Chapter Zero
_ The Conspiracy
* * *
"Have you heard about the Archduchess?!! She fled!!"
"Everyone in the Duchy is talking about it."
"I heard she was waiting for her delivery just to escape."
"Maybe the child isn't the Archduke's..."
"He is the Archduke's son; I heard he is a carbon copy of the Duke."
"Was she involved with that man after her pregnancy?!!"
"Perhaps. Many say she waited for the Archduke's absence to make her escape."
"Will the Archduke let her live?!!"
"Whoever betrays Walter faces death."
"The Archduchess won't enjoy her escape for long; she will die."
"Is the story finally over?!!"
The gossip was buzzing in the kitchen, but a calm and gentle voice brought the noise to a halt. The maids' gazes turned toward the owner of the voice—a beautiful young woman with a pale face, ash-colored eyes, and dark blue hair tied in a tight bun. She had a calm, almost dry expression, yet she shone strangely despite wearing a maid's uniform; she was no older than them, only higher in status as the Deputy Head Maid.
"We are talking just like everyone else, Miss Harvey."
"If they are wrong, then it is fine for us to be wrong... I will take your advice, Miss Franz..."
She turned to leave the kitchen, allowing the ongoing conversation to resume. She knew that as soon as they finished gossiping about their master, it would be her turn...
* * *
After finishing her work in the kitchen, she headed back to the third floor. Before she could knock on the half-open door, a familiar voice came from inside:
"Nila, is that you?!"
"My Lady, Head Maid..."
The Head Maid's response wasn't an inquiry as much as it was a confirmation. Nila pushed the door open with her free hand and entered the luxurious room adorned with gold; the ceilings were high and the windows were massive. A small white bed sat in the center of the room, and the older maid stood guard by the bedside quietly...
Nila placed the tray she was carrying on the table near the bed and approached her superior calmly.
"The situation in the palace is turbulent, isn't it?!!"
"News of the Madam's escape has spread..."
"The Archduke is investigating everyone who was with her before she fled. Nurse Casey has also been taken for interrogation."
"I have heard of the matter, My Lady.."
"It is good that you were never close to the Archduchess..."
"... My Lady! Will the Archduke really behead his wife?!!"
The Head Maid sighed and looked at Nila with a troubled face:
"The Master is very cruel..."
The usually calm and cold Nila secretly swallowed her saliva and looked at her superior patiently:
"But he is not unjust.."
"..."
"The Madam will be punished if she is found, but she will not be killed... and a cleanup will follow to ensure the young Prince's honor..."
Nila's eyes wavered at the mention of the child, and she shifted her gaze to the beautiful infant with dark black hair sleeping peacefully in his bed; he knew nothing of what this world was weaving for him, or what she had done as well...
Nila sighed and then moved toward the fireplace to add more wood.
"No one will suffer as much as the young Prince..."
Nila placed a small scrap of paper, which she had kept hidden in her pocket for hours, into the fireplace. She looked at her mistress, who spoke with a sad face for the child, and said with a touch of optimism:
"Lady Amanda will take care of him."
"Nila, do you know? I was annoyed when I was told I would hire a girl who was a noble to work under me, and to tell you the truth... I was afraid... but I am happy because I gained Nila as my loyal assistant."
Amanda spoke with a tender tone to Nila, making Nila feel a sting of conscience. She spoke to push aside her guilt:
"Why did you remember that now, My Lady?.."
"More than a year ago when you came, I feared I would suffer, but you were a great help to me—intelligent and loyal... I am saddened by what happened to your family..."
Nila swallowed her grief and spoke with a smiling face:
"If Lady Amanda hadn't supported me, I would have always remained in the background..."
Amanda laughed cheerfully and patted Nila on the back:
"You are a smart child; even if I weren't here, you would have risen.."
"Thank you, My Lady.."
"Perhaps after my retirement, I will nominate you to be the Head Maid."
Nila laughed and said:
"I have many haters, My Lady..."
Amanda didn't need an explanation; Nila's exceptional skills had made her stand out and rise in just one year to become her assistant and right hand. Nila's personality leaned toward discipline and leadership, yet she knew perfectly well when to retreat and when to bow her head, which had earned Amanda's admiration...
