The pale ger in front of him is his Consort that he willingly married to as a part of a peace treaty with the Kingdom of Silla. Apart from a mere glance on their wedding day, today was the first time he face his bride.
He has never met a ger before, but he knows about their existence. During the past few decades, gers have declined in number and those who still live were living in enough wealth and comfort due to their worth. In his understanding, the gers are weak beings, needing to be pampered and sheltered all the time. While he has no particular feeling about such events, he does hope for a partner that is willing to fight alongside of him rather than being a complete white lotus.
Such thoughts crossed his mind when he sees the ger for the first time. A beautiful yet frail being, must be someone who is snobbish and demanding to be pampered all the time.
But right now... He wasn't so sure. Seeing his newly wedded bride, all alone in the chamber, with no guard and maid beside him makes him question his knowledge. He strolls around the chamber, seeing some knick-knack that his bride has brought from his kingdom, noticing how sparse it was, despite its high quality.
"Reporting to Your Highness, Your Consort has received multiple humiliations and sneak attacks from the concubines ever since he stepped into his courtyard after you leave. He remained oblivious at first, acknowledging all of them with a smile and regards his accident as his poor luck. However, after the incident at the lake, he finally realized that the concubines were plotting on him, thus he tried to keep his distance. Despite being cooped up inside his chamber after the incident, the women keep coming and even send their maids to taunt him in his room."
After leaving his Consort's chamber, he brings out his shadow guard, and asks him what has happened during his absence. The answer he got only flames up the rage inside his heart.
"Have you found out who drugged him?"
"Answering to Your Highness, it is Concubine Yan's maid. She has sent her maid to act as Your Consort's maid, instructing her to sabotage his meal and to spy on him."
The Prince visibly trembles in anger. He later found out that the traitorous maid had escaped and now missing.
"Where is his maid? Didn't he bring anyone from his kingdom?"
"Due to the marriage being a peace offering, only he is allowed to enter the kingdom. This is the rule that Your Majesty has drawn up. So... He comes here alone."
"Shi, guard him well. This time, stop any advance from harming him. Keep looking for that maid. You know what to do. Er, San, come out."
Inside the Prince's study chamber, two shadow guards appears, a man and a woman, both in a black clothing, with a mask on their face, in a blink on an eye, crouching their greeting next to another black clothed man in front of the handsome man.
"Er, I need you to be his maid from now on. Guide him and protect him by his side. Understand?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"And San, go to the Kingdom of Silla. I want to know everything about my Consort's life over there."
"Right away, Your Highness."
After getting their task, the shadow guards leave to complete it, leaving him alone to wallow about his feeling. He recalled back to the moment he gazed into his Consort's teary eyes. He can sense his fear.
And he vows to eliminate it and replace it with continuous joy.
----------
"Ah... This is the best sleep I ever had."
"Good morning, host. Please be ready. The Prince has sent for you his shadow guard to act as your maid."
"Eh?"
I open up my eyes slowly, before groggily sit up. My body feels a bit sluggish and stiff. I may have been sleeping a tad longer than necessary.
A moment later, the door open slowly, and a young girl, looks like in her early teen, cutely donning a pigtails on both of her head, step inside, carrying a large basin out of metal.
"Oh, you have awaken, Consort Jae Hee. Please, let me help you clean up and change."
As I watch her working her hardest to carry the seemingly heavy basin, I mentally ask my system about her.
"Zero Three, is this the shadow guard that you mention about? She looks like a young girl that barely hit puberty."
"It is her, host. She may look like that but according to my Intel, she is one of the most powerful shadow guards in the Prince hand. The Prince has also assigned another shadow guard to guard you in secret and have sent another to Jae Hee's previous kingdom, to gather information about him."
"Interesting..."
It seems like the Prince has start to take notice of me. This will make my job easier then.
"Consort Jae Hee?"
I snap out of my thought when the maid/ shadow guard wave her hand in my face. I blink in daze before focusing my eyes on her. Gathering my thought again, I start to assume my role... As a semi- white lotus ger.
----------
"Who are you? I've never seen you here before?"
The Consort's voice sound hoarse albeit it sweet melody. His eyes contain a trace of fear, scooting on his bed backwards, seemingly afraid with the newcomer.
The shadow guard who had been assigned to be the poor ger's maid suddenly pitied him. Despite her heart having been trained from the very beginning to ignore any feelings, she is after all a woman. She knows what happened to the poor Consort and knew that he would have a hard time trusting anybody.
But, her master, the Prince, have assign her to the task. And the first step to complete it is to gain this poor soul's trust.
"Ah... My name Xiao Er, I've been assigned to you, Consort Jae Hee, by the Prince."
The shadow guard notice a small glint of hope linger at the corner of the Consort's eyes as soon as he finishes her word.
"The Prince?"
"Yes, Consort. He was worried about you. Are you feeling okay now? I'll prepare your breakfast and your medicine after I help you change, Consort."
The pale ger let out a small smile before grudgingly climb down the bed. The shadow guard slash maid has prepared large basin of warm water on the small table near the bed. Walking wobbly to it, the pale ger stare blankly at the water, before turning back to her, who was waiting patiently by the basin.
"Thank you, Xiao Er. But... I can change by myself. You can leave now."
----------
There's no way in my life that I would let some stranger take a look at me. Thank God that the original soul feels the same as well. Based on my memory of him, Jae Hee wouldn't let others see his body too, even since he was ten, right after they notice him to be a ger.
"But, Consort, it's my duty. If... if you don't let me do it, the Prince will get mad at me."
Eh... why does this maid getting all tear up?
"She's just pretending, host."
Ahh... well...
"Xiao Er, don't cry. I'm just... not comfortable changing in front of others. Don't worry, I won't tell the Prince about it. Erm... how about this, can you go and prepare my breakfast now? I'm a bit hungry as I didn't have my dinner last night. Can you do that?"
The maid blinks her eyes innocently before letting out a toothy grin. After excusing herself, she went out the chamber, but not before preparing me a set of change.
If I didn't know that she was a powerful shadow guard, I would probably take her as genuinely innocent teenager. Oh well, she is here to guard me after all.
"So, Zero Three. Where can I take a bath?"