I had survived many horrors in this palace.

1. The King's terrifying tea addiction?

2. Being summoned at ungodly hours?

3. Becoming a walking scandal?



But this?



This was a new level of suffering.



Because today, I had been kidnapped into a noblewoman's gathering.



~~~



It all started with Lady Vivienne.



"Thalia," she had said smoothly, cornering me in the hallway, "you must accompany me today."



I had blinked rapidly.



"...Accompany you where?"



"A noble gathering," she replied, her eyes gleaming. "A lady's afternoon tea."



I froze.



"Oh no."



"Oh yes," she said, dragging me away.



The moment I entered the lavish noble salon, I knew I was doomed.



Elegant noblewomen sat around embroidered cushions, sipping tea with practiced grace.



The silverware? Shinier than my future.



The food? Fancier than my entire existence.



And then there was me.



A maid sitting in the middle of all this—completely lost.



The first disaster struck within minutes.



I reached for the wrong spoon to stir my tea.



One of the noblewomen gasped audibly.



I immediately yanked my hand back like I had committed treason.



The noble next to me gave a delicate sigh.



"That was the wrong spoon, dear."



I stared at her, horrified.



"HOW MANY SPOONS DO YOU PEOPLE NEED?!"



Lady Vivienne coughed loudly to cover my outburst.



The other ladies stared.



I shrunk in my seat.



This was going to be a long afternoon.



I thought I was finally free when the gathering ended.



But no.



Because the moment I stepped into the hallway, a tall nobleman approached.



"Ah," he said, smiling. "You're Thalia, aren't you?"



I blinked warily. "...Yes?"



"My estate is in need of skilled maids," he said smoothly. "I'd like to request you."



I stared.



He was tall, handsome, and definitely rich.



And more importantly—



HE WAS TRYING TO TAKE ME AWAY FROM THE PALACE.



Please, sir, take me. Take me now.



But before I could even consider escape, a familiar, bone-chilling voice cut in.



"That won't be necessary."



The air in the hallway turned to ice. The nobleman immediately stiffened, head lowering slightly. I, meanwhile, froze in horror. Standing just behind me was the King.



His golden eyes were sharp, piercing, and entirely unreadable.



"...Your Majesty," the noble greeted, visibly sweating. The King tilted his head slightly.



"Are you under the impression," he said slowly, "that my personal maid is available for requests?" I felt my soul exit my body.



The nobleman quickly backtracked. "Of course not, Your Majesty! I merely thought—"



"You thought incorrectly."



And with that, the noble excused himself as fast as humanly possible.



I, meanwhile, was standing there, shaking.



"...Personal maid?" I whispered.



The King gave me a very matter-of-fact look.



"You serve me tea, don't you?"



I gawked. THAT'S NOT THE SAME THING!



~~~



The next morning, I woke up to



"Congratulations," the head steward said. "You've been promoted."



I blinked. "...WHAT?!"



"You'll now reside in the servant chambers near His Majesty's quarters." I dropped my broom.



"WHY?!"



"So you can prepare his tea faster."



I screamed internally.



Within minutes, the entire palace found out. And the reactions were immediate.



"EXCUSE ME?!"



Cassian stormed into the kitchen, grabbing me by the shoulders. "You mean to tell me," he said slowly, "that you're being MOVED NEXT TO THE KING?"



I winced. "It's not my fault!"



"YES, IT IS!"



~~~



I was midway through folding laundry when I heard a disturbance. Two noblemen arguing. I peeked around the corner.



Duke Adrian looked furious. Lord Damian looked too entertained.



"I don't like it," Duke Adrian muttered.



Lord Damian smirked. "Are you jealous?"



Duke Adrian scowled. "Of course not. It's just—suspicious."



I slowly backed away. I wanted NO PART of this conversation.



With all the insanity happening around me, I did the most logical thing possible.



I hid.



For five hours.



And the palace lost its collective mind.



~~~



At first, no one noticed. I had slipped out quietly, using the secret servant passages, hoping for just a moment of peace.



I wasn't even hiding for anything dramatic—I just wanted to breathe without hearing the words:



"The King requests tea."

"Thalia, where have you been?"

"Have you heard the rumors about you and His Majesty?"



I just wanted one peaceful afternoon. So I disappeared into the old servant quarters, curled up inside an empty storage room, and took a nap.



I thought nobody would care.



I was wrong.



