Rowena's knees lost their strength and she collapsed on the floor. Her breath hitched when she heard King Draco's decision for Julian.
Her tears slowly came back down as she remembered how well Julian had looked after her last night. She didn't want someone who had been very good to her to end up dead due to a misunderstanding.
"No, it's too early to give up. But I know, father won't talk to me if he sees me like this."
Rowena brushed her tears and forced herself to stand up. A part of her even wondered if she should get up and leave the hallway of her father's study so she wouldn't be seen as a nuisance. However, who knew if the knights would kill Julian after they left here?
"I can do this, I just have to make a good case. I've studied so hard how to speak that I'm sure he'll listen."
When Rowena stood up, the door to the office suddenly opened from the inside revealing her father, King Draco, along with several knights including Jarvis. Somehow, the words she rehearsed in her mind fell away.
"Father…"
King Draco glanced at her briefly then walked away without another word and the knights all followed after him. Rowena's eyes widened and she immediately chased after King Draco, but she could barely squeeze herself in among the several knights.
Only Jarvis seemed to give way to her so she could reach her father.
Her heart pounded as she drew closer to the man.
"Father … father … Please listen to me, what Jarvis said was a misunderstanding, father," Rowena smiled frantically but her words fell to deaf ears.
King Draco didn't pay her any heed and continued to walk. Rowena started to despair because the man didn't even try to listen to what she was saying. Even though she learned how to act like a proper lady and knew her way with words, it meant nothing to the man she called her father.
Her voice raised a little. "Father, Julian didn't do anything to me! Julian is innocent, father! Julian actually helped me when I fell into the river… please don't punish Julian, father. Julian is innocent."
King Draco suddenly stopped in his tracks, and Rowena who chased after him had to pause so as to not bump against him. That was why Rowena became a little unsteady and almost fell just to avoid him.
She barely caught herself and then met her father's eyes with a pained smile.
King Draco looked at the princess with an intimidating gaze. He was in a very bad mood right now and he really didn't like Rowena's whining or the princess's bullshit to free that lowly pest named Julian.
"What are you saying? Free him? Do you know what would happen if that lowly human spread the word that he had spent the night with a princess? Are you not thinking about the future consequences? Are you really that dumb?"
"But, we didn't do anything, father!" Rowena reached out to him. "Julian only helped me and he gave me food. He was being a proper gentleman all the time… and… and nothing happened!"
King Draco slapped Rowena's hand that touched him, causing her to fall to the floor.
"Don't you mention the peasant's name in front of me, Rowena," threatened the king who then walked away leaving Rowena alone.
The girl's hands clenched into fists holding back her emotions. She bit her lip to keep from screaming in frustration. No matter how many times Rowena pleaded, her father would never listen. She realized she had to do something. She would not allow her first friend to be executed just like that.
Julian was innocent so he didn't deserve the punishment. When she thought about an innocent man dying because of her, Rowena was reminded of the time Leia was beheaded by King Draco just because she gave Rowena a sweet cake.
Suddenly, the anger burned again in her mind. Seven years ago she was powerless. She was just a young child. But now she was already older and more capable.
She wouldn't let her father kill everyone she cared about.
An idea crossed Rowena's mind.
"I have to get Julian out as soon as possible," muttered the princess.
She didn't know when the knights who came with her father would execute Julian. So she needed to move fast. Rowena walked down the hallway and avoided the servants who were all running about. She needed to remain unseen.
It didn't take too long for her to reach the servants' quarter where most of the servants resided. This place was mostly empty during this hour because they took care of the other areas of the castle. Carefully, she headed into the area then stopped in her tracks.
Outside of the window, there were some maids doing their laundry. Luckily, most of them were preoccupied with gossip and chitchat.
When one of the maids threw a white blanket over the clothesline, Rowena quickly hurried down and finally reached the hallway filled with numerous doors for all of the servants. Most of them were closed and shut, others were left ajar for some reason.
Did it mean that someone was there?
Rowena bit her lip and stayed silent by the pillars. After a minute passed where nobody came out from the rooms, she made her way and checked the open ones. Even though she was unfamiliar with the servants, she recognized that one of the rooms was for the female servants.
She ransacked the dressers, took one of the maid's clothes and quickly changed into it. She hid her dress under the table and then left the room with quick footsteps. She wore a maid's hat and covered her neck and chin with a thick scarf so no one would see her face clearly and recognize her.
Thanks to her knowledge about the castle's layout, which was a necessary lesson, Rowena knew that all the prisoners were kept in the basement. This meant that not much sunlight could penetrate the room and she could pull this off and not reveal her identity.
"But… the guards there. How am I going to take care of them?" Rowena paused.
She looked out the window once more, the beautiful sunlight poured in and revealed the sights of beautiful trees and other plants. Her ideas grew once again.
.
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From Missrealitybites:
Thank you so much for your patience. I will publish every day again in March. I released 15 chapters from Privilege so regular readers and lower-tier privi readers can get all the 15 chapters in one go to make up for the lack of updates in February.
Now, the highest tier is only 30 chapters for 1k coins. I will work harder and add a new tier in April, so you can get new fresh chapters in Privilege next month.
PS: Thank you so much for supporting this book with your golden tickets in February.. I would like to give a special thanks to the Top 3 Golden Ticket contributors: Kelly Goodwin, j38kim, and kinnerkind66.
