CH 2

[Rashid’s POV]

“How’s she doing?”

Crown Prince’s escort, Sol, turned his head toward the owner of the voice.

Crown Prince Rashid was sitting on the sofa.

Shiny silver hair, mysterious purple eyes peeking out from under long silvery eyelashes.

However, unlike the unrealistically beautiful face, the body that could be seen under the loose white shirt was solid and full of vitality.

People would stare at the crown prince enchanted by the gap.

‘Although I, who grew up with him from the time we were breastfed, didn’t suffer any damage.’

Thinking so, Sol answered without hesitation about ‘that kid’.

There was only one thing that Rashid was interested in these days.

“Miss Siana is doing well. She is a little clumsy because she has no experience in labor, but she is diligent and smart, so she learns things quickly. It will take time to become an official maid since she is a foreigner.”

“I see.”

With his eyes down, Rashid looked somewhat regretful.

“Why do you care so much about her?”

“Well…… maybe it’s because I’m guilty. I’m the one who trampled on her country and killed her family.”

Sol looked at Rashid with an absurd face.

‘Since when did you care about that?’

To the best of his knowledge, Rashid was never the owner of such delicate sensibilities.

He who cuts people into pieces with a beautiful face like an angel.

Such ordinary feelings like guilt did not suit him at all.

“Your Highness, you and I are the only ones here anyway, so please be honest.”

“What?”

“Your Highness is naturally weak against those things. A small creature with big eyes and no fighting power.”

That’s right.

Rashid, called the blood prince, is actually a huge animal pervert… No, he was an animal lover.

As if to prove it, there were three animals by Rashid’s side even now.

“Stretch.”

At Rashid’s voice, a ferret (long-waisted weasel)* with pure white fur climbed over the owner’s body with a sound of “Kkyu!”

TL/N: This is in the raws.

“Nyam nyam.”

The chubby squirrel, who was munching hard on chestnuts in both hands, said, “Chi?” and tilted his head.

Rashid burst out laughing and called the last animal.

“Chirp chirp.”

With the flapping of its wings, a fluffy yellow bird came up above Rashid’s head.

Looking at Rashid smiling happily surrounded by animals, Sol thought.

‘It’s always a scene that makes me feel full whenever I see it.’

Rashid’s affection for animals wasn’t just petting them.

He even made homemade snacks by himself, cleaned up the poop, bathed them, and cared for them.

It was worth framing if those who feared the crown prince saw it.

Rashid smiled as he hugged the ferret burrowing into his arms.

“Now that I hear you, I see it. It looks a bit like her*.”

TL/N: I think he’s comparing Siana to the ferret LOL.

“… … .”

“That must be why I feel this way. I hope she becomes an official maid and is assigned to a good place.”

Sol let out a small groan.

Rashid’s wish was clear.

It means to look after Siana.

However, Sol did not intend to listen to the master’s words.

“Your Highness, you cannot make an apprentice maid whose abilities have not been verified into an official maid. You cannot entrust an incompetent person to the care of a dignified person. Don’t you think so too, Your Highness.”

Rashid hated those who couldn’t do their job.

No, I couldn’t forgive them, regardless of what I hated.

It was no different as a mere maid.

However, Rashid did not back down easily.

“You’re right. So why don’t you test her ability to see if she’s the right person to become a maid?”

“… … What do you mean?”

Rashid chuckled.

It was the smile of a cat that found an interesting toy.

* * *

[Siana’s POV]

Apprentice maids who had finished their daily routine were gathered in the shabby kitchen.

It was to have dinner.

The food served on the table was incomparably poor.

Slices of bread hardened from being made a long time ago, bland soup with almost no ingredients.

Chuchu said in a low voice.

“There’s no meat today either. If they do this, my forearms will really become as thin as tree branches.”

Unlike her, Siana had a very happy face.

‘I don’t have to think about how to eat or what kind of conversation to have.’

What a heavenly time, all you have to do is just have to eat as much as you want!

Siana bit into the crusty bread with a happy face.

A piercing voice came towards Siana.

“Maybe it’s because you came from a defeated country, do you eat this kind of garbage well?”

The person who dared to come and say unfortunate things was Jeanne.

Siana looked at Jeanne as she munched on the bread.

‘You were picking on me right?’

Is this the end? What else is there?

Seeing Siana, Jeanne’s face crumpled.

This is because Siana’s face was like a grandmother looking at a young grandchild who was acting cute.

‘There, there. Do it again.’

It seemed like she was saying this.

Jeanne didn’t like everything about Siana from head to toe, but that was what she hated the most.

