Murderous Emperor’s Inconvenient Behavior

After Claire said she would take Alicia’s place at the Empire, she ran into trouble.

It’s about how Alicia’s hair is different from Claire’s.

The maid took a step forward with a determined look on her face. She wanted to make Claire’s hair flow like Alicia’s did.

“This can make everything straight.”

In her hand was a bottle with a strong smell and a tight twist of cloth.

After a few hours had gone by,

Claire saw tears in her eyes as she looked at herself in the mirror.

Behind her, the cleaner was standing with a happy face. She had the attitude of a talented artist.

“It hurts so much.”

“It’s not easy to turn curly hair into straight hair. You’ve worked hard.”

She thought her head was being torn off as the muddy material, which smelled bad, was raked through her hair with force.

“I won’t ever do it again.”

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

“…”

“You only have to do it once a month.”

She’d rather be reincarnated as a person with straight hair next time.

“Let’s show this to the Madame, she’ll be interested.”

Claire touched the dress she was wearing with her hand.

She ran her hand over the soft silk. The chest and arms had frills that flapped, and the dress had a cute bow tied to it.

Even though it was Alicia’s dress, it fit well on both of them because their bodies were similar.

Alicia was with Mrs. Stanton in her room, too.

When the door opened, Alicia turned her head and opened her eyes wide.

“It’s me!”

“It took you a very long time.”

Mrs. Stanton got off the couch and walked toward them.

Claire persisted until Mrs. Stanton looked at her from head to toe.

“Hmm.”

“What do you think, Madame?”

The maid was eager to find out.

“Not bad.”

“This is totally me!”

Alicia got close and called out again. She looked at Claire, who looked just like her, with great interest for a while.

Then she took Claire’s hand and held on tight.

“You’re very brave, Claire. Even when you go to the murderous Emperor, you stay calm. Just hearing about the Emperor gives me chills. He’s always covered in blood, ugh.”

Alicia’s shoulders shook as she shivered.

“Well, I won’t have to see the Emperor since I’ll be a hostage.”

“Why?”

“Who would be nice to a hostage? As long as I don’t go hungry, I’m lucky enough.”

“Is that really so?”

“True. They sometimes put you in a cold, dark room.”

“Mother, did Claire say what she said?”

“Most often, yes.”

“How can she become Empress if she can’t see the Emperor and has to be locked up?”

“That’s the whole point.”

“It’s too much! But even so, was he going to send me instead?”

“Don’t worry, that’s why Claire is going instead of you.”

“I’m a lot happier now!”

Claire was about to sit quietly and listen when she got a knot in her stomach.

She can’t sympathize with that kind of happiness.

“I need you to do one thing for this plan to work.”

Claire held Alicia’s hand tight.

“What’s that?”

Alicia’s eyes sparkled with innocence.

“If I want to pass as a young lady, it’s not enough to look like one on the outside. I should also have the same habits, way of speaking, and behavior.”

“So?”

“We have to practice ahead of time, so I’ll have to act like Miss Alicia all day.”

“I see!”

“Then let’s call you something else.”

“Me?”

“I’ll call you Claire from now on. That’s better, right, Mother?”

Claire looked at Mrs. Stanton to ask if she could do it.

When she heard ‘Mother,’ Mrs. Stanton’s face creased deeply.

Alicia opened her mouth because she was confused.

“Am I turning into a maid?”

“… Because I’m a maid.”

“…?”

Alicia didn’t say anything and didn’t answer.

To fully trick someone, they have to be careful about everything. To do that, they have to start by calling them by their correct names so they don’t make any mistakes.

That’s why Claire came up with the idea.

The main reason was the knot in her stomach, of course.

Was she going too far? The way Alicia looked was strange. It was obvious that she was sad.

Claire opened her mouth to try to get her to see things her way. But she couldn’t say anything because:

“That sounds like a lot of fun!”

Alicia was happy and clapped her hands.

Claire gave Alicia, who she liked, a smile in return. People were so naive that just a few words were enough for them to understand.

“By the way, Richard will be fooled.”

Says Mrs. Stanton.

“I’m worried about that, too. Since I haven’t been outside much, not many people would recognize Miss Alicia, but the Duke sees her every day, so he’ll notice right away.”

With a worried look on her face, the maid replied.

“As long as we can fool Richard, we’ll figure something out.”

Mrs. Stanton paced around the room, pressing her lips together tightly.

“What happens if we do this?”

When Claire spoke up, everyone turned to look at her.

“Can you think of something good?”

Mrs. Stanton asked with a look of doubt in her eyes.

“Just leave it up to me, Mother.”

Claire had a big smile.

As a way to celebrate the fact that she was now the loved and beautiful daughter of Duke Stanton who was not her real father.

* * *

<Claire, will you come along with me?>

On the day her mother was buried, Samuel, her adoptive, asked with a sad face, 

He felt sorry for Claire, who doesn’t share a drop of blood with him.

<Come with me. If you go there, you’ll never be sad again.>

Claire’s head was gently touched by his rough hand.

