That choker looked very suspicious at first glance.

So I hesitated a bit about whether I should wear it.

“Wearing something around the neck seems uncomfortable.”

“All the bedchamber maids wear it though?”

“Oh, is that so?”

At that moment, she laughed, wondering what kind of suspicion she had.

“But does wearing this make any difference?”

“If you wear that, you won’t be assigned the work that maids do. Otherwise, you’d have to do some unpleasant tasks occasionally.”

“Then what will I do?”

“Come to my room at night.”

Thanasis intended to imprint Reniel as his own.

Imprinting was the only way to monopolize a purification ability user.

The exact method was not known, but in every generation, the only one who exclusively possessed the purification ability user was their husband.

So he could only vaguely think that imprinting happened by sharing a bed.

And once imprinted, the purification ability user cannot purify the magic of other ability users.

Instead, they could purify their imprinted partner much more deeply and precisely than before imprinting.

“What else besides that?”

“After I appoint you as head maid, you’ll have to take on the duties you had as an attendant again.”

“That doesn’t seem too difficult to handle.”

Reniel sniffed the aroma of the luxurious tea placed before her, then took a small sip.

She opened her eyes wide in surprise at the taste.

It was clearly black tea, but whether the brewing method was different or the aftertaste was sweet, it tasted quite good.

Yet when she swallowed it, it was intriguing how a clean taste remained in her mouth.

“I don’t even trust the head attendant of my palace right now.”

Thanasis couldn’t tell if Reniel was that capable.

He just thought there must be a reason for her rapid promotion.

“If you do the work better than the head attendant here, I can give you full authority.”

“How much would the salary be?”

Reniel was very worried about that part because of what he had said earlier about her being scammed for employment.

She was watching closely to see if Thanasis, who was fidgeting with the black choker beside her, would hesitate to answer this part.

“I’ll give you what I promised.”

Contrary to her concerns, Thanasis was generous when it came to finances.

The money he earned from the granary area near the capital alone was enormous.

“By the way, do you know how to manage business too?”

“Of course.”

“Then I can entrust you with that work as well. If you do well and become a head maid more excellent than the head attendant, I could give you even more than initially promised.”

“How much more?”

“Well, as much as my chief aide?”

He took out the fountain pen from his front pocket to write the amount on a napkin. Then he skillfully wrote down the figure.

“Oh my. Do all aides receive this much?”

“To begin with, all aides are nobles. The labor costs for nobles are clearly different from those of commoners or quasi-nobles who make up the servants.”

Reniel felt as if she had been recognized for her abilities and scouted by a rival company.

“I’ll really work hard!”

She promised as she carefully folded the napkin he gave her and put it in her pocket.

It was only now that Thanasis’s attire caught her eye. He was wearing a neat white uniform.

After always seeing him in rags, it was really fascinating to see him in proper attire befitting a crown prince.

“What are you looking at?”

Thanasis smiled and replied as she stared at him intently.

“It seems like it’s been so long since Your Highness has been in such attire.”

“Never mind that. Let’s go to my room now. Come and do some healing. My body is in too much pain.”

“Ah, of course.”

“And come back after receiving your clothes. The maid’s clothes.”

“Yes.”

“The choker… give it here. I’ll put it on for you.”

She handed the choker to him as he reached out his hand.

He undid the clasp on the back of the choker. Then he approached her.

As she stood still, it seemed to make her more nervous.

He gathered her long hair with one hand, revealing her delicate neck.

Her neck was so white and thin that he thought it might break if he gripped it with force.

He tried to ignore that thought and put the choker around her neck.

Reniel chuckled, perhaps tickled by the smooth fabric of the choker.

He was momentarily captivated by that sight, but soon finished fastening the choker around her neck and said,

“By the way, a bedchamber maid cannot be separated from her master beyond a certain distance.”

“Why?”

“If separated, they might touch something other than their master, and thinking they’ve become dirty, their heart stops.”

“Surely this isn’t…”

“That’s right.”

Thanasis said that and then unwrapped the scarf around his own neck. An identical choker was revealed on his neck.

“It’s just a formality anyway, so don’t worry too much about it.”

“But this is…!”

“You won’t be able to leave the palace anyway.”

“But Your Highness might go out!”

