Chapter 27
1368 Words
CHAPTER 27
“Lolita, Dina, please prepare a soup for the queen dowager. I want to visit her personally but I was assigned with a lot of duties here in the palace. Once you checked on her, please report it to me.”
“We will do it, Your Highness,” said the two servants. The both of them walked to the kitchen to prepare what the queen was wishing to the Queen Dowager. The queen dowager is the second most influential woman in the whole palace next to the current queen. If only she’s doing well and not sick, she’ll be the one to assist and help the current empress in the assigned work for the palace.
“What soup should we cook for the Queen Dowager? I don’t what she’s up to. I don’t visit him as much as you do, Lolita.”
Lolita didn’t speak. She let Dina talk nonstop but she didn’t reply.
“Hey, Lolita! Why aren’t you talking to me? Since the day we visited the prince you stopped talking to me. I thought we’re already friends but now you’re avoiding me.”
“You already know why.”
Dina gasped. She remembered what she did in Leo’s hut when they visited. She teased Lolita to Hideo until they have to back to the palace. She didn’t know that Lolita would be mad because of that. She just took her revenge because she didn’t tell her that Veneer can hear her praises while they were on the way.
“It’s just that, Lolita. Talk to me, please. You also teased me with Veneer but I’m still approaching you. Why can’t you do the same? I thought you’re tougher than me but now you’re showing me that you’re not. Do you really like Hideo? He’s good-looking and I think the two of you are perfectly fine if only you’re not a servant. Don’t worry there’s still a chance for him to like you.”
Lolita didn’t speak. She continued preparing the ingredients for the vegetable soup. She didn’t prepare a chicken soup. She heard from her mother that you shouldn’t prepare a chicken dish if the person who’s going to eat it is not feeling well. The queen dowager was suffering from a disease since then and she didn’t want to add up on her sickness.
“Lolita! How can I help you if you’re not talking to me? I promise I won’t do it again. I will not talk about him again.”
Lolita poured the vegetable into the boiling water. She stirred it while she’s staring at the vapor that was building on top of it.
“Lolita, if I need to bow and plead in front of you, I will do it. Please forgive me and talk to me. Other servants stopped being my friend after you became the queen’s personal servant. They said that I didn’t have any worth because the queen’s in favor of you. You’re the one who helped me when I’m sick and I will not forget about it. You helped me a lot and when we became friends I can’t describe how happy I am. Lolita, I’m sorry!”
Dina dropped her knees to the ground. She pleased and bowed to Lolita repeating the word sorry. She didn’t stop until she heard a laugh from her.
“You looked like you’re pleading to a queen,” Lolita said. She laughed herself to death.
Dina immediately stood up. Her fists were clenched and her eyebrows were crossed. “Why are you laughing? Did you plan this? Did you want me to plead to you? You made me act lower than you. How could you!”
“You’re the one to blame when Veneer heard all of your praises on him. When we arrived at Master Leo’s hut, you teased me to Hideo and I didn’t talk about it. You even said that I want to travel around the forest of the garden and let him guard me. Prince Aragorn ordered Hideo and that was the most awkward feeling that I felt. And now you’re mad when I let you plead for nothing. Maybe this is really the end of our friendship.” She let her back to face Dina. She’s preventing her laugh to burst out.
“No, Lolita! I don’t want this friendship to end. Forgive me for the things that I said and done. I won’t tease you again to that soldier.”
“Before I talk to you again, promise me that you wouldn’t be short-tempered.”
“I promise.”
“And admit that you have feelings for Veneer.”
“Huh? Is it required or you’re just fooling me? No, I won’t say it. You just want to confess.”
“Then, we shouldn’t talk ever again.” Lolita was about to leave but Dina grasped her arms.
“Wait! I admit! I have a crush on Veneer but I know my place and he wouldn’t look at me. I’m just a servant and he belongs to the royal family. What am I to her? I’m someone whom he shouldn’t lay his eyes on.”
Lolita shrugged and clicked her tongue. “When I first encounter you, you were so proud of yourself and you even praise yourself more than everybody else. But now, you’re looking low of yourself and you make yourself believe that the king’s nephew would not like you?”
“It is the truth. Anyone with a high position wouldn’t fall in love with a servant like me. What do I smell like? I smell like soup or rat or fermented vegetable.”
“Don’t worry, Dina. If you truly like him, I will help you for him to like you back. This isn’t a magic trick, but we’ll see how Veneer would fall for you once he sees your true beauty.”
They talked about Veneer and the steps that they should accomplish for him to like Dina back. Dina should look more elegant than usual. She should learn to cook delicious dishes like Lolita because no one can stop themselves for a woman who can cook scrumptious meals. After their conversation, they tasted the soup that they cooked and headed to Queen Dowager’s room. One of the palace’s servants was standing outside.
“The Queen Dowager told me that she’ll be sleeping until the king dowager returned. She was upset that the king dowager manages to visit one of his concubines when she’s having difficulty with her sickness. I don’t know if she’s awake already, but she’s waiting for more than five hours.”
“We won’t bother her. We’ll just bring this soup inside and check on her as the queen had commanded,” Dina answered.
The servant let them go inside. Dina placed the soup on the table beside the bed. Lolita touched the queen dowager’s arm and it was cold as a block of ice. Her heart pounded and she checked the queen dowager’s pulse. She almost lost her breath when she can’t feel anything.
“What are you doing, Lolita? We shouldn’t bother her sleep.”
Lolita placed her eyes above the queen dowager’s chest and she almost lost herself completely when her heart doesn’t give a single beat.
- Writer
