The fire spit and flashed, a bright blue flame leaping up as it consumed the remnants of my last experiment. I cursed and dodged backwards. After a moment, it settled down again, although tongues of flame flickered hungrily towards my feet.

I think it singed my hair. Sighing, I made darkness qi flow out of my hand, smothering the fire. Then I looked around, a little guiltily. The surrounding bookshelves and their content were fine, but maybe I should really be a little more careful with anything that might be flammable or explosive.

Well, it seems chemistry works normally here as well. Not that I’m an expert, but this is conclusive enough even if it’s due to my own stupidity.

I shook my head and regarded the burned remnants. There wouldn’t be any toxic smoke, and the servants would clear it up. Maybe that wasn’t good for me from a pedagogical standpoint.

Over the last two days, I’d done a number of little experiments. The results were simple. Obviously, gravity worked just fine in this world, and so did every other physical law that I could test. I assumed that qi just interacted with them, like magic layered atop reality and pressing down when it needed to. There were probably theories about that in the books, but as the saying went, ‘seeing is believing’. And it comforted me to get at least a little bit done by myself, especially to figure things out.

I glared back at the book lying open on the table before me. It had prompted the first of the experiments when I’d read some of the facts contained within. I’d looked at other ones, but the size of this planet was actually not quite clear, since they didn’t exactly have satellites and did it like the ancient Greeks. If my rough mental conversion of distances was accurate, and I’d checked it with the records from other transmigrators, even the lower end of the opinions put the world’s radius at about eight thousand kilometers. If I remembered correctly, Earth’s radius was six point something thousand. That meant the planet was, at a rough estimate, about one point six times bigger in terms of surface area alone.

Gravity felt exactly the same, although I might not have noticed if it was just slightly higher, but still. Which meant that the planet was either weird and had very low density, or magic was very weird.

I went to the window and stared out at the horizon, but I couldn’t notice anything odd. Maybe that was just because I didn’t have a good mental reference for how it should look. But the whole thing had unsettled me a bit. At least I’d gotten some basic knowledge about recent history and the Empire’s society in my reading.

Aston cleared his throat gently.

I turned around and regarded him. He’d come up just as the test finished, but I wasn’t in the mood for conversation. Still, it was probably important. “What is it?”

“His Imperial Highness, Prince Leri Alaster, has sent word. He requests the honor of a conversation at the convenience of the Imperial Princess.”

Oh. Something about the way Aston said that made me think he’d reworded the message to be more polite and formal, but I hoped it hadn’t been rude. Then he would have looked stiffer, probably.

“I suppose I really should meet him.” Had I kept the siblings waiting? It was still a little hard to wrap my head around what was probably the mentality here. If one wants to meet a ‘senior’, one doesn’t just show up at their door or summon them. But if I wanted to meet someone, they’d probably better show up quickly if called or invite me in if I deigned to visit them.

Maybe I was wrong, but so far, I had the impression this world was like those in a cultivation novel. Cultivation and spirits. Mostly feudal structure, except for sects, clans and such, and there was actually a strong central authority. So maybe not so feudal after all. And the technological level was actually pretty high from what I’d seen. I mean, they had elevators and air transport, running water and artificial lighting.

I set off, but paused when I noticed Aston’s expression. “Something up? You look like there is. Come on, spit it out.”

The guard sighed. “It might be prudent to make yourself presentable first. I doubt the smell of ash is the desired impression to leave.”

I winced and looked at myself. He was completely right. I hadn’t showered or bathed in two days, only taken a quick swim in an enclosed pond I’d come across after a training session with Ling Ta. My clothes still looked pristine, probably due to their enchantment, but my enhanced nose could pick up just a slight hint of sweat and of course fire.

“Okay, then. Let’s stop by my room. Thank you.”

My eidetic memory extended to locations, so I could find my way around easily. It didn’t take long to get back to my suite. There, the guards took their stations again, and I rummaged in my wardrobe for a new outfit. I didn’t want to appear too formal just for visiting family, so I went with a simple but nice green robe. Apparently, colors didn’t have significance, although many cultivators matched their elements.

When I reached the bathroom, just the sight of the pool made me relax a bit. I’d like a shower, but a bath would be nice too, and needed. I started to undress.

A few signatures had been moving around in the vicinity, but I didn’t pay them any mind. I only really became aware one had stopped close to me when the side door opened. It was disguised as part of the wall, and only the faint outline of qi gave its presence away previously.

I started and reflexively held my robe in front of me.

My wide-eyed stare met the gaze of a girl, no, two girls around twenty who crowded into the room. They paused when they saw my reaction and bowed, deeply and a little slowly.

My mouth went dry at the sight of it. The girls wore only loose clothing, and their decollete barely covered their generous busts, their motion giving me a good view. They had faces that could make supermodels envious, lithe and well-proportioned bodies, and a glint in their eyes that said they knew exactly what they were doing.

I cleared my throat. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

They finally straightened, and the brunette with the cute dimples replied, “We desire to do our job, Your Highness.”

The one with curly black hair gracefully stepped to the side. “We are servants at the palace, radiant princess. Your maids. It will be our pleasure to help you bathe.” Her tone was laced with just a hint of teasing.

I swallowed. They were really hot, and it had been a while, so I couldn’t help my thoughts wandering in a certain direction. But I shut that down. Besides, the thought of having servants bathe me was just weird.

“Well, I don’t need any help,” I said as firmly as I could manage. Then I sighed internally and set down my shield of fabric. I didn’t want to appear weak, or nervous.

The two maids bowed their heads at my declaration, but they didn’t leave, instead starting to move with purpose about the room. Though their eyes never left me for long, and the sway in their steps had to be intentional.

As quickly as I could, I pulled off my underwear and dove into the pool. This was supposed to be relaxing, I complained to myself.

Just when I started to look around after a minute, a bottle of shampoo appeared at the edge. I waited until the maid had retreated a bit before quickly washing my hair with it. Then I dived under again for a bit, just because I could. This didn’t have the size of a real swimming pool, but I could move about more than freely. Reluctantly, I surfaced.

“Hand me a towel,” I said to the room.

Quickly, the brunette maid held a fluffy blanket out to me. I climbed out in a flash with my qi-enhanced body and wrapped it around me. Then I dried myself, trying not to make it too obvious I wanted to keep myself covered. When I’d finished, the other maid held out my clothes, the robe open so I only needed to slip into it, then the pants. Well, at least they’re clearly professionals.

The darker one stood close enough I could see her biting her full lip in detail. The room was damp — and why’s that, it wasn’t last time? — and the fabric of her clothes clung to her. I paused a bit.

“If the radiant princess is in need of relaxation,” the maid purred, “I would be delighted to be of service.”

For a moment, I actually considered the offer. I knew they were probably paid employees. But are they required to sleep with me, perhaps under threat of punishment? I can’t be sure. And even if this is just prostitution, basically, would I be okay with that?

Maybe if I wasn’t in the position of the princess who could probably have them whipped with a word. This just felt like they were either told to do it, trying to seduce the princess for personal gain, or just attracted to power.

“Maybe some other time.”

Quickly, I fled the room.

Outside, I breathed a covert sigh of relief, then shook my head and tried to clear my thoughts. I couldn’t afford to let things like this distract me. I was going to meet my predecessor’s little brother. Probably one of those people close to my predecessor.