Chapter 4: The Girl Named Sango
Sango, the girl from the other world, started working at the castle per Jade’s suggestion. Honestly, some of the aides found her proclaiming to be a Beloved problematic; to most nations in this world, Beloveds were very special beings. Because Sango came from a different world and most likely just had her head in the clouds, Jade and his aides decided to keep an eye on her. On the off chance that she caused problems, she would be sent to Idocrase just like Asahi had been.
Unlike Asahi, however, Sango had a contract with a high-level water spirit, so the consensus was that Rin should watch her if possible, since Rin was a supreme-level Spirit of Water. Even if Sango’s spirits caused problems on Sango’s behalf, Rin would be able to stop them because she outranked all of them.
With all this in mind, Ruri decided to visit Sango and greet her formally. After all, Ruri knew how disconcerting it was to suddenly arrive in a foreign world. She also figured that it would be easier to talk to Sango seeing as how they were both from Japan.
Jade quickly pulled the reins on that idea, though. Sango had been doing her job without issue, but one of Sango’s coworkers had reported to Jade that every word out of her mouth oozed with obsession and envy toward Beloveds. She’d been asking all sorts of questions about Beloveds—how they were treated, how they lived, how much money was spent on them, and what freedoms they were allowed. Each question was filled with her lament and desire to be a Beloved.
Of course, it made sense that Sango wanted to be special. Perhaps it was her way of escaping the unfair reality of being brought to a different world. Who could blame her for thinking that she’d come here for some special reason or mission, like the protagonist in a grand story? Nevertheless, reality was a cruel mistress.
Both Ruri and Sango had come to this world for no reason other than a stroke of bad luck. Fortunately for Ruri, she could now say that she was happy to be in this world, but based on Sango’s accounts, Sango had only been in this world for a few months. It would take more time for her to accept the way of life here.
Due to Sango’s constant talk of Beloveds, the decision was made to discourage her interest in them. In order to do so, and to ensure that her interest wasn’t stimulated in any way, Jade asked Ruri to avoid seeing her. Euclase and Claus joined in, emphasizing the point.
To keep Sango separate, they gave her duties in the sectors below Sector Five, outside of Ruri’s main sphere of activity, as it would mitigate any chance meetings between the two. In addition to preventing any encounters, this separation would teach Sango the divide between her and Beloveds. Only special people of high ranking were allowed to go to the castle’s upper sectors.
Truth be told, Ruri and Jade lived in Sector One and never thought of themselves as special in the slightest, but this was necessary to deal with someone so obsessed with having a special status as Sango was. Ruri didn’t think of herself as a big deal, but if all of this was for Sango’s own good, she had no choice but to comply and keep herself away.
One day, while Ruri was relaxing with the spirits, a knock came at her door.
“Yes, come on in!” Ruri called, her face buried in Kotaro’s cuddly fur.
Much to Ruri’s surprise, Rutile opened the door and unleashed scores of maids into the room, each of them with large boxes in their hands.
“Huh? What’s going on?!” Ruri asked.
“A delivery for you, Lady Beloved,” announced one of the maids with a charming smile.
“A delivery? From whom?”
“From His Majesty, milady.”
“Jade-sama?”
Jade hadn’t mentioned anything about this when she was with him earlier that morning, so Ruri wondered what exactly it could be as the line of maids continued to flood in. The amount of boxes was enough to make the corner of her mouth twitch in alarm.
“Wait, wait, wait. How many are there?” she inquired.
“It seems that His Majesty got carried away and ordered a rather wide variety of things for you,” Rutile answered with an awkward grin. It was evident that even she took issue with the sheer size of the delivery.
“I can’t even imagine what he would send so much of in the first place,” Ruri said, opening one of the boxes to check the contents. Inside was a beautiful one-piece dress. “Wow, it’s so cute!” She opened another box and found a pair of shoes. Another box contained jewelry and other accessories to adorn Ruri’s body.
