章節 160: Emperor's bedroom tonight

"Hope, where are you going this late?" Lotus, Lilia's second maid, and Hope's friend, asked when she saw her friend leaving the room.

It was already seven at night, and the two maids had finished their duties with the empress.

Normally, her duties would not end until nine o'clock, but Empress Lilia went to the Emperor's bedroom tonight, so they were sent to rest early.

But strangely, when Hope reached her bedroom, instead of wearing her pajamas, she dressed relatively nicely and prepared herself to go outside.

Hope froze for an instant hearing Lotus's question, but she made sure of hiding her uneasiness and put on an apologetic tone.

"... I'm going to the servant's quarters. I promised Daisy I would help her with something tonight."

"Daisy? Is she not Prince Claus's maid?" Lotus asked with a confused expression before nodding. "Now that I think about it, you have a good relationship with her huh... Hope, you are not going to tell her anything you can't say, right?"

Hope's back was full of cold sweat, but her face showed a bitter smile, without any sign that she was hiding anything.

"Of course not. I know the rules, Lotus. Even if she and I are good friends, I'll never betray my master. Lotus, please, keep it a secret from her majesty. You know that she doesn't like anyone related to Prince Claus, but I had taken care of Daisy from when she was a little child, so I want to help her if it's possible."

In the empire, being a personal servant means being completely loyal to one's master. Each personal servant was indoctrinated from a child through certain secret methods to never betray his master.

Although the method to create such loyal servants was very expensive, it could not be denied that it was effective. In history, the number of times that a specially-cultivated personal servant betrayed his master could be counted in one hand.

It was the reason Lotus did not doubt Hope's words, and it was the reason Hope did not lie about seeing Daisy. After all, if she lies and someone discovers it, then the empress will become suspicious.

Lotus looked at Hope and sighed. "I understand, I'll cover for you. But don't take too long. It'll be bad if someone asks for you and you are not here."