Matthew opened his mouth to speak but had nothing to say. This was the same girl Leon had seen in his father's room some time ago and he had pardoned her because he found out later on that the King had already been killed before the servants had left their quarters.
Disturbed, he turned to look at the guard.
"What exactly did you find with her?" he didn't want to ask her questions because he was in denial that this miniature maid had been the one behind this. He needed to get his facts right before he would convey the message to Leon.
"We found nothing of importance, Matthew. But I am sure she has a confession to make. I saw her try to explain something earlier."
"Sir, I promise I know nothing! I only heard the prince speak about a plan with you through my window at twilight yesterday!" she said, remembering that was the only thing she heard them discuss before they entered the dungeon.
However, Matthew was still confused and looked at the guard for further explanation. He had not been there when the can fell from the building, neither was he there when Leon ordered this guard to search the servants.
The guard took note of it and replied, "Last night, after you entered the dungeon, Prince Leon and I saw a can fall from a servant's room and it turned out that this maid was eavesdropping on the conversation..." he paused and looked at Matthew who was still digesting the info before continuing,
"Prince Leon suspected someone from there might be responsible for the missing knife so he asked that I interrogated the servants in the quarters." he brought slightly down and said,
"We found nothing," he added.
Matthew closed his eyes for a minute, eagerly trying to process all that this guard had just relayed.
"So there is no solid evidence," he said in a matter-of-fact tone, causing the guard to stiffen, before shaking his head, a bit embarrassed.
He turned to the girl who started pleading again when she felt his gaze on her, "Please sir! I don't know anything! Please spare me!" her voice still reverberating in the now silent dungeon. She had gone quiet for a minute when she heard the guard mention a missing knife, wondering if that was what they had turned the palace upside down for. A knife for what though? She wondered. It didn't make any sense.
Meanwhile, Matthew was fuming with anger at this nonchalant guard, who had made him halt the search for a piece of unsubstantial evidence.
"Couldn't even do a simple job of interrogating a servant. How clumsy to not have evidence and waste my time coming here." it was now obvious that this guard simply wasn't qualified for his job and just acted based on sentiment.
"I am-" he wanted to apologize when Matthew ordered,
"Release her and join in the search...now!" and without wasting time, he rushed out of the dungeon to attend to the remaining unsearched areas.
Melina breathed out in relief when she heard the words of the man who had just left. Though she was badly injured on her knees from scratching them on the stairs, she didn't waste time standing up on her feet in eagerness, ready to dash out of this place that haunted her, even while receiving a harsh glare from the buff man.
He opened the bars and she did not waste time dashing out of there, finally breathing the fresh air that was outside the dungeon.
The man gave her a pointed look as if indirectly warning her to not try playing any mind games before he walked out of there, leaving her alone in the night.
Although it was already close to midnight, torches had been lit all over the palace, especially with the ceremony that took place.
This day had a lot for Melina to ponder as it was extremely overwhelming for her. She admitted she did like to get into trouble but this was far from what she could expect.
From the whispers the people had made about her to getting lost in the dark alley inside the chamber, then getting whipped and injured by a guest and now being accused of something she knew nothing about.
Sighing, her mind began to drift into deeper thoughts as she limped with her weak knees.
She thought of Berlin, whom she couldn't find earlier. Why did she warn her to be careful? Was it related to what happened in the dark alley or had it been related to what Prince Leon was looking for? Her mind kept moving from one thought to another, finally settling on the mirror she had seen in the dark alley. Was it real? She asked herself, feeling her head starting to throb when she tried to recall the memories.
There had to be something about that Berlin but she was the least bothered about her now.
She reached the quarters where the servants stayed with a bit of ruckus still taking place as it was not long ago she had left. When she came in sight, she noticed how everyone stared at her agape, murmurs filling the room that reached Ms Carlos's ears, who had earlier been attending to something else.
The woman turned to stare in the direction everyone's attention was drawn to and she too gasped when she sighted the young girl.
Her knees were bleeding and she looked weak, sending a moment of panic to Ms Carlos's face. What exactly did this mediocre do?
"What did you steal from the royal household to get us all in trouble? Speak!" came Ms Carlos's harsh words and Melina quickly explained,
"They had the wrong person, Ms Carlos. I want not the one responsible for the crime so they freed me," she said in a calming tone that Ms Carlos unconsciously breathed out a sigh of relief before she gazed at her in scrutiny to be sure she was telling the truth.
"Better. This is your last warning from me, Melina. If you ever get into this type of trouble again, I will have no choice but to punish you severely" the woman blurted out, giving Melina a moment to think before she said, this time to all the maids who were present
"For today, I would pardon you all because it is the burial of the King..." She declared, though it was not true as she had been afraid earlier that things would get worse for her and was only relieved now since it didn't happen that way. "
We have a lot to do tonight since we have important guests from the town. So go back to your rooms and clean yourselves up..." She paused to look at Melina who resembled someone who had been thrown into the mud.
"...And make sure to dress back into your normal maid's outfit so you can attend to the guests. I don't want any mistakes from any of you again so you better don't disappoint me." the maids nodded in agreement, happy that Ms Carlos had at least pardoned them.
"10 minutes!" her stern voice alarmed them.
They did not need to be told as even Melina quickly followed the rest while they exited to their various rooms to change their dresses and do what Ms Carlos ordered.
Melina scanned through the place when her eyes met the disdainful ones of her roommates, Leanna and Nikita, who had been flogged by the guard, their bruises still very fresh and visible. The thoughts of what might happen when they reached their room occurred to her and drops of sweat grazed her forehead.
Hadn't she suffered enough already? She asked herself, cursing her luck.
They finally reached the stairs where their room was located and Melina's face paled when realized that her maid's dress was not with her.
It was with him... Prince Leon...