Among the sea of boxes that lined the walls of the room, there was one that was packaged much more neatly than the others. When Ruri opened it, she found a gorgeous lace dress with a matching pair of shoes and accessories.
“Whoa, this is so pretty,” Ruri said, “and pretty expensive.” The fact that her mind immediately jumped to the price meant that she hadn’t lost her commoner sensibilities. Nevertheless, although Ruri didn’t splurge in the lap of luxury despite her status as a Beloved, even she could tell that the dress was expensive just by the material alone.
Fearing even more surprises like this, Ruri opened up each box one after another, but the majority of them were clothes and jewelry that she could wear in an everyday setting—which made the extravagant dress stand out even more. Ruri hadn’t the slightest clue as to why Jade had sent her this boatload of gifts out of the blue.
“It isn’t my birthday yet,” Ruri muttered, wondering if Jade had mixed up the date. That was a possibility.
As she pondered over what to do with all of this stuff, the orchestrator in question, Jade, walked into the room. “I see the delivery has arrived.”
“Jade-sama, what in the world is all of this?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Presents for you, Ruri.”
“No, I understand that, but why? It’s not our anniversary or anything,” Ruri said, wondering if there was a special day that she wasn’t privy to, but nothing came to mind.
“They’re dresses for the party we’re having at the castle. Whenever you get dressed up for parties or events, you always consult Euclase instead of me, don’t you? That’s why I wanted you to pick from the dresses that I selected this time around,” Jade said, taking a tuft of Ruri’s platinum blonde hair and planting a gentle kiss on it. “Will you wear them for me?”
“O-Of course I will,” Ruri stammered, blushing and nodding. There was no way she could refuse after Jade hit her with his sensual, flirtatious gaze. That did raise a question, though. “There’s a party happening?”
“Weren’t you told?” Jade said, tilting his head.
“Not at all,” Ruri answered, shooting a look at Rutile and the maids, who proceeded to look at one another in turn. Apparently, they all thought that someone had explained the plans to her already.
“I just assumed that Rutile would inform you given that you went into town for the fourier visit,” Jade explained.
“My apologies, Your Majesty. I also thought that someone informed her,” Rutile replied, apologizing.
“No, I should have just told her to begin with,” Jade said, turning back to Ruri. “When the fourier visit, just like how the streets of the capital become festive, so does the castle as well. We throw a party with hopes that the symbols of happiness, the fourier, visit us once more.”
“Oh, I had no idea that was a thing,” Ruri said.
“Well, to be honest, it’s the normal drunken hijinks, only the fourier are used as a reason to partake in it. But it is a party, so it would be more fun for you if you dressed up, wouldn’t it?”
“I see, so that’s why you sent me so many gifts.”
“Indeed. I also ordered you some everyday clothes while I was at it. Euclase told me to spend a little more of the Beloved-allotted budget, not only to keep the economy going, but your lifestyle is so basic that Euclase has chewed me out for setting a bad example for other nations.”
“Aha ha ha... Well, that’s easier said than done...”
Ruri had never been the type to splurge, and just like her time living in the woods with Chelsie, she was perfectly satisfied with the bare minimum. Considering that she rarely went out of the castle when she was dressed up, she had no need for expensive jewelry or beautiful dresses. And ever since she married Jade, her range of activity had shrunk even more, so she had fewer places to go out all gussied up. On the other hand, Euclase was likely worried that other nations would get the impression that the Nation of the Dragon King was undermining their Beloved if she was living so frugally.
Not even a superpower nation could control what a Beloved did, and some Beloveds would move if provided with better treatment. There was no fear of Ruri doing that, because she’d married Jade and intended to spend her dying days in the Nation of the Dragon King, but other nations felt differently. The number of nations that wanted a Beloved of their own was more than one could count on two hands. It wasn’t necessarily out of the question that some nations would try to solicit Ruri, saying that they had a sweeter deal for her.
