章 23: Chapter 23 - The Flower Garden.

"I... I... I am just curious... Yes, curious." said Rei, even more blushed and nervous than before.

"Alright, I would just tell you without digging too deep into your privacy. Now... How should I begin with this... Alright... First of all, instead of a harem, that place is known as 'The Flower Garden'. Instead of operating like a typical harem, it's more like a b... Uhm... Not really... It's like a... Just forget about it. If you are interested, I can lead you there for a brief visit." said Ben, who had totally given up on the explanation part.

"Heh? For real? I can visit that place?" Rei exclaimed in excitement.

"Mhmm... It's quite a pleasant place to visit in the day most of the time. I will come by to get you tomorrow morning after I have done with my morning routine." said Ben as he finally took his leave.

After Ben left, Rei stared out the window, she looks rather thoughtful.

Rei doesn't know how to tell Ben that she would want to know what's the standard of the ladies that are qualified for the King's harem, and with that, she will be able to know about the King's personality and inner world more. Or at least that is what she thought.

However, just like what Ben told her, the 'harem' they have in this castle is not like the typical 'harem' everyone knows...

***

The next morning, after Rei had her breakfast, Ben came to her room as he promised. He brought a man's outfit for her to change on.

"Heh? But don't you think that it's a bit inappropriate for an outside man to enter a harem?" Rei asked, rather surprised and confused.

"Don't worry, it has nothing to do with your gender and it is very unlikely that you will be misunderstood as a man in there. The reason I want you to wear a man's outfit is purely to distinguish you from those ladies in the Flower Garden. And again, it's not really a harem." said Ben, explaining the purpose of the man's outfit.

Rei nodded, despite still being a bit confused.

After Rei had changed into the outfit prepared by Ben, she followed him to a breathtakingly beautiful pathway that is in the opposite direction of the King's palace. Just as Rei was about to ask Ben if he brought her to a wrong direction, they reached a place that is surrounded by a tall wall with aesthetic paintings of flowers of different varieties.

"This is the place. Feels like going in?" Ben asked, and he seems to be a bit hesitant.

Rei nodded.

Then, Ben took out a golden seal from his pocket and showed it to the guard that was guarding the entrance of the building. Upon seeing the golden seal, the guard kneeled down and bowed to Ben before opening a path for Ben and Rei.

As soon as they entered the entrance, they were greeted by a nice and delicate floral scent which was followed by a beautiful sound of harp. The combination between the nice scent of flowers and the beautiful music gives Rei a short moment of hallucination that she was in paradise.

"Hmm... She is playing her harp again huh? That's unusually early." said Ben as he heard the harp sounds.

"Uhm... Who are you talking about, Dr Ben?" Rei asked, slightly curious.

"One of the ladies in here. She had been practising harp every day ever since she was sent to this place by his father who is a Duke of a small island country. After she found out that His Majesty likes string music, she had been trying her best to get designated by His Majesty with her harp. What a poor lady." said Ben

"Designated?" Rei asked, slightly confused.

"That's our system here which is different from a harem. The ladies here are called as Flower Maidens and none of they are having any marital status with the King, they can only serve the King when designated by the King himself," said Ben, who is quite careful with the words used.

"That sounds a bit harsh, would they get any benefits if got designated?" Rei asked, even more curious.

"Well, normally they will get paid and rewarded with money and gold, but occasionally if the King really likes them, he might consider giving them a title and a rank so they can get rid of their identity of Flower Maiden," said Ben.

Rei nodded, and seem to be a bit thoughtful.

"Furthermore, since they are not having any marital status with the King, the designation is not just exclusively for the King, some ranked officials and noblemen might be given permission from the King to designate any lady here for themselves," said Ben.

"Heh? Uhm... Have His Majesty given permission to anyone so far?" Rei asked, slightly astonished.

Ben nodded.

"Ah... May I ask... Uhm... How many people are they? That has been given permission..." Rei asked again, in a careful tone.

"Just one person," said Ben with a subtle expression.

"One person... Uhm..."

Said so, Rei suddenly realised something and she stared at Ben in disbelief.

"Yes. As you guessed. It's me." said Ben with a subtle smile.

"Ah..."

"But rest assured, I am not interested in this sort of thing at all, thus, I have never designated anyone aside from having an occasional stroll in here," said Ben as he adjusted his glasses to hide his awkwardness.

Rei giggled a bit at Ben's behaviour before noticing a lady in a white huggy dress walking towards them.

"Aww! Dr Ben! Even if you are not planning to designate any lady in here, you shouldn't bring any outsiders here, not even a sweet lady like her." said the lady in white dress.

"Don't worry, it's not a big deal. Anyway, the lady right here is Lady Rei, I believe you have heard of her," said Ben, introducing Rei to that lady.

"Oh my! You are Lady Rei, pardon my ignorance just now. My name is Lydia, I am the caretaker as well as the nurse of this place." said the lady in Qin's language as she slightly bowed to Rei.

"Uhm... Nurse?" Rei was slightly confused by that term.

"She is like a physician assistant if you are wondering about that. And no, she is not one of those Flower Maidens," said Ben.

"Hahaha! How could I be a Flower Maiden, it's not like I am a flower or maiden anyway," said Lydia with a carefree tone.

"Heh?"

"She is a mother of three, so... Yeah," said Ben, who sounds slightly awkward.

"Mhmm! Anyway, Dr Ben, you are here just in time, I was about to look for you just now. Come with me." said Lydia, who suddenly changed her carefree tone to a serious tone...