Hour 1: Mild Concern (A.K.A. The Calm Before the Storm)



At first, people assumed I was just busy.



✔ The kitchen staff: "She's probably fetching something."

✔ The head steward: "She's likely with the King."

✔ Cassian: "She's avoiding me. Rude."



But then—



I wasn't at my usual stations.



I wasn't in the servants' hall, I wasn't in the kitchen, and worst of all—



I wasn't with the King.



That's when things started spiraling.



Hour 2: Officially Missing (A.K.A. Mild Panic Begins)



When no one had seen me for two hours, concern turned into unease.



✔ Cassian (growing suspicious):

"Alright. Where is she? She's never this quiet."



✔ The Maids (whispering):

"She's always running around. This isn't like her."



✔ Adrian (staring at my empty post):

"...Something's not right."



✔ Damian (grinning, as usual):

"Perhaps she ran away? That'd be amusing."



But then—



A servant casually mentioned it in passing to the royal attendants.



And the royal attendants?



Made the biggest mistake possible.



They informed the King.



Hour 3: The King Finds Out (A.K.A. The Moment Everything Went to Hell)



No one knows exactly how the King reacted when he heard the words:



"Your Majesty, your personal maid is missing."



But what we do know is this:



The entire palace felt it.



The temperature dropped.

The guards visibly stiffened.

Servants started whispering in absolute horror.



The King didn't say much—at first. He simply placed his quill down. And slowly stood up.



The attendant who delivered the news? Shaking.



The nearby advisors? Paling.



The guards? Immediately straightening like their lives depended on it.



Then, in a calm, dangerously soft voice, the King simply asked:



"Where is she?"



No one had an answer. Which meant one thing.



A royal search was about to begin.



Hour 4: Palace-Wide Panic (A.K.A. The Absolute Breakdown of Order)



Guards were sent out.

Servants were interrogated.

Every inch of the palace was searched.



It didn't take long before everyone found out that I was missing.



And that's when the real chaos began.



Reactions from the Inner Circle



✔ Cassian (immediately kicking doors open):

"I KNEW IT! I KNEW SHE'D GET HERSELF INTO TROUBLE!"



✔ Adrian (gritting his teeth, barking orders at knights):

"Find her. Now."



✔ Damian (watching the disaster unfold, sipping wine):

"This is the most entertainment I've had all week."



✔ The Head Steward (visibly aging ten years):

"If the King gets any angrier, we're ALL going to die."



✔ The Maids (some celebrating, some panicking):

"Wait, does this mean we're free from tea duty—"

"NO, YOU FOOLS. HE'LL TAKE IT OUT ON US!"



The Breaking Point: The King Loses His Patience



By the time hour four arrived, the King was done waiting.



He didn't sit. He didn't pace. Instead, he personally joined the search.



When His Majesty himself started walking through the halls, his heavy boots echoing through the palace—



People practically threw themselves out of his way. The moment he spoke, guards scrambled.



"You still haven't found her?"



His voice was calm. Which made it ten times more terrifying. One of the knights swallowed hard.



"N-Not yet, Your Majesty. We're searching—"



"Search harder."



The temperature dropped.



And everyone knew—



If I wasn't found soon, people were going to die.



Hour 5: Found (And Regretting Everything)



When I finally woke up from my nap, I was groggy and confused. I stretched, yawned, and casually walked back toward the main halls. The moment I turned a corner—



I came face to face with a literal search party.



Guards.

Servants.

And worst of all—

The King.



He was standing in the middle of the hallway, golden eyes unreadable. The moment our eyes met—



Silence.



I blinked.



They stared.



"...What's with all the serious faces?" I mumbled sleepily.



Cassian's face contorted.



"YOU WERE SLEEPING?!"



Adrian pinched the bridge of his nose. Damian laughed. And the King? The King strode toward me with slow, deliberate steps. Everyone backed away. I nervously took a step back.



"Uh—Your Majesty, I—"



"You disappeared for five hours."



His voice was quiet. Dangerous. I gulped.



"...Yes?"



"You made my entire palace panic."



I looked around. Guards still looked tense. Maids were whispering. The steward looked like he was about to faint. I scratched my cheek. "...Oops?"

Silence.



The King exhaled slowly.



"Tea," he finally said.



I blinked. "...Huh?"



"You will make tea. Now."



I opened my mouth to protest—



And then thought better of it.



"...Yes, Your Majesty."



And that's how I escaped death... barely.