Euclase definitely had a point; if they didn’t splurge on Ruri to a certain extent, it would send a bad message to the other nations. A Beloved-allotted budget was a necessary expense to show everyone that the nation took good care of their Beloved. Also, the tidings that the Nation of the Dragon King received from a Beloved’s presence well made up for the necessary expenses.
Euclase had once told Ruri that the nation’s domestic revenue had increased ever since she’d arrived and patted her on the head in high spirits. Being a chancellor meant paying attention to a lot of different details. Although Ruri wasn’t really doing anything, if her mere presence was beneficial to the nation, it made her happy.
“Well, buying this much should keep Euclase happy for a while,” Jade said.
“Yes, I’m sure. This is far too much, actually,” Ruri replied, looking around her gift-filled room with a wry grin.
“I picked these out because I thought they’d look good on you, so I’d love to see you wear them. Especially the outfit I prepared for the party.”
“Yes, thank you. I can’t wait. They’re so pretty,” Ruri said, smiling in excitement. Jade’s lips curled into a smile as well, and he softly stroked Ruri’s cheek.
That was when someone apologetically called out to them in the midst of their affectionate display. “Your Majesty, pardon my intrusion.”
“Claus? What’s the matter?” asked Jade.
“A bit of a problem has arisen, sire,” Claus answered.
“That being?”
Claus signaled with his eyes to the maids in the room, who all bowed and filed out at once. Soon, the only people left were Ruri, Jade, Rutile, and Claus.
“What happened?” inquired Jade.
“Two people are here claiming to be the guardians of our new guest and demanding that we give her back.” explained Claus.
“New guest?” Jade repeated.
“The girl who came here saying that she was a Beloved. Her name is Sango, I believe?”
“Ooh, you mean the girl from the same world as me,” Ruri interjected. “Huh? I thought she said that she had no place to go. She has guardians? Despite being from another world?”
“Apparently so,” Claus said.
What did this even mean? Sango’s having guardians raised the question of whether she’d been honest about being from another world, but her story didn’t seem untrue at all. Then what could explain this?
Ruri quickly put on her bracelet, turned into a cat, and prodded Jade to pick her up. “Jade-sama, I’m going to sit in on the talk.”
Jade looked reluctant to comply, but he picked Ruri up in his arms nonetheless. They walked to the room where Sango’s guardians awaited them.
There was a man and a woman, both older than Ruri had expected. The man was the chief of the village where Sango had stayed, and the woman was his wife. When Jade entered the room carrying Ruri, they both immediately knelt on the floor and pleaded, “Please, we beseech you. Give us back our daughter.”
From their phrasing, it almost seemed they thought Ruri and the others had kidnapped the girl. It left a bad taste in their mouths considering they’d set Sango up with a job out of the goodness of their hearts. Ruri and Jade’s expressions naturally became grim.
“What do you mean? I thought that girl wasn’t a resident of this world and she had no blood relatives here,” Jade said.
“W-Well...” the village chief stammered.
His wife, on the other hand, loudly proclaimed, “We’ve raised her as if she were our own child!”
“Y-Yes, that’s right!” the chief chimed in.
“She stated that she came here only a few months ago. And you say you raised her?” Jade calmly inquired.
The couple seemed to be scrambling to come up with a response.
“Also, she said she came here of her own free will. When we asked if she had a home, she said she didn’t, so would you care to explain that?”
“Oh...” The wife hesitated before saying, “You see, we got into a bit of an argument before she came here. Yes, she simply got upset and tried to run away from home. It’s common among youngsters.”
“Exactly!” the chief exclaimed.
Something about this was fishy. Sango had said that she’d stayed in the village but didn’t have any attachment for the villagers in the slightest. If she did, then she wouldn’t have answered that she had no place else to go. It felt as though there was a specific reason these two were so desperate to get Sango back.
Ruri looked up at Jade, as if asking what to do, and Jade turned toward the door.
“I’ll bring her in. I assume there are some issues you need to sort out here, so you three can talk it out among yourselves,” Jade said before leaving the room and telling a nearby soldier to bring Sango.
