Chapter 3

• Lynah's POV
• I failed to carry on with my duties because I was distracted by him. In my five years in the palace, I had never made any mistakes. This was my one mistake. It was embarrassing that it happened in front of him.
• The strangest thing was, no matter how long I thought about it, I still didn't know what my mistake was.
• "Do not daydream!"
• Why would he pour cold water on me over something so small?
• What was I thinking? I should be grateful I wasn't scolded more harshly. I should focus on doing a good job, save money to pay for my freedom.
• I was not in the palace by choice. I was sent as a sacrifice from my village. I knew they hated me, but who would have thought I wouldn't die? Instead, the Empress took a liking to me and made me a servant.
• "Lynah, are you there?" I heard a voice call outside my door.
• "Chief Court Lady?"
• Darn! I thought I escaped being scolded. I guess I was wrong. I opened the door for her to come in. The person before me was not someone I was familiar with. She was different from the court lady in the morning.
• "Are you the one who delivered water this morning?" she asked.
• "Yes, ma'am."
• Here comes the scolding.
• "You were assigned from the Empress's palace?"
• "Yes, ma'am."
• Where was she going with these questions?
• "Follow me. You will serve the Crown Prince tonight."
• ---------------
• Third person POV.
• Four girls were preparing for their tasks in the Crown Prince's kitchen.
• "What? Lynah will be spending the night with His Highness?" one of the servants asked the others.
• "Not Lucy? The Queen had handpicked her to serve His Highness at night. None of us had a chance," one grumbled.
• "Thank God we weren't picked. What if the Crown Prince does something to you?" another commented.
• "Lucy is sick. She got gastroenteritis, or did you forget how she was puking all over the corridors," another said.
• "My goodness, but who is this Lynah girl anyway?" another asked.
• "Lynah was sent to the palace as a tribute from her people. From what I know, they never liked her because she was very different from the others. She was born in a village where people healed others just by their touch. But apparently, she wasn't born with those abilities. So her people treated her as an outsider. That's why she was brought here after her mother passed away."
• "Poor girl," the three said together.
• "When she arrived, she was taken in by the Empress. The Empress claimed that she had a dream that Lynah was coming to the palace and that she had to be protected. So she took her before the Queen could make a move."
• "She's one of the Empress's girls. The Queen must be mad right now," one said as she blew into the fire.
• "What does that have to do with us? All we have to do is prepare bathwater," another complained.
• "The Empress and the Queen are always fighting for supremacy. And she is right in the middle of it without her knowledge."
• "What an unlucky girl..."
• ---------------------
• Lynah's POV.
• I sat in the bathtub, surrounded by rose petals. The water was warm and felt amazing. I never thought I would use a bathtub in my life; these were reserved for the rich.
• The water had a mixture of milk, petals, and other salts that I didn't recognize. I wondered why they were going to such lengths. I could have taken a simple bath like I do every day.
• Yet my heart was beating too fast. This special treatment wasn't for no reason. I was going to spend the night with the Crown Prince. That was the reason for all the fuss.
• "What is this?" someone asked from behind me.
• She held up a small bag that I always carry around.
• "It's jasmine. I prepared it..."
• "Prepared it?" She gave me a glare.
• "Girls, look! She prepared something to make the Crown Prince favor her," she shouted, making everyone in the room laugh.
• They were mocking me. I knew what they meant. But I wasn't like that. I just liked the smell of jasmine.
• I knew the girls who went to the Crown Prince's chambers were never called back again. It's like they were forgotten after one night. We were palace servants. We didn't have any control over our lives and bodies.
• I'd probably have the same fate as so many before me.
• "They say he is unkind and terrifying," the same girl who found my bag whispered in my ear.
• "I hear all the girls can only crawl out of his chambers at the end of it," another said.
• They were trying to frighten me, and it was working.
• "Imagine coming down the stairs on all fours." They started laughing.
• It was just one night. I can serve one night. Nothing will change after.
• They helped me dry off and dressed me as if I were a doll who couldn’t do anything by herself.
• They applied makeup to my face, though I didn’t see the need. Everything was done meticulously, as if I were a queen preparing to meet her husband.
• They walked me to the Crown Prince's chambers and left me there. I sat on the floor, waiting for the frightening man. Strangely, I wasn’t scared. We had already met, and I had embarrassed myself, but at the time it didn’t matter.
• I was here to do my job and, hopefully, leave alive.
• "Please, God, let me come out of here alive," I whispered.
• I opened my eyes after my prayer, hoping it reached the intended audience. I hadn’t had a chance to look around in the morning, but with no one else present, I scanned the room.
• Stacks of books were piled on a table. My attention was drawn to a sword hung on the wall. It must have been the sword he wielded during the war.
• After his victory, he was deeply respected by the people and court officials. Songs and poems were created in his honor, celebrating his bravery.
• Of course, his fame spread so widely that it reached the King’s ears. The King grew envious of his son—the incredible Prince who had won the hearts of the people, unlike the King, who was widely disliked.
• I wondered what was more agonizing: being drenched in the blood of your enemies as you cut them down, or being hated by your own father.
• My hand reached out to touch the sword that had changed his life forever.
• "I told you not to daydream!"