Shawn thought he was ready. He genuinely thought so. He had spent the last few minutes mentally preparing himself not to make a fool of himself, not to say anything weird, and above all, not to overreact to anything the queen might do.
But the moment he stepped out of the room and saw all the guards stationed outside, he felt his throat go a little dry.
There were several of them. Many more than he'd expected.
And the instant Iris crossed the door, they all straightened up at the same time and saluted with a synchrony so precise that Shawn even flinched slightly on the inside.
"Good morning, Your Majesty."
The voices rang out firm and respectful.
Shawn swallowed.
'Right... yeah. Of course. She's a queen,' he thought. 'Obviously they greet her like that.'
But then Iris stopped, looked at the guards with a small smile, and said in a soft tone:
"It seems you forgot to greet my physician as well."
The silence lasted barely a second.
The guards corrected their posture immediately and turned their gaze toward Shawn.
"Good morning, miss."
Shawn stood still for a moment.
He hadn't expected that.
Then he raised a hand a little awkwardly.
"Uh... good morning," Shawn replied. "Have a good one."
Two guards blinked.
One even looked confused by the response.
But no one said anything.
Iris, on the other hand, smiled with clear amusement.
Shawn didn't love that smile.
And before he could think more about it, the queen took his hand again and tugged him gently forward to guide him down the hallway.
Shawn followed in silence.
As they walked, he noticed that the entire castle seemed to be moving at an absurd speed.
Servants crossed back and forth carrying trays, silverware, bottles, tablecloths, vases with flowers, and dishes he couldn't even fully make out.
Everyone was in a rush.
Shawn watched a maid pass by balancing a tower of plates in her hands.
Then he spotted two men arranging a side table.
Further along, others were laying out a long carpet with a precision that made no sense at that hour.
'This can't be real,' he thought. 'She actually organized all of this seriously.'
Every time someone noticed him beside Iris, they stepped aside immediately and lowered their head in respect.
That only made Shawn more uncomfortable.
Not knowing quite what to do, Shawn started waving at almost everyone who looked at him.
A maid walked past him. Shawn raised his hand. The maid's eyes went wide and she kept walking without responding.
A cook came through a door carrying an enormous tray. Shawn waved again. The man nearly tripped.
'...Okay. I don't think that's how you greet people here,' he thought with a twinge of embarrassment. 'Too late to stop now though.'
Iris didn't let go of his hand once.
She kept guiding him calmly, as if she found it completely normal to drag a stranger through the castle while all the staff bustled around them.
When they finally entered the hall where the banquet had been set up, Shawn was speechless.
The table was enormous. Not just big. Enormous.
There was so much food that he struggled to take it all in with a single look.
Roasted meats. Breads in all different shapes. Fruits arranged with excessive care. Cheeses. Sauces. Sweets. Pastries. Fish. Goblets. Bottles of wine that, even without knowing anything about it, were obviously outrageously expensive.
And as if that weren't enough, at the far end of the hall a small band was playing classical music with complete seriousness.
Shawn stood still.
He looked at the table. Then at the band. Then at the table again.
'...Is all of this just for the two of us?'
Guards and servants began bowing their heads the moment Iris entered.
"Your Majesty."
Iris responded with nothing more than a glance before leading Shawn toward the head of the table.
And as was already becoming a pattern, every time someone greeted her, the queen would naturally gesture toward Shawn.
"My physician as well."
The greetings repeated.
Every single time, it made Shawn feel a little more mortified.
When they were finally close enough to the table, Shawn leaned slightly toward Iris and whispered:
"Are you trying to turn me into a human blimp?"
Iris went quiet for a second.
Then she let out a clear, unrestrained laugh.
Several people nearby glanced up, surprised to hear the queen laugh like that.
Shawn looked sideways at the room, uncomfortable.
"You may eat as much as you like," Iris replied, still amused. "Besides, the other guests who will be hearing today's important announcement should be arriving shortly."
Shawn turned his head toward her.
"What announcement?"
Iris looked at him with a smile he didn't like one bit.
"What do you think it could be about? You can eat something if it's too hard to answer."
The question annoyed Shawn immediately.
'And how am I supposed to know that?' he thought. 'That's literally why I'm asking you!'
But since Shawn was already learning that the queen enjoyed leaving him confused a little too much, he decided not to push it.
