20 My Worth to You (1/2)
The Central Maid Department was responsible for daily needs such as washing clothes and cleaning buildings, so their lives were some of the roughest if not the roughest within the imperial palace. But also due to that responsibility, they had more chances than the other maids to go beyond the inner court and enter the other parts of the palace.
Today was one such occasion, and Jasmine alongside a group of nine maids had been tasked with cleaning the imperial library. There was nothing particularly thrilling about this duty, but many were excited because there was a chance they could come across an imperial prince!
Jasmine, however, felt this chore to be no different than all the others and didn't experience any excitement. During the day, her hairs were kept in the braid style allowed for low and mid-ranked palace maids. But tied hairs or not, she was the same captivating beauty that could lit depraved flames within the heart of any man.
”I heard the sixth prince will be around today!”
”The sixth prince? Really? I heard he's the most handsome of the imperial princes!”
”Not only is he the most handsome, but he's also one of the most talented. He's less than forty years old, but his cultivation has already reached the ninth step Grand Knight Rank. If he was born earlier, perhaps he could have competed for the right of succession with the crown prince!”
Being able to reach the ninth step Grand Knight rank in less than forty years meant that he was very likely to become a Transcendent Knight in less than three hundred years. That being the case, the sixth prince indeed was a fantastic talent, but calling him capable of contending with the crown prince with that alone was foolishness.
Blinded by thirst, they didn't know what they were talking about.
”Jasmine, aren't you a bit curious about him?”
”Not in the slightest. The sixth prince is well known to be a womanizer and cause countless sufferings to his wife. I have no interest in a man like him.”
She flatly replied and stepped up the pace toward the imperial library.
”What an odd girl.”
”Let her be, she has been antisocial since she arrived. Who does she think she is?”
Unlike those who had been in the palace for decades, those maids were young and had not experienced its winds for long. Thus, they still lacked in certain manners and discipline.
Jasmine arrived first in the imperial library and began cleaning the shelves she had been assigned to. The other maids came soon afterward and tended to their own areas. The day was mostly uneventful with a lot of dust and splashing water. But Jasmine didn't complain.
From time to time, the figure of that Paragon Spirit Prince would spring within her mind and cause her to stop in her otherwise sharp movements to stare blankly for a few seconds.
”I wonder when he will revisit me.”
She wondered with an endearing smile. She didn't doubt that he would hold his promise and come to take her away from all the palace's woes to travel across the world, free and unrestrained. Like he had said, she was his woman!
After three hours of hard work, she completed her shift and carried the bucket of water by her side toward the exit. But as she kept her gaze down and stepped toward the doorway, a tall figure barred her path.
It was a tall, handsome man with translucent porcelain skin and long, windblown silver hairs hanging below his waist. His eyes were of the same silver, and those eyes had locked onto her with obvious interest.
At first, when she saw the golden robe and the design of nine stars swirling around a winged serpent, Jasmine vainly hoped that it would be her man. However, the face that appeared within her sight was not his. It was a foreign look that carried the usual thirst she didn't want to entertain.
”My apologies your highness for blocking your path.”
It was clear that this man was an imperial prince and so Jasmine curtsied as she was taught, apologized and stepped aside to allow him to carry on his way before resuming her exit.
”What's your name?”
The same thing asked by different people often had different results. Especially considering the lack of premises. Jasmine simply didn't wish to answer him.
”I am just a servant. My name is of no importance and would sully the ears of one such as your highness.”
She politely declined. But although it was clear that she was playing with words to avoid him, the prince wasn't offended. On the contrary, he felt amused, and his eyes shone with stronger desire. He was the sixth prince, Wenzel Von Jurgen.
The Holy Flame Empire followed strict primogeniture succession, so the princes were referred to by their number and not their names with the eldest usually named crown prince.
Of course, there had been times when tradition was breached with a younger son wrestling the crown from his elders' hands.
Wenzel Von Jurgen had no such ambition. He only wanted to oppress all the beauties he could get his hands onto.
It was a hobby of his. A hobby that had made him infamous in the nobility cycles. He often neglected his princess consort for the sake of finding new beauties to oppress. Some chose to deliver themselves to him in hopes of a better future, those he accepted but quickly abandoned. But the rare few that resisted would be devastated until there only was one inch of life left within them.
This girl had chosen to resist. So, he had already decided to make her beg for mercy.
”Hahahaha!”
He laughed, turned, and left.
Jasmine heaved a sigh of relief and carried on with her day. After using a series of teleportation circles, she returned to the central maid courtyard, disposed of the bucket and returned to the flower field where she had met her long-awaited prince.
Her duties for the day had been completed, and with the little bit of time she had for herself, she sat amidst the flowers and replayed the meeting within her head with her cheeks flushed red.
But then, a shadow crept on her back, and a tall, muscular silhouette towered above her body.
”Aaah!”
She squeaked, leaped onto her feet, and spun to face that man.
For a brief instant, she was dazed. He was without a shred of doubt the most beautiful creature she had ever met and put those arrogant paragon spirits to shame. However, his body wasn't what caused her to feel dazed.
Although they looked completely different, she felt in his eyes a light that perfectly matched that of her prince.
And as his lips curled into a smile, although the faces had no similarities whatsoever, that smile still reminded her of her prince.
How could two people have such similar dispositions?
No!
There was a difference. Her prince was a charming and admirable man whose smile could put the world at ease and whose eyes effortlessly saw through the woes of those surrounding him.
But that man in front of her…was nothing more than a hoodlum. A true, unruly, womanizing hoodlum!