The Princess And The Lord

It was the first time for them to see Zhao Li Xin angry for someone else, especially a woman. Everyone in Hei Shen Sect knew he liked to keep a distance from women no matter how beautiful or talented or refined they were. Zhao Li Xin didn't even let them touch his sleeve. One woman once tried and almost lost her hand. She was fortunate she only lost her cultivation instead. That was the last time a woman tried to touch him. Even the brazen women knew to keep their distance from him.

"I'm fine, really… This is just a scratch." Lory tried to calm him down as he seemed distraught.

"How could you get hurt after I gave you the amulet?" Zhao Li Xin asked with a perplexed look. 

"Oh, about that… What the heck is this?" Lory took out the necklace as she remembered something important. The jaws of Hei Shen members dropped. They couldn't believe their lord gave away one of his creations to a woman, yet the woman didn't know what the amulet did. This made them more curious. They really wanted to know the relationship between their Lord and the mysterious woman.

"It's a protective amulet. It should protect you from any harm but... is it defective?" Zhao Li Xin was baffled. He didn't make defective creations. It was more possible in his early years as an Armament Master, but his creation had never failed in the last five years. 

"Really…? It worked though as it threw Lao Min Na ten meters away from me and made her unconscious."

Zhao Li Xin's eyes darkened when heard Lao Min Na's name. He hadn't bothered to hurt her before because he meant nothing to him. Zhao Li Xin saw her as a foolish woman who overestimated her own talent. But it was now different as Lao Min Na dared to hurt someone, a person she shouldn't have touched in the first place. She made it personal. Her actions made him want to kill someone for the first time in his life. One could only imagine the look on Lao Min Na's face if she was to find out the man, she wanted to keep by her side had added her name on his 'killing list'.

"Ouch!" Lory's wound stung from overexcitement as she spoke. Zhao Li Xin trained his eyes to her face and it dawned on him they were still standing outside. He quickly lifted her and carried her inside his manor. Lory had a sense of 'déjà vu' when he carried her as though she weightless. She unconsciously grabbed his collar to brace herself as he walked fast. 

Mong Ki and Mong Yi followed their lord while stealing glances at each other. They needed to confirm they were both seeing the same thing. They were more shocked when they saw their lord take Lory to his private rooms. On the other hand, Lory was also stunned by the size of the room. It was way too big for one person. 

They crossed two wooden moon-gate partition covers with white curtains before reaching his bed. The bed was humongous. the bed is big enough for four adults to sleep on. Zhao Li Xin gently placed her on his bed then asked Mong Yi to prepare a basin of warm water and order Mong Ki to warm soup for her. 

"Your room is so big" Lory looked around with awe after Mong Ki and Mong Yi left.

"It's normal for a prince" Zhao Li Xin sat on the small stool beside the bed. The amulet was doing its job, healing Lory. The swelling on her face had reduced but Zhao Li Xin still ached for her, "Why did Lao Min Na hurt you?"

"She is crazy, that's all." Lory brushed it off as she glanced at Zhao Li Xin. Lory did not hate or like Lao Min Na as she could understand her. Lao Min Na was the classical paranoid case. Lao Min Na worried about anything, everything, and everyone. What she did to Lory was nothing personal. If Lory wanted revenge for what Lao Min Na did, she would have responded otherwise. She downplayed the whole matter not because she was kind but because she was too lazy.

Zhao Li Xin could tell Lory didn't want to talk about it, so he didn't push. He decided to send one of his subordinates to find out what happened.

Mong Yi knocked on the door before entering with a basin and dry towel. He placed everything on the table and left immediately at Zhao Li Xin's signal. 

Mong Yi scratched his head in puzzlement once he left the room. He wondered who the woman was as Zhao Li Xin who seemed allergic to women pampered the strange woman. He never thought he would see the day his lord would be so gentle with someone from the opposite sex.

Back inside the room, Zhao Li Xin took out a green jade bottle and poured the essence into the basin. He dipped a towel into the basin after a few seconds, squeezed it, and carefully folded before offering it to Lory, "Press this to the wound. It will decrease the pain and heal you immediately." 

"Thank you." Lory accepted the kind gesture. She could not remember the last time someone treated her with care. The last person to treat her well when she first appeared in this world was the farmer family she met when she arrived, they are Luo Ri Yi's family.

However, Lory was still not sure if they did it because they were truly kind or because they feared her. She couldn't blame them if they did it out of fear as her physical features were different from theirs, it took a while until she realizes that people around here never seen other people from a different race.

At that time Lory didn't use shapeshifter spell to alter her look so with dark bluish hair, pale skin, and purple eyes. She may have looked like a monster to them.

Mong Ki disrupted her thoughts as he arrived with a tray of food. Like Mong Yi, he left right after placing the food on the table. 

