"Who dares step into my house without permission?!" A loud voice of a man was heard and both Alora and Katelin felt a shiver run down their spine.
"Shall we make a run for it?" Alora asked with an emotionless face.
"I don't think there is anywhere we can run off to," Katelin responded immediately without missing a beat.
"Damn it..." Alora cursed under her breath.
A loud thud was heard and the ground beneath them began to shake. Alora spread her arms a bit to keep her balance as she looked down at the ground.
The ground cracked and looked as if it was ready to break and swallow them down. The jewels fixed on the outside of the palace started to fall out one by one and a few pieces even managed to hit Alora's head, injuring her in the process.
Anyone in this situation would be able to quickly understand that it was going to be even more dangerous if they really did get caught by the angry owner of the palace.
"Let's make a run for it," This time, it was Katelin who suggested the exact same thing that Alora had suggested.
"But you said there was nowhere to run off to!"
"I know. So let's run inside," Katelin spoke up and didn't bother waiting around for the girl as she ran ahead first and headed inside the palace.
"What the...?! What for me!" Alora was quick enough to snap out of her shock as she ran after the maid, "Why the hell are you running deeper into the palace?!"
Since Katelin said nothing, Alora found it extremely hard to understand the girl's actions, however, she still trusted the maid and unhesitantly followed her, even though it looked to be a dangerous decision.
"We have to find Prince Luca!" Katelin exclaimed and Alora frowned.
Just as Alora had expected, the insides of the palace looked to be even more extravagant and expensive. The walls were made out of gold and were basically swimming in rare and expensive stones, however, unfortunately enough, there was no time to wait around and bath in its beauty since everything seemed to be crumbling down, ready to crush them where they stood.
"Katelin, you better not get us killed! I still have to graduate from university!" Alora exclaimed as she picked up her pace and ran as fast as she could.
Surprisingly enough, no matter how much they ran, they still did not find any maids or butlers in the palace, and even more surprising was perhaps the fact that Katelin was not the least bit shocked to see this and seemed to be well versed in the corridors.
"Just a little bit more," Katelin spoke as she clenched her fist and closed her eyes.
Alora's curiosity made her glance behind her back and her eyes immediately widened in horror as she saw the floor falling down into a bottomless crack that was approaching them.
"Isn't this a bit too extreme...?!" Alora complained as her frown deepened, "All we did was break the main door by mistake! Is that really such a big sin?!"
"We're here!" Katelin suddenly exclaimed as she immediately pushed open a door that was at the end of the hallway and Alora, who couldn't stop that quickly, fell over inside the room, planting her face on the ground in the most undignified manner possible.
The ground stopped shaking and as soon as Katelin closed the door behind them, the noise of things falling and cracking also stopped. Everything turned peaceful once again, and Alora couldn't help but sigh in relief.
She tried to push herself off the ground but her muscles immediately tensed up and her body paused as she heard the intimidating voice of a boy who sounded rather young.
"Who are you two?"
Alora gulped as she refrained from picking herself up. In fact, even Katelin kneeled down beside her as she spoke up first, "Your highness, please forgive us for our rudeness."
"Forgiveness is not really one of my favorite words," The boy didn't let her continue as he clicked his tongue.
Katelin gulped as she heard this and immediately held her down in embarrassment and fear.
"Your highness, If you don't want to forgive us then why not just forget instead?" Alora suggested with an awkward chuckle, without even lifting her head to look at the boy.
Luca turned to look at Alora and frowned as he questioned, "Are you making fun of me?"
Alora immediately shook her head as she exclaimed, "I dare not!"
"Hmph-"
"Your highness, if you don't want to forgive nor forget then why don't you listen to us first. Hear us out and then you can decide what you'd like to do," Alora sighed as she carefully picked her words and spoke.
Luca frowned as he heard this and crossed his legs as he leisurely sat on the chair made out of gold.
"What is it?"
Alora smiled as she heard this and felt a little relieved.
"I have heard a lot about your highness. Even at such a young age, you have already shown immense talent that leaves everyone in awe," Alora started off with flattery since she was sure that every young boy would be interested in listening to himself being flattered so openly like this.
However, it seemed that she had miscalculated Luca's personality that she was hardly aware of.
"Don't spout nonsense and get to the point or I'll have you made into a meatball soup."
Alora gulped as she heard this and would certainly be lying if she said that she didn't feel a little threatened and worried.
"Um... Your highness, I can assure you that I would not be tasty nor would the soup be nutritious," Alora spoke awkwardly.
"We'll never know unless we try."
"..." Why did it feel as if this prince was a bit too enthusiastic to try...?!
"Now tell me why you have come," Luca clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"A-as a representative of the Palace of Pride, under the orders of Prince Leon, I, his Majesties personal maid, Alora, have come over to invite your highness, Luca, son of Mammon, to kindly attend a dinner that would be hosted at our palace three days from now."
"..."
Alora worried if she had been a bit too formal with her wordings.