Chapter 3

Occasionally, I would give in to Helena's request because I thought that she and I were considered poor souls who at least had each other in this icy palace that devoured the weak.

This continued until three years later, when she secretly healed her eyes and contacted her old subordinates to finally take back everything that belonged to her. When the gates of the Outer Keep opened and the sun shone in, she emerged in a brand-new royal robe as she stood in the sun.

I was overjoyed. I thought that my meal ticket had been upgraded, and I went to her for a reward.

However, I did not even have the chance to say a word when I appeared in front of Helena because she suddenly reached out to grab me by the collar.

Helena was highly skilled in combat, and she pushed me hard against the walls of the Outer Keep. Intense pain spread over my back as I gripped her wrist hard, staring back at her coldly.

Helena looked at me with disdain. Her eyes, once filled with fear and longing for someone's warmth, were now clear and filled with something sinister. She looked back at me with a taunting sneer.

"How dare you covet the true heart of your master when you're just a mere pawn? Do you think I'll be grateful just because of what you did for me in the Outer Keep? Do you really think you're somebody important when all you are is just a slave to money?"

My expression was cold, and I said nothing. The veins on the back of my hand throbbed as I tried to escape from her grip.

"Get lost. Never show your cheap, despicable face in front of me again, or I'll dig your eyes out."

She suddenly released me, and I fell heavily to the ground, coughing up blood and wiping my lips coldly.

Helena did not give me another glance as she marched off grandly with her subordinates, leaving behind the Outer Keep.

I got up to pat the dirt off my clothes.

At that moment, I realized that no one in the royal family truly cared for anyone. The blood in their veins was cold.

I was just a lowly manservant who worked for money. When my master was healed and no longer needed me to care for her, I would just change my job. I would be crazy to think that I was special like the male lead in storybooks.

That night, I used the money Helena's enemies paid me to buy myself a big drumstick from the royal kitchen. My lips were greasy from gobbling it down. It tasted really good.

Unfortunately, there was a storm outside, and the raindrops fell on my drumstick through the leaking roof, making it taste a little salty.

After Helena retained her status as the ninth princess, I lost my job working at the Outer Keep.

To make up for the sudden lack of extra income, I bribed the Lord Steward of the royal household, and he arranged for me to work at Stargazing Tower. I was in charge of serving the high priestess, Jaela Sanguine.

The monthly salary for working at Stargazing Tower was very high. It was double the salary of other palace work, and the opportunity to make extra money was abundant.

However, Jaela was a difficult master to satisfy. She was like a deity born to earth, pure and distant from the corruption of the world. She was also very particular about hygiene to a point of obsession.

I would wake up every day at 5 am to collect dew for her and wipe every floor in Stargazing Tower three times. I had to make sure the tea I made for her was the right temperature, and even when pouring her tea, the curve of the pour had to be just right.

Work was exhausting, but the reward at Stargazing Tower was also the highest in the palace. So, I tolerated everything for money. I made sure to know and understand all of her temperaments and behaviors, and my work was flawless.

Jaela seemed happy with me too. There were several quiet afternoons when she would be reading while I moved boxes of old scriptures that she would suddenly decide to teach me to read a few words.

Once, I broke a stick off a tree in the royal garden and was chewing it when she looked up to see what I was doing. She stared at me for a while, and in a rare moment, I saw a flash of warmth in her usual aloof eyes.

Jaela said softly, "If you choose to, you may stay at Stargazing Tower as long as you want."

I was moved, and even made the mistake of thinking that I finally had a normal master who treated her servant like a proper human being.