An Unwelcome Transformation – Chapter 39

It had been over two weeks since I’d been transported into the Aurora Realm and had now entered the palace of the Acaedien Kingdom after that dangerous drama back in the woods. I must admit I was quite fortunate Aria had suggested I take refuge in her, Leona, and Brenna’s quarters—and I didn’t end up living with Lord Aaron or sleeping rough in the streets.

These quarters, which were located in the east wing of the palace, were like a millionaire’s apartment of sorts. Here, each girl had her own bedchamber with an en suite bathing and dressing chamber—which were massive and very elegant, like those in a French castle.

The quarters also had an enormous sitting room with luxurious furnishings fit for a queen, a common bathing chamber complete with a hot spring pool, and a modern, millionaire-like kitchen very similar to ours back home, in which the girls could cook if they felt like it. Although the palace itself had five separate cafeterias, one in each wing, which catered to staff working and residing inside the palace. Of course, there were numerous restaurants and roadside stands within the city as well, offering many different types of cuisines for all sort of tastes.

In order to pay and contribute for my living expenses—because I didn’t want to leech off the girls’ kindness—I offered to become their house cleaner, even though I knew very well they weren’t short in that department since they had maids. This was because I couldn’t start work at the palace’s library yet since I didn’t know how to read and write in the Aurora language, which was the first language of the Aurora Realm.

Naturally, the girls refused me becoming their cleaner, despite my insistence. In the end, I became their cook instead, since they fell in love with my food after I had cunningly let them have a taste of my heavenly creations of oriental cuisine. Bibimbap!

Personally, I thought bibimbap was the perfect sample for the job of a cook, especially when my target audience was female. They, like me, always took health and calories into consideration when it comes to food. Bibimbap was full of an assortment of sautéed and steamed vegetables laid over a bed of steamed white rice. Healthy, easily filled the tummy, and wouldn’t add many calories to the body. Perfect!

Thus, it came down to cooking the girls’ lunch and dinner five days a week, except for Saturday and Sunday, until I could read and write the Aurora language fluently, which Lord Aaron had kindly offered to teach me in exchange for cooking him lunch daily.

I sighed as I lay there on the couch, staring up at the chandelier above me with my awesome military contact lenses zooming in on the beautiful crystals. Oddly enough, no one had requested their return yet, and furthermore, I had learned to switch off the night vision function by blinking twice and applying a light pressure on my right temple at the same time. Hence, my nights now were dark as they normally were, except for when I wanted to see or find something, which was quite convenient.

Brenna’s face appeared above me, blocking my view of the crystals. She asked, “What’s wrong, Alfie?”

She must have heard my disheartened sigh earlier.

I said, “I just remembered I have to cook for the lords this Sunday.”

Yes, that was me all right, doing my best to get into Lord Geoffrey’s good graces in order to lure him into becoming my ally. Not to mention Lord Noah as well, who seems to like my cooking. I even received a few gifts from him, too. That golden pill had been sweet and very delicious, and I wished I could get my hands on another one. It was like a multivitamin, so it wouldn’t do any harm.

Aria put the book she was reading down on her lap and then said, “I’ll be glad to help if you need any, Alfie.”

Leona nodded in agreement as she put her cup of tea down. “I’m free as well, so just ask.”

I nodded, telling them that I’d need their help. I had heard the lords had big appetites, and I had to make sure they were fully satisfied with my food.

I turned my attention to Brenna, who was now sitting on the sofa next to me. Her presence reminded me of last night’s episode when I had been with Caleb and, of course, this afternoon when I had been with Felix. In a very short span of time, I had been wildly and passionately kissed by two demon lords.

Tentatively, I touched my lips, still slightly swollen from the kisses. The intoxicating, sensual advances had not only driven me quite senseless with pleasure, but awakened something deep inside me, as well as scaring me shitless. It had felt like the two lords were leading me toward this unknown, sinfully dark realm that both frightened and excited me.

Once again, my heart skipped while thinking about the lords, remembering the heat and hardness of their bodies against me, and I felt my tummy flutter and my cheeks blush hot.

Not wanting to lose myself daydreaming about the two men, I pushed the image of both Caleb and Felix away from my mind and asked Brenna, “By the way, how’s your sister doing?”

Brenna had visited her adopted sister Mariann again this afternoon to see how the beautiful woman fared, and I wanted to know the details.

Aria asked in surprise, “Is Mariann unwell?”

Brenna nodded. “Yes, but I’m not sure what it is yet.”

“Then do you want me to examine her?” Leona offered.

Aria said, “And I can use my magic to identify what’s wrong with her body system.”

Brenna nodded. “Are you two fine going to Butterflies Paradise?”