"Let's eat. You need food first before you rest." Zhao Li Xin led her to the dining table situated outside the wooden moon partition. He lifted the curtain for Lory making her giggle, "You know… a woman should not eat right before she sleeps as she would get fat."

Zhao Li Xin frowned as he disagreed, "Nonsense! You are too skinny."

Lory put her hand on her chest with a grateful face, "Ooh… Thank you!"

Zhao Li Xin was puzzled by her response. What he said was not meant to be a compliment. He honestly thought she was too skinny, but it seemed she liked being skinny. A frown touched his face. This was not good. If she was to be too skinny, people might think he didn't treat her well. He couldn't let them think that. While Zhao Li Xin was anxious with his own thoughts, Lory giggled as she remembered her past, the day she was preparing for the royal ball.

__________________________

"The dress seems tight again princess," Fredhard sighed with worry.

"I'm full of muscles not FAT!" Lory rebuked strongly as she denied the reality before her.

"..." Fredhard's pitiful look made Lory feel worse.

Lucas's sudden entry with some of his Archknights didn't help her situation. He banged the door and gave her a casual look. His face did not seem surprised, "You got fat again, huh?"

"Don't worry, princess, you still look cute," Jay tried to comfort her but he only made her feel sadder. The truth was she had gained a little weight. 

"I think you look fine…" Clift threw in. He gazed at Lory's arms and sighed prompting Lory to almost burst into tears.

"Hey, guys hurry up! The king is already on his way down!" Fargo opened the door roughly and stared at Lory. He looked disappointed with what he saw and didn't feel guilty saying, "Damn! The camera will put more weight on you…"

"..." No one dared to comment while the princess' face became redder than tomato.

"I WON'T GO OUT ANYMORE!" Lory screamed as she ran to the bathroom and locked herself in. The others tried to coax her to get out. 

"Come on, princess. It's only a muscle, isn't it?" Fred tried to cheer her.

"She has muscle under her chin?" Jay innocently commented to Clift.

Another loud cry was heard from inside the bathroom. They all glared at Jay with blame while he smiled awkwardly.

It was the king who finally managed to personally coax his daughter to come out. Lory now thought she was childish to behave the way she did but she was thirteen years old when it happened.

__________________________

"You are not eating?" Zhao Li Xin suddenly asked. His voice woke her from her daze.

"I am…" Lory scooped the soup from the bowl. It was a good thing it was only bird nest soup as she wouldn't be too full to sleep. She had never tasted such food before but loved the taste, "It is good."

"You like it?" Watching her eat with much gusto made Zhao Li Xin both happy and sad as it was a simple soup. It made him more displeased with the Lao family. The situation at the Lao Manor was worse than he thought. If Prime Minister Lao would know the leader of the Hei Shen sect was angry at him because of soup, his face would be filled with disbelief. 

"Eat slowly. You can have this soup anytime you want"

"Really? Thank you," Lory smiled brightly. Her eyes glittered. She has traveled around the world, tried different foods when she worked as the Royal Ambassador or when she hid her identity as a Beast Hunter. "You know… I'm actually a foodie… I love good food, drinks, and good restaurants. I can travel around the world just to taste different delicacies."

"If you stay with me, you can taste any food you wanted in this world," Zhao Li Xin threw in his bait. 

"Oh yes, you offered me a job before… Is the offering still on the table?" Lory remembered their last conversation as she asked hopefully. She would love to work for Zhao Li Xin. He was offering a higher salary and better living conditions judging by how he treated her, and the food... He would allow her to eat anything. That was AWESOME!

'The FISH was hooked!' Zhao Li Xin eyes flickering.

"Well..." Zhao Li Xin's mouth curved slightly. Lory missed the gesture as she was feeling nervous. He calmly said, "Okay. You are hired" 

"REALLY?" Lory's eyes bulged with shock and excitement, "Yeah!"

"You will be my personal maid. This means you will accompany me everywhere I go. You are stuck with me from now on. You cannot leave unless I said so, marry unless I allow you to do so, and you are forbidden from talking or get close to other men. Do you understand me?" Zhao Li Xin said firmly.

The shadow guards who stood outside the room almost fell to the ground when they heard this. Why would he ask the maid to do all that? Then again, the directive was not something you asked a maid but more like… a future wife. As he wanted her to follow him everywhere and forbid her from talking to other men. There was no master who required a maid to do that. 

However, Lory didn't find his request weird. In her defense, she did not understand the complicated customs of this world and Lao Manor was not the best example of what was normal. The people inside Lao Manor liked to take advantage of their position and bullied the weak. Lory was also not bothered by the directive as she trusted Zhao Li Xin's personality, he would never mistreat or hurt her.

"OKAY!" Lory agreed without hesitation.

"Good…" Zhao Li Xin gave a cunning smile.

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