n

n

nAfter the incident, the golden couple once again settled down to enjoy the rest of their dinner, and Jane and Sylvia cleared everything on the table and served new platters.

nAfter about a minute of awkward silence, Priscella sipped a mouthful of water and gazed at Mikel to ask.

n

"Your highness, our new villa in the western firefly mountains is almost nearing completion.

"

n

"I remember your interest in that area. Umm… I was wondering if your highness would mind accompanying me there sometime soon?

"

nShe coquettishly smiled and bent her head down.

n

"Oh.

" Mikel raised his eyebrows.

"Sure. Sure. I am indeed interested in visiting those mountains.

"

n

"Heh. You are so kind to remember such a small detail I might have mentioned on a whim.

"

nHe chuckled with a slight grin, which made him seem as though he was teasing the lady's real intentions.

nPriscella immediately blushed, hiding her face in her long golden locks.

nMikel smiled, however, his eyes did not linger on her. He snapped his fingers, gazing outside the window, looking at the crescent moon being harassed by the clouds.

"Get the desserts.

"

nJane once again readily served the plates, each containing a sliver of the three deserts.

nShe knew that Mikel was not very fond of sweet things and served him only a small portion.

nPriscella's plate on the other hand had a generous helping of the tart.

nThe other two would be served as per the lady's wishes if she pleased. This was the usual norm and Jane followed it to a T.

nPriscella had already visited the castle plenty of times for Jane to know exactly what was expected of her.

nNow that the last segment of the dinner was coming to an end, Jane felt like she could breathe again and stepped back to join Sylvia, becoming a part of the backdrop.

nAnd luckily for her, the woman looked quite pleased and she took a small bashful bite of the dessert, looking at Mikel as if she would rather be eating him.

nShe then opened her mouth to say something, when Mikel suddenly commented.

"This is interesting. Who made the desserts today?

"

nBoth Jane and Sylvia instantly looked bewildered. They had expected Priscella to kick up some sort of fuss, but not Mikel.

nHowever, that only made Jane even more nervous. She fidgeted with her hands uncomfortably, while Sylvia started sweating.

nMikel first glanced at Jane and then at Sylvia and he could guess who had made the dessert.

nHe then simply chuckled and finished his words, letting the both of them off the hook.

"It really suits my taste. Keep up the good work.

"

nBoth Jane and Sylvia nodded at the same time, relief washing over them.

nPriscella as well smiled sweetly, however, there was a small glint in the depth of her eyes.

nShe couldn't help but notice the way that Mikel had looked at the lowly maid.

n

"Your highness has a very good eye for talented servants.

" Priscella chuckled and praised Mikel, while at the same time pointing out that the woman was only a maid.

n

"Are you new here?

" She then turned around and abruptly asked, her gaze directed at Sylvia.

nHuh? Sylvia gulped, not knowing what she was supposed to say, but thankfully, Mikel answered the question on her behalf.

n

"Yes. Yes. She is just a slave I bought recently.

" He shrugged and then added.

"Did your cousin get a portion of the Quilin meat?

"

n

"I heard that he was one of the mages who helped to put down that magical beast.

"

n

"Oh! Yes, he did and he bragged on about it quite a bit.

" Priscella giggled.

nThe two continued to chat for a bit more, the attention no longer on Sylvia.

nAnd just like that, a few minutes later, the dinner came to an end.

nJane quickly cleared all the dishes from the dinner table and Sylvia helped serve some tea to the two occupants. Their ordeal was finally about to be over!

nSylvia felt like she had been standing on pins and needles and she was sure that Jane felt the same way.

nGlad to have survived this night, she carefully placed a cup of tea in front of Mikel and then placed another in front of Priscella, turning around to stand in the back.

nBut suddenly, she heard a yelp from behind her and then a crash.

nAh~ Sylvia was startled and she looked back, only to see that the cup of tea which she had stably placed on the table just a second ago, was now spilled all over the woman and the cup itself lying on the ground.

nOne of Priscella's maids rushed forward to quickly help the lady deal with it, while the other reprimanded Sylvia.

n

"You idiot. Look what you have done now. How dare you be so careless and cause discomfort to my Lady?!

"

nThe maid took a step forward and swung her hand, intending to slap Sylvia across her face, when the other party absentmindedly caught the hand that was about to hit her.

nSylvia stared at the maid, her brain still processing what just happened. She hadn't intended to stop the slap, it was just a reflex.

n

"You! How dare you so insolently? A slave like you should be whipped!

" The maid quickly took out a whip from her storage ring.

nEven a maid has a storage ring? Sylvia gawked, paying attention to the wrong thing.

nShe was too late to react this time and it looked like the maid was no ordinary one either, her actions being very smooth and agile.

nShe had already raised the whip for it to land on Sylvia when a hand shot out and held the woman's whip in place.

nSylvia gulped, her eyes trailing to see who it was, but only to be even more shocked.

nThough she knew better she had somewhat expected Mikel to have been the one to stop the whip but unexpectedly, it was Priscella herself who had stopped the maid.

n