Aria’s POV
The soft murmur of voices drifted through the kitchen door as I passed by, catching my attention. I paused, leaning in closer to listen, curiosity tugging at me. It had been days since the confrontation with Lady Giselle, and since then, I had tried to keep my head down, avoiding any more conflict.
“She’s unbearable,” one of the maids whispered, her voice filled with contempt. “I don’t know how much longer we can stand that woman!”
“I heard she’s been boasting again,” another voice chimed in, “saying she’s going to be the next Luna. Can you imagine? Has Alpha Denderick even announced her coronation?”
I frowned, my heart quickening. They were talking about Lady Giselle. I pushed the door open slightly, peeking inside to see a group of maids huddled together, their faces etched with frustration. They hadn’t noticed me yet, too absorbed in their conversation.
“I can’t believe it,” the first maid said, shaking her head. “She’s so sure of herself, always throwing it in our faces. And poor Lady Aria… she doesn’t deserve this.”
“She honestly doesn’t.” The first voice interjected. “I was in this kitchen, the day Lady Giselle ordered her to scrub the entire kitchen. And she did the job with so much grace! I wanted to intervene and help her with the cleaning, but I knew that Lady Giselle might punish me as well for trying to help.”
Lady Aria? I felt a pang in my chest, realizing they were talking about me. I stepped into the kitchen, clearing my throat to get their attention. The maids jumped, startled, and quickly turned to face me.
“Lady Aria!” one of them gasped, her face turning pale. “We didn’t see you there…”
“It’s all right,” I said quickly, trying to put them at ease.
“You’re… You’re not going to punish us, are you?” Another one of the maids asked fearfully.
“Of course not,” I assured them. “I just… I couldn’t help overhearing. What were you talking about?”
The maids exchanged uneasy glances, as if unsure whether they should continue. I gave them a small, encouraging smile, hoping to gain their trust. “Please, you can tell me. I just want to understand what’s going on.”
One of the maids, a petite woman with soft brown eyes, hesitated before speaking. “We were just talking about… well, about Lady Giselle. She’s been causing a lot of trouble around here.”
I nodded slowly, urging her to continue. “What kind of trouble?”
The maid bit her lip, glancing at the others before finally speaking. “Lady Giselle… she was Alpha Denderick’s mistress before you returned. She showed up a few weeks before you reappeared, and ever since then, she’s been acting like she owns the place. She keeps saying she’s going to be the next Luna, that she’s the only one worthy of the title.”
My heart sank at her words. So, it was true. Lady Giselle wasn’t just a random woman with a bad attitude-she had been Denderick’s mistress, and she was determined to kick me out of this place. I could feel the sting of jealousy and insecurity rising within me, but I pushed it down, focusing on what the maid was saying.
“Everyone hates her,” another maid added, her voice filled with bitterness. “She’s cruel, demanding, and she treats us like dirt. But she’s convinced that she’ll be Luna, and no one dares to stand up to her.”
I swallowed hard, trying to process everything I had just heard. Lady Giselle was everything I wasn’t. She was confident, assertive, and ruthless. And she had a history with Denderick that I couldn’t compete with. A part of me wanted to retreat, to hide away from all of this, but I knew I couldn’t. I had to face it, no matter how much it hurt.
Suddenly, the sound of male voices echoed from the hallway, and the maids immediately stiffened, their expressions turning to panic. “We need to serve the food,” one of them whispered urgently. “Quickly, before they notice we’ve been talking.”
The maids hurriedly grabbed trays of food and began to file out of the kitchen, their earlier conversation forgotten in their rush to fulfill their duties. I followed them, my mind tumbling with everything I had just learned.
As I stepped into the hallway, I nearly collided with one of the maids who had stopped suddenly. She turned to me, her eyes wide with fear, and nodded towards the group of men standing at the end of the corridor. I followed her gaze and felt my breath catch in my throat.
“S… Sorry.” She stammered and hurried off.
There, towering above the others, was a man I had never seen before. He was tall, with broad shoulders and a commanding presence that seemed to fill the entire space. His hair was dark, streaked with gray, and his face was filled with wrinkles. And his eyes… they were cold, calculating, and piercing.
He noticed me immediately, his gaze locking onto mine. I felt a shiver run down my spine as he took a step forward, his expression unreadable. The other maids around me quickly bowed their heads, scurrying off to avoid his attention.
“Who are you?” the man asked. “I don’t think I have seen you around here before.”
I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. “I’m Aria,” I mumbled. “Lady Aria.”
The man’s eyes narrowed as he studied me, his gaze intense and unnerving. For a moment, I thought he might say something, but instead, he simply gave me a cold, dismissive stare that made my heart pound in my chest. Without another word, he turned and walked away, his footsteps echoing down the corridor.
I stood there, frozen in place, my mind racing with questions. Who was that man? Why did he look at me like that? Why did his presence fill me with such dread?
And why did I have a feeling I had seen him somewhere before?
The maids were already gone, leaving me alone in the hallway with my thoughts. Lady Giselle, Denderick, this mysterious man … it was all too much to take in at once.
What exactly was going on in this place?
I had to find out. And I would, no matter what it took.