DITOEFTV react to

Chapter 31

— XXIX

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EMPRESS' PERSONAL LIBRARY

LATE IN THE NIGHT

    Penelope found the setting suspicious and watched the screen very carefully.

DUST FELL OFF THE SHELVES — as did the old books that were perched on the top of the last row of the thirtieth shelf of the library. The maid hurried to collect all of them and not cause a single noise.

    Emily admittedly found the maid suspicious, as she narrowed her eyes trying to see what that maid was trying to collect. The Family quickly realized something was wrong with the situation and focused on the maid's action.

It had been hard to find the library empty in the last two weeks, with the Empress paying more attention to her research now that the court work burden was lessened.

But she had to finish the job she was assigned no matter what. It was dangerous — she knew — but imagining the tinkling gold that was promised beneath her fingertips filled her with motivation. Yes, she must complete this and she must do it quickly.

    'She is a spy' they all thought the same thing

And thus, with newfound energy, the head maid of the library maintenance staff skimmed over the library with light feet.

    'Ho, how bold of the head maid to go against its owner for bits of gold' though Penelope, Reynold and the Duke.

Hours passed, and finally she was standing in front of the last shelf in the library. With quick movements, she began emptying the books one by one. But a voice outside made her freeze.

    They wonder who it could have been..

"What are you doing here?" sir Felix stood at the entrance, eyeing the woman with suspicion — his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to unsheathe any given moment. He had visited the library on request of Princess Athanasia, who planned to borrow a book from the Empress' collection. However, he did not expect to witness some maid snooping around at this hour.

    Penelope and the Duke if the Princess knew something was going to happen or was she really just borrowing a book.

"I-i was," she stuttered nervously, dropping the dusting cloth in her hands. Noticing it was a maid — Felix removed his hand from the hilt — gray eyes still fixed on the woman who stood trembling before him.

'And this is why maids are mostly used for spies, they can blend anywhere' thought Penelope as she watched Felix's action.

"I w-was here to, I was here to clean — I was her to clean the shelves that remain neglected usually."

Her answer didn't completely satisfy him, but seeing there couldn't be anything in the library to steal, Felix didn't find a reason to suspect the woman anymore.

    Emily began to think about what Felix just commented about stealing...and remembered that this was her lady's private library. In the previous scene she remembered saying she was going to hide something in her library, when her lady was crying.

    Penelope noticed Emily was thinking really hard as her face began to scrunch up. She was about what was wrong, when Emily just gasped as if she found out something.

    "My lady, they are trying to get the letters.." Emily whispered to Penelope as she explained her train of thoughts. Penelope listened carefully and found that it was a huge possibility but the question was "why.." she mumbled to herself.

    They both look back on the screen to see if their guess was right, ignoring the stare they got from the family that could hear what they were talking about.

He sighed, tired "rearrange the books you've removed from their original places, and visit during working hours. This isn't a time to lurk around in the Empress' private library."

The maid hurriedly nodded, quickly moving to arrange the books with shaky hands.

Be it luck — or chance, but a stack of letters tied together with a red satin ribbon fell from the top of the shelf. Something that sir Felix did not seem to notice.

    Penelope and Emily but sighed seeing that their guess was right but wondered who was bold enough to do such a thing.

Scared — the maid's eyes scanned the object for what she was instructed to. Her eyes shined with glee, as she hid the letters under the pockets of her skirts.

    The Duke and the brothers wonder why some letters are so important.

She did it! — the maid heaved a sigh of relief exiting the library with quick steps — finally she had found what was asked of her.

With brisk steps, she exited the Royal Palace — heading towards the office in charge of the paperwork.

    They all looked confused on what the maid was planning to do.

The place was empty, but on top of the desk there lay a pile of papers which were meant to be sent to the Emperor in the morning — with the label beside them reading 'addressed to his highness'

    They were all still confused on what the maid was doing and why she put the letters in that pile of paper. Penelope and Emily for some reason had a bad feeling about what was going to happen.

Dishing out the letters in her hand, the maid would randomly shove the crumpled letters in between the stack of the papers, before fleeing back to the servant chambers.

    They all sat wondering what would happen to the letters or what the letter was about. Reynold spoke up and asked why the letters were so important. Penelope explains about the letter and the previous screen. The family just sat there processing the information and then began to worry about what could happen.