My heart skipped a beat again and I cursed myself silently in my head. He was quite stubborn, that was for sure. I nodded in resignation as I watched him sweep up the fallen leaves. I did my part in picking up some random leaves that had just fallen. It didn’t take long for him to finish sweeping up the leaves into neat piles while I admired his efficient movements. The leaves really just kept falling. I turned around and walked over to another that had just fallen before bending down to pick it up. “Thank…you…” I turned to thank him for his hard work before my words ended in a whisper. He was…gone. When did he leave? I looked around but couldn’t see him anywhere around anymore. Just as suddenly as he had appeared, the man seemed to have disappeared into thin air. “There you are…” a woman’s voice rang out loud and clear.I heard the sounds of soft footsteps approaching me and I turned around to see Lady Regina and Sophie walking towards me. They were probably here to see if I have been performing my duties properly. Thanks to the man’s help just now, there were no leaves from the tree on the ground. “Good afternoon, Mila. How is your first day of working here?” the Lady asked with a smile. “Very good, My Lady,” I replied in short. “It seems like you’ve done an amazing job at sweeping up the leaves. Now I can show my guest here without worry,” she said as she looked up at the tree. “Thank you…” I thanked her politely. “My guest should be arriving soon. You may leave for the day,” Lady Regina said before she turned to leave. Sophie stared sharply at me for a few seconds before she too left along with her lady. I watched the two of them walk off before I let out a long sigh. At least, I made it through the first day of working at my new post. I walked back to the maid’s quarters with a smile on my lips and a spring in my steps. Maybe, I’ll see him again tomorrow… … Regina entered the large guest reception room of her palace to find her guest already sitting on a large chair waiting for her. She took in a deep breath and approached him with a beautiful smile on her lips. “Prince Leonard, I’m so happy that you’re here to visit me. You should have told me that you’ve arrived earlier than planned…” she said. “I didn’t want to disturb you. I was the one who was early,” the prince replied casually. Regina continued smiling politely before she turned to take her seat on the chair opposite from him. She knew that the prince had in fact arrived at her palace much earlier in the day. It was unfortunate that she found out just recently otherwise she would have tracked him down. She wasn’t sure why the prince came to her palace but didn’t get in touch with her. None of it made any sense. “Still, you should have told me. I wanted to welcome you the moment that you got here,” Regina said with a sweet smile. She watched as Leonard removed his sunglasses from his eyes before he ran his fingers through his slightly tousled hair. He had always been captivatingly attractive in her eyes, but his features became even more enchanting as he grew up. Now that he was a man and the first prince, many women had their eyes set on him and it wasn’t any different for herself. Except, she had her eyes set on him from a very long time ago. “That’s not necessary and neither are any of these formalities between us. How have you been? I was quite surprised when you decided to move to live here to be honest,” Leonard said before he smiled a little at her. “I’ve been well. You say that but, I think that it might have been better if I had moved here sooner…” Regina replied as she tried to relax. The two have known each other since they were young, so it wasn’t like they were strangers. However, now that they have both matured and had their own social position and responsibilities to fulfill, things weren’t as simple anymore compared to when they were simply playmates and Regina understood that best. “I see that you’ve been taking care of the legendary tree very well,” the prince spoke up. “Oh, yes, of course. We all know how important that tree is and how long it has been in this palace. We used to play under that tree very often when we were younger. Prince Florian was always so mischievous and trying to climb it when we were not allowed to,” Regina said before she laughed a little at the old memories. “The tree sheds its leaves all year round non-stop, I honestly don’t know why our ancestors favor it. It must have been hard on the people to pick up the leaves and all. I mean, why bother picking them up if more will just fall down?” the prince asked before his eyes stared at the lady’s face. A sense of unease crept into Regina’s mind at the prince’s words. Why is he suddenly talking about this? “So, I take it that you’ve visited the tree before coming here to meet me? I was thinking of taking you to see it together,” she said as she tried to remain calm. “I haven’t been in this palace for a while, so I decided to pay the tree a visit. Of course, I didn’t know that you had the same thing in mind,” the prince replied casually. The way the prince smiled, and his tone contrasted very much with the hidden meaning behind his words. Trained as proper lady, Regina could clearly detect the hidden meaning behind Leonard’s words. If he’s been to visit the tree, then he must have met her. How can one mere maid make the prince lecture me like this? --To be continued…