8 Liliana’s life at the palace (Liliana POV)

My name is Liliana. I live in the royal capital of Ravinia in the Ravtalia Kingdom, and I am currently working at the royal palace as a maid.

Ever since I started this new job, my routine has been quite repetitive. First, in the morning, before the palace's residents wake up, comes the floor and window cleaning, afterwards, the servants take breakfast at the general dining hall. Next, the maids are to start tidying up their assigned bedrooms, and once done, they must report their progress to the head maid and get assigned some of the day's tasks to be done.

Usually, the maids will work until lunchtime, get some rest, and then resume their work. However, since I've been working here for a few months now, I've gotten accustomed to the workload and the palace's environments, so I can finish my tasks quicker, especially since I have good stamina as I've been regularly training with my younger brother since childhood.

The first few days, I reported finishing my workload earlier to the head maid, she was very surprised and went to check the work I had supposedly done herself. She thought I was actually slacking off, and when she witnessed I had worked properly and neatly, she assigned me a few more jobs. But since this pattern repeated every day, and the tasks to be done decreased dramatically, she got confused as she couldn't distribute the tasks equally between the servants, and some people didn't even have any more work to do for a few days.

The head maid couldn't just fire employees who had been working without a proper reason, so she decided I should just work as much as everyone else and spend my remaining time however I pleased.

The first months, I only had spare time in the evenings. But the more I worked, the more efficient I got, and soon enough, I only had work in the mornings, and was free after lunchtime. The head maid didn't seem to mind much and told me I deserved my afternoon rest as she said the workload I usually completed by half a day was enormous compared to what other maids could manage. I thanked her for her kind words and decided I shall spend my afternoons on taking care of my younger brother's meals.

Every since we moved into the palace, me into the maids' quarters and him into the knights' barracks, we couldn't meet much as I was busy with my work and he was busy with his training. My younger brother is very cute, diligent and serious. He's a hard worker that just keeps doing his best and never gives up! Also, he's smart, and sweet, and heals my fatigue the moment he smiles and… ahem, well I should stop here. What I mean to say is he's a very sweet younger brother that I treasure very much and that I wish to take care of. Since I have plenty of free time now, it's the perfect time to make his meals again! I know they have a special dining hall for the knights near their training grounds, however I don't know what he eats, nor how nutritious it is or how easily he can digest it knowing he needs to workout right after his meal. Honestly, I'm very worried, and whenever we met over the last month, he would just smile and tell me the food is delicious and tell me that he's doing fine, and that I should take care of myself.

But Chris! Onee-chan is worried, you know! She's really, really worried about you!

So, there is no other choice, I will have to personally monitor his meals again. Fufu, I'll surprise him tomorrow with a lunchbox full of his favorite dishes. I wonder if he'll be happy? Will he smile? I can't wait.

The following day, I finished my usual assignments and prepared the surprise-Chris-lunchbox a little before lunchtime. Of course, I knew when he would be having his break, so I sneaked into the training ground at the right time and waited for him by the dining hall. At the moment he was about to pass through the door, I swiftly pulled him behind the building in a quiet garden where we sat in the shade of a big tree.

-Surprise. Have you missed me?

-Onee-chan! I missed you! Why haven't you come to see me lately? I've been lonely!

Ahh, Rii-chan's teary sulking face is so cute, I missed him so much, so cute, so cute.

-I'm sorry, Onee-chan was a little busy, and I also didn't want to disturb Rii-chan during his training. But I have great news, starting today, all my afternoons are free, so I'll be able to have lunch with Rii-chan every day!

-Really?! Onee-chan! Thank you! I love you!!

-Hehe, me too, I love Rii-chan the most.

-ah, but I need to call you Lilly here, also you must call me Chris. The other knights will make fun of me if I act too childish.

-Eh… I see… well, I understand. However, I wish you'd call me Onee-Chan when we're alone… or is that too much to ask?

-NO! please don't be sad, I promise I will!

-Hehe, great, I'm satisfied. Well then, shall we have lunch? There's not much time left on your break.

-Ah you're right, please wait a bit, I still haven't gotten my lunch from the dining hall, I'll be quick.

-No need, starting today I'm responsible again for Rii-chan's… I mean Chris's lunch, so you just need to meet me here every day, okay?

-Really?! ahh I missed Onee-chan's cooking so much! Thank you! I wonder what you brought today!

-Fufu, only your favorites as it's a special occasion, but starting tomorrow I'll properly make healthy and balanced lunches.

-Waa thank you so much Onee-Chan you're the best! Whatever you make is delicious so everything is my favorite!

Ahh, how can a human be so cute? Is he an angel? He must be an angel! My heart can't bear this much cuteness!

