Going to the pantry for breakfast that morning was like marching off to the Colosseum in ancient Rome. All eyes were on me – some looking at me with heightened curiosity, others had the focus of a paparazzi reporter out for a scoop in a tabloid, and there were also those that had varying expressions of envy and resentment. But whatever the other servants felt or how they interpreted the situation, one thing was for sure: this was the first time in my life that I was ever the center of attention.
"What the hell happened?" 19 whispered, pulling me to an empty chair beside her. "You spent the night in the emperor's room?"
'I'll tell you later,' I hastily scribbled, keeping my eyes on the food and refusing to look at the other servants. Normally the pantry would be buzzing with loud conversations, but no one was even pretending to talk. If looks could burn, I imagined I would be scorched to death by now, and all I wanted to do was to just grab a quick bite and get out of there. I had never looked forward to doing my chores as much as I did in that moment.
Unfortunately, I couldn't take solace in dirty sheets or watering cans just yet. As I was checking the big board hanging outside Madame Leone's office for my tasks that day, her door opened and she called me in. "I suppose you already know why I wanted to talk to you," she began, sounding every bit like a headmaster in a boarding school.
I nodded, wondering all the while if this was how celebrities felt every time a scandal broke out. But the thing was, I wasn't even close to being popular. And I hadn't done anything that would merit the rumors to fly, either. Still, the fact that I somehow got linked with the emperor was more than enough reason to turn a match flame into a forest fire.
This was all starting to have the makings of a compelling Korean drama. Well, compelling if I was simply watching it in front of my laptop. I had to live through it now, which made me see the situation in a totally different light.
"Why did the emperor ask you to spend the night with him?" Madame Leone asked, looking at the girl with a genuinely puzzled expression. When she had first arrived at the palace, she didn't even have a clue who the emperor was. And to the head housekeeper's knowledge, there was nothing that would indicate she had gotten acquainted with the emperor since then. So why would the ruling monarch of the empire ask a scullery maid to spend the night in his private quarters when he had never extended the same treatment to his higher ranked concubines – who were princesses and noble ladies in their own right?
'It wasn't intentional,' I replied, blushing. 'I just fell asleep because I sick, and His Majesty didn't wake me up.' I was trying to summarize my answers as briefly as I could.
"Are you saying the emperor just allowed you to sleep in his quarters?" Madame questioned. She didn't attempt to hide her shock, because she honestly didn't know what it was about this girl that drew the attention of Luxentfort's most powerful men. First, the archduke. And now, the emperor.
'Yes,' I confirmed. I couldn't explain any further since I was also at a loss why 1 did that.
"You should be aware that because of this incident, everyone in the imperial palace will know who you are," Madame Leone cautioned with a weary sigh. "Be careful not to get on the wrong side of people who may do you harm."
I nodded my understanding and she dismissed me. When I checked my assignment again at the board, I breathed a sigh of relief. I had to mop one of the least trafficked hallways in the outskirts of the palace. At least I didn't have to deal with prying eyes for the next few hours.
Interrogation, however, came during lunchtime when 19 dragged me to the garden as soon as we had finished eating. "Well," she demanded, "what do you plan to do now?"
'Nothing,' I answered, making myself comfortable sitting on the grass. 'The emperor was just concerned because I was too sick to walk back to my room last night.'
"You're taking this way too lightly," she shook her head at me. "I'm telling you – you need to be careful."
This was the second warning I had gotten in the same day, and it made me pause. "Do you really think it's that big of a deal?" I asked hesitantly.
19 looked at her friend as though she had just asked if the sun did rise in the east. For her it was strange enough that 20 treated the archduke so casually, without observing any of the empire's strict social etiquettes. But to be associated with the emperor himself was beyond shocking – it was the definition of astonishing.
"It's never happened before," she explained, endeavoring to make 20 realize the gravity of the situation. "And not just with the current emperor. I mean, it has literally never happened in the history of Luxentfort Empire."
I looked at 19 in disbelief. I didn't know that sleeping off my menstrual cramps would bring about this much commotion and catapult me in the imperial spotlight.