Would Hendry let the maid who was working for Nathalia get away with it? Oh, of course not.

Before the royal maids had even arrived, the man immediately asked another maid to summon the one who had been working for the Duchess.

In front of the other maids, the Duke openly pointed out the mistake the maid had made. He even asked Kaileon to present the evidence.

Amazed by the smartphones—which they thought were advanced magical devices—they were also shocked by the video recording.

"But I’m not that cruel to just kick you out; I’ll give you a few coins for your travel expenses back to your village. I won’t bring this up again, so you can still work elsewhere in the future. And to the other maids: if any of you dare to betray me behind my back again like she did, I won’t hesitate to humiliate you. This is just a warning—take it to heart!"

The other maids trembled with fear. They had forgotten that the ruler of the Arslan region was Duke Hendry Arslan, not the Duchess. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

They knelt and begged for forgiveness; some of them even willingly admitted to the mistakes they had made.

Among other things, they had once given Kaileon poisoned food. They had also taken a small amount of money that was supposed to be sent to Kaileon. But then they admitted they hadn’t done that again since Justine found out.

No wonder, a year before Kaiden finally took over Kaileon’s body, all of Kaileon’s allowance and food had been delivered by Justine. But Kaileon’s condition was so dire that he wasn’t even aware Justine was the one doing all that.

After the maids had wept over their mistakes, Kaileon finally forgave them and gave each of them a sweet milk and fruit flavored candies. Kaileon also reminded them to cooperate with him and the Duke if they wanted to keep working at the castle.

Fearing they’d be targeted like the maids who’d just been fired and expelled, they promised to remain loyal to the Duke. They also promised that if the Duchess gave them an order, they’d agree—but in reality, they’d immediately report it to the Duke.

Once the commotion had finally died down, they welcomed the royal envoys as was proper.

Actually, it was the Duchess who was supposed to welcome them, but she insisted that matters concerning Princess Angeline were Kaileon’s responsibility.

Therefore, the maids followed Kaileon’s orders to prepare a communal luncheon in front of the pavilion.

"Why do you look so worried, Angeline? Is something hurt?" asked Kaileon.

Angeline smiled and shook her head gently, then replied.

"I’m just afraid that the maids sent here might be emissaries from Princess Anabelle or the Queen."

Kai chuckled upon hearing this, then gently patted Angeline on the shoulder.

"Don’t worry about that, princess. If they really are sent by Princess Anabelle or the Queen, that’s actually a good thing... I’ve already set up various surveillance devices for them. But I have a good feeling that they were sent by the King or your mother. Even so, we still have to stay vigilant, right?" said Kaileon.

Angeline nodded with a smile. Kaileon had made many thorough preparations—things Angeline hadn’t even thought of at all.

The girl turned back to Kaileon, only to find that the young man was also staring at her. Surprised, Angeline’s heart began to race strangely. She was just an ordinary girl who would feel shy when looked at like that by a handsome young man.

Meanwhile, the reason Kai kept staring at Angeline was because he had just acquired a basic appraisal ability.

This ability allowed him to see a person’s status—information such as their full name, origin, and the amount of magical energy they possessed. It also shows physical strength, agility, charm, which elements suited them, and what skills they possessed.

Kai couldn’t believe what he saw in Angeline. Angeline’s magical energy was indeed quite substantial, but there was no specific element that truly suited her; she wasn’t strong at all—in fact, she was very weak. Perhaps the only thing that could be considered good was her charm, which was quite good, meaning Angeline fell into the "beautiful" category.

But there was one thing that stood out very clearly in the girl’s status.

She possessed a rare skill: monster taming. This skill included the ability to communicate with monsters.

And what amazed Kai the most was that all these skills had only just emerged because Angeline’s body had recently recovered. It could be said that these skills had been dormant within her all along.

"I think I know why you heard that strange sound earlier, princess," said Kai.

Angeline furrowed her brow. "Oh, really? What was it?"

"Let’s talk about this tomorrow or later tonight, okay? I think we should hurry because our guests have arrived."

Angeline nodded in agreement, even though she was still curious about what Kai actually wanted to tell her.