“Are you certain you should let them see her? I personally feel something is amiss here,” Claus asked in concern.
Jade nodded. “Believe me, the feeling is mutual. That is why I want to leave the three of them alone and see what that couple’s true intentions are. The room next door is free, yes?”
“It is. Showing them into that room just in case was the right call, sire.”
Ruri cocked her head, perplexed and feeling out of the loop. The room next door was similar in construction to the one where the couple were waiting, except there was a random door between the two rooms. When they opened that door and walked in, they were able to secretly see inside of the adjacent room.
“Ooh, a hidden room.”
“Ruri, quiet,” Jade hushed.
“Oh, right. Sorry. Being quiet now.”
After a few moments of silence, Sango entered the room. She seemed surprised that the village chief and his wife had come.
“Why are you here?” Sango questioned.
“We came to get you,” said the chief.
“Now, come. We’re leaving,” said the wife, grabbing Sango’s arm.
Sango shook her off with a look of disgust on her face and snapped, “Don’t touch me!”
“Quit being selfish!” cried the chief. “Do you know what trouble you’ve caused our village?!”
“Excuse me? What do you mean I’ve caused?”
“Ever since you left the village with the Great Spirit of the Spring, our village’s spring has dried up! And it’s all because you took the Great Spirit with you.”
“This involves you, Chibi?” Sango asked the squirrel on her shoulder.
“Chibi? Don’t tell me that you’re talking about the Great Spirit!” the chief roared.
“I am. I named him. Cute, isn’t it?”
The color drained from the village chief’s face, and his mouth went agape, but Sango didn’t understand why. She’d given the spirit a name, which essentially meant that the spirit was now Sango’s subordinate. Judging by the fact that the spirit wasn’t asking Rin for help, it was clear that Sango hadn’t forcibly stuck a name on it.
As expected, both Ruri and Jade were stunned. Neither had suspected that Sango had subjugated the high-level spirit. Contracts were contracts, so they’d assumed that both parties were on equal footing, like how Ruri and Lydia were.
“Erm, so subjugating a spirit means that this Sango girl can give that spirit orders, right?” Ruri whispered to Rin, who was by her side. “In that case, which of your orders would have priority, Rin? Yours or hers?” If Sango was subjugating the spirit, then that meant she could actually issue orders, not just simple requests.
“It’s a bit tricky to say,” Rin answered. “A low-level spirit would easily prioritize my orders seeing as how I am a supreme-level spirit, but high-level spirits tend to have bigger egos and may prioritize their contract-bearer instead. So I’d say it depends on how close they are with their contract-bearer.”
“Ah, I see.”
Rin’s explanation helped Ruri understand, but if Sango had subjugated a high-level spirit, then the need to keep the girl away from Ruri was even greater. And from the annoyed look on Sango’s face, she was not too keen on leaving the castle.
“Anyway, I’m not leaving, so don’t show up here ever again,” Sango declared.
“I don’t care if you don’t come back, but return the Great Spirit to the spring!” screamed the chief.
“I’m the one who should be telling you to stop being selfish. Chibi tagged along with me of his own accord. Isn’t that right, Chibi?”
The squirrel nodded its head repeatedly, then nuzzled against Sango’s cheek, as if to tell her that he wasn’t going anywhere. From that display, it was clear that the spirit was fond of her.
“The Great Spirit has been protecting that village for hundreds of years. You can’t just show up out of the blue and foul that up!” the chief yelled, red in the face.
Hearing the chief’s tirade, both Rin and Kotaro muttered in unison, “What a fool.” The look in their eyes was positively frigid.
Jade had a similar look on his face. He put Ruri on Kotaro’s back and silently walked out and to the room next door. He then glared sternly at the village chief and his wife, who were both puzzled by Jade’s sudden entrance.
“I was listening to your conversation,” Jade explained, “and I have decided that I will not be giving you two that girl.”
“No way!” exclaimed the chief.
“The village will not be able to sustain itself if she does not come back. Please convince her to return, Your Majesty!” pleaded the chief’s wife.
