"The Last Maid lasted seven days."

A hush spread through the recruits.

"Seven days?"

The Head Maid nodded.

"That was the longest."

A few of the girls looked uneasy now, their shoulders tightening, their hands finding things to hold—napkins, the edges of their uniforms, each other’s sleeves.

The Head Maid continued, her voice steady and unyielding. "Most attendants either request reassignment, resign voluntarily, or are dismissed within a shorter span of time."

Her eyes shifted to Elysia, sharp as a blade catching light.

"Prince Thaddeus has very little patience for incompetence."

Elysia absorbed the information quietly, her expression unreadable.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

"Your quarters are in the east quarter. Near the prince’s chamber. You will be escorted there right now."

Elysia nodded once.

A guard led her from the hall and through the palace, their footsteps echoing in the wide, empty corridors.

The eastern wing was bright and elegant, with polished marble floors, gold trim along the walls, and tall windows that let pale light spill across the corridor.

The entire place looked designed to impress—not with comfort, but with authority.

Every surface was too clean, every angle too precise. It was a palace that wanted to be loved, not feared.

Elysia did not need to be impressed.

She only needed to observe.

Her room was small but clean: a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and a narrow window overlooking the corridor outside.

She stepped in, glanced around once, and crossed immediately to the window.

Across the hall was another door.

Larger.

Guarded.

Prince Thaddeus’s room.

A quiet smile touched Elysia’s lips.

Soon.

Very soon.

The first step of her mission was nearly in place.

Elysia sighed and looked around.

She had nothing to do for now than wait for morning to come so she could officially begin her duties.

She didn’t have anything to arrange because she couldn’t bring anything with her.

The silence of the room pressed against her ears.

"I’m so bored... I wonder if Prince Thaddeus is in his room."

She decided to go out and walk around. Immediately she opened her door, a lady was already about to knock.

She was around the same stature as Elysia, holding a box which seemed so heavy. Her arms were tense, but her face was calm.

Anita saw Elysia’s eye direction towards the box she was carrying and chuckled.

"I know you must be wondering how I’m able to carry this huge load, but don’t worry about me. I have supernatural strength. I can carry almost anything, even a carriage."

"I was never worried about you," Elysia said dryly.

Anita laughed awkwardly... "Urm, I’m Anita. And you are?"

"I’m Elysia."

"Yes, yes, the new maid of Prince Thaddeus. I must say you are quite lucky to be able to work here, even though it’s only going to be for a short period of time. Thaddeus changes maids as though he changes clothes."

"Mmmm... why do you say I’m lucky, though?"

"Before I continue, don’t you think you should invite me into your room to drop your load?"

"Thought you had supernatural strength. Why? Starting to get tired?"

"Haha, you’re so funny."

"Was that funny?" Elysia asked herself. She was enjoying giving Anita quite a hard time.

Anita pouted a little.

"Alright, come in."

Elysia opened the door wide and collected the heavy box from Anita with just one hand.

"Geez, you are so strong."

"Guess you’re not the only one with supernatural strength... what’s inside this box, though?"

"I can’t really say. What’s given inside a box is different for different maids, but it should be essentials for your stay. And who knows? Special equipment also."

Elysia smiled, looking at her box. "I like the sound of that, ’special equipment’."

"Now back to what we were saying...

why did you say I’m lucky?"

Elysia leaned against the doorframe, her expression cool. "You’re saying I’m lucky because I’ll see him? That’s it?"

Anita’s eyes lit up. "It’s not just that. Last month, there was a maid—Lena. She lasted three days. Thaddeus threw her out because she spilled water on his boots. Before that, there was Mara. She lasted five days. She asked him too many questions. He didn’t like that."

Anita shifted the box slightly, as if testing its weight. "Then there was Kira. She lasted seven days. She tried to touch his hand. He told her she’d never work in this palace again."

Elysia’s gaze didn’t waver. "And you? How long have you lasted in this palace?"

Anita’s smile faltered for a second. "Four months now."

"Four?" Elysia tilted her head. "That’s impressive."

Anita laughed, but it was nervous.

"Well, what can I say, it’s not like I have a choice"

"But, You, you have a choice since you are under Prince Thaddeus, you can decide not to work for him again and still be assigned to another place, that’s why I said you are lucky."

"I see." Elysia said.

After a few more minutes of chattering, Anita left because it was getting late already.

