Chapter 8
Iris returned to her mansion and hurriedly tore off her earrings, tossing them aside.
*Clink*
a rough hand picked up the heavy earrings that had collided with the corridor floor.
“Why are you so irritated?”
“The Crown Prince isn’t someone to take lightly.”
“Didn’t you already know that?”
“No, I knew. But it’s more of a problem than I expected.”
All the accessories clinging to her body were starting to grate on her nerves.
They weren’t particularly heavy, but her weary, sagging body made them feel like a burden.
The diamond necklace, a gift from her third husband, fell to the floor with another *clink*, and the same rough hand picked it up again, following her.
She strode toward the bedroom without hesitation, and Jack followed her with practiced ease.
As soon as she reached the room, she kicked off her high heels, and it was, of course, Jack’s job to put them back in their place.
By the time Jack had returned the shoes to the dressing room and organized the accessories in their box, Iris was standing in front of the mirror.
‘I’m exhausted.’
She was beautiful but looked utterly drained.
She resembled a magnolia on the verge of wilting or an iris soaked in water.
She had been living this life for so long that she was starting to feel bored.
How long would she have to keep this up? When could she finally live as herself?
‘This is the last time.’
But in a literal sense, this was indeed the last time.
With a sigh, she slipped off her outer garments and spoke to Jack, who was standing behind her.
“Undo the buttons for me.”
“……”
Jack let out a short sigh and began unfastening the buttons on the back of her tightly cinched dress, one by one. The underdress beneath slowly came into view.
“I’m tired. Draw me a bath.”
“You’re working me like a maid.”
“If I’m letting you come and go like this, do you think I’d hire actual servants? I don’t have the money for that.”
At her curt words, Jack muttered a brief curse under his breath.
She was used to it, letting it go in one ear and out the other as she slid off the dress he had unfastened, collapsing onto the bed in just her underdress.
“Do you even see me as a man?”
“No, I see you as a loan shark here to collect my debts.”
“A loan shark isn’t a man?”
“You don’t even seem human, so just shut up.”
“Unbelievable.”
He spoke as if exasperated but headed toward a door attached to the bedroom. It led to the bathroom. He’d grumble like that but still do as she asked every time.
*“Ha…”*
It felt like too many things had happened today.
The Crown Prince held a significant share of that chaos. It was as if sudden events had come crashing in like a tidal wave.
The Crown Prince, Cliff, had escorted Iris to her carriage and whispered discreetly, out of earshot of others.
‘I’ll send a carriage in a week.’
To others, it might have looked like he was whispering sweet nothings.
But in reality, he was merely setting a date to discuss their agreement further.
‘I didn’t expect him to be this sharp and perceptive, but I’ll admit he’s no ordinary male lead.’
Her eyes were growing heavy.
She had been so tense all day that her entire body ached with exhaustion.
The sound of water filling the bath reached her ears, but her eyelids began to droop.
‘Ugh, I need to wash…’
She closed her eyes and slipped into a shallow sleep, only to be jolted awake by an incredulous voice.
“Hey, you said to draw a bath.”
“…Wash me.”
Mumbling in her half-asleep state, she burrowed deeper into the bed.
A scoff, half-exasperated, half-disbelieving, echoed in the room, but she was already being pulled into the arms of sleep.
* * *
*Chirp, chirp.*
The sound of birds woke her. As sunlight streamed into the bedroom, Iris squinted, frowning at the brightness, and rose from her bed.
“Ugh…”
She stretched long and hard, loosening her body.
She had expected to be sore all over from tensing up all day yesterday, but surprisingly, her body felt fine.
“Huh?”
Something felt off. Looking down, she saw she was wearing pajamas. That was strange. She distinctly remembered falling asleep before washing…
“What the…!”
Her face flushed red, and she shouted into the empty air.
“Jack—!”
But there was no response. Of course, he wouldn’t still be here. Blushing, Iris scratched her cheeks furiously.
“Talking nonsense before falling asleep…”
[“Wash me.”]
She remembered saying it, sure. But did he actually wash her? Iris felt both indignant at Jack and reluctantly acknowledged that she had brought this on herself.
‘Well, I have been working him like a servant, using my debts as an excuse.’
And for some reason, Jack always complied with her demands.
There was enough trust built up that she didn’t suspect him of doing anything inappropriate.
‘He probably doesn’t even see me as a woman anyway.’
With that brisk conclusion, she let out a snort and got out of bed. She had an unofficial meeting with the Crown Prince in a week, so she needed to prepare.
‘Should I go shopping alone?’
Normally, she’d call a tailor to the mansion and pay for a custom dress.
The money for that, of course, came from Jack—and added to her mounting debt.
‘Since I need to be the center of a scandal this time, it’s probably better to go out and be seen.’
Iris headed to the dressing room to pick out a dress for the day.
Most ladies wouldn’t go out alone, but maintaining the mansion already stretched her finances thin, so she was used to doing things on her own.
‘People probably have plenty to say about that too.’
What could she do? She couldn’t afford to rack up more debt on purpose.
She skillfully dressed herself and glanced out the window.
The sunlight felt especially warm today. Inspired, she slipped on white gloves and grabbed a white lace parasol.
‘This is still here?’
It was one of the gifts from her first husband. The extravagant parasol, studded with tiny diamonds, had been forgotten in a corner of the dressing room.
‘Should I thank him?’
With a self-deprecating smile, she unfurled the parasol. She planned to rent a public carriage from a nearby livery, but—
“Good morning.”
At the gate stood an unfamiliar, dazzlingly ornate carriage.
“By order of His Highness the Crown Prince, I’ll be attending to you for a while. My name is Vivi. It’s a pleasure to serve you, Lady Iris.”
The woman greeting her cautiously was clearly dressed in a palace maid’s uniform.
‘What in the world is going on?’
Iris stared, dumbfounded, at the woman who had introduced herself as Vivi.
‘I figured the Crown Prince knew about my situation.’
But she hadn’t expected him to go this far. Honestly, it felt a bit meddlesome, but considering they were in this together, this was probably a trivial gesture for him.
‘No need to refuse kindness that’s being offered.’
Quickly calculating, she gave Vivi a warm smile.
“I look forward to working with you.”
“Understood. Please, step inside. I was told you have somewhere to go.”
“Oh, was that mentioned?”
Iris covered her mouth and let out a soft chuckle.
‘That annoyingly perceptive guy.’
He had predicted she’d be out and about starting today.
As she’d told Jack, he wasn’t someone to underestimate.
‘Well, he’s just the guy who’ll end up cheating later anyway.’
She glanced at the carriage door the maid opened, took her hand, and stepped inside.
It seemed she’d have help indulging in luxury for the next week. Since it wouldn’t add to her debt, it wasn’t a bad deal.
‘Since it’s a contractual relationship, maybe we’ll draw up a contract. Probably something about pretending to be loyal to each other until he gets what he wants.’
As the carriage door closed, her lips twisted into a wry smirk.
‘I hope the heroine shows up here before this contract ends. I wonder how he’ll react then.’
Imagining that arrogant, beautiful face contorted in panic already brought her a spark of joy.
Iris leaned back comfortably against the carriage seat.
“Where to?”
The coachman’s voice prompted the maid, who had joined her inside, to look at Iris. She answered naturally.
“To Rodance Street.”
Rodance, the street of dresses, where every noblewoman of the empire gathered—it wasn’t an exaggeration to say so.
Her rumors would begin there.
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By Anna 💓
