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After letting all her emotions out, Anastasia finally felt a little lighter. But her eyes were now puffy and red, and her lips were a little swollen.

Tilla came forward and asked Edith, “May I know where the bathroom is, milady? I will escort the Queen there.”

“I will come along.” Edith also got up and led them to the nearest bathroom.

Tilla helped Anastasia wash her face and get freshened up.

“I will be right back.” Anastasia dismissed Tilla and locked the door to the bathroom.

Tilla was alone outside with Lady Edith. Tilla kept her head low and asked Edith, “Her Majesty’s tea has gotten cold. May I take it back to the kitchen and bring a hot one? If I let it sit there then she will insist on drinking the cold tea thinking it will be troublesome for the servants.”

Edith gave a subtle smile and said, “She is like that, isn’t she? The one who compromises so as not to burden the others.”

Tilla also smiled and gave a nod. “She has always been that way. She is always considerate.”

.....

Edith then gave the permission. “Sure then. The kitchen is at the far right of the living room.”

Tilla didn’t waste a second in taking the opportunity to go and meet the human servants of the Wintertide Mansion.

After taking a few moments to herself, Anastasia walked out of the bathroom. She saw Edith still waiting for her outside. So she apologized, “I’m sorry for sobbing like a little girl.”

“It’s alright.” Edith stretched her hand and pushed back the few wet strands of Anastasia’s hair that were stuck on her forehead. And she said, “I am simply glad to know that you think of me as someone to whom you could show your vulnerabilities.”

The two then returned to the living room.

Tilla took her time in coming back with the tea. She brewed the tea for Anastasia and placed it on the table.

Edith also boldly asked Tilla, “Why don’t you serve a cup to me as well? Let’s see how it tastes.”

Tilla bowed and brewed a cup of tea for Edith as well.

Anastasia curiously watched Edith take a sip of her tea. There was no change in Edith’s expression whatsoever. So she asked, “Do you like it?”

“Umm...” Edith pressed her lips together and squinted her eyes at her teacup. “I don’t know if I like it. But I don’t dislike it either. It smells nice though.”

Anastasia grinned and agreed, “Yes, it really smells good.”

And after their little experiment with tea was over, Edith led Anastasia outside to her garden.

The servants had laid out a table and a few chairs in the shaded place of the garden. The white furniture stood out in the green backdrop.

“I hope you won’t mind sitting outside for lunch,” Edith glanced at Anastasia and asked.

Anastasia replied without taking her eyes off of the beautiful scenery, “No, I love it already. My brother and I used to have our lunch in his garden every time he came home.”

Edith gazed at Anastasia’s face when she asked, “Do you miss them? Your brother and your parents?”

“A little.” Anastasia let out a quiet sigh and added in a soft whisper, “I hope I will get to see them again.”

Edith couldn’t find the hidden meaning behind her words. So she suggested, “You know you don’t have to be bound to Sorvando, right? You can always visit them if you miss them.”

Anastasia sat down on one of the chairs and answered a bit sadly, “I would. But I can’t handle the long-distance travel by carriages very well.”

“Oh! That might be a problem then.” Edith also took her seat in front of Anastasia. And she gestured for the servants to start bringing the dishes and serving the lunch to the Queen.

Anastasia was a little overwhelmed when the servants brought so many dishes that they covered the whole table.

She glanced at Edith nervously and said, “I’m guessing that I will be the only one eating these foods. But this is way too much food for just one person.”

Edith waved her hand and nonchalantly replied, “I wasn’t sure what you would like so I asked the chef to prepare several varieties.”

“But it would go to waste,” Anastasia said while scanning the whole table full of dishes like roasted chicken, pork pies, sausages, fries, gravy, bread, and a lot of other dishes which were probably native to the Silver Keep.

Edith saw Anastasia getting confused. And she recalled what Tilla had said earlier. She suddenly got worried that Anastasia might try to stuff everything that was on the table just to be polite.

So she suggested to Anastasia, “Choose whatever you like and send the rest away. The humans here will enjoy it, I’m sure.”

Anastasia sighed in relief and the corner of her lips curved up.

Tilla was on standby to help serve the Queen.

And Anastasia asked Tilla to serve her bread, a sausage, a pork pie, and two pieces of what looked like corn nuggets.

“This will be more than enough for me.” Anastasia glanced at the helpers who were standing around and ordered them, “Take the rest away, please. And thank you for preparing so many dishes.”

The helpers bowed to the Queen and did as she had ordered.

Anastasia then ordered Tilla as well, “Tilla, why don’t you join them for lunch? You must be tired from standing all day long. I will be fine.”

“If you say so.” Tilla gave a bow and added, “I will find you soon.” And she followed those helpers.

Anastasia turned to look at Edith. She found her resting her chin on her palm and staring at her with a subtle smile on her face.

Edith noticed the questioning glance of Anastasia and said, “It’s just that, when I first heard that Orsenia had sent a Princess here, I imagined you would be some spoiled Princess who was after power. But the moment I set my eyes on you, all I saw was a na?ve, innocent, and scared Princess.”

“And the more I see you, the more I like you.” Edith gave a warm smile to Anastasia.

“Thank you for being so nice to me.” Anastasia gave a slight bow to Edith even though she was in a higher hierarchy than Edith. And she said with all honesty, “You were the first vampire whom I wasn’t scared of.”

“So, you used to be scared of Caspian?” Edith asked curiously.

Anastasia grabbed the fork and knife tightly and replied with a frown, “He deliberately scared the soul out of me when I first came here. And he used to threaten me so that I would go back to Orsenia. He used to be so scary.”

Edith laughed and said, “I bet. He must have been scared to let someone get close to him.”

A servant walked in while carrying a golden tray with a golden cup on it. “Milady,” he gently bent down beside Lady Edith.

Edith glanced at Anastasia and asked, “I hope you won’t mind if I also enjoy my lunch?”

Anastasia smiled to hide her discomfort upon seeing the cup full of red liquid in it. “No, please help yourself,” she replied in an almost inaudible whisper.

Edith was about to grab the cup from the tray.

However, Hamilton suddenly swooshed in out of nowhere and stole the cup.

“Thank you, mother,” he winked at his glaring mother.

“My Queen,” he bowed to Anastasia and sat down on the seat from where he could see both Anastasia and his mother.