(Names would make more sense if you had read 'Compelled Substitution' before this)

I was seventeen when I married the warmonger…

Sighing to seeing two years of my life leaving me, I grumbled as I continued to mop the floor.

Hearing the news of Second Prince Elijah had married a woman…Or was marrying a woman…That was now seventeen, I worried about her future. Will she be abandoned like me? Will she have to find a reason to become a maid a few days a week, just to have some excitement in her life, like me?

“Doubt it!”

I scrubbed the floor harder in anger, pretty sure that her life will most likely be better than mine!

My father had not responded to any of my letters and my only friend was a parrot named ‘Theo’! It’s not hard to be beat that!

Wiping the sweat of my forehead, I finish off the area and pick up the bucket, to empty the water…Until I am tripped, and the dirty water instead falls back onto the floor.

Dam…

“Well, serves you right! If you had eyes, you would have seen me coming!”

I looked up to see a beauty…Oh dear…Theo might like her…

Bowing my head, because I don’t want to get into trouble, I wait impatiently for her to disappear…

“Don’t clean it for her…Let her do it herself.”

I looked at the maids that had started to help, and then they go back to the beauty’s side.

Whatever, just go so I can clean it!

Seeing the beauty move in front of me…Not the way I thought she would go, I looked up a bit…To see that she pointed to another bucket of water. “That one too.”

The maid picked up the bucket and let the water go all over the floor too.

…Making up my mind…I didn’t like this beauty one bit!

“Stay and watch her.” The beauty said, before walking further away.

I rolled my eyes as I put my head back up again. What a queen!

“Well it serves you right!” I mocked, “Oh, I’ll serve something right into your…”

“What are you mumbling about?”

Gah! The warmonger!

…Why is he here!?

As far as I’m aware, he was conquering Gelmain! Oh wait…That was a while ago…

I could never keep up with the warmonger! I swear it wasn’t long ago that he defeated someone to the west of us…Wait, it was to the east, Gelmain was west…

“Mmm? Is it something maid’s do now, mumble?”

Oh right!

“…Your Highness.”

I bowed to him, wondering if he still doesn’t know if I really am his first wife.

Hehe, he’s such an idiot!

“Aren’t you my wife’s maid, get someone else to clean this up!”

What, am I not good enough for you! Uh!?

I felt like…Punching him…Yeah.

“Your Highness, I will gladly do this, after all, this is my job!”

My job? Yeah, I want to annoy this warmonger! Haha!

“Very well! Let’s go!”

Bugger off then, leave me be!

I shook my head, what an idiot!

Slowly cleaning up the water on the floor, I finally finished my job and stretched my sore back.

Ah, another day gone and dusted!

…I wondered if Theo has found my father yet…

For some time, I didn’t look for my father but…It seems I am missing something. Having gotten no letter from him and Theo not finding him outside of the palace…I realized that something has been going on!

My father had trades going on in both Gelmain and Icklish, meaning he wouldn’t be here in the capital of Setchra very often…But…Where was he? What was he doing!?

Well, nonetheless, it was time to switch places and go back to being the first wife of Crowned Prince Jorne…He had a second wife but no concubines, or whatever they were called. Now there was another wife, a wife to the Second Prince, this ‘Venus’…Oh, that must have been her!

Duh! She hadn’t looked familiar, no doubt it was her!

Great…

Scratching my head, as I make my way to my wing in the Crowned Prince’s residence, I had a feeling that life might just be a little harder with this ‘Venus’ around…

So…How to act…Will I be ‘dumb and stupid’ or someone that will retaliate…

Mmm…I’ll see what happens. If she doesn’t cause me any trouble, then what’s the point of thinking about it!

Plus, everyone knows I’m the abandoned Crowned Princess, so, I’ll only probably see her when I’m a maid…I wonder what secrets she has…

I smiled cheekily, the best thing about being a maid, was the secrets…Oh, and laughing about them!