But maybe the loss of his beloved wife had made it impossible for him to form new bonds.

Samuel passed away soon after he got to the monastery.

Claire did the jobs she was given in silence when she was left alone.

After eating thin soup and hard bread, she cleaned the rooms and sliced potatoes that were piled up like mountains. She bent her back and picked grapes as the sun beat down on her.

One day, a bad story started to spread about Claire, and she was kicked out of the order because of it.

Claire was able to work at the Stanton estate because the head of the church liked her.

As the days went on, they were boring and lonely.

A man in white clothes showed up at the house.

<I can see that you’ve been lonely. Will you come with me?>

He said the same things that her adoptive father did.

So, she went after him.

But in the end, someone died.

The guillotine’s sharp blade fell through the air towards her.

* * *

“Ugh!”

Claire jumped up quickly.

She gasped for air and sucked in air like she was going crazy.

“My neck…”

She felt her neck with her shaking hand as she shook.

Even though cold sweat was running down her neck, it was still connected.

“Haah, I thought I was really dead.”

Even in her dream, she could still see and feel the cold guillotine blade.

She really died in her dream.

The horrible and frightening feelings came back.

Scenes from her childhood, her time at the monastery, and her time as a maid on a farm… That was Claire’s past and her present.

But after the man in white clothes and the axe death… These were things that hadn’t happened yet.

Could it be a dream that will come true?

If not, it was hard to understand.

Because the scene she had just dreamed about was so clear that it seemed real and like it would happen soon.

“Isn’t it amazing? If dreams show the future, we can stop bad things from happening in the future!”

Claire was happy at first, but she soon started to feel bad.

She was nothing more than a poor maid. She was not a psychic who could have dreams that told the future.

She was a poor maid who was about to be taken away to be a hostage, which made things even worse.

“I must have had such a crazy dream because I was so tired.”

Claire quickly shook her head.

The victory ball will happen today.

Claire had learned how to act like a proper lady and was used to Alicia’s way of speaking, acting, and doing things by this day. She had also been busy getting ready for the ball dress she would wear.

But why did she have such a bad dream on this day of all days?

As Claire got out of bed, she grumbled. Then, after a short break during which she was thinking, she changed her mind.

She shouldn’t follow the man in white clothes, just in case.

* * *

Clunk, clunk.

Claire’s body moved along with the shaking of the wagon.

She sat in a stiff way and looked out the window.

She had to act as much as possible like Alicia.

But the more she tried, the more her face hurt, and she couldn’t take it.

Richard, who was sitting on the other side of her, looked at her very hard.

Claire was afraid that he would find out.

But she didn’t have to worry about being found out. She had something she kept hidden.

“Take the veil off.”

Richard pointed at her head.

She knew he would point it out, but when he did, her heart started to beat fast.

Claire had, in fact, turned the thin veil with flowers on it inside out.

It was to trick Richard while they were in the carriage going to the party.

Even if he had a sharp eye, he wouldn’t be able to tell that the face she was hiding behind the pastel-colored fabric was a fake.

“Yes, I think it’s beautiful. Don’t you?”

Mrs. Stanton, who was sitting next to her, touched the veil in a gentle way.

“But it seems like too much. You’d be pretty even without the veil.”

“Oh, Brother, please understand. This is my first ball, and I’m worried that people will stare and talk about me.”

Claire, like Alicia, had a soft, loving voice when she spoke.

“Your voice sounds a little bit strange.”

Mrs. Stanton twisted the cloth she was holding as Richard tilted his head.

“Cough, cough, the ball kept me from sleeping… cough.”

Claire coughed quickly.

“Oh no, quickly take off the veil.”

Richard put his arm out.

When he put his fingers on the veil, it shook. Claire was sitting next to Mrs. Stanton, who took a small breath.

If the covering was taken away, they would see that she was in Alicia’s place.

“Richard.”

Richard tried to take off the veil, but Claire grabbed his hand and held on tight.

“Richard, I’m really scared.”

Claire gripped his hand tight and spoke in a shaky voice.

“Do you think I can do well?”

“Of course, my dear Alicia. Your Richard will watch out for you.”

Richard put his finger on the back of her hand.

“I only believe what Richard says, and then I’ll close my eyes until we get there. It feels nice to wear the veil, and I think I’ll sleep well too.”

“That’s so sad. Richard, give Alicia a break.”

Mrs. Stanton fixed the cover again and patted her shoulder softly to tell her to rest.

Mrs. Stanton and Claire were in sync, which was a surprise.

Claire waited for Richard to speak with her hands tightly clasped together and her eyes tightly shut.

“But there’s just one thing.”

Could he have wanted her to take off the covering and rest?

Claire waited for his next words with a lot of worry.

“You must lift the veil when I introduce you as the hostage.”

Richard, despite what she was afraid of, let her keep wearing the veil.

“Whew, ugh… cough, I’ll remember.”

Claire let out a sigh of relief, but she coughed to hide it when Mrs. Stanton quickly pinched her thigh. Richard would have become suspicious if that hadn’t happened.