Your Highness, Please (Third Update, Please Vote)

Inside the wooden cabin.

By the flame of an oil lamp, Xian tossed and turned on the hard bed, yet sleep refused to come.

His thoughts were still trapped in what had happened at dusk.

I left just like that. Anlìyà must be terribly disappointed.

Xian held his hand before his eyes, remembering the girl's devoted care over the past few days. Guilt filled his heart.

He turned his head and saw a large basket overflowing with bright red fruit in the corner of the room. It had all been sent over by Uncle Simp, whom he had met in the orchard today.

That basket of fruit only deepened Xian's guilt.

His hand clenched tightly into a fist, his long knuckles turning faintly white from the force.

"I want to help them too!"

"But right now, all I can do is bring them disaster."

"If only my Status Blessing were real. No, strictly speaking, it does seem to be real—it's just completely useless here!"

"Repaying kindness is my principle. Xian, use the same determination that helped you raise your score by two hundred points in the three months before the college entrance exam and think of something!"

Xian lightly tapped his forehead, trying to force himself to come up with a way out of this predicament.

The root of the village's crisis is that they can't pay enough taxes. In other words—two words: no money!

And the reason for that is that damned Clay Merchant cheated the village, leaving all those red fruits piled up and unsellable, so they can't pay the Agricultural Tax.

Wait, merchant...

Xian vaguely felt that he had found a way to break the deadlock.

Tap, tap, tap.

Just as he sank into thought, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

"Your Highness, are you asleep?" Anlìyà's gentle voice came from outside.

For some reason, Xian felt that the girl's voice seemed to be trembling slightly.

"Not yet." Thinking of what had happened at dusk, he felt guilty, and his voice unconsciously lowered.

"Your Highness, may I come in for a moment?"

"Of course." Xian got up and opened the door.

Only when Anlìyà stepped into the circle of lamplight did he belatedly realize that she seemed somewhat different today.

She still wore that linen cinched outer garment, but her soft golden hair, like an autumn wheat field, seemed to have just been washed. The tips were still slightly damp, carrying a faint, pure fragrance that made one's heart feel light.

Her fair, delicate cheeks were faintly flushed with a lovely rosy hue, while her beautiful azure eyes gazed at him, wet and timid like those of a newborn fawn.

For some reason, Xian sensed a trace of allure in her gaze.

"What is it—"

He was about to ask when the girl before him slowly untied the cinch at her waist and removed her outer garment.

Beneath it was a beautiful blue dress. Its light fabric clung to her graceful curves, its hem swaying softly like bluebells moving in the wind through morning mist.

Even when Anlìyà had worn such shabby clothes before, her appearance had already rivaled the biggest stars dominating Blue Star's entertainment industry. Now, with her golden hair and blue dress complementing one another, she was as beautiful as an elf stepped out of a fairy tale—so beautiful it was almost frightening. Every movement radiated an indescribable charm.

Even Xian, who had seen countless female internet celebrities edited by beauty filters until they looked like descending goddesses, was stunned by the girl's beauty.

"Your Highness, please cherish me!"

Before Xian could react, a warm, soft body crashed into his embrace.

So soft, so soft—like marshmallows.

So hot, so hot—like she had a fever.

Xian felt as though a warm little deer were licking his face, making his blood surge.

"What are you doing?!"

Forcing himself to calm down, Xian placed his hands on the girl's smooth shoulders and slowly pushed her away.

By the lamplight, he took in Anlìyà's current appearance completely.

The cheerful and generous girl of the past had blushed all the way to her ears in shame. Her body temperature was frighteningly high, and a faint mist of tears clouded her azure eyes.

"Your Highness, I offer you this humble body of mine. I only beg you to show mercy and save everyone in the village."

"Your Highness, I swear before the gods that I will become your loyal Maid from this day on. I will obey your every command, devote my entire life to you, wash your clothes, and comb your hair."

"Your Highness, please!"

Anlìyà's pleading voice trembled, mixed with soft sobs. Like a bluebell swaying helplessly through wind and rain, she longed for even a sliver of shelter from a towering tree.

But he was not a towering tree. He was only a blade of wild grass drifting away in the wind.

"Anlìyà, calm down," Xian said evenly.

He reached out and gently stroked the girl's cascading hair, like a golden waterfall, soothing her frightened and unsettled heart.

"I swear upon the kingdom that raised me that I will do everything I can to help you."

"But my strength is limited. So the condition of my helping you is that you must also work hard to find a solution to your predicament."

"Can you do that, Anlìyà?" Xian asked softly.

Anlìyà nodded, seeming to understand only part of it.

Though there were things she did not understand—for instance, why someone as incomparably noble as His Highness would be so humble—she had at least understood one thing: Xian had decided to help her.

At that thought, the burden that had weighed upon her shoulders like a boulder instantly grew much lighter. A sweet smile, absent for far too long, appeared on her tear-blurred face.

"Your Highness, as agreed, should I take off my clothes myself, or will you do it?"

"It's my first time. Please be gentle," Anlìyà said, blushing. There was an added tenderness in the way she looked at Xian.

Everyone who depended on one another could be saved. Her adoptive father, who had always cared for her so attentively, could spend his old age in peace. And all she needed to offer was her body and loyalty. This was the best possible ending! Xian: "..."

Silence was Cambridge tonight.

He suddenly realized just how cruel this world was to commoners. Cruel enough to force a girl in the bloom of youth to feel grateful toward the man to whom she was about to offer her body.

"No need. We'll talk about it after I've truly succeeded in helping you. And just call me Your Highness."

"Yes, Your Highness. Until that day comes, I will make preparations." The girl respectfully bent down and knelt on one knee, her smooth back as beautiful as white jade beneath the lamplight.

"I'll look forward to it," Xian said calmly.

He did not refuse outright. It was like a doctor accepting a red envelope from a patient's family before a life-or-death operation, simply to put them at ease.

Though that was most likely just an invented story, he held the same thought at this moment.

After all, he did not want to see such a wonderful girl cry again.

Who is still writing until midnight during the New Year? Everyone, monthly votes are the most important data during a new book's release period. Please spare me a few votes. I won't ask for follow-up reads, because there is no point in asking. Those who want to read will naturally keep reading, and those who don't won't do it no matter how much I ask.