𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐊'𝐒 𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓 .°* | wmmap.

━━ chapter L.

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HEARSAY TRAVELED FASTER than forest fire in the palace ; accusations and slander against the empress who had dared to betray her own husband , and how she had brought upon a war at the door of obelia , essentially destroying the empire's peace . there were many hushed whispers following emily wherever she went , some looking at her with sympathy for her master had committed such an atrocity , others with contempt , saying she must've had a hand in the empress' betrayal .

none of which , stopped emily from snapping the servants in the palace and giving them a piece of her mind for bad mouthing her miss . she was sick of hearing them defame penelope , especially when she knew full well betraying the emperor was not something her miss would do - she was no saintess by any means -but she knew penelope was a prideful woman and doing such a cheap thing was out of question .

but who would listen to poor emily ? she couldn't exactly go to the emperor and convince him , because she had little evidence to defend penelope and even littler courage to face that mad bastard when he was on the edge .

" hah .. miss . this is why i asked you to take me with yourself . " she shook her head to herself , visibly devastated as she cleaned the empress' chambers in the crystal palace . she wasn't so sure when would penelope return , or if she would ( a thought that scared her far too much , no matter how much she tried to be optimistic , ) but regardless of the fact , organizing penelope's chambers gave her a slight hope .

CHEEP CHEEP ! ! a bird's twitter caught her attention , emily looked for the source of the noise - and found a little pink coloured robin circling around her head -and on a closer look , she noticed it was . . . made of paper ?

" SEVEN FUCKING SPIRITS ! " she shrieked as realisation dawned on her , this was the same trick her miss had learned in the past from marquis verdandi ! - without wasting a breath , emily sprung on her toes to catch the little bird who , as soon as her hands touched it's little form , started speaking in the voice of penelope .

" i've been abducted , and although i'm not sure what has been said about the entire fiasco , i am sure it isn't good given the war that has been declared . i hope this letter finds you safe , emily - " hearing penelope's voice after being unaware for so long , emily immediately started sobbing , hiccuping violently .

much like it's creator's reaction , the bird panicked .

" hey hey hey stop crying ! listen to me . i don't have much time for your dramatics ! " it cheeped back aggressively , scrambling away from emily's tears that could easily damage it's feathers .

" you're so mean , miss ! " she hiccuped , wiping her tears to hear what the bird had to say .

" okay , now that you've pulled yourself together , listen to me carefully .. " the bird flew closer to her ear , whispering things which caused a violent change of expressions on the maid's face who went from sad , to shocked , to horrified and a mix of three within minutes before nodding fervently .

" okay , got it . also miss ? " she said , a child-like hopeful expression on her face . " do keep me updated , will you ? i got so worried here . and take care of yourself , try not to anger the crown prince ! "

" you nag so much . " the bird tweeted , it's voice monotonous , which was comic for a creature so small . emily giggled to herself , a little disappointed when the origami bird unraveled itself into a now creased piece of paper . but she quickly got up from the floor , running over to the head maid's quarters .

" lady murphy !! " she called , out of her breath from running all the way from the crystal palace . the elderly woman turned to eye emily with a concerned look , rushing over to hand her a glass of water .

" child , how many times do i have to tell you to not run around in the palace ? it can be dangerous , you know . " she patted emily's back , who downed the contents of the glass in a single gulp , before heaving a breath . " it's - actually ,, " she was cut off from the elder lady , ushering her to breathe first . emily did as asked , adding quickly " i received a letter from my mother's family , saying my elder sister is in need of assistance . can i take a leave ? " she wheezed out .

and since the empress was absent , there was no reason for the head maid to refuse the girl . emily being herself , packed quickly and opened the secret stash that penelope had given her in case of emergencies , safely keeping the paper that the messenger bird was made of inside her trunk before heading over to the stables .

within three hours , she had arrived the magical transportation system ; although originally it was an expensive means of transport most nobles couldn't afford , emily had the empress' seal with her , which meant she didn't need to pay for anything during her travels ( and she did not miss this opportunity to have fun , after all her miss was generous , she wouldn't mind of course ! )

and since the magical means of transport were much faster than normal , it didn't take emily more than two days to reach where she was supposed to . the place looked same as ever , and when she entered the manse , everyone greeted her with surprised looks and lots of questions .

" why are you people flocking around here ?! " a rude , boyish voice quipped at the group of people , making them scurry away at an instant . a head of pink hair popped in first from the dissipating crowd , his otherwise handsome face scrunched into a trademark scowl .

" aren't you penny's maid ? "

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NEW TURN IN THE STORY , LADIES AND GENTLEMEN !

also i absolutely adore emily , she's a funky little evil genius . any emily lovers out there raise your hands !