Reborn as the Villainess's Bodyguard, I Refused to Stop at Bodyguard novel · Chapter 7 of 24

Chapter 7: The Saint's Visit

Marguerite came at noon, as promised, and stood outside the bars with her hands twisted together.

Seraphine sat on the cot in a clean shift Haruka had begged from the laundress.

The two women looked at each other for a long moment.

"You came," Seraphine said.

"You said once that I would never belong in the palace." Marguerite lifted her chin. "I've decided I don't care what you said. I wanted to see you."

"May I speak first?"

Marguerite nodded, startled.

Seraphine stood.

She did not kneel, because she was not that kind of person, but she bowed her head, and her voice was clear and level in the little room.

"You have every reason to hate me, and I will not list them again. All of it was mine, and none of it was your fault."

The Saint's lip trembled.

"I am sorry," Seraphine said. "You do not have to forgive me. I wanted you to hear it from my mouth, before the fourteenth."

Marguerite crossed the corridor in two steps and pushed her hands through the bars.

Seraphine took them.

"I was so angry at you," Marguerite whispered. "For months. You were terrifying. You were so good at everything, and I was so stupid and scared."

"You were never stupid."

"But I never thought you would try to kill me. Not once." Marguerite's grip tightened. "The cup, Seraphine. I've gone over it a hundred times. At the banquet, the Prince handed it to me himself. He said it was blessed wine from the temple, to settle my nerves. You weren't even near me. You were across the hall with your mother."

Haruka, standing by the door with her arms folded, felt the hair stand up on her neck.

"Did you tell anyone?" she asked.

"I told the Prince." Marguerite looked at her, wide-eyed. "He said I was confused with fever. He said I'd seen Seraphine pour it, and that it was the sickness making me forget. He was so gentle about it. I believed him for weeks."

"And now?"

"Now I think he's lying," Marguerite said, in a very small voice. "And I'm frightened of him."

Seraphine's hands closed hard around hers.

"Then be careful. Do not tell him what you suspect. Be pleasant, be sweet, say nothing, and keep your eyes open."

"I can do that. I've been doing that for six months."

"And the Queen?"

"He keeps me from her. I can't get a word in. But I'll try." Marguerite wiped her eyes with a corner of her cloak. "I'll try, Seraphine, I promise."

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