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"Loyalty is tested not in grand gestures, but in the quiet moments where we choose our allegiances."
"So please—don't act so presumptuously."
Saya wrenched her hand free from her brother's grasp. Her eyes sparkled with fierce determination.
"*I* was the one who asked to remain by Her Highness's side. She simply honored my stubborn request."
Saya shook off Theo's hand completely, her voice steady and resolute.
"She is the one who protected me—then and now. If you insult her one more time, even I won't tolerate it."
Theo swallowed hard, stunned.
He couldn't accept the fact that his sister's loyalty to the Princess surpassed even the bond of blood between siblings.
"Just as you abandoned me and chose your revolution, *I* have chosen Her Highness."
"I—"
"Don't be angry. You know you have no right to be."
Saya's steps faltered as she turned to leave.
"If you're truly going to the Holy Land... I hope you take care of yourself. Goodbye, Theo."
"..."
There was no promise to meet again. No words about the future.
Theo stood frozen, unable to stop his sister from walking away.
He watched her retreating back with a mixture of resentment and something else—something that slowly dawned on him.
The realization struck him like a physical blow.
'I left Saya alone... and I didn't even turn back to look at her.'
Saya walked briskly through the palace corridors.
"..."
It wasn't until she passed the place where she'd met Theo and reached a deserted corner that she finally stopped.
Saya squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip hard.
"Hoooo... haaa!"
She drew a deep breath.
Saya repeated the motion until her chest felt ready to burst, filling her lungs again and again.
After several moments, she opened her eyes once more.
"I have to go home!"
She hurried toward the Princess's palace with a bright smile and clenched fists, as though she could erase all the shadows that had just passed.
Along the way, she encountered a palace maid carrying an enormous basket of laundry.
"April, let me help with the laundry! I'll be back soon!"
"No, it's fine. It's not that heavy. You hurry back to the palace—Her Highness has returned and is asking for you."
"Her Highness? Yes!"
Saya nodded vigorously and broke into a run.
As she drew closer to the palace, her heart began to pound—as though all the courage she'd mustered until now had suddenly evaporated.
When Theo had come to visit, Medea had prepared a private room in the outer palace for the siblings to speak freely without prying eyes.
At the time, Saya had thought it merely the Princess's consideration.
But now... she felt afraid.
'Will Her Highness still accept me? What if she tells me to follow my brother since I'm Theo's sister?'
Soon, she spotted the Princess.
Medea sat on the terrace, sipping tea while gazing out over the beautiful garden.
Saya's heart swelled with emotion at the sight—so familiar, so unchanged.
"Your Highness!"
Without thinking, she forgot all her training and propriety and called out.
The shout was so loud that Neril, who had been reaching for a sugar cube to place in the tea, knocked the entire container over.
"You—!"
"Eek! I'm sorry, Your Highness! Did I startle you?"
Even Neril's glare looked endearing today.
"Neril, I'm fine. Saya, how did your meeting go?"
Medea turned her head toward Saya. Their eyes met.
Countless unspoken stories flowed between them in that silent exchange.
Saya nodded vigorously, holding back the tears threatening to spill.
"Yes! I'm back!"
'By the Princess's side. This is where I belong.'
"Good. Bring me more sugar cubes."
Medea gestured calmly toward the overturned container.
"Yes! Leave it to me!"
Saya nodded as though she'd been summoned to save the world, then dashed off with renewed purpose.
'What on earth has gotten into that child?'
Neril was bewildered by this sudden intensity from the usually perceptive girl.
"I heard Theo visited the palace. It seems Saya has made her choice about where to remain."
"Ah..."
Neril nodded with an expression of dawning understanding. Then she voiced one lingering concern.
"Can we trust that child completely—until the very end?"
"If I didn't trust her, I wouldn't have kept her by my side in the first place."
Medea bent down and gently stroked the sunflowers growing in the garden.
