Bab 40: Introducing the Houseworkers

Contrary to what was expected from last night's incident, Anastasia was still able to sleep soundly.

Even after the unprecedented deluge of all those overwhelming emotions and buried memories, she woke up feeling like a heavy weight had been lifted off of her. It's a little strange since she was just feeling like drowning and suffocating from how unbearable everything was.

Anastasia also has a feeling that she woke up at some point but can't exactly recall what happened that time.

Despite all the peculiarities of that chain of events, she just decided to push them aside for now and start a new day with a calm and refreshed spirit. Since she got up from bed a bit later than usual, she was expecting that Zen would be coming around to invite her for breakfast any minute now.

But then, contrary to her expectation again, it wasn't him who greeted her first thing in the morning - it was this unfamiliar, debonair-looking half-robot, half-human gentleman.

"A pleasure day to you, Young Miss. My name is Rupert, and I'm here to escort you down to the dining hall as ordered by the Young Master."

At this very moment, Anastasia stood frozen still on the doorway of her bedroom.

It just happened that after opening the door, Rupert appeared before her out of nowhere. He warmly greeted her with his magnanimous presence and amiable grin that display not even the faintest hint of ill intent.

But even then, a good half of him is made up of electronic and mechanical devices. If it wasn't for that and the fact that Anastasia never laid eyes on something like it before, she wouldn't react so shell-shocked and somewhat appalled that she couldn't help but let out a loud scream.

"Kyaaaaaaa...!!!"

Her shriek was then followed by the banging of the door as she abruptly shut it closed at his face.

Rupert only went still at this, his grin stiffening and shoulders slumping for a bit in dismay.

"The Young Master was right. She's not one to handle this kind of surprises..." he thought to himself before heaving a sigh.

"Well, at least, unlike with the Young Master back then, she didn't run away like I'm some sort of a creep."

Back at the lower floor, Zen caught himself sneezing.

He just finished all the preparations he planned for this morning when he suddenly felt like someone was talking about him. Shrugging that thought off, he then simply proceeded with the final touches before turning around to look at the staircase with an expectant gaze.

"What's taking Rupert this long? Maybe it didn't go as smoothly as he first thought..." Zen muttered with a smirk, thinking that he's right all along.

"Sia must've ran out after seeing such a creepy guy."

Though that thought is quite amusing since he and Rupert have an inside joke about that, he realized that it's also not a good thing at this situation. That's because once Anastasia sees what he has prepared this morning, she might really run out of the castle this time.

"T-That can't be... I already made sure to lock the gate and everything. Besides, knowing how accepting and understanding Sia is, things will probably not get to that point. Hopefully..." Zen reassured himself, his chest puffing up a little with confidence.

Just like what Rupert had advised him last night, he finally decided to reveal who he truly is - or at least, the present him, that is.

That's the reason why he let his guardian introduce himself at last. He and Anastasia knew each other in the past, but as for now, they really couldn't call it a reunion. She probably hadn't recovered her memories about him, after all.

"It's alright, though. With or without her memories, I already promised that I'd reveal everything to her - little by little."

While having this train of thoughts, Zen finally sees a couple of figures descending the stairs.

He can't help but smile in relief the moment he finds Anastasia talking with Rupert normally. Her escort for today appears to be in the middle of explaining things to her while she simply listens.

That's all until the two eventually reach the bottom of the staircase.

Anastasia halts on her tracks as soon as the sight that comes into view sinks in her head. Flummox and disbelief resurface on her face at that very moment, her eyes widening like saucers while her mouth slightly gapes.

"What in the world..."

It just happened that a row of maids and manservants is all lined up at each of the opposite sides of that lobby. Everyone looks so well-groomed and spruce. What's more, while Rupert is some sort of a cyborg, these people seem to be real life robots with artificial intelligence.

"Good morning to you, Young Miss Anastasia."

In complete sync, all the houseworkers greet her courteously - almost like they're serving royalty. They even bow a little as if regarding her with deference.

All the while, Anastasia only remains thunderstruck and speechless on her spot, unsure of how to make sense of everything anymore.