𝙇𝙄𝙁𝙀 𝙂𝙊𝙀𝙎 𝙊𝙉 » 𝙨. 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙤𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙞

05

hold my hand
To that future, let's run away

—

"Have you heard? The youngest prince is supposed to be engaged tonight!"

The maids started to gossip in the kitchen as they help prepare the foods that will be served at the ball tonight. Everyone in the kingdom was excited after hearing the news of the Empire's hero getting engaged to a Duke's daughter.

Your grip around the plates as you cleaned them tightened. You felt your chest tightening for a reason that you might cry at that exact same moment.

"Yes! I'm guessing it would Duke Yaoyorozu's daughter, Momo."

The maid guessed which made the other maids hum in agreement. They find the young lady of the Yaoyorozu household to be quite graceful and very famous in the high society.

"But Lady Utsushimi is also a good candidate."

Another maid added, which made the other maids gasp in disbelief. They were gossiping here and there which was not new to the maids but for you, it was irritating.

You slammed the plates down, causing the other maids to shout in surprise after hearing the loud bang. Good thing none of the plates were damaged but you couldn't help it. You glared at the other maids who were staring at you which made them automatically shut their mouths and hurriedly left the kitchen to you all by yourself.

You hid your face under your palms as you crouched down. You felt your energy leaving your body after all your anger subsided.

I rejected him.

You thought about the man you were with that night. You never cared about the prince's marriage, it didn't matter. But the man was more important to you. He said that he was getting married soon and he offered you to run away with him.

But I said no.

You were happy to hear that he loved you, you really do, your heart was about to burst out of your ribcage in happiness if you could say. But running away is a different story.

Even if you wanted to, you can't leave your family behind. Your parents are old and sick, and you have siblings that you need to look after to. You are in a position that you can't choose love over your family.

You ran away from him that night and never looked back. And from there on, you never saw him ever again. Your heart broke into thousands of shard pieces. It hurt but it was your own fault that you said no.

He must've been married to that noble girl too.

Just how you wished you could've spend more time with him, because as soon as you realized your feelings for him, the more that it hurts now that you have rejected him.

"Hey, (y/n)."

You immediately wiped your tears before lifting your head up, only to see Sato, the head chef of the palace standing before you with a worried look on his face.

"Are you alright?"

He asks, but you immediately nodded your head in response to his question. You stood up from crouching down as you faced the head chef with a forced smile. Sato couldn't help but shake his head before handing you a maid's uniform.

With a confused look, you hesitantly accepted the uniform.

"You're going to serve the food along with the others at the ball later. So get ready as it is time for the ball to start."