Gossips !

Charlotte was a good girl but her behavior as a lady lacked a lot .

' Where am I lacking in my education ?!.......I am sure that I have taught her how to be a good and delicate lady yet she.............With each passing day , i feel like I have given birth to a son and not a daughter ! Haaaa...................How will she be able to find her prince when she is like this ?!  ' thought Catherine with a worried expression .

She liked the fact that her daughter was strong and resourceful but at the same time she didn't want her to be too strong . Girls were a bit delicate no matter how strong-willed they were . In her daughter's case , it seemed like she had lost all that delicate side of hers when she was only just a child . 

Half an hour later , Charlotte had already worn her pajamas and dried her hair .

" Mother ! " said Charlotte with a smile .

" My beautiful daughter ! " said Catherine with a warm smile when she saw how much her daughter had grown .

Even though she had remained a bit short , she had grown in a beautiful , fine way .

" My princess ! You are so beautiful !...............If you were to wear some dresses and jewels , you would look even more astonishing than you already are.................I am sorry that I can't give you what you deserve . I am sorry that your father keeps ignoring us and you are forced to work as a maid . That woman hates me ! Because of me , you have to suffer so much........It's all my fault !......." said Catherine as she held her daughter's hands which had some new cuts on it and was about to cry  .

Charlotte realized that her mother was very sad and hugged her tightly .

" Mom ! I don't need any jewel ! I don't need any dress ! I don't need to be treated like a princess and more , I don't need a scumbag father like him to pay attention to me ! If he did , he would only think of how to get me married off !...................Mom ! If the two of us keep staying together , I don't care about living a luxurious life . Without you by my side , the jewels and everything else.........are simply worthless ! Even if I had nothing , as long as you are beside me , I can rebuild our lives again . " said Charlotte with a warm smile as she hugged her mother tightly .

Catherine also hugged her daughter tightly and was surprised at how great she had become .

" My silly girl ! Whom do you take after that you are so sweet ?! " said Catherine lightly patting her head .

" Of course I am sweet ! I am the daughter of the most beautiful and perfect woman in the whole universe ! Others are so jealous of the beauty that I have inherited from my dear mother !...............It was decided that I had to be the lucky girl to be born from your tummy my magnificent mother . Those other girls can only look at me with envy and explode from jealousy ! " said Charlotte with a prod tone .

" Now I know why all these nice words were spoken so easily  ! Those pretty words........don't think that they will change my mind about allowing you to sneak in the kitchen and steal more desserts ! " said Catherine with a smile .

" It didn't work at all , did it ?! " said Charlotte as if she was sad .

" What do you think ?! " said Catherine as she patted her daughter's head with a soft smile .

" Nah ! You are the only one who can understand me without even me needing to speak mom ! I like this connection between us a lot even though my lies are always exposed . " said Charlotte with a smile .

" Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ! " laughed the two of them .

The door knocked and a maid that delivered the food came .

" Hey, Charlotte ! Come and get the food ! " said the maid with an arrogant tone . 

Her mother felt angry when she heard the tine the maid used but Charlotte held her hands and smiled telling her not to mind the maid's attitude because she was just a mere maid not worth her anger .

" Got it ! You can go now ! " said Charlotte looking at her with a neutral expression .

" Don't talk to me with that tone crownless princess ! " said teh arrogant maid .

" True ! I am a crownless princess but I still have the title of princess . You can search through the documents if you don't believe it . My current situation is only temporary ! Despite everything that happens here , I will still be married off to a noble while you will only remain a poor maid all your life . Goodnght !  " said Charlotte as she enjoyed her annoyed expression and closed the door to her face .

Catherine laughed a little when she heard her daughter .

" These maids are becoming even more annoying lately ! I don't quite like the idea of marrying but still , it comes in handy when having to deal with them  . " said Charlotte with a smile .

Charlotte brought the food to her mother and prepared the table .

" Here , mother ! " said Charlotte with a cute smile and moved the chair sp that her mother could sit .

" Thank you ! " said Catherine with a smile .

" Your welcome , my queen ! " said Charlotte and bowed in a handsome way which made her mother laugh in a warm way .

Catherine noticed that the food the maid brought was enough for only one person .

" Charlotte , where's your food ?! " asked Catherine .

' I can't let mom , worry about me ! Neither can I tell her about aunt Nana ! If she knows she will only be more worried about my situation . Since the last attentive to escape failed , they put me in prison for two days without eating..........mom has forbidden me to try escaping again . '  thought Charlotte with a smile .

" I already ate at the kitchen mom . " said Charlotte .

" Strange ! You never eat at the kitchen unless you go to sneak some sweets . " said her mother with a doubtful expression .

" Today I had to clean the horse stables ! I was hungry and ate my portion at the kitchen then went back to work again . " said Charlotte with a smile .

' I had my own money that I took from working as a maid and it was enough for both me and my mom to live good and comfortable life but , within the palace walls money wasn't that much useful , because there was no market or clothes store where I could buy them . We only had to wait for the changing of seasons to get our new clothes . So , money isn't the real issue in my case . I have also gained money on my scholarships too . We can live much better off by ourselves than here . I can even afford a housekeeper . We just have to get out of here . I was highly positive that it would work . Who would have thought that the guards would increase this year ?!......... Curse that important stupid person that has arrived to visit ! I have to work for another year now ! ' thought Charlotte with an annoyed expression at the end .

" You must have been tired today . Want to eat some more sweetie ?! " said Catherine .

" No , mom ! I am fine ! You just continue eating . I need to go and finish my homework . " said Charlotte .

" Now that I think about it , you are in your last year of school . Right , Charlotte ?! " asked Catherine .

" Yes , mom ! I will finish this year ! " said Charlotte with a smile .

