Chapter 8: Ivana The Maid

**Elena**

"I hate you, Elena. The way you act all good and try to charm your way through everyone."

I scoffed. "That's nothing new, Mortina. You've been ringing that in my ears for years. And please, leave, unless you have something useful to say."

Our moment was interrupted by a maid. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. The king has ordered us to look after you," she said, her face lowered to the floor.

"I'll take my leave now," Mortina said, rolling her eyes. The sound of her heels echoed down the hallway as she walked away.

I turned my attention back to the maid. "You don't have to stay. I'll be discharged today," I said softly.

I noticed something strange about the maid. I couldn’t wrap my fingers around it, but something felt… off. The way she wouldn’t look at me. The slight tremble in her hands.

“Are you new here?” I asked, narrowing my eyes slightly.

She froze. “Y-yes, Your Highness. I just started last week.”

Liar.

There was a pause. Too long. Too stiff. My instincts flared.

“You don’t have to be scared,” I said, keeping my voice even.

She gave a quick nod but still didn’t meet my gaze.

“Where are you from?” I pressed, watching her closely.

“The southern estate… My family works there,” she muttered.

Convenient answer. Too rehearsed. I kept my expression calm even as my thoughts raced. Was she planted here? A spy? Sent by Mortina?

“Did they send you?” I asked bluntly.

Her eyes finally snapped up, wide. “What? N-no, of course not! I’m just here to help.”

Yeah, sure.

I leaned back on the pillows, feigning tiredness. “Alright. Then help me pack. I’m leaving in an hour.”

She hesitated. “But the king..he said..”

“I said I’m leaving,” I snapped. “Unless you’d like to explain to the king why you disobeyed me?”

I narrowed my eyes. There it was again. That twitch in her fingers. The way she couldn’t stay still.

Then it hit me.

“Wait…” I said slowly, straightening. “You were the maid who told me the king ordered I use his chambers instead of my own.”

Her entire body stiffened.

A tremble rippled through her hands. “Ye… yes, Your Highness.”

Caught.

I stared at her. “Then why did you lie just now?”

Her knees hit the ground like she couldn’t hold herself up any longer. “I’m sorry, my queen. Please punish me. I’m sorry!”

I blinked, taken aback. My voice lowered. “It’s not a big deal. I’m not upset. I just want to know why you lied.”

“I-I panicked. Please just punish me. I made a big mistake,” she whispered, her forehead pressed to the floor.

Something was wrong. Not just guilt. This was fear. Deep, desperate fear. My stomach twisted.

“Wait, hold on,” I said, stepping closer.

I crouched and gently pulled her up by the arm. Her hands were ice cold. She wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“What’s your name?”

“Ivana,” she said faintly.

Ivana.

I repeated it in my head. It sounded familiar… too familiar.

“Ivana,” I said again, more slowly this time. “I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere else before our last encounter.”

Her lips parted but no sound came out. She looked like she was choking on a secret.

I let out a slow breath, keeping my tone calm. “Listen. You don’t have to be scared. I’m not going to hurt you. Besides, if you keep acting like this, it might actually irritate me, and I’m trying very hard not to be that version of myself today.”

That got her attention. Her eyes flicked up briefly, a flash of fear mixed with confusion.

“Okay?” I asked gently. “Just breathe and tell me what’s wrong.”

Ivana’s voice broke the silence again, barely above a whisper.

“I’m… I’m sorry about the file.”

I turned around slowly. “File? What file?”

“The white file, Your Highness. The one you told me to leave in the king’s room…”

My breath caught.

White file.

No. It couldn’t be.

I stared at her, blinking as the memory rushed back. The file. That file.

The pregnancy report.

The corridor outside the king’s chambers. Me standing there with the file clutched tight in my hands. My heart pounding in my chest. The wedding ceremony was only hours away. I had made my decision.

I didn’t want to keep secrets. Not this time.

I tried to enter Xavier's room..

But then I saw him, one of guards turning the corner, coming my way. His eyes always watched too closely. His tongue always wagged too easily.

If he saw me standing there, in front of the king’s room, alone, holding something I shouldn’t have had… I knew what would happen.

It wouldn't be good since I had to stay way from Xavier.

And Mortina… she had warned me. Not to ruin any of their plans.

No unapproved visits. No sneaky moves. No secrets unless they were hers.

My grip tightened around the file that day. My palms were sweating. I remembered glancing around in panic, and that’s when I saw her.

A maid. Passing by..

I called out without thinking.

“Here,” I had said, thrusting the file into her hands. “Place this on the king’s desk. Now. Don’t open it. Don’t ask.”

She looked startled, nodded quickly, and walked off.

I left. I didn’t look back. I only heard someone else call out that name- Ivana. And I convinced myself it was done.

Now, standing here, her words twisting in my chest. I knew it wasn’t.

“You didn’t leave it,” I said slowly.

“I meant to,” Ivana stammered, her voice shaking. “I really did. But the kitchen maids pulled me in. There was an emergency with the wine stock, and everyone was panicking.”

“ I..I set the file down on the side desk in the kitchen. Just for a moment. I told myself I’d go back. But everything got chaotic. The file… it just stayed there.”

I stared at her.

The kitchen desk?

The file—my pregnancy report—had been sitting there?

“With all the preparations, it must’ve gotten lost in the shuffle,” she whispered. “No one knew what it was. It was just a plain white folder… I didn’t even remember until later. And when I did, I was too afraid to come forward.”

I closed my eyes.

It all made sense now.

The silence from him. His coldness. The wall between us.

He never saw it.

Not because he ignored it. But because he never received it.

I had spent all this time believing he knew and didn’t care.

“Ivana,” I said slowly, heart starting to race, “do you know where it is now?”

She hesitated, eyes darting toward the floor.

My voice sharpened, but I kept it calm. “Ivana… where’s the file now?”

She swallowed hard, lips trembling. “I—I..