Redd didn't answer, just walked to the door and opened the latch.
The door was pushed open a crack, and two maids filed in carrying trays.
They kept their heads down the whole time, staring at the ground, as if they were counting the Rift on the stone slab. No one dared to raise their heads, and no one dared to take another look in the direction of the bed.
When the maid in front put the tray on the table, Redd noticed that her fingers were trembling slightly.
She placed the dishes and cups gently, making almost no noise. After putting them away, she immediately turned around and exited the room with her companions.
When closing the door, the maid who was walking behind pressed her knuckles against the door panel and closed it slowly so that the door shaft did not make any annoying creaking sound.
The entire meal delivery process was as quiet as a passing breeze. From beginning to end, no one said a word or made any unnecessary noise.
The door is closed.
Redd stood in front of the desk and looked down at the breakfasts that were served.
A pot of steaming black tea, a plate of golden and crispy bread, a small bowl of honey, a few slices of cut fruit, and a small jar of butter.
Simple but exquisite, obviously prepared according to the specifications of the distinguished guests.
He poured a cup of tea and brought it to the window. While drinking, he looked at King's Landing outside the window.
Blackwater Bay sparkled in the morning light, like a crumpled silver mirror; the lines of the city wall in the distance were looming in the morning mist, like a huge spine stranded on the land.
There was slight movement behind me. It was the sound of fabric rubbing together, the sound of breathing rhythm changing, and the rustle of quilt being turned.
Redd didn't look back, just holding the teacup and looking out the window. He knew she was awake.
Rhaenyra is indeed awake.
She woke up from the coldness of the vacant seat next to her. The cool air seeping in from the gaps in the quilt touched her skin earlier than the morning light, causing her to emerge from a deep sea-like sleep.
When she opened her eyes, her vision was still a little blurry, and it took her pupils a moment to refocus.
What she saw was the back of Redd standing in front of the window. The long robe was loosely covering his body, and the morning light outlined the outline of his shoulders.
She looked at him, feeling that the figure from his back was more reassuring and more leg-weak than last night.
He was awake, he was still there, wearing the robe in her room, standing in front of the window of her room, looking at the sea that she had seen since childhood.
Then she felt a crisp and solid sound coming from behind her - it wasn't pain, but a soft and powerful sound that landed precisely on a certain place. It shook her whole body for an instant, and then spread a tingling feeling from that point to all around.
The sound echoed in the room, like someone tapping a full water bag.
"Pah."
The hip waves rose and fell several times, spreading out layer by layer before slowly recovering.
There was a faint red palm print left on that snow-white skin, with clear edges and distinct finger marks, like a personal seal covered on parchment.
"Hmm..." Rhaenyra let out a muffled hum, the sound gentle and dragging, like a lightly plucked string, and the lingering sound circled between his lips and teeth several times before dissipating.
She turned sideways and supported the edge of the bed. Her purple eyes, which had just woken up from a deep sleep, still had a somewhat blurry watery light. Her eyelashes were half-drowned, and her gaze seemed to be pulled out of long silk threads by honey, which stuck to Redd's body and could not be torn apart no matter how hard it was.
Redd turned his back to her, placed the tea cup on the window sill, and said with a subtle smile in his voice, "Get up when you wake up. Don't tell me you can't get out of bed."
Rhaenyra Lying on the bed, I could feel every joint in my body making subtle protests. There was a sense of soreness between my legs after being overused, and the muscles in my waist and back seemed to have been dismantled and put back together again.
She buried her face into the pillow, and her muffled voice came out from between the pillowcase fabric. "It's not a good thing you did."
She took a few breaths and slowly pushed herself up to sit up.
The sheet slipped off her body, exposing her snow-white skin to the morning light, like a white jade screen chiseled open by the sun.
She frowned and placed her hands on the bed behind her, with her palms against the cold silk sheets. When she sat up, her brows involuntarily tightened - the soreness deep in her body became clearer than before.
Like a rock washed away by a night's tide, the surface is polished, but the pain from being beaten by waves still remains in the bones.
Redd turned his head and looked away abruptly the moment he touched her.
The scene that was revealed after the sheets fell off had a lazy temptation unique to the morning, gilded by the sun, and made the fire deep in his lower abdomen that he had suppressed jump again.
He looked away, picked up the tea cup and took another sip, using the slightly astringent tea liquid to wash away the thirst that was about to rise in his throat.
Rhaenyra noticed the movement of his head turning, and an almost invisible arc appeared at the corner of his mouth, like a house cat that had stolen a fish.
The two of them had a very tiring breakfast.
Rhaenyra refused to sit properly on the chair, and insisted on sitting close to him, with her shoulders leaning against his shoulders. From time to time, she would pass a piece of bread to his mouth and ask him to take a bite too, and look at him with the look of "If you don't eat it, you dislike me."
Her fingers were dishonest under the tablecloth, drawing circles on his knees and slowly climbing up along the lines of his inner thighs until he had to reach out and hold her hand, warning her with his eyes, "Besides, you really don't have to go out today."
Then she smiled and took back her hand, licking the honey off the corner of her mouth with the tip of her tongue. Her movements were slow and teasing, like a white cat stretching its body in the sun, lazy and cunning.
Redd endured it.
He is not a person who likes to suppress his desires, but he is not a beast led by desires either.
He has other things to do today, and Rhaenyra was already loosened by him last night. If he continues to toss, he may really have to lie in bed from morning to night. Then the whole Red Keep will spread the gossip that "Princess Rhaenyra and her Dragon King husband stayed in the room all day and didn't come out."
Those gossips are not a good thing for Rhaenyra, especially at this delicate time.
Rhaenyra picked up the last piece of fruit and put it into her mouth, chewed it twice and swallowed it. Just as she was about to say something witty, Redd's voice had already dropped, like a basin of cold water poured on her shoulders.
"Your father sent a letter to Oldtown yesterday."
He put down the teacup and spoke in a calm tone, as if he was saying "the weather is nice today". But the way he looked at her - there was seriousness, concentration, and unavoidable scrutiny in his eyes.
The smile on Rhaenyra's face faded.
It didn't collapse in an instant, but peeled off layer by layer, like faded patent leather peeling off a wooden board, revealing the original wood grain underneath.