Rocco looked around the emperor's private quarters with a thoughtful expression. Alessandro had just left for his office after breakfast, and as he always did, Rocco had ordered a few palace maids to clean the elaborate rooms. There was nothing unusual in this. As the emperor's personal butler, he was expected to see to Alessandro's personal matters and to attend to his needs. That's why over the span of more than 15 years serving him, Rocco had developed a very keen sense of observation. He had to, in order to do his job well. And he was honored to do so.
He was almost the same age as Alessandro and they practically grew up together. He had witnessed him carrying huge responsibilities even when he was still a teenager, and how those responsibilities had shaped his character. Alessandro had a very strong-willed and dominant personality, but then he had to be. He was carrying the weight of an entire empire, after all. The emperor was also hard pressed to trust anyone easily, and his closest officials and retainers had to work very hard to earn his trust – and keep it.
As he was supervising the cleaning, Rocco couldn't help but wonder at the subtle change in Alessandro's behavior in the last few months. He had taken in the habit of waking up early nearly every day. And after dinner, he would usually lock himself off in his bedroom before deciding what to do with the rest of the evening. More often than not, he still called for one of his concubines, but other times he didn't bother.
To Rocco, it seemed as if the emperor had suddenly found something more important he'd rather do, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what it was. As far as he knew, Alessandro didn't meet any new acquaintance recently. If he did, Rocco would definitely have known about it. The imperial palace simply worked that way. It had such an intensive network of unofficial surveillance that information got passed around at an astounding speed, rumors spread like wildfire, and it was almost impossible to keep a secret for long.
Rocco only had the best intentions for Alessandro, and he was keen to know if there was anything else he could do to serve the emperor better. So far, though, Alessandro hadn't asked for anything drastic that was out of the ordinary. But he did order his butler to get him random things – like the bread pudding a few months ago. 'What has he been up to?' Rocco pondered.
*****
Most of the servants were assembled in the imperial kitchen before officially starting work that morning. I didn't know what exactly was happening, but I could feel that something was about to. There was an obvious air of anticipation in the room, and the people were all talking excitedly. Well, except for me. It was hard to be excited when I didn't have the faintest clue what the big commotion was about.
'What's going on?' I asked 19, who was practically jumping about, her eyes shining.
"I think the palace will hold a celebration ball," she said. "Finally!"
'A celebration ball?' I repeated. 'What for?'
"Because Luxentfort won the last war," she answered.
I stilled. By war, did she actually mean the war that had thrown my life upside down? The same war that had propelled me to this foreign place without any warning? After a few moments, she must have realized what she just said, because she turned to me again, but this time with a contrite expression.
"Oh gosh, 20. I'm so sorry," she said, hugging me. "I didn't mean to be insensitive about it." Of course she knew that the war had caused me my home and family, but she couldn't begin to imagine the gravity of what I had lost that evening. I hugged her back, taking deep breaths to stabilize myself. It wasn't her fault, anyway.
Madame Leone walked in, and the conversations hushed. "As some of you may already know," she gave pointed looks to a few of the servants, "the imperial palace will hold a grand ball to celebrate the empire's victory in the last war." She glanced down at the scroll of paper she was holding. "It's the first big event that the palace is hosting this year," she said.
That's right. I had vaguely heard before that the war lasted for more than a year. It was no wonder, then, that the servants were all itching for festivities – even if it meant we were all going to be bogged down with more work than usual. "I need everyone's full cooperation on this, and you'll find out your assigned chores soon," Madame continued, before leaving the room. "You're dismissed."
As 19 and I were heading to load the laundry cart with dirty sheets, our first chore for the day, she suddenly grabbed me by the arm and forced me to stop walking. "There's at least one good reason for you to be excited about the ball," she said with a mysterious flair.
I looked at her expectantly. "We'll get to eat a lot of delicious food," she whispered to my ear.
I gasped, perking up at the thought in spite of myself. 'But isn't the food supposed to be only for members of the royalty and their guests?'
"Well, of course, it is," she replied. "But they prepare so extravagantly for events like this that there's usually leftovers that they just give to the servants."
'Really?' I wanted to confirm.
She nodded empathically. "Last time, I had several meat and seafood dishes cooked in sauces. Oh, and lots of dessert."
OK, that was definitely a silver lining. I didn't expect that, but who was I to turn down a feast? That's what I repeated to myself over and over as I read my chore for the ball. Madame Leone had assigned me to help out with dishwashing duties. This meant I had to wash a mountain of dishes that were going to be used for the event – and then wash them again after.
And these were not the easily disposable plastic or paper tableware that was so common in Seoul, either. No, these plates were made of ceramic or glass, and they were bound to be as heavy as they were expensive. I felt panicky just imagining what would happen if I accidentally broke one of them.
I said as much to 1 during our talk that evening. 'I'm so nervous I'd probably drop a plate or two.'
Lying back comfortably against a pillow, Alessandro smiled indulgently. Every now and then she would randomly talk about her tasks, which often included mopping the floor or doing the laundry. But this time, she would be washing the dishes, which was apparently a very big deal for her. "It's going to be fine, 20," he comforted her.
Alessandro had to admit to himself that before meeting 20, he didn't pay the least bit of attention to mundane things like polishing the floors or washing the sheets. He had an empire to run and he had more than enough things on his mind already. He knew very well that the lives of thousands of people hung on the decisions that he made, so he always tried to be the best leader he could be.
But after getting to know her, he started to become more aware of his servants, and he began to extend them more courtesy than he ever did before. He realized the hard work they put in, and how tired they must be at the end of the day, even if they never said anything to him. He grinned. Well, 20 certainly never sugar coated her words when she was tired or in a sour mood.
'I don't think Monsieur Di Almarati or Madame Leone would let me off unscathed if an incident like that happened,' I continued, groaning.
At the mention of the names, Alessandro felt his heart race. "What… what did you say?"
'I said I'll definitely get in trouble if I break a plate,' I explained to him.
"No, I meant the names," Alessandro clarified. "What names did you say?" He held his breath as he waited for her answer.
'Oh, Monsieur Di Almarati is the chief steward,' I replied. I realized then that I may not have mentioned the names before, which was probably why he got confused. 'And Madame Leone is the head housekeeper.'
"20," Alessandro said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Are you… in the palace?"
'Yes,' I replied easily. Since I had assumed that he was also a concubine, he probably lived in a palace too, just not this one. Heavens knew just how many palaces the empire actually had. 'I'm at the imperial palace.'
Alessandro caught his breath. The girl who had saved his life, who he had been talking to for months now, who had increasingly occupied his thoughts, actually lived in the same palace all along.