about where I had seen her before. It didn’t take long to figure it out. She was the woman who had asked me to bring her iced tea on the day Becky forgot my meal and went to the kitchen. Therid had called her a princess for sure.
Among the sisters Ashley and Riott, who were said to be blindingly beautiful and inherited the power of the Elves, it was clear that Riott stood out.
‘Why is such a precious lineage here?’
I furrowed my brow, not expecting to encounter her on this busy street. Thankfully, the princess seemed unaware of my identity.
‘It was a good idea to wear a hat back then.’
I cautiously observed her. The dress was adorned with jewels, meticulously crafted earrings, and shoes with a diamond the size of a fist—everything was dazzling, but none of it overshadowed her exquisite features.
In contrast, my attire was plain and shabby. I quickly glanced at my clothes and thought,
‘She must think I’m just a commoner.’
It would have been better to greet her and pass by. As I stepped aside and lowered my head, the princess, Riott, approached me confidently.
“Are you Siara?”
“…Yes?”
“Seeing you with Hierian, it seems you must be Siara.”
Does she know Hierian? I was puzzled, but I couldn’t raise my head to examine her face. As I was no longer a noble, it would be impolite to look at the face of a noble.
What would be a suitable answer, one that would be obedient yet not go against my principles?
While I was contemplating, she firmly grabbed my chin. Her sharp and pointed fingernail pricked the skin below my chin, causing pain. When I frowned, she retracted her fingernail that was poking under my chin. Adding an insincere apology was just an extra touch.
“Ah, sorry. Are my nails a bit longer?”
However, she didn’t release her grip on my face. She examined my face for a while and then murmured as if sighing.
“…Like a doll. His Majesty would surely like it.”
His Majesty? Could she be talking about Dianel? Why does he like me?
Without thinking, I glanced at Riott. Then Riott fixed her gaze on me and spoke.
“Your eyes, like blue leaves, seem as if you’re looking at a forest.”
“…”
“Your skin is as fair as a baby’s. Do you use any special cosmetics?”
“Uh, well…”
“Why are your lips red when you haven’t applied anything?”
Riott lightly touched my lips with her thumb. Perhaps because I was doing something pathetic, it became less uncomfortable to look into her eyes. Riott also didn’t seem to care much. After staring at each other for a while, Riott asked.
“In your opinion, how do I look?”
“…You’re beautiful.”
“Do you think so too?”
In an instant, Riott blushed, turning her cheeks red. Her pure white cheeks transformed into a vibrant rose.
She seemed to be aware of her charm and brought her hand to her cheek, whispering.
“To be honest, I fell in love with you after seeing you in the crystal. But I feel even better now that you said I’m beautiful.”
Then she pouted.
‘What did I just witness?’
I was so bewildered that I couldn’t even speak. However, Riott whispered to me in a dreamy voice, not realizing what the problem was.
“It was worth putting Hierian to sleep. I planned it when I was going out. I brought the sedative that was originally intended for Dianel, but…”
Then she smiled brightly. Even though I discovered several landmines in the sentence I just heard, she didn’t seem to realize what the problem was.
I caught an unusual scent from Riott.
‘I need to wake up Hierian quickly.’
No matter how powerful the sleeping potion was, I was confident I could neutralize it. As I reached out towards Hierian, Riott hugged me tightly. At the same time, someone covered my nose and mouth with a handkerchief. The handkerchief smelled bitter, like grapefruit.
‘Sleeping pill.’
The moment I caught the scent’s identity, I lost consciousness. Just before losing consciousness, I heard Riott’s voice.
“Sorry, I wanted to use something weaker on you… But since you’re a healer, I had no choice.”
As her whispering voice faded, I lost consciousness.
* * *
My head throbbed as if it was about to split.
“Ugh.”
When I opened my eyes, two faces were looking at me. One was Riott, who had kidnapped me, and the other was Ashley, with her reddish hair. They both wore matching outfits and stared at me intently.
Behind the sisters, there were men dressed in black uniforms, standing like a wall. And I was sitting on a chair with my arms tightly bound. The silk ropes that bound me were comfortable enough not to cause any pain.
‘What on earth is happening?’
I twisted my body in confusion and unease. Then the sisters spoke up.
“She’s awake.”
“She’s awake.”
They chuckled darkly. They were more terrifying than the protagonist of a thriller I had seen. I swallowed nervously and asked.
“…Why are you doing this?”
Then Ashley murmured to herself.
“Your voice is beautiful.”
