I finally made it to the pantry, and I tried to finish my breakfast in record time in order not to be late for work. 'Have you heard that there's a new scullery maid in the palace?' I asked 19 in between bites. I wanted to tell her something new first for a change – instead of her always knowing just about everything before I even got a whiff of it.
"Oh, you met her already?" 19 replied after drinking the last of her coffee. "How was she?"
My shoulders slumped. So much for my desire to be the bearer of news for once. 'How did you know about it?'
"I have my ways," 19 said with a smug look, giving me a teasing grin when she saw my disappointment. "So, how was she?"
'She's all right,' I answered, 'but she looked at me strangely. It made me uncomfortable.'
19 cleared the contents of her plate. "What do you mean?"
'I mean, she looked at me like she was both glad and afraid to approach me.' I turned to her with a perplexed expression. 'Does that make sense?'
"Well, she probably already heard about you being protected by the emperor and the archduke, that's why," 19 said dismissively.
'How would she even know that?' I asked incredulously. 'She only arrived this morning!'
"Yes, but she does live in Luxentfort. How couldn't she have known about it?" 19 replied.
'I thought only people in the palace would know,' I sighed as I poured a liberal amount of milk into my coffee. I originally didn't like coffee, finding it too strong and bitter. That's why I hardly drank it in Seoul except in the form of frappe, which was sweet and creamy – in short, exactly my taste.
But in Luxentfort, I had quickly discovered that I needed the beverage to survive through hours of manual labor, so I started drinking it in the morning – and during breaks too. I still found it too bitter for me, so I put a lot of milk. I would have killed for some whipped cream, but that was like wishing to find an ocean in the desert.
"If you were having a hot, torrid affair with a stable boy, that would have been the case," 19 commented offhandedly. "But we're talking about being involved with the two most powerful men in the empire, so of course even people outside the palace are bound to know."
'A hot, torrid affair?' I gaped at her, my cheeks quickly heating up in embarrassment. 'Is that what you think of me?'
"On second thought, maybe you're not the hot, torrid affair type," 19 replied with a mischievous smile, rehashing her opinion. "You're more the type to change the course of Luxentfort's history."
'Give me a break.' I rolled my eyes. 'How could a scullery maid even hope to change history?' If that were true, anyone who's ever had to clean toilets or collect garbage would have made national headlines in South Korea.
"Weren't you a scullery maid when you caught the attention of the archduke and the emperor?" 19 pointed out. "You should believe in yourself more."
I didn't have an answer to that. Even as a child, I wasn't brimming with self-confidence. Not that I was intentionally going out of my way to belittle myself, of course. But it was hard to be confident when I was constantly surrounded with people who were better looking, smarter, and richer. In Luxentfort, the difference was multiplied a hundred times over. After all, wealthy people here didn't have planes or yachts like they did in Seoul – but they owned kingdoms and run territories. And they did so while looking like models and celebrities – without plastic surgery.
*****
"Who's having a hot, torrid affair?" I heard 1's voice as I was headed to the storage room to collect dirty sheets. My first task for the day was laundry, while 19 was off to do gardening. His voice was playful and teasing, and I mentally cursed myself when I saw that I was wearing the bracelet already. I had absent-mindedly worn it this morning as I got dressed, instead of stashing it in my pocket like I usually did when I was working.
'Nobody,' I said, getting embarrassed all over again. I hurried to the storage room with my head bowed, in case someone caught me with my cheeks flaming red.
"Anytime you're ready to start an affair, just tell me," Alessandro chuckled, subconsciously adapting a seductive tone. He knew 20 got riled up so easily, which made teasing her all the more fun.
'I'm taking off the handkerchief,' I warned.
"Fine, I won't mention about affairs again," Alessandro solemnly said. 'Unless you're ready to have one,' he mentally added. He heard a knock on his office door. "I'll talk to you again tonight."
"You called for me, Your Majesty?" Vincenzo bowed and strode into the room.
"Yes," Alessandro confirmed. "I'd like you to organize a ball in a week."
"A ball, Your Majesty?" Vincenzo repeated, wondering at what was seemingly a random order from the emperor. It wasn't uncommon for Luxentfort's monarch to host different social gatherings throughout the year, but he always did it with a fixed agenda in mind, like declaring a war or celebrating the empire's win. This time, however, he couldn't think of a possible reason that merited such a big event. "May I ask why?"
"I'd like to announce the new roles of the highest ranked concubines," Alessandro said. Following the general assembly with the ministers, he had asked for the profiles and background information of the princesses and noble ladies so he could assign them to roles that matched their skills. He had just decided on those, and the women would start on their administrative positions in two weeks. He wanted a ball to officially make his announcement before they commenced their work.
"Pardon me, Your Majesty, but you've never announced a work related topic at a ball before," Vincenzo said, looking confused. "Why are you doing so now?"
"Because I'd like everyone in the empire to know that they're no longer my bed partners, but administrators in Luxentfort," Alessandro replied. He didn't want to leave any room for doubt in 20's mind. She was the only one he wanted to be by his side, and he would make his intentions official. Anything less than that won't do.