Crown Prince

As I closed the door of the crown prince's office, I couldn't help but wonder if this was the disastrous end Verda had predicted for me.

This is more like a garbage dump than an office.

I don't even know how to describe it at all.

Mountains of paper stacks strewn about on the floor, there are even used underwear here and there, and I can't see the desk behind the black trash bags containing things I don't want to know.

And the smell...

Tarots, forgive me. I don't want to tempt fate by screaming and calling the exterminator to check if there are any unknown species of pests unknown to mankind taking residence here.

At this rate, I will break down here first before I have the chance to face Frida's wrath for losing the job she worked so hard to secure for me.

I have no choice but to call Astrid for a much-needed boost before I throw my life away in desperation.

I quickly extracted my phone from my apron, dialed as if my life depended on it, and prayed to fate that she didn't have any counseling session this early.

"Hello you."

"Astrid, help!"

"I'm here, Linnea. Calm down."

"I can't!"

"Calm the heck down, or I will go wherever you are right now and sedate you with whatever I can grab from Eiry's cabinet!"

Her very real threat worked, and I immediately remembered how she slapped Frida in front of Viscount Arguille when she was having a temper tantrum in public and making a scene that almost destroyed their social standing.

"Okay, I'm calm now."

"Good. Now, explain to me why the heck you are panicking? This is so not you, Linnea."

"I think it's for the best if I show you, give me a second."

I quickly took a picture of the room I was in now and sent it to her.

"And here I thought your messy home was the worst. I respectfully eat my words. This one takes the cake."

"What should I do, Astrid? I only have until midnight to clean this dump and after that, I am fired!"

"Fired?! What do you mean fired? No, we must not lose sight of the matters at hand. First things first, you must clean this place up. Start at the top left corner and move south from there. Then take a step right, move all the way north, then a step left and south again. Rinse and repeat until you are done."

"That's it?"

"Easy, isn't it? And you call yourself a graduate of Administrative Sciences. You are way better than me on this, Linnea. While I don't blame you on panicking the moment you first see that dumpsite, you have to remember that the moment you let your emotions get the better of you, it's all over. Now, get going. We will deal with the other problems after you are done with that. Okay?"

"Okay."

"That's a good girl. Talk to us later on the group chat! Ciao!"

-0-

"His Royal Highness, The Crown Prince of Arcania demands your presence in his office, Linnea."

I turned around and saw Fritz standing at the door of my room and looking at me sternly as I had just finished what I was doing, which he noticed.

"Ah, excellent, you already packed your things. That will make things faster. Come, follow me. The Crown Prince is not a patient man."

He left the room in a hurry, and I quickly followed him, determined to power through this last stretch of pain as my friends urged me to do.

Thankfully, Frida was more understanding than I expected. She said it was not my fault, and I was merely following orders to the letter and leaving everything to her to exact revenge on my stead once I left the Arcadia Palace.

Fritz and I stopped in front of the office door, and he knocked thrice before announcing my arrival, "Your Royal Highness, I have brought Miss Linnea Feodora as you requested."

"Send her in."

Chills ran down my spine when I heard a baritone voice from inside.

"Remember the protocols, Linnea," after that final warning, he opened the door for me and ushered me in, then closed the door behind me, leaving me inside the lion's den defenseless and all by myself.

This is the last sprint. Go for broke, Linnea.

Without lifting my head up and staring at the floor, I took several steps forward until I reached in front of the desk I cleaned yesterday before curtsying lowly, "Your Royal Highness."

"Miss Linnea Feodora, Twenty Four Years Old, Royal Household Maid for two months, correct?" the crown prince asked in a monotonous and manly voice.

"Sir."

"I checked the missives, and not a single report about you so far out of the ordinary. Yet suddenly, you went out of your way to break a direct and clear order forbidding you to enter this restricted room."

I gulped and closed my eyes as I struggled to stop myself from talking back to defend myself.

Rie said yesterday that I can shorten my suffering if I just take all the blame rather than shifting it to others who would rather die than admit it.

"That is correct, Sir."

I heard him chuckle patronizingly, which sent my heart beating fast, "Trying to shorten the suffering, are we? Well, I wouldn't get you away with this that fast."

Damn it.

"Not only did you break the rules, but you have also handled confidential files about national security matters without permission. Merely firing you will be an act of mercy and be seen as negligence to uphold the rule of the dominion law."

Great, just great.

I will be sent to prison.

Welp, at least the food and lodging are free.

"Look at me, Miss Linnea Feodora."

I followed his orders and lifted my head.

Our eyes met, and what I saw almost knocked me out of consciousness.

A man can't be this perfect, right?

I saw his pictures and videos, but he is just unbelievable in person.

Clean-cut ginger hair like his younger brother with faded sides and a face straight from the model magazines. Manly and well-proportioned jaws and striking features that exude prestige and royalty.

His eyes are fiery amber that burns with passion and bores through mine as if he is reading my soul right now while his thin pink lips are smiling at me alluringly.

He is wearing the ceremonial black, and red Arcanian Royal Army uniform that makes him look like the dashing prince charming straight from the fairytale books the matron from the orphanage has read to me before bedtime.

"Where did you put my boxer briefs?"

I blushed profusely when he asked me that with a straight face, and it took me a few seconds to answer him.

"I sent it together with other items of clothing to the laundry room, Sir."

"To think you have managed to clean and organized this office masterfully before dinner on your own yesterday. If I didn't check the security cameras, I wouldn't have believed it," he said musingly before pressing a button in his desk that rang a buzzer outside the room, and the door opened with my boss coming in briskly bowing his head to the crown prince respectfully, "I'll give you a month, Fritz. Let's not give the tabloids any more reason to call me the deranged heir, shall we?"

"It shall be done. By your leave, Your Royal Highness," Fritz answered quickly before turning to me and showing me the way out of the office, "Come, Linnea. We have so much to learn, so little time."

"Wait, what?" I asked in confusion as the elderly boss of mine gave me a nudge to get a move on impatiently.

When I refused to budge, the Crown Prince stood up and pointed at the door menacingly, "Better get a move on, Secretary Lyn."