Amy arrived at the palace with no fuss but advised Lisa of maintaining composure and mentioned a bit of court etiquette that she will have to follow. Since Lisa is technically her maid here, she will have to act like one. Bringing her into the Royal Palace is the least she could do for her before she heads off to her mercenary family.
She got off the carriage after a footman opened the door and stared at the familiar sight. Lisa obviously tried not to look excited, but everyone can see she is beaming.
"Miss Anthos, please follow me." One of the servants says and the pair followed her. Unlike the Prince's annex, the main King's residence is significantly bigger and magnificent. She recalls how surprisingly simple Leon's home is compared to the rest of the palace and it made her sometimes forget that Leon is a prince.
She heads to the garden, an even more nostalgic sight. This is where she met Sabina and Melissa during the Princess selection and where Leon made it snow during the Winter Banquet. Since it is now spring, the flowers are even more magnificent and beautiful.
The gazebo in the distance shows a table full of snacks and the charismatic King seated there, waiting for her.
"Miss Anthos has arrived, Your Majesty." the servant says.
"Greetings to the Everlasting Sun, I am Amaryllis Anthos of the Main Anthos family." she says with a curtsy.
"Ah, Miss Anthos, we have plenty of snacks and tea. Please join me." he says and offers the seat.
Amy got up and sat at the chair and finally stared at him. She has seen the King before but never this closely. King Claude is a stark difference from the queen. While the Queen sports a stoic and strict demeanor, the King has a soft complexion though he looks quite tired and slightly frail. Then again, that might explain why he looks like this. He is a King with duties. Even doing the bare minimum is a tiring task. Also, he is not young anymore. He is only slightly younger than her grandfather after all. He is so much different from the casanova she has heard about who had a preference for lesser noblewomen.
"Is your trip comfortable? I know that it must have taken you quite some time to get here." he asks.
"It is manageable, Your Majesty." Amy replied then she quickly ate some cake with tea. She tried to maintain etiquette while not appear hungry after a two-hour carriage ride.
The man responded with a gentle smile. "Please eat up. I am unsure what you like but young girls like you must like sweets, correct?"
Amy wondered if her eagerness to eat is giving herself away and is immensely grateful for the food.
"The flowers here are quite beautiful. I do admit that I had the pleasure of visiting the Viscounty before I ascended the throne, and it always had the most beautiful flowers and the most delicious fruits. The cuisine there is a favorite of mine." He speaks.
Amy is slightly confused by this small talk. But she is more focused on filling her stomach, so she lets him ramble. Besides, she can't change the subject without offending him if he wishes to make small talk.
As for Lisa, she was led by a servant who noticed she is also famished, possibly to a dining hall where she could eat.
After letting him monologue for a bit, she had finished eating. This is when he notices and changes the subject, "You are a classmate of my son, Leon. How is he doing in school?"
She looked up, confused. "I haven't seen him for over a year, Your Majesty. But from what I heard about him; he should be fine."
"Well," he said with his hands on his chin, "Ever since the assassins infiltrated the school, he has been quite skittish. It's quite difficult to read him normally."
Amy was unsure what he is talking about. Leon mentioned that his mother was quite strict but overprotective. His relationship with his father, on the other hand, is much different. His mother actively is a part of his life, his father wasn't. It wasn't that they cannot stand each other or are indifferent towards the other but they are just mutually neutral and have no desire for approval. When she was given an explanation on what had happened after Leon's attempted assassination, the king made action against those who tried to hurt Leon. The public believed it is as a father taking revenge against his son, but Amy is admittedly suspicious because he didn't take any future measures for Leon after all of this.
"Prince Leon is an enigma. Every action he takes is always a surprise."
The King chuckled at her statement, "Indeed he is, he takes after me in some way. I'm not sure whether I should be worried or impressed." he says. The gentleness in his voice remained but there is something different about it.
"Why have you invited me, Your Majesty?" she asked, "Clearly, I'm not here to only talk about how the Prince is doing? It would make more sense to invite another classmate of his who he is more closely affiliated with."
The King had a straight posture that is elegant, regal and professional, "Yes, you're right." he replied, "I'm not here to talk about my son. I'm here for you."
Amy is surprised to see his facade change. She could see how much she underestimated his character. His gentle facade is genuine now especially in his old age but it is also still a mask to hide parts of himself he wants hidden. This is a different breed of human.
"You are quite the accomplished young lady. You created a magic circle and expert potion at eleven, created a technique using dance and became a weapons expert at twelve, investigated and destroyed the Ripper at thirteen. Let's not mention your relationship with Bowen of Bowen Gizmos. Your accomplishments cannot match your sister, yet you prefer to keep them secret."
Amy felt something heavy in her gut but tried to hide her reaction. How did he know all of that? Other than that, the king shouldn't know all of this.
Amy hid her shock after calming herself down and stared at the King with a hard look. "What do you want?"