Murderous Emperor’s Inconvenient Behavior

“I don’t want to talk to you for a while. I’ll be going now.”

The lady turned and walked out.

Bam!

The door slammed shut with such a resounding thud that it appeared to shake the entire house.

She limped to Alicia’s bedroom to rest.

He gave up his sister so that Grizmen may have its freedom.

She tried to rationalize Richard’s behavior, but she just couldn’t.

As Richard had predicted, however, the verdict could not be changed.

“I must find a way, a way!”

Lady Stanton pondered the problem while biting her lip.

<Why am I dressed up like a maid?>

She halted abruptly, standing still. In an instant, she recalled Alicia’s words.

Lady Stanton scowled and appeared to be deep in thought.

She straightened her shoulders and resumed her stroll after a time.

* * *

“Madame?”

Upon seeing Lady Stanton, Claire gaped in shock.

It was clear that she had come specifically to reprimand Claire.

“I apologize for what happened earlier…”

“Come in.”

The icy presence of Lady Stanton brushed past her as she entered the room.

Claire extended her hands to Lady Stanton in a friendly gesture.

With only the two of them in there, the air was getting very thin.

“Turn around.”

“Excuse me?”

Lady Stanton drew a circle in the air with her index finger and a disgruntled expression when Claire questioned her.

At her vantage point, Claire spun around.

It was obvious that she was on the prowl for a whipping spot.

“Ma’am, don’t you think my calves are decent?”

Claire inhaled deeply and raised the bottom of her skirt.

“What are you doing right now?”

“Aren’t you going to whip me?”

“Why would I hit you!”

“For collapsing needlessly…”

“That’s pitiful, but that’s not the reason.”

Knock, knock.

After knocking on the door, a maid came in.

“Madame, you called for me?”

The maid was perplexed, wondering what on earth had prompted her to be called to Claire’s room.

“Do you think she looks like Alicia?”

“Are you… talking about Claire?”

The maid was taken aback by what the Madame asked about Claire.

“Yes.”

“Miss Alicia is much more…”

“This is for Alicia, so there’s no reason to lie.”

“At first glance, they seem identical, but upon closer inspection, they are quite different.”

“That’s good enough for me if it can trick them for a second.”

Lady Stanton’s eyes glinted with malice.

“Madame, what’s going on?”

“As you know, Alicia will soon depart as a hostage of the Empire.”

“Oh, Madame, I thought the world was ending when I heard about it. How outrageous…”

“Calm down, because it’s not going to happen.”

Lady Stanton’s expression became intense as she studied Claire.

Claire doesn’t understand why she keeps staring at her.

Claire reached for her own cheek in a hesitant gesture.

“You’ll be taking Alicia’s position in the imperial court.”

Lady Stanton made a pointing gesture at Claire.

At first, she did nothing except stare.

Going to the empire was the next logical step for Alicia’s maid.

“From now on, you’ll pretend to be Alicia.”

“…”

“You are now Alicia, the younger sister of the Duke of Stanton, and no longer Maid Claire.”

Thump.

A flash of insight hit her like a bolt of lightning as she realized what the Madame was saying.

“Because you’re Alicia, you will be going to the Empire as a hostage and will attend the victory ball.”

Lady Stanton’s lips curved into a grin of triumph.

“It seems like a risky strategy, Madame.”

The maid stepped in.

Claire, seemingly agreeing with her, nodded her head as though the idea was really insane.

“We have to take a chance for Alicia’s sake.”

“Please don’t send me, Madame; if I’ve done something wrong, I’ll make it right.”

Claire swiftly knelt down, tears and snot streaming down her face.

She had recently left her employment as a lowly maid to become the personal maid of a lady, and she assumed her life would improve as a result. However, she faced a prickly road ahead after being transported to the empire in Alicia’s place.

She needed to stop that from happening.

“Don’t whine; I’m shaping you into a lady of nobility.”

“But if the emperor decides to kill me, then what’s the point?”

“You said that being a hostage isn’t a bad thing.”

