Chapter 237: At a Loss for Words

Princess Seraphine was so flabbergasted that her hand holding a glass of water shook. With two older brothers supporting their father, she got away from responsibilities despite being the first princess. Visiting different kingdoms was her hobby so she had been to Evardin a few times back when Lauren was still a princess.

Although Lauren wasn’t favored by the royal family, Seraphine and Lauren still got introduced to each other.

Lauren.

The name brought a subtle crease to Noelle’s forehead.

"Lauren who?" Queen Celeste was as puzzled as her husband, King Andrius.

Isobel, who was around the corner to make sure nothing went wrong in the dining hall, realized that it wasn’t only her who thought that the new maid had a striking resemblance to the late queen of Evardin.

"Lauren. I heard that name before..." Princess Iris mumbled. She thought deeply, trying to keep up with what was happening. Her eyes soon lit up. "Aha! Do you mean King Alec’s dead wife? The late queen had the same name."

Princess Iris stared at Noelle but she had never met Lauren before, so she couldn’t tell.

"No. She can’t be her," Princess Seraphine said, now calmer. But the confusion was still etched on her face. She couldn’t fathom how two people unrelated to each other looked so similar.

"Lauren was famous for her incomparable pair of blue eyes. This young maid has plain black eyes. And if you look at her long enough, you could tell she is slimmer and..." Seraphine paused due to the lack of a proper word to describe the maid, "utterly dull."

Seraphine met Lauren during her social butterfly days. At that time, Lauren had gained fame for being the rebellious third princess. Seraphine remembered how proud the princess looked back then.

"So, this maid of mine, you mean she resembles Evardin’s late Queen Lauren?" Luke asked. His eyes subtly widened and his mouth curled. "Oh, that must have explained why she looks kind of familiar to me. I just couldn’t remember because it has been many years since I visited Evardin with father."

I resemble the late queen of Evardin, Lauren Everston?

Noelle couldn’t seem to swallow the information. So that explained why the head maid and those servants were giving her weird gazes and gossiping about her.

Noelle couldn’t believe that she resembled someone who used to be the most powerful woman in Evardin.

But for sure we don’t look very similar. I look plain and dull, nothing like a royal...

"What do you mean she looks like Queen Lauren?" Queen Celeste narrowed her eyes at Noelle. She had seen Lauren once back when she was still a princess, but she could hardly remember her face. "Well, she may slightly resemble her, but a maid is nowhere near a royal. We cannot compare a lowly servant to a queen, can we?"

Dominic continued to stare at Noelle, finding it odd that some maid had an uncanny resemblance to Lauren. If only the maid’s eyes were blue, he would have thought that Lauren rose from death.

"Mother is right. We shouldn’t talk about the dead and have our breakfast," said Princess Seraphine. She turned to the head maid and was about to ask Isobel if Alec would be joining them, when the king’s adviser and first commandant, Matthias, arrived in the dining hall.

"Your Majesties, Your Highnesses," Matthias bowed to pay respect, "Pardon us but His Majesty, King Alec, cannot join you for breakfast. He is dealing with an important matter in his office-"

Matthias suddenly stopped when he caught a glimpse of the maid behind Prince Luke.

Seeing this, Isobel decided to speak, "She is Noelle Davis, Sir Matthias. She is one of the newly hired maids."

Matthias was at a loss for words. Why does this woman look so similar to Lauren?

They looked so similar, yet different at the same time. Matthias couldn’t imagine the late queen in a maid’s uniform, and her eyes were a pair of pitch-black, proof that she couldn’t be the queen.

But if King Alec were to see this...

This woman would surely be a reminder of the death of his wife. And it didn’t sound good.

Matthias cleared his throat and continued explaining to the guests why Alec couldn’t join them for breakfast. Isobel had said herself that this young maid was a woman named Noelle Davis. She was meant to say that he shouldn’t confuse her with Lauren.

"It’s a pity. I was looking forward to having a meal with King Alec," said Princess Iris with a disappointed look.

The young princess had a thing for the king of Evardin and it wasn’t a secret to their family. The royal banquet was for the economic alliance between Evardin and Bodeville, but Iris was hoping for a marriage alliance between her and Alec, which was why she came along.

Before exiting the dining hall, Matthias glanced at Noelle one more time. His brows furrowed, thinking if he should tell the king about it.

If he sees her, he might go berserk, should I give him a heads-up?

Or should I tell Isobel to fire her? Such a face will only trigger memories of the late queen.

Matthia sighed. Even he couldn’t help but feel a pang of pain in his chest when he saw the maid. One glance was enough to see the striking similarity between the two women.

Queen Lauren had been dead for five years, but the wound she left in the hearts of the people who cared for her still remained. Matthias didn’t even know if the king could ever get over her. He had seen the love story of the couple and it ended so badly. He knew that Alec was still in despair despite how he kept a straight face every day.

As the Bodeville’s royal family went on with their breakfast in the dining hall, Noelle was standing with them absentmindedly.

She wanted to stay low-profile and avoid unnecessary attention, but with what she just found out, she guessed it was impossible to not be noticed in the palace.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read