Katelyn overheard the servants’ contemptuous murmurs. “Is she really trying to charm the princess’s fiancé?”

Suddenly, Katelyn turned around to face them. One servant, with a provocative gaze, was eyeing her.

They were speaking in Yata’s language instead of English. Katelyn’s glance did nothing to temper the servant’s boldness.

“This shameless woman disgusts me the most. How can she even compare herself to our noble princess? The king should never allow such audacity.” ? f?i?n?d?n?o?v?e?l?.net

A cold glint passed through Katelyn’s eyes as she advanced towards the servant. “What did you just say?”

Regaining her composure, the servant smirked. “Oh, I said nothing at all.”

Katelyn’s lips curled into a mocking smile. “You think I don’t understand the native Yata language?”

While she wasn’t fluent in reading, she could handle everyday conversation.

It was clear that the servant thought Katelyn didn’t understand much, which led her to speak disrespectfully.

At Katelyn’s revelation, the servant’s face fell.

“I’m not sure what you’re implying.”

“Either you apologize for your earlier insult, or I will take this matter to the king,” Katelyn said firmly.

Her gaze fixed on the servant’s face as she continued, “I am a guest of the king himself. What do you think he would do if he heard about this?”

The servant’s attitude shifted dramatically. She remembered the harsh fates that some servants had met at the king’s hands.

“How can you prove I insulted you? Were the things I said not true?” the servant retorted.

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Katelyn regarded her calmly.

“You’re only making things harder for yourself.”

She had offered the servant a chance to rectify the situation, but the servant hadn’t taken it. There was no real need to involve the king; informing him would only make matters worse for the servant.

Barry would be enough.

The servant shuddered.

“Even as a guest, you shouldn’t falsely accuse me. I’ll bring this before the king and let him judge.”

The standoff between the king’s guest and the lowly servant intensified. Katelyn’s eyes grew colder as she pondered the audacity of the servant.

“Very well, let’s go to the king then.”

Katelyn set down the clothes she was holding. She was well aware that her presence in the palace would make her a target for hostility and exclusion. Nevertheless, Katelyn was not one to be easily pushed around. Not even Annie could intimidate her, much less a mere servant.

Showing kindness and submissiveness sometimes would not garner her respect; it would only invite further hostility. This stark reality was one of the crucial lessons imparted by the Bailey family.

Upon hearing Katelyn’s words, the servant panicked completely. “You… you can’t do this to me!”

In the servant’s eyes, Katelyn could see clear dread, and she noticed scars peeking from beneath the servant’s sleeves. They seemed to be marks from a whip.

Katelyn wondered how, in such a strictly regulated palace, servants bearing such marks could dare such acts. She voiced her suspicion.

“Is someone forcing you to confront me with these accusations?”

Her suspicions immediately turned to Annie. After all, she had just made Annie face consequences. The servant dropped to her knees, her forehead nearly touching the floor. Though Katelyn couldn’t see her face, the fear in her voice was unmistakable.

“Miss Bailey, I admit my mistake. Please don’t report this to the king, or it will cost me my life.”

Katelyn’s face hardened, her lips pressed firmly together. “First, answer me. Did someone instruct you to do this?”

The servant responded, “No, it was my own doing. Princess Ryanna is good to us all. I just wanted to defend her honor.”

A hint of contemplation flickered in Katelyn’s eyes as she looked at the servant’s body covered in scars. Despite everything, she felt a twinge of pity.

“Stand up, but let this be the last time. If you offend me again, I will not show mercy.”

“Thank you, Miss Bailey, thank you,” the servant said, relief evident in her tone as she rose and hurried away, casting a fearful glance back at Katelyn.

Katelyn sighed inwardly, gazing around the opulent palace that seemed more like a lair of savages. There were so many jewels, so much gold—but who knows how much hidden suffering lay behind it all?

With the door now locked behind her, Katelyn examined the garments the servant had brought. Trying to dress herself, she realized she had no clue how to wear such traditional clothes. Holding two ribbons, she was baffled by how to tie them.

Feeling slightly helpless, Katelyn pushed the door open, hoping to seek the servant’s assistance.

But unexpectedly—

A figure suddenly appeared.

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.

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