Why is she so relaxed when she’s a foreign slave with no place to lean on?

Jeanne said in a scathing voice.

“You’re so funny. Do you think it’s cool to pretend to be okay like that?”

Chuchu, who was sitting next to Siana, twirled her fork around and replied.

“You’re so funny. Is it fun to poke a quiet kid?”

Jeanne’s face changed at once. Jeanne glared at Chuchu with a fierce look.

“Ha. I let you off the hook a few times, and you don’t even know your place. I guess you don’t understand the atmosphere because you only trust your size, but I’m the leader here!”

“The leader is a piece of shit. All you do every day is bully weak people.”

“What, are you done talking?”

“Yes, I said everything!”

Chuchu rolled up her sleeves as if she would run at Jeanne at any moment.

Her strong arms, forged through long hours of labor, were revealed menacingly.

Looking at the outside, the muscular Chuchu was a landslide victory, but Jeanne, who had several apprentice maids behind her back, also looked formidable.

‘Wow, it’s like a fight between a giant bear and a bunch of hyenas.’

Siana munched on the bread and watched the two women with interest.

But unfortunately, the duel ended there.

It was because the door opened and Lip, the lady-in-waiting who managed the apprentice maids, entered.

“What, this atmosphere. Are you fighting right now?”

“No!”

Jeanne and Chuchu fell at lightning speed and smiled awkwardly.

It looked suspicious to anyone, but Lip didn’t ask anymore.

Because she was always bothered by everything in the world. She brought up her words like a habit again.

“Don’t cause trouble.”

It doesn’t matter if you grab their hair or punch where they can’t see it.

Jeanne smiled like a fox and nodded, ‘Of course’.

Chuchu looked at Jeanne as if she was annoyed, and her nostrils widened in anger.

After confirming that the atmosphere had calmed down, Lip called the apprentice maids together.

Lip said, looking at the apprentice maids standing in line with their hands together.

“A sudden official notice came down from above. A tea party is going to be held in a few days, and the apprentice maids are to greet the guests who arrive at that time.”

The apprentice maids’ eyes widened at the unexpected words. It was the same with Siana.

‘What does that mean, suddenly?’

Apprentice maids did a lot of work, but they didn’t do things like waiting on guests.

It was a completely different level than cleaning and doing laundry in a corner.

You had to have strict etiquette and never make mistakes.

So, it was common for a maid with some experience among the official maids to greet guests.

‘You want me to do such a thing as an apprentice maid? Why the hell?’

Unlike Siana, who was puzzled, the eyes of the other apprentice maids were sparkling like children.

It was natural for them as they got to do what they had dreamed of.

Jeanne raised her hand with a flushed face and asked.

“What kind of guests are coming to the tea party?”

A lady from an elegant aristocratic family?

Or a beautiful princess from a neighboring country?

Either way was good.

However, Lip’s answer that followed was enough to calm Jeanne’s high expectations.

“Women who grow fruit for delivery to the imperial palace.”

“……what?”

“The fruit they’ve sent over the years is extremely delicious, so this is a place to congratulate them.”

A commoner, not an aristocrat. Among them, the farmer plowing the field.

A look of disappointment was evident on Jeanne’s face, who had expected to serve such a precious person.

‘Farmers are the ones who have come to serve. Why should I take care of those people?’

Then, she glanced at Siana and muttered in a low voice.

“It would be perfect for a kid like you. When else would you listen to such people?”

Siana thought, imagining flicking the forehead of nasty Jeanne with her finger.

‘The guests are farmers, so you are asking the apprentice maids to serve them. They should be grateful just for being invited to the palace, so there is no need for official maids to treat them kindly.’*

TL/N: This is Siana assuming what the higher-ups are thinking of, this is not what she thinks.

Only then did I understand.

Although it was still a little suspicious.

* * *

The next day, Lip, after gathering the apprentice maids, said with a heartless face.

“From today, I will teach you how to serve guests.  No matter how apprentice maids are, they are the maids of the imperial palace. Learn it properly so you don’t harm the honor of the imperial family.”

It was advice for not causing circumstances to be blamed for.

The apprentice maids answered with sparkling eyes.

“Yes!”

Their faces were filled with unprecedented vitality.

They couldn’t help but be happy to learn such a maid-like job after spending a lot of time sweeping feverishly with the broom every day.

However, passion and skills were not always proportional.

“Chuchu, how many times did I tell you? I told you that when pouring tea into a guest’s cup, you shouldn’t splash tea drops.”

Chuchu’s broad shoulders shrank at Lip’s voice.

“Sor, I’m sorry!”

Seeing this, Jeanne and the other apprentice maids giggled.

