“Selene… calm down and think this through! There’s no need for us to be so hasty right now!”
“Calm down, calm down… How could you possibly stay calm? Isn’t that woman your enemy too? There won’t ever be another chance this good!”
Princess and Selene started arguing in the dressing room through their telepathic link.
Neither could convince the other, and soon, their quarrel escalated into a physical struggle.
“Give me the sword!”
“No!”
“Don’t blame me for being ruthless, then!”
Seeing that words wouldn’t work, Royal Highness decided to force Selene into submission.
She pushed Selene against the wall, grabbed her wrist, and squeezed hard.
“Ah!”
With Selene’s pained cry, the dagger fell to the floor. Royal Highness reacted swiftly, snatching it up and then stepping aside, releasing Selene—
“Give it back! You muscle-brained brute of a woman!”
“Thank you for the compliment. My brain’s better than yours too… at least, I can make the right decision right now!”
Selene lunged at Royal Highness with reddened eyes—though her eyes were always red to begin with.
Royal Highness wasn’t about to go easy on her, and the clash between the two had now turned into an all-out scuffle.
In this contest of pure strength, Selene quickly found herself at a disadvantage—her physique was clearly lacking.
“Damn you, muscle-headed gorilla…!”
“May I ask what the Princess is doing?”
Just as Selene was about to use magic to throw off the Royal Highness pinning her down, an unexpected voice shattered the thought.
“You… you’re that coachman… no, Head Maid?”
Feiyin was squatting beside them, watching their tangled struggle.
Her expression and gaze were as calm and unruffled as ever, instantly freezing the thoughts of both combatants:
When did she get here?
“I…”
“Her Royal Highness asked me to help her change. But I slipped and fell, so I landed on her—my apologies, Princess.”
Royal Highness recovered her wits faster than Selene. She stood and pretended to bow her head in apology to Selene.
As she rose, she also kicked the dagger that had fallen during their scuffle aside.
Fortunately, their earlier tussle had overturned all the laundry baskets around them, and the dagger now looked naturally hidden among the scattered clothes.
“I see… so that’s why you’ve spent so long in the dressing room?”
“Yes…! This girl is so clumsy, that’s why it’s taken so long! What are you standing there for? Hurry and keep serving me!”
Noticing Feiyin’s gaze turn to her, Selene quickly scrambled to her feet and echoed Royal Highness’ story.
Royal Highness, as she said, briskly moved behind her and began undoing the laces of her gown, while her voice echoed in Selene’s mind with her movements.
“Be ready. I didn’t notice when she came in while we were arguing… If she saw what we were doing, then this whole act is pointless.”
“You’re going to take action?”
“We’ve been speaking telepathically all along… and I can’t think of a single excuse for us fighting over that sword without saying a word. If necessary, you might have to swap roles with her.”
“You mean you want me to Imitate her… but what about my Princess guise?”
In this operation, Aoke and Vlad were playing their own roles… but both Selene and Royal Highness had taken on the appearances of the Prince and Princess thanks to Selene’s Shadow Demon clan’s special Imitation ability.
She could, of course, create a new Imitation to become the maid before her, but that would mean someone else would have to wear the Princess Imitation.
“If worst comes to worst, have Aoke wear it. I’ll say he had to return to the homeland urgently due to military matters.”
“…He’ll never agree to that.”
“He has to.”
Selene simply couldn’t imagine that silent, burly man playing the Princess—surely it would be a disaster like none before. Yet, she had to admit Royal Highness’s quick thinking—she too hadn’t noticed when this maid arrived.
“Ouch… how did one slip overturn all the laundry baskets? And just for changing clothes, you’re taking so long. Princess, you wouldn’t happen to—”
Feiyin started picking up the clothes strewn across the floor. She seemed to accept their explanation… but her muttering suggested suspicion.
A menacing aura came from behind… Selene knew that muscle-brained gorilla was ready to pounce at any moment.
“You wouldn’t happen to have taken a fancy to this girl and that’s why you’re messing around here, would you? Moderation, please.”
“…Huh?”
Feiyin’s words left both Selene and Royal Highness dumbfounded. When they finally understood what she meant, a blush crept up both their cheeks at the same time.
“I—How could I possibly…”
“…”
Selene was about to protest, but saw Royal Highness lower her head in a show of shame, as if tacitly admitting it.
“Just go along with her…”
Royal Highness’ message in the link sounded weak. Clearly, she didn’t like being misunderstood either.
But under the circumstances, letting this misunderstanding go was the safest way to lessen suspicion toward Selene.
Ugh… What a disgrace!
So Selene could only bite her tongue and stop arguing.
Seeing their reactions, Feiyin seemed quite satisfied after picking up the clothes.
But she wasn’t done yet—she walked up to Royal Highness, deliberately leaning in to study her face, which was hidden by her bowed head.
“Hmm… I think it’s my first time seeing you, child. You’re actually quite cute.”
C-cute? That muscle-brained gorilla?
Though Royal Highness remained silent, Selene knew she must be furious. “Cute”—that was one of the descriptions she hated most in her life.
Evidence? Her face was even redder than before, a flush of both shame and anger.
Selene feared she would snap and pin the white-haired maid to the floor any second, but thankfully, she restrained herself.
“…I was assigned here temporarily today.”
Even while stewing in humiliation and anger, Royal Highness kept her voice exactly the same as before. Still, she kept herself ready to subdue the woman before her at any moment.
Her outfit had been stolen from the bathhouse’s staff room.
She’d used hypnosis and suggestion magic on the attendant there before taking the clothes.
Those spells would muddle their memories and leave them dazed for a while… unless a magician of similar power specifically investigated, her secret should be safe.
But she was sure the Head Maid was suspicious—she had just asked a pointed question, after all.
Perhaps she really did remember the name and face of every maid in the bathhouse…
So Royal Highness was gambling—gambling on whether Feiyin’s suspicion would escalate further.
If she showed the slightest sign of acting, Royal Highness would not hesitate to strike.