He turned to Melina.
"You....." he called her.
Feeling uneasy, Melina turned her face in another direction. Now she had to get caught up with this weird Prince🤦‍♀️.
"What are you doing here at this time?" Melina glared at him for a second before she answered.
"I would be in my room now if I didn't bump into you, so what do you mean by what am I doing here?" She said bluntly like she was talking to her fellow maid.
"So saucy for a maid. Who was your trainer? She didn't understand her assignment."
"Don't speak ill about someone you knew nothing about-"
"Quiet." He said in a chilling tone which was enough to silence her.
"I thought I'd warned you the last time not to come out of the castle late at night but you refused to take correction. Waiting to be a scapegoat for others? I saved your life today now and that is how you talk?"
"Or maybe I should have left them or acted like I didn't know what was going on?" He told her and she could only look at him.
"I...thank you." She went straight to point after a few seconds of thinking and somehow, Leon felt touched by the soft and low tone in which she said it.
He couldn't figure it out but he knew there was something or someone she was avoiding which was why she always came down here. It wasn't just to have a serene moment.
Tactfully, he questioned. "You have a comfortable and cool room in the castle, is there any reason why you keep running down here?"
"N-no, milord. Nothing...I...I...promise it won't happen again." She hastily dodged the question. Though Leon could tell she was hiding something with her rushed answer, he didn't want to force her to speak. He wasn't meant to be talking to her anyway.
Maids were usually made to look unimportant, especially by their trainers. That was why they barely spoke about anything with the fear that they might be punished. He didn't want to pressure her.
"Go back to your room now." He said and she quickly splintered out of there.
Leon watched her as she ran away from there. He gave a subtle sigh before he finally made his way to where he was going before now.
The next morning...
Someone knocked on the door of Prince Leon's room.
"Come in." Came his answer. He had just woken up from his sleep. More like he just closed his eyes because he barely slept thinking about the news and problems in the Kingdom as well as how to solve them.
"Good morning Milord, Queen Sonia wants to see you." The maid bowed and left the room after passing the information.
Leon gave a small sigh before he finally got up to freshen up and see his mother. After a while, he headed to her room and opened the door to see his mother sitting on a long couch placed beside her bed, reading something.
"Good morning, mother. How was your night?" He asked, catching her attention as she seemed to have been deeply engrossed in the book.
"Leon, my son." She stood up immediately and darted to hug him. "How have you been doing, my boy?" She held his cheeks just like she used to when he was young.
"I'm fine. What about you? How are you dealing with your father's death?" He raised which caused her facial expression to dampen a little.
"It's not easy...but I'm doing fine. Time will heal the wound."
"It sure will." He placed his hands on his mother's cheek to comfort her but she seemed to be maddened about something else.
"Have you found who killed your father....? Or have you decided to push it aside and cover up for a maid?" She asked him, catching him off guard.
"It's not that mother. There is just something about the situation that makes me believe she isn't the one. I feel like this had started way back."
"So who is the one then?" She cross-examined with folded arms. "Lee, I'm still your mother. So even if you're already a man, you can still tell me anything." She uttered and Leon almost rolled his eyes at her statement. Was she expecting him to tell her what he had found out?
"I know that, mom. I'll share whatever is bothering me with you if I have one." He lied and Queen Sonia just nodded.
There was no way something was not bothering now as a Prince. He was a man now with serious responsibilities. He knew not to be foolish enough to give a piece of confidential information out especially not to a woman. It was one of the signs of maturity in men, mostly those with court duties or obligations to the Kingdom.
"Is there anything more you want to discuss with me?" Leon asked her and she nodded.
"Hmm. It's Jordyn. Your betrothed wife."
"We're not married yet."
"We will be...soon. She said you're not giving her enough attention. Maybe you should get to reduce your duties-"
"Mom, I have a lot to do today, okay? Maybe next time, we can discuss, Lady Jordyn. Have a great day." He remarked and pecked his mother before bolting out of the room, leaving his mother looking dejected.
Leon went downstairs again, sauntering to the courtroom where he met Matthew and the Chieftains, already waiting eagerly for him.
"Good morning, Milord." They all greeted. He turned to Matthew, "What are we doing today?"
"You said we should see the mastabas being built for King William."
"Sure, let's go then.." he said and they all left for the place.
It was a big tomb lined with sun-baked bricks used for burying royals or more specifically, the King, inside the castle.
They stood at the front of the tomb, watching the builders do their work while Leon and Matthew spoke with the architect.
While they were talking, from afar, Leon sighted some of the maids cleaning the grounds of the castle. He saw the red-haired female again who was separately working on brushing the floors and not talking to anyone while the rest continued to gist and laugh among themselves. It looked like they were laughing and making fun of her which he didn't seem to like.
Suddenly, as if she sensed someone's eyes on her, she looked up and saw him again, staring at her.