Chapter 251: The King’s Maid or Doll?

Lauren couldn’t believe what she had just heard from the king. Why would she be assigned as his personal maid? She wanted to keep her job in the castle, yes, but that didn’t mean she wanted to work close to the king. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was because she resembled his wife. But hadn’t he already apologized for the misunderstanding? That meant the confusion had been cleared.

Noticing her expression, Alec asked, "Do you have any objections?"

She kept her head lowered. "No, I have none, Your Majesty."

"Good." Alec turned to Matthias and eyed him meaningfully. Matthias bowed before leaving the room.

Alec returned to his seat. "Why don’t you take a seat and have tea with me?"

Lauren raised her head and looked at Alec with confusion. How could a lowly servant like her sit with the king and have tea with him? It didn’t sound right, did it? This behavior of the king only made her assume more that he was doing this because of her face which he believed to be his wife’s.

"I don’t think that is appropriate, Your Majesty."

Alec held his teacup gracefully and raised a brow. "Something is inappropriate when I say it is inappropriate, Miss Davis."

Lauren didn’t know what to say. It was odd to sit with the king, but as it was his command and no one would dare say no to him, she slowly made her way to the table and sat across from him. His eyes bore into her in a way that made her insides shudder.

"It is an honor to have tea with you, Your Majesty," she muttered, which made Alec’s lips curl.

Lauren had never been so proper with him and had never been so reserved in her words and actions. He figured out that it must be because she was under the assumption right now that she was merely a maid while he was the king. The thought made him smile.

"Just think of this as part of my asking for forgiveness for what I have done to you and your friends. I sincerely apologize," his voice grew gentler with every word he spoke, "especially about what happened the other day during breakfast." Remembering how he had hurt her that day because he thought she was an impostor was like shoving a blade straight to his throat.

"I understand, Your Majesty. I have forgiven you for misunderstanding my intentions," there was a slight bitterness in Lauren’s tone, which didn’t go unnoticed.

Alec’s jaw clenched. He didn’t want her to think that he could easily do that to her like a heartless scum. He was too overwhelmed by his emotions that day, and he didn’t want anyone disrespecting Lauren. But now he was regretting that he had hurt her. He would rather skin himself alive than hurt his wife.

"That will never happen again," Alec assured with solemn eyes.

Lauren refused to meet his eyes, but she could feel his intense gaze as she muttered, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

In one of the courtyards, Matthias met with Darius, Julian, Ethan, Vivian, and Edith. He had been instructed by Alec to tell them what was going on so they wouldn’t make any wrong moves to feed their curiosity. All of them were shocked after Matthias had told them.

Vivian couldn’t help but cry in Ethan’s chest. "I can’t believe it, Ethan...I can’t believe she is alive. I am so happy!"

Julian couldn’t help but get teary-eyed as well. "Can’t we really introduce ourselves to her? Because it will trigger her memories?"

"Anthony said that you cannot do or say anything that would trigger her memories, but that doesn’t mean you cannot get close to her or talk to her. King Alec wants you to know this so you will know how to act when she is around and be careful with your words and actions."

Darius remained unmoving. He was still surprised. He had been blaming himself for what had happened five years ago, and now that he heard Lauren was alive, it felt too surreal. But he knew for sure that whatever happened this time, he would never allow harm to befall Lauren again. He swore it on his life.

"I want to see her, to know what she has been doing all these years," said Vivian, sobbing.

"I understand your excitement and joy, but we must take everything slowly. Her Majesty has no idea who she is, and if her memories are triggered, the sealing spell will activate, and it will only harm her. So King Alec asks you to distance yourselves for now," Matthias explained.

"Just let us see her from afar then. I’m sure that won’t hurt," said Ethan, tapping Vivian’s back.

Vivian agreed. "Yes, we won’t talk to her, but let us see her. I just want to see her once."

"I will surely arrange a time for that," Matthias assured.

All of them couldn’t be more grateful. They had been wishing for Lauren to be alive all these years. And now that a miracle had happened, it felt too good to be true.

While the group talked about the great news, Lauren remained in the king’s office, sitting on the sofa while Alec was reading paperwork at his desk. She was instructed to just sit there and was never told to do anything or assist the king as his maid, which made her wonder if she was really a maid or just a doll sitting in the corner.

When lunchtime came, Alec asked the maids to serve his meal in the office. He felt a strong urge to invite Lauren to join him, but he knew that would only make her feel uncomfortable, so he had her have her lunch at another table. And he refrained from looking at her because he could sense her tension, despite how much it pained him not to watch her.

After lunch, Lauren helped the servants clean the table and plates where the king had eaten his lunch because she had been idling the entire morning and she thought she ought to do something.

When the servants left and she was alone with Alec in the king’s office, she walked to his desk. He stopped reading paperwork and looked up at her. Alec was surprised that she had come to him now.

"Might there be anything I can assist you with, Your Majesty?"

Alec was about to answer no and tell her to sit in the corner and wait for his command. But he paused, and an idea popped into his mind.

"Yes, there is."

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read