Perhaps it was just an offhand remark from Ailaira Green, but in Andrea’s heart, it became an iridescent memory she couldn’t let go of.
Even if she had to abandon her trivial glory, Miss Red Dragon still wanted to protect this refuge.
Such a straightforward confession made Ailaira feel a sense of absurdity. No matter how much she pondered, she couldn’t understand what she had done to move Andrea so deeply.
She didn’t understand.
“When did I ever say I was leaving? Trinis Verlendel doesn’t really attract me like she used to. Maybe I’ll think about it again when she inherits the National Treasury.”
Ailaira turned her head away, not shaking off Andrea’s tightly held hand like she did last night, but instead lazily gazed at the sky and the garden, saying leisurely, “Besides, I’m afraid that if I go back, I’ll never be able to leave again…”
Andrea’s face lit up with a grin at these words. She elbowed Ailaira in the waist, the look of melancholy on her face vanishing instantly.
“Even a wicked woman has things she’s afraid of~ What is it? Tell me the details!”
Seeing Andrea back to her brash self, Ailaira grabbed her by the collar, pulling her up in front of her and shaking her back and forth. “I’m afraid a certain dragon deep in debt won’t pay me back my money.”
By now, Andrea had fully understood the principle that when you owe too much, you stop worrying about it.
She stuck her hands on her hips, bared her silver teeth, and replied smugly, “Hmph, I’ve already sold myself to you anyway, so how much you can use me just depends on your own skill as a Witch, doesn’t it?”
Ailaira’s eyes narrowed slightly. She sensed Andrea had grown, at least in her ability to tease her—enough to make her feel a faint ripple of emotion.
Of course, it was only a little bit.
“Since you said that, then these things—I won’t give them to you?”
As soon as Ailaira finished speaking, she snapped her fingers crisply, and in the next instant, a mountain of gold, silver, and jewels appeared out of thin air, falling like rain and immediately blocking the entrance to the Green Family manor.
The dazzling golden light outshone the sun overhead, as if a layer of luxury had been cast over the entire courtyard.
Andrea’s breath quickened; she flailed her limbs like a cat seeing its favorite toy, then couldn’t wait to pounce forward.
Ailaira let go, and Andrea shot off in the blink of an eye, diving into the pile of treasure and swimming through it, giggling with joy. “Hehe, so much money~ Are you giving all of this to me?”
Ailaira flexed her wrist and said indifferently, “After all, last night’s best-selling Perfume was your invention. Consider this your Dividends.”
“I actually brought you over last night to give it to you in person, but we ran into some trouble.”
“Oh, it’s nothing, there’s no need for a big ceremony. It’s not too late now, anyway!” Andrea wiped the drool from her mouth, overwhelmed with emotion. She was just short of throwing her arms around Ailaira and kissing her—after being broke for so long, this was the first time she’d ever owned so much wealth.
The excited Red Dragon immediately announced, “Yay! Ailaira, you’re such a good person! I’ll never call you names again!”
Watching Andrea lose herself in a world of riches, Ailaira’s lips curled in a satisfied, scheming smile.
After calming the Knights, Trinis quietly walked behind Jody and whispered, “That fortune is only a tiny fraction for Miss Ailaira, right?”
Jody spoke casually, and seeing Trinis look down on her own master and boss like that, she disdainfully wiggled her pinky at Trinis, wearing an expression that said ‘you just don’t get it’: “You really haven’t seen much. That money is nothing to our young lady—it’s just what leaks through her fingers.”
“Besides, she’s always generous with us servants. As long as you don’t ask for anything outrageous, she’ll grant it.”
Trinis nodded in agreement. After all, the money Ailaira had swindled… no, that she had willingly given her, could probably fill every corner of the Green Family manor.
Even so, Trinis’s eyes showed pure envy. “Are you Miss Ailaira’s personal maid?”
Jody thought about it. Among all her duties, being a maid was indeed one of them. After all, she was the only servant the Green Family had right now.
As for Andrea—in Jody’s eyes, she was just a pet.
“More or less.”
“That’s so nice. I wish I could be like you and stay by her side.”
At those words, Jody instantly grew wary, noticing that Trinis’s gaze at Ailaira was not as innocent as she claimed. Inwardly, Jody shrieked:
Bastard! My job!
Without showing it, Jody subtly shifted her steps, slowly blocking Trinis’s view, then deliberately struck a formal pose and said, “Miss, your companions have been waiting for a long time.”
Trinis looked back and saw Kadessi Knight already finished packing the carriage for the return trip. The Knights were all staring at her eagerly, obviously ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
Trinis turned and looked once more into the distance, where Andrea was happily cradling a gemstone the same color as her own eyes, bouncing in circles around Ailaira.
At this moment, the Princess seemed to be standing at Destiny’s Crossroads, but either path ahead was a future she couldn’t bear to give up.
She was afraid that if she stayed by her father’s side, her Evil Magic would be discovered and become a stain upon the great human King.
She was also afraid that if she clung to Miss Ailaira, her identity would bring endless trouble and she would eventually be completely hated.
A difficult choice loomed before the Princess, blocking her senses. For a moment, it felt like she was back in those endless nights plagued by nightmares.
Yet she realized she hadn’t had nightmares in a long while. When had that started? Perhaps since, in a daze, she felt that hand resting gently on her forehead, and heard that soft call:
“Trinis.”
Trinis shivered slightly, looked up, and saw Ailaira standing on the steps, gazing back at her. Their eyes met, not with the sorrow of lovers parting, but as calmly as always.
Ailaira lifted her hand and tossed a bottle of Perfume to Trinis, who fumbled to catch it, sniffed the fragrance, and felt all her worries melt away.
What truly lifted her spirits was not the sweet scent, but the meaning the Perfume carried.
“Miss Ailaira, is this… for me!?”
“Be sure to use it when you go out. If you run out, contact me and I’ll have someone send you more.”
I finally have a reason to reach out to her!!
Joy flickered in Trinis’s eyes, but she quickly hid it, calmly gazing at the Perfume in her hands as if making plans.
Ailaira fell silent, her eyelid twitching in warning. “If you dare waste it, I’ll talk to the King about breakup compensation.”
“No, no! I’ll definitely use it properly!”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.