“Serveyia, is your room here too?”
Generally speaking, maids—especially personal maids—would still live with their master, but with Serveyia being the Princess of the Kingdom, wouldn’t having her stay in a servant’s room seem a bit too disrespectful?
“Yes, my room is here too.”
“Then Serveyia, can you take me to see your room?”
Lin Sheng thought to himself that if Serveyia’s room wasn’t that good, maybe he could swap rooms with her?
After all, he wasn’t picky about rooms, and he believed that in such a luxurious mansion, even a servant’s room would definitely be better than his university dorm.
But if Serveyia was dissatisfied with the room, would she make things difficult for him?
Originally, in Lin Sheng’s mind, Serveyia was a mischievous maid, and he was sure that if Serveyia was unhappy, he wouldn’t have a good time either.
Being the bigger person, a real man doesn’t argue with a woman, hmph.
“But, Your Highness, my room is right here.”
“? Isn’t this my room?”
“That’s right, but that doesn’t stop me from living here too, does it?”
***
Lin Sheng glanced at the princess bed in the center of the room.
He had to admit, it was more than spacious enough for two people to sleep on.
The problem was—could he really sleep together with this mischievous maid?
“Um, is there a small bed, or maybe a partition or something, heh, heheh.”
“Your Highness, are you serious? Or is your shallow understanding unable to grasp what ‘personal’ in ‘personal maid’ truly means?”
“But, but, men and women shouldn’t be so close. Serveyia, don’t you understand?”
“I do understand, but Your Highness, is there a man in this room? Have you seen one? If you do see one, let me know. I’ll have the Royal Guard throw him out to feed the fish.”
Damn it, Lin Sheng didn’t believe Serveyia didn’t understand what he was saying, and he had no doubt that if he kept insisting he was a man at this moment, Serveyia might really throw him out.
“Judging from Your Highness’s expression, it seems there are no men in Qingli Hall~”
Serveyia showed a wicked smile.
“So, for lying, doesn’t Your Highness deserve a slight punishment?”
“You! You—”
“Hmm? Does Your Highness have any objections?”
“N-no…”
“In that case, the punishment is that Your Highness must wear the stockings I personally selected this afternoon.”
Lin Sheng had to admit, the pressure from Serveyia was too much.
In front of her, he felt like he didn’t even have the courage to resist.
He felt that his school life would be completely dominated by Serveyia.
Damn it, she’s the Princess of the Kingdom, so why does she act like a maid with a few screws loose?
And even as a maid, she acts so high and mighty that he doesn’t even know if he should order her around.
Really, who’s the maid here, anyway?
Lin Sheng sat gloomily on the bed, looking utterly unhappy.
But the bed was really soft.
No, no, how could he be enjoying this?
The most important thing now was to make Serveyia understand that he still had a temper.
“Your Highness, no matter how cutely you puff your cheeks, it doesn’t change reality. Once the transformation is complete, it cannot be reversed. Rather than obsessing over your vague sense of male dignity, wouldn’t it be better to consider more practical issues, such as how to live up to the title of ‘Princess’?”
“You—you say it so easily, but it’s not like I wanted this!”
Lin Sheng turned to glare at Serveyia, his anger growing.
“Just thinking about it makes me mad. That invitation letter was full of lies, and you didn’t say anything, just half-tricked and half-forced me to come here. Did you ever give me a choice?”
“Your Highness, the Princess position at Saint Laia Academy has been vacant for a long time. The Ancient Will of the Academy has always been restless, eagerly seeking a candidate for Princess, so…”
“So they chose me?”
“Yes, Your Highness, for the sake of peace among the races…”
“Hmph, it sounds noble, but what about me? What about how I feel?”
Although Lin Sheng had grudgingly accepted the reality of his transformation earlier, that didn’t mean he’d emotionally accepted everything.
“We will compensate Your Highness in various ways—”
“Compensate? Compensate? What does that mean? In your eyes, if you catch a little bird, call it a golden canary, and expect it to sing in your gilded cage, is that compensation?”
Lin Sheng wasn’t the kind of person who would throw everything away for freedom, and to be honest, if given a choice, he’d probably choose to become Saint Laia’s Princess in the end.
But that choice should have been his own to make.
What Lin Sheng feared most was having no right to choose.
The reason he was angry now, in the end, was simply that he wanted an apology from Serveyia.
Not some vague Ancient Will, not distant racial peace—what Lin Sheng wanted to hear was just a simple “I’m sorry.”
He wanted to feel that he had free will, that he had the right to choose, and that he wasn’t just a chess piece being moved around.
That was all.
But with Serveyia being the Princess of the Kingdom, could he really hope for an apology from her?
“Your Highness, if you truly resent this, I can try to apply to the Academy for you to resign your Princess status and leave Saint Laia, but the transformation is irreversible. So… what does Your Highness truly want?”
“I—I don’t know. I just… I kind of miss home…”
In the end, Lin Sheng was just an ordinary university student.
He’d never faced any real storms in life or made any major life decisions.
The biggest choice he’d ever made was picking his major in college.
He was used to seeking his parents’ help whenever he had a problem.
But now, could he really rely on his parents for help?
“Serveyia, can I contact my family?”
Lin Sheng couldn’t help thinking that if he could say even a single word to his parents right now, maybe many of his problems could be solved.
“I’m sorry, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until after your Coronation Ceremony to contact your parents, Your Highness.”
“Then… when is the Coronation Ceremony?”
“Tomorrow morning, Your Highness.”
“I see… I understand…”
So, this was probably the first time he had to make a choice on his own.
Could he really make the right choice?
“I—I want to rest alone for a while, Serveyia. Is that okay?”
He was starting to wonder whether Serveyia was really his maid or more like a guard watching over him to prevent his escape.
However, seeing Lin Sheng’s expression, Serveyia hesitated, then didn’t refuse.
She simply said, “I’ll call you at lunchtime,” and left the room.
The room became quiet.
Outside the window, the occasional chirping of birds could be heard, but it was peaceful enough to give him some space alone.
His tail, sensing his gloomy mood, slowly wrapped around him again, cocooning Lin Sheng into a giant white bundle.
Feeling the soft fur and the plum fragrance from his tail, Lin Sheng’s mood eased a little.
But just as Serveyia had said earlier, could he really become the “Princess” of Saint Laia?
“Dad, Mom, can I really do this?”