“Mother can’t promise, my daughter,” Mother replied.
I let out a long sigh and answered, “All right. I’ll come.”
“Mother and Father will be waiting for you, sweetheart. Oh, right, your older siblings will be coming too. See you tomorrow. Don’t stay up too late.”
“Yes, Mother. Good night,” I replied briefly before turning off my phone.
My head throbbed. I couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen tomorrow. There would definitely be some relative who couldn’t keep their mouth shut.
Whether at work or in my personal life, there was always someone testing the limits of my patience.
I rubbed the bridge of my nose, hoping it would ease my dizziness a little.
I thought I’d done enough for today. I went to bed soon after.
The next morning.
I was already awake before seven. I quickly showered and got ready.
I really wasn’t in the mood today. It would be better to go straight to the office and get back to work. It wasn’t that I disliked eating with my family. But whenever I ate with the extended royal family, there was always someone who didn’t like me.
Ding.
Someone had sent a message to my phone.
“My daughter, Mother has sent a car and an escort to take you here. Be careful on the way.”
Mother had sent the message. With no other choice, I left the house and got into the car Mother had prepared.
Around noon.
Nawula Palace
At last, I arrived at Nawula Palace at midday. This palace was the private residence of the reigning King and Queen and their direct descendants. Normally, only members of the royal family, relatives, and close friends were allowed to enter. Even then, they needed prior permission and an appointment.
Since I was a direct descendant of the reigning King, I didn’t need permission and could come and go whenever I wanted. Before I started working, I had still lived here as well.
One of the guards opened the car door, and I stepped out.
Once I entered, several members of the palace household staff were already standing in neat rows. When they saw me, they bowed respectfully.
I nodded and smiled in return, then shook their hands one by one. I asked how they were doing and whether anything was interfering with their work here.
“We’re doing well, and there haven’t been any significant problems, Your Highness,” said the head of Nawula Palace’s household staff.
“Since the rules Your Highness established three years ago, we’ve been able to work properly and receive fair wages and benefits.”
“That’s right, Your Highness. Even though time has passed, we feel the benefits of the rules Your Highness created with the King’s approval more and more. Now we can live decently and work properly,” one of the royal staff members added.
I smiled and said, “I’m only doing my duty as I should. From the beginning, it was your right to work comfortably and receive fair wages.”
The staff smiled at my answer.
Then Mother’s personal assistant approached me and reminded me to head to the reception hall right away. After saying goodbye to the household staff, I hurried there.
When I arrived, I saw that many people had already gathered. I greeted the elders first, then went on to greet my cousins.
Not long afterward, the doors to the banquet dining room opened. We went in and took our assigned seats according to the names written on the table. I got the seat in the middle. My older siblings’ seats were to my right and left.
It seemed I hadn’t introduced my two older siblings yet.