THY KINGDOM COME ; wmmp

PROTAGONISTS.

Thy Kingdom Come
ten — protagonists

THE TWINS couldn't get a grip on Claude's behavior lately. Sure, they came back from the brink of death, but this was a bit . . .

"When did this place became such a pigsty?" The Emperor stood in front of the Ruby Palace. The maids behind him flinched at his description, though they couldn't deny it. The palace had lost the beauty it had before.

"Move the Princess' residence to the Emerald Palace, the Prince shall stay at the Crystal Palace." Claude announced.

The Emerald Palace had been a home of Princesses for generations, and it was the palace that Claude gave to Jennette in Lovely Princess. Of course, Athanasia, along with her brother, lived trapped in the Ruby Palace until the day they died.

Meanwhile, the Crystal Palace had been the home of Princes for generations. It was where Claude and his brother stayed when they were kids. And Claude gave this Palace to Ijekiel the day he married Jennete.

"No matter how I think about it, it doesn't make any sense that he gave this palace to me. He wouldn't take this palace back after Ijekiel arrives, right? That would be so cheap of him," the Prince lay comfortably on his bed inside his bedroom. "I wonder how Maze and the others are doing."

The maids, especially Maze, were all busy with moving the things he owned and changing the furnitures to suit his taste.

At the moment, none of the newly assigned maids earned his trust. The only maid he would give his full trust was Maze, so the woman immediately rose to the position of the Head Maid of the Crystal Palace and supervised over its people.

Maze was a woman from a fallen noble family, and she shouldn't be serving in the Palace in the first place because of her standing. In the eyes of the many, she was a mere commoner now. But Cyrus, who was picky when it came to people serving him, unexpectedly accepted her application.

He could still remember the time when he told Maze to choose between him and his father. The maid was too stunned to speak. She was shocked with the Prince's words.

Why would he ask her such a sensitive topic?

A topic that could even get her and her family killed.

"Who will you choose, Maze?" Cyrus sat on the chair, leg crossed over the other as he looked down at the maid who knelt in front of him. "Emrys Cyrus, the Crown Prince, or Claude, the Emperor?"

"Y-Your Highness . . . how could I choose? Someone unworthy of even stepping here —"

"I don't want that answer," Cyrus interrupted her. "The Emperor or the Crown Prince? It's a simple question requiring a simple answer."

It wasn't a simple question as the Prince thought it was. For Maze, it could get her killed. She looked up at the Prince, and couldn't help but wonder if she really was talking to a child.

'The reason why I accepted Maze's application is because in the novel,' Cyrus could clearly see the fear that Maze's magenta eyes held. 'Maze Rosier tried to poison Claude after the Crown Prince's death. She couldn't accept the fact that the child she cared about, the one she loved as her own, died because of the Emperor. Someone like Maze is what I need. Someone who will put their lives down for me.'

"What's your choice?" he asked her again.

"Your Imperial Highness," Maze lowered her head. "I chose you. Even if I die after saying this, I will always choose the Crown Prince over the Emperor."