The King's Lover
Chapter 222: Mouthy

Chapter 222: Mouthy

Welma’s expression changed. "Is that it?" she asked, slightly raising her voice.

Rose glanced at her. "Whatever do you mean?" she asked, frowning as she met eyes with Welma.

"Are you not going to ask me more questions about this or yell or be angry?" Welma asked, taking a step forward. There was still quite some distance between them, and Rose remained seated on the bed.

"Now what will that do?" Rose asked her with a solemn expression. "Besides, weren’t you saying a moment ago that you may not have a choice in this? Doing all of that would just be a waste of time."

"You aren’t angry?" Welma asked, peering at Rose.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Compared to everything you have done, this is the least annoying," she said and looked away. She wasn’t lying when she said it was the least annoying—this didn’t get on her nerves.

She didn’t care about the dress; she cared more about who would have done something like this and how it was likely to affect her. The fact that Welma was willing to give her details, even though it was a danger to herself, was enough to make her contribution to it mild. <a href="https://.com">.com

Welma shuffled on her feet. "I am sorry," she whispered.

Rose scoffed. "That’s rare," she glanced at her. "Have you been so worn down that you’d apologize to me? I thought you said I was pitiful."

"I still think you’re pitiful!" Welma stated.

Rose chuckled and placed the bouquet on the bed. She couldn’t take this lying down. Anyone could tell this was a warning. She doubted the Queen, who had gone as far as orchestrating her kidnapping, would be satisfied with just ruining the dress.

"Let’s start with last night at the ball. What were you doing to the lord?" Rose asked.

"I already told you, I needed to give him the antidote," she said.

Rose was quick to notice that Welma’s usual attitude was back. She wondered if the maid had been worried that Rose might report her to the crown prince.

"Why?" she asked. Rose didn’t want to think about it, but Lord Elrod had drunk the wine Welma had said she shouldn’t drink, and she had been saying something about poison before the crown prince interrupted.

Welma sighed and folded her arms. "Because he drank the poison meant for you."

Rose nodded, doing her best not to show a reaction. She had already felt uncomfortable about being at the ball, knowing the Queen wouldn’t have been very happy about it and had decided not to eat or drink anything and, more importantly, not do anything that would draw attention to her.

However, fate had other plans, and it kept moving from one disaster to another—and finally the worst part of it all: dancing with the crown prince in front of everyone while dressed like that. She was sure the Queen was out for her neck, but this information meant the Queen had already been out for her neck even before the dance.

"That’s it?" Welma asked when Rose didn’t say anything more. <a href="https://.com">.com

It was useless to be hostile to Welma—a terrible approach, really. She was a maid who was willing to help her while working for the Queen. Even if the crown prince did get rid of her, another would just take her place. It was better to stick with the one who would at least tell her before she poisoned her.

"If you’re expecting a reaction from me to appease your conscience, you won’t get it. And it’s already tiring that you keep asking this." <a href="https://.com">.com

Rose stretched her arms—she felt stiff. Riding in the carriage, the wedding, and now this. She couldn’t even get the chance to ruminate over the events. She was petrified of the Queen’s actions, which was the reason she couldn’t fold her hands and do nothing. Who knows what the Queen might try?

"Ha," Welma laughed sadly.

"What happened to the lord after? Did the antidote work?" Rose asked, not letting up on the topic. She needed to know as much as she could.

Welma grabbed her head and slightly shook it. "I do not know, but just the mere fact that my head is still attached to my body must mean he is at least alive." She had a dull expression at the end of her words, as though she had recalled something unpleasant.

Rose nodded. She knew the maid’s words were true. The first person to abandon her when chaos broke loose would be the Queen. Welma wouldn’t be roaming freely—or be alive—if she had caused the death of a very important lord.

"What other plans does the Queen have for me?" Rose asked.

Welma studied Rose’s face for a moment. "I do not know. They don’t exactly share plans with me unless they need me to execute them."

"What do you know then?" Rose asked. "Do you know how the Queen found out it was me?"

Welma took a step back, and Rose smirked. She had hit the mark. Something told her that Welma more than knew—she might have been the reason.

"My job is to tell the Queen even the littlest information about you, regardless of whether it’s important or not. There is no way I could have—"

Rose forced out a yawn. "You’re giving unnecessary information. As I said, I do not care about your conscience. You spy on me—we both know that. Trying to justify it makes you look pitiful. Wouldn’t you say that?"

A smile lingered on Rose’s face. This time was different. It was time she took Lady Delphine and Edna’s advice. It was the only way she could protect herself from the Queen’s wrath—which still was solely the crown prince’s fault.

Welma paused for a second as she stared at Rose—something seemed strange. She could tell that Rose was scared and deeply bothered by the situation, but at the same time, there was an air of confidence around her.

"We both know who is pitiful here," Welma said.

Rose threw her head back and laughed. Welma was still mouthy. However, to be honest, they were both pitiful—and simply victims of circumstances beyond their powers.

"Did you tell her it was me?" Rose asked.

"Yes. She asked who the maiden the crown prince danced with was, and I said I had reasons to believe it was you."

Rose nodded.

"I served you the drink. There was no way I couldn’t have noticed your dress. I was also supposed to destroy it so you wouldn’t make it to the ball, but Bailey fixed it on time."

Welma winced as she recalled how much the ladies had scolded her, and they had also queried her about not mentioning the similarities with the dress. But Welma said she was too preoccupied to notice and that Rose mostly stayed in the dark.

They almost didn’t believe her, and Welma thought she might be punished this time, but her constant spying on Rose seemed important to them, and they were willing to let the matter slide. Still, Welma had seen the expression on the Queen—she was out for blood.

Rose thought for a moment. She could remember Bailey lamenting about how she was late because she had to fix a tear, and she had been grateful Welma noticed.

She almost wished they never did. She hadn’t wanted to go to the ball, but she doubted the crown prince would have taken kindly to that. Everyone involved would have been punished.

"I see. Is there anything you think it would do me good to know?" Rose asked.

"The Queen is angry. I fear the dress is only the start. It will only get worse from here."

"Thank you. You may leave," Rose said and turned away.

Welma stared at Rose for a second. She seemed hesitant but eventually opened her lips. "One more thing."

"What is it?" Rose asked without lifting her head.

"The Queen mentioned the crown prince had been the one to choose her dress. She had asked him to decide from five other dresses, and he had chosen that one without even seeing her wear it. I just thought you should know."

"Thank you again," Rose said, trying to not pay too much attention to her words. "And you can tell the Queen whatever she needs to know—as long as you warn me beforehand. I will be speaking to the crown prince tonight. Don’t worry, I’ll skip the part where you tried to kill me."

"I told you not to drink it. It would have been stupid if you drank it after I acted so suspiciously and then told you not to drink it."

Rose didn’t miss Welma’s choice of words. She had been acting weird on purpose while bringing her the drink.

"That’s brave talk for someone who almost killed me. Perhaps I should also tell the crown prince about the poisoning."

"No," Welma cried.

"Good," she smirked. "You’re not stupid, Welma. I shouldn’t have to tell you what shouldn’t reach the Queen’s ear."

"Ha," Welma said, shaking her head. "Using my own words against me. Yes, Rose. I’ll keep my end, as long as the crown prince isn’t on my back."

She moved her hand to dismiss Welma as she got out of bed. Tonight was going to be demanding.