Equal Treatment

The carriage Aletha was in finally arrived at the palace. It came with a lot of luggage.

Arabella could see it from one of the windows near her room. She didn't personally go and meet Aletha since she was the Empress of Valeria now.

She couldn't just go and meet a maid personally. She had to act like a proper noble lady and just wait for Aletha to see her in her study.

Eunice had shown her where her study was just the other day since she would soon begin learning about her Empress duties which she actually knew already and was very experienced with after twenty-two years of marriage with Ferdinand.

Meanwhile, it was only from Ferdinand's thoughts where Arabella learned Aletha would arrive by this hour today.

He only told her Aletha was probably going to arrive by today or tomorrow but she learned the truth from his thoughts anyway.

Once Ferdinand's estimated time closed in, Arabella pretended to go on a walk so it would seem like a coincidence she witnessed Aletha's arrival.

She couldn't show too much favor to a maid since it would make the others feel envious and jealous and might end up doing all sorts of things to bully the said maid.

It already happened before. There was once a young maid assigned to her in Lobelius since she was promising despite her age.

Arabella pampered her too much and the other palace maids got envious and set up the poor girl until she was kicked out even after she pleaded with her mother.

Her mother taught her then, Arabella's attention should be equally distributed and balanced among her servants and avoid showing preferring one over the other even if she felt so deep inside.

Since even if it was not her intention, her preference would create an issue among the maids who were, of course, trying to curry her favor in all sorts of ways.

As such, even if she missed Aletha so much, she cannot show it to her other maids.

Seeing there were a lot of luggage with Aletha, Arabella smiled. She couldn't help but feel a bit excited to taste some dishes from home. She was sure the luggage was filled with ingredients Aletha got from Lobelius.

'Since when was the last time I felt excited?'

Ah, more than ten years ago when her son was still alive. Her chest hurt at the recollection. Her son's birthday was coming up in a few months so Arabella was excitedly doing the necessary preparations for it. But her son was poisoned before his birthday arrived.

Since then, Arabella was never excited about anything for fear something bad might happen because she got too excited over it.

Even when she was finally sure the plan to ruin Ferdinand would succeed, she did not get excited at all.

But ever since she was reborn, she could once again, finally feel all the things she no longer felt in her previous life. As such, the following days had been a surprise of varied sensations and emotions for her.

In her previous life, after the shock of suddenly losing her son, Arabella became numb due to the pain and disappointment.

Or rather, she probably killed all her emotions and suppressed everything else to stop feeling the hole in her heart left by her son's passing and her husband's most terrible betrayal.

But now, she could feel anew. She was truly reborn. Even her mind felt clearer and her body felt lighter.

The world seemed colorful and brimming with vibrance, energy, and life; unlike her former one which seemed dull, boring, and filled with vanity.

Or was it just because she was back to a younger body? Does age have to do with it?

. . .

Aletha got out of the carriage and her warm brown hair greeted Arabella's eyes. She watched as Aletha gasped in awe as she looked around the humongous palace.

[Wow! This palace is so grand and huge compared to the palace in Lobelius. This is what the empire is like? I wonder how long until I memorize the palace layout. I hope milady is always accompanied by someone. She might get lost in a place this big.]

A smile crossed Arabella's face. Aletha was already worrying about her upon arrival.

[Oh, so that's the maid Arabella wanted. She doesn't look anything special. She seems just like any other maid. Hmm, but why does a maid have so much luggage? Or were those for Arabella? She did say her maid would know what to pack for her.]

Arabella froze when she suddenly heard Ferdinand's thoughts. She didn't dare turn around or look around her to see where he was. But she was sure he must be nearby for her to be able to hear his thoughts without seeing him.

'Did he come to see me in my chambers but I wasn't there so he searched for me?'

The two knights assigned to follow her around didn't say a word of greeting so they must not be able to see Ferdinand yet.

Arabella assumed he must be hiding somewhere and was quietly observing her.

She didn't want to seem suspicious so she decided to go to her study and wait for Aletha to visit her. She pretended to read a book so it wouldn't be so obvious that she was waiting for her maid to come.

Ferdinand was gone as well since she could no longer hear his thoughts.

"Your Majesty, your maid from Lobelius has arrived and would like to greet you," Eunice informed her an hour later. Arabella wondered what took so long for Aletha to come.

"Let her in," Arabella said with a neutral expression even when she was so excited deep inside.

"I greet Her Majesty, the Empress Arabella of Valeria," Aletha said formally and bowed respectfully.

"Aletha, you are finally here," Arabella replied in a calm voice and tone, holding back her excitement since the door was still open and other people could hear them.

Arabella acknowledged Aletha and made Eunice leave so she could be alone with her personal maid.