Without such preparation, cutting off the impostor’s neck recklessly could lead to being labeled as the emperor’s assassin and being caught off guard by Léan, so she had to be careful.
[This is the time separator]Although she was assigned to the emperor’s chamber, she had almost no time to see the impostor.
For the first time, Latil realized how the room cleaning proceeded when she was not around.
“You have to clean the room before Her Majesty arrives, and keep the air circulating every hour. Keep the water boiling so it doesn’t cool down, and later the maids will bring it into the room.”
“Yes.”
“You have to bring snacks and drinks to the guards every two hours, and when the maids use the parlor items, you need to quickly go in and return them to their original places.”
“Yes.”
“Just follow the seniors for now. Oh, one more important thing.”
“What is it?”
“A few days ago, a black magician tried to mimic Her Majesty and come in, so you have to be careful.”
“My goodness. I understand.”
Latil cheekily responded to HaNyeoJang’s earnest advice, and HaNyeoJang, while not quite comfortable with the newcomer under her supervision, did not scold any further.
Since then, Latil followed the maids, meticulously checking for any changes in the items in the room or any items left by the impostor.
But there were no such items. The impostor had meticulously only used the items in the room.
Latil had hoped to meet Léan, but that did not happen as she expected.
It seemed that Léan and the impostor did meet somewhere. But Léan did not come here unnecessarily.
On the other hand, Latil, who thought she could roam anywhere, was assigned to the emperor’s bedroom of all places, so she could not go anywhere else and always had to stick with the other maids.
[This is the time separator]It was two days after being assigned to the emperor’s room that Latil got a good look at the impostor.
As expected, things did not go smoothly, but with constant patience, she managed. Thanks to the impostor claiming a headache and not going to state affairs, but staying locked in the room.
The maids attended to such an emperor at his side, and the maids had to keep preparing warm water and soft towels for the maids to use. Although Latil was still a novice and just did errands while assisting others, the opportunity to be in the same room with the impostor arose around six in the afternoon.
It happened when all the maids were out in the parlor, and the impostor was lying on the bed with his eyes closed.
Latil glanced at the impostor as she moved between the window and the bathroom. She wanted to check if the impostor was wearing a magical mask like her.
If she could just peel off that appearance from the impostor, she could turn the tables on whatever scheme Léan had cooked up.
‘Let’s peel it off.’
When the impostor seemed to be fully asleep, Latil quietly crept towards him.
“……”
Even up close, Latil did not immediately act, but checked the impostor’s reaction. When she was sure he was asleep, she slowly, very slowly, extended her hand towards his face without a sound.
The moment her touch was about to meet the impostor’s face.
Ding, ding, ding, ding.
The bell hanging on the bed rang. The emperor’s eyes shot open almost simultaneously, and Latil quickly withdrew her hand, dunking it in the water towel beside her and pretending to wring out the water from the towel for no reason.
“What’s going on?”
“Lord Carlein has come to see you, Your Majesty.”
Latil kept squeezing the towel, but when no more water came out, she lifted the wet towel, as if trying to shake off the hot energy, and patted it against her palm.
The imposter looked at her, but she didn’t return the gaze.
In the meantime, the door finally opened and Carlein walked in.
I wonder what my consorts are doing now. They must have been surprised to hear about the appearance of the imposter. Klein must have been shocked.
‘Has the imposter touched my consorts as well?’
If Lean had been there, he might have stopped it… not for Latil’s sake, but because the imposter might be exposed if he went near the consorts.
Meanwhile.
Carlein, who had entered the room, approached the bed. As Carlein drew near, the imposter sat up and spoke to Carlein in a weak voice.
“What brings you here, Carlein?”
Hearing that tone, Latil was certain. It wasn’t just Lean who had planned this.
The tone the imposter used with Carlein was quite similar to the way Latil treated her consorts. Without someone teaching him, there was no way the imposter could imitate her tone of voice.
Latil kept squeezing the towel and eyed Carlein. You’re not going to fall for that, are you, Carlein?
But thinking logically, it seemed likely that Carlein would be fooled. Latil had intentionally avoided deep conversations with her consorts to keep them fighting amongst themselves. She had not often shared deep conversations.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
