31 Chapter Thirty One

"Where were you?!"

The one that abruptly opened the doors of my bedroom was Prince Noah, and he was obviously mad at me.

I gulped, nervous. 'What is he doing here?'

"I… I was looking for you, Your Highness." I lied.

His expression didn't soft as I thought. Actually, Prince Noah seemed to be even angrier.

"Did you forget what I ordered you?!" Prince Noah shouted mad at me.

'What he ordered me?' I asked myself, confused trying to remember. '...Is he talking about what he told me yesterday in the dining room?'

Yesterday morning when I found him in the dining room he looked mad.

[ "And you, go to your room and stay there until I say so."]

That was what he told me.

'So he really meant that?' I asked myself, surprised.

I quickly bowed and apologized. "I'm sorry Your Highness… I forgot about that."

When I raised my head I saw Prince Noah frowning at me, serious. Looking into my eyes he said. "Apologies are not enough. For not following my orders you will have to be punished."

'P-Punished?!'

***

I've been laying on my bed all day reading one of the childish books Prince Noah gave me since he left my room.

I was quite relieved that the punishment Prince Noah was talking about was just to stay some days locked in my room.

"As your punishment, you will be locked in your room for ten days!"

That was what Prince Noah shouted before leaving my room.

After that, one of the maids took my room's key from me, and then they all left my room, locking me inside before I could say anything.

"Tsk." I clicked my tongue, frustrated.

"I wasn't expecting Prince Noah to do such a thing… Now I will have to be locked for ten days?" I complained to myself.

Not long ago, soon after Prince Noah left, some maids came to my room with my breakfast. It seems that I will have my meals served to me in my room from now on.

"It's kinda… Nostalgic." I said bitterly, remembering the days I lived in the northwest area.

'At least the food here is good and edible.' I thought, trying to be optimistic.

With the whole thing of being locked and not being able to leave my room, all I can think about now is that I will have to be extra careful to not let anyone see my real appearance from now on.

If a maid enters my room before I wake up I'm doomed.

"I just have to be sure to wake up earlier than usual." I said, trying to comfort myself.

I sighed.

"There is no point in getting anxious right now. I should enjoy this free time I have away from having to follow Prince Noah all day, after all." I realized, feeling a bit excited.

I opened my wardrobe and looked at the improvised bag I made last night.

I tossed it into my wardrobe last night. I didn't have the mind to look better at what was in there, after everything that happened that night.

I gulped, anxious when I opened the bag and looked inside.

The jewels were the first thing that caught my attention. It was prettier than I remembered.

"How much is it worth?" I asked myself holding a golden bracelet with red crystals on it. "...Are these rubies?!" I asked, surprised.

I don't know much about crystals or jewelry, but all I know is that those jewels must be expensive.

'Well, all that jewelry belonged to a queen, so they might be expensive, right?'

"What can I buy with all of it? A house?" I asked myself, curious.

"No, perhaps I can even buy a mansion using these jewels or even more than that." I said, looking at all the jewelry in the bag.

'I wished I could hide it in a better place than my wardrobe, but it's not like I have a chest here in my room to lock those things.' I thought, unsure.

"If someone finds these things in my room I'm in trouble." I realized.

This morning I forgot to lock my bedroom after I left. That's why Prince Noah entered here with his maid.

'If Prince Noah somehow found all those things in my room earlier what could have happened to me?' I thought, worried.

"I have to be more careful to not let my door unlocked from now on… After this damn punishment is over, of course." I said, mad, looking at my locked door.

I clicked my tongue, mad.

'I never thought Prince Noah would go this far just because I didn't follow his orders.'

'Why was he so mad at me after all? All I did was leave my room before he let me do so, was it even worth a punishment?' I thought, annoyed.

"Ten days… What can I even do to pass through all these days?" I asked myself, feeling helpless.

But then something caught my attention. It was a book inside the now untied improvised cloth bag I made.

"Is that…?" I asked, curious, holding the book.

"It is one of her books!" I shouted, excited.

On the cover of one of the books, it was written the name of my favorite author in this world, Bella De Cordival.

***

"Mary!" I shouted, excited after seeing a familiar face in days.

It has been five days since Prince Noah locked me in my room. Nothing much happened during those days, all I did was read the books that once belonged to my great-grandmother, Lady Elizabeth.

But today, to my surprise Mary came to see me.

She was accompanied by a man. He was an old man, he had gray hair and blue eyes. He had a serious face and was holding some leather notebooks. Looking at his clothes he seemed to be a butler.

"Who is he, Mary?" I asked confused.

"Alex, this is Mister Gerard Williams he is the Head Butler of the palace, Alex." Mary said, introducing the Head Butler.

"Nice to meet you, sir." I said, bowing politely.

'Well, he is my superior now after all.' I thought.

"So he is the Prince Noah's new servant? I wasn't expecting it to be a little kid." Mister Williams said, staring at me with a serious face. "Was he even properly educated to serve a royal?" Mr. Williams asked Mary, with skeptical eyes.