Shawn sat down with resignation.
The chair was comfortable. Way too elegant for him.
Shawn looked at the food once more, though he wasn't really that hungry.
Not too long ago he'd eaten in his other world. The food his sister had given him was still sitting a little heavy in his stomach.
And that brought up a question that struck him as fairly serious.
'Wait... if I'm not hungry right now, does that mean this body's stomach and the other world's are connected?' he thought. 'Or does my consciousness carry the fullness with it too?'
Out of pure curiosity more than hunger, Shawn reached over and grabbed a piece of chicken directly with his fingers.
The effect was immediate.
Several nearby maids changed expression all at once.
One's eyes went wide. Another froze on the spot. A third even brought a hand to her mouth.
Shawn blinked.
'What?'
He looked at the chicken. Then at his fingers.
And then he understood.
He hadn't used utensils.
He'd grabbed the food with his bare hand like he was at home.
The maids started murmuring among themselves.
Very quietly, yes. But enough to be noticeable.
"Uncivilized..." "How vulgar..." "She eats like that...?"
Shawn furrowed his brow slightly.
Before he could react, Iris spoke.
"Enough."
The queen's voice wasn't loud. But it was enough.
Everything stopped.
Iris didn't even look at all the maids. It only took her directing her gaze at two of them for the entire group to lower their heads.
"Unless you'd like to be dismissed," she continued calmly, "I'd advise you to keep quiet."
The fear was instant.
"Forgive us, Your Majesty." "Apologies, Your Majesty."
Iris kept her expression calm.
"I don't want to hear another word about it."
The maids bowed their heads even lower.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Shawn watched the scene in silence.
He said nothing.
But he noticed something right away.
More and more people were gathering around the table.
Knights. Maids. Servants.
They all kept a considerable distance, not getting too close, but their presence made the atmosphere more uncomfortable for him.
It was like eating in the middle of a show where everyone was pretending not to watch.
'This is terrifying,' he thought. 'Why is nobody sitting down? Why is everyone just standing there like they're about to witness an execution?'
Then the guests began to arrive.
One by one.
Each person who entered greeted the queen first.
Iris responded with her usual calm and then indicated where they should sit.
All of those seats were quite far from where she and Shawn were sitting.
That caught his attention too.
'Not even in the same section of the table,' he thought. 'So what exactly is the point of this banquet?'
The first to sit was a man named Aris.
Iris said his name without any particular emotion, as if no further introduction was necessary.
Shawn observed him with curiosity.
He had every look of a wizard about him.
He wore a green robe, glasses, and a wooden staff that only reinforced the image.
Aris greeted the queen respectfully.
Then he turned a long gaze toward Shawn.
Not hostile.
But very curious.
Like he was trying to work out what this girl was doing seated next to the head of the table.
He said nothing.
He simply sat down.
And he didn't touch the food either.
That made Shawn second-guess himself again.
'So you are supposed to wait until everyone is seated?' he thought. 'Then why on earth did the queen tell me to start eating whenever I felt like it?'
He didn't get to resolve that question, because shortly after, Isolde walked in.
She wore a gown of dark violet silk with black lace.
She looked immaculate.
Like someone who, even while exhausted, had forced herself to maintain composure down to the last detail.
Isolde greeted the queen.
Iris merely pointed to her seat.
Also far. Very far.
Isolde obeyed without another word and went to sit down.
She didn't touch the food either.
That caught Shawn's attention even more.
But there was something else.
When Isolde sat down, she shot him a quick glance.
A very brief one.
But Shawn saw it.
It was a look of disgust.
Small. Almost hidden. And yet unmistakable.
She then smoothed her expression as if nothing had happened.
Shawn looked at her for a few seconds.
Then he looked down at the piece of chicken he was still holding in his hand.
'Oh, really?' he thought. 'Fine. Let's make this even more uncomfortable for everyone.'
Without changing his expression much, he brought the chicken to his mouth and started chewing with his mouth open.
The effect was immediate.
Several people went stiff.
Aris raised an eyebrow ever so slightly.
Some of the maids looked horrified.
Even two knights averted their gaze with visible discomfort.
Shawn kept chewing.
Slowly.
Without hiding anything.
And while everyone around him tried to process what they were seeing, Iris sat watching him with amused curiosity, biting her lip to keep from laughing.