* * *
"Is there any news?!!"
"We have combed all roads to and from the Grand Duchy, both official and unofficial. There is no trace of the Madam... Your Highness."
"Do you think it's a trap? Hans."
The feverish atmosphere outside was completely different from the calm surrounding these two men...
The Grand Duke massaged the area between his eyes, then opened his eyelids to reveal two blood-colored orbs—cold as the dead, devoid of any life. He ran his left hand, already devoid of a wedding ring, through his charcoal-black hair.
"Why does Your Highness think it is a trap?!!"
"Hans, you know my intuition is never wrong... but there is no evidence..."
"A goal larger than the Archduchess's betrayal?!..."
"As you say. Continue the search for the Archduchess... and stay vigilant."
"By your command, Sire."
* * *
A full week had passed since the Grand Duchess's escape, and the Duchy, which had not yet recovered from the first calamity, woke up to another.
"The young Prince has disappeared..."
The maid swallowed the rest of her words and looked in terror at her master, who dropped the pen he was writing with..
The Archduke stood up without expression and moved quickly to his son's room. He was shocked to find an empty bed and the Head Maid unconscious. He tried to find words to express his stance, then looked at the maid who had come to inform him and said with deadly coldness:
"Who was around the child besides Lady Amanda?"
The maid became flustered and stuttered, barely able to utter the words out of fear:
"Her assistant, ... her assistant Miss Nila Harvey ... Your Highness."
"Summon the doctor now, and bring her deputy at once..."
"By your command, Sire..."
The maid rushed to do as the Grand Duke requested. It was very early, but the palace was crowded...
The Head Maid fainted and the young heir kidnapped...
Hans arrived with the doctor at the heir's room. The doctor quickly examined Amanda and diagnosed her condition under the gaze of Archduke Elion de Walter...
"She has been drugged with a powerful sedative; she will remain asleep until evening...."
"Move her to her room so she can be interrogated later."
It was Hans's voice that gave the orders to the servants. He then looked at the Archduke with concern, unlike the Grand Duke who looked at the room with terrifying coldness, then turned to the maid who had delivered the news.
"What exactly happened?"
After the maid's thousandth moment of confusion, she barely spoke for fear of the Grand Duke's wrath falling upon her:
"At this hour every day, I must go to the young Master's room to take the dirty laundry early for washing. Taking the laundry out of the heir's room is the responsibility of myself and Betty. So I arrived before her but... when I reached the place, I found Lady Amanda unconscious and the young Master's bed empty, so I came quickly to inform Your Highness..."
"As far as I know, heavy security was placed on the room and only a few were allowed to enter.."
Hans asked, directing his words to one of the knights guarding the room and to the maid. The knight spoke:
"Access was restricted to very few people who can be counted on one hand: the nurse, the Head Maid and her deputy, and a very limited number of maids."
The Grand Duke looked at the spot where the Head Maid had been lying, then at the maid named Katy who reported the disappearance of his heir, and said:
"Did you not go to summon the Deputy Head Maid? Where is she?"
It was a delayed realization for those present; most knew that Nila would come running upon hearing news of her mistress being harmed, yet nearly an hour had passed since the news spread and the maid in question, Nila Harvey, had not yet arrived...
Hans looked at his master and then at the maid Katy with wide eyes and said:
"When was the last time you met Miss Harvey?"
"Yesterday before going to sleep in the maids' dormitory..."
Hans looked at his master. Although Katy's answer was ordinary, they both sensed danger. The Grand Duke spoke, directing his words to the servants present in the room:
"Search Nila Harvey's room..."
* * *
"Did you hear?! ... They didn't find Nila in her room..."
"All her belongings are gone.."
"I think she is involved in the young Master's disappearance."
"Will Lady Amanda be punished?!"
"I don't think so; Lady Amanda has worked in the palace since the Archduke was an infant.."
"I felt that girl was suspicious..."
"Your feeling was right, Lina."
"Maybe that's why she used to bother you, because you suspected her."
"She is an evil girl."
"She certainly bit the hand that helped her."
"I hope her head is cut off; she betrayed her master."
