202 Unruly

She wanted to see just how long it would take for him to turn around and reveal himself. So Sylvy waited as patiently as she could. It was not until they entered the final hallway towards her quarters that he finally spoke up. 

"How was your day, my King?" he asked. 

She only saw his back view, but she could hear the grin in his voice. Sylvy looked around to ensure that no one was around them before she replied. 

"It's been a pretty awful day."

Finally, he turned around and looked her directly in the eye. A normal guard would never have dared to do so. But Ramas was different. He was never a guard to begin with either. His jet black hair matched his tanned skin tone and the light leather armour he wore matched his body build perfectly. 

She could tell from his expression that he had heard everything that happened in the study room. From the corner of the hallway, they noticed through the shadows cast by those who walked that there were people coming in their direction. 

Immediately, the both of them resumed their previous stances, Sylvy walking alone behind her lone royal guard. From the opposite side, a small group of noble women came towards them. As soon as they saw the King, all of them bowed in respect and greeted her. 

After exchanging a few words of pleasantries, they parted ways with the noble women and continued their way back to the King's quarters. When they were finally alone again, Ramas turned back to face her. 

"I'm assuming you heard everything." Sylvy declared with a sigh.

"I wanted to punch him in the face so bad," he replied swiftly with a grin. 

Sylvy chuckled, "Don't say that! That's so…."

"So?"

"So…"

"Unruly?" he replied. 

Sylvy rolled her eyes. 

Once at the door, Ramas pushed it open and walked in ahead of her. 

"Hey!" she called out as she hit him gently on the shoulder. 

"What?" he chuckled as he held the door open for her. 

"Don't you know that the King needs to enter the room first?" she said as she walked in after him. 

Ramas simply shrugged his shoulders playfully as Sylvy shook her head. It was easy for him to ignore the rules since he was not from around here. She walked over to her dressing table and removed her earrings. 

Ramas, on the other hand, explored the extensive space that he was in. After all, you don't get to see the inside of the King's Quarters every day. Unlike most of those who had come before her, Sylvy kept her living quarters decor to be simplistic and elegant. 

Seeing him wander around like a lost sheep in her room made her chuckle. She could see his reflection through her dressing table mirror. 

"Shouldn't you be returning me my pin now?" Sylvy said nonchalantly as she removed the hairpins on her braid. 

He walked over to her and removed the pin on his collar with a frown. 

She rolled her eyes as she turned to look at him, "What need do you have for a flower pin?" 

Ramas pretended to be offended by the statement for a moment with his over the top facial expressions. In a serious tone of voice, he said, "I need it to meet you."

He gave the cheesiest smile he could muster, sending Sylvy into stitches. Seeing her laugh and smile again brought him joy too as he joined in the laughter. 

"So, have I earned the right to keep it?" he asked. 

Sylvy pretended to be deep in thought for a while. She stood up from her seat and walked over to him, giving him the false illusion that she was not going to take it back. Then, at the very last second, she swiped it out of his hand. 

"Nope, it does not," she replied with a grin. 

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Both of them looked at each other with a sense of dread. Ramas looked around the room. He walked over to the window and hid behind the curtains. 

Sylvy called out, "Who is it?"

"It's Tinee, your Majesty. The kitchen has brought up your dinner," Tinee's voice rang through the closed door. 

After making sure that Ramas was hidden from view, Sylvy walked over and sat back down at her dressing table. 

"Come in," she called out. 

The door to her room opened and in walked Tinee with two kitchen helpers who each pushed in a trolley. They went over to the dining table and set up the table swiftly with the food and cutlery they had brought in with them. 

Once everything was displayed in order, Tinee dismissed the kitchen staff. They bowed respectfully and left the room immediately. As soon as the door closed, Sylvy heaved a sigh of relief. Tinee walked over to Sylvy and brought her to the table. 

There was a huge spread of food on the table, which was a tradition for a King's dinner. She herself had never been able to finish every item off the table. 

-I don't think anyone could finish all of it.- she thought to herself. 

As Sylvy picked up her cutlery and got ready to begin her meal, she caught herself attempting to look away towards the curtains. To avoid any suspicion, she stopped herself in the nick of time. But Tinee was not easily fooled either. 

"How long more is he going to hide behind the curtains, my King?" Tinee asked with a straight face. 

Sylvy let out a sigh as she took a bite of her food and began to chew. Nothing could escape her lady-in-waiting. This was also the reason why Sylvy picked Tinee. She had only been allowed to take one person with her, and Tinee was the best candidate. 

"I don't know what you're talking about. Who's hiding?" Sylvy played dumb.