Zylith.

“Oh? Even… kill for me?” I tilted my head to the side a little bit as I uttered in a sugary sweet honey-toned voice.

Liana Miller visibly blenched when she heard my words. As I watched the little timid girl who implored to be my most loyal underling, I realized that a heavy reformation was in dire need if she were to join us. Reuben would kick her to the curb if he saw her fainthearted pushover character. She had to change for the better.

And as such, I threw at her the same test that Reuben had thrown at me.

Now I waited to see how she would react.

She was silent for quiet a long while, contemplating and pondering fiercely over the pros and cons. Conflicted and dithering due to my words.

When my feet were numb enough to almost give out, I stood up abruptly, startling her in the process, “…S-Sire?” Her form became a bit unsteady when she was alarmed, giving the illusion of her being more pitiful than she really was.

“Your Highness, please! Please wait, I… I concede. This lowly one concedes to your every qualm.” She started grovelling like her life depended on it all over again.

My left eye couldn’t help twitch at this scene in pure satire.

'Oi! I only got up because my legs were numb from squatting down for too long. What is this situation? Do you think I’m some vengeful demon from Hell whose only job is to cause your misery? You think I'm so free as to harass you like that evil head maid of yours? How low am I in your eyes, little miss redhead?’ I couldn’t help grumbling inside of my head, feeling so very wronged at the prejudiced biasedness.

But, even if she mistook my actions, the end result was rather satisfactory to me. I could make peace with the fact that I was a vengeful demon in her heart if her decision was in my favour.

"Well, since you said you are willing to do anything and everything for me, we will strike a deal and sign a contract. And I hope you can change your pushover attitude for your own good." I looked at her and thought, 'Ah! I have so much to teach her.' "And from now on, I am your teacher, not just your Queen. You must learn well and no matter the consequence, you will carry out all my orders. Do you understand?"

Though she looked a bit puzzled, she still nodded in silent consent.

“Now tell me something, what do you think about yourself?” I asked.

Liana looked all the more confused at my sudden question as she failed to comprehend my meaning, “Pardon Your Highness?”

“(Sigh) What I mean is, do you think you are worthy of all the good things in life? Are you grateful for the life that you were bestowed by the Gods from above?” I elaborated.

She widened her eyes a bit at my peculiar question, still looking as confused as ever.

“What? Are you not grateful for the life you were given?” I pushed further.

In turn, she wore a bitter expression. And I could very well read her thoughts. A low-born girl who was as patsy as her, what had life offered her to be grateful for. But she needed to come out of that mindset. Life never was kind to anyone in this world. You have to be kind to yourself and treat yourself better, it is always you who is responsible for the things you get from life. You must be tough enough to snatch the things you want from life, you have to be a thief and a robber if need be, but you have to be bold enough to raid life of all the things you want. And I wanted to let her realise that.  

“Your Highness, from the moment I was born, all I had ever been was a nonentity to this world. No one except my mother wanted me. I was a taboo from the moment I opened my eyes in this world. I was shunned and cursed. What do I have to be grateful for?” She muttered in a caustic tone.   

“My dear Liana, since you shared your life’s deepest secret with me, I too want to share a secret with you.” I smiled amiably at her, trying to look as harmless as possible, “I was a maid-in-waiting like you before I became the First Queen of Reveldron.”

And she visibly blenched. She looked so flabbergasted as though she couldn't believe her ears. I smiled at her shell-shocked expression and resumed my story, "You see, I was the personal maid of the real Lady Elizabeth.... No, I was worse. I was a bought slave of the Ronales household before I came in guise as the young lady of the Ronales family. The nobles of house Ronales had sent me here to be slaughtered instead of their daughter who eloped in secret as she didn't want to marry His Majesty. But look at me now, I'm the First Queen of a nation and am the most honored of all the noble ladies in this kingdom." Liana looked as if she was in a daze, I wasn't sure if she was listening to me anymore, but I still continued, "As you can see, from a maid to a Queen. This opportunity didn't just fall into my lap from the sky you know. I fought tooth and nail for it. To survive, I gambled with my life several times and did everything in my power to persist till this point. Life is never good to anyone, Liana. It wasn't good to me either. I thought even if I wasn't given what I wanted, I still deserved the best from life, so I snatched from life all the good thing I could get my hands on."

