Ttog ttog.
This day, someone knocked at the door when Amanda was resting in her room. She turned towards the door and replied,
“Come in.”
It was Mary who entered. She looked more serious than usual, and Amanda gave her a puzzled look.
“What’s wrong?”
“I thought I might need to speak to you.”
Mary held out two envelopes she had in her hand.
“When I first received this letter, I tried to ignore it. I thought I was being tricked. But a second letter that arrived today changed my mind.”
“Who is this letter from?”
“It’s from Tilda, who used to work for the Windsor family. She was the one who tore your dress.”
Tilda’s face floated to Amanda’s mind. Tilda also spent a considerable amount of time working at Windsor’s mansion, and so Amanda hadn’t forgotten her.
“Is this letter from Tilda to you?”
“Yes, please read it yourself.”
With a determined expression, Mary handed the two envelopes to Amanda.
Amanda accepted the envelopes Mary held out, opened the top letter and began reading carefully.
[Hello Mary. It’s been a while. It may seem shameless for me to contact you all of a sudden, but you’re the only one I can turn to. I hope you will listen to me for old times’ sake.]
Tilda’s letter began with the story of how Elice tricked her into betraying Amanda, and detailed information of her work as a maid. Amanda’s eyes skimmed over the page as she read.
[Layla has a terrible temper and has cut off Elice’s tongue. Please tell Lady Amanda that I need her help. I secretly overheard a scheme Layla is planning at the party…]
The letter included the scheme Tilda overheard, included a plea for Amanda to remove her from the Brown household.
After Amanda finished reading the first letter, she looked up at Mary. The kindly maid was the type who was easily taken advantage of because of her caring personality. Amanda was surprised that Mary had been unswayed by Tilda’s words, and had given the letters to Amanda instead.
“You didn’t tell me about this first letter because you thought it might be a trick?”
“Yes, My Lady. I was afraid Elice might have leaked fake information to me, because she sent a letter just like this to Tilda.”
Mary was not wrong, and even if she had immediately brought the first letter to Amanda, the latter would have still been suspicious. However, from Mary’s point of view, she was reluctant to let Amanda know that they were in communication. Now that Mary brought the second letter, however, it probably meant that it contained more convincing content. Amanda opened the second envelope and began reading.
[Mary, I haven’t heard from you yet, so I’m sending you another letter. Elice was recently expelled out of the Brown mansion and taken somewhere. Now I can’t sleep because I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’ll write down more of what I’ve been hearing in case you don’t believe me.]
If the first letter had been briefly commented on Layla’s scheme at the party, the second letter was much more detailed about it. It was also consistent with what Amanda had recently heard from Scarlett.
In summary, Layla planned to obtain an aphrodisiac with Hailey’s help. Tilda’s second letter spoke more specifically how they went about doing so. The plan was so brazen as to be ridiculous, but if it succeeded, Layla would get the results she wanted.
Amanda deemed these letters unlikely to be a trap. The context fit, and there was no reason for Layla to benefit by informing Amanda this. However, she could not draw a conclusion on this alone.
“I’ll have to investigate myself to see if what the letter says is true.”
“Yes, I think you should, too.”
“It must have been difficult to ignore the letter Tilda sent to you.”
“No. It’s true that Tilda’s situation is pitiable, but…but I can’t betray you.”
Amanda smiled at Mary’s loyal answer.
“Thank you.”
Amanda kept Mary around because she had a good heart, but Amanda was always worried that she was weak and easily influenced by others. The maid seemed to have matured a little without even realizing it. To Amanda, Mary now seemed a younger version of her nanny.
“I came to the Imperial Palace as your maid, and I have to lend you my strength.”
“If this letter turns out to be true, I’ll get Tilda out of the Brown family.”
“R-really?”
It was obvious that Mary felt sorry for Tilda. Amanda offered Mary a faint smile.
“Of course. When have you seen me lie?”
“No, you wouldn’t lie, Your Highness. Thank you so much!”
“You can tell Tilda later that it’s all because of you, Mary.”
“Yes, Tilda will be very grateful when she hears this.”
“Until I’ve confirmed what’s on the letters, you can’t tell anyone about this, understand?”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Mary gave an enthusiastic reply.
Amanda immediately went about planning. Not long ago, she had made an agreement with Log to join hands. This would be an ideal opportunity to test the power of their leader Astar. Normally Amanda would communicate periodically to them, but she knew what to do when she needed help immediately.
Amanda turned towards Mary.
“Mary, I need you to do something.”
“Anything.”
“Go to the market and find a place called the Nei Store. I want you to find a man named Isaac and take him here to the Imperial Palace.”
“A man named Isaac?”
“Yes. If you tell him I sent you, he’ll know. Say to him that I want spring flowers.”
“I see.”
Mary nodded. It was a strange order, but she trusted Amanda without hesitation. In turn, Amanda had asked Mary to do this task because she trusted in the maid’s loyalty.
With Astar, there was a unique power available to Amanda. She thought it would be a good opportunity to see their skills and decide how to use them in the future. She looked down at Tilda’s letter again.
‘If Lady Brown obtained an aphrodisiac, I can’t let her use it.’
Amanda imagined what would happen if Layla’s plan was successful and she spent a passionate night with Oliver. A murderous red glint flashed in Amanda’s eyes. Perhaps someday there will be a second wife depending on their needs, but…not yet…
Not yet…