Jade looked at Sango and asked, “Do you want to go back to their village?”
Sango’s answer was clear and succinct. “Absolutely not!”
“There you have it. If her decision is final, then I will keep her safe. She already works in this castle, making her one of my subjects. So long as she is under my wing, I cannot simply pretend she doesn’t exist.”
“I-In that case,” the chief began, “could you please ask her to return the spirit back to its rightful place, at least?”
“Spirits decide where they go of their own volition. No person is allowed to meddle with that, not even the ruler of a great nation. Give up. Spirits are not subject to the will of man.”
“This can’t be...” The village chief dropped to his knees as his wife stood beside him, her face pale and lips trembling.
“This discussion is over,” Jade stated. “You will now return to work.”
“Y-Yes, sire,” Sango replied, gazing at Jade like he was a hero who had just saved her life. The sight of Jade protecting her must have been very encouraging considering she was all alone in this world with no one to rely on.
“Hmm, Jade-sama is quite the lady-killer...” noted Ruri.
“Yes,” Rin agreed. “And I’m worried that might spark some drama that will put you in danger.”
“Agreed, I’ll put another barrier over her just in case,” said Kotaro.
Being the worrywarts that they were, Rin and Kotaro always put Ruri at the center of the universe.
“No, come on. You’ve got enough on me already,” Ruri pointed out.
She was already wrapped in a barrier so sturdy that not even a dragonkin’s attack could faze it. She wondered what there was to be so worried about; Kotaro and Rin were fretting about a normal human girl. That said, since Sango had subjugated a spirit, they might be worried that the spirit would try to harm Ruri.
Jade soon returned to the room, picked up Ruri, who was next to Claus, and said, “Claus, I want you to investigate the village where the girl was staying. If they cannot sustain livability there, then we will need to take action.”
“Very well, sire.”
It was hard to forgive the village chief and his wife for putting their own needs first, but Jade had an obligation as Dragon King to deal with matters happening within the confines of his kingdom. If the spring had dried up and hindered the villagers’ way of life as the chief and his wife had said, he couldn’t pretend the issue didn’t exist. Being the Dragon King was a tough job.
“It would be nice if you could quit your kingly duties and we could go into seclusion somewhere alone, wouldn’t it?” Ruri quipped.
“You can say that again,” Jade agreed with a sigh.
Kotaro and Rin, however, were miffed about that comment.
“We wouldn’t allow you to go anywhere alone. We’ll be coming with you!” said Rin.
Kotaro cried, “Of course! Wherever Ruri goes, we go!”
“Aha ha ha. I’m sure the other spirits would come too. We’ll have to build a big house where we can live with everyone next to Chelsie-san’s house, then,” Ruri remarked.
Their life would be quite lively. Then again, Ruri knew that realistically that wouldn’t happen for a long time. Jade was still very young and in the prime of his life. It was unlikely that anyone would allow him to retire and sequester himself off at this point in time—especially not Agate and the other elders. It was just wishful thinking. Jade knew that all too well and was simply playing along with Ruri.
(But maybe one day...) Ruri thought, letting the idea drift through her head.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
It was the day of the party Ruri had been told about, and the castle was suddenly abuzz. You could feel the excitement in the air. Ruri had begun preparing early, putting on the dress Jade had gifted her.
While Jade was indeed the one who’d picked out the dress, Ruri’s mother, Riccia, had designed and created it after Jade consulted her at her shop. It was no wonder that the logo printed on the dress’s box looked so familiar. If Riccia had helped with the design, then it made perfect sense why the dress was so catered to Ruri’s likings. Jade’s decision to consult with Riccia was a wise call.
After adorning herself with the beautiful hair ornaments and jewelry, Ruri went to meet Jade. He was also dressed differently than usual, clad in more formal attire. He wore an outfit that matched Ruri’s dress and even featured the same lace. It only took one look to decipher that these fashion choices were decisively Riccia’s and not Jade’s—fair play from the former model who had her own brand in the other world. Riccia understood the best way to exemplify Jade’s already beautiful features.
