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"Welcome to my private room, my owner."

I was stunned after hearing those words from the Queen’s mouth.

She was not waiting in the noble’s special room but staying in her private room.

As a Queen of the Kingdom, she seemed too reckless and open like this.

I didn’t understand why the Queen led my family into her private room while waiting for the royal family’s party to begin. Based on the schedule that I had read in the invitation letter, it would last from afternoon to evening.

The distance between Marquess Rommel’s residence and the Royal Palace was very far, so we had the initiative to leave earlier than usual.

With this kind of treatment.

Isn’t this more like the royal family bowing down to the Marquess Rommel family?

"Oh my owner, enjoy the special service that has been prepared for you," said the Queen while clapping her hands to set a table with new snacks.

"Your Majesty, you don’t need to do something like this to us," said my father who was a little awkward with the Queen’s unusual treatment.

"Marquess Rommel, this is just a one of my courtesy to welcome someone special to me. As a pet who is waiting for the presence of its owner, isn’t it only natural to create a special atmosphere that is more comfortable for my owner?"

"But this is too much, Your Majesty."

My father respectfully tried to escape from this complicated situation. My status with the Queen should be a noble who dedicates honor and dignity to the Aurora Kingdom. However, the situation has changed my status from the Queen to pet and its owner.

"Hey, I told you to behave like usual," I know that this is an impolite remark to address a Queen of the Kingdom. However, I have to do this so that her honor as the Queen of the Kingdom does not disappear in the eyes of other nobles.

Some Maid gazes have glanced at me with strange looks. Because my body is already too sensitive to gazes that degrade my skin color, I can easily feel the gazes piercing my entire physical appearance.

"I-I understand, please don’t look at me with such a terrifying gaze, you are very cruel to see me like a useless pet like this," said the Queen who looked gloomy with her pitiful condition.

"Did you hear my order correctly?" I said to confirm my order.

"I understand, my owner, Ahem! I mean I understand Lily-chan," the Queen finally gave in and tried to look at me with a dignified and respectful smile as a Queen of the Kingdom.

After the small table returned with cleaner cutlery and new snacks that looked fresh, I realized there was a girl hiding behind the curtain who was staring at me intently.

Her golden blonde hair and her small crown looked similar to the Queen’s, I could see their great resemblance.

When I glanced at her who was hiding behind the curtain, I approached her slowly.

"What are you doing?" I asked while placing one of my hands on her side and blocking her escape.

"Do you think I don’t notice with your gaze looking at me from behind the curtain?" I immediately opened the curtain and saw a girl who was taller than me staring at me with a glassy gaze.

The first thing I realized was her beauty which was hard to describe with words.

Her face looked beautiful and seemed to be very calm.

Her white skin looked even more charming and there was no need to touch it to feel the smoothness of her soft skin.

Her radiant facial expression and the appearance of a shy girl appeared in front of me.

From the many descriptions that I could give, this girl seemed to take good care of her body, especially with her hair ornaments that showed a small crown full of diamonds and gold ornaments.

The girl stared at me speechlessly.

There was only awkwardness between us.

Without saying a sentence of introduction, the girl suddenly knelt in front of me and lowered her face, "Thank you for saving me from that terrible curse."

"Oh, my respected benefactor..."

"I am very indebted to you..."

This scene shocked me greatly.

I could feel several pairs of eyes staring at me at this time full of astonishment.

Just looking at her party dress and her skilled honorable gesture, I could tell that this girl was one of the Princesses of the Kingdom.

What confused me was... how could I address her with the same honorifics as a fellow noble.

I took a small breath and exhaled slowly.

"That feels so weird as an introduction," I said in a flat tone.

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"At least introduce yourself properly before saying something awkward like that," I continued as I extended my hand to her.

The girl took my outstretched hand with a sweet smile that suited her innocent and graceful appearance.

"Could it be that it feels weird?" the girl asked, tilting her head so that her long flowing hair was slightly messy from the wind blowing through the window and curtains.

"It’s so weird since this is our first time meeting."

"Uhh… I’ve prepared my heart to have a long talk with you, my esteemed benefactor."

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"You’re Lily De Rommel who became my mother’s owner after being rude with that sudden political marriage, right?"

"…"

I fell silent when I saw her mention something that only a few people knew. As I had guessed, this girl was one of the Royal Princesses.

But what was her name?

Of the many Princesses of the Aurora Kingdom who had appeared at royal and noble parties, I had never seen this unfamiliar face.

