I had intended to report the threatening letter immediately.



But, unfortunately—



I had gotten distracted by my accidental new job as the King's personal document organizer.



By the time I finally remembered, an entire day had passed.



So, naturally, I did what I always did—



I stormed into the royal study without warning.



"YOUR MAJESTY!" I announced dramatically.



The King, seated at his desk, barely glanced up.



"What now, Thalia?"



I slammed the letter onto his desk.



"Someone sent me this!" I declared.



He finally looked at it.



Then, as his golden eyes scanned the letter, I watched it happen.



His expression didn't change—



But the entire atmosphere in the room shifted.



The temperature seemed to drop.



The air became heavier.



And then—



He set the letter down carefully.



"...Who gave this to you?"



I swallowed.



"I-I don't know," I admitted. "It was left for me in the palace."



His gaze darkened.



For a moment, he said nothing.



Then—



"Leave it to me," he murmured, his voice dangerously calm.



I blinked rapidly.



"Wait—what does that mean?!"



He didn't answer.



Instead, he reached for a document, dipped his quill in ink, and wrote something quickly.



Then, handing the paper to a royal attendant, he said smoothly—



"Deliver this immediately."



The attendant took one look at the note—



And visibly paled.



Then rushed out of the room.



I watched all of this in horror.



"Your Majesty," I started hesitantly, "what exactly did you—"



He lifted his teacup calmly.



"Nothing you need to concern yourself with."



I narrowed my eyes.



"...Did you just declare war on someone?"



He took a slow sip of tea.



"Drink your own tea and stop asking questions."



I internally screamed.



I had no idea what he just did—



But something told me that the entire noble hierarchy was about to descend into chaos.



And somehow, it was my fault.



Again.



~~~



Ever since the King discovered my new skill, my life had taken a drastic turn.



Now, on top of my tea duties—

1. I was revising important documents.

2. I was rewriting contracts to be readable.

3. I was organizing trade reports.



And, unfortunately, this did not go unnoticed.



I was on my way to the kitchens when I overheard two nobles complaining.



"This is outrageous," one muttered. "That maid has access to state documents now?"



"How did she even get that position?!" the other hissed.



"Next thing you know, she'll be running council meetings."



I froze.



Then quickly walked away before my impending doom caught up with me.



I had barely recovered from the noble gossip when another problem arrived.



Duke Adrian.



Because, apparently, he had heard about my new skill.



And, naturally—



He wanted to test me.



"You simplified an entire trade contract?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.



I crossed my arms. "Yes?"



He hummed thoughtfully.



"...Try this one."



He handed me a scroll filled with an impossible amount of legal nonsense.



I stared at it.



Then stared at him.



Then back at the scroll.



"...Is this a punishment?"



Adrian smirked.



"Consider it a challenge."



I sighed dramatically.



Then, grabbing a fresh parchment, I got to work.



Twenty minutes later—



I handed him the rewritten document.



He scanned it carefully.



Then—



"...Impressive."



I blinked.



"Huh?"



He gave me a small, amused nod.



"I expected you to struggle," he admitted. "But this is... quite efficient."



I narrowed my eyes.



"Was that a compliment?!"



Adrian smirked.



"Perhaps."



I gasped.



"Duke Adrian, you do have a heart!"



His smirk vanished.



"...Forget I said anything."



Too late.



I was never letting this go.



After surviving the Duke's nonsense, I finally had some extra free time.



So, naturally—



I did something completely unnecessary.



I held another private concert.



For myself.



I double-checked the office.



No one was around.



The King was attending a late meeting.



So, feeling safe, I started singing.



And then—



I started dancing.



🎶 "I don't know about you, but I'm feeling twenty-two!" 🎶



I twirled dramatically, spun around, and—



Crashed straight into a bookshelf.



THUD.



Books tumbled to the floor.



I winced.



"Ow—"



And that's when I heard it.



A soft cough.



I froze.



Turned slowly.



And there, standing in the doorway—



The King.



Pure.



Absolute.



Silence.



"...Thalia."



I internally died.



"...Your Majesty."



His golden eyes flickered to the fallen books.



Then back to me.



Then—



"...Dancing?"



I gulped.



"...Exercise?"



There was a long pause.



Then—



His lips twitched.



"'I don't know about you, but I'm feeling twenty-two?'"



I wanted to SCREAM.



I fled immediately.



Later that night, I overheard palace staff whispering.



"I heard His Majesty was in an unusually good mood today."



"Unbelievable."



"What happened?"



I buried my face in my hands.



I was never recovering from this.