Her sobbing abruptly ceased. She was taken aback when her remarks were returned to her.

“However, Madame, that only pertains to Miss Alicia; if a maid like me were to travel to the empire, it would be certain death.”

“You’ll become the empress.”

“…”

She couldn’t think of anything to say.

Though it may sound glamorous, becoming an empress is hardly a walk in the park.

“Were those words you said earlier just rambling? Were you lying to push Alicia out?”

The already sinister expression on Lady Stanton’s face deepened.

“No!”

Claire shook her head emphatically.

“If it’s the truth, you can leave without fear of death.”

“But they’ll figure it out; who am I kidding by pretending to be Miss Alicia?”

“Well, you’ve left me with no other option.”

The voice of Lady Stanton was slightly mellowed as she talked.

Claire’s face reddened abruptly, and she turned to face Lady Stanton.

It seems that her frantic pleading had some effect. Thankfully, it appeared like she was thinking about dropping the proposal.

“I didn’t want to do this, you see.”

“…”

But she sensed something was wrong and predicted disaster.

“I’ll be forced to stop helping the Valles Monastery if things keep going the way they are.”

“Help… you mean…”

“Because of you, life in the monastery has become much more difficult than it previously was.”

Her thoughts suddenly shifted to the remote Valles Monastery in the highlands.

Her former self, toiling under the hot heat.

Despite everyone’s best efforts, the monastery’s funds were never plentiful. The poor were given any donations that came in, but the money was never seen again.

“I need to write a letter to the Director right now, so Hailey, please bring a pen.”

The maid got paper and pencils at Lady Stanton’s request.

“Hold on a second!”

Claire reached out and grabbed Lady Stanton by the dress.

“Tsk, tsk, you’re wrinkling the dress.”

Lady Stanton took Claire’s hand and yanked her dress hem away from her.

“I’ll do it!”

Claire yelled helplessly.

She could not risk having the donations stop.

Even though she was expelled from the monastery, it had been her safe haven as a homeless kid. And she certainly didn’t want to hurt the Director, the only person who had ever shown her any kindness.

“What are you going to do?”

Lady Stanton inquired cheerily.

“I’ll be Miss Alicia in no time!”

“Really?”

“Yes. I can do it well.”

Claire gave a definitive nod of the head.

“You should have said so from the beginning. Now, stand up.”

Claire dried her eyes and got to her feet.

“You’re not going to die, so stop crying, right?”

“But if I am caught, it’s game over for me.”

“Then you shouldn’t try to die.”

Claire stole a look at Lady Stanton, who was making an idiotic comment, as she spoke.

“Being a hostage isn’t a bad thing.”

Lady Stanton’s voice was as soothing as if she were trying to comfort a child.

Claire wanted to smack her younger self for making that statement.

“Do whatever it takes to become empress.”

“… Yes.”

Her arms began to sweat and her shoulders ached.

“You won’t have to deal with a life of constant betrayal, and you may have a successful career and assist Grizemen achieve freedom.:

The road ahead of her seemed dark and foreboding.

* * *

There was complete secrecy around all of this.

Lady Stanton made sure no one in the house would find out by issuing a gag order to the maid and Claire.

If they disobeyed, she said, she would kill them first.

As a result, the maid dragged Claire away from the table until she gave up.

The steward cleaned and dried Claire thoroughly before massaging aromatic oil into her rough skin.

She massaged Claire’s scalp while applying a product to her hair and smeared packs on her face.

“Hmm.”

The maid sighed and crossed her arms. Her discontented eyes swept over Claire’s hair.

Claire admired herself in the mirror, twisting and unwinding her hair.

“How did this become so pliable?”

Just what in the world was she using? The formerly dull, dry hair suddenly radiated health and vitality.

If she had taken it back to her own world, it would have been an instant hit.

She always assumed she had light blonde hair, but now she sees it’s fully platinum.

The hair glowed alluringly, as if it had been bleached to be as white as a blonde’s.

