Chapter 377: King Agostos
The Blonde's name was Melody.
Or at least that's the one that she was using to lure a rich Lycan. She said Melody sounded better than her previous name.
Soon, a man brought Anna towards another tavern where a group of girls her age were waiting. Then they were taken to the house just outside the palace.
In this place, they met a head maid. Her name is Mariana, and they said she is in charge of recruiting younger maids for the palace. However, rumor has it that Mariana does not like good-looking maids. That must be the reason why Anna or Bel was chosen.
"You — follow him! From now on you will work in the west palace."
"You — you are going to the east palace."
"You are assigned to the kitchen of the west!"
"You — " The woman wearing a black-and-white uniform pointed at Anna. "You will be on the west. Follow that man. They will train you in basic etiquette and the likes."
Soon, Anna and the rest of the girls were taken towards the west palace. It didn't take too long for her to notice that this is an abandoned place and that no one actually lives inside this palace aside from the King's sickly brother. The man was already in his eighties. He couldn't walk and so, he needed help.
There are a total of twenty-eight maids, all of them were working twenty-four-seven to help the man.
Meanwhile, Anna was assigned to help in the kitchen.
"The man was called King Agostos. He was supposed to become the Lycan King but something happened in his youth. They said the previous Queen poisoned him to make the current King… the new King."
"I heard it was a hunting incident!"
"I heard King Agostos was stronger than the previous King."
"Really? Then… how did he end up in that state?"
Meanwhile, Anna just listened quietly and finished her job on time.
"Hey Bel… would you mind guarding the kitchen tonight?"
"Huh?" It has been a few days since she came here and everyone already knew her as the dumb new servant who stutters and always looked like she was inside her own world.
"I said, guard the door tonight. Just do what I told you to do!"
"Oh…" Anna glanced that the older maid. This one… has been serving King Agostos for over five years now. She is considered a great authority inside these walls. "Alright."
"Good. Remember to give him the medicine on time."
"Got it."
Anna immediately agreed. While staying here, she had learned a lot of things about this man. However, she is going to meet him for the first time. Of course, she was already planning to use him for her plans.
Anna quietly walked into the old man's quarters. She could hear his quiet snoring. But the system already warned her that the old man was not sleeping.
"Your highness… it's time for medicine…" she made her voice as low as possible. "Your highness?" While this man couldn't walk, he could speak and is also quite strict. He doesn't like it if other people disturb him. He likes to spend all his time reading inside this library of his quarters.
Anna walked towards the man, trying to get close to his bed. But before she could do this, a large force hit her body. She grunted. It took her a second that it was actually the old man. Luckily, her body responded and quickly avoided the punch that followed the kick.
F*ck! This man could use his legs to attack! Just as she guessed! He could use his legs!
"Who are you!"
"Eh?" Anna froze when she noticed that the man who attacked her wasn't actually the old man. They look the same, but this one looked younger, bulkier, and taller. He was wearing black clothes that would have easily escaped the eyes of anyone. A shadow guard?
"Rudy… let her approach…" the old man said.
"But father…"
"She had been observing this place for a few days. If she wanted to kill me… she would have done it while I was still unaware of her presence." The croaky voice chuckled. "She came here to talk."
"More like… " Anna eyed the man named Rudy, then drifted her eyes towards the old man. "More like you wanted me to come here and talk."
"Oh? You noticed it?"
"It was obvious. The maid had been your servant for five years. Why would she ask a new maid like me to guard the door? It's either you are waiting for me to attack and kill you or you wanted to talk to me."
"Sharp." The old man noted. "Just like your father."
Anna froze at the man's remark.
"Ah… did you think the mask would be able to hide your aura? Young lady… you smell and move just like your father. There is no way that I would not recognize you."
"You know him…"
"Well.." King Agostos let out a series of coughs. "I know him well. I have heard the news of his death. I also heard that his only daughter was missing. I never thought that of all people inside this palace, you would actually come here."
Anna said nothing. She stood as still as a statue and let the man assess him, just as he was assessing him.
King Agostos… smelled strong. No. His mere presence was intimidating.
Despite the darkness inside the room, she could feel his majestic aura surrounding her. It was the aura of the King.
"Why?" she asked.
"What do you mean, why? Don't you know who damaged my legs?"
"Was it…"
"HAHAHAHA!" The old man's laughter echoed inside the room. "Of course! It was Isaac Matthews! Did you think anyone would have the capability to defeat me in a fight? Not even the King, the current one, could defeat me. But Isaac… with his berserk state, could defeat me."
Anna's mouth dropped. Really? This body's father was that powerful?
"You can't believe it, can you?" The old man laughed. "But look at him… Isaac. He was strong and envied by many. Because of him, I lost the right to the throne. Because of him, I became like this. But… at the end of the day, the man that he trusted betrayed him. His own king betrayed him. So… forgive me for laughing. But Karma… is indeed going to serve us what we deserve." Again, King Agostos laughed.