Chapter 98 – Shifts

The door flew open.

Kaela came in first, her red hair half tied back and her uniform jacket done up wrong on the second button.

Behind her came Celia, Rosalind, Lisette and Virelle, in an order they clearly had not agreed on and that fell apart the moment they crossed the doorframe.

Kaela opened her mouth to introduce herself, and stopped. Because in front of her, sitting in a chair by the window, was Princess Matt, slumped back against the chair with her black pajama top half buttoned.

One of Matt's arms hung over the edge of the chair and the other over the armrest. Her legs were apart and stretched out in front of her, taking up every available inch of floor with the total ease of someone who does not care about anything.

And two meters away, in another chair, was Princess Noxx. Sitting with her back straight and her knees together. Her hands were on her knees, and her head was down.

Kaela blinked.

'…Ah. That must be Matt.'

Kaela squared up and bowed.

"Good morning, Princess Matt. Princess Noxx." Kaela raised her head. "Kaela Ardent, of House Ardent. I'm at your service."

It was a correct bow, respectful, with exactly the minimum possible enthusiasm without crossing the line into insolence.

Matt raised two fingers of the hand that was hanging down.

"Morning."

Celia stepped forward and bowed next, more slowly, adjusting her glasses as she straightened up.

"Celia Azura, of House Azura. At your service, Princess." Celia paused. "And allow me to say it was a pleasure to observe your duel last night."

"Sure."

"It was very… informative."

"Sure."

Celia kept looking at him two seconds longer than necessary. Rosalind stepped forward and bowed with a precision that looked measured with a ruler.

"Rosalind Grisel, of House Grisel. I present myself formally before you in accordance with the disposition of Her Majesty. I am at your service."

Matt looked at her.

"…Seriously?"

"It's the protocol formula, Princess."

"It's enormous."

"There is an extended version."

"Don't say it."

"As you command."

Lisette stepped forward with a smile already prepared, and Matt sighed, exhausted.

Lisette stopped halfway through the bow.

"…Princess?"

Matt ran a hand down his face.

"Doesn't this seem excessive to you?"

The five of them looked at each other.

"What does, Princess?" Rosalind asked.

"This." Matt made a wide gesture with his hand toward all of them. "Six people attending to two."

Rosalind answered in a flat voice.

"It's a direct order from Her Majesty, Princess."

"I know it's an order."

"Then it can't be modified."

"Yes it can."

"Princess, Her Majesty's disposition—"

"Take turns."

Silence.

Rosalind blinked.

"…I'm sorry?"

"Take turns," Matt repeated. "One a day. Two, if the day's complicated. I don't care how you organize it. Sort it out among yourselves."

"Princess, the order specifies—"

"The order probably specifies that you're at my service," Matt cut in. "You're at my service. So I decide how you serve me. And I'm not dealing with six of you at once."

Rosalind closed her mouth. Then, very slowly, she nodded.

"…That is technically correct."

Lisette tilted her head to one side.

"Do you find us unpleasant, Princess?"

"No."

"No?"

"Not especially."

"Then?"

Matt looked at her from the chair without changing position.

"It's annoying having to deal with that many girls at once."

Lisette's eyes opened slightly.

"…Ah."

"That's all."

"That's a little personal..."

"It isn't."

From the back of the group, Virelle raised her hand.

They all looked at her.

Virelle lowered her hand.

"Sorry. Habit."

"Speak," Matt said.

Virelle cleared her throat.

"If the problem is the number of people around you, Princess, you could assign us tasks."

Matt raised an eyebrow.

"Tasks that keep us away," Virelle clarified, with no particular emotion. "We could get you materials you need. Our houses have access to things the royal wing can't obtain easily. We could also handle any noblewomen who bother you."

"…"

"Plenty of them are going to bother you. Starting today."

Matt looked at her for a moment.

"That's useful."

Virelle nodded once and went back to her usual expression.

"Fine," Matt said. "Then let's start with something simple."

