"Good afternoon, Queen Renaldi and Helen!"
After all the guests had left, Mike made a circle with his right hand and bowed slightly, greeting the two ladies with a gentleman's courtesy.
Seeing Mike's "obedient" demeanor, Queen Renaldi and Helen both smiled.
It must be said that people with beautiful appearences always gain others' favor more easily.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Mike."
Queen Renaldi returned the greeting, then turned to look at her granddaughter, whose face was full of happiness, and said dotingly, "Mia, take Mike to wander around the castle. It should be more interesting here than Medford."
Mike's timely appearance this time gave the Queen the idea of letting him continue to develop a relationship with her granddaughter.
This was a matter of freedom to love…
As for how her granddaughter would "conquer" Mike, that philandering man, the Queen could only say she would do her best.
Therefore, having Mia take Mike to familiarize himself with the castle was to create more opportunities for the girl to be alone with him.
In the Queen's opinion, since both were young, cultivating feelings wasn't that difficult, unless they simply didn't click.
And the situation between Mike and Mia was clearly not the latter.
"Where do you want to go first?" Mia, walking in the castle corridor, asked, "The Queen's office, or the castle's high tower, or somewhere else?"
Genovia's industry was not developed, so it still retained a medieval appearance. Among these, the most presentable was probably this magnificent royal castle.
This vast castle with high stone walls combined military defense, residential functions, and administrative management, possessing high historical and cultural value for consideration.
"You decide, I'm fine with anything." Mike, walking to the girl's left, answered the question while casually tugging at the collar of his suit.
This vintage suit was indeed handsome, but its comfort was not great.
On the other hand, having already helped John complete his research project, he had ample time to stay with the girl in Genovia.
Therefore, Mike was not in a hurry to tour the entire castle at this time.
"Is that so…" Mia pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Did you have lunch?"
Hearing the question, Mike shook his head.
Having rushed to save the day, he indeed hadn't had time to enjoy lunch yet.
"Then I'll take you to the back kitchen to find something to eat first…" Mia suggested with a smile.
During the previous banquet, to maintain royal etiquette, the girl hadn't actually eaten much.
In the castle, the back kitchen was not too far from the banquet hall.
The two in the corridor didn't walk long before arriving at the back kitchen entrance.
At this time, in the cubicle next to the entrance, many maids were enjoying their meal.
Judging by the richness of the food, it should have been leftovers from the banquet hall earlier.
During the royal family dinner, the royal family members and ministers would not truly eat and drink excessively, so the remaining food was quite intact.
And the secondary use of this food was also a small benefit for the maids.
"Let's go to the food storage area in the back, there's a lot of cooked food there…" Mia whispered after observing the situation inside the back kitchen.
To ensure that royal family members who missed meal times wouldn't go hungry, the back kitchen's food storage area always kept some easy-to-preserve food ready.
Clearly, Mia had already figured this out beforehand.
Then the girl half-crouched, like a thief, avoiding the maids' gazes, and crept into the back kitchen.
Seeing her familiar manner, Mike had reason to suspect that the girl had secretly entered the back kitchen to "steal" food before.
Mike, following behind, did not disturb the girl's "elegant interest" at this time. Lightening his footsteps, he followed behind the girl with great interest.
Their actions could be considered a wife leading, husband following.
However, the kitchen was, after all, an important control area, and surveillance would obviously not be lax. Therefore, Mia and Mike's sneaking behavior was quickly discovered by the maids who were eating.
Well, in fact, Mike and the girl's actions were not very discreet, so being discovered was normal.
Just as the maids were about to shout, Mike pointed to Princess Mia in front of him, who was immersed in her stealth game, then made a silencing gesture to the maids.
The maids, understanding his meaning, smiled knowingly while pretending nothing was amiss and continued to enjoy their food.
However, these maids' gazes would still involuntarily glance towards Mike.
Their strained expressions, trying to hold back laughter, proved that they had very likely discovered Mia sneaking into the kitchen before.
It was just that due to Mia's status, these maids had probably not exposed the girl on the spot before.
On the other side, Princess Mia, unaware that her actions had been exposed, carefully led Mike successfully to the food storage area.
"What do you want to eat? I'll get it for you." Having completed the "invasion" feat of the back kitchen, Mia let out a long sigh of relief, a hint of triumph rising on her face.
And the food storage area here was more like a cooked food pantry, with various flavors of roasted meats, bread, after-dinner desserts, and various fresh fruits displayed in several windows nearby.
To facilitate on-site food retrieval, a simple dining table was specially placed in the room.
"You get the desserts and fruits, I'll get the roasted meat and bread…" Mike directed.
Soon, several lavish platters were arranged on the dining table.
It's worth mentioning that Mia also took a bottle of red wine and two stemmed glasses from the beverage storage area.
Then, under Mike's voracious eating, Mia's appetite was also piqued, and she immediately joined the eating frenzy.
And indeed, this was truly worthy of being a royal catering area; the various flavors of roasted meats were not much worse than the special roasted meat made by his grandmother, each having its own merits.
More than half an hour passed. Mia, full and satisfied, rubbed her stomach, then returned the tableware on the dining table to its place, and carefully led the equally satisfied Mike out.
At this time, the maids who had enjoyed the delicious food at the kitchen entrance, considering that Princess Mia would pass by here soon, were still gathered in the adjacent room.
This was to artificially create an opportunity for the princess's departure.
"Ha, now I'll take you to see Grandma's office." Mia, having successfully left the kitchen, seemed to be in a very good mood.
It was like she had played a big "adventure."
Beside her, Mike looked at the girl who knew nothing and was still foolishly giggling to herself, and finally couldn't help but advise her, "Mia, you have now officially become a Princess of the Kingdom, and in the future, you represent the face of the entire Genovia Royal Family. So, try to do less of those 'unladylike' things like just now."
One should act according to one's status.
Before the girl became a princess, secretly doing a little "bad" thing might not have had a big impact. But since she had already become a Princess of the Kingdom, doing things that were unbecoming of her status would be a bit inappropriate.
In fact, it could even cause her some unnecessary trouble.
For example, Prince Mabrey, if he knew Mia had done something out of line, would certainly make a big fuss about it.
Moreover, Mia could completely avoid these troublesome matters. As a Princess of the Kingdom and heir to the throne, her power was actually quite great.
Even if she openly went to the meal preparation area to eat, no one would say anything about her.
"I know, I'll pay attention from now on." Her carefree personality meant Mia hadn't fully adjusted her mindset yet. However, the girl wasn't stupid; after being reminded, she quickly understood the difference there should be between a Princess of the Kingdom and a country bumpkin.
As a country bumpkin, one could be carefree and do whatever one wanted.
But as an heir to the throne, one represented a nation, and actions needed to be carefully considered.
The populace might tolerate a princess who lacked ability, but they would absolutely not accept an heir who acted "frivolously."
After leaving the back kitchen, Mike and the girl went together to the Queen's office in the central area of the castle.
In the not-so-large office, Queen Renaldi, Helen, and Mr. Joe were gathered, seemingly chatting in whispers.
And by the office window stood three ladies of very different ages: the relatively young one in professional attire should be the secretary, the oldest one in the middle should be the nanny, and the cute, youngest one in a maid's uniform on the other side should be the personal maid.