Meanwhile, in the Princess's palace kitchen, Saya was the very picture of a perfect maid—burning with determination to serve Medea.
"Chef! Please prepare the sugar container—and this, and that! Her Highness needs refreshments!"
In addition to the sugar, Saya didn't forget to request snacks and treats from the chef, with whom she'd cultivated a friendly rapport.
"Alright, alright. Wait a moment, you little whirlwind. I need to fetch the cake from the icebox."
The chef grumbled good-naturedly as he rose.
"...What?"
While waiting for him to retrieve the stored cake, Saya noticed a figure moving furtively in the far pantry.
"Sister Marieu? What's all that?"
"Ugh!"
Saya approached and tapped her shoulder.
Marieu, who had been sweeping food into a bundle, jumped as though scalded.
"You scared me! Are you a ghost? Sneaking up without making a sound?"
Marieu whirled around, suddenly furious.
"I think *you're* the strange one. No manners, and a voice as loud as a firecracker..."
She kept rubbing her chest and stomach, expressing discomfort. But Saya didn't care—she simply shook her head.
"Fruit, bread, and even beef jerky? What's all this? Who gave you permission to steal palace provisions?"
Marieu hastily tried to hide the sack behind her back, but Saya had already seen everything.
"Steal? I'm going to eat it myself!"
"You're eating all this by yourself, Sister? It'll rot before you finish half. Do you have ten beggars living in your stomach?"
Saya's tone made it clear she didn't believe a word.
"Don't you know that stealing palace supplies carries a punishment? Do you think you'll escape a flogging?"
"What's it to you—can't you just let this go?"
Marieu grabbed the sack and tried to flee, but Saya's grip was iron.
"Oh! The chef is coming! Over here! Over here!"
Startled by Saya's commotion, Marieu dropped the sack and hurried away.
Saya, who had promised to bring only a sugar container, returned bearing a tray overflowing with treats.
"Your Highness, do you know what I just witnessed?"
She was practically fuming.
Neril quickly took the tray, concerned that Saya's agitated breathing might contaminate the cake.
"What happened?"
"It's Sister Marieu! She was stealing food from the kitchen again! She claimed she'd eat it herself, but who would believe such an obvious lie?"
She pointed down toward the terrace.
They watched as Marieu approached April, who was carrying fresh laundry, and spoke to her.
When April shook her head, Marieu grimaced and rubbed her stomach with visible discomfort.
"The other maids say that recently, pillowcases and sheets have been going missing from the laundry room. And do you know where they all end up?"
Saya pursed her lips in indignation.
"With the young Duke Claudio! As Your Highness's maid, she visits that *trash* every day in prison!"
Saya had cultivated relationships with the prison guards during Minister Etienne's incarceration.
Her bright, cheerful personality—combined with small gifts provided at the Princess's instruction—had won over even the surliest guards.
Thus, she'd been the first to discover Marieu's secret visits.
The ingratitude grated on her.
Medea had forgiven sins that should have earned Marieu execution. And this was how she repaid that mercy?
Saya had already heard from the other maids about the conspiracy the former head maid and Marieu had orchestrated against the Princess before Saya's arrival.
'I should have pretended not to notice and struck her hard earlier...'
While Saya pounded her trembling fist into her palm in belated frustration, Medea observed Marieu from the terrace below.
Her emerald eyes didn't miss the slightly swollen lines and subtle curves of Marieu's figure.
Though not immediately obvious, her waistline was thicker than usual, and she kept placing a hand on her stomach as though uncomfortable.
'Something significant has transpired in my uncle's household?'
Most of the palace ladies, including the maids in the Princess's service, were unmarried.
However, Medea—who had borne two children in her previous life—was able to recognize the telltale changes in Marieu's body.
"Your Highness, shall I wait by the prison and apprehend her on the spot?"
"There's no need to go to such lengths."
Medea shook her head.
In her green eyes gleamed the patient, predatory look of a hunter watching prey approach.
"She'll return here on her own soon enough."
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