An Unwelcome Transformation – Chapter 43

I was glad the girls didn’t look suspicious or ask me why I started wearing a cap today of all days, even indoors. Brenna simply mentioned that it looked cute on me, while both Aria and Leona nodded their heads in agreement. Perhaps they just thought I was merely making a fashion statement.

Once brunch was done, I started making rice porridge and Asian egg omelet, with Brenna lingering behind me, watching what I was doing.

I was glad that this realm had rice, not only the pure-white version, but brown, black, and some very colorful ones such as orange, yellow, and even purple. For rice porridge, it had to be the white rice, of course, and I cooked it in a pot using the magic stove.

Apparently, as I had found out the first day I had tried cooking for the girls, this realm used a stove and oven just like back at home. Except the heat didn’t come from electricity. Here, it was powered by a magic crystal with qi, which was used for every other home appliance; such as hairdryers, irons, indoor and outdoor lights, heating and cooling systems, room ventilation, and basically just everything under the sun like back at home.

While the rice porridge was cooking, I turned my attention to the egg omelet. After beating five eggs and adding a pinch of salt and a bit of honey, I decided to add some prawns in as well, to make it interesting. Thus, I took out some prawns that the palace’s grocery delivery service had brought around yesterday, quickly blanched them in boiling water, and then chopped them into small pieces before adding them into the egg mixture.

Ready, I heated the frying pan and added a bit of vegetable oil. Once the pan was hot enough, I poured the egg mixture in and let it cook.

“Mmm…” Brenna expressed. “Smells good.”

I chuckled. “It’s not for you, Brenna. And besides, you just had brunch.”

The girl giggled. “I know, but it doesn’t hurt to have a taste, right?”

Because she looked so pretty, especially with her cat ears perking up with interest like that, I couldn’t help myself and gave her a taste once the omelet was cooked.

She opened her mouth wide expectantly as I fed her with a pair of chopsticks. As she ate, she smiled in delight. “Oh, so delicious. You’re one of the best cooks I know, Alfie, and Lord Noah thinks so as well. He simply couldn’t stop raving on and on about how delicious that fried rice you made was.”

I laughed, pleased at the compliment.

Once the rice porridge and egg omelet were done, I packed them into containers, with the rice porridge in the thermal one, which would keep it nice and hot, while the egg omelet went into a smaller bento box.

“Shall we get going?” I asked.

Brenna nodded. “I’ll get Aria and Leona, then.”

About fifteen minutes later, we gathered at the main entrance of the east wing, awaiting our carriage and escort. Aria had told me she had asked Michael to escort us, and indeed, the man arrived a few moments later.

“Hello, everyone,” the soldier said.

The girls greeted him a good morning while I grinned, pleased to see him again.

I said, “Hello, Michael. You look well.”

He chuckled. “Thanks to Lord Noah’s healing potion, my recovery was faster than normal.”

I nodded, not forgetting that Michael and his team’s injuries had been quite severe during the rescue mission a couple of weeks back, especially since they had been captured and tortured by the enemy, that Prince Philip.

I knew of the prince’s name simply because I had tapped into Felix’s qi and happened to eavesdrop on his heated conversation with the prince during the battle between the two. From my point of view, I could surmise that there was some bad blood between the seven lords, especially Felix and that Prince Philip.

What could have caused such a rift between them that they would go all out in trying to kill each other? A bigger question was why Prince Philip would create a rebellion, a riot, and work his ass off to destroy Acaedien.

Then again, why should I be surprised? In any world where there was land and intelligent living beings, there was bound to be war. It all had to do with survival instinct, as well as greed, of course.

Once the pleasantry of greetings was over and we were about to file into the carriage, the door was opened from the inside. This was followed by a deeply timbred voice saying, “Hello, ladies.”

The moment I heard that smooth voice, I shifted my gaze to the lord who emerged from the carriage.

“Alfie,” Lord Geoffrey said, his emerald-green eyes twinkling when appraising me from my head—which was currently covered in a cap—to my boots.

I wondered why the father figure of Acaedien, the man I admired and wished to make an ally with, had to show up today of all days.

Of course, I felt rather self-conscious in front of the man because of my newly unwelcomed transformation.

I licked my lips nervously, fretting that he might notice the change in my body, such as the slight curve of my chest, my firm butt, or the toned arms and legs.

Because I couldn’t help myself, I asked, “My Lord Geoffrey, what are you doing in there?”

Lord Geoffrey came to stand close to me and wrapped his ironlike arms over my shoulders. He said, “Escorting everyone, of course.”

“But we already have Michael for that, sir,” I said, gripping the gift basket that contained Mariann’s meal, which I had made, along with various brightly colored fruits that were unique to this realm.

The lord looked at me for a moment and then said, “Do you not want me to come along, Alfie? Do you dislike me?”

I shook my head furiously. “No, that’s not what I mean to imply, my lord,” I stammered, my cheeks blushing hot. “I don’t dislike you, and of course you can come along.”

Brenna, apparently, was doing her best at hiding her giggle. She must have found me amusing, and I wished that I had kept my mouth shut.

