A Lovely Princess and her Faithful Servant

Chapter Seven: Back and Forth

While pulling the white covering over my head of hair, I could only think about what had happened the night before.

"It is nothing of concern. You are to take care of Jennette as you were before."

Those were the abrupt orders I was given by the Duke. Although I was one of the included few who knew of the Dukedom's secret princess, I was still being left in the dark about the nitty gritty details. However...

One thing's for sure, the massacre still happened. The real deciding factor of which world I had been brought to won't be known to me for a couple of years, still.

As I dusted off the skirt of my dress, I turned to leave my chambers. Well, it's not that it matters anyway. Whether Jennette's fate in this world is to thrive as the future empress, or to be cast aside and abandoned by all—I will always be with her, no matter what.

The rattle of the baby's bedroom door knob resounded as I peeked in.

"Je~n," I hummed quietly. There had been no response, so I took a step forward to get a better view of the crib. Through the wooden bars, I could see the little girl's body laying down, her chest slowly rising and falling.

Still asleep.

Carefully, I closed the door in front of me. Despite it being the crack of dawn, she had not woken yet. After receiving news of Athanasia's birth and the Ruby Palace's massacre, I went back to Jennette. Frankly, she did go to bed later than usual, but the girl had a habit of rising alongside the sun.

Oh well. It just gives me a bit of time to get her breakfast and milk.

Slowly closing the door, I carefully shut it so that it wouldn't disturb the baby's sleep. Giving one last, careful glance, I turned my heel and went on my way. The halls were dimly lit only by the crack of light from the sun pouring from beyond the window panes. Any of the candles that may have been lit along the desaturated walls were long extinguished. Nonetheless, that was all I needed alongside the dull sound of my heels clacking against polished wood.

I liked it, the mornings. It's quiet in the hallways, and not many people are working. If servants are awake, they're usually cleaning or in the kitchen—less likely to be roaming around leisurely.

The shiny surface of the floor turned into smooth stone as I entered the kitchen's premises. Despite it being almost seven in the morning, the kitchen was quite busy. I'm sure the Ducal family must be having breakfast soon. The cooks are also in charge of making meals for the servants, so it's quite intense here. It was a bit overwhelming—the crackle of fire from the iron stoves, the clinking of dishes, the sound of boiling soup and water, along with the various voices talking over and with each other. Amongst the people rushing back and forth, Axon was easy to spot with his height. His casual warm and welcoming attitude was focused and slightly agitated, as he usually gets when it becomes busy in the kitchen. He was yelling offhandedly to a younger assistant who was attending to the large ham that was being roasted above the large open hearth.

Axon seemed a bit more irritated and on edge than usual. I didn't want to disrupt anyone, so I opted to go straight to the cooling chamber for Jen's soft food and milk.

"Oh Kristina, good morning!"

I looked to my side to meet the girl's honey colored eyes. Kavya was another cook assistant with long black hair braided past her shoulders accompanied with smooth, light brown skin. She was closer to my—physical—age, I believe only a year older making her seventeen or eighteen. From what I remembered from small conversation, she came from a baron family of Siodonnan descent.

My response came in a silently mouthed, 'Morning', with a smile. She beamed back, and then ushered on her way with pristine clean white plates stacked in her arms. Although I don't think I've become close enough to any of them, I have been making an effort to talk to my coworkers. I've been able to make small conversations with Iveson, Kavya, and a few others in the kitchen staff. Luckily, Kristina previously seemed to be a more quiet person so my sparse behavior wasn't too strange. Although, my relationship with the other servants haven't improved at all since I arrived most likely from the vast difference in statuses. In contrast, the kitchen staff were made up of either well off commoners or lower nobles.