SHARING THE WARMTH

Perhaps he shouldn't have had high expectations when someone who didn't live in Grinia asked him to leave the palace for fun.

Elennora expected that Levan would take him somewhere with a nice view or something, but he had to be disappointed that the brunette Crown Prince just wanted to make him enjoy the party with his people outside the palace.

Of course. He should have kept his hopes high because someone who wasn't from Grinia wouldn't know a beautiful place he didn't know.

And since they were in a bad mood due to the events at the party, they decided to return to the palace immediately.

Actually, Elennora wasn't too disappointed even though Crown Prince Levan had only brought him to see how his people were enjoying the party. For some reason, he felt like he was experiencing something new today.

The memory made him pull the corners of his lips into a small smile.

"Are you happy after sneaking out of the palace today, Your Highness?"

His smile disappeared as a familiar voice greeted his ears. Elennora didn't even notice that he had been daydreaming, letting Bianca catch him off guard.

Bianca was combing his long hair while standing behind him, and in front of them was a large mirror. His smile earlier must have been reflected in the mirror, and the senior maid must have seen it.

"You know I snuck out of the palace today?" Instead of answering the question from the maid, Elennora asked back.

Bianca was indeed a senior maid in the palace, but she wasn't that old, she was probably only in her late thirties. Her black hair was still completely black without the appearance of gray strands, and not even her face was decorated with wrinkles.

"I saw your dress in my room, Your Highness. And I also saw that one of my dresses was missing," Bianca replied as she finished styling the Crown Princess's pink hair.

Soft pink hair covered his shoulders to his chest, and when he saw his reflection in the mirror, he felt like laughing at himself.

"Did you report to His Majesty that I snuck out today, Bianca?" Elennora asked another question.

He didn't look surprised when Bianca confirmed that she knew about his behavior today. Even if Bianca wasn't there when Elennora returned to the palace, he had a feeling that Bianca would find out.

That maid had been with him since eighteen years ago. At that time, Bianca was only twenty years old. She would accompany him to play in the palace, and they had a good relationship that couldn't be described with words.

Elennora felt that he was more connected to Bianca than to his mother.

"I didn't report it," Bianca replied while picking up a dark brown and gold dress. "I know you've been feeling very depressed lately, Your Highness. I know you need some solace for yourself."

Seeing how Bianca was ready with the dress in her bony hands, Elennora got up from his seat and took the dress from the maid. "From now on, I'll dress by myself, Bianca. You don't need to help me," he said.

Elennora was a Princess before he earned the title of the Crown Princess of Grinia. Because of that, he always received help whenever he got dressed. It was Bianca who always helped him get dressed.

Before he confirmed his true identity, he didn't hesitate to take off his clothes in front of Bianca. He thought he and the maid had the same bodily features, and that was why he didn't see the problem of being naked in front of the maid.

But now that he knew who he was, he couldn't let Bianca see his body.

Seeing how the Crown Princess had taken the dress from her, Bianca sighed heavily. "You've been stressed lately because you already know your identity, right, Your Highness?" She asked carefully.

Still with the dress in his hands, Elennora didn't even want to look the maid in the eye as ae replied, "Why have you lied to me all these years, Bianca?"

Elennora already knew the reason behind his parents' lies, and more or less, he could guess the reason behind Bianca's lies. But, for some reason, he still wanted to hear the maid answer the question.

Bianca looked sad as she also took her eyes off the pink-haired boy. "That's because I want you to live well, Your Highness."

The pair of brown eyes drifted back to the black-haired maid when the owner heard the maid's answer. The answer was very unexpected for him.

He thought that Bianca decided to hide the truth because his parents blackmailed her eighteen years ago, but when he saw how dark Bianca's face was now, he knew that the maid was hurt by the lie too.

"Maybe you won't believe me, but the Queen wanted to kill you back then. There was only one solution to keep you alive, and even if His Majesty did ask me to keep it a secret, it was also my decision to protect you, Your Highness."

Elenora was taken aback. When he talked to his parents, his parents admitted that they were the ones who needed protection from him. Therefore, they came up with a plan to hide his true identity.

But, Bianca had no motive for it. The maid simply just wanted to keep him alive.

The uncomfortable feeling in his heart gradually disappeared after knowing the truth. His heart grew warmer even if he only heard a series of words from a lowly maid.

And without hesitation, Elennora moved his body to hug the shorter maid. He didn't care about the difference in status between them, and he just wanted to share the warmth in his heart with the maid.

"Thank you for always being with me, Bianca. You have done all that for me so that I can live well, so I promise you that I will live well from now on."