Aria said, “I’m glad that you can accompany us, my lord.”

“Aria,” Lord Geoffrey said, patting the girl’s head fondly like a father did to his daughter. Oddly enough, I wanted Lord Geoffrey to pat me on the head as well, despite the fact I had a cap on and was doing my best at hiding my long, Rapunzel-like hair.

Lord Geoffrey said, “You haven’t been overworking yourself, have you?”

Aria shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.”

The man chuckled. “And you have been eating well?”

Aria nodded. “Yes. Alfie has been cooking us delicious meals three times a day, five days a week, so I’m very blessed in that regard.”

Lord Geoffrey flicked his gaze to me, a handsome smirk playing about those sensual lips of his. “Then I must thank Alfie properly for doing such a wonderful job of feeding my ward.”

I cocked my head to one side. I knew that Aria was very distantly related to Lord Geoffrey but didn’t know that the man was also Aria’s guardian.

Lord Geoffrey said as he released me, “Shall we get going?”

I nodded furiously, very glad that I was finally free from his tight embrace. Honestly, my heart was racing this whole time, what with me being so close to the man. The fact that he smelled so divine—his body exuded a sexy aroma that was so unique that it made me weak inside—didn’t help the matter either. Not to mention his body heat, too, which was pleasant against mine.

The girls started climbing into the carriage, with Lord Geoffrey holding the door open for them. As expected, he was very gentlemanly.

Once the girls had made themselves comfortable, Lord Geoffrey turned his attention to me and took the gift basket from my hands.

“I’ll take care of that, Alfie,” he said. Then he ushered me inside, guiding me by lightly placing his hand about my lower back. Of course, I noticed that he didn’t do that to the girls. So why is he doing that to me?

Once inside, I debated on where to place myself. This was a six-seater carriage, with three on each side, facing each other. Aria and Leona had already taken the side with their backs to the driver, while Brenna had chosen the opposite. My choice was to either sit beside Brenna, which would result in a spare seat Lord Geoffrey would undoubtedly take, or in the middle between Aria and Leona. I chose the latter.

Lord Geoffrey came into the carriage a moment later, and after placing the gift basket on the space next to Brenna, he sat down on that side of the carriage and then shut the door. He tapped on the ceiling and said, “Let’s go, Michael.”

“Roger, my lord,” Michael replied from the driver’s seat at the front, and a moment later, the carriage started moving.

Pleased with the seating arrangement, I grinned in delight. I felt quite safe here on this seat, with two beautiful ladies flanking me on either side.

Lord Geoffrey lazily watched me, and I didn’t miss the amused smirk on his masked face either. What was he thinking about? I wondered. Of course, the look in his eyes made me uncomfortable. I felt like he was about to pick on me, to harass me or something, which was, of course, silly because Lord Geoffrey wasn’t that kind of person. He was the head of the monarchy, after all. A father figure to his people.

He said, “Aren’t you a cunning little thing, Alfie?”

I raised a brow in question. “What do you mean, my lord?”

“Not only did you choose to live with three beautiful women, but you can’t even bear to sit a little farther away from them? Is it your dream to have your own harem?”

I nearly choked on my own breath. My own harem?

Well, of course, now that I thought about it carefully, it sure looked that way, didn’t it? I mean, I was supposed to be a boy, after all, and I was living with three very beautiful cat women as if…

As if we were in some kind of intimate relationship.

The moment I realized that, heat rushed to my face, and I wanted to hide in embarrassment. I just realized that I had my own harem of beautiful women.

I licked my lips, my body quivering in reaction. I said, “That’s not what it is, my lord.”

“Oh?” Lord Geoffrey cocked his blond head to one side. Meanwhile, Brenna started giggling as if she couldn’t control herself, once again.

Leona sighed. “So is that what it is, Alfie? Which one of us is your favorite, then?”

I stammered, “That’s not it. I like every one of you as my friend. You’re all my friends. I mean, you’re all very beautiful, but I don’t view any of you in that way.”

Lord Geoffrey said, “Oh? Does that mean you’re not attracted to women, Alfie?”

I was lost for words for a moment because I had just realized that Lord Geoffrey had another side to his personality. He was obviously making me uncomfortable and pushing me into a corner with his words, despite his charming aura. I glared at the man. He was making my life miserable right now.

Lord Geoffrey Lancaster is a bully!

I said firmly, “Of course I’m not, my Lord Geoffrey. I admire girls and like them as friends. It’s girl power, after all, and we need to stick together.”

Lord Geoffrey suddenly burst out laughing, while Aria, Leona, and Brenna simply stared at me. I couldn’t quite describe the expressions displayed on their faces, but I could hazard a guess that it was shock.

Aria asked, “So you’re not attracted to girls, Alfie?”

I turned to her, and it was only then that I realized I had blurted out something unnecessary.

“Err…” I stammered. “That’s not what I mean.”

Leona leaned close to me and asked, “Then what do you mean, Alfie? Are you by any chance into men?”

Oh Lord, but I felt trapped.