The suite had a reception room, a sunroom connected to a large terrace, a master bedroom, three additional bedrooms, a gym, a large study, a walk-in closet, and four bathrooms, with the master bathroom featuring a high-grade system. The basement and backyard each had pools, including a temperature-controlled indoor pool.
Wilhelmina was unaware of these luxuries, taking a bath with her maid’s assistance before falling asleep on the large bed.
Hans Borg had no time to rest. During afternoon tea, he received his transfer order to the Court Internal Affairs Secretary’s Office, becoming Wilhelmina Princess’s secretary. While his young master slept, he went to the Secretariat to meet his new superior and colleagues and quickly familiarize himself with his job.
His promotion caused envy among colleagues, as such good fortune was rare. Hans accepted their congratulations with humility. At just twenty-two, he demonstrated maturity beyond his years, acknowledging that while he had hoped for this day, he wouldn’t be easily overwhelmed by his new role.
The Hans Borge family was a middle-ranking military household, not of nobility. Although his grandfather had military merits, his father never held an official position in the capital. Yet, young Owen exceeded expectations by achieving this role.
In the General Affairs Office, he was an unremarkable low-ranking official until he received the imperial order to escort Miss Wilhelmina, an orphaned princess without family connections. Given the ongoing mid-year assessment, colleagues showed little interest in escorting a delicate young girl.
If she had been as beautiful as Princess Annabelle, opinions might have changed. So, Hans Borge took on the task amidst jokes about being a “stellar nanny,” boarded the spacecraft, and arrived at the remote planet.
The journey proved pleasant. Wilhelmina was intelligent and well-mannered, with few demands beyond her dislike for olives and her preference for the sixth children’s channel of the Monslanka TV station. Hans Borge initially viewed this as a simple assignment until he met the Emperor and was appointed as the Internal Secretary.
He understood that his glory today was built upon that doll-like little girl. From this day forward, their interests would be intertwined.
Shared glory, shared loss, inseparable.
