Chapter 18
The woman whom the child mistook for an angel, Iris, was looking down at the bruised girl with her arms crossed. Behind her stood Jack, who had followed her, standing a few steps away.
“My life is already overwhelming enough. Don’t show up in front of me like this and make things harder for me.”
She spoke softly in an emotionless voice. The girl’s eyes, which Iris was looking down at, were hollow and empty.
“I’m not that good of a person, you know.”
*Smack.*
While Iris was preaching, the pickpocket girl, Aster, struggled to mumble something. Her hand, with its broken fingers, trembled on the ground as it reached out pitifully toward Iris.
“Didn’t you hear me? I said I’m not that good of a person.”
“P-please… save me…”
Aster barely managed to spit out those words with eyes that looked like they might roll back and a trembling hand. Her rough hand shook as it reached toward the hem of Iris’s skirt.
*Thud.*
But before her hand could even touch the hem, it fell limply. Iris’s red eyes landed on the tip of that hand.
“…”
*Swish.*
Iris’s hand grabbed the hem of her skirt and pulled it slightly forward. The edge of her white dress brushed against the back of the girl’s hand.
The girl’s hand twitched. Then, as if it were her last lifeline, she tightly grasped the hem of Iris’s skirt, even with her broken fingers.
“…But I’m not so evil as to turn away a kid who wants to live. Ugh, damn it. Sometimes I hate how wishy-washy I am.”
Iris muttered in her still-flat tone.
“Here’s the deal. I didn’t save you—you chose me. You reached out to me, begging to be saved, and I just happened to be there, unlucky for me.”
Saying this, Iris turned to look at Jack.
“Jack, pick her up. Let’s take her with us.”
“Alright.”
Jack lifted the unconscious girl who was clutching Iris’s skirt. She was so thin that he barely felt her weight.
“We’ll need to heal her and fatten her up a bit before we can have her do anything.”
Iris let out a sigh.
* * *
“My fiancée…”
The Crown Prince stared in disbelief at Iris, who had returned with a battered girl.
“I thought you’d come back with some pretty jewelry, but you picked up a person?”
“The world is full of surprises. I’ve broadened your horizons.”
“You even care about my horizons—what a true Crown Princess.”
“Oh, stop with the scary talk. Anyway, lend me someone to clean and treat the girl.”
“…Fine.”
The Crown Prince’s and Jack’s eyes met briefly. As their gazes locked, both men looked at Iris alternately before letting out a sigh.
Despite saying he was dumbfounded, the Crown Prince granted all of her requests.
He ordered maids to wash the girl and lent the healer prepared for himself.
Though mages were rare, the Empire had temples, and the healing magic used by the temple healed the girl’s wounds as if they had never been there.
“What’s the difference between a healer and a mage?”
“Temple healers can only use healing magic.”
“Why? It’s all magic, isn’t it?”
“Healing uses divine power, not magical power, so the source is different—that’s how it was explained to me.”
“That’s complicated.”
Iris sat by the side of the girl, who now lay clean in a regular guest room.
The Crown Prince had left after saying to call a maid if anything was needed, leaving only Iris and Jack in the room.
“What whim made you take her in?”
“I didn’t take her in. She grabbed my skirt.”
Jack furrowed his brow.
‘After you held out your skirt to her.’
But he didn’t bother pointing it out. He knew her character to some extent.
‘Like how she gives food to street vagrants.’
It wasn’t a new thing for Iris to share food with vagrants.
Ever since her first marriage, when she reached a point where she could afford to eat and live comfortably, it seemed she recalled her own childhood and had been doing such acts of kindness for quite a while.
‘Though she herself seems to think it’s no big deal.’
Jack looked at Iris, who had pulled a chair next to the bed and sat down. She was quietly gazing at the girl, who still hadn’t regained consciousness.
Iris reached out with her pale hand and touched the girl’s forehead.
“When will she wake up? Her wounds are all healed.”
“She was unconscious, so she’ll probably wake up soon.”
“Hmm…”
As they were having this conversation, a small groan escaped, perhaps because their voices woke the girl.
“Where am I…”
The pickpocket girl, unable to grasp the situation, rolled her eyes around, looking at the unfamiliar ceiling and the platinum-haired woman sitting beside her before sitting up abruptly.
“Am I dead after all?”
“Is her head injured?”
“I didn’t do anything to get into heaven.”
“Well, you did take quite a beating.”
Iris and Jack responded in turn to the girl’s mutterings.
“Hey, how much do you remember?”
“Uh, so… I pickpocketed an angel?”
“Quite the imagination you’ve got there.”
Iris laughed in disbelief. Then she reached out with both hands and pinched the girl’s cheeks hard.
“Ow, that hurts!”
“There you go. This isn’t heaven or hell—it’s reality, so snap out of it.”
The girl rubbed her cheeks where Iris had let go and examined her body. She had clearly been injured all over, but there wasn’t a single trace of a wound.
“Are you a mage?”
“Someone with as much money as a mage helped you out.”
“But you only had a few coins in your pocket…”
“I’m telling you, it was someone else with a lot of money.”
The girl quickly shut her mouth, glancing around cautiously before speaking softly.
“Um, since I’m awake, should I go now?”
“Look at this one. We saved you and healed you, and you’re just gonna eat and run?”
“B-but I don’t have any money!”
“Who said anything about money? Typical pickpocket, acting all tough.”
“Hic! T-then… as a slave?”
“When was slavery abolished in the Empire, and you’re still talking about slaves?”
“T-talking?”
“Yeah, something like that. Anyway, what I want you to do is simple: cleaning, laundry, serving, and other miscellaneous tasks.”
“Uh… so you need an errand runner?”
“More precisely, a maid. I’ll pay you a monthly salary, and you’ll follow me around, handling my daily needs.”
At that, the girl’s eyes widened.
“You’re… giving me a job?”
“Yeah. But you’ll have to leave this place. I’m not from here. I’m traveling now, but when the trip’s over, I’ll head back to the capital.”
“The c-capital?”
“What, is there a reason you can’t leave?”
“N-no! There’s no reason!”
“Good, then. What’s your name? I can’t keep calling you ‘you’ all the time.”
“Uh… Aster. My name’s Aster.”
“Alright, Maid Aster. Starting tomorrow, follow the other maids and learn the work diligently.”
“Huh? Oh, yes!”
“Then rest well today. You’ll be busy starting tomorrow.”
With that, Iris stood up and left the room with Jack. But before leaving, as if remembering something, she tossed out one more comment.
“Oh, and if anyone gives you a hard time, pull their hair out.”
“Teaching a kid great things, huh.”
“What’s the big deal? It’s not like she’s going to the palace.”
*Click.*
The door closed.
“The palace?”
A surprised question came from inside the room, but Iris cheerfully ignored it, parted ways with Jack, and headed to the VIP room.
It was a hassle to take on, but having a cheap maid to boss around wasn’t bad. A maid to help with chores while traveling wasn’t a bad idea either.
When she opened the door to the VIP room, humming, her eyes met the Crown Prince’s.
“Hmm… quite a provocative look.”
She looked up and down at the Crown Prince, who was wearing a bathrobe, slightly damp.
“…I think staring at the Crown Prince like that is even more provocative. Close the door first.”
“Yes, of course.”
*Click.*
She closed the door and walked into her bedroom, leaving the sexy, damp man behind.
The Crown Prince watched Iris’s back as she closed the bedroom door, letting out a hollow chuckle.
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By Anna 💓
