The Crown's Obsession (WN)
chapter-573

One minute after Lucy's mother left the room, an elderly woman who was in her early fifties arrived at the door. It was Ruby, whom she called as Nana, the maid who had looked after Lucy since her mother had given birth to her.

The maid was fairly plump in appearance and an inch shorter than Lucy in height, and the young vampiress didn't cross more than five feet three inches.

"Milady," Ruby bowed her head. When her eyes fell on Lucy's cheek, she quickly came to the vampiress' side. "Are you alright?" the woman noticed the four lines that had been imprinted on Lucy's cheek.

Lucy's eyes softened considerably on meeting Ruby's eyes. Ruby looked after Lucy as her own daughter and maybe more than her mother ever paid attention to her. "I am okay. It's just a simple slap," replied Lucy, not taking her grandmother's action nor her mother's words to her heart.

Ruby's eyebrows knitted together, "I am sorry I wasn't there to greet you in the halls earlier. I would have done something."

Lucy smiled at the woman's concern, an emotion that she had always wanted from her mother, but she had never received it. "I don't think either of us would have been able to deflect what was going to happen today."

The woman stared at the skin that had turned red and said, "It's swollen and is going to leave a mark on your pretty skin. Sit down, milady. Let me get a wet cloth to reduce the pain."

"Wait!" Lucy stopped Nana, and she went to the door, peeking her head and looking left and right before locking the doors.

She didn't want any maids to be eavesdropping on her or Nana's words. Because in the past, there had been times where some of her words had reached her grandmother, who later reprimanded her in a way where Lucy wasn't allowed to bring up that subject again.

But it wasn't just Lucy who was punished. If any time Lucy disappointed her grandmother, the maids got into trouble because of her. Many times, the maids were deprived of food or sleep as punishment for being a bad influence on the princess.

"Now I think it's fine," said Lucy with a bright smile before going to bed and sitting on the edge of it.

"You made us worried in the morning, milady. Thankfully Amice knew you were out with the two guards," said Ruby with a look of concern on her face, "The Queen got busy with some matters, therefore we were fortunate to not be questioned right away."

Ruby dipped the cloth in the cold water and brought it to where Lucy was sitting.

"Sit down," Lucy patted her hand on the space next to her. "I even locked the door to make sure no one would intrude or see what we are doing," her mood was back to normal, forgetting that she had been scolded by her grandmother.

"I could never do that, milady," whispered Ruby with her eyes wide. Maids were not supposed to sit and share the space with the royal members of the castle. And it was something that was drilled into their heads.

"You always tell that, but you know I would never look at you as a maid," said Lucy whilst Ruby brought the wet cloth to place it against Lucy's cheek that soothed the burn.

"That is what worries me. It is not right for the princess to tell a maid like me to sit next to her," replied Ruby, her hands gently dabbed the wet cloth of Lucy's cheek, and Lucy sighed. "Why do you go against the mother Queen's words? It always ends up with you getting punished. Are you not worried about receiving punishments, milady?"

If there was a maid who could speak out the thoughts to Lucy, it was Ruby. But even that had restrictions as they couldn't speak like this infront of the others. It would only result in Ruby losing her head.

"I do listen to everything, grandma says. I just felt like going out today," Lucy pursed her lips.

"Did you at least enjoy your time outside?" asked Ruby, her brown eyes shifted to look at the young vampiress who raised her eyebrows.

"I did at least until I got caught in the alleys. You won't believe what happened today!" gushed Lucy. She explained what had happened in the alley, from the beginning to the end in a whisper and the elderly woman listened to the story with her eyes wide in horror.

"No wonder the Queen doesn't want you stepping outside the castle. It's never safe, and you never know what might happen. I hope God bless the man who came to save you today. It would be best if you are careful, milady," responded Ruby after hearing what Lucy said.

Lucy smiled, "For a moment, I thought it was God who had come to help me," but then it was because the stranger was standing on the roof of the building.

"God must have sent him to help you," whispered Ruby to her, and Lucy nodded her head.

"Maybe he did."

Lucy couldn't help but remember the man who had appeared in front of her out of nowhere and saved her from the thugs. More than the damage the thugs in the alley had caused her, it was her grandmother who had caused her more damage by slapping her hard on the cheek, that was now going to leave a bruise on her face for a few hours.

Lucy and the stranger hadn't exchanged a word, nor had the stranger bothered to ask her for a favour in return for his help. Lucy remembered how the stranger had moved, when he was dealing with the thugs, so quickly that she felt if she were a human, she would have missed his movements.

"There," said Ruby, dropping her hand back to her side, "This should reduce the swelling at least a little bit." The woman started to move away from the bed when she heard Lucy whisper to her,

"Do you think God will forgive me? For killing that person?"

Lucy had never hurt a thing in her life. Remembering the blade that she held and that slit the man's throat, the scene replayed in her mind. Death wasn't new to her but seeing it that close had shaken her.

Ruby offered Lucy a warm smile, and she said, "God will always forgive you, my child. He knows you have a good heart."