Several maids arrived, and only one of them was someone Angeline had ever seen at the royal court—and even then, she was the maid of the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Nagreize. She was the kindest maid and treated Angeline like a royal princess without giving her a single condescending look. The Crown Prince’s maid turned out to be the head maid among the other maids who had arrived.

At first, they seemed displeased at having to go to the pavilion instead of the main castle.

However, after seeing the lavish welcome in the pavilion courtyard—where even the Duke himself was standing to greet them—they finally smiled happily.

At least, it turned out that Princess Angeline was being treated well by the Duke. But why the pavilion and not the main castle? The royal maids found it strange.

After the maids greeted him, the Duke said only a few words, then invited them to have lunch.

The lavish lunch menu—far more extravagant than anything they’d ever seen in the kingdom—felt almost unreal. How could there be so many whole roasted chickens there, seasoned with unusual spices and smelling absolutely delicious? Not to mention the other dishes and the mouthwatering desserts.

They assumed that such a beautiful spread wouldn’t taste as good as they hoped. But once they tasted it, they changed their minds. In fact, the flavor of the food far exceeded their expectations.

It was absolutely delicious.

"Since I’m busy, I’ll leave you here. My son, Kaileon, will explain everything to you. If there’s anything, you can come to the castle and tell me everything. Excuse me," said the Duke, who had eaten only one whole roasted chicken and then had to leave because he had many matters to attend to.

The royal maids didn’t mind this at all, because simply being welcomed with delicious food and friendly smiles was already beyond their expectations.

They had even expected there to be no welcome at all. Given the rumors circulating about Duke Arslan and his troublesome eldest son, the maids had come at the crown prince’s command.

The only person who still objected to Angeline leaving the kingdom was the crown prince. He feared that Angeline would be treated poorly there.

However, seeing how the Duke bid farewell to Kaileon and Angeline, and observing that Kaileon was as polite as any other nobleman’s son, put the royal maids’ minds at ease.

Though there was still one thing that seemed off.

"May I ask a question, young master Kaileon?" asked Jeny, the head maid.

Kaileon nodded, "Yes, go ahead, Jeny."

"Well, this has really been bothering me ever since I first heard it—that Princess Angeline is staying in the pavilion instead of the main castle. Is this a form of discrimination?" asked Jeny.

Suddenly, Angeline raised her hand. "Ahem, may I answer that, Jeny?"

Jeny nodded, then adopted a serious expression, bracing herself for whatever Angeline might say.

"Of course, Your Highness, but you must speak honestly—you mustn’t hide anything," said Jeny.

Angeline nodded, still smiling brightly.

Jeny had never seen such a bright smile on Angeline’s face. In fact, Angeline looked much healthier and happier in the Arslan region.

"Actually, even if I were living in the Duke’s castle, I would still have insisted on moving here. Because Kaileon actually lives in the pavilion, not in the Duke’s castle. I really love being in the pavilion—it’s so comfortable here. The servants here aren’t as professional as the royal maids, but they’re very friendly, kind, and warm. They prepare food this delicious for me every day. Oh, and Kaileon also prepared a very beautiful room for me—even this pretty dress I’m wearing was bought by Kaileon. I feel so happy here, Jeny. You should observe everything that happens here before jumping to conclusions, because neither Kaileon nor the Duke is as bad as you’ve heard. All of that is just irresponsible, senseless gossip. Trust me."

The maids who had come from that kingdom still seemed hesitant, but they were beginning to trust Angeline a little. Angeline’s expression was so innocent and sincere that it would be obvious if she were lying.

Besides, there was still plenty of time to prove whether what Angeline said was true or not.

"I’ve also prepared rooms for you, and there are clothes you can wear—clothes that are more comfortable for working in a hot place like this. I hope you’ll feel at home here," said Kaileon, who was completely different from what the rumors had described.

Who would have thought that Kaileon was such a handsome young man—even far more handsome than the most handsome young man they had ever seen.

Well, it wasn’t surprising, since Kaileon was the son of Duke Arslan, one of the most handsome men on the Green Continent.