The five of them waited.

"You five are going to fix the room that got broken last night."

Celia adjusted her glasses.

"…What room?"

"The one that got broken last night."

"Yes, but which one?"

"The one that got broken."

"Princess, there are about four hundred rooms in the royal wing."

Matt shrugged against the chair back.

"You'll have to investigate."

"…"

"You're the heirs of the six most important houses in the kingdom. I'm sure you can find a destroyed room."

Celia stood there looking at him.

"Is there any clue?"

"It broke a lot."

"…"

"Oh, and there's a hole in the floor."

Kaela opened her mouth.

"A hole in the floor?"

"A big one."

"How big?"

"A person can fall through it."

Kaela closed her mouth slowly.

And at that moment the door opened again.

Eris came in pushing a cart.

A service cart, wheels squeaking slightly, loaded with a large tray of sandwiches cut into triangles, two pitchers, cups, folded napkins and a small dish of red fruit that nobody had asked her for.

Eris wheeled it to the middle of the room, stopped it with her foot and straightened up.

"Your breakfast, Princess."

Kaela turned her head so fast she almost hurt her neck.

"…Huh?"

Eris did not look at her.

"Huh?!"

Eris started arranging the cups.

"Eris!"

"Yes?"

"Why are you doing a different job?!"

"Because I was asked to."

"We just got here!"

"Yes."

"And you've already been given a different task!"

"Yes."

"Why?!"

"Because I got here first, Kaela."

Kaela turned toward the chair.

"Princess! This isn't fair! The whole group was supposed to present itself at the same time and she snuck off before any of us were ready, and now it turns out she has a completely different post while the five of us have to search the entire royal wing for a broken room with no concrete information whatsoever, which I think is—!"

"Kaela."

"Yes?!"

Matt did not move from the chair.

"If you complain again, I'm sending you on fifteen hundred laps around the kingdom."

Kaela stopped.

"…"

"On foot."

"…"

"Running."

Kaela closed her mouth.

Then, with all the dignity she had left, she straightened up, adjusted the badly done second button of her jacket and took a step back.

"…Understood, Princess."

"Good."

Lisette covered her mouth with one hand.

Celia coughed into her fist.

Rosalind did not react in any way, but she was also the only person in the room who had gone twenty seconds without blinking, being somewhat fascinated by Matt's attitude.

Virelle was watching all of it with the same face she had used to watch a monster's corpse a few days earlier.

"Go," Matt ordered.

The five of them bowed and left.

When the door closed, Eris finished arranging the cups and straightened up.

"Princess."

"What?"

"Would you like me to help them?"

Matt looked at her.

Eris's face was completely neutral, which in Eris's case meant she was enjoying herself enormously.

"Yes," Matt answered.

"Right away."

Eris bowed, turned and left with the same calm step she had come in with.

The door closed.

Silence.

Matt stretched out in the chair, reached the cart with his foot and pulled it a few centimeters closer to the two chairs. Then he looked at Noxx.

Noxx was still sitting exactly as before. Back straight. Knees together. Hands on knees. Head down.

"Eat."

Noxx did not move.

"Noxx."

"…"

"Eat something."

Noxx reached out very slowly toward the tray, took a sandwich triangle and brought it to her mouth without lifting her face.

Matt took one too.

"And raise your head."

Noxx shrank down further.

"Noxx."

"…"

"Raise your head."

Noxx raised it three centimeters. Her ears were still red.

"More."

She raised it all the way, face turned toward the window and an expression of dignity so fragile you could see the effort behind it.

"…You woke up very bossy today," Noxx muttered.

Matt chewed, swallowed, and answered without any particular inflection:

"Isn't that what you wanted yesterday?"

Noxx opened her mouth, but stayed looking at the window for a second. Then she looked down at the sandwich in her hand and went on eating in silence.

Matt took another triangle from the plate.

Outside, somewhere in the royal wing, Kaela could be heard shouting something very far away.