10

"Did something new happen while I was away?" Maxim asked while taking off his heavily badged coat. James helped him out while speaking.

"The Prince is back to the palace." Replied James cautiously. Maxim stopped,

"And?"

"And the Princess visited the mansion while you were away," he added.

Maxim's eyebrows creased and he fixed his collars while looking at James for further information, "She said that the queen wanted her to pay you a visit, But because of your absence she stayed at the palace for two days and left." He completed his report.

"hmm...Anything else?"

"Yes...It's about the Prince's return," James looked down and tightly gripped around his hand.

"What is it?"

"It's that the prince has brought in a Mistress,"

Maxim's face that was expressionless a while ago distorted and he slammed his hand onto the table beside him. "What did you say?"

"I have heard from the palace that the Prince brought in a Mistress and that he is thinking of making her into his official wife."

Maxim gritted his teeth while his hand-formed into a fist. "That bastard! How dare he do this under my nose?!" The room suddenly darkened up, and the temperature dropped a few degrees. James suddenly rubbed his arms because of the change in temperature.

Maxim Vantine Pasha, The Duke of the kingdom, father of Myrtle was a man second to the Kind only. His world revolved around his work. Just like any other royalty that is raised in an environment with little to no love, They are prepared for the harsh life where they might get hurt because of useless emotions like Love, Joy, and Happiness. And these emotions might come in the way of their life making the easiest decision, hard. Maxim took the teachings of his elderly very seriously and he treated his family and children just like he was treated as it was engraved in his mind that emotions make one weak, and a weak person can never lead.

"What about the King? Does he know about this?"

"Not yet, The queen has decided to deal with the matter on her own, The King will be notified once he is back for the Winter Festival.

Maxim nodded, His hand was still clenched tightly, trying to hold in his anger. "What about the Princess? Did she say anything about it?"

"The Princess must be waiting for your orders. In my opinion, the reason she came to the mansion was the same."

Maxim's eyeball moved around, he thought for a while before speaking.

"Hmm...I will have to make a visit to the palace myself and meet the Princess on my own."

"Your Grace," James was looking intently at Maxim, He turned around and looked at James with a questioning gaze.

"Talk to her like a father…" James spoke in a soft tone, Maxim's eyebrow lifted.

"What do you mean?"

"People have limits, and we should not test them…" James gave him a meaningful look and bowed and left the room.

James was Maxium's assistant, he had been with him for ten long years and knew him. Sometimes he was very frank with him knowing that the Duke would not fire him as there was no one as patient as James to stick to the rude Duke for this long. Maxim kept his eyes on James's figure as he walked away.

"He sure does talk uselessly."

.....................

"Ouch! I think my wrist is about to fall off," Anna whined, she had been copying the rules from a thick book for three hours straight. One could see the tiredness on her face clearly. "I am so hungry!"

Her stomach made a loud grumble, she lifted her head and looked out of the window. She noticed that it was already dark outside.

While she was staring outside the door to the room opened and Syrus walked in. He looked tired.

"You are back!" Anna sprang up and hurriedly moved to his side. "Have you had dinner yet?"

Syrus blankly looked at her because he hadn't gotten used to Anna, and she was really friendly towards him every time she came across him. Witnessing this kind of behavior was a very new thing for him.

"No! Not yet," Syrus replied.

"Oh! Why don't we eat together?" She asked.

"Hmm…" he nodded. "I will take a bath and after that, we can have dinner."

"I will cook!" She spoke with excitement. Syrus raised an eyebrow with wonder. "I mean it's already late and we shouldn't disturb the maids so I thought I could make a quick snack for both of us,"

"Hmm...Okay, As you wish." Syrus agreed.

Anna smiled while Syrus walked over to the washroom, HEr eyes followed him until he closed the door behind him. "Sigh! What should I do? I was not supposed to feel like this for him…" Anna mumbled in a defeated tone.

'You have to help out my friend and I will help you launch your designs, How does it sound? Your dream will come true after your job is done.' Spencer's words echoed in her head and she slowly sat on the bed, She was feeling weak in her legs.

She heard her heart racing and couldn't help but pat it down. "Let's focus!! You have to focus on your dream." She chanted while patting her chest.

"But before that, I want to eat something yummy." Anna made a determined face and walked out of the room towards the kitchen that was located in the farthest end of the Palace. At the entrance of the door Anna's feet paused and she peeked inside, and an uneasy feeling crept up her spine. The kitchen was not something she had expected. It was a whole world inside those doors with tens and twenties of maids walking around swiftly. It was past dinner so they were busy washing the dishes and clearing up the mess. She slowly pushed open the door, The Door creaked causing the attention of maids drift towards her.

Anna shuddered under their penetrating gaze. They were judging her with their eyes, a low murmur broke in the kitchen. Anna's hand felt sweaty as she stood in the doorway with a blank face. The maids were looking at her with a gaze filled with filth. They considered her even lower than themselves. Cold sweats slowly drenched her back, and she tried to lift her legs to run away but her feet became heavy. Anna wanted to dig a hole and hide inside it to avoid those blaming gazes.

"Lower your eyes! She is not someone you can look at that leisurely." The voice was firm, It felt like a warm breeze to Anna. The maid looked terrified after seeing who it was.

"Princess!" They collectively said with a scared tone and fell to their knees, "Please forgive us! We have committed a sin!" They whined, Anna got goosebumps when she heard the word princess, she slowly turned around and saw Myrtle standing in a long dusty pink nightgown with her hair let down. Her eyes held emptiness yet one could tell she was furious.

"Get lost before I change my mind," She added in a merciless tone. Anna's heart pounded harshly, she wasn't the girl who kneeled before the queen, nor she was the one who took the slap for her. She was someone who could snap someone's neck without even breaking a sweat. Anna felt scared, The maids quickly escaped the kitchen from the back door. And as soon as the Kitchen was empty Myrtle walked away without saying anything. Anna, who was acting strong a while ago, crouched on the floor and wrapped her hand around her face.

"Annabelle?" She heard Syrus's voice from afar, she turned around and saw him walk towards her with quick strides. "WHy are you sitting here? Did something happen?" He held out a hand for her to hold, Anna reluctantly took his hand and stood up slowly.

"Why...why are you here?" SHe asked.

"I was afraid that the maids would mistreat you again so I came but where…" He looked at the empty kitchen, "WHereis the staff?" HE mumbled.

"The Princess!" Anna gulped in.

"WHat about her?" Syrus grew defensive,

"She helped me just now when the maids were acting oddly towards me."

Syrus looked at her dumbfoundedly. "She did what?"