemed he thought she would burst out in anger, fuming and hurling resentful words at him.
Unfortunately for him, she had her own experience of over 10 years in high society.
She had no intention of so easily showing weakness in the strict royal palace where countless eyes were watching. Moreover, the wounds she had received from him were not shallow enough to be resolved by simply venting anger and complaints.
“Mocking you? How could that be possible?”
“No. To my eyes, you still appear consumed by resentment. Far from blessing your only sister who has become queen, you can’t even accept it.”
Katharine’s lips twitched slightly.
Something hot seemed about to burst forth from deep within her, but she desperately held it back.
“Katharine. I explained sufficiently at that time. The ‘just’ reasons why you could not become queen.”
“Then I suppose you also have just reasons why Rose had to become queen?”
Perhaps what she had most wanted to ask.
When Katharine suddenly broached the main point, Charlen, who had been speaking so fluently, suddenly shut his mouth.
“Why can’t you speak? Could it be because you were already intimately involved with Rose before notifying me of our broken engagement?”
“How dare you utter such outrageous nonsense…!”
Charlen, who had been speaking calmly all along, suddenly turned authoritarian.
Look at him. Just moments ago he had pretended to be merciful, saying they had known each other for years and could treat each other as before, but as soon as things became unfavorable for him, he was quick to assert his authority as king.
While she felt nauseated by him, it seemed she too could not shake off the habits of the past 10 years overnight.
Realizing that a few servants were approaching from behind, he belatedly cleared his throat and stepped back to save face.
How had she not known until now?
That he was an irritable, impulsive, low-class man quick to raise his fists.
Why had she devoted herself submissively to such trash for 10 years, giving him everything precious to her?
“…Let me make this absolutely clear.”
Charlen stepped closer, still exuding a strong scent of soap that hadn’t fully faded.
“The queen is an excellent woman with a healthy body and mind, an exceptionally kind and humble personality, and a not bad reputation. I judged her to have sufficient qualities as queen and chose her after much careful consideration.”
“…”
“So I hope you will not further sully the pure and noble relationship between the queen and myself with such nonsensical delusions. If you cross the line once more, I will impose punishment.”
A pure and noble relationship.
Please, I beg you, let at least those words be true.
If he had already been in a private relationship with Rose while engaged to her, that would truly be unforgivable even after death.
“If you understand, go and attend to Rose now. Separating public and private matters. Isn’t that what you do best?”
Charlen gave a sharp warning and walked past Katharine without looking back.
His eyes, which stared straight ahead as if completely unaware of what was wrong, seemed to declare that she was now nothing more than the queen’s maid, nothing more and nothing less.
* * *
“This is all wrong, terribly wrong.”
Rose, seated at the desk in the office, complained while flicking her finger at the mountain of documents piled up.
“To have this much official work right after ascending to the throne, it’s absurd. Where’s the banquet for me? Where’s the lavish party with chocolate fountains and a feast?”
She seemed unable to comprehend the current situation, perhaps harboring grand illusions about court life as royalty.
Katharine sighed and forcibly placed a pen in her hand.
“Instead of grumbling, you should review even one more document.”
“I want to, but I don’t understand any of this at all.”
“What don’t you understand?”
“From this to this. Everything.”
Katharine couldn’t understand Rose.
The contents of the reports weren’t difficult at all if one just read them carefully.
Moreover, it seemed the administration department, knowing Rose was not yet accustomed to official duties, had compiled only the simplest tasks possible.
“You can’t just stamp your seal indiscriminately. You need to consider whether the issue is appropriate for approval. Look carefully. This is a report on changing trade routes…”
As Katharine began to explain, tapping the first page of the document with her pen tip, Rose’s eyes – which many people often described as innocent – sparkled even more brightly.
She looked at Katharine’s face awkwardly and interrupted.
“Um, sister. I’m really sorry, but could you just do it for me this one time? Actually, His Majesty Charlen said he wanted to see me today.”
“…”
“Oh, I know. I don’t want to say this to you either, but what can I do? I’m not in a position to refuse an appointment with His Majesty. If you do it just for today, I’ll try to manage somehow next time. Really.”
“Rose. A maid is not someone who does the queen’s work for her. If you’ve become the mistress of the royal family, you should do your own work yourself. If you can’t do it right now, you should stay up all night if necessary.”
When Katharine spoke as if teaching her immature sister, an unfamiliar arrogance and irritation that had never been seen before flashed across Rose’s face like a gentle breeze.
Let’s be generous and say that as a human, she could get irritated.
But for a fleeting moment, she wore an expression that seemed utterly unable to comprehend why a maid would dare to try and teach the queen what to do.
Before there was time to discern where this fragment of emotion that had appeared and disappeared instantly on her face had originated, a figure entered the office who was perfectly suited to exacerbate such a situation.
“Who is giving orders to whom right now?”
__________
He Said He’s Pregnant, and It’s My Child (Female-dominant)
Intro 1
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro 2
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.