There is a separate space to cook in the big castle, but there was no separate space to cook in the Ruby Palace.
So Siana got food from the central dining room.
Todayâs dish was brown bread, round grapes, white milk, and thick grilled salmon.
Itâs simple for a princessâs dinner, but itâs much better than what the maids eat. It must be delicious.â
Siana gulped and entered Arisâs room.
âPrincess, I brought you a meal.â
However, Aris frowned as soon as she saw the meal.
âThere are only foods that I donât like. All right, just bring some snacks.â
â⊠âŠâ
âWhat are you doing without bringing it quickly?â
The masterâs words are absolute. Whatever the words are, they must be obeyed.
âBut⊠youâre too picky.â
Siana looked at Aris and at the hearty meal alternately then spoke as if she had made up her mind.
âPrincess, itâs not good to eat snacks for a meal. If you really want to eat it, why donât you eat a little before you eat?â
âWhy?â
Seeing her wide-eyed face as if she really didnât know, Siana was taken aback.
âThatâs because you canât grow up healthily just by eating snacks. Especially for a child like the princess.â
Aris raised her eyes with a look of complete disbelief.
âDonât lie. Even if I only ate snacks, Iâve grown well so far.â
Siana had a bad feeling.
âNo wayâŠâ
Siana looked over at Aris with a hard face.
She was so skinny that she could not find any fat.
She was also small.
Siana only thought it was because Aris was young. I also thought that she was very good at speaking for such a young age.
But if that was an illusion⊠âŠ
Siana asked in a slightly lowered voice.
âPrincess, excuse me, how old are you?â
âIâm ten years old, why?â
You look like youâre only about eight years old!
Siana touched her throbbing forehead.
I knew Princess Aris had not been properly cared for.
Her behavior was that of a beggar, and her behavior was as rough as those of children from the back alley.
I havenât seen her study anything all day.
âBut they should have kept the minimum.â
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It was a big problem that the child led an irregular life to the extent that she could not grow up to her age.
Something inside Siana stirred.
It was a responsibility as an elder, not as a maid.
âPrincess Aris.â
Hearing a completely different low voice from before, Arisâ eyes widened and looked at Siana.
The atmosphere of Siana, who had been messing around, had changed.
Siana looked down at Aris and said.
âIâll give you snacks when youâre done eating. SoâŠâŠâ
â⊠⊠.â
âEat first.â
If you donât put this bread in your mouth right away, youâll see something scary.
-Why does it sound like that ?
Arisâ shoulders involuntarily shrank.
* * *
Aris usually woke up long after sunrise.
It was because there was no one to wake Aris. It was only natural that she would become ferocious like an animal if one woke her up.
However, these days Arisâ morning has changed.
Tok tok.
Sianaâs voice was heard with a knock.
âPrincess, the morning has come when both the sun and the birds wake up. Get up.â
âHmph, who knew someone would wake me up.â
Aris closed her eyes tightly and pulled the blanket over her head.
Siana, who had entered the room before she knew it, continued to speak toward the immobile cocoon.
âTodayâs breakfast menu is a stew full of chicken and potatoes, crispy cheese cookies, and refreshing strawberry salad⊠âŠâ
â⊠âŠâ
âYou look tired, so Iâll have to grab a bite to eat.â
At those words, Aris widened her eyes.
A few days ago, Aris woke up from a deep sleep and asked Siana to bring her breakfast.
But all Siana brought was white milk and a thick salad.
It was a terrible meal for Aris, who hates milk and vegetables the most in the world.
âWhat is this terrible thing? Bring me a proper breakfast!â
âThis is all for breakfast. I ate all the cream bread and grilled chicken for breakfast this morning.â
Arisâ eyes widened at the absurd remark.
Aris looked at Siana with a stunned face and shouted.
âAre you crazy? Who are you to eat my meat?â
Seeing the angry young master, Siana said with an unfair expression.
âI was just following the imperial rule. It is customary for the imperial family to eat at a set time, and then attendants eat the leftover food.â
âWhat?â
âThanks to the princess not having breakfast at all, I ate it.â
-She smiled while holding the protruding stomach.
Aris screamed frantically with a furious look.
âGive me my meat! If you donât give it out now, I wonât forgive you!â
When she beat them like this, the maids would tremble and listen to her.
However, Siana said calmly.
âYes, go ahead.â
She only spoke politely, but her eyes said, âWhat are you going to do with me?â
And that day, really, Siana didnât give any other food until lunchtime.
Aris, who was so hungry, had to eat salad and milk with a terrible look on her face.
Recalling that time, Aris threw the blanket and jumped up.
âGot up! I got up! Just take it back!â
âOh my goodness.â
Looking at Siana with her eyes wide open, Aris began to munch on food in her mouth.
She looked like she would never lose even a crumb of bread.
Seeing that, Siana smiled inwardly.
âItâs easy to feed a child.â
Once you know hunger, any child will eat well.
How do I know?
âCause Iâve been through it.â
Of course, it wasnât for the purpose of improving my eating habits like now.
It was a simple punishment.
The new queen would often lock young Siana in her room because of poor dining etiquette.
At such times, Siana could not eat anything all day and would starve.
âOf course, I donât intend to do such a harsh thing to the princess, but this level will be fine. Itâs important to ensure proper nutrient intake.â
The strategy, âIf I donât eat now, Siana will eat all the delicious food~â worked well.
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Aris cleaned up the food in an instant. However, there was something that caught Sianaâs eyes.
