GIF 8

Chapter 8

Iris returned to her mansion and impatiently unclasped her earrings and tossed them aside. With a clink, a rough hand picked up the heavy earrings that struck the hallway.

“Why so irritable?”

“The Crown Prince is no pushover.”

“You didn’t know that?”

“No, I knew. But it’s a problem in addition to that.”

She was annoyed by all the accessories clinging to her body. Things that could never be called heavy felt heavy because of her sagging, weary body.

The diamond necklace she had received from her third husband — or was it — clinked to the floor again, and the rough hand picked it up once more and followed behind her.

She walked briskly, almost running, to the bedroom, and Jack followed familiarly behind her. As soon as she arrived in the room, she kicked off her high heels, and it was Jack’s job to put them back in their place.

When Jack returned after putting the shoes back in the dressing room and organizing the accessories in the jewelry box, Iris was standing in front of the mirror.

‘I’m exhausted.’

She was beautiful but looked terribly tired. She looked like a magnolia just before wilting, or perhaps like an iris soaked in water.

She had been living this kind of life for a long time and was beginning to feel weary of it. How much longer must I do this? When will I be able to live as myself?

‘This is the last time.’

But it was literally the last time for this too. She let out a sigh, slipped off her outer garment, and spoke to Jack, who would be standing behind her.

“Undo the buttons for me.”

Jack let out a short sigh and began undoing the buttons at the back of the dress that was tightly cinched around her waist, one by one. The underdress she wore beneath was slowly revealed.

“I’m tired. Draw me some water.”

“You really do order me around like a maid.”

“Then should I use actual servants when you’re coming and going like this? I don’t have the money for that.”

At her cold words, Jack muttered a short curse. She was used to it, letting it go in one ear and out the other, and lowered the dress he had undone, then lay down on the bed wearing only her underdress.

“Do I look like a man to you?”

“No, you look like a loan shark who’s come to collect my debt.”

“Isn’t a loan shark a man?”

“You don’t even look like a human being to begin with, so be quiet.”

“Good grief.”

He spoke as though incredulous, yet headed toward the door attached to one side of the bedroom. It was the bathroom. He always made a fuss like this even though he was going to do it anyway.

“Ha…….”

She felt as though too many things had happened today. The Crown Prince held a large share of that, for one. It felt as though sudden events were rushing in like a tidal wave.

The Crown Prince, Cliff, had escorted Iris to the carriage and whispered secretly so others would not hear.

‘I will send a carriage in a week.’

To others, it must have looked as though he were whispering sweet nothings of love. But in reality, it was merely arranging a schedule to discuss this contract later.

‘I didn’t know he would be this sharp and quick-witted, but since he’s the male lead, I’ll admit he’s no pushover.’

Her vision was blurry.

She had been so tense for so long that her whole body ached and was exhausted. She could hear the sound of bathwater being drawn, and her eyes grew heavy.

‘Ah, I have to wash…….’

She closed her eyes like that and fell into a shallow sleep, and soon an incredulous voice came.

“Hey, you asked me to draw your bathwater.”

“……Wash me.”

She mumbled in her sleep and burrowed into the bed. She heard a hollow laugh, as though he were beyond incredulous and dumbfounded, but she had already been dragged off by the hands of sleep.

Chirp, chirp chirp.

She heard birdsong. As sunlight flooded into the bedroom, Iris frowned at the brightness and rose from her spot.

“Mmm…….”

She stretched long and loosened her body. She had thought her body would ache all over from tensing up all day yesterday, but her condition was better than expected.

“Hm?”

Thinking it strange, she looked down and saw that her body had been changed into a nightgown. No, that was strange. She distinctly remembered falling asleep before washing……

“Th-this……!”

Iris’s face flushed red for a moment, and she let out a shriek at the empty air.

“Jack—!”

But there was no answer. Well, of course there wouldn’t be at this hour. Iris, her face red, scrubbed at her cheeks.

“To say something so ridiculous before sleeping…….”

[Wash me.]

Of course she remembered saying that. But did he really wash her just because she said that? Iris felt indignant toward Jack, yet tried somehow to accept that she had brought it on herself.

‘Well, I did treat him like a servant using the debt as an excuse.’

And for some reason, it was also Jack who had faithfully done everything she asked. Enough trust had built up that the thought he would have done anything strange did not cross her mind even a little.

‘He doesn’t even see me as a woman anyway, so whatever.’

She came to a clean conclusion, snorted, and got out of bed. For now, she had an unofficial appointment with the Crown Prince in a week, so she needed to prepare.

‘Should I go out shopping alone, perhaps.’

Usually, when fitting dresses, she called a tailor to the mansion and paid the cost. The money spent at such times was, of course, Jack’s money, and that money piled up neatly and equally as debt.

‘This time I need to be the party at the center of a scandal of the century, so it’s better to be seen out and about.’

Iris went to the dressing room and began choosing the dress she would wear out today. Usually ladies did not go about alone, but she was always short on money just maintaining the mansion, so she always went about alone.

‘It seems others have plenty to say about that, too.’

What could she do? It wasn’t as though she could deliberately pile up more debt. She skillfully dressed herself and looked out the window.

Today, especially, the sunlight was warm. Seeing the sunlight, she put on white gloves and took a white lace parasol.

‘So this was still here.’

It was one of the gifts her first husband had given her. This remarkable gift, studded with tiny diamonds, seemed to have been buried in a corner of the dressing room, briefly forgotten.

‘Should I be grateful?’

She smiled self-mockingly and opened the parasol. She intended to borrow a public carriage from a carriage rental near the mansion and use it.

“Hello.”

In front of the main gate stood a carriage she did not know at all — and a dazzlingly ornate one at that.

“I am Bibi, who has been assigned to attend you for a time by order of His Highness the Crown Prince. I look forward to serving you, Lady Iris.”

The one greeting her cautiously was clearly a woman dressed in the maid’s uniform of the imperial palace.

‘No, what on earth is going on?’

Iris was taken aback and stood staring at the woman who had introduced herself as Bibi.

‘I thought the Crown Prince would know all about my circumstances.’

But she had not expected him to do even this. Frankly, it was meddling, but if she thought of them as being in the same boat, it was also true that this much was very easy for him.

‘There’s no need to refuse kindness offered deliberately.’

She soon finished her calculations and smiled brightly at the maid named Bibi.

“I’ll be in your care from now on.”

“Understood. Please get in first. You said you had somewhere to go.”

“Oh my, did I?”

Iris covered her mouth and laughed softly.

‘What a quick-witted bastard.’

So he had predicted she would deliberately go around town starting today. He really was no easy opponent, just as she had told Jack.

‘Well, he’s still just cheater number one in the future.’

She glanced once at the carriage door the maid opened for her, then took her hand and climbed into the carriage.

It seemed he intended to help her live lavishly here and there for a week. From her perspective, it was not a bad option, since her debt would not increase.

‘Since it’s a contractual relationship, will he draw up a contract too? Probably he means for us to pretend to be faithful to each other until he needs it.’

As the carriage door closed, she twisted her lips crookedly.

‘Before that contract ends, the female lead will come here. How will he act then?’

Just imagining that arrogant, beautiful face contorted in confusion made her happy already. Iris leaned comfortably back against the carriage seat.

“Where shall we go?”

At the coachman’s words, the maid who had climbed in with her looked at Iris, and Iris answered naturally.

“To Rodans Street.”

Rodans — the street of dresses, where it would not be an exaggeration to say all the noble ladies of the Empire gathered.

Her rumors would begin there.