What does "近侍の臣" mean?


I'm reading a story about ancient Japan and I have a problem with what seems
to be a title of some kind (?): 近侍の臣. Here's the context:

この年の春、樹々 の芽吹く ころから、クナ国の兵がしきりに国境を侵しはじめた。ここ数年、たえて無かったことである。
辺境から報を受けたヒミコは、ただちに兵を派そうと考え、いつものように **年若い近侍の臣ヌナサキ**
を通じて、群臣に諮った。すると、弟のクニヒコが、まず異を唱えた。 いま兵を動かすのは得策ではない、と言う。

Could you please help me out?




近侍 is not a common word, but it refers to someone who works near or aside a
master. Perhaps "attendant", "valet" or "chamberlain" in English. 臣 is just
"retainer". The の between them is an apposition marker ("近侍 who is also 臣"
rather than "近侍's 臣"). 臣 may seem redundant, but it may be saying Nunasaki is
not a servant but has some social status.

