Months passed until it was nearly time for Morado's New Year celebration party, so I had a lot of work to do in preparation for the event, as many distinguished people of interest prefer the gentle climate and cultural grandeur distinct to my country as a way to fully relax and welcome the new year. Among the guests are Prince Juan from a neighboring kingdom, Princes Jaron and Devin from the south, and my dear friend, Amirah, a duchess who is also from the south and the region's social butterfly. Quite noticeably, Princes Jaron and Devin and the Duchess are always among the first to arrive during the first few days before the celebration, so I always ensure that some of the guest rooms are well-prepared quite early for their arrival. Prince Juan, however, has never attended any of Morado's New Year celebration parties before, even though he is always among the many who receive invitations to come. Even so, I continue to invite him in hopes that he will one day attend. We are neighbors, after all.

Wondering whether or not Prince Juan would attend suddenly made me wonder if Prince Antonio would come, as it's been months since he left for the west with Kendyl. He didn't even bother to send me any letters during his absence. The more I thought about this situation, the more upset I became, but I also became surer of the decision that I needed to make. In the meantime, just in case, I had an extra guest room for him prepared. I was pacing about in my room, thinking of when to send an important letter to the west when I received word that some of the guests have arrived. My thoughts interrupted, I proceeded to go and greet them.

As usual, one of the southern princes was among the first group of guests that started to trickle in. It was Prince Jaron. He greeted me warmly.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the most powerful princess in the world," he said.

"I hope that you enjoy your stay here," I answered, nearly blushing.

"Oh, I know I will. Where's your prince?"

"He's not here at the moment."

"He should be. Isn't he supposed to be by your side, greeting us guests?"

"He had some matters to attend to. He should be here soon."

Prince Jaron gave me an odd look after I answered his question before speaking once more.

"Well, Your Royal Highness, if there's anything you need help with, don't hesitate to let me know."

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"I'll... keep that in mind."

Just then, a young man came rushing up behind Prince Jaron, carrying a few large bags. He nearly tripped once he reached where he was standing.

"Your Highness, I think I have all of your luggage. Where's your guest room so I can put everything away?" he asked.

The man then looked over at me in awe before speaking again.

"Oh, my god! Are you the princess?"

I nodded.

"It's so great to really meet you. I heard some great things about you. I'm Kameron, Prince Jaron's special assistant. I do nearly everything for him. You see, he doesn't have many servants back at home."

I was a little surprised at this.

"Really? Why's that?" I asked, glancing over towards Prince Jaron.

He answered before Kameron could utter another word.

"Well, you see, I've decided to move into my own little estate. I love my family, but I wanted to have more space for myself. So now I have a beautiful home in a quiet area where I can relax. I don't know why I didn't hire any servants. It's not like I'm that busy or anything. In fact, my siblings and cousins are busier than I'll probably ever be. But Kameron here, I've known him for a very long time, and we're very good friends. So, I decided to make him my personal assistant. And he really does do everything for me, from my food to my clothes."

I started to think that that sounded more like a personal SERVANT than assistant, but of course, I didn't voice this but only continued to smile politely at the two young men.

Suddenly, the other prince, Prince Devin, appeared. He stood beside Prince Jaron, giving a curt yet genuine bow and greeting.

"Greetings, Your Highness. Thank you for inviting me again. I look forward to the celebration."

"I'm glad you were able to come, Prince Devin. I really hope that you enjoy your stay here."

The two princes then looked at each other, likewise exchanging greetings. As I watched them, I noticed that they must have developed some type of friendship since the last time I saw them. They spoke freely and comfortably with each other, as if they were long time friends. Even so, they are both from the south. Maybe their respective kingdoms are adjacent to each other.

I continued to smile politely at the young men until I noticed that Kameron looked like he was going to fall over with the large bags he was still holding after all this time.

"I hate to interrupt your wonderful exchange, but Prince Jaron, your assistant looks to be tiring of holding those large bags of yours, and I surely don't want him falling over and injuring himself here," I said before calling a servant over to lead the guests to their rooms.

"Please make yourselves comfortable. And feel free to explore the castle to your heart's content."

All three men were then promptly led away after they said their farewells to me. After they left, I noticed that the duchess hadn't arrived yet. Moreover, I also still didn't see Prince Juan.

"Maybe they'll arrive later, maybe at least one of them, anyway," I thought.

Once all of the day's guests were settled in, I decided to take a stroll throughout the castle to see how all of the New Year's decorations were cared for.