Chapter 11: Meeting behind closed doors
Anastasia and Marianne's eyes met, and like the younger sister of the Flores family, the older sister's eyes widened briefly before returning to normal. The maids quickly bowed with their faces facing the floor until Prince Maxwell and Marianne were out of sight.
After two minutes, when the corridor was clear, Charlotte remarked, "Prince Maxwell is so good-looking, isn't he? He looks like an actual prince."
"That is because he is," Theresa pointed out the obvious.
"No, no!" Charlotte whispered, coming to stand next to Theresa, while Anastasia stared at the end of the corridor, where the prince and her sister had disappeared. The young maid continued, "He has such a refined air around him. His blond hair is so perfectly combed back with not a single strand out of place, and he's always friendly with everyone. I wish he could be the future king."
Theresa replied, "No matter how fair and handsome a prince is, talk has it that Lady Sophia has already discussed and received the promise that her son will be the one to sit on the throne after him. She is the wife of the King."
Charlotte then said, "I think any one of the princes would do, rather than the one n—"
Anastasia placed her hand on Charlotte's mouth so that she wouldn't continue the sentence. She placed her finger on her lips before pulling her hand away from Charlotte's mouth.
"Charlotte, I think it is a good time for you to speak with your hands and not through your mouth before you get all of us in trouble," Theresa scolded with a frown. "Bad mouthing will only make your nightmares come true faster."
Charlotte pursed her lips before she said,
"But there's no one in the corridor except for us three. We are completely safe. See," she waved her hand, while turning her upper body left and right. She then sighed, "That courtesan is lucky. I forgot her name... Anyways. It must be nice to be born with pale skin and pretty eyes. Fortunate enough to spend her time with Prince Maxwell. But she, like the other courtesans, is a whore, spending her time with more than one person," and she gave a knowing look to Theresa and Anastasia.
Even though Charlotte's words were true, Anastasia didn't like to hear those demeaning words. While concubines were considered to be the sole possession of the king, the same didn't hold for the courtesans.