The King's Lover
Chapter 157: I Didn’t

Chapter 157: I Didn’t

It wasn’t the snickering that Rose found odd. The maids still laughed at how she spoke, though they no longer boldly mocked her as they used to; it was not weird to hear a snicker. It was the smacking that Rose found very odd. That had never happened before; instead, the others would usually join in the laughter.

Lily grabbed the door handle and slowly turned around to look at Rose. She had a look on her face as though she might refuse to speak with Rose, but then her shoulders slumped, and she took her hand away from the door.

"I don’t see why not," she said and stepped away from the door.

The other two maids didn’t wait. As soon as Lily stepped aside, they stepped forward and were out of the room without looking back. The sound of their feet rushing away floated into the room just before the door closed.

Lily folded her arms and stared hard at Rose. "What do you want?" she asked, darkly. .com

Rose turned her gaze from the closed door to Lily, a confused expression on her face. Her forehead was slightly furrowed, and her hazel-green eyes had a blank, dazed stare in them.

"Did something ’appen?" she asked softly. "Why did you bring all these to me? It is too much for one person."

Lily’s expression shifted to bewilderment. "Isn’t this exactly what you wanted? What did you think was going to happen when you complained to the crown prince? I can’t believe Edna thought you’d never ask the crown prince for a selfish request, but I guess anyone would take advantage of the crown prince’s favor. It must be nice to be served like a royal."

Rose blinked, trying to follow Lily’s words. The maid was speaking too fast for her to keep up with. "Wait, slow down," Rose said. "Did you just say I reported to the crown prince? What could I possibly report to ’im about? I did no such thing." Rose stared at her in disbelief.

Lily looked at Rose with disgust. She could not believe Rose would lie so easily when everyone knew exactly what had happened. "You know I went out of my way to make sure you got lunch. Edna was too busy, and I was lending her a hand. I was the one who requested the maid bring you some food, as I was sure you must not have gotten any food for lunch. That was my mistake. I should have let you starve."

"I didn’t want to accept the food in the first place," Rose tried to state her case, but it was clear Lily wasn’t on her side.

"If it meant you’d keep your mouth shut, you should have done just that," she scoffed and turned away from Rose, shaking her head.

Rose sighed. "I know you don’t believe me, but I didn’t complain or report ’er behavior to the crown prince. ’e was ’ere when she brought the meal, but out of sight. And as she was going, she called me a whore. I am sure ’e ’eard that. Why would I tell the crown prince? I’m not trying to get anyone in trouble."

Rose had not expected the crown prince to do anything about it. He had even acted as though he didn’t hear the maid, but now this.

Lily’s expression faltered, and her arms came undone. "I don’t know," she mumbled, her expression torn. "She called you a whore?"

"Yes," Rose replied. It was her turn to wrap her arms around herself. She still wasn’t sure if Lily believed her, but at least the maid was listening. "Loud enough for everyone to hear."

Lily didn’t look shocked by this; instead, she looked like she was thinking. "What did she give you for lunch?"

"She brought some dried bread and watery soup. I ate it, even if it tasted awful. Why would I eat it if I wanted to be served something better?"

It was exhausting to always have to defend herself. Everyone always believed she was the one in the wrong. She thought that after Martha, she wouldn’t have to deal with this anymore, but clearly, that was not the case.

"The crown prince saw this?" Lily asked.

"Yes," Rose repeated. "I tried to hide it. That’s why I didn’t want to accept it. But she started saying awful things, and I didn’t want her to get into trouble, so I took the tray and closed the door."

"She mentioned this to me when she came back—that you took the tray from her and slammed the door in her face."

"Only because she was about to say something that would get her in trouble. I didn’t even know the crown prince would do this. What did ’e do to ’er?"

"I don’t know," Lily said and turned to look at Rose. "Mister Henry just asked us to prepare this and bring it to you while he took her away. Everyone is saying you didn’t like what you were served and reported it to the crown prince."

"I didn’t," Rose said. .com

Lily shrugged, but she didn’t say she believed Rose. "I have to go."

"I can’t finish this," Rose said and pointed to the table.

Lily glanced at it. "Eat whatever you can. The maids will take care of the rest."

Rose simply nodded and watched Lily walk out of the room. She wished it had been Edna. Lily wasn’t very helpful, and the maid had been cold to her. However, at least she no longer spoke in that cold tone, and she looked like she believed her.

Rose turned to the table. It was hard to ignore, as the smell filled the room fast. It was clear that whatever they brought was served to the royal family. Rose felt very uncomfortable about this. Could she eat it, or ask that it be taken away? She didn’t want to waste it, and to be honest, she would be lying if she said she wasn’t happy about it. It was about time she ate something proper. Only dinner was decent.

Still, Rose didn’t like what it entailed and the rumors that were very likely to spread all over the castle. She didn’t want to incur more enemies.