Chapter 11: But She Gave Too Much

Rita’s mind completely froze the moment she met those slightly reddened golden eyes.

Who would have thought that in her desperate panic, she’d find a room to hide in—and it just happened to be Cecilia’s?

Cecilia’s room didn’t even have a guard?! If Rita had seen a heavily guarded room, she would never have dared to sneak in.

On second thought, it made sense.

The lord’s mansion was guarded in layers upon layers by soldiers, and this was still upstairs.

If Rita hadn’t already been inside the mansion—and besides, she could fly—there was no way she could have gotten in like this.

Reasonable or not, she was still nervous.

Right now, Rita was frozen in place like a mouse dragged out into the light, not knowing where to put her hands or feet.

Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest like a drum.

And Cecilia’s face clearly showed tear stains.

Even if she wasn’t a princess, anyone would be embarrassed if seen crying.

Rita’s embarrassment was just as bad.

She just wanted to find a crack in the wall and slip through it.

“Um, it’s like this—there’s a Magic Beast on the roof of the lord’s mansion… I’m worried about your safety…”

Without a second thought, Rita blurted out the half-made-up lie, afraid that hesitating even a moment longer might cause some disaster.

A lie should be half true and half false.

Magic Beasts had indeed existed here, so the other party should believe it… right?

No, wait!

The Magic Beast had already turned to ash, and she hadn’t even heard Cecilia say where her room was.

Doesn’t that make her story even more unbelievable?

Rita could only hope that when the soldiers went up, there would still be some tiny scraps of Magic Beast left to make her lie a little more believable.

But Cecilia still showed no reaction.

If it weren’t for her reddened eyes, just the way she was staring at Rita would have made her legs shake.

“Then… I’ll go now?”

Rita added weakly.

The sudden panic nearly made her try to climb back out the window instinctively, but fortunately, she realized her strange behavior and turned back in time.

“Wait.”

Cecilia’s voice floated behind her like a feather, calm as ever, yet it made Rita’s body freeze as if turned to stone.

Rita slowly and very reluctantly turned around.

She forced a calm expression, but the flicker in her eyes and her trembling fingertips betrayed the storm raging inside.

Yet Cecilia seemed completely unaware of these unusual signs.

“It’s so chaotic outside. If you leave from my room now, people will get suspicious.”

The reason sounded reasonable, but Rita still felt something was off.

The princess was inviting her to stay?

Why?

Before Rita could figure it out, Cecilia turned her head away, deliberately shifting her piercing gaze off Rita like it was a needle prick.

Moonlight cast a faint shadow on her face, and her voice was even softer than before.

“Stay here… for a little while.”

Rita could hardly believe her ears.

Stay for a while?

She?

The same one who had just agreed to cooperate but was about to run away?

“It’s so chaotic outside. As my confidant, it’s only natural you protect me by my side.” Cecilia’s voice was still soft, but unknowingly it carried the same tone of command as before.

Rita didn’t understand.

She gave up trying to understand.

Anyway, Cecilia wasn’t making trouble for her right now.

What comes next? That could wait until later.

“Sit down.” Cecilia said as if it were the middle of the day.

The only difference was that this time, she patted her own bed.

Even if Rita was dense, she could read such an obvious hint.

“Princess, this… isn’t appropriate, is it?”

“Don’t worry about those formalities. Your master told you to sit.” Cecilia’s hand landed on the bedsheet with a soft thud.

Master?!

It wasn’t unusual for servants or guards to call their employer “master,” but in this command and situation, the term sounded oddly ambiguous.

Swallowing hard, Rita mechanically moved to sit on the edge of Cecilia’s bed.

Her race was a succubus, but her heart was pure and innocent—well, except for the time she’d been outplayed by the princess—but being shy was only natural.

“Rita, you…” Cecilia paused, seeming to choose her words carefully.

Her eyes flickered before settling on Rita’s clothes, slightly disheveled from fighting the magic hound and spreading her wings.

A faint blush rose on her ears.

Rita didn’t dare speak and stared blankly at the window on the opposite side—the one she had just slipped through.

After a long silence, Cecilia asked, “Your job means you meet all kinds of guests and keep their secrets, right?”

Rita’s brain froze for several seconds again before she finally snapped back.

Why did Her Highness still think she was a hostess!

A mixture of shame, absurdity, and helpless laughter froze Rita’s expression.

She opened her mouth but couldn’t find a single word to retort.

But Cecilia seemed to interpret her silence as something else.

She frowned slightly and softened her tone: “I will pay.”

Rita really wanted to shout that this wasn’t about the money!

“One thousand gold coins.”

But Cecilia’s offer was simply too much.

All of Rita’s gear, plus lodging and travel expenses, had cost only a few dozen gold coins.

One thousand gold coins—enough for Rita to live well for a very long time, even if she really became a hostess every day just to fill her belly.

Having lived through hardship, Rita knew how tempting that was.

Whether or not she had been a hostess before was irrelevant; for a shiny golden one thousand gold coins, even going under was worth it!

Rita’s slight hesitation was read by Cecilia as tacit consent.

In such an ambiguous matter, maybe there was no need to spell things out—just a simple test was enough.

Silently, Cecilia patted the mattress again.

Rita scooted closer along the bed, keeping a bit of distance but settling beside her.

“Lie down.”

The command came with no room for refusal.

After all, this was Rita’s first time doing something like this.

Even in hunting, she only ever bit the neck before leaving; naturally, she was nervous.

Thinking of Cecilia’s commanding demeanor, she decided to just obey.

Rita kicked off her little boots, shifted further onto the bed, and lay stiffly flat like a board.

She felt something settle on her, just like last night—some weight, but not heavy.

Like a small cat curling up on her, it gave her a peculiar sense of satisfaction.

Cecilia gently pressed her forehead against Rita’s chest, allowing Rita to catch the faint scent of her hair and the warmth of her breath through the fabric.

Cecilia spoke softly—no command, no test, no roundabout trap.

Only a whisper.

“Just hold me like this, okay?”

Rita was silent, gently wrapping her arms around the girl’s slender shoulders.