"The empress?" I repeated, dumbfounded. The air on my arms stand to an end even though my bedroom is still toasty warm from the afternoon's heat. Had Winter met her this early in the webnovel? There is too much gray area operating as Winter. It is such a shame that I am but an unimportant side character and my backstory is described within a few short paragraphs in the beginning.
Marie looks equally surprised, but her game face is on as she starts rushing out the room to my closet.
"It's fine, Marie," I say, right before she exits my bedroom. My maid looks back at me confused, but complies. It was certainly bold of the empress to appear in my palace the same day I'm nearly poisoned. To outsiders, she would look like she was comforting the scared, new princess, but considering how many dastardly acts she commits in the book as the main villain, I know better.
