Maude stared up at the ceiling in her room at the Rosenberg manor. I wonder what he’s up to, she thought, gently touching her lips with her hand. Things had been a bit of a whirlwind since the ball.

It’s real, she thought. I never thought he could possibly feel the same way I did. She giggled aloud. I miss him, though.

She looked at the clock in the room and noticed it was still early. He should be done with his work now, though, right? She got up off the bed, and opened her bedroom door.

“Sir Jakob,” she said. “Would you be willing to take me to his grace’s study?” she asked.

He turned to look at her.. “His grace may still be working,” he said. “And we may have to return to your room.”

“Still?” Maude exclaimed. “He works so hard,” she groaned.

“We can walk down and see,” Jakob said. “I doubt he would mind, as long as you don’t interrupt him if he is working.”

“I can deal with that,” Maude said with a nod and a small smile.

Please don’t be working still, please don’t be working still! She thought, her heart aching.

Jakob nodded at her, and moved out of the way, so she could come out. She slipped out of her room, closing the door behind her.

They walked together down the hall in silence, Maude trailing closely behind Jakob. “How are things going with Helena?” she asked him. She swore she saw his ears flush.

“Oh, you know,” he replied back, nonchalantly.

Helena is so much more willing to share than Jakob, Maude thought.

“I’m so glad she has someone like you,” Maude found herself saying. “Both of you are such kind people.”

Jakob smiled a little and nodded at Maude. “She’s a wonderful person,” he stated.

“She is,” Maude agreed. They were nearing Jaspar’s study. Maude could hear Jaspar’s voice escaping into the hallway. The door was cracked, and Maude could see the glow of the candlelight coming out of the room.

“--just don’t know how to tell her,” she heard Jaspar’s voice saying, as she approached the door to knock.

Ah, he’s with someone, she thought, catching herself before knocking.

“Lady Maude is tough,” she heard Jaspar’s butler’s say. “She can probably handle a lot more than you’d think.”

They’re talking about me? Maude wondered.

“Do you understand the ruthlessness of the things I have to tell her?” Jaspar asked. “They aren’t exactly the most lighthearted things to say.”

It was quiet for a moment. “I didn’t read the report, so I’m not quite sure what was learned about Lady Maude. I figured I’d err on the side of being more private, for the lady’s sake.”

“Ah,” Maude heard Jaspar, nearly inaudibly, mumble. “These are severe allegations against her father. I thought he was terrible before, but there is no doubt in my mind now, I will cut him down if I ever see him in person.” Jaspar sounded as though he was seething. Maude felt herself shiver a little.

What does Jasapar know that makes him hate my father so much?I know he is a despicable man, but I never would have guessed that Jaspar would end up feeling the same way from something I didn’t tell him.

“He’s the emperor’s right hand man,” Jaspar continued. “And the emperor is the seed of corruption in the empire.”

“Of course, your grace,” the butler said.

The room fell silent. Maude leaned closer to the door to hear if they were saying anything in softer voices.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Are they going to talk about what Jaspar found out? Maude wondered. Should I just go in and interrupt their conversation? She could feel the anticipation rising in her chest. What could it possibly be about my father that disturbs him?

“Lady Maude’s father,” Japsar paused. The beat lasted longer than most normal pauses in conversation. Maude clutched her chest, waiting for Jaspar to continue. “Matthias Holloway had sold his daughter to the emperor.”

What?

“Oh my,” the butler said. “You’re right, that is not an easy thing to tell the lady.”

“Indeed,” Jaspar said.

Maude could feel herself physically shaking. Her stomach was empty, but it started rolling around as if she’d smelled something foul.

“It all began when Zara Holloway came into the picture,” Jaspar continued. “Kylie Holloway, Lady Maude’s mother, and Matthias Holloway were in an arranged marriage that came about because the match was advantageous to Matthias’s father. Matthias had wanted to marry Zara, and had even tried to set up a match with her family, but his father ensured it fell through and never came to pass. Matthias married Kylie, but then turned around and murdered his father.”

“Oh my,” the butler said.

Maude felt her own heart pounding in her chest. My father…murdered my grandfather?

