(MC POV)
"You are Lu… I mean… Her Majesty's personal maid yes?"
"That is correct."
"And you are supposed to serve her at all times, yes?"
"That is also correct."
"So… Why is miss Rina here with me right now?"
The maid that I just 'recently' learned the name of looked at me with a face of scorn, "As much as I wish to be by her most gracious Majesty's side, she has ordered me to take care of you. And thus that is what I shall do."
In my previous life, Rina had always stuck by the Matriarch's side as her personal maid.
And by personal maid, I meant bodyguard, secretary, spokesperson, assassin, chef, confidant, spy and several other professions that were way beyond the job scope of just being a personal maid.
Because of the Matriarch's apparent aversion in speaking to men, Rina would usually be the one to speak to them on her behalf.
Even back in my previous life, Rina would be the one to speak to me instead of Luna herself as much as possible.
There were some people who claimed that the two of them shared a psychic connection, a claim that I could easily believe to be true.
In any case, that maid is now stuck in the dining room with me.
Luna had one-sidedly believed that I was starving and immediately ordered the chefs to cook up something for me without giving me the chance to refuse.
I was then quite literally dragged by the guards to the dining room and dumped on a chair, leaving me and Rina inside the room while Luna was "preparing herself".
"You know… You can just leave me here alone and go back to her majesty's side, you know?" I suggested.
"Absolutely not. Her most gracious Majesty has given me an order and I will follow it to my dying breath before even thinking about disobeying it."
Right… This girl probably has a few screws loose too.
"Yes but… Maybe you can… You know? Not stand directly beside me while glaring at me? It makes it hard for me to eat…"
"Her most gracious Majesty told me to look after you. In case you want to try and commit suicide through choking yourself, I can be here to stop you."
"Umm… I don't have any plans to do that though…"
"Then my presence here shouldn't matter."
"You are making me feel uneasy."
"I fail to see how that is my problem."
Ugh, this girl. I forgot how irritating it was to talk to her since she literally thinks anyone besides her mistress is beneath her notice.
No doubt she must be feeling quite vexed now when she was ordered to watch over someone else instead.
To be honest, the real problem isn't her but Xun Guan who has been on 'defensive mode' all this while. My slime girl had solidified herself into armour which made it quite difficult for me to move in.
Not impossible, but with my weakened self it was like having weights attached to your limbs the entire time.
Despite me trying to assure her that it was alright, Xun Guan seemed to not trust Rina at all.
So here I was stuck in this predicament with no way out until the door to the dining room was thrown open suddenly, revealing Luna grinning behind it.
Instead of the royal dress that she wore before befitting a queen, she was wearing a turquoise lounge dress that had two slits at the sides to show off her legs and the collar low enough that her entire cleavage was visible.
She smiled at us, "Hello Rina, I hope everything is alright?"
The maid bowed her head, "Of course, your Majesty. I made sure to properly watch over him as you had instructed."
"That's good, very good."
The Matriarch took the seat beside me and Rina immediately went to her side, moving with absolute efficiency to set up the table for her mistress. In the blink of an eye, a tea set with pastries appeared in front of her.
Now I had another problem on my hands in the form of this woman who was looking at me with eyes filled with adoration.
I had already braced myself the moment I saw her open her mouth.
"How is the food? It's not too bland is it? I was worried that it might not suit your tastes but I think Rina is a competent enough cook. If there's anything wrong please let me know and I will definitely rectify it. Are you thirsty? Do you want to drink something? Or are you tired? Maybe you want me to feed you? I don't mind that at all you know? After all, we're engaged now so please don't hold yourself back! Ah! How careless of me! Do you have anything you don't like to eat? I'll make sure to remove anything you don't like from the kitchens entirely."
Even Rina was taken aback by her behaviour, the maid stumbling for a moment before catching herself at the last moment. She sent an accusing glare at my direction which I chose to ignore.
I sucked in a breath, "The food is good, there is nothing else I wish for. Although I am a little tired because of everything that has happened today, I wish to ask if I may have somewhere to rest myself after this?"
"Oh, of course! Such a simple thing like that is no problem at all! Would you like a bath as well? Maybe a massage? How about some tea first? A sleep mask perhaps? Ah! I can get a group of musicians here to play some soothing music for you too. I am quite confident of my singing abilities too, so shall I sing you a lullaby? Or maybe a lap pillow would suffice?"
Seriously, all I want is just a room to myself to collect my thoughts and figure out how to get away from you. Get the hint woman!
Of course I can't say that out loud.
"That's not necessary. I just need a quiet room to myself to let me collect my thoughts. I'm just a little bit overwhelmed by what has happened so far."
"Of course, of course! Rina, show my dear to the main guest room please."
"As you command, your Majesty."
I followed the maid out of the dining room, rounding a few corners before the girl turned around to glare at me with a face full of hate.
"What did you do to her?!" She demanded, brandishing a knife out of nowhere.
I raised my hands, "I didn't do anything, she's the one that proposed to me!"
That news shocked her enough to drop her knife, missing my foot by inches.
"You… You're the one… She picked?"
"Picked? I'm not sure I know what you're talking about?"
She ignored my question and looked me up and down, as though properly seeing me for the first time.
"I see… She picked you… If that is what her most gracious Majesty has chosen, I will not question it. Please follow me, Master."
That is… A very quick change of attitude from her, even I'm impressed.
Now I just need to get to that room and sneak my way out of here…