Lina was the one who said this sentence, causing the maids to flinch. A maid who was also sharing the conversation looked at the strutting Lina, who had regained her popularity after Nila's disappearance. Afterward, she left the kitchen and headed to the deserted, dark corridor. After making sure no one was there, she pulled a small piece of paper from her pocket, wrote some notes on it, and moved quietly, avoiding the light toward the servants' exit gate. She knew that because of the young Master's disappearance early in the morning, security had become tight and everyone was forbidden from leaving until further notice...
She placed the note in the hand of a knight she knew well and exchanged some words with him:
"Have you heard, Max..?!"
"I am very sad, Betty, for what has befallen the Duchy.."
"I hope they find the young Master soon.."
Betty bid him farewell. Max looked at the small paper, told his colleague he would look outside the gate, and went out...
He didn't go far until he met a man who was waiting for him there. He ran to him, gave him the paper, and said while panting:
"The situation in the Duchy is in a state of chaos. The mission has succeeded, and soon the young Master will be killed at the hands of Nila Harvey. She is evil, she will do it."
The recipient smiled and left quickly. Max sighed and headed back to the palace...
"Max Barion, you are under arrest for treason..."
Max was shocked upon reaching the gate; his commander stood before him, brandishing his sword and treating him as an accused man. Max thought seriously about whom he had betrayed and revealed their identities and affiliations. He looked at his commander for a moment; there was no room for retreat now. He grabbed his dagger near his hand and with a quick, sudden movement no one expected:
"Sir Percion, you are mistaken."
He slit his own throat and quickly breathed his last and died. Percion cursed under his breath and ordered them to pick up the body. Before he could enter, the group he had sent to track the intermediary arrived carrying another corpse. He kicked a large stone out of sheer anger, forgetting the pain in his immense frustration:
"They are well-trained..."
* * *
Amanda was in a state of shock; the young Master had disappeared and the culprit was Nila, the child she had trusted so much. Amanda felt betrayed, which left her unable to speak..
"Were there any suspicious behaviors surrounding the maid Harvey?!..."
The question, asked for the thousandth time, brought her back to reality; her sweet child had not shown any strange behavior. She had been as she always was—calm and diligent..
"No, she was very normal..."
She spoke with a heavy heart and a blank, shocked face...
"Lady Amanda, did you consume anything before you fainted?!!"
Amanda fell silent for a moment; she had almost forgotten that she was used to Nila bringing her a cup of tea or refreshing juice to energize her when she was tired, and its effect was perfect. Perhaps because she had, as usual, drunk the juice Nila brought without any suspicion, Amanda felt her heart tearing and said while placing her hand on her chest:
"I am used to drinking what she prepares for me always.."
"Then she placed the sedative in the juice for you.. Lady Amanda, thank you for the help. You must rest now; the sedative is strong and you are elderly, it may negatively affect your health..."
Hans left, looking at his calm master who was watching Amanda quietly without showing himself. Amanda was someone he had known since childhood, and he had not wanted his presence to affect the course of the investigation, so he did not appear..
After Hans left with Elion, Hans sighed and said:
"I believe she is honest; she has been betrayed."
"..."
"The knight and the intermediary committed suicide, even the maid committed suicide. We do not know who stands behind them, and we do not know if others are still here or not..."
Hans looked at his master, who remained silent and seemed to be thinking. He wanted to ease the tension—he knew it wasn't possible, but there was no harm in trying:
"If the Master were not so steady despite these calamities, we would still think these events were disconnected, and we would have fallen into greater disasters..."
"Nila Harvey... she was placed here from the beginning for a specific purpose... Now I realize everything... their main goal was my heir..."
* * * Tunis was a remote village with no more than three hundred residents, including children and the elderly, surrounded by peach orchards and vast pastures...
She was walking with fast strides amidst the gusting wind, readjusting the hood of her cloak over her head, which hid her entire body...
She finally reached the village square, specifically at the house of Mrs. Catherine, who owned many cows, chickens, and livestock. She knocked on the door quietly.
"Who is at the door?!"
It was the gentle voice of a lady in her late forties. As soon as she opened it, a plump face with rosy cheeks, blue eyes, and wheat-blonde hair appeared. When Catherine found the person knocking at her door, she wiped her hands on her apron, which was almost suffocating from her obesity...
"Lucia!! It's you. Why are you late?"
.... To be continued .....