In the early morning, an Earth Dragon Cart, fully loaded, stopped at the main gate of the Castle.
During the autumn harvest season, the nearby orchards supplied the Royal Family with a large amount of high-quality fallen fruit to meet their dining and enjoyment needs.
Sista showed little interest in the other fruits but specifically instructed someone to leave some oranges from the cart, then handed them over to Su Ling to clean and sort as an option for this afternoon’s tea.
So, after noon, Su Ling leaned against the old staircase, holding a long-handled pair of pruning shears, carefully trimming the leaves on the stems of the oranges in the basin at her feet.
Recalling, Phil had previously taught her how to prepare afternoon tea for the Royal Family.
“Pull off the leaves from the washed fruit, then put them in the crystal bowl, and bring it over to Her Highness’ table!” Su Ling remembered how Phil had gestured to her by the same staircase, looking every bit the teacher.
“Ah… don’t I need to peel off the skin?” Su Ling looked at the haphazardly placed fruit in the basin, feeling an inexplicable sense of disharmony.
“Huh? You don’t trust what I say? I said it’s fine, so it’s fine. You came to me for training as a maid, if you don’t trust me, then don’t bother learning!” Phil pouted and rolled her eyes at Su Ling.
“But…” Su Ling hesitated awkwardly, clutching the glass crystal bowl for a moment.
“Really going to leave this task to Sista? No… maybe Phil was just mistaken somewhere.”
But since Phil had taken the time out of her busy schedule at the Castle Attendant Training System to teach her, if Su Ling pointed out her mistake directly, Phil might feel too offended.
Su Ling pondered how to express herself tactfully, but after much thought, she decided it was better to pretend she didn’t know.
She looked up and gave Phil a bright smile.
“Sista, Phil, I trust you very much. Thank you for telling me so much.”
She thought to herself, I’ll redo the fruit preparation later first, I have to thank Phil, so I don’t make her unhappy again.
Carrying the fruit, Su Ling was about to walk toward Sista’s resting tea room.
“Wait, wait!”
Just as she was about to leave, Phil grabbed her hand. Su Ling turned around in surprise, only to see Phil biting her lips, looking displeased.
“Dummy, are you really going to hand this over to Her Highness like that? That was only a test for you just now!” She snatched the basin from Su Ling’s hands. “Tch, whatever! Come here, I’ll help you handle it! Just this once.”
The cat-eared girl turned her back and, without waiting for Su Ling’s response, began to busily work on the fruit herself.
Unconsciously, so much time had passed…
Su Ling snapped back to reality, picking up a plum and putting it down, then picking up another.
“This one is too green, not ripe yet. This one is flat in shape, not juicy enough. The best oranges are round and plump…”
Her gaze wandered among the lush green leaves, occasionally resting on the fruits. After quite some time of busy work, all the fruit was finally processed.
“Time’s about right. Let’s deliver this to Sista.”
The sun was beginning to tilt westward. She carried the fruit basket, weaving past the walls covered in green vines, heading toward the Oak Swing near the fountain.
Before she reached the swing, a melodious tune floated from ahead, soft and lingering, sweet to the ears yet carrying a faint sorrow.
Following the sound forward, water droplets from the fountain fell as she caught sight of Sista’s figure.
She still plays the flute? Su Ling was a little surprised.
Such a sorrowful melody, not quite like Sista’s usual style.
Getting closer, she saw the black-haired Blood Princess sitting on the Oak Swing, knees together, fingertips holding a vertical flute, eyes half-closed in concentration as she played.
Today, she wore a Moonlight Dress—a high-waisted gown with layered lotus edges at the hem, giving her figure a delicate and ethereal appearance.
Su Ling took a few careful steps closer, hesitating whether to interrupt when the lingering melody suddenly stopped.
“Her Highness, you said this afternoon’s tea only needs oranges, so I brought them over,” Su Ling presented the fruit basket, then placed a small leaf-shaped butterfly ornament from inside onto the small table beside the swing. “I’m about to start preparing for you now…”
“Sit down.”
The command from Sista was firm.
“Huh?”
Su Ling’s hands froze halfway through picking up a fruit.
“I told you to sit down, didn’t you hear?”
Su Ling looked around. There were no other seats nearby except the swing in front of her.
The swing could fit two people sitting side by side. Right now, Sista was sitting on the left side, with the right side still empty.
“You mean sit down… here?” She pointed to herself, then to the spot beside Sista.
“Otherwise? You want to sit on my lap?” Sista rolled her eyes at her.
“N-no, no, no! Nothing like that!” Su Ling hurriedly obeyed the order and sat down, back straight.
Come to think of it, is it really okay for a Royal Family member and a servant to sit on the same chair? She glanced around nervously. Luckily, no one else was watching.
Swallowing nervously, Su Ling said, “Then, Her Highness, shall I start peeling?”
She picked up a fruit and used a small knife to score the skin, but her wrist was immediately pressed down by Sista.
“Wait,” Sista stared at the fruit, “I don’t like sweet flavors, you haven’t forgotten, right? The fruits you brought are all orange-yellow, which should taste moderately sweet.”
Ah, no, how could I forget that? Su Ling suddenly remembered Sista’s picky and particular palate.
Sista had a special fondness for sour and bitter flavors; anything sweet was not favored, even the usual cakes and cream. She had instructed the chefs to add as little syrup and jam as possible.
“Forget it, you’ve already brought them. Let’s make do,” Sista turned her face away, withdrawing her hand.
“But you have to sort through them again. Taste each orange, pick out the sweet ones to take back with you, and leave me the sour and bitter ones.”
“I understand, Her Highness.”
Thank goodness, the Blood Princess gave her a chance to make amends. Su Ling settled onto the swing, placed the basket on the ground, and began peeling the fruit.
The sweetness and sourness within each orange segment should be fairly consistent, so if she wanted to pick out the sour ones, tasting one slice would be enough.
With this in mind, Su Ling carefully sliced open each fruit’s skin, cautiously picked out one segment to taste, closed her eyes to savor it, and then placed the rest into her own fruit bowl.
Focused entirely on sorting the oranges, Su Ling paid no attention to the burning gaze fixed on her face.
Sista’s shoulder lightly brushed against Su Ling’s. She stealthily turned her head, quietly observing the silver-haired girl beside her, her heart beating a little faster.
“So close…”
Indeed, when Su Ling was deeply focused on her work, she was oblivious to herself.
Knowing this, Sista had deliberately let Su Ling sit by her side to sort the fruit.
Normally, to observe her this closely, she could only wait until the service time; at other times, she would deliberately avoid Su Ling’s gaze.
Her eyes gradually found it impossible to leave Su Ling’s face, and her mind began to fill with endless fantasies.
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