“I want to preserve it, sister.”
“But then we won’t be able to hear her voice.”
“Can’t we record it on an image stone?”
What is this nonsense? I never expected to meet people who were even more deranged than the three protagonists. Feeling awkward, I let out a forced laugh. As Ashley watched me intently, she asked me.
“How do you take care of your skin?”
“…What?”
“I tried removing my makeup. I had a bare face, but how is your skin better than mine when I wear makeup?”
Then she approached me and gently stroked my cheeks several times. Her delicate touch was as if she was caressing precious velvet. Caught off guard by the situation, I hesitated to speak, and she opened her eyes wide and said.
“If you don’t tell me honestly, I’ll torture you all night. You know that staying up late damages the skin, right?”
Riott added a comment.
“I won’t let you take milk baths or showers. Do you know it causes skin troubles?”
“I would be upset if I had pimples after taking such good care of my skin. Don’t keep it a secret, let us know too.”
I was bewildered by the unusual situation, but I had a rough idea of what was going on.
‘They seem curious about why my skin is good.’
The reason was simple. I was a healer. I inherited the power of the Elven race, known to be the strongest among the fairies. In other words, just by breathing, my body regenerated itself.
This also applied to the skin. So, even if I spent a long time under the sun, my skin wouldn’t burn, and any scratches or bruises would disappear without a trace. That’s why my skin looked good.
‘But I never expected them to be curious about it.’
Since it wasn’t a secret technique, I had nothing to say. But the sisters seemed to think that I was hiding a tremendous secret.
They were eagerly waiting for something to be said, and I came up with a clever idea while pondering. It was about making money.
‘That’s right! Why didn’t I think of this?’
I sparkled with excitement and said to them.
“Do you want to improve your skin?”
Both of them nodded simultaneously. Without hesitation, they each revealed their concerns.
For a while, I listened to their skin concerns with sincerity and empathy.
They ranged from having a darker forehead due to excessive roaming in a resort, to improper care resulting in scars, to the skin easily getting irritated from daily makeup. I attentively listened to their endless worries and accidentally let slip a remark.
“Both of you know that my power is healing, right?”
Both sisters nodded vigorously. Seizing the opportunity, I whispered as if sharing a secret.
“This is a secret, but…”
“What is it?”
“Why are you hesitating to speak?”
“Oh, this… It’s a trade secret.”
As soon as I sealed my lips, the sisters hurriedly urged me to speak. Only then did I extend my bound hands in front of them.
“First, please untie this.”
“Well, how can I trust you?”
“Are you trying to escape?”
“There are knights everywhere. How can I plan to escape?”
“…Well, that’s true.”
The sisters faced each other and then proceeded to untie my hands.
‘At least my hands are free now.’
Now it was time to gain their trust. These sisters were overflowing with money, so it was clear that they would be a lucrative source. I clapped my hands together and let out a wicked laugh.
“If you receive my healing, not only can I heal wounds, but I can also give you baby-like skin. So, who would like to be treated first?”
At that moment, Ashley eagerly raised her hand and exclaimed.
“Me! I need to get rid of the scars on my cheeks.”
“Scars?”
“Look at this. I’ve been covering it up every morning. You have no idea how much of a struggle it is.”
“…Isn’t it just a small blemish from a pimple?”
“To me, it’s a significant scar! Look closely!”
It was barely noticeable, but Ashley’s expression was serious.
‘How much have you been pampered?’
But even that was all about money. I smirked and nodded my head.
“I can treat it for you, no problem. Oh, and the compensation…”
“I’ll take care of it so you won’t feel disappointed. How about a gold bar?”
“A gold bar?”
Giving a gold bar just to remove a small scar? My facial muscles twitched in disbelief. Before I could interpret it, Riott lightly tapped Ashley’s shoulder.
“Sister, there’s no way it would be that cheap.”
“…Ah, is that so? Then, how about two?”
“Two, two…!”
“Not enough? Then I’ll give you three!”
My mouth hung open. I didn’t even think about negotiating and just blindly nodded my head. I wondered how much money the three gold bars were.
I bit my cheeks to hold back the laughter and reached out my hand to touch Ashley’s cheek. As Ashley flinched and trembled, her eyes rolled around like a restless deer. There was anxiety in her large, gentle eyes. Maybe she was genuinely worried, as she made a not-so-threatening threat while her eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings.
“If something goes wrong, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
“Don’t worry—”
I had even repaired broken ribs. Would I not be able to restore a small scar? I poured power into her scar.
