The Princess' Handmaiden

Chapter 13

"Nayeon?"

"Hm?"

"Is your life hard?" Mina questioned, sighing from the heat. Nayeon admired the fan she was using, as she adored the intricate and colourful patterns. There were beautiful flowers of every colour she could think of, and the handmaiden was wondering how somebody could still be so attractive even when they were burning in the heat. She was enjoying their stroll through the gardens, but she wasn't expecting the princess' sudden question.

"Well, in what way?" She asked nervously. She wasn't sure why, but recently she'd been more careful around Mina. She didn't want to mess up their relationship.

"I heard that the villagers in the kingdom aren't treated as well as the noblemen and women. Is that true?"

Nayeon hummed, looking down thoughtfully.

"It is definitely true. Many are discriminated against, and many suffer financially." She replied, and Mina seemed sympathetic.

"Are you one of those many?" 

Nayeon hesitated.

"Yes. I was." She didn't look up from the path they were walking on. "I was so relieved when I was given this job. To be paid so much for the work I do is a privilege."

"But what about your family?"

The handmaiden's silence told the princess all she needed to know.

"Not everyone is blessed with such privilege." 

🐧👑🐧

"Why are you asking about how the people are treated?" Sana asked her sister, who had invited herself into her bedroom.

"I'm just curious."

Sana suddenly got very worried. The last time Mina was so 'curious' about the people was when she stopped liking physical contact, when she always seemed sad, when Sana was suspicious that Mina had been r-

She didn't want to think about it. Sana removed the idea from her mind.

"They certainly aren't treated like us, that's for sure." 

"But why not?" Mina asked. While she wasn't treated with the respect a princess should be treated with, she never had to scrape for money just to feed herself. She was mocked and hurt, but not for her status.

"Hierarchy. Were you never taught about that?" Sana answered, and Mina found herself wracking her brain for any scraps about the topic. She then remembered when Ms Red Lips told her she was no better than the lowest of peasants.

"Uh, not exactly."

Sana sighed, shaking her head like a disappointed mother.

"Honestly, what did that woman teach you?" Sana grumbled, gesturing for Mina to sit at her desk beside her. "Think of it like a pyramid. No matter how other people view you, since you are a princess, you will be really close to the top. Mother and Father are the only ones at the top."

"So when you take over, you'll be at the top?"

"Right." The older girl then began a small lesson on hierarchy, and she was honestly surprised. She had no idea that her younger sister was so clueless when it came to the world outside of the palace. She thought that Ms Red Lips would have taught her about these things.

"So Nayeon would be at the bottom." Mina absent-mindedly muttered, and Sana nodded, her expression unreadable. "I feel bad."

"Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it. This system has existed for so long, even when I become queen, ultimately, the people will not listen." Sana spoke. "Other than money, something else, perhaps stronger, powers the rich. It's their superiority complex. They enjoy making it known that they are part of the upper class, and if that were to ever be stripped from them they would have no more pride."