"Oh my! That girl can certainly talk for so long without getting tired, but it was fun nonetheless."

Elysia was able to know more things and information. That’s the thing about talking with people: when you engage someone in a conversation and get them talking, they say a lot of things. More than they intend. More than they realize.

Elysia pushed the box to the side.

She didn’t have the energy to start unboxing for the mean time. She just decided to open it to get some clothes, as she would like to take a shower tonight before sleeping.

And luckily for her, some clothes were on top. She took out a blue night dress and then the maid attendant cloth she would have to wear tomorrow once she opened her eyes.

Luckily for her again, the maid attendant clothes was blue with some gold linen touches... blue was her color, so she was happy.

Elysia went into the maid bathroom and freshened up. When she was done, she came outside and looked at herself in the mirror, water dripping from her hair.

"There Was Not Much Time Anymore, So She Has To Act Fast And Let Thaddeus Ascend The Throne."

She wore her night gown and decided to go for a little stroll in the garden.

She heard from Anita that the Prince was not around for the meantime, so taking a stroll in the garden was okay. At least she didn’t have to worry about bumping into him.

Elysia walked through the garden.

The flowers were fresh and looked healthy. Seems he takes care of it well. Care showed in small things.

The path beneath her feet was crushed stone, smooth and cool.

Moss clung to the edges of the walkway, damp from the evening.

The air was heavy with the scent of roses and night jasmine, something sweet and faintly bitter.

Torches flickered in brass holders along the walls, casting long shadows that stretched and twisted as she passed.

Somewhere in the distance, she heard the low murmur of guards talking, the scrape of a boot against stone.

The palace was never truly quiet.

Even at night, it breathed.

She kept her steps light, her body loose.

She didn’t want to be seen.

She didn’t want to be caught.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of a flute.

It was playing such a melodious tune.

She followed the sound of the flute and eventually came towards somewhere that was a cliff.

She saw a man sitting down, playing the flute.

She hid behind the trees so she wouldn’t be noticed.

The man—Thaddeus—sat with his back to the void, his shoulders moving with the rhythm of the music.

The flute was dark wood, carved with faint lines that looked like old scars.

He held it loosely, but his fingers were precise, each note deliberate.

Elysia’s breath caught.

The melody was thin at first, hollow, then deeper, richer.

It echoed off the cliff, wrapping around her.

The sound was sad, aching, like something pulled from a wound.

She stepped closer without realizing it, her feet silent on the moss.

The music pulled her. It was the kind of song that made you want to cry, even if you didn’t know why.

From the description she heard about Prince Thaddeus—cause she has never met him before—and whenever she had a chance of seeing him, it was mostly a glimpse.

She was definitely sure the man playing that flute was Prince Thaddeus.

"Pfft! Some information are not true after all," she said to herself.

His posture was slumped, his head bowed. The music was a mask, but it wasn’t hiding anything. It was revealing.

She continued listening to the flute, immersing herself.

The sound emerging was a very sad one.

It was understandable, though, why he would play a sad song.

On the outside, he was just a funny, childish Prince, but on the inside was just a lot of emotions, and maybe expressing them was by playing this flute of his.

Elysia stayed there for a while, listening to it until she made a silly mistake.

She sang a tune to the melody of the flute.

She was so lost while singing until the flute stopped and Prince Thaddeus looked back, asking...

"Who’s there?"

The words she sang still hung in the air:

"The wind carries what I can’t say:

a life that ends before it began to play."

For a split second, she could swear both their eyes made contact before she dashed towards her room in fast mode.

First: She was not meant to be roaming around his quarters.

And

Second: She was wearing such a light fabric that some people might label her indecent. If there was a third party around, they would definitely condemn her for trying to seduce the Prince—which was not her intention. At least not for now.

Elysia got to her room, closed the door, and dropped on her bed straight away. Her breath was heavy.

She tried to control her breath, calming herself down... she closed her eyes, inviting sleep to her system.

Tomorrow, she thought... Tomorrow would start the real deal. For now, her body needs adequate rest.

The last image on her mind before sleep finally came was the split second they made eye contact.

Blue eye to blue eye... not to talk about the fact that he was totally naked, like, not totally, though—he had a small wrapper around his waist. Bare shoulders. The line of his throat. The way the cliff light caught the water on his skin.

But then—

Elysia, go to sleep now, before your mind wanders... she mentally told herself.