I sloped down low and grabbed her delicate jaws as I lifted her face up to look at me, straight in the eyes. "If you want to be my aide, you have to do the same. You must be courageous enough to stand up for yourself and gutsy enough to take revenge on all the people who had wronged you. You have to be daring enough to throw rocks at the heads of your abusers after you have pushed them into the depts of the well.”

“So you gotta listen to me buttercup, and get your convictions right; Screw everyone who has ever told you that you're not good enough, because you are. You're f•cking_ (Ahem!) I mean you’re awesome gold while they are rusted copper."

“(Cough! Cough! Cough!)”

A sudden vehement cough broke off the valiant atmosphere and momentum that I had painstakingly build around myself.

That got me a bit irritated, so I as well as my little underling veered our heads around to look at this coughing offender; and we came face to face with an awkward Mummyjerk Reuben, my dearest flabbergasted lord Xavier and a stunned stranger. 

I stared back at the dumbfounded crowd, and then looked back at my newest found underling. She was still staring at the crowd in a stupor.

I saw how close we were, and the awkward position that we were frozen in. I had her face in my hand and we were close enough to be able to kiss. My eyes widened a bit at the weird position we were petrified in.

I bit my lower lip in embarrassment and slowly turned back to the little crowd and mumbled ineptly, “Hi there?”

Everyone, “………………..”    

All the three people had strange looks on their faces and I had a sudden impulsive urge to explain the situation. The atmosphere at my expense, turned very awkward, not the ‘cute’ kind of awkward, but the ‘What-is-wrong-with-you’ kind. Their looks were screaming ‘Lady, you’ve lost it’.

“Erm… Your Ma_ I mean, Lord Reuben, it is not what you think. I’ve not lost my mind is what I mean.” I suddenly remembered that he was without his bandages and I wasn’t sure if I should address him as a royal. So, I changed how I addressed him.

Reuben raised a sarcastic brow at my words, and the looks of the people around me got even weirder for some reason. I couldn’t help whinge at this unfairness. Why did everyone have to always misunderstand me?

“No you see, half of my mind just wondered off and the other half went looking for it... Haha.... Hahahaha....... Ha..... Ha...” I tried to joke about it, but well, it seems this poor Zylith’s sense of humor was not shared by others. All the people in the room looked either painfully expressionless or utterly clueless. I sighed in my heart yet again.

“Anyways, what brings you here Lord Reuben?” I changed the subject when I couldn’t change their opinions about me.

“Yes, Your Highness, I wanted to introduce you to your new subordinate. His name is Fredurd Vanner. He will carry out any command that you so order. His Majesty wanted you to have someone trustworthy around apart from Lord Xavier. He is one of the best swordsmen in the country and ranks only second after lord Xavier.” Reuben said. 

I frowned when I heard him, “Lord Reuben, I do not think it is necessary for another escort. I think lord Xavier will do a fantastic job at it.” I smiled at lord Xavier, and he smiled back at me in an amicable manner.

“….. Well His Majesty doesn’t think it is safe enough for you, Your Highness. There will be instances where Lord Xavier will not be able to defend you, and Fredurd is for those instances.” I felt as if Reuben was biting out those words. I looked at him with squinted eyes and somehow found his nice smile rather sinister.

I almost shuddered from his strange sharp gaze, but decided to shrug it off. “W-Well, if that is what His Majesty wishes, then I shall comply without any complains.”

“That will be in Her Highness’s best interest.” Reuben nodded, seeming rather half-heartedly satisfied.

The dark-skinned stranger beside Lord Xavier abruptly came forward and fell on one knee, just like Lord Xavier did when he first introduced himself to me.

“Greetings to Her royal Highness. Knight Fredurd Vanner at your service Sire.” A deep voice mouthed out.

 To be Continued………