*Knock *Knock
I heard a loud knock coming from the door. I put down the papers that I'm reading and wait for the person who's knocking to come in.
"What did you find out about him" I welcomed Archael with a question when he finally entered his office. He's wearing a white long sleeve polo pairing it up with a black
I am currently sitting on his office chair, while he is standing close to the door as he just entered the room. I'm in his office for about 30 minutes now. Well, I should be mad at him for making me wait, but my eagerness to know about that man is stronger
"Can't you let me sit first?" He smirked as he teased me.
"Can't you do it faster?" I answered back impatiently.
I watched him as he took slow-paced walks. I rolled my eyes, If he's planning to make me annoyed then it's clearly working.
"Faster!" I groaned annoyingly.
He laughs at my reaction which made me more annoyed than what I'm feeling earlier. This is what I hate the most, the people who are really slow and can't do it perfectly in terms of doing their assigned tasks. Maybe because I got used to doing things fast and at a perfect pace.
After minutes of impatiently waiting he finally arrived at his dark brown oak table, placing the brown folder carefully in it.
"Is this it?" I asked him after he sat on the chair in front of his office table.
He nodded and opened the folder. In there I saw a couple pieces of paper that have the information that I ask for.
Name: Erick Fernandez
Age: 42
Occupation: Chief Officer
Parents: Maria Kristine and Federick Fernandez
"Do you know any girl named Maria Kristine?" I asked Archael who is now in my side as we both read the papers together.
I do know Federick Fernandez, I've met him when I was around 12 years old, almost 13 years ago. Well, I do not actually recall what happened that day, but I do remember that he's already quite old at that time.
"Maria Kristine?" He asked clearly, looking at me with wide eyes open as his jaw is on the verge of dropping.
"Do you know her?" I asked again, now getting curious by the sudden reaction he's showing right now.
"She was a maid here before. I think Ina knows her"
"Call Ina, tell her to come here and do ask her to bring some green tea," I asked Ruby after I called her outside.
"Yes, Your highness" She tilted her upper body forward for 45 degrees forming a bow.
I nodded, dismissing her. I looked at Archael again, he's now back on the front seat while I am the one still sitting in his office chair. His office is cozy and comfortable, white painted walls highlighting all wooden furniture inside the room.
Archael really loves minimalistic and simple designs. As I know him better throughout the year I noticed the love of him for wooden furniture, from wooden tables to wooden chairs.
"Your highness Ina is already here"
The door opened in there we saw Ina carrying a white circular glass tray, A cup of tea and A glass of juice are placed on top.
"Zapphire, you asked for me?" Ina asked me when she finally got closer to us. Placing the tray on the wooden table. I gestured the seat in front of me beside Archael.
"Ina, do you know a girl named Marian Kristine?" I asked her after she's done sitting on the seat.
"I-I don't know," She said, her words trembling. I'm sure she knows it, as her words are quickly the opposite of her actions.
"Ina" I looked directly at her eyes, my tone is becoming dangerous as I know that she's clearly lying in front of my face.
"She's just a normal maid, Zaph"
"Then why did I not see her here when I was young?" I asked fishing for more information.
"She left the palace after having problems with her family" She answered quickly.
Even though I'm still having doubts about her answers, I still gave in and believe it. She can't probably lie to me, right? Well, I do hope she's not.
"You can leave now, Ina" I smiled at her as I dismissed her. I heard that they are preparing for the secret event that my brother asked them to prepare. A surprise for my Parent's on their 30th anniversary. I'm the one assigned on the Invites, I remembered.
"Archael, the file that I asked for you earlier, do you have it?" I asked him, breaking the silence which is currently forming.
"Yes, It's in the bottom drawer, at the right side" I nodded at his instruction and starts to follow it.
"Is this it?" I'm holding a black folder. There are about 10 folders in there and this is the one on the very top.
"Yes"
I checked the folder. Numerous names are listed. I start crossing out names that we aren't close to or those persons that we only met at gatherings. Out of 400 names that I look up unto, I only selected about 50 names which are somehow close to us.
"Are there more?" I asked Archael. I'm not quite satisfied with the number of people we are inviting. It's too little for me compared to the past years we are celebrating it. It's usually around 500 guests every time. On their silver jubilee, our guests reach 1000 guests making it the biggest event that happened in the century.
"I think there are more on the other black folder at the very bottom" Archael stood up and went into my place, opening the drawer and searching for that black folder. It took more time than I assumed as he can't find it and he had to search for the other drawer as well.
His office is clean, but his desk and files are all messed up, I rolled My eyes.
"Here," He handed me the folder as I am now getting bored because that took so long.
I opened the folder and got deeply curious by the name that is written on the very first page.