Kissing Hellfire: Marry Me, Evil Lord
Chapter 234: The King’s Guests

Chapter 234: The King’s Guests

"The uniform looks good on me!"

When they were led to their rooms, they had changed into the maid uniforms given to them. While Isabel and Jenny were looking in the mirror and showing enthusiasm, Noelle on the side seemed to be in deep thought. She had worn her uniform too and had her hair tied in a bun as it was required for all female servants to tie their hair.

"Are you feeling alright, Noelle?" Jenny asked when she noticed Noelle’s silence, snapping her out of her reverie.

"I’m fine," Noelle assured even though the truth was, the way the head maid stared at her earlier made her confused. It was like she recognized her, but after the recognition registered on her face, it was replaced with indifference as if she were convinced by something.

"I must really work hard so I can serve the king!" chimed Isabel. "I haven’t seen King Alec yet, but from what I heard, he’s a very handsome man!"

This seemed to worry Jenny. "But some rumors said he had gone insane after the death of his wife five years ago. Getting close to him might not be a good idea, Issa."

The war that happened within Evardin years ago had reached different lands including Aviore, from which the three were from. Noelle was aware of the story. Even after a couple of years since the incident, it was still a hot topic among rich people. She worked in a noble household so it was inevitable to hear some gossip.

It was said that a big group of rebels had tried to overthrow the king’s reign before. Her wife, the late queen, had died during the war. The king vanished for a year, it was not publicized where he had gone but some rumors say he locked himself in the palace’s dungeon, and state affairs were managed by his trusted subordinates.

"But isn’t he an amazing man? He loves his dead wife so much that even after several years he hasn’t taken a new wife or even concubines," Isabel continued to praise the king despite Jenny’s warning.

"The more reason to be careful around him. He hasn’t gotten over the death of his wife which must have caused him to become indifferent to the people around him. A broken man is a dangerous man, Issa. You don’t know what he might do when he gets angry," said Jenny.

"Come on! Stop overthinking, Jenny. I might even get the king to fall for my charms and become his new queen!" Isabel chuckled at her own ridiculous thoughts as she was aware that a lowly peasant like her would never have such an opportunity.

The maids were given a day off to get used to the palace. Their first working day would officially start the next day, and the three ladies couldn’t stop thinking about it as they went to bed that night.

Isabel couldn’t wait to meet the king, Jenny was worried about serving a monarch rumored to be a vampire warlord who had gone insane, and Noelle was overthinking the head maid’s strange stare at her that morning.

The following day, the new maids were assigned to different tasks. Noelle was assigned to the storage rooms, Jenny to the kitchens, and Isabel to the dining hall.

"The king’s special guests for the royal banquet in a couple of days will arrive today. You should not go walking around unless you have a job to do," said Dorothy, a younger woman compared to Isobel who was tasked with disseminating tasks to the new hires.

Later that afternoon, while Noelle was sorting things in one of the storage rooms, she took a break and peered out the north window which faced the palace’s vast grounds. She noticed the arrival of grand carriages and she remembered what Dorothy said about the king’s important guests.

They were said to be the royal family of Bodeville, a kingdom from the north. Noelle watched an old couple go out of the first carriage. From the second were two young ladies clad in the best kinds of fabric, and from the third carriage were two young men dressed in high-quality suits only the upper crust could afford. Noelle was convinced that they must be the important guests.

"The two princesses of Bodeville are here too?"

Noelle was startled when someone suddenly talked beside her. When she turned, she saw it was Faye, one of the new maids assigned to the storage rooms with her.

"Oh, I’m sorry. I was peering outside too, and I saw the grand carriages. They must be the royal family of Bodeville. Their kingdom’s crest is on the flags of their carriages," Faye pointed out.

The bubbly young maid continued before Noelle could utter a word, "I’ve heard those two princesses are unmarried. Could this not be just a simple economic alliance? Perhaps a marriage is possible between our king and one of those two princesses. They are so beautiful, aren’t they?" she giggled. A dreamy look was in her eyes as she watched the princesses make their way to the palace with such extravagant clothes.

"But I haven’t heard anything about the king searching for a wife," said Noelle.

She wanted to add the things she heard about the king’s undying love for his dead wife but she chose not to speak of them.

She didn’t know the king personally and had no idea how matters in the palace worked. Perhaps the king wanted to marry now, even just for the sake of an alliance between two kingdoms. After all, a king should have an heir to put the kingdom at ease.

That night, Isabel and Jenny went to Noelle’s room before they slept to talk about how their first day went. Jenny said it was very busy in the kitchen, while Isabel was so excited talking about how she served the special guests in the dining hall and even saw the king.

"Bodeville’s two princes are so good-looking, but King Alec is way more dashing! I swear, all of the men I have seen pale in comparison to King Alec’s captivating looks!" Isabel was all about the king. She couldn’t seem to stop.