Rustle, rustle.
The bed in Youlin Courtyard was truly excellent, and Lian slept like a log.
But no matter how deeply he slept, the keen senses honed by countless nights camping in the wild during his long travels instantly alerted him to movement nearby, waking him in an instant.
“Who’s there!”
He shot up from the bed, reaching for the weapon he kept at his side, ready to leap up—
Ah, right, he no longer needed to reach for a sword. That was the reward of his battles.
The most precious treasure among those rewards was his wife, Meliya, who would always take his arm as she lay beside him, gently loosening his stiff fingers and telling him that everything was over now—it had always been that way.
“To see you so full of life truly gladdens me. But isn’t your way of greeting the morning a bit too enthusiastic?”
A-always been that way?
Lian looked down and found himself clutching the arm of a Maid who had been toppled onto the bed.
The Maid’s hair, as smooth and fine as silver silk, fanned out across the sheets.
“When do you plan to let go of me?”
Her expression was calm, a pair of blue, sea-like eyes fixed steadily on Lian.
“H-Head Maid?! Wh-what are you doing in my room?”
Lian, startled, hastily let go of Feiyin’s hand and scrambled to the other side of the bed.
“I’ve come to wake you,” Feiyin said, unhurriedly sitting up from the bed.
The sound that had awakened Lian seemed to be the noise of her drawing up the bed canopy.
She twisted up her loose hair, and in the blink of an eye, returned to the perfect Maid’s composure she had previously shown Lian.
She swept a quick glance at Lian, now cowering and trembling on the other side of the big bed, and frowned slightly:
“Do you not change your clothes before sleeping? That’s a bad habit. Not only does it hinder your physical development, but for those who toss and turn in their sleep, it’s easy to wrinkle your clothes.”
“That’s just how I was raised back home!”
Of course, Lian wouldn’t admit that he was too embarrassed by his changed body to change clothes. But right now, what he cared more about was—why had the Head Maid come to wake him personally?
Even if everyone in Honglian Palace had mistaken him for the daughter of the Hero, hadn’t that yet to be confirmed?
That’s why he was still holding the position of a Maid, for now… But the woman before him was the supervisor of hundreds of Maids throughout the inner palace!
Could it be that she offered this kind of special, overwhelming service to every newcomer?
“I thought you’d be quite busy!”
“I am, yes. But waking you, and helping you become familiar with your duties here in the palace, are also part of my work for today.”
Feiyin gave him a slight curtsey, then swiftly scanned Lian’s messy hair and still sleepy eyes:
“Do you need me to assist you with washing up and changing?”
“No, thank you! Please wait for me outside!”
…
……
…………
After much pleading and persuasion, Lian finally managed to get Feiyin to leave the room.
But as soon as he stood before the dressing table, he was at a loss.
“What is this… perfume? It smells so strong…”
He rummaged through the dressing table drawers like a headless fly.
Inside were all sorts of things he’d once thought he’d never have a chance to touch in his life—hairpins, necklaces, earrings, rouge, and fragrant powders.
He had almost never given Meliya gifts like these, because she didn’t like them.
And besides, Lian thought she was beautiful enough without any adornment at all.
But that had nothing to do with his current predicament.
How was he supposed to fix this dusty, bedraggled appearance of his?
Just combing his hair wouldn’t be enough.
The face reflected in the glass was a far cry from those radiant, well-mannered Maids he had seen during his tour of the inner palace yesterday.
Should I just call Feiyin back in?
After a fierce inner struggle, Lian made his decision—
“I’ll just wash up, that’s enough.”
“Unacceptable.”
He had barely stepped out the door before Feiyin, waiting outside, sent him straight back to the dressing table.
“You plan to appear in public in clothes this wrinkled? And your taste in hair accessories, not to mention your careless approach to hair-styling, is truly astonishing.”
Of course, Lian was no expert at personal grooming.
The last time he had dressed up properly was at the victory ceremony held for him in the Imperial Capital.
Besides, his hair had never been this long before, so he just randomly picked a pink hair ribbon from the drawer, tied his troublesome hair up, and gave it a haphazard comb, leaving it messy and sticking out everywhere.
“Uh… I think it looks fine?”
“Absolutely not. While your face does suit this sort of simple, bold hairstyle, you chose a cherry-pink ribbon for your hair. Forgive me for saying so—but it’s as ridiculous as a big man forcing himself into women’s clothes.”
Even as she delivered this merciless critique, Feiyin’s face showed not a hint of emotion.
On the contrary, Lian was chilled to the bone by her spot-on analogy.
“And to think you just wrapped the ribbon around twice and called it done. Allow me to demonstrate how a stylish and gallant lady dresses these days.”
A stylish and gallant lady? I’m supposed to be a Maid, aren’t I?
While Lian was still confused, Feiyin had already come up behind him and was retying his hair.
She picked a clean white ribbon and tied it into a beautiful bow.
Then, with a comb, she smoothed out all the tufts and split ends that Lian hadn’t even noticed, gathering the hair into a long, sleek ponytail.
As the comb slid through his hair, Lian felt a strange sensation as if his hair were soaked in warm water and then caressed by a gentle breeze.
Peeking in the mirror, he noticed Feiyin’s hand on the comb glowing with soft red and blue light—that was the manifestation of water and flame attributes when spells were cast.
For those able to sense magic, conjuring a bit of water or flame was nothing difficult.
But to precisely control the temperature of the water and fire—or to raise the temperature without conjuring actual flames… Only the highly skilled could manage that.
Drying hair without burning it required an extraordinary command of magic and keen perception.
Anyone with such ability could easily hold an official post in the Mage Corps of the royal army.
Lian had never thought Feiyin was an ordinary Maid from the moment he first saw her, but now it seemed she exceeded his expectations by far.
“All done. You have a good foundation, and your complexion is very healthy. In fact, it’s better if you don’t use any powder or makeup.”
Feiyin’s words interrupted his thoughts. Lian stared blankly at the girl in the mirror: the once-tousled black hair now gleamed and shone like silk, the ponytail straight and smooth… He looked at least ten times better than before.
“Thank you…”
Gazing at his radiant reflection, Lian gave Feiyin a complicated word of thanks—
“Next, please change your clothes,” Feiyin said as she opened the chest at the foot of the bed and took out a neatly folded Maid uniform. “Shall I help you change?”
“No! …But could you talk me through it from outside?”
Staring at the Maid uniform’s cinched waist and matching undergarments, Lian made his request in a resigned tone.