“We’re in trouble.”

“Why? it’s only pretty.”

Claire gently ran her fingers through her hair.

“The hair on Alicia is straight.”

“Ah.”

In contrast, Alicia’s hair was wavy. The way her hair swished behind her was a sight to see.

“Let’s straighten it out first.”

The steward dug about in a cabinet, and then pulled out several lengths of long-cut fabric.

She produced the supposedly starched cloth, and her expression was rigid as she did so.

“What’s up with that terrifying face?”

“Once we get going, you’ll see what I mean.”

The torment started after she stated that.

2.

An issue emerged when Claire, not Alicia, took on the role of hostage for the Empire.

Alicia and Claire’s hair had distinct textures.

The maid stepped in, grimacing, to provide Alicia-level smoothness and straightness to her hair.

“With this, anything can be straightened.”

A medication bottle with a strong odor and a stiff piece of cloth were in her hands.

A few hours later.

Claire’s eyes welled up as she reflected in the mirror.

The maid stood behind her, beaming with happiness. She had the air of a seasoned artist hard at work.

“It hurt too much.”

The process of straightening her naturally curly hair must have caused her a lot of pain.

Clay-like material with a strong odor was put to her hair and pulled so hard that it seemed like her scalp was being ripped out.

“I promise not to do that again.”

“If you don’t want to get caught, you have to keep doing it.”

“…”

“Once a month is all that’s required of you.”

She entertained the idea that a reincarnation with straight hair might be preferable.

“Let’s go to the Lady. She must be curious.”

Claire ironed the wrinkles out of her clothing.

She was able to detect the smooth silkiness. Her bodice and sleeves were adorned with ruffles, and a sweet bow adorned the waist of her outfit.

It was Alicia’s outfit, but it worked for her because they had comparable proportions.

Alicia also visited Lady Stanton’s quarters that day.

Alicia, who had her head turned, uttered a startled noise as she heard the door open.

“It’s me!”

“You took a while.”

Lady Stanton got up off the couch and walked over.

Claire girded herself while Lady Stanton inspected her from all sides.

“Hmm.”

“My Lady, what do you think?”

The maid inquired eagerly.

“Not bad.”

“That’s me!”

Alicia came up and made a similar exclamation. She stared at Claire in disbelief for a minute since she looked just like her.

Claire’s hand was then seized.

“I shudder at the very mention of the Emperor; they say he bathes in blood every day; horrible. You have a lot of courage, Claire, to go see the Emperor, who is a killer.”

A chill ran down Alicia’s spine.

“Anyway, I don’t have to visit the Emperor since I’m a hostage.”

“Why?”

“If I don’t have to worry about starvation, that’s a godsend, since who would care for a hostage?”

“Really?”

“They could put me in a dark cell.”

“Mother, can you confirm that what Claire is saying is true?”

“Yes, in most cases.”

“How can she become Empress if she has never seen the Emperor and is currently imprisoned?”

“Exactly.”

“That’s terrible! And yet, was my brother planning to send me as a hostage?”

“We knew that would be the case, so we sent Claire in your place.”

“Whew! That’s great news!”

It was making her blood boil to listen to her.

She didn’t understand why people couldn’t accept her obvious joy.

“There’s one thing I need to ask you in order to make this a success.”

Claire clasped Alicia’s hand securely in hers.

“What is it?”

Alicia’s pure eyes were like stars.

“It is not enough for me to only look like you; I must adopt your mannerisms, speech pattern, and even physical gestures if I am to pass as you.”

“So?”

“I have to prepare ahead of time, therefore I’ll have to spend the day acting like Miss Alicia.”

“I see!”

“Then let’s swap names.”

“Names?”

“Is it okay if I call you Claire from now on, Mother?”

Claire cast her gaze toward Lady Stanton, hoping for acceptance.

When she heard the word ‘mother,’ Lady Stanton’s brows wrinkled in concentration.

Confused, Alicia opened her lips to speak.

“Am I a maid now?”

“Because I am one.”