Reina had no clue that her tiny act of retaliation against that nameless maid had caught the attention of those who had witnessed it.
She had already tossed that incident out of her mind and smiled widely when she reached the entrance of the Kitchen.
The sun was just beginning to rise so Reina found only a few core workers of the Kitchen present inside.
A few other maids who were preparing for the day to begin were also present while the rest of the Palace residents were still inside their respective rooms.
As Reina walked in, she found the head chef in charge of the Royal Kitchen yelling at an incompetent maid, threatening to demote her if she continued to fail in her chores.
The maid's eyes were teary after the earful she had just received, bowing repeatedly while begging the chef to give her another chance.
The moment she saw an outsider in the kitchen, she forgot about what she had been trying to achieve and glared at the chamberlain.
However, Reina did not have the patience to care about this open display of hostility and walked towards the kitchen island.
"Go wash the dishes." The middle-aged man with a chef's outfit ordered that maid who reluctantly nodded and turned towards the sink.
Placing the metallic water bottle, Reina scanned the room to see what was being prepared this morning.
"Does the King have any requests?" The chef hurried to the chamberlain's side and inquired what he thought was the reason for the young man's arrival.
Usually, the Butler would relay the orders of what their King desired to eat but ever since he had been away from the Palace, this duty had been assigned to Rein Melk.
Therefore, he assumed that Rein was here for the King who must have woken up earlier than expected.
To his surprise, Rein shook his head and before he could answer, his roaring belly had done the needful.
The chef was a strict man with his underlings but he would never let anyone starve on his watch.
Thus upon hearing the protesting belly of that young man, the middle-aged chef felt the urgent urge to feed him.
He tightened his apron and walked towards the stove, turning on the magic stone to light a fire before picking up two eggs to make an omelet for the young man.
"Two slices of toast." Reina wasn't shy in adding a few more items to her breakfast.
Until she could meet Doctor Bundt and accept his blood alternates, she would have to consume more human food in order to keep her energy levels up.
Thus while that teary-eyed but glowering maid and the rest of the chef's underlings watched in surprise, the chamberlain was busy instructing how he wanted his egg to be cooked.
The chef was only used to making a fried egg as scrambling an egg was considered to be an odd choice in this world.
It was something commoners made when they did not have sufficient money as sharing scrambled eggs was easier than frying one for each family member.
However, upon Rein's insistence, the eggs were scrambled and seasoned according to the instructions being given to the chef.
'Some fresh OJ.' Reina walked to the refrigerator and picked up a jug of sweet-smelling orange juice before pouring herself a glass.
The workers here watched in alarm as the usually timid young man took his seat right there near the kitchen island and began to relish his first meal of the day.
"You can eat in the servants' dining hall next door." The chef suggested as many were already there, eating the breakfast his subordinates had prepared for them earlier.
Reina swallowed a mouthful of scrambled eggs before looking up at the man who was tall but rounded around his waist.
"And eat while being stared at with blatant hostility?" She retorted which made the chef choke up.
After all, he had heard about how Rein was treated by the other servants and even witnessed with his own eyes the glare that one of his underlings had directed towards the chamberlain just a few moments ago.
Reina had a lot to accomplish today so when she saw that the chef no longer asked her to move to the next room, she focused on her meal.
A few minutes later, she had scarfed down the entire contents of the plate and even chugged the juice in one go.
'Should be enough for now.' She surmised as she rose from her seat.
Thanking the chef for his hard work, she picked the metallic bottle she had brought from her room and even asked for a glass from the kitchen.
Those who had worked close to the King were aware of his daily habits so the chef hurried to fetch a clean glass which was fit for the King's usage.
Snatching the glass that the maid was wiping, he checked it before handing it over to the young chamberlain.
Reina then bid goodbye to only the chef while turning a blind eye to the rest of the people in here.
Once she left the kitchen, she did not return to her room but walked towards the path leading outside the Palace.
Her next destination was the enchanted water fountain in the woods behind the Palace where she had to reach and return from before the King could wake up.
Finding no reason to delay, she hurried in the direction of the path to the woods that she was already acquainted with.
Reina did not have the time to admire the beauty of mother nature and returned to the Palace once she fetched what she had come here for.
One glass for the King and one bottle for her.
Pleased with what she had accomplished, Reina first placed the bottle in her room before walking towards the door that connected her room to the King's.
*Knock Knock*
She did not forget to follow the same steps her predecessor would in order to not gain any suspicions from the powerful man who looked like the Meteor Sama she adored.
"Come in," a gruff voice echoed from that room, making her heart thump after hearing it.
'Dammit!' She cursed at the voice which resembled Meteor Sama enough to make her want to hear that voice all day long.
However, reminding herself that Meteor Sama and King Zander were two different people, standing on opposite ends of the spectrum, she managed to calm her rapidly beating heart.
__
In the other room, King Zander had woken up only when he heard the sounds of the knocking coming from the door between the two rooms.
He had returned late last night and the fatigue had caused him to oversleep today.
Usually, he would be up before Rein could knock but the routine they followed had been broken today.
After permitting his chamberlain to enter, he saw the young man with a slightly faster heart rate walking towards him with the glass of water he always had every morning.
This act seemed to have brought back the feeling of deja vu, reminding him that he had slept in only due to his exhaustion and nothing else was different from their daily routine.
However, what the King did not know was that he had woken up at his usual timing.
Instead, it was his chamberlain who had knocked ahead of time and disturbed his sleep before he could wake up naturally as he did every day.
Thankfully, the King had a lot on his mind since yesterday and hence had not noticed this mistake that his chamberlain had made.
Finishing the glass of water, King Zander got off the bed and headed towards the bathroom to begin his day.
Just as he was about to enter, he turned around to give Rein some instructions, and thus noticed something strange about the other man today.
'Hmm? Did he always look like that?' He wondered while leering at the man who was making his bed right now.