Married To The Enemy Kingdom's Illegitimate Prince-Chapter 44 — Rumours

"Have you heard?" Hilda whispered.

"What?" Anni, confusedly asked.

"About people disappearing!"

"I did... it’s so scary whenever I return home," Jane looked at her coworkers, her eyebrows raised with worry.

"Thank lord I stay in the servants quarters!" Anni sighed in relief.

"Maybe I should ask if I can stay back with the handmaid," Hilda worriedly said.

Hearing faint whispers behind her, Cynthia gently made sound with the water, making the maids notice her presence.

Gasping in fear, the four maids quickly shut their mouths.

"About that, what are you girls talking about? It seems quite interesting," Cynthia smiled at them, turning to face her four personal maids.

"W-well..." Anni stammered.

"Just tell her. She will hear about it elsewhere anyways," the middle aged lady beside Anni whispered.

"Well, people have been disappearing from the villages near the forest. Although we aren’t that far from the Capital, Erion is still a place filled with monsters. The grand duke has been going out on expeditions to clean them but it seems the amount is increasing and now people started disappearing! It started..." Anni paused, pursing her lips.

"It started?" Cynthia raised an eyebrow.

"It started after your wedding reception banquet... where you disappeared..."

"Ah." Cynthia nodded. "Thank you," she grinned at the maids.

The three ladies glanced at each other and returned the smile.

When they were first assigned to her, they could only feel contempt towards her. After all, their fathers, brothers, and husbands participated in the war for a decade, and some lost their family members whereas others came back heavily injured.

They couldn’t help but blame her– the women from the enemy kingdom, a vicious woman, who appeared in their lives and became their mistress overnight.

They couldn’t accept her as their mistress but as soon as they started working for her, they hadn’t seen her villainous demeanour as per the rumours.

But all they saw was a very calm and grand duchess worthy lady before them. Her soft and gentle voice quickly ordered them not to feel like the sharp blade they wanted to use to stab her neck anymore.

Although rumours about her didn’t stop circulating despite their positive words about her through the mansion, the grand duchess didn’t complain. She remained calm and gentle, just an angel.

Unlike some nobles they met, the grand duchess would share a few words with them when she didn’t even have to glance at them and bother herself to remember their names.

One of the four maids assigned to her left because she truly despised the idea of serving the enemy kingdom’s princess. The three also thought so but their perspective soon changed when they walked through the hallways of the large manson behind her.

Sharp and hurtful words were whispered about her no matter where she went, leaving the three maids wondering how could she endure for so long?

Anyone would wish to leave such a horrible place yet she didn’t flinch, causing their admiration for her to slowly overtake the contempt they failed towards her.

Cynthia abruptly rose from her bath, and one of the maids started to wipe her body while the two others grabbed her clothes, helping out.

Once dressed into a yellow dress, which did not suit Cynthia’s preference, she strolled through the hallway, headed towards her bedroom only a few steps away, followed by her maids.

The words she heard from Anni continued to replay in her mind, her midn racing with worry. She knew that soon, Erion would only have monsters roaming freely around it but she didn’t expect it to be this early.

Orperhaps, everything happened during this time but I was clueless because no one would talk to me! Let alone share their worries about monsters.

With a scoff, Cynthia brushed the few locks of hair in front of her face, putting them behind her ears.

"Even my dear husband hasn’t bothered to let me know about the danger, huh? He clearly doesn’t consider me as his wife–" her thoughts paused once she noticed a familiar figure standing before her door.

"Hans?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Your Highness," the middle-aged man bowed, greeting her.

"How did you–" she paused. "What are you doing here?.." she demanded.

"I have a message from His Majesty. He couldn’t come because he had matters to tend to..." hands explained however, Cynthia raised her hand.

She knew a king had better do than visit his young sister in another kingdom. That’s why she knew she could trust Alistair with Eldoria, the kingdom her parents ruled over for years together.

"Well... he asked me to give you this," Hans handed over a white envelope with a golden coloured seal with a lion symbol on it, representing the seal of the royal family.

"Alright. You can leave," Cynthia signed a guard standing beside her bedroom whom Lucian had appointed for reason Cynthai ignored. She merely assumed he wanted to keep an eye on her as he dind[t trust her at all.

"Well, please take care, Your Highness," Hans bowed once again, leaving. He knew it must be hard for her to stay in an enemy territory however he couldn’t meddle in her private matters. He was merely her escort for a year. He watched her closely but failed to comprehend her no matter how hard he tried.

"Ah! Your Highness!" Hans gasped as if remembering something. He turned around, rushing back toward Cynthia who was about to enter her bedroom.

"I hope you have a good reason for coming in my way, Hans," although her voice seemed soft and gentle, Hans, who knew what she could do, gulped nervously.

"It’s just..." he hesitated, looking at the servants they were surrounded by.

"Just?" Cynthia demanded.

"I beg your pardon," he said before he softly leaned closer to her ear. "The king said to open it when you are alone," he softly whispered, making sure the servants wouldn’t hear.

Cynthia nodded, her curiosity rising. What could this letter possibly contain?

"Alright, you can leave."

Hans bowed once again and followed the guard leading him toward the exit of the mansion. Although he was worried about the young lady, he could no longer stand by her side. Not as a knight. His duty was a mere contract of a year just until she could choose her own knight at the age of twenty as per the tradition of Eldoria. free𝑤ebnovel.com

"But who knew she would be in an enemy territory, with no one by her side to protect her at the age of twenty?" Hans wondered, gazing at the large building once he stood in front of the building.

"I hope to see you doing well just as today, Your Highness," he gently whispered, recalling her usual behaviour, although a little harsh but at least she still behaved like the lady he knew. He turned his back, not looking back this time.

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