“Then you’ll have to come with me.”

He said that and smiled brightly.

Now that Reniel had completely fallen into his hands, even her aggrieved expression seemed quite cute.

“Will you remove it when I get promoted?”

No. Of course not.

He was about to say that, but when her expression changed slightly to a tearful look, he found himself answering without thinking.

“Of course. This is just a formality, I said. It’s only worn to prevent you from being suspected. There will be people who doubt where you came from, whether you’re really my person. And because it’s dangerous…”

He couldn’t understand why he was making such excuses, but he continued speaking.

“I have many political enemies. Just the fact that I brought you will make many people resent you.”

“Then isn’t that bad only for me?”

“If you move beyond a certain distance, I’ll receive a signal.”

He said that while staring intently at Reniel.

She looked confused, but soon seemed to try to think positively as she composed her expression.

“Somehow, I really feel like I’ve been scammed for employment.”

“It’s a safety measure, I tell you.”

“That may be true, but… hmm.”

She decided to hold back what she wanted to say.

And she knew to some extent from the original work that most of what he said was true.

“By the way, I don’t know how to ride a horse. It might be difficult for me to accompany you when you go out.”

“I’ll teach you that gradually. It’s not that difficult.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Thanasis continued speaking as he saw Reniel’s mood improving through her expression.

“And if you wear that choker, I can know when you’re sick. And whenever you’re sick, you can see the palace doctor anytime. If you get sick… the palace doctors will be punished.”

“What? Why is that?”

“That’s how it is for bedchamber maids. Because they’re maids cherished by their master. Well… there are various reasons.”

In reality, it was just that his father had created such palace rules to thoroughly manage the maids he cherished, but.

In the current situation, it seemed to sound quite plausible.

“There are many good points.”

“If you need anything else, feel free to say so. Nothing should be difficult.”

He said that and then stood up from his seat.

“See you later.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

He then went outside. And without realizing it, he turned back to check if she was looking at him.

Her gaze was directed towards him, which he quite liked.

****

The servants of the Crown Prince’s palace were in a state of emergency.

Until now, they had only heard reports that the Crown Prince had gone out on business.

But now it was even more so because Thanasis had returned bringing a woman, and a bedchamber maid at that.

They thought this would never happen in their lifetime, as Thanasis greatly disliked women.

However, by the time they came to their senses, she had already been assigned to the Crown Prince’s palace, changed clothes, received her belongings, and was on her way.

“Head Attendant, will we be alright?”

“…I don’t know.”

The Head Attendant couldn’t welcome the bedchamber maid who would bring new changes.

Originally, it was natural for every palace to have an appropriate allocation of maids and attendants.

But this place had an overwhelming number of male attendants. Because Thanasis disliked women.

That’s why the Head Attendant was able to maintain his current enormous power and strength.

But now a maid in this situation.

It was obvious that a maid in a palace without a head maid would have as much power as a head maid.

On top of that, she was a bedchamber maid. A woman who serves her master every night would have enough power to easily take the lives of attendants.

Her very existence felt threatening to the Head Attendant.

“Has Princess Jeiren said anything yet?”

“No, not yet.”

The Head Attendant was Princess Jeiren’s person.

The one who repeatedly tried to kill Thanasis, unable to give up her dream of becoming Crown Princess.

“I see. Then let’s wait. Princess Jeiren will take care of it.”

The Head Attendant knew well how irritating it would be for Princess Jeiren to have someone who could quell the rumors that Thanasis was impotent.

Until just recently, it seemed like everything would be resolved if they just waited.

After all, it was Princess Jeiren’s doing that there was no one trustworthy around Thanasis, no one who truly served him.

In Terrison’s case, Princess Jeiren left him alone because he maintained a neutral position.

They were waiting like that for Princess Jeiren’s orders.

****

“You came early?”

Thanasis was in the middle of washing up. He was entering the room with only a towel wrapped around his waist.

“You asked me to heal you.”

Reniel avoided making eye contact with him and laid out the items she had brought on the bed.

She had stopped by the palace doctor’s, so she was able to bring quite a lot.

“The maid’s uniform doesn’t suit you.”

He didn’t like how simple the maid’s uniform she was wearing was.

Rather, as her clothes became simpler, her face seemed to stand out more.