" I am so glad for you my daughter . Can't wait to attend the diploma ceremony ! " said Catherine with a big and proud smile .

" I too can't wait mom ! " said Charlotte with a smile .

' As soon as I get my diploma we can rest assured and get out of this hellish place ! ' thought Charlotte with a smile and that was the main reason why she was really happy . 

" Well , I am going now I will probably stay in my room until late to take care of my homework . Good night mom ! " said Charlotte .

"  Sweet dreams my darling ! " said Catherine as she ate the meal in a happy tone . 

After leaving her mother's room Charlotte went to her room . The two rooms were connected with each other . Although the place where they lived wasn't luxurious , it was the same as a normal family with a normal financial situation . In short , it was a giant room with a simple decoration . Charlotte used the excuse of homework in order to go and find who the important guest was .

' The maids , the servants, and the guards become the most talkative at night . It's perfect to go out at this time and learn more bout the daily events in the castle . ' thought Charlotte with a smirk . 

Charlotte really did have some work to do , even though they weren't that much . After finishing the homework that she had left , she sneakily opened the door and went to peek a bit at what her mother was doing . She noticed the finished plates on the table and her mother sleeping on the bed with a calm expression .

' She's asleep .......Good ! ' thought Charlotte with a calm expression and closed the door slowly without making any noise .

She closed the light in her room and went out quietly without making any noise that could wake her mother up . Charlotte opened the light on her phone to pass the stairs because the whole hall and corridor were usually illuminated by the moonlight that came from out from the windows . After walking for half an hour in a sneaky way , following the servants or the maids that she would see walking by and listen to their conversation .

' It's been more than half an hour that I have been walking around and haven't gotten any useful information . Such a pain ! ' thought Charlotte .

The maids or servants only gossiped about the king's birthday and things related to the leaders of the other states that would be mentioned every year .

' I still think that doing such a grand organization for the birth of a scumbag is such a waste ! Better give it all for charity ! ' thought Charlotte with a serious expression .

She looked around and saw two guards that were taking a break at a corner in the castle .

" Oh man ! I have been working all day today ! Geez ! " said the guard with a green helmet .

' That green helmet.............is from the guard that is responsible to guard the palace's entrances . What is he doing here ?! ' thought charlotte who looked at them from a corner .

" You are about to be transferred to the high ranked security and be on the same team with me soon to guard his majesty . Although the procedures are still ongoing , you are already transferred here because of your talent . Of course, you would be super busy today , especially with the new important guest that came today . " said the guard with a red helmet .

' An important guest ?!.......I knew it ! ' thought Charlotte with a smile .

"  Yeah , I heard about this guest too . I was forced to leave and escort the princess on her way back from her shopping and wasn't able to be there when the guest came . Who was it ?! " asked the guard with the green helmet .

' Yeah.....Who was it ?! ' thought Charlotte with an impatient expression .

" You won't believe it ! It was the crown prince of Spain . the highly renowned prodigy that has raised the financial state of Spain .  " said the guard with the red helmet .

" What ?! Is it true ?! " said the guard with the green helmet in a surprised way .

" I am not kidding ! He is also very handsome . The princesses are obsessed with him . The king even specified that the favorited wine of the prince was specially chosen by his daughters , the princesses . " said the guard with the red helmet .

" Do you think he will marry one of the princesses ?! " asked the guard with the green helmet .

" Propably ! If one of the princesses were to marry with him , Anadol would become a stronger country . Just imagine...........our pay will also increase ! " said the guard with the red helmet .

" That would be really nice ! " said the guard with a green helmet .

" He is highly respected since he raised the financial statistics of his country . Some say that the actual king of Spain has left all the state affairs to him , meaning he is the king . After thedeal with our country , he will inherit the title of king . " said the guard with the red helmet .

" Wow ! A crown prince ?! And a prodigy above all......No wonder the security been increased . He is such an important figure . i am a bit curious though , what made him so interested in our country . In comparison to other countries , Anadol is way off .  " said the guard with a green helmet .

" I don't know it yet but we will surely learn it later . After all , we will be the ones in charge for his safety . " said the guard with the red helmet .

Charlotte heard them until she got the information that she needed then she went away .

' ........The important guest is the prince of Spain ?!........The stupid prince of Spain was the reason why I have to be stuck here being a maid for another year of my beautiful life ?!..........How I wish I could hit that stupid prodigy in the head and make him realize that he is not the only one in this world and that his actions have harmed the perfect escaping plan of an innocent citizen !........... ' thought Charlotte with an annoyed expression .

Charlotte was very annoyed by the fact that she couldn't think of any other way that she could use to escape . She had enough of that situation and now that she would get her diploma , she was afraid that her father would marry her off to a stranger just so that he could get a good sum of money in return . She walked for a bit more , then saw that the window to a balcony was left open .

' Who left this open ?!......Maybe a maid has forgotten to close it...... ' thought Charlotte then her eyes watched a glimpse of the starry dark sky with its numerous stars .

She felt the need to go out and breathe some fresh air to cool herself down . As soon as she stepped foot on the balcony she raised her head at the sky and noticed the bright moon . Although it wasn't a full moon it was still beautiful . Charlotte gazed at the moon and showed a warm smile and started to pray at the moon .

' Please dear moon ! Create a possibility for me to leave that hellish place that others want me to call home . I feel so suffocated here ! I don't wanna be married off to someone whom I don't know . I don't wanna live my life , cleaning all day . ' thought Charlotte with a deep pray towards the moon .

On the balcony next to Charlotte's balcony was prince Diego , drinking a cup of wine as he enjoyed the nice breeze of the night . When his eyes accidentally glanced over at the balcony next to his he opened his eyes wide from the unexpected surprise .

' Charlotte ?!...... ' thought Diego with a surprised expression .