"No, I don't think he did, sir. But it is not his fault, it was Prince Noah that ordered him to be his servant before he could have proper training, Mr. Williams." Mary explained, trying to help me.

"Even if it was Prince Noah's orders no servant can serve the royal family without my permission." Mr. Williams said with a serious tone, he seemed mad.

"I'm sorry, sir. I should have told you sooner about Alex. It is just that he is more as Prince Noah's playmate than his servant, that is why I didn't worry about his training." Mary bowed, apologetic.

'Prince Noah's playmate? Is that how everyone sees me?' I thought, confused.

'Well, probably Prince Noah's playmate fits me better than being his servant. I don't remember doing anything a servant should do since I became Prince Noah's personal servant.' I realized.

"Playmate, you say?" Mr. Williams said staring at me from head to toe.

"A prince's playmate should be a noble, but if Prince Noah is fond of this child then…I think it is fine." Mr. Williams said looking at me like he was analyzing me, but I had the sensation he didn't like what he was seeing.

"But, still, even a playmate needs proper training to be with a member of the royal family. After his punishment is over I will train him myself." Mr. Williams said to Mary, though his cold eyes were fixed on me.

I felt chills in my body when I realized what it means. 'He will be the one training me?'

'I'm screwed.' I thought, pessimistic looking at his cold expression to me.

"Hm… Mary, why did you and Mr. Williams come here to see me?" I asked.

A maid served me my lunch not long ago, so for sure, they weren't here to bring me my meal.

"Mr. Williams received the order from the King to confirm if every servant in the palace is regulated. But, there is nothing for you to worry about, Alex, we are mostly here to make you officially Prince Noah's servant." Mary said trying to calm me with a gentle smile on her face, but it didn't work.

"I-I see…" I said nervously.

'There is no way I am a regulated servant, I am not even a servant in the first place!' I thought, anxious.

'Wait… Are they checking everyone because of what happened that day?' I realized this after remembering what the King said to the princes.

["In the forest side was found a hole in the wall. It's suspected that they used this way to escape so anarchists could also enter through the palace and infiltrate themselves here. So, until we are sure that is safe, you both will be scouted by knights all the time."]

'That is what he meant, then. They have been checking every servant during those days I've been locked in my room.' I realized.

"What is your name?" Mr. Williams suddenly asked, surprising me.

"I-It is Alex, sir." I answered, nervous.

"I am asking for your full name." He asked staring at me with his serious eyes.

"Hm… It is just Alex, sir." I explained.

"So you are one of the orphans, huh." He seemed frustrated for some reason.

"How long have you been here?" Mr. Williams asked opening one of his notebooks

"...Two years." I lied, unsure.

Mr. Williams then started to leaf through his notebook, probably looking for my name. Mr. Williams looked at me for a moment, and then opened another book, probably still looking to find my name somewhere.

I gulped, nervous.

'What will happen to me when they realize I am not actually a servant?' I thought, anxious.

My heart was beating like crazy when Mr. Williams closed his book and looked at me.

"Your name is not here. I don't think you were ever registered, child." He said staring at me with his piercing eyes.

I wanted to run, and I almost did. But then, Mr. Williams sighed.

"Why do they keep forgetting to register the orphans? It always ends up being a trouble for me. I can't even count how many orphans I discovered that weren't registered those days." He complained, mad.

I sighed relieved. 'Of course, they wouldn't think a child like me would be an intruder.'

"I will register you then, Alex. But, you will have to be trained before you can be officially Prince Noah's servant, do you understand?" Mr. Willians asked me, serious.

I nodded. "Yes, thank you, sir."

Mr. Williams cleared his throat. "Since we are done here, we must go now." He said taking his leave.

Mary was about to leave too when I called her.

"Mary, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Mary looked at Mr. Williams who just nodded and said. "Just don't take too long." He said, waiting near the door.

"What do you want, Alex?" Mary asked.

"I just want to know how is Prince Noah?"

"Prince Noah is fine, but he seems to miss your presence, Alex." Mary said chuckling.

'If he really missed me I wouldn't be locked here, huh.' I thought annoyed.

"I see… But what about the things in the palace, is there any news?" I decided to ask what I really wanted to know from the start.

Since the day I have been locked here I didn't have any news about the search for Lena and Alice. All I know is from what the King said days ago, that the royal knights were looking for them.

Mary's smile faded away, showing a worried expression. "A few things happened, but it is not something you have to worry about, Alex."

"What do you mean, Mary? What happened?"

Mary sighed. "The anarchists made a public attack against the royalty. Since then the mood in the palace has not been the same."

"A public attack? What do you mean with it?" I asked, worried.

Mary seemed unsure like she didn't know if she would tell me or not.

"Do you know about the maids that killed Lady Elizabeth, the King's grandmother?" Mary asked.

I nodded. "Yes... What happened with them?"

"The maids were found days ago in the port by the knights, trying to escape. But, on the way to the palace, the knights that were scouting them were all killed. It's said the anarchists were the ones behind it. They killed the royal knights and helped the maids to escape."

'...What?'