“Shortly after they were married,” Jaspar stated, “Kylie became pregnant with Lady Maude. Hoping he would have a son, Kylie was allowed to give birth to Lady Maude. In the background, Matthias was still negotiating to find a way to marry Zara. Finally, a few years after Lady Maude was born, Matthias struck a deal with Zara’s family, and murdered Kylie.”

The shaking that Maude was experiencing suddenly increased.She could still picture her mother’s face before she’d fallen ill, and she could still picture her mother’s wan face on the day she’d died. Her father had done that? Her stomach rolled again. The physician had said that her mother had died of natural causes.

“And he let Lady Maude live?” the butler asked.

“Only because her existence could serve a purpose for Matthias,” Jaspar replied, the disgust clear in his voice. “Duke Matthias had promised to make Lady Maude a concubine of the emperor when she finally came of age. As far as I can tell, this contract would still have been in place when Lady Maude was sent off to war. If she’d made it back, she would have been installed as the emperor’s tenth concubine.”

Maude felt herself heave, and Jakob’s hand touched her back. “Are you alright, my lady?” he asked.

“Why would Duke Matthias sell off his own daughter in this way?” the butler asked. “What did he have to gain?”

Maude heard Jaspar sigh. “Signing the contract that Maude was to become the concubine is what solidified Matthias as the emperor’s right hand man. He did it for more power in the empire.”

Maude heaved again, her stomach threatening to spill its insides once more. The plan sounded so much like her father and his way of doing things that she had little doubt in her mind that it was true.

“I definitely understand why you are struggling to come up with a way to discuss this with the lady,” the butler said.

“I got this information from the best information guild on the continent,” Jaspar said. “I’m sure there are some things that are inaccurate. The lady has been very open about how terrible her father has been to her. But killing her mother? Selling the lady to the emperor in exchange for power?” Jaspar let out a heavy, short sigh. “How do I even begin to tell her something like this?”

“I’m terribly sorry, your grace,” the butler said. “I am at a loss for words myself at the moment. I’m not quite sure I have any suggestions of how you could bring it up to the lady either.”

Maude felt her legs moving, seemingly of their own volition. She was still trying to keep her stomach together. The doors opened in front of her, and she saw the look of surprise on Jaspar’s face.

“You don’t need to worry about telling me everything,” she heard her voice saying. “I…I heard everything.” She felt tears sliding down her face. Her father was far too cruel for her to cry over, but here she was, crying over him anyway.

“Please excuse me,” the butler said, scurrying past Maude, and shutting Jaspar and Maude into the room, alone.

Jaspar stood up out of the chair at his desk. He rushed across the room, and took Maude into his arms. “I wish I had been able to tell you in a different way,” he murmured in her ear.

Maude shook her head, the nausea finally starting to ebb away. “There is no good way to tell that story,” she said. “And no good would come out of hiding it from me either,” she said, drying her eyes a bit. “I just…” she paused. “I don’t really know what to think right now. The idea that my mother suffered, and in turn, so did I, simply because my father wanted to be involved with Duchess Zara…” Maude swallowed, feeling bile rise in her throat.

“It’s beyond disturbing,” Jaspar said, finishing her sentence. “Your father, Matthias Holloway is certainly not someone to be trifled with.”

Maude nodded, feeling the tears start again. “My mother and I were innocent in all of this, and he destroyed our lives because he wanted power and a different woman.”

“What your father has done is unforgivable,” Jaspar said. Maude saw one of his fists by his side, clenching.

“If I ever see him in person, I’ll kill him,” Jaspar had said, his voice echoing in Maude’s mind. If she wasn’t such a pacifist, she might feel the same.

“I’m so grateful,” she cried, pulling him into her body tighter. “I’m so grateful!”

He pulled her tight. She felt as though he was trying to squeeze the pain from her body. “I’m so grateful, too,” he murmured.

“You saved my life,” she said.

“You saved your life,” he replied. “By not fighting for that tyrant.”

Not fighting, and not being like them saved my life.

Jaspar carefully led her over to the couch, and gently helped her sit down. “Tell me about your mother,” he said. “What was she like?”