Chapter 4: Quickly, hide and disguise!


-in the previous chapter-

"Wait, can I still go home for dinner though-"

"No. I have terminated your rental contract already."

"What!?"

-present-

Kaleigh is having her head down on the table, trying to drag her eyes across lines after lines of tedious words.

"Sariel, I have a question."

"Go ahead."

"About Emma and Rio...why did you take both of them if Emma is to be Belle?'

"The trouble of capturing both of them at once is much less than letting that dog bark and bite me."

"...Damn, Rio does resemble a puppy." Kaleigh mumbles under her breath. She reaches for the quill and dips it in the dark ink. Before signing though, Kaleigh ponders

"Sariel, I have to tell you though, even if I return now, I alone cannot protect myself. During the time of our loyal servitude, the Moran family has attracted many enemies. The noble houses that are antagonistic to us still prevail to this day. I do not want to return under the name of Kaleigh Moran."

"We can protect you, Kaleigh." Sariel says, crossing his arms over his chest while looking at the lady sitting in front of him skeptically. Despite being much younger than himself, Sariel has an inkling of how sneaky Kaleigh can be at times. "Using the Moran name can allow you to once again experience the privileges of a noble. Moreover, just your family name alone can assist the king."

"Not yet, Mr. Minister." Kaleigh crosses her legs coyly. Clearly Sariel wants to squeeze out the bygone influence of her family name to the last drop. "The king has just passed away. Give me this month to build back my working experience as well as dust off my diplomatic skills to fully serve the king with the best of my abilities."

"Very well, little swan. So...you have until Belle has selected the next king, Kaleigh. I doubt anyone can build a reputation from scratch in just a month." Sariel scoffs. This has accidentally flared up Kaleigh's competitiveness.

"You bet, Sariel. I will prove to you that even without the influence of my family, I can be a perfect addition to the palace as the king's counselor!"

In the heat of the moment, Kaleigh writes another clause into the contract:

"Clause 20: If Kaleigh Moran, until the end of the selection process, cannot have the approval of 7/8 princes to become the king's counselor, will serve for a lifetime under the Minister Sariel for the kingdom under the Moran name'."

"That's quite brave of you, Kaleigh. You do know what it means to...?"

"Yes, yes I know it, Sariel. I'll have to endure the harsh working conditions as well as being worked like a dog. No one in this field wants to do the job, and that's why you have no assistant, Sariel." Kaleigh smiles scornfully. "And I want to add one thing, Sariel. If I win this bet, no king will be able to use the name Moran as well as its influence to enforce his decision. How's that? The king can get help from 'Kaleigh', but not the Moran family."

Kaleigh chuckles, seeing the change of expression on Sariel's face. He originally wanted to use a fallen family influence to secure the throne as well as giving the future king a perfect helper. "Let's close the deal, Sariel. I have signed already." Looking defeated, with a wry smile and a quill in his hand, the man shows a rare soft smile as he signs the fateful contract.

"I look forward to our time working together, Minister Sariel." Kaleigh is determined. She will not lose this bet. And she will have to scheme a lot, beginning from this moment, if she wants to protect her family. She doesn't want to use the name Moran lest anyone with the surname should be harmed or affected by the politics of the royal court like 10 years ago... Cogs begin to turn in her head as she goes on to discuss more with Sariel...

-timeskip-

The sun had already set, and the only source of light was now coming from inside the palace where hundreds of candles on chandeliers were being lit. Kaleigh rushes to check on Emma and Rio, only to find them walking back from Sariel's office. She almost leaps from the ground to hug the two.

"Emma!! Rio!! Are you two alright!? Did that ominous man do anything to you two!?" Kaleigh exclaims as she hugs the both of them tightly around their shoulders. The brunette blushes, feeling shy because of the proximity of this 'group hug'. Meanwhile, Rio respectfully keeps some distance to his 'mistress', seeing how flustered Emma is.

"We're alright, Kaleigh~!" Emma giggles. "But it seems like today is the wildest day of my life! I became Belle! That means I'm practically living with the princes!"

"It's alright, Emma! I'll protect you from the prince and help you whenever you need it like a faithful attendant!" Rio chimes in, clearly excited since he was given a chance to serve Emma as an attendant and butler alike.

"Me too! I have been promoted to being your studymate as well, Emma! Sariel told me that since no one should know you're Belle for now, we will be Sariel's apprentices~"

"Well, Kaleigh, back at the bookstore, it seems like Sariel knew you beforehand.." Rio asks curiously. "Do you perhaps have any connections to the royal family? So cool~"

"N-no, it's nothing like that, hehe...Actually, I was disciplined by him once when I was happily gambling...That day, he came to the casino to pull a prince back to the palace and decided to scold the entire table, hmph." Kaleigh says in a flustered tone. This is the most candid story she can come up with for now.

"Oof, better not get caught by him again! He sounds like a killjoy." Emma says with a grin. "Well, anyway, I'm glad we're in this together!"

"That's right! It's such a relief to have someone you know here, hehe~"

"Emma, Kaleigh, we shall stick together and I'll protect my ladies!"

Kaleigh feels a little bad for hiding what she had discussed with Sariel and her true identity from Emma and Rio, but they shouldn't know about the tension brewing underneath the calm surface of Rhodolite - for now, at least.

Three people, with three different goals: to assess, to self-assess, and to protect, they will have quite the difficult time navigating through the tumultuous life within the walls of the royal palace of Rhodolite.

All in all, Kaleigh hopes she once again finds the old her - so passionate and ambitious, under the cover of the lucky and gifted commoner, Kaleigh, who got the chance to study under the devil minister. As to how to act like strangers to the princes...she'll deal with that later. Hiding and disguising, aren't those what she's best at?

-end of chapter-

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