Chapter 8: Shadows Among the Silk
Clara — Wittelsbach Estate, Two Years Earlier
When I first arrived at the Wittelsbach estate, I couldn’t breathe. The grandeur was suffocating. Crystal chandeliers glittered overhead, and the air smelled like roses and polished wood. The other maids glanced at me, some with curiosity, most with indifference.
Back then, I wasn’t used to wearing stiff uniforms or keeping my mouth shut. I had no idea how to bow my head and pretend I didn’t see things I wasn’t supposed to. But I had to learn fast.
I wasn’t just a maid. I was a pair of eyes and ears, hidden in plain sight.
It all started two years ago, when Alessio came to Grandmama’s cottage one evening, his face tense and his voice low. He didn’t notice me at first—too lost in whatever burden he was carrying. I was just a kid then, barely fourteen. Grandmama shooed me to the next room, where I listened through the crack in the door.
Marius Wittelsbach. Suspicious disappearances. A network of loyalists who seemed to vanish into thin air. Alessio needed someone inside the estate, but it had to be someone Marius would overlook. A common girl.
That night, I didn’t sleep. I kept replaying the way Alessio’s jaw clenched, the haunted look in his eyes. He was doing something dangerous. Something he wouldn’t walk away from unscathed.
I didn’t tell Grandmama until the next morning, when I stood by the fire, hands shaking, and said, "I want to help."
She nearly threw the pot of stew at me.
"No," Alessio said firmly, crossing his arms. "It’s not safe."
I shot him a glare, trying to ignore the way my heart hammered at how serious he looked. "You’re the one putting yourself in danger every day. Why can’t I do the same?"