Chapter 14

He ran in there without giving any more thoughts. Whenever he moved in an unmannered way, parts of the silk on his clothing were torn off. But Garam didn't even care at the moment.

That nine-tailed-fox. He couldn't believe that little girl was called by such a man! Who knows what's going to happen? Mirina is the type who could chew someone's bones and wipe his mouth with a smiling face. And Sanya went to the snake's den.

"Oh!"

"You can't do that!"

Garam grabbed anyone he saw and asked for the whereabouts of Sanya, then rushed into the palace without any hesitation. There were courtiers who tried blocking him, but he didn't care and headed towards the room where Mirina and Sanya were located and immediately opened the door.

Bam!

"There!"

"Hic!"

As soon as the door opened, the sound of a hiccup was heard. Garam immediately found Sanya with her eyes wide open and her mouth covered by her hands. The child's shoulders were shaking. Her appearance alone was enough to make Garam think that Mirina had done something to her.

So, his first thought was he needed to save the frightened Sanya from Mirina's clutch. Thus, he created a rare situation where he fought Mirina using words instead of force. It was very unusual that Garam didn't throw his fist first when he fought with someone. He was being very considerate because Sanya was standing right there trembling.

He thought it was weird that Mirina hugged Sanya, but he was even more shocked when she bowed her head calmly and said her greetings before leaving.

Is he hated? Garam has been a troublemaker ever since he was a child, and after that one accident, they would look at him differently than before.

He had nothing to say for a while because he felt guilty, but he also thought it was a little unfair. However, at the moment, he was as stiff as if someone had just hit him on the back of his head.

"…Huh?"

He forgot he was in front of Mirina and spoke such stupid words.

***

(Mirina's 3rd-person pov)

Meanwhile, Mirina was surprisingly so depressed that he couldn't even laugh at Garam's stupidity.

'Did she not like it?' He thought.

When he saw Sanya for the first time, he did a background check on her right away afterwards. It was concluded that she did not know about his eyes. Mirina's identity was a secret where even his family didn't know about it except the housekeeper. If he were to lose his powers, his family would collapse. So, no matter how deep the alliance he had with his family, there was no way he could tell them the truth.

However, just in case, Mirina found an unexpected fact when checking on the Yeorans. In that family, Sanya was like a wild egg in a barley sack. There was no evidence of a young girl living in the mansion. Things like toys or traces of trouble a child would make were nonexistent. And the people there claimed just how great Sanya was with excitement.

Contrary to the desperate words that everyone said they had served Sanya sincerely, Mirina recognized the truth.

He was grateful she didn't tell anyone about his eyes, however, he still felt the need to ask her to not let others know about it. Since she was so thin and looked like she had never eaten properly, he wanted to take this opportunity to find out her diet. That was Mirina's intentions when he invited Sanya to have dinner, but he couldn't see why she was so reluctant and uncomfortable around him.

Now, it was heartbreaking to see an eight-year-old being so polite with a rigid etiquette. It would've been fine if she acted more like a child. Mirina felt sorry for her. When he told her earlier that she would look cuter when she smiled, Sanya laughed brilliantly. As soon as he felt relieved, Sanya looked at him again. What was the problem?

He didn't threaten her at all, plus, he thought he had taken great care of her in the meantime. She said his eyes weren't disgusting, but she was still afraid? Come think of it, Sanya made no eye contact with him even once. Mirina felt a little sad.

However, he overlooked the fact that usually eyes have a big impact on face expressions, and that the mouth could only express emotions at the minimum. If Sanya had seen his eyes in the previous situation, she would've known that he felt sorry, but she could only see his mouth then.

'Was the food bad?' Mirina wondered.

***

(Sanya's pov)

"Ugh."

There was a sound of pain in the chilly breeze. The sun had quickly set, and the temperature dropped sharply.

The palace of Mirina had no intentions of taking care of me. I already knew that my rumors wouldn't be any good for them. A court lady who served Mirina managed to take me to the door and I had to walk alone from there back to my palace.

It was around a ten-minute walk on foot. It wasn't far, and I remembered the road. I was just afraid because it was a dark night. While walking alone, I cursed the court lady from earlier, but I'm almost there. I reached the door at my palace.

Knock, knock.

It made a small noise. The sound needed to be louder in order for someone to hear and open the gate. And the noise I made was comparable to a small cat scratching the door.

While I was thinking 'should I just kick it?' the door flapped open and faces popped out.

"Miss!"

"You're here! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"…Heesa?"

I called out the name of the chatterbox court lady in front of me. She smiled brightly after I said her name.

"Yes! You remembered my name!"

"Geez, you're being too proud right now. We need to get her inside first!"

Another court lady urged. They all then gathered like horses trembling after being whipped on their backs. Seo Yeon, who came to her senses first, reached out towards me. I looked up at her quietly. I couldn't see her expression because it was dark.

"Let's go in, Miss."

Does she want me to hold her hand?

After hesitating for a moment, I reached out carefully and put my hand in hers. My frozen palm was now being filled with warmth. Seo Yeon then wrapped her hands tightly around mine. The tip of my nose was cold, so I moved my cheeks.

"My gosh! They sent our Miss back alone at night! How could anyone be so cruel!"

Heesa was filled with anger. I looked up at her anxiously. If her remarks were to be heard by Mirina, she would be greatly punished.

"Heesa."

Before she could say anything else, Seo Yeon called her out in a stern voice. As the head of the court ladies, she was very influential. When I thought I could finally feel relieved, Seo Yeon added,

"Go inside first and then say it."

I looked at her with rotten eyes. She could feel my gaze on her, but she didn't look at me. Eventually, I opened my eyes and laughed. It's nice to be taken care of as a person. But if there's a problem…

"Sanya!"

It was the maid that ran over.

"Lady! Long time no see. You were very uncomfortable without me, weren't you?" (She's the maid that Jo Yoon took away and Gram brought back.)

Seo Yeon took my arm away from the maid at once. It was shameless to intertwine our arms with each other as if we were friendly.

I wish I could swear.

"It's been a while but I feel like I just saw you. I hope you'll stay for 30 years."

"Oh my! You too!"

She bit her lips at my sarcasm while trying to sound cheerful. At the same time, she gently reached out and pinched my side.

"It hurts. Let go."

I pushed her away with my strength. Her eyes were screaming about how I could do this.

"Lady! What the hell are you doing!"

I want to pull my hair out if this continues any longer.

"Why are you here?"

"Why am I here! Isn't there no other place for me besides being next to you?"

"I don't need you, so get out."

I'm not trying to get revenge for the original Sanya, but this maid was rude and arrogant not only to her but also to me. Even so, I thought it would be best to just kick her out of the palace and not see her face again.

When I told her to leave, she started to go crazy again. I heard a dog barking. Looking at the figure, I was frowning, and the court ladies began to surround her.

"I thought you were friendly with her highness, so I left you alone…"

"This cheeky thing."

Yes?

I blinked at the sudden change in the atmosphere. Heesa approached me and wrapped her arms around my shoulder.

"Shall we go in, Miss?"

That cute voice made me laugh. Anyone can see that she was trying to get me away from the situation while hiding her anger. I'm thankful that my hands won't get dirtied.

It was a chilly night.

I nodded because my throat felt a little dry. I can maybe finally sleep comfortably tonight.