Her blue eyes fluttered open and she shot up on the couch, looking around in panic before lowering her head to make sure that she was still dressed.

She was.

It was just that she was in another girl’s Pyjamas, and fear started whispering in her ears.

Gina stood up and held her breath as she took a few steps, searching for the pain to kick in her lower body, but to her immense relief, she felt fine.

A smile crept on her lips as she found her thoughts a little too silly, and then felt shame wash over her as she recalled the last thing she saw before fainting.

She briefly wondered if he was a figment of her imagination. Because the man she saw half-naked was a little too perfect. He was so tall and so ridiculously handsome, and then there was that soul-stealing smile on his face.

Gina felt the heat rush up under her cheeks, and despite herself, she could not help her silly smile.

She so wished that he was real. After all, she had already accepted her Grandfather’s proposal and decided on serving him as a maid for the next couple of weeks. And if he was really that handsome…

The silly girl immediately shook her head to clear up her mind of all those embarrassing thoughts, and then took a deep breath before she decided to look around the lounge.

Her eyes caught a piece of paper that was lying on the table next to her, and on it were simple instructions.

‘Will be back after 7. There is fish in the kitchen. Prepare dinner for us.’

“Dinner?” She frowned and then turned to look at the clock and the window next to it.

The sky had started darkening, and it was already past 7 pm.

Gina was a little disturbed when she realised that she had slept for over 14 hours. She had never slept for so long, and her gut feeling was that something did happen to her whilst she slept.

Out of instinct, she started channelling the Aura inside her body, and her eyes widened in shock when she realised that she was no longer at the peak of Nascent Profound Realm, but in the Initial stages of Great Profound Realm.

She was thrilled to learn about it and let out a merry laugh. Unfortunately, no one was around to experience its infectiousness.

After playing around with her newfound strength, and coating more of her body in her beautiful blue Aura, Gina calmed herself down and immediately rushed into Kitchen to prepare dinner.

She took a sigh of relief when she found out that the fish was already cut and marinated, and she simply had to cook it in any way she finds feasible. There were also ingredients prepared for a mushroom soup and then there were some other fruits and vegetables as well as some resting dough.

In just a couple of minutes, she decided on all the dishes she was going to prepare and then got straight to work with an elegance that reflected her experience in cooking.

Half an hour later, while she was still in the kitchen working on the dinner, she heard the front door of the cottage open, and she froze a little as she sensed some very light footsteps enter the kitchen.

“Hey!” She heard someone call out to her, a voice holding all the magnetism and distinctively masculine, yet soft at the same time. And her poor heart skipped a beat again.

Gina realised that she was still in her pyjamas, and it made her conscious of her beauty even before she turned around to return his greeting.

“Easy.” She heard him chuckle after she fumbled a little and nearly pulled the pan off the stove.

However, a soft hand was already on hers, helping her, and she just gave up control over her limbs as her mind was no longer in any position to think clearly.

She felt the warmth of his body that pressed against her back. She felt the softness of his delicate hands that held hers, and she subconsciously leaned back into him, as if she was searching for something.

Gina eventually found what she was looking for, and it was the sound of his heartbeat. The calmest sound she had ever listened to in her life, and shyly, she raised her head, finally having mustered enough courage to look at him.

And she was simply hooked by what she saw. It was perfection. He was not a figment of her imagination but a real person, and he was more perfect than she recalled in her memories from the morning.

He was wearing an amused smile on his lips, but his eyes were on the fish that was being cooked in the pan.

The silly girl was certain that he could hear and feel how loud and hard her heartbeat was right now, and it led to her eventually lowering her eyes, trying to hide her burning blush from him.

“I will take over from here.” She heard him speak and obediently stepped aside, a little dejected at the loss of his touch, and too embarrassed about her behaviour just now.

She did not understand what was wrong with her, but she knew that it was not how modest girls behaved around and with strange men. And her mind was soon filled with worries that she had given him a wrong impression which would make him look down on her.

