Maid For You 3

Chapter 57

"Gutentag, your majesty," I said, dropping into a bow. It was one of the very few German words I knew—'hello.'

"Hello!" the King had a cheery, pleasant way about him. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Carmichael. Have you even been to Durmanhein before?"

"No," I confessed. "I've only been to Aregano of the nine collegiate countries."

"And where are you from?" he asked me.

"America, sir."

"Oh! What a nice place!" he smiled. "And are you liking Aregano?"

"Yes sir, very much," I nodded.

He turned to Klara with a smile. "Du wirst mir später mehr über sie erzählen müssen, ja?"

"Ja, Papa," Queen Klara said.

Soon, King Dieter and Princess Brigitte left along with Coleman and Calista.

"Your parents were very nice," I told Queen Klara once we were alone. "Especially your father."

"My father has a way with people," Queen Klara said. "And he remembers names better than anyone I know."

"I think you have a way with people too, your majesty," I told her.

She smiled. "Perhaps," she admitted. "Though I can be quite frightening when I need to be."

I thought back to how she threatened the servants to shut down the rumors about Coleman and I during the Autumn Festival and the authority she had commanded. "That's true," I said. The happy familial exchange had distracted me momentarily from the thoughts that had been plaguing my mind the whole day. My fight with Luke played on repeat and was dissected and analyzed—at this point I was sure I had picked it apart so much that I probably couldn't even accurately remember the whole thing.

Honestly, why was be being such a stinker?! I offer him a great opportunity and he turns it around on me and makes me out the be the bad guy. And why? Because I didn't want to be a stupid maid anymore? He accuses me of searching for a husband, but I'm not! It's just his own stupid insecurities rearing their ugly head. Maybe I didn't even want him to escort me to the ball. I'd let him roam around that party on his own. And yet, I'd told people that he'd be coming with me. Assuming we did manage to patch things up, it would be stupid to waste this opportunity for him to meet people over a dumb fight.

Because unlike Luke, I don't like to waste good opportunities.

"You seem deep in thought," the Queen interrupted me.

"Oh, sorry," I mumbled.

And then there was the Queen. I still didn't know her game, but Luke thought that it had something to do with Coleman. And yet, with him everything pointed back to Coleman.

After a couple lines of servants were implemented on either side of the hall to add an extra flair of 'look how much we care', guests started to arrive—a surprising amount being royalty from other countries. There was a Prince Alexander of Embryia and his sister Princess Amelia, Princes Francis and Louis of Bellania, and more. Finally, the name I had been waiting for was announced as the door started to open.

"His Royal Highness, Prince Nikolas Nikotovich of Nikoto!" the announcer cried. I felt my heart beat excitedly at his name—I was surprised at that strong of a reaction.

"—And!" the announcer continued. "Her Royal Highness, Princess Esmerelda of New Spain."

Wait, what?

I was not the only one taken aback, apparently. I heard an audible huff of air released from Queen Klara's mouth. Prince Nikolas walked in, as stone-faced and pale as he was before. His blonde hair was styled neatly and he wore his familiar navy-blue uniform. However, this time there was a blaring difference.

This time, there was a young woman holding onto his arm, someone whom I had never seen before. The apparent 'Princess Esmerelda,' or whatever. I was surprised at the twinge of irritation plucking at my heartstrings as I looked at her. Firstly, she had incredible hair. She owned a copper mane of thick hair with gorgeous, natural curls that reminded me of Julia Roberts. Princess Esmerelda wore an A-line white dress that showed off her itty-bitty waist that I was sure I could only have if someone cut out a couple of my ribs. My figure was nice, in my opinion, but it wasn't that nice.

Prince Nikolas continued to step forward towards the Queen, his face stoic and cold. I'd forgotten how icy he was, how intimidating his cold gaze could be. I suddenly felt that I was looking at a person so very different from the man I had spent many collective hours talking to on the phone, a man that chuckled and spoke with emotion and that sent flowers and clothes. I was surprised at the distance I felt from Nikolas—how far he seemed from me. Maybe it was Esmerelda, or maybe it was him. What surprised me the most was how disheartened I felt. First Luke hated me, and now my good friend felt very far from me now.

He walked up to Queen Klara with Princess Esmerelda in tow and he bowed respectfully. I stood a few feet away from them on Klara's right, looking at Nikolas's face for the first time in months, suddenly noticing his nice jawline and porcelain-smooth skin.

"Queen Klara," Prince Nikolas said, his face cold as ever. "I thank you for inviting us to your daughter's debut."

"La Reina Klara," Esmerelda began. "Gracias por su invitación."

Wow. She can't even speak English? I thought rudely, especially considering that I was an uneducated peasant when it came to languages.

"Si," Queen Klara responded stiffly. "Debo admitir que pensé que vendría con sus hermanos."

But as Queen Klara spoke to the Princess Esmerelda, Prince Nikolas started to turn his head to look at me, his lips almost indiscernibly tugging upwards as he did so. When his bright blue eyes locked with mine, his lips pulled upwards in an unmistakable smile, closed-mouthed, and those pretty eyes of his crinkled in unison to the smile on his lips. Prince Nikolas didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. That smile was probably enough to put me into cardiac arrest, especially since when he turned back to Queen Klara he immediately resumed his cold expression. I couldn't remember if I even smiled back at him. And suddenly, just like that, he and Princess Esmerelda were leaving to head to their respective rooms.

"Miss Carmichael," the Queen started once they had left, her voice clipped.

"Yes?" I asked, still trying to process his smile.

"You are friends with Prince Nikolas, are you not?"

I blinked. "Um, what?" I asked. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, I am."

"What do you know about his relationship with Princess Esmerelda?" she asked bluntly.

"Um, nothing much," I said. "Honestly, I was surprised to see her with him too."

"Well, I would greatly appreciate it if you could find out about it for me," she said. "It is rather important to me."

I smiled awkwardly. "I'll, uh, I'll be sure to ask him when I get the chance."