As she silently praised her mother, Ruri quickly whipped out her smartphone from her pocket space and snapped several pictures of Jade to capture the moment. That was how utterly devastating he looked today.
“You’re bound to get all of the ladies ogling you today. Ooh, I’m going to be jealous,” Ruri said. She was proud as Jade’s wife, but a part of her didn’t want others to look at him.
“Heh heh, you’re jealous, are you?” Jade quipped.
“I mean, you look too good, Jade-sama.”
“You look exquisite yourself, Ruri. So much so that I want to lock you away and keep you from everyone’s eyes but my own,” Jade said, kissing Ruri on the cheek.
Ruri was positively demolished. She wondered how he could say any of that without a hint of embarrassment. Maybe all dragonkin men were like that, given that Quartz would occasionally say similar things to Seraphie. In fact, perhaps even Finn was like that when he was being serious. Ruri decided that she would ask Rutile in private whether that was the case.
Escorted by Jade, Ruri entered the main hall where the party was being held to see that the drunken festivities were already in full swing—even though the guests should have been waiting for their king to arrive. Jade could have given them a warning for it, but all the dragonkin were focused on the booze, so it would have gone in one ear and out the other. Some were having contests with the wine barrels they carried, and some were already so drunk that they were whispering sweet nothings to the inanimate brown casks.
In any other nation, this sort of behavior would be admonished and scrutinized, but Ruri loved the atmosphere. Everyone was praying for the fourier to come again so they could see them and be granted happiness. That was the excuse, at least, for everyone to go buck wild and drink up a storm. Ruri wanted to smartly point out that they’d all long since lost the plot, but instead she quaintly sipped on a sweet wine and chatted with Euclase and Seraphie while Jade tenderly watched over her.
Every time Jade would diligently bring food up to Ruri’s mouth, Quartz would look on, sulking and sighing with envy. “I wish I could feed Seraphie like that too...”
“I’m a ghost. I can’t eat. You shouldn’t dwell on it, dear,” Seraphie remarked.
“Yes, I suppose it never does work out for me.”
It hadn’t been too long ago when Quartz sharing this sort of repartee with his wife would have been unthinkable, but despite some minor grumblings, Quartz and Seraphie looked very happy with one another.
Ruri put her glass on a nearby table and said, “I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?” Jade immediately asked. “I’ll come too.”
“That isn’t something you should be asking a lady. I’ll bring Rin along.”
“Okay, then.” Jade seemed convinced and decided to patiently wait at the venue for Ruri to return.
“I’ll come just in case,” Rutile offered, to which Ruri graciously agreed.
After leaving the hall and using the restroom, Ruri walked down the hallway back to the venue with Rin in tow. That was when Sango moved into her path. Ruri stood frozen, wide-eyed in surprise. Sango, dressed in her maid outfit, glared at Ruri as if Ruri had killed her parents.
“Say, you’re the Beloved, right? They told me that you’re from Earth, just like me, yeah?”
“Huh? Um, yes. I am...” Ruri stammered, confused as to why Sango was here. There were supposed to be measures in place to ensure that Sango wouldn’t meet Ruri just yet, but Ruri figured that Sango had been called in because they needed more people to serve at the party.
Sango looked around Ruri before snickering. “So are those the only spirits you have?”
The only spirits by Ruri’s side now were Rin and two low-level spirits. The others were having fun roaming around the party venue, so they hadn’t followed, most likely thinking that there would be no problems with Rin around.
“You are being disrespectful to Lady Beloved. Mind your speech and conduct,” rebuked Rutile.
“Shut up!” Sango snapped back, the warning falling on deaf ears.
“So that big clione was yours?” Sango barked, her eyes filled with discontent. “That’s a spirit too? Even if it is, I have way more spirits than you. And yet here you are being called a Beloved, living in the lap of luxury in lavish dresses? What do you have that I don’t?!”
