Rufus pondered for a while and replied, “Her food was lighter?”
“Yes, the dishes she cooks are always light. Maya has always paid particular attention to health, so she prefers the original flavor of food itself and never uses heavy seasonings. But that bowl of chicken noodle soup was oily and salty. It was starkly different from the one she had cooked for me before.”
Although I couldn’t reach a conclusion based on her cooking alone, I could still determine from a lot of details that something was amiss.
For example, when Maya put down a glass or a tray, she always touched the table with her little finger first so as not to make unnecessary noise. She had probably picked this up at an early age from the etiquette education, which taught her to do everything carefully and elegantly.
But she didn’t display this habit just now. She even poured a full glass of cucumber juice for me. A professional maid would have never made such a mistake.
“There is a glaring contradiction in Maya’s story. She claimed that she only gave her recipe to my father’s chef and asked him to make it for him. But from what I know, the chef is very arrogant. How could he tolerate accepting the advice of a mere maid? And the Maya I know is not a nosy person who likes to fight for credit. That brings out the real question here-why would she want to give the chef her recipe in the first place?” Rufus scowled and was lost in thought.
Sylvia’s POV
All Maya’s changes were very subtle. If Rufus hadn’t checked Ethan’s diet records today, we might not have found anything wrong with her.
She was a sensible, gentle person. She would occasionally become extroverted whenever she was with me in private, and she rarely had any conflict with other people. Not to mention, she was responsible, especially when it came to her job. It would be impossible for her to tell the chef make something cold for the lycan king if she knew he wasn’t feeling well.
And even if the chef did listen to her advice, he wouldn’t just serve the king a bowl of shaved ice without the doctor’s consent because it clearly wouldn’t be good for the king’s health.
I began recalling the time I spent with Maya. Maybe I was overthinking, but now that I looked back, I noticed a lot of strange things about her.
“Can a person’s habits change in a short time?” I asked in confusion as I turned to Rufus.
Rufus thoughtfully rubbed his chin. “I don’t think that’s possible. Not unless they’ve been through something huge or traumatic that could affect their entire personality.”
“Maya used to hate the smell of jasmine flowers, but when I walked past her room the last time, I saw jasmine flowers on her table. She never eats pork either, but one time, I saw she cooked a large pot of pork and shared it with the guards,” I replied, slowly becoming even more confused by Maya’s recent actions. “She doesn’t have a family or a lover, so she has been staying in the palace this entire time. And her life here was perfectly peaceful. I don’t think she would go through anything huge or traumatic like you said, that led to the change of her personality.”
Although Rufus was cold and indifferent to people, Maya had been following him ever since she entered the palace. He had been very tolerant of her when it came to many things.
“Maya was the one who told me what happened between you and Blair,” he said, sounding a little unhappy. It was almost as if he remembered something unpleasant.
I felt a chill down my spine and quickly changed the topic. “Actually, that reminds me of something. Didn’t someone send a message to Richard and asked him to destroy the potted plant in your room? At that time, you tracked down the IP address and found out that the message was sent out from Blair’s phone, but now, I think Maya’s the one who did actually it.”
Rufus pressed his lips into a thin line and tapped the table with his fingers, seemingly lost in thought.
“Even though Blair was obsessed with me for some reason back at that time, I don’t think he would ever hurt you.” I walked up to Rufus and sat next to him. “Think about it. Who would know where the potted plant actually was? Maya is the only one who comes to our room often.”
“So you’re saying it’s Maya?” Rufus coldly asked.
I took his hand, knowing that he was beginning to get mad. I completely understood how he was feeling right now. After all, no one would feel good knowing that there was a spy around them the whole time. I was no exception.
“The problem is we can’t be sure whether Noreen is controlling Maya or if she actually disguises herself as Maya. We have to find a way to verify it,” I said with a sad sigh.
My thoughts wandered to the worst possible scenario, but I had no idea how to verify it. I had already witnessed how powerful Noreen actually was. She could flawlessly disguise herself as literally anyone, and no one could even tell the difference.
Rufus reassuringly squeezed my hand. “Don’t worry. I have a way to verify it.”
Sylvia’s POV
It was noon and the sun was out and beaming. I snuggled in a rocking chair, reading a book while wrapped in a cashmere blanket.
Maya barged into my room for the third time. But this time, unlike the previous two, she looked scared and anxious.
“Miss Todd, Mr. Myers is here again. The guards have blocked him outside. Do you want to see him? This is the third time that he has come here today. He brought an umbrella with him so I think he’s going to sit outside until you agree to see him.”
“Just ignore him. I don’t want to see him.” Without raising my head, I flipped the page slowly and picked up a grape and put it into my mouth.
“But why, Miss Todd? Don’t you have a good relationship with Mr. Myers?” Maya asked in confusion.
I heaved out a sigh, put down the book, and lifted my sight to Maya worriedly. “I understand that Harry wants to save Joanna, but there is nothing I can do. Yesterday, Rufus clearly warned me not to become involved in this issue.”
“But are you really going to just stay out of it? Poor Mr. Myers looks so anxious outside.”
Before Maya could finish her words, Harry’s voice came from outside the window. He was begging me to help him.
Annoyed beyond reason, I clamped my hands over my ears and told Maya to shut the window.
To which Maya responded hesitantly, “Miss Todd, why don’t you meet him? Unless something drastic happens, Mr. Myers isn’t going to give up without a fight. He might even keep bothering you.”
“There is no point in seeing him now. It would only make things worse. Now that we’ve confirmed that Joanna really killed Ethan, she’s going to be sentenced to death!”
“What? The lycan king is dead?” Maya felt a jolt to her very core, utterly in shock.
I quickly covered my mouth and blinked in panic. “Don’t… Don’t tell anyone about this.” Rufus worked so hard to keep this a secret. He is afraid it will stir chaos in the empire.”
Maya couldn’t believe her ears. She seemed both shocked and confused. “What happened? Why did he did so suddenly? You said Joanna killed him? But she denied it, didn’t she?”
“I’m sure Joanna was only fumbling for excuses to absolve herself of the guilt. Last night, after much convincing and torturing on the part of Rufus, she finally confessed. Now that Ethan is dead, there is no way that she would survive. Poor Harry. Now he is going to lose his mate.” With a sigh, I sat up and looked out of the window. Harry’s voice came from outside again. He would probably stay there outside the entire day.
“Go and get some water and cakes for Harry. I may not be of help to him now, but he is still my friend. I feel sorry for him,” I said softly.
“Yes, Miss Todd.”
After receiving my order, Maya left. I turned around and stared at her back with deep eyes.
The following morning, Harry came and begged me to see him again. I asked Maya to bring him some water, and like usual, he left when he got tired.
At noon, Rufus came back with some news.
“The king’s death has spread in a small area of the imperial palace. People are talking that you are the one behind it, and I hide the truth in order to cover up for you.”
After hearing that, I breathed a sigh of relief. “It seems that our plan has succeeded. Poor Harry has been incessantly shouting outside the past two days. I think his voice has gone hoarse.”
“If he didn’t try his best to put up a real enough act, they just won’t believe it.” Rufus sneered and led me to the table. He had already dismissed the servants and guards, and sent Maya to the suburban manor to fetch something.
“So what should we do next?” I asked curiously.
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