Anna was playing with Mister Raven, who flew around her happily. However, her happiness didn't last long. Because another maid suddenly approached her, but she frowned when she saw a raven circling around Anna.
The maid used a rock and threw it on the unsuspecting Raven, and it hit the Raven's wing until it lost balance and fell, "Mister Raven!"
Anna hurriedly helped the Raven, who fell on the ground. She checked on his wing and found it was slightly grazed. Anna glared at the maid and chided, "What is that for? Don't you see this Raven got hurt because of you!"
The maid was surprised when Anna suddenly scolded her. She felt that she did no wrong, "Anna! Raven is a bad omen in this country, don't you remember? Because that crazy Prince Corvus Lunaris turned into a monstrous raven when he killed the late King and Princess Serena!"
"But this is just a harmless animal!" Anna yelled. She was seriously concerned about Mister Raven. But the maid was nonchalant about this. She shrugged and turned her back, "I'm here to deliver the message from His Highness Crown Prince. He said that he wants to meet you, go meet him in his pavilion. Hmph, Prince Ignis must be angry at you because when I see him, he looked like he was in deep thought before telling me to call you!"
"That is what you get from letting a raven fly around you!" the maid walked away arrogantly, leaving Anna with the Raven.
Anna ignored the maid and carefully held the Raven. She didn't know if Edith would allow her to use the medicine for the servants, but she should try.
Anna put down the Raven on a bench and said, "Please wait here, okay? I will try to find something to heal you."
The Raven watched how worried Anna had become. Anna rushed to the servants' infirmary to get something. But before she reached the servant's infirmary, she bumped into Edith, who walked around patrolling the daily work.
She frowned at Anna, "His Highness Crown Prince is waiting for you. How could you scurry around aimlessly like this? Go meet him!"
"B—But ma'am, I have to—"
"There are no buts. Go and meet him now!"
Anna was anxious about the Raven, but Miss Edith was her boss, so there was no way for her, a lowly maidservant, to defy Edith's order.
'I will meet Mister Raven again later,' Anna thought. She decided to follow her logic over her emotion and went to the Crown Prince's pavilion. When she arrived at the pavilion, Anna saw Crown Prince Ignis sitting alone, staring at the small pond near the pavilion.
Anna sighed.
She didn't have a good impression of Prince Ignis. But that Prince kept on pestering her.
Anna drew near Prince Ignis and bowed her head, "Your Highness Crown Prince, do you need anything from me?" Anna asked.
Prince Ignis glanced at Anna and then dodged her sight immediately. He stared at the pond and commanded, "Go sit beside me."
"Pardon me, Your Highness, but I am your maidservant here. It is quite disrespectful for me to sit on the same level as you," Anna refused. She just wanted to get this over with and return back to the injured Mister Raven.
"I will give you that money I owed you last night," Prince Ignis said.
In an instant, Anna already sat beside Prince Ignis and smiled with a cheerful smile. "Yes, Your Highness, I am already sitting beside you. Do you need me to do anything before I get my compensation?"
Ignis scoffed. He kept staring at the pond and then asked, "Don't you think this pavilion is beautiful? I've designed that pond myself." Ignis pointed at the pond and smiled. "You know, I told my late sister that the pond is dedicated for her. She happened to love ducks, so she often asked the maids and guards to bring ducks here. She loved hearing the ducks quacking."
Anna saw how the feisty and sometimes aggressive Prince Ignis Lunaris turned a bit more docile while talking about his late little sister. It must have been a hard hit for Ignis.
"She also loved Swan, but Swan can be very aggressive, so my Queen Mother forbade her to bring Swan to this pond," Prince Ignis continued. "Maybe I can take care of a swan after I can settle and stay in the palace rather than doing campaign everywhere. What do you think?"
Prince Ignis seemed to have a small expectation that was clearly projected in his eyes. Anna nodded and said, "Your Highness, I don't think that Her Majesty Queen would let you put an aggressive swan here because this area is often visited by palace ladies and nobles. Swan can be very aggressive when protecting its nest. We don't want any accident."
Prince Ignis looked disappointed, like a kid who was not given candy after he did a good job. "I guess you are correct, but I'd love to see a black swan here in the future."
"A black swan?"
"Yes," Prince Ignis started recalling something that he always thought to be bullshit, even up until now.
"I have a dream that a black swan would—" Prince Ignis glanced at Anna, and he stopped talking immediately. That dream was too embarrassing and secretive for him. Even if it was prophesied to be true, he still didn't want to admit that he had a fairy tale kind of dream.
Because in that dream, he saw a black swan that walked funnily, came to him and talked like a human. The black swan said something in line with, 'Prince Ignis, I come here to be your bride. If you ever meet me in the future, take me as your castle, my future husband. Because we are soulmates!'
"A—Anyway!" Prince Ignis returned to his wilful self and got up from the chair. "I come here to give you my compensation because you keep demanding that cheap five thousand Eyrs. I will give you something a hundred times more expensive!"
Prince Ignis took out something from his pocket and showed it to Anna.
A bracelet with a crescent-shaped diamond.