Jeanne raised a corner of her mouth and said.

“Oh my gosh, that muscle idiot. Well, you’ve never had tea before. The only thing you’ve ever drank in your life is the beer that miners drink, so there’s no way you can do it properly.”

Jeanne laughed and poured tea into her teacup proudly.

The figure was quite skillful.

Even Lip nodded.

“That’s pretty good.”

At Lip’s praise, Jeanne’s nose went up.

“Hoho, this is nothing.”

Before entering the castle, Jeanne called in a famous etiquette teacher from the capital for tutoring.

‘It was just in preparation for a time like this. I’m not one to be an apprentice maid. I’m going to become the maid of honor to serve Her Majesty the Empress.’

Jeanne poured tea into the rest of the teacups with her shoulders raised to the fullest.

Other apprentice maids clapped at her skillful appearance.

“Amazing, Jeanne.”

“You don’t seem like a person to learn it for the first time today.”

From Siana’s perspective, Jeanne’s pouring of tea was not bad.

‘At the level of a commoner to a certain extent.’

Siana recalled tea parties held by the royal family every afternoon.

In order not to offend the fussy new queen, the maids carefully served tea.

More graceful than any noble lady, yet still as quiet as the air.

Compared to the maids at that time, Jeanne’s gestures now were clumsy.

The same was true of the movements of the maids who taught the apprentice maids.

But Siana didn’t particularly point that out.

‘The opponents are farmers, not royalty, so that should be enough.’

Above all, I didn’t want to stand out because I acted unnecessarily.

Siana’s goal was to stay in the palace for a long time.

So, Siana poured tea only as much as she had learned.

A bit clumsy and rough.

* * *

The training was conducted only in the morning hours.

It was because the work of apprentice maids was not leisurely enough to take only classes.

The apprentice maids were called to places where help was needed as soon as training was over.

Siana helped with the kitchen work with Chuchu.

It was getting dark before I knew it as I was washing dishes piled up to the ceiling and peeling potatoes in a basket.

“You worked hard today too.”

The kitchen maid brought pieces of crispy baked bread to Siana and Chuchu as they left the kitchen.

It was a snack made from leftover bread, and it was a delicacy for apprentice maids who were hungry every day.

‘This is why I work in the kitchen.’

Siana smiled and bit off a piece of bread.

But Chuchu’s condition was strange.

Normally, she would have eaten with all kinds of exclamations, saying, “Oh my, delicious!” but it was very quiet today.

After a while, Chuchu opened her mouth with a downcast face.

“Siana, can you do what you’ve learned from the maids? I mean serving guests.”

“Yeah. I didn’t get in big trouble.”

“I envy you.”

Only then did Siana realize why Chuchu was in this state.

Chuchu was scolded several times for not doing what she was taught properly.

It was the first hardship for Chuchu, who had been recognized for her good work so far.

Chuchu said, crouching her huge shoulders.

“I’m angry, but as Jeanne said. I’ve never even had a proper cup of tea. I don’t have the sense to get better just by learning for a while. Even if they were farmers, they would notice my clumsiness… I’m afraid I’ll offend the guests.”

Looking at Chuchu, who had shrunk in half, Siana was troubled.

Chuchu took care of Siana, but it wasn’t because the two of them had a special relationship.

It was just that Chuchu, who had a lot of affection, took care of the poor apprentice maid who had no friends.

‘But still, she’s the only one who helped me here.’

Siana said while poking Chuchu’s hard shoulder.

“Would you like to do a special training with me?”

“Special training?”

Siana nodded at Chuchu, who had her eyes wide open.

“Yeah. We meet after work and practice every day. Then I’m sure you’ll improve your skills.”

“……So you’re going to teach me?”

The moment Siana nodded, Chuchu looked like she was about to cry.

It was because she was saying that she would help her by splitting the precious break time to rest her tired body.

Furthermore, to an existence that could be a rival.

“You, you…”

Chuchu hugged Siana’s small body.

‘Euheog.’

Buried in tight muscles, Siana gasped.

Church, who had no way of knowing the pain, laughed brightly and shouted.

“I thought you didn’t think anything because you were just sweeping with the broom with a face that was not worried about the world, but it wasn’t. You were an incredibly nice kid!”

Is that a compliment or an insult?

Amidst Siana’s question, the special training between the two began.

* * *

After all the work, Chuchu came to Siana’s room.

Chuchu took out a rusty kettle and a wooden cup from her bag.

It was an item received after giving a power massage to a maid in the kitchen for special training.

Chuchu held the kettle in her hand with a solemn face as if she would strike down a tiger.