“Master Demiliore…” She tried to talk to him once he was done preparing the dinner.

“Master. That’s what you will be calling me from now on, Miss Ginara,” He smiled at her and patted her on the head in a way that she found both comforting and affectionate.

“Yes, Master…” She shyly spoke, and before she could say anything more or ask him anything, he had walked out of the kitchen.

A short while later at the dinner table, when Keith returned after having changed into his Pyjamas, he took his seat after planting kisses on the heads of Minami and Yingying.

Before Gina could stand up to serve him his meal, Minami was already up and doing it, and when her eyes briefly met with the beautiful girl, she recalled the words she had spoken to her in the morning. And now, it sounded more like a warning.

“Do you feel well now, Ginara?” Keith asked after he finished his soup.

“Yes, Master.” She nodded her head, trying to suppress her blush. “What happened to me?”

“You had an ailment which would have cost you your life. It had only recently started manifesting.”

Those words froze her mind and she blankly stared at him.

“Is it…”

“It’s been treated and won’t return.” He raised his head and met her blue eyes that were quivering in apprehension.

“Thank you.” Gina could not keep looking into his eyes and lowered her head with a sweet smile.

“You can return to your Grandfather’s compound in the morning.”

“What?” She blurted out in disbelief before the fear whispered in her heart. “Have I done something wrong, Master?” She immediately asked and frowned a little when she watched Keith and Minami smile at her words.

“No. You have not done anything wrong.” Minami informed her. “Master met your Grandfather in the evening and has paid your price equivalent to the value of gold for how much you weigh.”

Ginara immediately understood what those words meant and lowered her head, unsure about how she should react to it.

It was as per tradition, of course. And it was usually done when a family gives their daughter to someone higher than them in social standards for a bride price.

Ginara knew that this bride price did not mean that she was going to be her Master’s bride. For her, it meant that she had been sold and he was her Master now for the rest of her life.

“You belong to Master now. So you will have to come with us when we leave.”

“Okay.” The blue-eyed girl nodded her head.

The reason why they wanted her to return to her Grandfather’s compound was to let her spend some days with her family before she leaves with them. And Ginara felt like she truly needed this time.

“Am I going to belong to you alone, Master?”

Keith was just about to get up after finishing his meal when Gina raised the question, and he stopped and smiled at her.

“Yes, Miss Ginara. You belong to me alone in body, mind, and heart.” He told her and smiled as he watched her blush and relax. “But you will not be serving me as my personal maid. I already have Minami to take care of me, and she’s enough.”

“Then?” She raised her head and met his eyes.

“You will be serving as her assistant and will do what she asks you to do.” He told her. “Understood?”

“Yes, Master.” She lowered her head and nodded, even though she felt a little reluctant in her heart.

At least, assisting his personal maid meant that she was serving him, and it was enough reason for her to console herself.

“Good Night.” Keith leaned near her and flicked her button nose playfully. “Also, keep this band on you at all times.”

“Band?” She frowned and her eyes widened in surprise when he helped her pull up her left sleeve and she found a band on her forearm.

It was a strange and beautiful dark blue metallic band with mysterious runes on it, and she was quite fascinated and confused by it.

Gina could not make sense of why she could not feel it on her skin, and it was as if the band did not have any weight at all and was part of her skin.

“What does it do?” She could tell that it was something very precious and mysterious.

“Well, it keeps Peeping Toms away.” He chuckled and patted her on the head before heading into his room.

Gina watched his Shadow get up and follow him, and she clearly heard the door being locked from inside.

Though she was not experienced in it, she knew exactly what sort of activity was about to unfold behind that closed door.

“Help me wrap up the table,” Minami lightly said when she found Gina looking at the door of the bedroom.

“Yes, my Lady.” Gina respectfully replied and got up to help Minami with the chores.

Those words had come out of her words naturally. And though she knew that Minami was a maid too, her gut feeling was that this beautiful girl was quite special to their Master, and she wanted to be as respectful to her as possible.

And Minami did not correct her address but simply smiled at her.