“What did you say?”
Milin was about to heat the water in the pot… but the news from Alvin nearly made her drop the teapot.
“This Miss Lian is a companion of Miss Iyue. As you have heard, she is currently under house arrest by my royal sister, the Queen of the Tree Sea, in the upper palace.”
“Wait, I’m a bit confused… I heard from Sister Iyue that she was taken to the palace, but house arrest…!”
She lost all interest in entertaining guests. She shot up from her seat and approached Alvin.
“What exactly is going on? Can you please tell me?”
…
…
Alvin certainly had no intention of provoking Milin’s ire… because even when he revealed his identity to her, he also explained his relationship with his daughter.
“Tell her that I am doing well. But never mention that I am the Hero… that I am her father. She will explode if she hears that. Because she mistook her sister for the Hero, she put her under house arrest… so does that mean your sister also likes that person to death? I can’t understand what’s so likable about that person.”
“Your understanding is correct.”
Seeing the disgust in Milin’s eyes, Alvin was slightly stunned. He then realized that the issues within the Hero’s family might be more complicated than he imagined.
“Forget about that. Is Sister Lian okay? Since you just came back from the palace, you must know her situation!”
“She is currently in a bedchamber in the palace. She is heavily guarded by my sister’s personal guards and the Imperial Guard. She is not allowed to step out of the area around the bedchamber.”
This was not an exaggeration, nor did it reveal the whole truth.
To increase the girl’s sense of urgency, he deliberately concealed the fact that the Hero was being treated well in the palace.
“How can this be…? What does that Queen intend to do to her? Is she planning to lock her in the palace and then every night do XX, or OO, XO…?”
“I think it’s highly possible… No, what are you saying?”
Alvin was nearly fainting from the words he heard. He had no idea how the girl’s mind jumped to such strange places.
“That’s how it is in the novels I read! In that book, a queen of a Western country showed love to a foreign knight… The knight did not comply, so the queen tried every means to approach him, and finally sent people to kidnap him to her palace, forcing him to do unspeakable things every night until he submitted—”
“My sister is not that kind of person. Also, you should probably read fewer of those novels.”
“Anyway, for Sister Lian’s chastity, I’m going to the palace right now to bring her out… Can you help me?”
“But the audience ceremony is imminent; this might not be appropriate—”
This was exactly what Alvin wanted. But to avoid arousing suspicion, he pretended to dissuade her.
“I can’t wait until then… Even if you don’t help me, I’ll go anyway!”
“Sigh. Then you must promise to follow all my arrangements once inside the palace.”
Milin slammed the table and stood up. Alvin pretended to be reluctantly agreeing to her request.
…
…
One day before the audience ceremony.
The first light of dawn… but Lian had been awake for a while. As soon as she woke up, she stared at the communication seeker on her wrist.
‘How strange. By now, the message should have reached Meliya, right? Could something have happened…’
‘Without magic power, everything is inconvenient. Should I ask Senia to inject magic power? No, it’s better not to provoke her now… Those maids seem to know spells too; asking them might be better.’
While thinking this, Lian got up to wash up. The palace maids were supposed to attend to her morning preparations… but her strong protests won her a bit of private space.
“Ugh… this flimsy clothes.”
The clothes she wore were sent for washing last night, so she could only wear the change of clothes left on the shelf.
This outfit was made of fine silk, soft and smooth to the touch… but the problem was that the amount of fabric was not very generous.
*
‘…Is this really not a swimsuit?’
Since becoming a girl, Lian had avoided wearing such revealing clothes… but now she had no other choice.
“Good morning, Miss Lian. You look radiant today.”
“G-good morning…”
Just as she put on the clothes, suppressing her embarrassment, the maids knocked on the door of her bedchamber.
They excitedly came in to help her tie up her hair, then led her to the dining table in the bedchamber.
“Please wait a moment. We’ll serve breakfast shortly.”
The head maid clapped her hands, and her subordinates busily began setting the table and preparing breakfast.
“Um… are we eating here today?”
“Yes. Do you have anything in particular you’d like to eat?”
“No, nothing. I was asking where Her Majesty is.”
“Ah, Her Majesty left the palace early this morning. I heard from the knights that she might not return until evening. Do you miss her?”
“Not at all.”
Senia hadn’t come to invite her to lunch like yesterday.
Lian didn’t have any special feelings for her as the maids teased— If she could talk with her more, maybe she could help unravel her heart… She did feel a bit regretful.
Judging from the fact that she still kept her “protected” in the palace, she probably hadn’t fully come around.
But Lian believed in her promises: that she would investigate the Demon Race and send people to search for the relic.
“Don’t worry. Have some fruit? These are freshly picked from the orchard, very sweet.”
While she was thinking, the maids had already placed a fruit platter on the table.
The head maid saw her deep in thought, covered her mouth and chuckled… then she used a fork to pick up a slice of orange and brought it to Lian’s lips.
“Thank you… but I can do it myself.”
“We’ve been serving you for two days, but you’re still so reserved. If Her Majesty finds out, she’ll think there’s something wrong with our hospitality…”
“O-okay, I’ll eat it! Please don’t make that face!”
Lian had a big weakness: whenever a girl showed a sad expression, her heart would soften.
So even though the head maid’s smiling face was clearly fake, Lian complied and accepted the feeding—
“Mmm… it’s really sweet! Fruits from the Tree Sea are indeed different from others.”
Chewing the orange, the juice exploded in her mouth— this sweet taste could make anyone smile with happiness, and Lian was no exception.
Her expression relaxed, and her body unconsciously leaned back against the chair.
“Try this too!”
“Me too! These are grapes I just picked from the orchard…”
…
“Let me massage your shoulders! The palace bed is too soft; I thought the sheets were a bit thin.”
Seeing the head maid’s triumphant smile, the other maids eagerly crowded around.
They fed her, massaged her shoulders, rubbed her legs, taking care of her every need.
“Mmm… everyone is so enthusiastic. But I can do some things myself…”
In the end, Lian maintained an awkward smile throughout breakfast.
After a while, the maids cleared the plates, and only one maid remained in front of Lian.
This maid, with a gentle face, helplessly offered the last piece of apple to her lips.
Lian said “No need,” but still obediently took a bite as before.
“You’re living quite comfortably, Sister Lian.”
‘Sister’… that’s too intimate… Huh?
The familiar address and voice finally jolted Lian awake.
She reflexively straightened up and stared wide-eyed at the maid in front of her—
This maid indeed had used a lace headdress to hide her hair and a hat to cover her face.
But beneath the headdress, a few strands of red hair could be seen; and under the veil, those crow-like silver eyes sparkled with a barely concealed disdain.
“Mi… Milin… how are you here?”
The father, stared at by his daughter’s contemptuous eyes, fell into complete panic.