Leesa arrives at the Berly palace within the imperial residence, where the crown prince is staying. There are three other grand palaces in the imperial residence in addition to the Berly palace. The main palace, Jade Palace, is used to hold banquets and meetings. Esteemed guests also stay in this palace. The Garnet Palace is known as the palace of the empress, and the Amber Palace is known as the palace of the emperor. There are individual rooms allocated to the workers and servants of the designated palace on the ground floor. Leesa will be staying at the Berly Palace since she is the crown prince's aide.
As she steps out of her carriage, her eyes widen at the sight of the magnificent structure before her. The palace stands tall. Its intricate architecture and bright blue accents match the atmosphere. Leesa takes a moment to compose herself, while Weinne helps her straighten her dress. The head butler came out with Elzar accompanying him to welcome Leesa as per Flavian's orders.
"Welcome Lady Marlene. I hope you had a comfortable journey to the palace," greets the head butler of the Berly palace, Anton Benton, with a smile. Elzar stands behind the butler, looking proud and respectful.
Leesa greets them with smiles and gives a light bow to thank the two for arriving as soon as she came.
"Would you like to rest a bit first before I start to talk about the palace and your work?" asked the butler to understand Leesa's wishes.
"Please be assured Mr. Butler, that I am fine if we proceed directly to work and its details."
"Certainly, Lady Marlene. If you prefer, you may address me as Anton."
"Ok, Anton. So shall we go inside now?"
"Yes, Lady Marlene." They proceeded to the palace, ready to begin their tour of the palace.
As she enters the palace, Leesa finds herself in a vast and opulent hallway. The walls are adorned with intricate tapestries depicting scenes from the kingdom's history. Crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling, casting a warm glow on the polished marble floors. The air is filled with a hushed silence, broken only by the distant sound of music and murmurs of conversation. Leesa's gaze is drawn to the grand staircase in the centre of the hall. It spirals upwards, leading to the upper levels of the palace.
"As you might have already known Lady Marlene, the workers and servants of the designated palace have their individual rooms on the ground floor but since you are the crown prince's aide your room is situated on the second floor next to that of His Highness. And as for your maid, she will be staying on the ground floor with other workers."
"May I suggest that it might have been more appropriate to remain in the same palace rather than being situated in such close proximity to His Highness?"
"It was a special request from His Highness Lady Marlene. He felt that since the two of you will be now working closely with each other you should stay close too."
"On the other hand, I feel that it would be better for us to maintain some distance so that we can work more efficiently," said Leesa, firmly asserting that she would not want to stay in the close vicinity of Flavian.
"I understand, Lady Marlene," bowing down Anton, apologetically.
After a roundabout tour of the palace and understanding its history, Leesa finally reaches her room. After escorting Leesa to her room, the butler and Elzar left. Leesa entered the room and was amazed by its structure and setup. She noticed the intricate details of the room and admired the craftsmanship of the furniture and the paintings. The room was simple and very much to her liking. It was as if someone had decorated it with her image in mind. She wished to know who it was that decorated the room.
Since it was already noon, Leesa opted to rest for the rest of the day. She requested Weinne to arrange dinner in her room. Following a satisfying meal, she strolled through the palace's garden and then retired for the night. The upcoming day would entail bearing half of the head butler's responsibilities and providing assistance to Flavian with his tasks.
Flavian had an important meeting to attend and hence he would be coming late. Having eagerly awaited the arrival of Leesa, Flavian was not there to meet her when she arrived. His sadness was fuelled by the fact that he would not be able to see her before she officially started her work, as well as the fact that he had even planned for their dinner time together, but had to cancel it because of this meeting.
In the meeting room at the Jade Palace within the imperial residence, someone questioned, "Your Highness, you appear rather downcast. Is there a concern troubling you?"
Flavian's gaze turned icy as he responded, "If you're concerned about my mood worsening, then expedite this meeting."
"EEK, yes Your Highness! But it is an important matter. Please try to understand."
"Hurry up!"
The meeting room exuded a frosty atmosphere, and the underlying reason was clear – the crown prince's mood was far from conducive to participation.
The following day Anton arrived at Leesa's room to escort her to Flavian's office and explain the work in more detail so she could start working as soon as possible.
"Lady Marlene, I am here to escort you to His Highness's office. If you are ready, please let us not waste any more time," said Anton, knocking on Leesa's door.
Weinne opened the door, bowed to Anton and left. Leesa followed Weinne out, "Yes, Anton let us go".
Anton showed the way, and after some time Leesa asked "Anton, who was it that designed my room?"
"Did you find anything not proper, Lady Marlene?"
"No, nothing like that. I was just curious to know how someone could be fully capable of designing a room perfect for me without even knowing what my preferences are?"
"It was His Highness, Lady Marlene."
As they reached closer to the office, Anton explained the work to be done by Leesa and the things she needed to take care of along with her work. Today, Leesa brought a notebook with her to take notes and stay organized, so she wrote down the points Anton had mentioned. They finally reached the office and Anton knocked on the door. "May we come in, Your Highness?"
"Yes, come in."
As she entered the office Leesa bowed and introduced herself, "Leesa Marlene, your new assistant, is reporting for duty, Your Highness."