Chapter 2

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Emily had a dream. At the imperial palace, she was eating a delicious turkey.

[It’s a pity I can’t eat a lot of it because I have to keep in shape. But the cook changed? The food tastes different.]

The maid standing by Emily’s side clapped her hands in surprise.

[It’s amazing! The former Imperial Chef’s father died yesterday, so he’s going to be absent for seven days. We invited another chef. How do you know that?]

[Hmm…The sauce tastes different. It kind of smells like orange.]

[Oh my. Did you guess that?]

[Do you want to try it, too?]

[No. How can I…]

[It’s okay. I’m the only one here. It’s boring to eat alone every day, so let’s eat together.]

Emily and her maid cleanly ate the delicious turkey and even dessert.

“It’s delicious. Yum, yum.”

Emily woke up from her dream drooling. However, this was not the beautiful imperial palace she had dreamed of, but a shabby house. She still remembered the taste of the turkey and the strawberry cream cake that was served for dessert that day. She left it out every day, claiming that she had to be in shape, and she would give it to her maid.

‘Come to think of it, I was a good master.’

None of the noblemen’s maids wanted to take care of Emily. She was the Emperor’s concubine, but no one recognized her. She was accompanied by a group of commoner maidservants, and when she was in a good mood, she gave all the bags, clothes, shoes, and colorful accessories to the maids.

The maids were always grateful to Emily, and she felt good too.

“Lady Emily told me to poison Lady Grace’s tea!”

Grace Willis was the emperor’s third concubine. She requested a tee time with Emily, which Emily happily accepted. As a noblewoman, she had always been bullied by the girls, so she was flattered that she would be able to make this teatime a grand success and get along with them.

With the death of the old Emperor, the atmosphere in the imperial palace was not good, but that was why she was so lonely. When the Emperor died, the Emperor’s concubines would either go to monasteries or return to their parents’ homes. Perhaps they were depressed at the thought of not being able to see the Crown Prince, even though their freedom was at hand.

But Grace, the third concubine, died after drinking the tea. As they watched Emily sitting in amazement, all the servants and maidens spoke in unison, saying that Emily had poisoned the tea.

It was probably because the Empress grabbed their lifelines and threatened them.

Behind them was the Empress. Emily shook her head lightly, not wanting to think too much. Now she didn’t have to go back to her previous life anymore, so she didn’t have to think about things that wouldn’t happen. When she looked at her arm, she thought of a wooden stick.

In her previous life, she used to starve herself to keep her body in shape, but now she was starving. The people who go there are going to die. Emily untied the cloth that hid the mirror and looked at her face, pausing in the direction of her reflection in the left and right mirror.

“It’s ugly, but not terribly bad. It’s not like I’m sick.”

Her thin black hair was rather good at hiding it, so she would have to buy a hat when she could afford one. Buying cosmetics would hide the freckles and moles on her face, but cosmetics were expensive. Therefore, they were used only by wealthy commoners and nobles.

Rumble.

Emily hugged her empty stomach and walked out, saying she would get a job today. One meal a day was too bad.

After walking around a bit, she saw an advertisement for employment on the town bulletin board. It said that they were looking for people to work in a Lord’s castle.

“This is it!”

Running to the castle, Emily found a large crowd there, and they hired all the people they could find on a large scale. Emily was lucky enough to be hired right away, but the butler frowned when he saw her.

“You’re ugly, where will I put you..?”

The butler couldn’t cancel the hiring now, so he took Emily to the kitchen. The kitchen was dark, but she could smell delicious food and the sound of knives chopping vegetables busily.

“Hans! Chef Hans!

“What’s going on?”

The butler called Hans, and a huge man boasting thick arm muscles stood in front of the butler wearing an apron. The man was holding a large kitchen knife, and he looked truly intimidating. He looked down at the short Emily, and the butler said in a troubled tone.

“I’ve hired you as a servant, but as you can see, her face is a bit… Well, anyway. She can stay here and do the dishes.”

“I see.”

The butler gave Emily a firm warning as well.

“The lord hired everyone because he’s very generous, but because of your face, you must use the back door. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand. Thank you very much. I’ll never forget your kindness.”

Emily was very happy because she didn’t think she would be hired. The butler also told her what else she should pay attention to and when she would be paid. Emily bowed to Hans, her new boss, and began to wash the dishes. Count James, who ruled Emily’s land, liked people, so he didn’t raise the land’s rent and was generous to the common people.

However, Count James’ son preferred luxury and ignored the commoners. After the death of Count James, the fief was returned to the country to pay for the gambling debts of his son who became a Count.

But it didn’t matter to Emily now. She was just a commoner with an ugly face, that was all.

Emily hummed and busied herself with the dishes. She couldn’t afford to worry about others right now. Because she had mouths to feed.

Emily told her parents that she got a job at the castle, and they and her siblings celebrated. At first, Emily was paid very little, but Emily was a good daughter who gave her parents her small salary every month.

However, all the people who worked in the castle disliked her because she was ugly. A servant working in the stable spoke to Emily with a look on his face as if he was looking at something dirtier than horse manure.

“Where did you come from? Go away!”

In truth, Emily was treated no better than livestock in the castle. She cried from time to time because of the attitude of the others. But what should she do? She wished for a second chance at life. If she had an ugly face, at least she wouldn’t have to be the old Emperor’s concubine.