Ruri was too intimidated to even interject.
“Why? Why?! Wasn’t I brought to this world for some reason?!” Sango shouted before suddenly going quiet and staring directly at Ruri. “Well, aren’t you going to say something? You’re a Beloved, right? If you’re a Beloved, then I can be a Beloved too. I could wear beautiful dresses, live in extravagant rooms, and be that dashing king’s wife. I’m sure that’s why I was summoned to this world in the first place, so give it to me!”
Sango screeched and reached out for Ruri’s collar, but before Rutile could stop her, Sango touched Kotaro’s barrier. “Eek! That hurts!”
Sango’s hand was red, indicating that she’d experienced some considerable recoil. That reminded Ruri that Kotaro had said he would be putting a “just-in-case” barrier around her. The extra insurance was clearly a tad overboard. She would need to tell him to lower the strength back to normal later.
As Sango groaned in pain, the high-level squirrel spirit looked at her with concern. Sango stared at Ruri with teary eyes, holding her injured hand.
“Why? Why? Why?! I’m a Beloved, aren’t I? I’m supposed to become a Beloved, complete some sort of duty, and go back home, aren’t I? Why is it that only you are special? Why am I not a Beloved?!” Sango screamed, tears rolling down her face.
Sango seemed to be venting at someone other than Ruri. She’d come to this world by sheer coincidence. There was no meaning behind it; luck simply wasn’t in her favor.
Ruri couldn’t help but sympathize with Sango. Coming to this world from the other side meant that, no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t return. But how could you expect someone to accept that fact so quickly? What was so wrong with clinging on to a glimmer of hope that you might return home if you complete your task like the lead in a story? Even Ruri had thought the same at first—that there had to be some way to return to her world—but no, there wasn’t.
“What’s going on over there?!”
They all looked toward the source of the voice to see Jade and Finn walking their way with stern looks on their faces. Jade went to Ruri’s side as he looked at Rutile, who was standing in front of Ruri to protect her. He then turned his eyes to Sango, who was holding her red hand. His eyes looked as though they would shoot daggers, and he seemed ready to pounce on Sango at any moment.
Ruri clung to Jade’s arm in a panic. “Jade-sama, please, nothing happened.”
“The hell nothing happened. She did something to her, didn’t she?” Jade inquired, his question being directed not at Ruri, but at Rutile.
Rutile looked at Sango before standing in front of Jade as if to protect Sango. “Your Majesty, could you leave this situation to me?”
“Are you telling me to ignore someone who attempted to harm a Beloved?”
“This is my humble request, sire,” Rutile said with a deep bow of her head.
Ruri bowed as well, sensing that nothing terrible would happen if Rutile handled things. “Please, Jade-sama!”
Ruri peeked up at Jade, who looked to be intensely conflicted. He was most likely fighting against his instincts to eviscerate anyone who dared to harm his one-and-only mate. However, he ultimately succumbed to Ruri’s desperate pleading.
“Fine. I’ll leave this matter in your hands, Rutile. But there will be no second chances.”
“Thank you very much, sire,” Rutile replied, bowing yet again. She wrapped a handkerchief around Sango’s red hand and carted her away.
Ruri watched her walk off with a sigh of relief.
“You and Rutile both are too soft,” Jade complained with a sour frown.
Ruri chuckled dryly. “Yes, that very well may be, but I think it’s only natural that Sango is feeling dissatisfied, since only I’m receiving special treatment when both of us are in the same boat. She’s only a child—only sixteen years old.”
“You mean she’s already sixteen.”
“Where I’m from, that’s considered being a minor, so please, just try and overlook this.”
“Just this once.”
“Right. Once is more than enough. I’m sure that Rutile will handle things from here.”
Ruri knew this from what she’d learned from the people around her. She’d heard that Rutile was a naturally caring person who couldn’t abandon a person in distress. The reason Rutile was so popular was because so many people were indebted to her kindness. Ruri hoped in her heart that Rutile would take good care of Sango as well.
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