That caught my attention. Did Brenna mean to imply that Aria and Leona weren’t fine with venturing into Butterflies Paradise? Then again, I knew now that not only was Aria a mage—because Caleb had told me so last night—but that she was a distant relative of Lords Geoffrey and Aaron, which explained her blond hair and emerald-green eyes, which were the typical traits of the Lancasters. Apparently, she had three-quarters cat people and one-fourth Lancaster blood, which explained her cat ears and powerful qi respectively. That meant she was nobility, and as I suspected, a noble lady with powerful bloodlines venturing into a place like Butterflies Paradise would be frowned upon by society in general.

Whereas Leona was a daughter of a high-ranking general by the name Tom Morton, who was currently serving the Acaedien Kingdom under Felix. And, of course, the red-light district was also no place for a famous female military surgeon, let alone one who was a daughter of a general for that matter.

Aria said, “Yes. It’s fine.”

“No problem for me,” Leona said.

Which, of course, surprised me. Ahh, helping a friend’s sister was more important than being frowned upon by society, eh? Aria and Leona, I thought in awe, you two are so cool.

Brenna smiled gratefully. “Thanks. Then we can visit her tomorrow after lunch.”

So Aria could use her magic to identify what was wrong with a sick person, eh? Almost like doing a blood test, X-ray, or CT scan sort of thing. It sounded interesting, and I wanted to know more and bear witness as to how it was done. Hence, I said, “Then I’ll come, too, if that’s all right. I can cook Mariann some food. That should cheer her up.”

With that sorted, I sat up and said, “About cooking for the lords on Sunday… I don’t know what they like. I mean, I don’t want to cook anything they don’t like, let alone anything that they’re allergic to.”

Leona cocked her head to one side. “Allergic?”

I said, “It’s when your body is not right with a certain food item. There is a small percentage of people in my homeland who are allergic to nuts and such.”

Leona nodded in understanding. “Ahh… Then again, our lords are demons, so they’re not allergic to anything.”

I sighed in relief. That was one worry out of my mind.

Brenna came around to sit beside me and said, “Lords Victor and Ethan are back, and I assume they’ll be joining us for the Sunday lunch you’re going to be preparing, Alfie. It’ll be fun.”

Aria nodded in agreement.

Lords Victor and Ethan, eh?

My mind flicked back to last night, remembering the bizarre episode.

Lord Victor, the gorgeous one with silver hair and eyes, had tossed the drunken Lord Ethan into the carriage and then came over to me to introduce himself. He even sat right next to me in our carriage and started asking me countless questions that would make anyone’s head spin. Of course, I had been rather preoccupied at the time, thinking about Caleb and his kisses, to listen carefully to what he was going on about.

I sighed. Not again! Why couldn’t I stop thinking about Caleb and his kisses? Just as I couldn’t stop thinking about Felix’s.

Lords Geoffrey’s and Noah’s kisses, on the other hand, were different stories altogether. Of course, Lord Geoffrey’s wasn’t even a kiss, since it had merely been the sealing of a spell. Lord Noah, on the other hand, had thought it had been a dream on his part.

Doing my best to keep my mind away from those lords, I asked the girls, “Then can you help me list what the lords’ likes and dislikes are where food is concerned?”

Brenna said, “Of course.”

Hence, I sat there in the sitting room for the next two hours, listening to Aria, Leona, and Brenna listing each lord’s favorite food items, as well the ones they disliked.

When my brain got very fried from the overload of information, I finally got up from my seat like a zombie and said, “Thanks for helping me out, everyone. I’m going to take a bath now and then go to sleep. I’m quite tired.”

Naturally speaking, I had been feeling exhausted since the day I had been magically transported to this world. It was just the adrenaline that had kept me going. Now that I was running out of that, the morning felt like a drag. Then again, once I was up and about, I’d be fine again, full of energy. That was until it came to evenings like this. Then I’d revert to feeling like a zombie again.

I was at the door when Aria called out, “Alfie?”

I turned. “Hmm?”

She said, “About that thing you asked of me for help this morning. I’ve checked the magical system calendar, and tonight is a good night. The stars align.”

I became awake instantly and asked, eyes wide in pleasant surprise, “Really?”

She smiled as she nodded her head. “Yes.”

“Then let’s do it now.”

Aria shook her head. “Midnight. The timing needs to be right.”

I nodded in understanding. “All right, then.”

With the happy thought that I could finally contact and send my parents messages through dreams, I headed toward my small bedchamber upstairs. There, I went about retrieving my toiletry basket and pajamas, which were basically loose trousers and a blouse that I had received from the textile department, along with all my other modest boy garments that I had been wearing. Of course, I had been lucky enough to grab a piece of long white material as well, which I used to bind my chest. I couldn’t ask for a few bras, after all, since I was supposed to be a boy. As for panties, well, for now, I was still wearing the boy’s version, which were way too loose and airy for my liking.

Ugh! I needed to sneak into the textile department one day and do the most unthinkable thing—steal a few female panties—if I ever wanted to walk around feeling secure and comfortable down there.