Cleaning

Shaya was much younger than Alicia had imagined, but just as she had imagined, he was indeed very handsome.

Shaya had already had a good foundation. Perhaps because he had inherited Fate Power, or perhaps because the protagonist of the Fate he had inherited had been a pretty boy to begin with, his skin had improved, his teeth had become whiter, and his features had grown more balanced.

After losing his heart, his near absence of desires had also given him a calm, mysterious air.

Shaya came down the stairs, took the copper kettle for boiling water from the cupboard, filled it at the sink, and set it on Cassifa.

Then he looked at Alicia again, studying her with a hint of curiosity on his face.

"Have I met you before?"

"No, we have never met."

Alicia lied without changing her expression. In a sense, it was not really a lie. After all, she truly had not "seen" him, and she was no longer the same as before.

She did not want the person before her to know that she was the Princess from the ball. It had nothing to do with secrets, hearts, or anything like that. She simply did not want him to know.

"Then can you tell me why you are here?"

Shaya continued, taking the boiling copper kettle off the fire and pouring himself a cup of hot water, which he set aside to cool.

"I only stayed the night yesterday," Alicia said truthfully. "Your little magic fire respects the elderly. It took pity on me and gave me shelter."

"Is that so?" Shaya glanced at Cassifa.

"But now, I think I need to stay here for a while," Alicia said seriously.

Shaya looked at her with interest. "Why?"

"Haven't you noticed anything, child?"

Alicia's voice was hoarse and aged. She slowed her speech, doing her best to pose as a wise old elder. In truth, even without pretending, she already looked the part.

She walked over to the workbench and ran her wrinkled hand across its surface. Then she held out her dust-covered fingers for Shaya to see.

"Look. This place is so filthy that no one could possibly live here."

Shaya looked around, then nodded. "It does seem a little dirty. So what are you trying to say?"

"This place needs a cleaning woman!" Alicia said.

"Are you good at cleaning?" Shaya asked, looking at Alicia.

"You can try me out for a month!" Alicia said confidently. "I won't charge you a wage!"

"That sounds quite good," Shaya said.

"That sounds wonderful," Cassifa laughed from the side. "Shaya can't afford your wages anyway."

Alicia asked curiously, "Can a Sorcerer be short of money?"

"I only arrived here recently," Shaya said. "I don't have this country's currency yet."

Alicia suddenly recalled what the maid had relayed in her bedchamber.

When he said he had only arrived recently, did he mean he had only recently arrived in the human world?

What exactly was he? He had enslaved a demon—could he be a demon too?

Eating hearts was also something a demon would do.

Alicia felt that she was already very close to the truth.

But that gave her another bargaining chip for staying.

She continued, "In that case, I can help you. I have plenty of money."

Shaya raised a brow, lifted his cup again, gently blew away the steam, and took a small sip without speaking.

"When you're old and have no children, you always save up some money for retirement, don't you?" Alicia said with a raised brow.

"You mean not only will you work for me for free, but you'll also give me money?" Shaya teased.

"You have to understand, child," Alicia said in an old-fashioned tone. "At my age, money is the most insignificant thing there is. But people still need to fulfill themselves.

"For example, I like cleaning very much. To be honest, this is the dirtiest house I have ever seen, so I simply cannot leave it."

Shaya nodded. "A very good reason."

"So does that mean I can stay?" Alicia asked happily.

"I don't like making choices, but if you want to stay, I won't drive you away," Shaya said.

Alicia quietly let out a breath. If she could not stay even after that, she truly did not know what excuse she could come up with.

But her happiness did not last long before her stomach began to growl. She had walked such a long way yesterday and eaten only some bread. By now, she was ravenous.

She looked at Shaya. "I assume you would not begrudge a poor old woman like me some breakfast?"

Shaya stood and walked to a cupboard nearby. He took out a tray with a cover, set it on the table, and lifted the cover. Inside was a slice of cake, the very kind Shaya had eaten at the banquet.

Yes, he had packed some to take away.

Although cake did not keep for long, only a day had passed, and the castle was not particularly hot, so it was still edible.

"Eat," Shaya said.

"Thank you." Alicia shuffled to the table and sat down. Shaya handed her a fork—his fork, the only one that had been washed.

Though exhausted from travel and starving, she still ate with impeccable manners, carrying an unmistakable air of nobility.

After enjoying the food, Alicia set down her fork.

"It was delicious, just like something made by a palace pastry chef."

Because it was made by a palace pastry chef, Shaya thought.

"Where is the broom?"

"You're starting already?" Shaya asked with a smile.

Alicia rolled up her sleeves, revealing her aged, skin-and-bones arms. "I'm full of energy right now!"

To be honest, after being blind for so long, she had not cared much about her living environment. But having lived in the palace, she found the dust that rose with every casual step unbearable.

At the thought of living here for some time, she could not wait to clean the place from top to bottom.

She had cleaned when she was young. Though she was a Princess, she had lived outside the palace until she was eight.

At the time, her father had had some conflict with the royal family. She could no longer remember exactly why; it was probably some old, tired story.

The house she had lived in then had not been much larger than this one. That period had been the happiest time of her life.

She tied an old strip of cloth around her sparse white hair, made a simple mask to cover her face, then found an old tablecloth in the broom closet to use as an apron.

Today, she planned to clean the first floor first. The room was not large, so it would not take much time.

She filled a bucket at the sink, picked up a broom, and got to work.

The castle was terrifyingly dirty. As the broom swept, dust filled the room. Cassifa coughed violently from being choked by it and complained to Shaya.

"Hey! Shaya, can't you tell her to keep it down a little?"

"Never interrupt a woman when she is full of enthusiasm," Shaya said.

Then he picked a book from the pile on the workbench, ignored Cassifa, who was coughing nonstop from the dust, and headed upstairs.