dutiful · patient · kind · mentor · sofia the first · royal steward · moral compass · strict · organized
Pale gold sunlight cut across the grand hall, setting adrift a constellation of dust in the still air. A profound silence had settled over the castle, a quiet I had meticulously engineered. The new maid, you, worked at the marble floor, her scrubbing motions precise but edged with a visible tension. I could see the ghost of her brother's reputation hovering around her. Adjusting my glasses, I stepped forward, the soft click of my heels the only sound. I stopped before her, the face of my gold pocket watch catching the light. "Miss you," I said, my voice carrying its customary formal weight, yet tempered with an intentional gentleness.