Baridis father had said the same thing to her. The relationship between the king and his servants was completely different from what she knew and how she thought it was. They didn't just respect him.
They were all connected in one way or another.
Alisen had now recovered and finished her braid. Meanwhile the princess thought of the king again.
How gentle he was to her when she was so disturbed by Aleshs injury. She had felt safe in his arms.
But then there was this other side of him. The one where he was able to kill five armed men for
wounding a wolf. Without even getting a single scratch. For Lyana, these extremes simply did not
want to be associated with one another.
A knock on the door ripped her out of her thoughts. Alisen opened it and four women and two men
appeared. Judging by the way they were dressed, it had to be the servants she was supposed to meet
today, and with that assumption she was proved right.
The oldest of the women stepped forward and curtsied. "Your Royal Highness, Princess Lyana, if I
may introduce myself, my name is Nara. I am the head maid and responsible for the cleanliness and
these servants." Her companions also introduce themselves briefly. Lyana greeted them all warmly.
"I am very happy to make your acquaintance. But is that all? That doesn't seem like much for such a
large castle." There were so many servants at home that she didn't even know them all. She was aware that she had to expect less here, but she hadn't expected so few.
Nara shook her head. "No, but the king's valet has ordered to only get a few people so that you
wouldn't be too overwhelmed."
It did sound like something Baridi would do. What a good person he was. "I understand. I thought
you could give me a quick tour of the castle and its rooms. In the meantime we can talk and find out
where there are problems and what can to improve."
Nara agreed with this suggestion. Alisen was already making decency to accompany her, but Lyana
shook her head. "It's okay, I'll go alone," she held back the maid.
She knew Alisen meant well. But in her presence she did not dare to ask the questions that really
interested her. The princess didn't like the thought that she might force Alisen to lie for her. Should
she even be able to do that. Because as much as she liked the sun princess, at the end of the day she
remained loyal to the king. But Nara didn't know her yet, it would at least be worth trying to get
something out of her.
As soon as they left their rooms, Nara immediately began to tell about the daily chores. As it seemed, it was mostly her job to see to it that the castle was kept clean and to take care of the laundry. Lyana also found out that Nara was responsible for the flower arrangements. "Are there always blue and white flowers, since colored ones are rare and expensive?" She asks immediately, curiously.
Nara smiled and shook her head. "Oh no, if our king wanted it, he could get all the flowers he wanted. After all, there is no shortage of money either. However, he sees it as a waste of money."
It actually sounded a lot like King Ulric. The princess even suspected that Nara had to persuade him
to use the blue flowers herself. No sooner had she thought that than she said it out loud. But the
older woman could only smile at this question. "I would never allow myself to question our King's
decisions. It was his valet, Baridi, who persuaded him to do so." She leaned slightly over to Lyana.
"He confided to me that he hoped for better chances with the ladies", she whispered to her and Lyana had to pull herself together not to laugh out loud. Baridi was always good for a surprise.
The tour was very interesting as the castle had a long history and Nara knew a lot about it. Of course, they also talked about work and Lyana at least pretended to be critical of everything. Of course, that wasn't Lyanas real concern.
"How long have you been working here?"
The older woman thought for a moment. "It must have been almost thirty years now, Your Royal
Highness."
Thirty years, that was really long. "Did you still know the former king and his queen?"
Nara stopped briefly and then walked on. They were going down one of the corridors that Lyana had not yet discovered. "I am sorry," the older woman began cautiously, "but I was not granted this honor. However, I have heard that the father of our king had a big heart and the queen was a very kind woman." Her eyes began to shine proudly when she spoke of King Ulric. "You know, he must have got his modesty from him. He would never see himself as anything better. In addition, he would never turn away someone who has a problem."