Nil stood opposite the massive gate of the Royal Palace. She looked tiny against the enormous entrance. She still had tears in her eyes, thinking about her aunt, who must be being bullied by others in that house.
She was still scared of entering the royal palace. She saw a royal knight at the gate and tried to hide her fear. She reached the royal knight and looked up at his height—he looked bulky and wore knight armor on his body.
She looked tiny against him, but somehow she managed to say, "Sir knight..." Her voice was quiet, and the knight didn't even flinch.
She closed her eyes, waiting for the knight to scold her, but she didn't hear anything from him. She lifted her head and looked at the knight again. She saw that he hadn't even reacted.
Nil was about to ask again when a boy came with black hair and black eyes. The knight saw him and flinched just from watching him. The knight knelt down before him, but the boy stared down at him and put his foot on his head.
Bam
His head went to the ground instantly, and the knight gritted his teeth, but he endured the shame the boy was putting him through. Nil watched this and instantly knew who he was.
Nil's head went down instantly. The boy left the man like that and glanced at Nil, making her feel shivers all over her body. She wanted to run away instantly, but her legs stayed in place.
The boy came to where Nil was and stood near her. He stared at her, and when Nil lifted her head and saw his eyes, she almost lost something inside herself. She didn't know what she had lost, but she had lost something. She stared into his eyes—too normal for a prince.
"Who are you?" the boy asked Nil.
She put her head down instantly and started staring at the ground, trembling outwardly. She didn't even know her own name, like she had forgotten about herself.
She somehow found courage and was determined to say something, but before she lifted her head:
SLAP
The boy slapped her chin, and she went to the ground instantly. She saw the ground and was shocked by the slap, thinking, What happened? Why did he hit me?
Nil turned her head to the prince, but she didn't understand him at all—why had he even hit her? The boy watched Nil and asked, "Who are you? Answer me."
Nil saw his eyes and started to feel like crying inside, but she controlled herself and stood up from the ground. With noble elegance, she bowed.
"I'm Nil Astoria. I'm here to serve you, my prince. I'll be 16 next month and will awaken my talent on that day with you."
The boy studied her and started taking steps forward toward Nil. He was about to reach her when he heard a voice from behind: "Aeren, come here."
Aeren turned his head to his new mother without any expression, left his place, and went near her. He went inside the Royal Palace without asking Nil anything further and left her like that.
Nil lifted her head and watched him disappearing in the distance. She saw the knight who was still on the ground, and after Aeren left, the knight stood up and whispered, "I will kill that bastard."
Nil heard his words but didn't react to them because she felt the same way. She sighed and went to the knight again.
"Sir knight, I came here to serve Third Prince Aeren Vorthis."
The knight was shocked by her statement. He stared at her—he had heard many things about Aeren beating maids even though they weren't his own, and he had even beaten butlers. He had beaten the head butler of the Royal Palace, and no one had the power to do anything to Aeren.
"Why did you come to this hell, child? Run away or you will regret it."
Nil could feel his fear for the third prince, but she didn't have a choice to return—she needed his support. She knew he wouldn't help her with anything, but she still wanted to get close to the third prince so she could become something that would get her out of her family's hell.
Nil didn't ask him about anything, but she thought she could make a good relationship with the prince and find a way.
"I don't have a choice, sir knight."
The knight stared at her with more pity. He could understand her and studied her. She was staring at the ground with a sad look, almost on the verge of crying. The knight exhaled after seeing her.
"Child, don't overdo it."
Nil didn't lift her head and nodded. The knight saw this.
"Ahem, child." Nil lifted her head to the knight, and he pointed his hand to a place.
"Go there. You'll be able to contact the other maids and head maid. Tell them your position and introduce yourself to them."
Nil nodded her head, bowed to the knight, and said, "Thank you, sir knight."
Nil left the massive door and went to the mansion for workers of the royal family. She entered the mansion and saw that her house was smaller than this mansion—she felt awe. Someone was sitting on the couch in the middle of the hall, doing something with papers.
Nil went to her and reached near her, standing silently for a while and waiting for her work to be done. The woman didn't look at Nil.
"Who are you? And why did you come here?"
Nil bowed down elegantly and showed her noble features, but the woman didn't even look at her. She was busy with her work and didn't care about her elegance—she didn't lift her head.
"I'm Nil Astoria, and I came to serve Third Prince Aeren. I haven't awakened yet."
Matilda stopped her work and looked at Nil. She stared at her and started doubting whether she should feel happy or pity for this girl. She had been forced by the empress to find a maid for her little prince, but his reputation was too bad—no one wanted to become his maid or butler.
She also needed a butler for Aeren, but she didn't have a choice and had sent letters to several places asking about positions for Prince Aeren.
"Astoria, huh. Oh, right." The abandoned child. She's already pitiful, and now she came to serve Prince Aeren. Sigh...
Nil looked at her with confusion and didn't understand her.
"Hmm, do you know anything?"
She asked Nil and wanted to know how much she knew—what she knew about her duties and anything else. She wanted to understand her so Prince Aeren wouldn't come for them and beat them.
Nil stared at her awkwardly, thinking of anything she knew about being a maid or anything else. Nothing came to mind, and she thought, All the maids at my place were two-faced except for aunt. So how would I know about being a maid?
"I don't know anything."
Matilda had expected this and didn't think much about it. She pointed toward a direction for Nil.
"Go there. You'll meet a few people and learn from them. Try to understand everything—you only have a month for your training. After that, you'll have to do it yourself."
Nil looked in the direction and saw people there still working with passion. "Yes, Miss Matilda. Thank you."
Nil left, and Matilda started to focus on her work again.