Aera sat at the dining table with a smile as she waited for the prince to be seated and eat lunch together. The man was so busy that it was so hard to have a meal with him. Her smile disappeared when she was Bada walked into the dining hall with the food trolley. Aera froze in her place as she looks at the stepsister. She was still scared of the elder stepsister even though Taehyung already demoted Bada from the nobility. 

Bada was not a good sister to her, but she was also not a bad sister. Aera looks down at her empty plate while Bada was standing a few feet behind her chair, waiting for the butler to instruct them to serve the food. Aera could not even lift her head confidently when Bada was in the same room as her. She didn't know why but she always felt inferior to the elder stepsister of her. 

Aera and Bada never had a close relationship since Madam Kang got married to Aera's father. Bada loves to hide in the tower and read books.  Other than that, she also didn't want to interact with anyone as much as Bitna. Bitna and Aera, on the other hand, are pretty close, and there was no hatred going on in between them. Just siblings fight like fighting over pretty dresses and accessories. Bitna will be mean towards her when she was annoyed, but she's the kindest of all three women her father brought home. 

"I'm sorry for the wait, my princess," The prince walked into the room with his long stride causes all the maids to bow to him simultaneously. Aera stood up from her sitting position, smiled at the prince, and greeted the man with a brief bow. "How are you, your highness?" She started the conversation with a simple greeting. The prince smiled at the lady and replied. "I am good.  How about you?" He took her hand and planted a kiss on top of her hand. Aera flushed as the prince kiss her hand. 

"Never been better." She replied as she took hold of his hand. Both of them smiles from ear to ear as they look at each other. With just a simple nod from the crown prince, the butler signalled the maids to serve the food on the table. The prince's smiling face disappeared as he saw Bada was the one in charge to serve Aera. He could see the slightly uncomfortable gesture from Aera. He was curious who was the idea behind the duty assortment. 

"This is tomato soup drizzle with truffles," Bada put down the beautiful dish in front of the lady while introducing the name of the dish. Aera nodded her head as she smiled at the stepsister. Bada nodded her head and went back to her original spot. Aera took a sip of the tomato and slightly flinched once the soup touched her lips. Just a slight movement from the lady, Taehyung was able to catch it by the tail of his eyes. 

"What's wrong?" Taehyung asked as he handed a napkin to the lady. She took it and dabbed her lips lightly. The soup was too hot for her. "The soup was slightly hot. But-" Before Bada could even finish her sentence. Taehyung was already calling for the maid "Kang Bada!!" His sudden rise in tone causes all the maids to be surprised. The crown prince was a calm person and never called any maid by name if they ever did anything wrong. Bada bowed her head and walked closer to the table. 

"Is there anything wrong, your highness?" She asked politely, knowing that everyone in the room was watching her. She looks at Aera and Taehyung alternately, in confusion. She didn't know what she did wrong to make the prince upset. "Take this spoon and eat this soup." He muttered as he handed her his spoon. Bada looks at the prince and Aera again in confusion. Everyone else in the dining room was also confused. The soup was tested by the royal chef earlier. Bada took the spoon and was about to scoop a spoonful of soup when Aera halted her hand movement. 

"Sister, it's nothing. The soup was just too hot for me." Aera smiled as she looks at the prince and Bada, who was standing beside her. "I'm sorry, I didn't notice the temperature of the soup was too hot for you," Bada replied politely. She didn't want to make a scene when everyones' eyes are on her. Aera nodded her head and squeezed Bada hand tightly. Appreciating that Bada didn't turn monstrous. Bada's face froze as Aera smiled at her as if she never did anything to annoy her. 

 "It's fine, your highness. I'm good." Aera said as she let go of Bada's hand. Bada bowed to Aera and Taehyung once Taehyung slightly nodded his head to dismiss her. Bada was about to walk back to her spot when Aera left her seat and catch her. "Sister, what's wrong with your hand?" Aera asked as she grabbed Bada's hand and looked at the two red hands like raw meat. 

"This is nothing," Bada replied while keeping her face straight. She didn't want the other maids in the palace to think Aera favoured her because she was her stepsister. Bada gently removes her hand away from Aera's grasp. "No, this is nothing? You're hurt!" Aera said as her eyes stayed on Bada's hand. Bada sighed and just smiled at Aera, reassuring the girl that she was fine. Bada slightly burned her hands from handling the roasted pigs for a long time. "Aera, this is normal for a kitchen helper. Stop overreacting, and the prince is watching. Do you want the prince to cut my hands?" Bada mumbled lowly as she reduces the distance between her and Aera. 

"That's a lie! Look at their hands; none of their hands is like yours!" Aera was angry as she looks at the other maids. Their hands looked normal and did not burn like Bada's hands. Bada restrained herself from laughing, and a peal of small laughter escaped her lips. She shook her head; the young girl might make everyone think they always have a good relationship if she keeps behaving like this. "You should continue to eat your food," Bada said. 

