The Cursed Princess

Chapter 4 Do You Want Revenge?

I dared not look anymore. Pulling the curtain closed, I let Teal help me back onto the wooden bed.

Northtown was a place of endless winters, a land where snow reigned for eight months of the year, casting everything beneath its frosty white cloak.

I couldn't fathom what had drawn Exeter here, a man who seemed to belong in the perpetual spring of some flourishing city, not in this remote wilderness.

Noticing my daze, Teal gently offered a steaming cup of herbal tea. "Your Highness, please drink it. We're nearly out of herbs; tonight I'll ask Andrew for permission to go home and fetch more."

Andrew and Maggie were both harsh on servants. Teal was just a lowly maid, and she couldn't go home without permission, nor was she permitted to bring personal items here.

Maybe I looked too desperate, because before I could even speak, Teal reassured me, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I'll take care of everything."

She gave me a quick wink before slipping out of the attic.

Staring at the wooden beams above, I couldn't shake the image of the man I'd glimpsed. That aura of his didn't belong to any ordinary guard.

Suddenly, the thin door of the attic burst open with a bang. Josephine's short, squat frame squeezed into the room, her fan held up to her freckled face as she scanned me with disdain.

"No wonder you didn't come to greet our esteemed guests. Turns out you're still bedridden."

With a sneer, she kicked over the small table by my bed, sending the dishes crashing to the floor.

"Oh dear, this low attic is so dark; I must've missed it. Surely you won't hold it against me, will you, Anne?"

Abuse like this was nothing new to me. Ten years of daily bullying had taught me that as long as I stayed silent, she would grow bored and leave. Resistance only invited more violence.

But today, Josephine was different. She grew angrier at my silence, barking orders to two maids, "Get her down here! All she does is lie around—does she still think she's a princess or something?"

Without hesitation, the maids seized my arms and dragged me from the bed. Sharp wooden splinters jabbed into my skin, drawing small streaks of blood.

I lay limp, like a dead fish on the floor, staring hollowly up at Josephine.

"Josephine," I murmured, "do you remember the last maid who hit me? I wonder where they buried her body."

The maids, suddenly remembering the so-called curse attached to me, shrank back in fear.

I laughed bitterly, tears slipping from the corners of my eyes and vanishing into my hair.

With the subtle approval of the manor's owners, the staff's mistreatment had escalated over the years.

They had started by withholding food, but soon, I became their scapegoat. Whenever one of them received a scolding, I was the one they took it out on.

They shoved their chores onto me, then laughed as I toiled alone like a plough horse.

Meanwhile, all they did was fooling around and having fun.

Until the winter two years ago, a new maid, furious over being reprimanded by Isabella, lashed out at me to vent her frustration.

That same night, she fell into a snow pit and froze solid before morning.

After that incident, Isabella forbade her children and the staff from having any contact with me.

Who would believe that, at just sixteen, I had already borne the blame for three deaths!

It was almost absurdly funny.

A pair of brown leather boots appeared in front of me. Joesphine nudged my chin with her foot, forcing my head up.

Her round face, with her thick crimson lips, appeared before me like a clown's mask.

"Someone as cursed as you should remain hidden away, living in misery like the stray dogs in town. If we hadn't taken you in out of kindness, you wouldn't even have food to eat. And yet you dare threaten me?"

She pressed her boot against my face, the intricate patterns on the sole grinding painfully into my skin.

I turned my head to escape her oppressive weight, but Josephine only pushed down harder, pleased to see the pain etched across my face.

"Don't blame me, Anne," she sneered. "This is for your own good. Today we have noble guests from Reysland visiting our estate, and we can't have a cursed creature like you scaring them off. They might think our family has sinister intentions."

With a smug smile, she stepped back, frowning at the bloodstain now smeared across her boot.

A maid hurried forward, pulling out a handkerchief to polish the shoe.

Josephine looked down at me, satisfaction gleaming in her eyes. "See? You're lower than even a maid. Pathetic."

I struggled to push myself up, wobbling on unsteady arms.

I'd heard words like hers so often over the years that they barely registered anymore.

I moved to the corner, picked up the water basin, and began washing my hands at the window.

Teal had thoughtfully filled it with water before she left. I could only hope she hadn't been caught.

I didn't know the reason for Josephine's wild acts. Fortunately, she didn't notice the stolen blankets on my bed.

Though Isabella had thrown them away, Josephine would surely make a scene if she noticed them.

I ignored Josephine's presence behind me, whispering to myself over and over.

"Anne, don't forget the blood on your hands."

"Anne, oh Anne, do not surrender to the devil. You are human. Humans do not harm their own kind."

"Don't turn back—they're nothing but illusions; they don't exist."

Josephine's maid, apparently spooked, whispered urgently, "Miss, she seems... off. Let's just leave her."

Josephine sighed in annoyance. "Forget it. Let's find something more interesting to do. I noticed a few of the Duke Exeter's guards were rather handsome. Let's go pay them a visit."

"But what about her?" one maid asked hesitantly. "She doesn't look good."

Josephine rolled her eyes. "Are you hoping for a curse, too? Queen Mary held her once and was killed in a carriage accident the very next day. Do you think your life is worth more than the Queen's?"

Terrified, the maid backed away, and Josephine left, laughing.

Her laughter echoed in my ears like a devil's hymn.