I unconsciously wrinkled my facial expression showing my helplessness in remembering the faces of the noble families.

The girl suddenly bowed her body to give a polite greeting to a Princess of the Kingdom.

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Anastasia Rio. I currently have no position in the succession of the Aurora Kingdom as my job seems to have become fixed as a supporter of my brothers and sisters from behind the scenes."

"Perhaps you have heard rumors about this, a solitary monster languishing behind the cold Royal Palace. That monster is me."

The girl uttered an introduction that seemed to offend me but her unwavering gaze made me believe her words.

"Monster, huh?"

"Yes."

"Did you suffer for a very long time?"

"Not really, it was a short suffering because you helped me at the right time with my illness getting worse. Compared to my suffering like that, it seems that one of my trash-like brothers has made you suffer more, my esteemed benefactor."

I was stunned after hearing her words calling one of her brothers trash.

"Anastasia…"

"Yes, my esteemed benefactor?"

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Lily De Rommel, a monster just like you. As fellow monsters, shouldn’t we be friends with each other?" I said while extending my hand to shake hands as an introduction.

My outstretched hand was welcomed by Anastasia not as a handshake but with her body posture bending down and kissing my palm.

The soft touch of her lips that left a mark on my palm signified our relationship that had officially gotten to know each other.

I didn’t expect that Ciel’s words would lead me to one of the Princesses of the Kingdom who was seriously ill because of a curse. Her life’s suffering was too unworthy to live side by side with that trash. It was indeed very difficult to deny but this kingdom would be a heavy burden for her.

"Anastasia, should I call you Princess Anastasia?" I asked while removing my palm from her long kiss on the lips.

"Ah!" when my palm moved to avoid her kiss on the lips, I could see Anastasia’s disappointed expression.

"I wanted to kiss her palm longer," her little grumble that reached my ears.

"You can call me Anastasia, after all, I rarely get a stage as a Princess," she replied with a friendly smile.

"Oh! Marquess Rommel! Nice to meet you. May I propose an engagement to your daughter? The process of making a rule that allows women to marry women will be a bit complicated but is still in the development stage if I can get approval from several Prime Ministers of the Kingdom," Anastasia gave off an elegant friendliness as a Princess and acted formally when speaking to my father.

"Uh, Um, excuse me, Princess Anastasia, what did you just say?" My father was a little nervous with Anastasia’s slightly complicated and long speech.

If my father was confused, then it was natural for me not to understand the statement.

"Anastasia, didn’t you flatly reject the proposal—" When the Queen wanted to say a sentence that entered Anastasia and my father’s conversation, Anastasia quickly silenced her with her palm covering her mouth.

"What are you talking about, Your Highness?" Anastasia said softly while holding the Queen’s mouth shut.

Is it normal for a Queen to be silenced like that?

Seeing an incident like this made me wonder, who is controlling this kingdom when the royal family looks like this?

When the Queen and Princess Anastasia had a small conversation while whispering to each other, I could see my father’s face covered in sweat and my mother wiping her sweat with a handkerchief. Meanwhile, I could see Mio’s anger directed at Princess Anastasia along with Alice and Alyssa’s actions who hugged my right and left arms again.

"Uhm, what are you two doing?"

"Grrr… looks like we have another competitor, Alyssa," Alice grumbled while hugging my left arm tightly.

"That’s right, Alice! We have to protect Lily-nee from other females who don’t know their place!" Alyssa grumbled who seemed annoyed by one thing.

"Hey, you two… why are you—" Before I could say anything, Mio suddenly moved behind me using Sakura Dash and left a trail of cherry blossom petals scattered in the Queen’s room.

"Lily-sama, it seems like you have another girl to take care of. You won’t forget about me as your Exclusive Maid, right?" Mio said in a small tone behind me.

Alice, Alyssa, and Mio seemed to want to tell me something but were stopped by the sound of a bell indicating that a special guest had arrived before the royal party began.

From above the Queen’s private room, I could see a horse-drawn carriage with the symbol of the Temple that was highly respected by the Aurora Kingdom.

I could feel a strange spark when Zoe’s butterfly wings moved as if indicating that something had offended her.

Not only Zoe.

Zeta and Zara seemed to have the same problem by flapping their butterfly wings at each other.

In the corner of my eye, I saw the horse-drawn carriage entering the Royal Palace area and saw a spirit that had the form of a white-golden Dragon inside the horse-drawn carriage that was engraved with the symbol of the Aurora Goddess Temple.