"Sister, I'm sorry. Forgive me," Suddenly, tears flew down her flawless cheek. Bada shook her head and put both of her hands on Aera shoulder. "Lee Aera, get yourself together." Bada took a step backwards, distancing herself from her step-sister, but the younger one kept on crying. Aera shook her head and pulled Bada into a hug while whispering her apology. The crown prince stood up from his seat as shocked, looking at Aera suddenly crying in Bada's arm. He took no time to walk toward his fiance. 

"Princess, what's wrong?" Taehyung asked as he came closer to the crying girl. Bada was flustered as well to the sudden outburst of tears. Aera shook her head while tightening her arm around Bada. "Your highness, I think the princess needs some time alone," Bada said as she placed one of her hands on Aera's back and patted the young girl. Taehyung nodded his head, and Bada gently pulled the young girl out of the dining hall. Bada took the young girl to the herbs garden near the kitchen, where people rarely go there. 

"You can cry here. Nobody is around," Bada said as she put down her handkerchief on a rustic bench in the garden, instructing the younger sister to sit down on the handkerchief. Bada didn't dare to ruin the expensive dress. Bada sighed as she sat beside Aera and crossed her arm. The girl cried really hard that causes her to have hiccups. Bada took another handkerchief and passed it to the crying girl. 

"Sister, if I never meet the prince, you'll never be in this condition," Aera said as her eyes stick to Bada injured hands. Bada smirked as she looks at her hands. It was not her first time to see her hands in this state, and it was not as painful as the first time she experienced it. Bada looks at the girl without saying anything. Even if Aera never meet the prince, Bada's condition would not change that much. Bada was hated even way before she became the villainess that everyone knows. Back then, in their academy, she never had a friend other than Park Jinhee. She used to be someone who loves being alone and study instead of socializing. Her peers hated her because, in their eyes, Bada was a snobbish fake noble. 

"You're the prince's fiance now. You need to be aware of your behaviours. You cannot just weep like that in a dining hall. If the emperor was there, that would be worse." Bada stated in her stern voice. Aera needed to know the basic etiquette among the royals. "You cannot act base on your feeling. Are you listening, Lee Aera?" Bada added as she looked at Aera, who nodded her head while wiping the tears on her cheeks.

"I want to go home," Aera mumbled as she calms herself down.  "This is your home now, Lee Aera. You cannot go back. You cannot just break the engagement with the prince. You should know that." Bada said as she could see the problems on Aera's face. She could read the young girl like a book. She can see that Aera was hesitating to marry the prince and be a part of the royal family. 

"Ignore them. Those people who criticize you didn't know you as I do." Bada heard enough of people criticizing Aera for breaking all the royal rules and ethics around the palace. Knowing Aera, how much of a free-spirited person she was, she must have felt trapped being in the palace and following all the rules and ethics that she never practices in her life before. "I wanted to go home and live with you, Bitna and mother," Aera lips wobbled as she looks at Bada. 

"You hate us. You hate me. You hate mother. Why would you go back to the place you hate?" Bada stood up from her sitting position as she dusts off her skirt. She didn't understand Aera. She used to hate being with them. She hated being around her stepsisters and always wanted to stick with her father when the Marquess was alive instead of building a good relationship with them. "Get up, tuck your chin and apologise to the prince for being rude earlier." Bada walked away from the young girl as she had worked. 

Bada bumped into the crown prince that was hiding behind some tomatoes tree in the garden. She could tell that the prince heard everything. Bada bowed her head as she walked past the man. "Don't tell her that I was here." He whispered to Bada. Without reacting much, Bada nodded her head and walked away from the prince. Taehyung's gaze remained on Bada's back as she walked towards the kitchen. Something does not sit right when Bada didn't greet him like how she used to. 

"Your highness, can you make my sister my personal maid instead?" Aera mumbled as she walked beside the crown prince. Taehyung turns around to look at his fiance. "No! What if she tried to hurt you?" Taehyung asked as he disagreeing with the idea of Aera having her stepsister as her personal maid. Bada definitely will abuse his fiance like she used to. He never asked anything about Aera's family, but looking at her condition when he rescued her. She was absolutely abused by her step-family. 

"Sh-she... will never hurt me," Aera glanced at the prince with a bitter face. She was big enough to understand what abuse is. She does all the house chores in the mansion because she felt responsible to take care of the house left by her father. Bada rarely pay any attention to her and she was well aware of it. Aera definitely could see the different treatment her father gave to the twins and her. How her father will buy a lot of gifts whenever he went abroad but never bought anything for the twins. 

"I was the one who keep on hurting her," Aera sighed as she walked forward. Even though Bada was cold most of the time, she still thought of the girl as her stepsister. Bada was someone that she can rely on when Marquess Lee and Madam Kang left the mansion for a long period for the business. She was the eldest daughter in the household. 

"What did you mean that you are the one that keeps on hurting her?" Taehyung asked as he took a hold of Aera's lean shoulder. She pulled a bitter smile as her eyes remained on his brown eyes. The beautiful eyes that she never wants to give up on. The man who she fell in love with at the first sight. The man that appeared in her dreams and gives her hope. She knew all along that the prince and Bada had been exchanging letters regularly but when she saw him at the graduation party, she let her guard down and fell in love with the man.

