Bethany Hart had once wished success upon her, the youngest member of the family, Marilyn Althorn. She could only wish for her safety, her good health, and her good behaviour.

Those were the thoughts that was conjured more than a decade ago, and it seems her prayers had been answered in full.

That girl, Marilyn Althorn, had grown strong in spite of her subpar attributes. Bethany herself fully believed that she could reach the highest of heights for herself in due time. She fully believed Robert's words that this girl was special, and just the fact of her entering the Royal Academy alone was enough to prove that.

She had grown from a passive and timid girl, to a more confident and motivated young lady, smart and beautiful in her looks. For every step that she would take the maid fully believed that it would make her stronger as a person. She knew that in the future, she could even surpass her father, she believed in it.

Even if that's not the case, she would still support her. She had promised herself to do so, to accompany her whenever it gets dark for the girl, to act as her mentor, maid, and guardian. She just wished that the stars from the heavens above would give the girl a bright destiny ahead of her.

As for the older sister, to say the least, she's very much proud of her. It may have been the same bias she had for Marilyn, but Helena was someone that she would want to see succeed in her dream of becoming a knight. She may not agree with her current casual behaviour, but her skill and training was more than satisfying in her eyes.

She had grown up from the ever so sociable and friendly girl, to one that was considered one of the greatest in the academy while still maintaining that special character of hers. For every step that she would take, the maid fully believed that it would make her stronger as a person. She just knew that in the future, she could even surpass her, she had no doubt in this.

Even if that was not the case, she would still support her. She had promised herself to do so, to accompany her whenever it gets hard for the girl, to act as her closest friend. She too wished for the stars from the heavens above to give this girl a bright future ahead of her, same as her loving little sister.

"I shall pray that the stars would be in your favour, you two." She said, a small and confident smile shown upon her face.

Before the modern era, people often believed that stars held a certain divinity. Even if it was no longer literal as civilization and understanding advances, the expression in this case was still prevalent, especially in prayer. That was her reason for saying those words.

She had been walking down the hallway of the female dormitory, specifically heading towards Marilyn's room. The girl was currently in the library from what she could observe. So this was quite the opportunity to clean her room without much attention, and she does have a plan to give the girl a surprise gift, from her and her family back home.

"Hmm..." Several moments later, she would eventually arrive in front of Marilyn's dorm room.

She had seen it once, but back then it was empty, still very much new, yet to be decorated. So now she expected that it would be quite different from before. With a small huff of breath, the maid would open the door with her free hand, the other carrying a tote bag, pushing the door into the room.

It revealed a sizable dorm room, with two beds, as expected. It was smaller than the shared bedroom that were used by Marilyn and Helena when they were little, but it was enough for two Royal Academy students.

And just as expected, it was different. There was little to no dirt or dust, so it was quite well-kept, unlike Helena's room. She really did try her best from what she saw during the small tour the three of them had, but to the maid it wasn't enough.

In any case, just from a glance, Marilyn's side was less luxurious. She only had her bags, books, and staff. It was not really comparable in decorations and ornaments compared to the side where she had guessed to be...

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"Where the princess herself slept." She said, in deep thought over the situation.

She had heard of her behaviour, it seems that she was quite the opposite of Marilyn, so the dynamic between the two could be interesting. Where Marilyn may need motivation from the external to push onwards, the princess need no such things, she was completely self-sufficient.

In fact, the royal princess herself did not have any servants that resided near the academy. It seemed that she does indeed want to be independent, so she would commend her for that.

These thoughts ran through her head as Bethany placed the tote bag on Marilyn's personal bed. She would do some more cleaning of the things that Marilyn may not have found out about, while at the same time taking out the gift she and her family had for her. It was a picture frame, depicting the Althorn family as well as their maid, prior to Helena's leave during her time as a first year in this academy.

She smiled at that, placing the frame on the table, near the lamp that was fixed upon the piece of furniture.

Bethany would also then check her wardrobe, taking any articles of clothing that she deemed dirty enough for laundry before placing them inside the bag, replacing them with fresh ones. But, as she finished that task and closed the clothing cabinet...

"Your Majesty." Bethany encountered the person that she had fully expected to enter by now.

Ruby red eyes and silver hair. She was dressed neatly, possessing a dignified yet fiery air around her. Her features are very much recognisable, quite unique amongst the royal family. It was Cecilia Lenore.

"You must be Marilyn's maid." Cecilia said, before bowing her head a little, the hems of her skirt lifted up and her legs crossed before she stood idle again. "A pleasure to meet you. I reckon I don't need to introduce myself?"

Bethany shook her head, before turning fully towards the princess and bowing, "No need, Your Majesty. But if I may, I'd like to introduce myself to you." She said, before raising herself up, "My name is Bethany Hart, I'm the Althorn family's maid, but I'm currently acting as Marilyn's personal servant."

Cecilia nodded, "Marilyn's currently not here, so I assume that you were just cleaning the place and rotating her clothes?"

"Yes, I was just doing so right now." Bethany responded.

"I see, if you have anything else to do, I would leave you to it, Ms. Hart." And after those words were said, Cecilia would close the door and head towards her own bed, sitting on it. It seems like she was checking up on her books, as if to study for something.

Bethany didn't exactly have anything else to do, as the bedsheets didn't need any replacing currently, so all that she would need to do was leave. But...

"Your Majesty, may I ask you a question?"

Cecilia perked her head up, "Sure thing, what is it?"

Bethany decided to sit down on Marilyn's own bed, facing the princess, "What are your honest thoughts on my lady?"

Cecilia blinked a couple of times, trying to process the question, but eventually she would answer her. "Well, to put it mildly, she is definitely not like me. She's different, too much of a worrywart at times, can be a bit timid, all around average but loyal to the cause."

"I see..."

"If I may, why did you ask that question?" Cecilia's expression was one of genuine curiosity, but she kept a gentle tone to it. "I understand if you want to know how she's behaving and all, but—"

"Your Majesty, forgive my sudden intrusion, but I want you to do something for me."

Cecilia stood silent, pondering for a bit on what this may entail. Despite her recent comment on Marilyn's behaviour in her own personal opinion, she did count her as a friend still. In fact, she was still waiting on Marilyn to initiate that talk to her, about the words Vincent said to the girl during their entrance exam together.

Simply put, her act of 'wanting to keep things professional' was more of a jest than anything, and Marilyn did take it as one, observant as she was.

"Let's hear it, then." Cecilia would respond with those words.

"Could you help in protecting her? Train her further if you must, but she's the kind of person that would potentially go out of harm's way to save others, and I don't want her to suffer so much just to do that." She said, "I cannot be with her all the time, and her sister had been growing increasingly busy with her own life, so I need someone close to her right now to assist me with this endeavour."

Cecilia was appalled at that sudden demand from the maid. Just what kind of problem does Marilyn have for the maid to be this concerned for her?

Then, she realised it. If not for her, Cecilia Lenore would've perished at the hands of that assassin. And if it weren't for the simulation teleporting them out, Marilyn too would've died.

That sacrificial behaviour...of course it was. The both of them couldn't really live on with that guilt, she would imagine.

"Her family truly does care about her well-being, huh?" It's really not like the Lenore royal family, who's strict in discipline and manner of conduct, the epitome of tough love.

The maid nodded, "And all I want, even if it costed me my life, is to keep loving her as such. So I want you to promise me that...please."

Cecilia presented a smile towards the maid, nodding to her words. She understands her plight. And so, she would say these words to her, to ease her worries.

"I'll see what I can do, Bethany Hart."

And the maid was truly thankful for that.