"Good morning, Prince Chevalier," Ivetta called the next morning.

I didn't move, though I had already been awake and listening to her humming for quite a while already. If I lay still, maybe she would start talking again, like she had yesterday. I disdained small talk and mindless chatter from anybody else, but hers I found interesting.

"Sorry to break it to you, your highness, but it's back to work again today," she continued. "The festival was a lot of fun, but I'm glad it only lasted one day."

"For once, we agree on something," I mumbled.

The bureau drawers groaned as she opened them. "It's bound to happen once in a while, your highness."

I pushed back the covers and stretched as she set the clothes on the bench next to the bed. "I hope you had the sense to take my advice," I said condescendingly.

"Yes, I did, your highness," she replied, her green eyes calm as they met mine. "Prince Leon was happy to walk me home. I'll be back with your breakfast."

She was becoming more comfortable around me. I smiled to myself as I got out of bed and picked up the clothes she'd set out, heading into the bathroom to get dressed. Even the thought of her with Leon didn't really bother me this morning. She'd only been following my orders, after all, and he'd kept her safe. His inborn protective nature did have its uses. And she clearly wasn't interested in him, or any of my brothers. At least she had sense where they didn't.

A few minutes later, while I was still finishing in the bathroom, I heard her voice again as soon as the door opened. "Prince Clavis, you and I both know that he will. And he's in the bathroom right now, too."

"Just do whatever it is you do," Clavis replied casually. "Leave Chev to me."

I'd left the bathroom door open, as usual. Ivetta always found something to do around the corner, out of sight. Maybe I should be more sensitive to her and close the door. But, then again, I wouldn't hear intruders as easily that way. Like Clavis. What was he doing here?

She sighed and called out, "Prince Chevalier, you have a visitor."

"What do you want, Noisy?" I asked icily, fastening my cloak about my shoulders.

"Ah, don't be like that, Chev. When I'm being such a thoughtful younger brother, stopping by to wish you and your lovely little maid a good morning."

Thoughtful younger brother. He was always saying such nonsense to sugarcoat his irritating behavior.

"It's too bad I didn't catch up to you at the festival earlier, but at least I got to see the lion and the tiger drooling over a certain dove. That was very amusing."

He was pushing for a reaction from me. I wouldn't have given him the satisfaction if it weren't for Ivetta's presence. She was probably blushing from embarrassment at this point. I'd brought my sword into the bathroom with me this morning, and I buckled the belt around my waist, smirking as the familiar weight settled over my left hip. It was tempting to just run him through this time and be done with him.

"Did you enjoy your time in the gardens, Ivetta?" he continued pushing.

He hadn't said anything to me about that last night, so I hadn't realized he'd seen us. Not that there was anything to see. We were just reading. But he'd probably move on to subtle innuendo and implications about the time we'd spent together, and I didn't want to hear it anymore than she did. I exited the bathroom and grabbed him by the back of his collar, throwing him out the door.

"Thank you, Prince Chevalier," Ivetta said as the door slammed shut. I didn't acknowledge her as I went to my desk. She slipped into the bathroom without another word.

Clavis was going to be more of a pain than usual today.

I left for my office after breakfast, and, of course, Clavis was waiting for me with his sly grin. At least Nokto was absent. He may not have attended the festival, but he doubtless had found a willing woman to help him with his own festivities last night. It was quite probable that he hadn't even heard about my excursion beyond the palace walls with Ivetta yet. Which was fine with me.

"I'm surprised at you, Chev. You don't usually lose control like that," Clavis said, his golden eyes gleaming as he started right back up with the teasing.

"If I'd lost control, you would be dead," I said coolly. "You were distracting the maid from her work."

"Was I?" he asked innocently. "She must be a sensitive little thing. I hardly said a word to her. But I guess you know her better than I do, since you spent the entire day with her yesterday."

"She's my maid, and I wasn't in the office. She was doing her job," I snapped.

"Oh? I didn't realize it was her job to accept funnel cakes and books from her employer, and read in the gardens with him," he continued, grinning slyly.

"You know as well as I do that rewarding good behavior is an effective method of securing loyalty." Which was true, although that certainly hadn't been my motivation.

"Ah, I see. You were securing her loyalty. Well, that makes sense, then." He chuckled. "So, you weren't upset about Leon walking her home last night."

"What she does with her personal time is of no concern to me," I lied.

"Just clarifying the situation. After all, you said yourself that she's just a maid, and we're all princes. I would hate to think that you needed that reminder," Clavis said casually.

"Have you gotten anywhere in your investigation, or are you too busy following her around?" I asked sharply.

He sighed. "I do have a lead, actually. It's probably best that I pursue that today."

"Then go."

This was why I couldn't be done with him yet. He was annoying, but he was useful. At least he wouldn't be bothering me, or Ivetta, anymore today. The amount of paperwork on my desk was minimal, and I would finish well before two thirty. It had only been a few minutes since I left her, and I was already looking forward to seeing her again.

No. I needed to stop that. She was my maid, not my companion. There were plenty of other duties I could attend to that were of much greater importance than her, such as supervising my knights' training. They were due for a spot check. My sword had seen little use since the purge, and though I didn't mind the peace, I could little afford to allow myself to become complacent.