Chapter 3

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I am truly grateful to those who bookmarked and rated it.

It really boosts my motivation!

Rubiya and I enter the palace. A large number of butlers and maids greet us:

"Welcome back, Miss."

"Yep!"

Then, the butler I know, Rute Eric, looks troubled and says:

"You've left the palace again... How many times do I have to tell you... This time, please make it the last."

"Hmm? That's hard to promise, isn't it?"

"Why is Lord Noah here?"

"I have something to talk to Father and Mother about. It's about Noah."

"Is that so? However, I cannot allow someone who hasn't been granted permission to meet the king and queen."

Well, that makes sense. No matter how much my family has served the royal family, rules are rules... On the other hand, it might be more suspicious if I could meet them immediately.

"Che! But this is necessary, so you can't stop me."

"Even so, the rules are the rules..."

"Rubiya, I'll follow the proper procedures to meet them."

I don't want to cause Rute any more trouble... I can't add more work for him. I've been trained to serve this country, and I know how hard the butlers work. That's why I feel guilty.

"Noah! What are you doing, backing down here!"

"Even so..."

Then, some new maids whisper to each other:

"Why is he talking to Miss Rubiya so informally?"

"I don't know... But since Mr. Rute knows his name, they might be acquaintances?"

"Maybe..."

From an outsider's perspective, talking to the princess informally could be considered disrespectful. Maybe I should use more formal language?

"Hey, if Noah starts using formal language, it's your fault!"

Rubiya says this while emitting a threatening aura to the maids.

(No, I'm not wrong!)

"Rubiya, I'll talk informally unless the king or queen tell me otherwise. So don't get so angry."

"Okay..."

Phew. If the maids get fired because of me, it would be unfair, and I wouldn't like it either.

"Then I'll go back for now."

"Eh? Wait!"

Just as Rubiya was about to stop me, the queen came out. I bow and kneel.

"Welcome back, Rubiya. And Noah, it's been a while!"

"Lady Ayla, it's been a while."

"It's been a while. You can talk more casually like before, you know?"

"Understood."

I look up at Lady Ayla's face. She's still beautiful. Despite being a wife, she looks like she's in her twenties. Rubiya has inherited Lady Ayla's blood, so she's a beautiful blonde with blue eyes. Both of them are well-endowed and have a certain charm.

(Wait, wait. What am I thinking about the royal family!)

I shake my head to clear my thoughts. Then, Lady Ayla smiles and says:

"So, why is Noah here?"

"Mom and Dad called me because they have something to talk about with Noah, but Rute said I can't meet them because the meeting procedures haven't been completed... Is it really not possible?"

I can see Rute's face turning pale.

"It's fine. It's for your cute daughter, after all."

"Yay! See! Rute, it's okay, right!"

"I apologize."

"Let's go, Noah."

"Ah. And Rute, you did your job, so don't blame yourself."

That's right. Rute just did his job. It's unfair to treat him like this...

"Okay... Rute, I'm sorry."

"I apologize. Please go ahead."

Since we've made up, Lady Ayla, Rubiya, and I head to the royal chambers. As we leave, Rute whispers in my ear:

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'm sorry too. Please continue to take care of me."

"Of course."

"Noah! Hurry up!"

"Ah."

I quickly join Rubiya and enter the royal chambers.