Five gold coins.
That's how much it costs to feed every maid in this palace for an entire year. But every month, that's what I slip into my mouth—a mortal-rank healing pill.
Or at least… that's what the head maid told me. She said it wouldn't do anything special for me. Just act as a kind of nutrition as a side effect.
And after a few weeks, the color returned to my skin. The sickly look faded. My hair got smoother. My body changed little by little.
Then she started teaching me. How to smile with control. How to act like a lady. I had no idea what was happening. I never had a chance to ask.
And then—
Just a week later, she stopped the lessons altogether, saying
"I guess you were born elegant, huh?"
Then one day, out of nowhere, it was announced: I would become a maid-wife. To the youngest son of the family head.
That was months ago.
After that, everything changed. The maids who used to avoid me started talking to me, smiling, laughing, even acting like we were friends. I wasn't stupid though, I could feel their bad intentions...
Then, I stopped working. No more cleaning. No more carrying trays or scrubbing floors. I guess being "a beauty" has its perks in this world.
Then one day, in the morning,
"H-Help me"
!!!
I woke up abruptly, my eyes wide open. I could feel my heart throbbing like it was about to jump out of my chest.
What was that…?
It wasn't like a dream or a nightmare.
No images. No faces. Just a scream.
A scream full of agony. And a cry for help. As I slowly calmed myself down, I sat up and stood from bed.
Haaaah.
I let out a long sigh and dismissed it, shaking my head. I had bigger worries for now.
All this luxury… the clean room, the pretty clothes, the sweet words…
Was it just the soon-to-be husband trying to impress me?
A wry smile tugged at my lips. It wasn't like I wanted to marry someone I didn't even know… someone I didn't like.
I ended those thoughts with a wry, defeated smile. Honestly, there wasn't really much I could do. When the head maid saw my unwillingness, she just whispered:
"Then just endure it. A few years at most. You're a mortal, after all. You'll age, and eventually, he won't even touch you. You'll just live a comfortable life."
...Well, that was most maids' dream, I guess. But even when I told myself it was okay… That uneasiness in my chest just kept growing.
Haaah... anyway,
When I walked out, heading toward the head maid's room, I ended up seeing the last person I ever wanted to. Ren Ming, my soon-to-be husband.
...
He looked at me.
And even though I kept my face blank, I instinctively turned my eyes away.
Some of the maids nearby giggled.
I could tell—even without looking—that he must've been grinning like an idiot. They probably thought I was shy. Embarrassed.
But they were wrong. I clenched my abdomen. I felt sick. Not from fear.
From disgust.
That face which couldn't hide the lust behind his eyes… I felt like vomiting. He wasn't really the one wrong... I was his soon-to-be maid-wife after all. But still... I felt this way
"Haaah… now this. Why is the only thing I feel toward him disgust and rejection?"
'He was handsome, at least handsome enough for the other maids to giggle and whisper about. They said he was charming. Polite. Soft-spoken.
But to me…
Maybe I'm broken. Maybe it's my heart that doesn't work?
Or maybe… my body?
I hope it doesn't.'
Her expression darkened as sudden thoughts started to appear.
Time passed casually. Day by day. week by week.
The second son married his first wife; it was a marriage agreement with another family. Though Ren Fei couldn't care less, the head maid never stopped teasing her.
"Oh no~ Maybe she'll completely seduce your husband, and he'll no longer want to marry you."
And then, one day…
The door to the lord's youngest son's chamber opened.A figure stepped inside slowly. It was Ren Fei.
She bowed, her movements graceful, her face calm—hiding her emotions with practiced ease. Maybe being a beauty really wasn't such a great thing after all.
She could feel it.
The way the personal guards looked at her. The way her soon-to-be husband looked at her.
Well… the guards didn't look at her with lust exactly. Not like he did. But she could still feel. Desire. She didn't know how, but she could feel people's emotions more clearly day by day, like they were leaking into the air around them.
Also, In these months, even though she still didn't eat food, the healing pills she took constantly kept her body healthy. And, her appearance had matured a lot.
Her skin was pale but clear. Her curves had developed just enough to make most people in the palace stop and stare, jealously.
Lucky for them… she was just a mortal, after all.
Her body still held a lot of impurities.
And because she didn't eat real food, it never developed the way it was supposed to.
While their gazes lingered on her, she looked up slowly.
"Husband… I want to make a request."