âYou ate it without salad.â
Vegetables are an important element for the healthy growth of children.
You have to eat well.
Siana carried out a second operation.
âKyaaa, you left me a lot of my favorite salad in the world. Iâm glad!â
â⊠⊠!â
At that, Aris began to stare at the salad on the plate.
Siana hid her smile and looked at Aris.
âBite it, bite.â
The young fish took the bait again today.
âIâm not done yet!â
Aris scraped all the remaining vegetables.
Then she made a triumphant expression toward Siana.
âYou said the attendant would eat the leftover food after the master ate it, right? Thereâs nothing left. You should starve yourself today.â
[Princess Arisâ POV]
How will the cheeky maid who bothers me every morning react?
Would you be annoyed?
Would you be angry?
Would you be sad?
But Sianaâs reaction was completely different from Arisâ thoughts.
Siana smiled brightly and stroked Arisâ small head.
âYou did a great job. As expected, our princess is the best.â
â⊠âŠâ
Siana took her hand off Arisâ head with a surprised face.
âI did something reckless without realizing it. Forgive me.â
â⊠âŠâ
âPrincess Aris?â
Arisâ face turned redder than the carrot she just ate.
âIâm done eating, so donât bother me anymore and get out!â
âYes.â
At times like these, she was as nimble as a mouse.
Step step step, Siana left the room with an empty plate.
Aris, who was alone, grabbed the head that Siana had been stroking with both hands and shouted.
âWhat, what the hell!â
It was too arrogant to dare to say this and that to the princess despite being a low-ranking maid.
But Sianaâs insolence did not end there.
***
[Princess Arisâ POV]
âPrincess~â
What Siana held in both hands, who kindly called Aris, was a soft sponge and soap.
Realizing what that meant, Aris stepped back.
âI hate touching the water. I hate making bubbles. So take those horrible things out now!â
Arisâ spirit as she glared at Siana was ferocious. If she took even one step closer, she would scratch at her.
Siana did not approach Aris any further. Instead, she spoke in a serious voice with bath items in her hands.
âDo you know what happens if you donât wash properly?â
Aris furrowed her eyebrows, suddenly wanting to say something.
Siana continued her words with lowered eyes.
âLittle bugs that like dirty things lay eggs in the body. The larvae born from the eggs gnaw at peopleâs hair and skin with the happiest faces in the world. They poop too. They also fart sometimes.â
Arisâ face turned pale at the terrible words.
Aris shook her head, covering her greasy hair, which hadnât been washed for days, with both hands.
âD, donât say nonsense. Iâve never seen a bug like that.â
âIâm telling youâŠâŠ. Princess, doesnât your head tickle?â
â⊠âŠâ
âCrunch crunch, doesnât it feel like something small is passing by? Itâs the insect that nibbles on it.â
Sianaâs face was too serious to say it was a joke. She didnât seem like a liar.
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At that moment, Arisâ head tickled.
âArgh!â
Aris ran to Siana and clung to her.
âHurry and wash it up! Hurry!â
Aris had to entrust herself to Siana.
The face of Aris, who was squatting in the bathtub, was filled with fear.
Aris hated taking a bath since she was a child. The maids did not bother to wash Aris.
But not when there was an important royal occasion. No matter how bad it is, a princess is a princess.
The princess could not attend the event in a dirty manner.
So the maids caught Aris and forcibly washed her.
They roughly suppressed her petite body, which was fussing with dislike, and rubbed her head vigorously and poured water on her mercilessly.
At that time, the soapy water got into her eyes and it hurt so much that Aris had to shed tears.
âStill, itâs better than having the whole head eaten by bugs. Letâs hold it in.â
Aris closed her eyes in anticipation of the pain to come.
â⊠âŠâ
But Sianaâs touch didnât hurt one bit. Far from being painfulâŠ
âItâs refreshing!â
It felt so good to scratch the itchy places with thin fingers.
But the hair washing doesnât end here.
The rinse, which Aris feared the most, remained.
A towel was placed over Arisâ face, who had closed her eyes tightly to prevent soapy water from getting in.
Sianaâs soft voice was heard.
âThis way, you will never get soapy water into your eyes.â
So donât be scared.
It seemed to say so.
Aris unwittingly relaxed her shoulders.
Dripping.
Warm water flowed through my hair. As Siana said, the soapy water did not flow into my eyes at all.
It was the first time that tears did not come out while washing my hair.
After rinsing her hair several times with clean water, Siana slowly removed the towel from Arisâ face.
It was covered with a towel, but in the open field of view, Siana was smiling.
âYou washed your hair bravely.â
ââŠâŠ.â
So why are you making such a proud face.
Youâre just a maid.
Aris bit her lip with a complicated face.
âItâs okay now, right?â
âNot yet. You even have to dry your hair. Bugs like wet hair too.â
âThat damn bug! Why does it like so many things?â
âThatâs what I want to know ⊠Bad bug. Iâll have to give it a beating.â
Siana replied with a serious face and started drying Arisâ red hair.
She just patted my wet hair with a towel, but it felt strangely good.
So Aris didnât say much this time, and quietly entrusted herself to Siana.
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The thin hair soon dried.
Siana looked at her silky hair and said.
âWhat do you say, princess? Can you feel that the bugs disappeared after washing your hair?â
It was as Siana said.
Her hair, which had always been itchy, was cool and refreshing.
Not wanting to admit it meekly, Aris stuck out her lips instead of answering.