"Hope, where are you going this late?" Lotus, Lilia's second maid, and Hope's friend, asked when she saw her friend leaving the room.
It was already seven at night, and the two maids had finished their duties with the empress.
Normally, her duties would not end until nine o'clock, but Empress Lilia went to the Emperor's bedroom tonight, so they were sent to rest early.
But strangely, when Hope reached her bedroom, instead of wearing her pajamas, she dressed relatively nicely and prepared herself to go outside.
Hope froze for an instant hearing Lotus's question, but she made sure of hiding her uneasiness and put on an apologetic tone.
"… I'm going to the servant's quarters. I promised Daisy I would help her with something tonight."
"Daisy? Is she not Prince Claus's maid?" Lotus asked with a confused expression before nodding. "Now that I think about it, you have a good relationship with her huh… Hope, you are not going to tell her anything you can't say, right?"
Hope's back was full of cold sweat, but her face showed a bitter smile, without any sign that she was hiding anything.
"Of course not. I know the rules, Lotus. Even if she and I are good friends, I'll never betray my master. Lotus, please, keep it a secret from her majesty. You know that she doesn't like anyone related to Prince Claus, but I had taken care of Daisy from when she was a little child, so I want to help her if it's possible."
In the empire, being a personal servant means being completely loyal to one's master. Each personal servant was indoctrinated from a child through certain secret methods to never betray his master.
Although the method to create such loyal servants was very expensive, it could not be denied that it was effective. In history, the number of times that a specially-cultivated personal servant betrayed his master could be counted in one hand.
It was the reason Lotus did not doubt Hope's words, and it was the reason Hope did not lie about seeing Daisy. After all, if she lies and someone discovers it, then the empress will become suspicious.
Lotus looked at Hope and sighed. "I understand, I'll cover for you. But don't take too long. It'll be bad if someone asks for you and you are not here."
"Thank you very much, sister." Hope smiled happily and kissed Lotus on the cheek. Exasperated, Lotus pushed her outside. "So corny, hurry up and go! Stop bothering me!" Saying that, she closed the door.
On the other side of the door, Hope's expression turned complicated and she sighed.
Actually, the method used to train personal servants was truly effective. It was so effective that, despite Hope having slept with Claus once before, she still hesitated to tell him the truth.
Hope truly did not want to betray the empress, but when she thought about Claus perishing under her plots, her heart would constrict painfully.
Hope felt really conflicted. Thus, after hesitating for a while, she finally decided to visit Daisy first and think about everything else after that.
Unexpectedly, when she reached Daisy's room she learned that Daisy had not returned to her room.
It did not take Hope long to figure where Daisy was. After all, there was only one place in the entire palace where Daisy could be at this hour beside her bedroom.
However, Hope wanted to avoid that place if it was possible.
After struggling for another few seconds, Hope finally took a deep breath and made up her mind.
With big steps, she walked towards the prince's room.
*Knock Knock* Hope knocked twice on the prince's room softly, as though fearing that someone answered. She decided that if nobody answered after five seconds, she would go back.
But it seemed as though fate wanted to bring her here tonight.
Almost immediately after she knocked on the door, someone opened it.
"Sister Hope?" Daisy tilted her head curiously and invited her inside.
Hope hesitated slightly before entering. She then looked around nervously before sighing in relief when she realized that Claus was not in.
Seeing that, Daisy giggled mischievously and teased her. "The youngest princess kidnapped his highness for today, so I'm not sure if he will sleep here tonight. How unfortunate, I'm sure you wanted to see him badly."
"I-I don't!" Hope denied her words instantly, although her face had turned red. "I-I came cause I wanted to talk to you."
Daisy giggled, but she stopped teasing Hope. "Is it so? Okay, then, let's talk." Looking at the two of them, anyone would think that Daisy was the elder and Hope the younger.
Actually, Hope didn't have any idea what to talk about. But now that she was here, she could only bite the bullet and find a topic of conversation.
To her dismay, though, the two brown-haired women's conversation quickly turned into a conversation about Prince Claus.
Through the conversation, Hope could feel Daisy's deep love towards the prince. Daisy's words were filled with happiness. Every time she mentioned the prince, her eyes would glow brightly.
For a brief moment, Hope felt envious. Daisy, despite being a servant like her, could stay with the love of her life freely. She could accompany him proudly and help him every time he was in trouble.
She, on the other hand, could only long for him despite knowing that they were in different camps.
A deep feeling of sadness and longing filled Hope's heart. Seeing the happy face of Daisy, Hope wanted to escape from the room and cry below her blankets.
But at the same time, she wanted to continue hearing Daisy's words. She imagined herself in Daisy's shoes, being every day together with her loved one.
'Maybe dying like that is not so bad…' With an inwardly sigh, Hope decided to go back to her room.
But at that moment, someone opened the door.
"Oh? We have visitors huh."
Hearing once more the voice she longed to hear, Hope didn't know if to be happy or to be sad.