After we had lunch, Chris quickly went back to the training grounds to resume his training. Of course, as we had our meal, I heard all kind of stories from him. He's apparently under the supervision of the captain and the vice-captain of the imperial knights. He said they gave a very moving speech on their first day and that motivated him greatly because he aspired to be a strong knight capable of protecting me forever. Really, just how much cute can he get? Onee-chan will have a nosebleed if you overwhelm with so much love. He said he respected his superiors very much, and especially the captain that was, according to him, very outstanding. He described him as a very serious and talented person that seemed cold and impassive at first glance, but that was actually very kind and considerate of his pupils. Chris also described his comrade as fun, but he apparently had a little trouble getting along with the older recruits, his seniors, as there was a little older and more experienced both in the palace life and the knights' training. In the following months, they were to form mixed groups of new and old recruits so he had some worries as to how he would get along with them by then. Don't worry Rii-chan, Onee-chan will definitely find a solution to all your troubles.

After two months of working at the palace, my days got livelier as I would daily meet with Rii-chan and have lunch together. However, I got just as lonely once we parted and had nothing to do for the rest of the afternoon. His evening break was too short for us to meet, and I still wanted him to have to time to get to know his comrades better and make some friends. Thus, I made a brave sacrifice and decided to spend my afternoon away from him. The problem was what to do… as I was casually wondering in the palace grounds and asking myself what I could occupy my time with, I ended up into the deeper gardens of the royal palace. Usually, those were only used for royal garden parties and tea receptions, and they were generally deserted but daily taken care of by the gardeners. I decided to take the opportunity to take a stroll and enjoys the refreshing spring breeze along the pond, and the beautiful and colorful flowers.

After walking for a while, I heard a quiet sound coming from under a big tree in the big field of flowers. As I got closer, I recognized the sobbing of a young child, and remembering my own brother's cute crying face, I decided to check if the child was by any chance lost or hurt.

I easily found the crying child who looked a little older than 6 years old, and quietly got closer. Judging from his luxurious attire clothes and clean toilette, he must be a noble's child.

-Hello master, is everything alright?

The young boy suddenly raised his head and looked surprised at seeing me, it seems he didn't expect to meet anyone in these deserted gardens as he even looked a bit frightened.

-please don't be so scared, I'm don't mean any harm. I was taking a stroll in the garden when I hear someone crying. I thought I'd check up on you, but perhaps I have done wrong?

-I-I'm alright… *sniff*… I'm fine, just leave me alone.

Ahh how cute, he's definitely not fine but still wants to appear strong. Very well, I shall respect his resolve. But that shiny silver hair and big teary green eyes are just too much for me. I'll just pat his head! Just that!

-I see, I'm sorry for disturbing you then. However, since I got quite tired from all the walking, I'll have some rest in the shade of this tree. I'll be on the other side, so if you have a worry you need to talk about, please feel free to consult me. I may not be of much help, but I'd be glad to relieve whatever may burden the heart of such a brave young man.

As I finish my sentence, I gently withdraw my hand and get to the other side of the tree. I sit on a cosy spot in between two strong roots and lean against the trunk. The gentle breeze is very pleasant against my cheeks and as I close my eyes, I can hear the soft rustle of the leaves as the wind playfully strokes the branches.

I feel a little sleepy since the weather is so nice and as I was just thinking of taking a nap, I feel a little hand poking my cheek. I slowly open my eyes to avoid frightening the cute little boy, and gently smile at him. His eyes are still red and watery, and it looks like he gathered all his courage to talk to me. I don't want to shatter his resolve so I'll patiently wait for him to open up to me.

-O-Onee-chan is very beautiful…

-My, how kind of you little master. I'm happy for your praise. I must say young master is a very brave and handsome young man himself.

-I-I'm not brave! I'm actually very scared of my tutors! And I can't face them anymore! I … *sniff*…

I see, he was basically under a lot of pressure pro his preceptors and ran away? Well, of course such a young child would find strict teaching unbearable, at his age the most important thing should be to play right?

-I don't agree. I think young master is very brave since he decided to come and talk to me of his own resolve. You found the courage to talk to me by yourself and I think it's very admirable. (I gently smile at him and stroke his hair) I'm sure you'll find the same courage to face your teachers again and show them how diligent and praiseworthy you are.

He slowly stops crying and clings to my dress as he softly nestles his head against my chest. After a while, I can feel he stopped crying and doze off. He must've gotten tired from all the crying, and this must time for his afternoon nap, also the weather is very pleasant. Well then, I shall let him rest for a while, not only because his cute drooling face is just irresistible but also because a brave young man deserves a little comfort after a harsh trial.