How fate plays its part when she accidentally meets the prince in the forest where she usually rides her horse.  That was the time she decided not to let the prince go. That was why she was eager to go to the royal ball. With the help of a fairy godmother, she could escape the mansion and go to the ball. She didn't care how much Bada love the man and their past. Aera wants the prince to herself. Taehyung touched Aera's cheek when she keep on staring at him without talking at all. "If that is what you want, I'll make Bada as your personal maid. But promise me, never let her abuse you," Taehyung smiled and pulled the girl into a tight hug.

"What are you guys doing?" Bada yelled when she arrived at her room. A few maids were packing her stuff and moving it out of her room. "What is this?" Bada snatched her clothing chest from one of the maids. Is this some trick by the royal chef again? "I'm going to break your wrist you touch my things!" Bada coldly stated as she snatched her belongings and placed them back in her room. 

"The crown prince is allocating you to serve the princess," The head of the maid come into her room with an angry face after the other maids told her about Bada's reaction. Bada shook her head as she sat down on her bed. She will not go anywhere. She was willing to stay in the kitchen rather than looking at the crown prince's face. She was not willing to look at Taehyung face as he look down at her like she was the most villainous person he ever met. How his eyes always observed her in a condescending way irritated her and that will increase her chance for to be sliced again. 

"I'm not going. I like it here," Bada cross her arm as she sat on her bed. Suddenly all the maids that came into her room bow their heads as they spot a figure coming to the room. The crown prince himself came to the maid quarters. It was such a rare occasion to happen but none of the maids' questions his action. "Good evening, your highness," All the maids including Bada stood up and bend their knees as they bow to the prince of the kingdom. 

"Why is she still here?" Taehyung asked as his gaze fell on Bada's belongings that were still in the tiny room. The head of the palace maid bowed her head again. "I'm sorry your highness, but Miss Kang did not cooperate with us," She said in fear of making the crown prince upset. Taehyung scoffed as he divert his gaze to Kang Bada. Never, in his life, a maid refuses to abide by his instruction. Taehyung inhaled sharply before calling Bada out of the room and follow him. 

"Don't you think that you're being too much?" Taehyung gritted his teeth in anger when both of them reach an empty space.  Bada kept her head low. She was well aware the disobeying the royals instruction may lead to punishment but she never thought that Taehyung will be here talking to her. She was in no position to even talk to someone like the crown prince. "Your highness, I don't think it is a good idea for me to be with Lady Aera," Bada replied in a polite manner, like how a palace maid is supposed to talk to the nobles. 

"But that is what she wants!" Taehyung yelled in anger as he can tell that Bada was not going to obey his instruction that easily. Bada sighed as she lift her head to look into Taehyung's eyes. "Did you forgot what kind of woman I am? I am the villainess that abuses her own step sister. You never heard of that huh, your highness?" Bada said in her stern voice. She could tell what was going to happen to her if she is together with Aera. Taehyung fell in complete silence as his eyes look into Bada's clear round eyes. The girl that was standing in front of him was no longer the lovely girl that he hang out with two years ago. 

"My instructions are absolute orders. A maid like you are obligated to obey my order if you want to live," Taehyung hissed before he disappear from the quarters' hallway. Bada turns her head in the direction of her room. She was just about to get comfortable with her new room but now she needs to move. As Bada was about to walk forward, a dark figure was seen approaching from her back. In a quick reflex, she turn around and put her hand up in a defensive mode. 

"Never talk to the prince in that manner again," Duke Jeon stated in his ice-cold voice that causes the hair around her neck to rise up. "Even though you are my favourite person, I cannot let you disrespect the prince of the kingdom," He added as he reduce the distance between him and the lady. Bada and Jungkook exchanged some confused stares for a couple of seconds before the Duke make his way. Bada sighed as his silhouette walk away from her. She didn't realise that she was holding her breath.

Three months later..., 

"I never see your sister around," Taehyung asked as he sat on the sofa in the crown princess room to enjoy his tea. Aera smiled as she pour the tea for the crown prince. She made a promise to Bada to allow her to rest when the Prince is visiting the room. Aera tilted her head to look at the handsome face in front of her. "Your highness, I am the one you should see not my sister." She replied as if she was sulking.  

"You know that was not what I mean," Taehyung chuckled as he pinched her flawless cheek. How can someone be as lovely as Lee Aera? His smile got wider as he stare at her beautiful face. "Are you happy after you make Bada your personal maid?" He probed. Aera nodded her head with a huge smile. Having Bada around her make her feels more comfortable even though Bada remains cold like her usual self. Bada was the only person that treated her coldly. Aera was comfortable having someone who was being true to her without masking her real emotion. 

"Your Highness!!! The North Kingdom is threatening us!" Their conversation was interrupted when Taehyung's assistant barged into the room. He looks terrified but he needs to deliver the news to the crown prince. "What?" Taehyung stood up from the sofa.