As Maria slowly opened her eyes, she was met with a strange sight. She was not in her usual servant dormitory; she was sleeping in a massive bed with pristine pink sheets and massive pillows. Maria immediately sat up trying to study her surroundings. The room she was in was decorated with royal wardrobes, small wooden tables with an assortment of make-up products littered across the top stood against the walls, a large mirror stood in the corner of the room and the floor looked to be a polished granite.
That wasn't all either.
"What the hell am I wearing?"
Maria's outfit was no longer her usual servant clothes she was used to wearing. She was instead donning a long white nightdress that covered every part of her body. It was as smooth as silk and smelled heavenly.
'Did I die and go to the afterlife?'
Just then, Lidia Rose entered her room with a massive tray of pastries and fruit.
"Good morning, Maria! Are you comfortable?"
Maria took a moment to think to herself before responding.
"Yes, my lady. Where exactly am I?"
The beautiful woman smiled.
"You're in one of the rooms of the Rose Dormitories. I just felt that since you will be working under me for a little while, I would spoil you a bit depending on how hard you work. Are you hungry by any chance? I brought you some breakfast."
Maria's mouth was open and drooling onto the clean sheets of her bed.
"Uh... I'll take that as a yes. Here, you can eat as much as you want."
As soon as Lidia placed the plate down in front of Maria, the food was evaporating in front of her. It was very clear Maria had no Idea what table-manners were.
"My goodness, does the king ever feed you guys?"
Maria tried talking with her mouth full but all that came out were muffles.
"Never mind. Just focus on eating, then we can talk."
Maria finished the food at an extraordinary pace. Her once clean nightgown was now littered with small stains. With a satisfied smile she looked over at Lidia with her shiny, green eyes.
"Thank you so much for everything, my lady. What is it you would like to talk about?"
Lidia walked up to Maria and sat on the bed next to her.
"You know, your talents are being wasted as a servant of the king. With your strength, our food production has the potential to skyrocket to figures we've never seen before! So, why don't you come work for me instead?"
Maria went silent for a moment.
"I'm very flattered, my lady. However, there are many chores that I still must do at the palace. I don't think the king will be too happy with my absence."
Lidia patted Maria on the head.
"You're too nice for your own good. I know that's not the real reason you don't want to work under me. You just don't want the servants there to be flooded with extra work."
Maria blushed a little and looked away. Lidia was right. Even as small of an impact as it might be, that was still an entire person's worth of chores that needed to be accounted for. Maria would never do that to her fellow servants.
"I'm really sorry, my lady. But I truly am thankful for you giving me the opportunity to work under you."
Lidia simply smiled at Maria.
"Hmm... How about this: you can work under me in the morning and all throughout the day, but you may return to the main palace area to do any chores you wish in the evening. Does that sound fine?"
Maria smiled and nodded her head.
"That sounds perfect. By the way, where are my clothes?"
"You mean, those servant clothes? They are currently folded in one of these dressers I believe. But how about I give you some better clothes? Garments that are much more flexible and can withstand heat a lot better will surely give you some respite while working throughout the day."
Maria looked away wistfully.
"If possible, I would prefer to wear my usual attire. It makes me feel more like myself. Perhaps another time, my lady."
Lidia started laughing.
"I had a feeling you would say that! Anyway, let's get ready and head for the fields. We have another long day ahead of us."
As Maria jumped out of her bed, all of her muscles were extremely sore and every movement she did made her wince slightly. Even so, she didn't waste any time throwing on her usual servant outfit and leaving the room.
Walking to the fields together, Lidia started talking with Maria a bit more.
"So, why is it you follow the prince so closely? What exactly do you like about him?"
Maria started blushing a little, feeling that this question was purposely prodding at an intuition that may have formed.
"It's because I see a bright future with the prince. I see the legacy he's trying to carve into the heavens, and it's beautiful. He always seems to have impossible goals weighing on his shoulders, yet he never complains and never gives up. He just keeps moving forward with that same resolved expression on his face. Therefore, I promised myself I would help him achieve his legacy at any cost."
Lidia started nudging Maria with her elbow and raising her eyebrows.
"Hm... so you see a future with him, huh?"
Maria looked like she was about to pass out from embarrassment.
"T-that's not... I didn't mean it like-"
Lidia burst out into laughter.
"Oh man, I'm sorry Maria. I couldn't help myself when you made it so easy!"
Maria covered her face and kept moving forward. Lidia looked off into the distance as if she something was rattling her mind.
"The prince's legacy. So, he's not following in the footsteps of his father after all."
"I don't believe so, my lady."
"I don't know if the king will be happy or aggravated when he finds out. Either way, I'm not going to be the one to tell him!"
Lidia laughed to herself once more.
'Geez, this lady sure does laugh a lot.'
Maria and Lidia finally reached the fields. There were already twenty carts lined up, ready for Maria's transport.
'Here we go again.'
However, when Maria grappled the bars of the cart, she was surprised to be met with a lot less resistance than she remembered. Her muscles seemed to be trying to pop through her skin a lot more clearly and her legs felt much more grounded when she walked. Not only that, but she also almost had flawless control of her strength when she sent it to different limbs.
Maria thought to herself for a moment. Then, she tried splitting her strength to four parts of her body: both of her arms and her legs. Suddenly, her grip on the poles tightened and her legs still felt powerful as she walked. This was easily the fastest she was going to make the trip back to the kingdom.