2 1: The Hydrangeas Flower

It’s been five years since I started working here at the imperial palace. I live in a country where people like me who didn’t finish my studies were being neglected by society. My parents were sent to Japan to become servants for the politicians. I was sent to a different place. I become a garden here at the Imperial Palace where the royal blood lives. This place is full of wonderful scenery and it’s super huge. It’s rare to see the other servants because of how big this place is; 5 years isn’t enough for me to see everything here. Including the prince.

I was busy planting a new flower from my hometown when my friend, Ervin, came running towards me. “Hey, what’s wrong?” I immediately asked while holding his arms, he was catching his breath. “What happened?” I asked again.

He looked at me and said, “Come with me.”

I immediately remove my hands from him. “If you’re just going to ask me to slack off with you again, then I’m not going!” I exclaimed while digging the soil.

“No! It’s pretty urgent,” he explained. I decided to ignore him and focus on my work. He always does this, he’ll drag me with him so he will have someone he can slack off with. “Fine, if you don’t want to see the prince, then I won’t let you!” he exclaimed before walking away.

I immediately stood up, “What do you mean?” I asked. I’ve been working at this Palace but there’s no single day that I have seen the prince nor heard anyone talking about him. It made me curious on what kind of person he is. It was true that this Palace is full of mysteries. There’s a lot of questions around but no matter how smart or rich you are, it wasn’t enough for you to know the truth.

He looked back at me with a smirk on his face, “See? I know you’re interested. The prince is going to celebrate his 19th birthday today. He’ll give a short speech on the balcony. It will be his first face reveal,” Ervin said with a smile on his face. I started imagining what the prince looks like, is he tall and masculine? Is he ugly and has only money and status? Is he arrogant like any other royal bloods? “So? Want to come or nah?” Ervin asked.

“I’ll come,” I immediately answered as I cleaned myself with a wet towel.

“That’s the spirit! We will only sneak in because servants like us aren’t allowed to look at the prince,” he explained while walking.

“Why?” I asked.

He looked at me with a frown at his face. “Are you dumb? You know servants aren’t allowed to speak nor look at the royal family. We’ll get thrown out if they ever caught us,” he replied while sneaking in the bushes. It was located at the front of the balcony where the prince is supposed to make his speech. I didn’t remember anything about servants not being allowed to look or speak with the royal family. I mean, we are servants. They were supposed to give us orders, right?

“Then why are we doing this if it’s too dangerous?” I asked.

“Shut up already, I know you’re dying to see the prince’s face,” he said while peeking. There are too many people, I wonder if we will be able to see the prince here? “Tsk, stupid people! They are blocking the view!” Ervin exclaimed as he tried to find a better spot.

“Hey, don’t move around too much, they'll see us,” I said while looking around.

“How about you start looking for a way instead of complaining?” he said with a mocking voice. I sighed, I tried to look for a better view, but it’s no use. There are too many people standing, waiting for the prince’s arrival.

“Here! It’s a perfect view,” Ervin whispered. I immediately looked to see if he’s right.

“The balcony is seen here very clearly,” I said before looking away.

“The speech will start in 5 minutes. I’m so excited!” Ervin said. “Wait! He’s here already!” he exclaimed. I immediately pushed him away so I could see if the prince had arrived, but I saw nothing. Ervin laughed while pointing at me. “Damn you really are crazy to see what the prince looks like.” I frown at him and I shove his face at the bushes. “Hey, my beautiful face!” he exclaimed while rubbing his cheeks.

“That’s what you get for mocking me.” After a few minutes the people outside started to clap.

“Hey, maybe he’s really here now?” Ervin said while peeking through the hole of the bushes. I watched him as he tried to see if the prince was there already. I’m lying if I say I'm not excited, because I really am. I cannot wait to see the prince, I know everyone’s excited to see him as well. It was traditional for royal bloods to make an appearance after reaching a certain age. I was lucky that I got to see the prince, even through this bushe's hole.

“So is he there yet?” I asked. The hole is too small so we need to alternate to see what’s going on.

“Oh my gosh, he’s here!” Ervin said while screaming without a sound.

“Let me take a look,” I said before pushing him away. My eyes grew wider when I saw the prince walk into the balcony. He’s wearing a traditional yukata. “Wow!” I exclaimed while looking at the prince. I cannot believe he’ll look like this!? All this time I was thinking about how he looked.

“Tss, he’s not my type,” Ervin said while crossing his arms. So that's the reason why he wanted to see the prince, to find out if he has passed Ervin’s high standard when it comes to men.

“He’s nothing like what I imagine! His body is frail; he has an angelic face without emotion written on it,” I said while staring at the prince. He’s like a realistic robot, he’s not even smiling or giving away any emotion.

“Looks like you caught one,” Ervin said while poking me.

“Stop! I’m not like you,” I said while waving my hand to stop him from poking me.

“He’s so- so beautiful!”