“Lately you’ve been too busy to spend time with us…” a woman complained in a sweet voice as her eyes sought for Prince Florian’s attention. “A prince has his duties to attend to…” Florian replied with a charming smile. “Then you must be tired. Please let us entertain you, Prince Florian…” another woman suggested before she smiled beautifully. “Seeing all of your beautiful smiles melts all my troubles away,” Florian said before he started to laugh cheerfully. The prince pulled one of the ladies close to him to place a kiss on her cheek before he turned to do the same to another one. “Florian…” Darius called his brother’s name coldly. The noisy atmosphere died down immediately when Florian and the women realized that Darius was watching them. “Oh…my cold brother is here. What do you want, Darius?” Florian asked without much interest. “There’s a meeting with the minister of international trade right after this. Please be on time,” Darius reminded his younger brother sternly. “I know that already. I don’t even know why I have to be there if you’re going to be there anyways…” Florian muttered his complaint. Although Darius had decided to join the afternoon tea gathering, he was here for an entirely different reason than Florian was. His cold grey eyes scanned the party before he focused on the maid that he had helped out before. She seemed diligent in her work as she worked along side her two friends. They must be friends, he thought, judging from how close they seemed. “Prince Darius…” a familiar voice called his name from close behind him. Darius turned around to come face to face with Regina. He knew immediately from the expression on her face why exactly she wanted to talk to him and what was on her mind. “Yes, Lady Regina. How may I be of assistance to you?” Darius asked. “Well…this is the bi-weekly afternoon tea party, and it also marks my first gathering since moving in to live in the palace. I can’t seem to find Prince Leonard here so I was wondering if he would be attending this tea party after all?” Regina asked. “The first prince is currently feeling unwell and couldn’t attend this party. I apologize in his place,” Darius replied smoothly. “Is Prince Leonard alright? Would it be possible for me to pay him a visit? My family knows many talented doctors so please let me know if I can help in anyway,” Regina quickly suggested. “There’s no need for that. The royal doctors have already administered their treatment. Also, my brother isn’t seriously ill. There is nothing for you to be concerned about,” Darius said politely. “My father mentioned that I can expect to see more of the prince if I move to live here…” Regina said as she demanded for what had been promised to her.Darius’s grey eyes narrowed slightly at the unmistakable meaning behind her statement. Lady Regina Baldirius is the only daughter of the current prime minister and thought to be the prime candidate to become the next queen. Both the lady and her father had their eyes set on the first prince of the Kingdom and had no qualms in making their intent known to all. “Make no mistake, Lady Regina. Just as it was decided by the royal council and the house of ministers, we welcome your presence here in our palace. It is right for you to expect to see more of my brother now that you’re living on the palace grounds; however, capturing his interest will be entirely up to you…” Darius replied straightforwardly. Darius watched as Regina’s pleasant expression showed signs of her frustration. It was only for a brief moment before her expression reverted to her trained cheerful face once again. “I completely understand that. Don’t worry, I understand my duties very well. Thank you very much for your kindness and support,” Regina said before smiling sweetly up at Darius. “Please enjoy the party,” Darius said to excuse himself from her presence. Regina let out a suppressed sigh when Darius had left the garden. It was true that she felt more reassured of her position and prospect now that she was allowed to live in the palace where she could be closer to Prince Leonard just like the other honorable maidens. Those women lived in a special part of the palace that was dedicated to them. After convincing her father extensively, he finally gave her his assistance in lobbying the ministers to pressure the royal council to allow her to live in the palace like the other honorable maidens. However ever since she had moved into the palace, she had not had a single chance to meet or spend time with Prince Leonard. She suspected that the reason that Darius gave behind his brother’s absence from the event must have been merely an excuse. Why didn’t Prince Leonard turn up? Feeing extremely irritated, Regina decided to leave the party because it was clear that Prince Leonard wouldn’t turn up. As she was leaving the garden along with her personal maid, her eyes landed on the maid that had bumped into her before. Something about that maid annoyed her and the more she watched that maid, the more her anger rose to the surface. “Sophie, find out that maid’s name,” Regina instructed her maid softly. “That girl from before? Do you wish to punish her, My Lady?” Sophie asked. “Not at all. I want her to work for me…” Regina said before her lips curved into a calculating smirk. … Nobody ever told me that serving tea at an afternoon tea party was such hard work. By the end of the day, I felt drained of all energy. The manual labor work was one thing but keeping up appearances in front of the sparklingly pretty honorable maidens was harder work. I was just so unused to the whole affair and that made me feel on edge all the time. It was a relief to make it back to my room after clearing up the garden after the party had ended late in the afternoon. As per the rules, I made it back to the maids’ quarters before sundown. --To be continued…