I don't know if this sentence had any effect, but his tail wagged.
There's still a lot of food on the plate.
But he's already put it down.
He didn't respond to the question about the female lead.
Putting on the clown mask, he hoarsely said, "Tomorrow, I won't be here."
Gone?
Yuxiaoxiao suddenly realized that tomorrow is Saturday.
She nodded and said, "Okay, shall I bring the food to your residence?"
He slowly stood up.
Compared to the previous As, the person in front of her now seemed more indifferent.
But, the third prince has always given Yuxiaoxiao this feeling, hasn't he?
She collected the plates on the table and walked towards the counter.
The slime has returned.
It's wearing a top hat, bouncing over.
"Miss Yuxiaoxiao, look at this, the dwarves have sent me a gift—"
This hat fits it perfectly. Yuxiaoxiao praised, "It's very cute."
"Tomorrow, a team of soldiers will come to the underground city, and we all have to go and greet them."
The slime held the brim of the hat with both hands and said, "Miss Yuxiaoxiao, you should prepare more clothes for yourself, there will be many occasions to attend in the future!"
It's telling the truth.
Yuxiaoxiao is currently wearing Earth's clothes, which are completely different from the style of the Kalier Empire.
Earth's attire might be more simple, but as a steward, she must wear formal clothes.
Even if she doesn't have to deal with a lot of things, at least she should wear casual clothes.
"Alright, where should I go to buy them?" Yuxiaoxiao asked.
"Above— we have a steward's certification, so we can go to the royal-certified tailor shop."
This place is where even the rich can't come.
Apart from the royal nobles and important government officials, ordinary wealthy merchants, even if they spend a fortune, the master tailors won't take their orders.
"Tomorrow is the weekend." Yuxiaoxiao smiled and said, "This works too."
In the past few months, because of family matters, she has hardly bought any new clothes. Although she's not short of money now, she still has the habit of saving.
I never thought I'd be shopping on a different planet!
Yuxiaoxiao washed her hands and summoned the Ines system to continue researching the construction of the underground city.
The next day.
At ten o'clock in the morning, Yuxiaoxiao and the slime arrived in the reception room.
As it said, a team of soldiers in dark green uniforms were already standing at the door, waiting.
They showed a surprised expression when they saw Yuxiaoxiao.
They had long heard that the steward of the underground city was a teenage girl from another planet, but they didn't expect her to appear so delicate and non-threatening.
The dark red double-layered long skirt on her body, making her fair skin stand out like snow. A pair of lively eyes, with a hint of a smile.
"Steward." The leading young man was very tall, and with one hand placed horizontally in front of his chest, he slightly bowed, "We are from the Detention Department and have brought three convicts today."
"You've worked hard." Yuxiaoxiao nodded slightly.
She didn't say much.
The soldiers who came this time amounted to a total of twelve.
They were escorting three death row prisoners, the youngest of whom was only fifteen years old.
It is said that starting from summer, a batch of death row convicts would be sent every week. There were many heinous criminals who were not immediately executed, but rather kept "alive" for a while.
The slime advanced to the front.
It said, "Follow me."
For the previous five years, it had taken the lead. Originally, the soldiers of the Detainment Department only needed to bring the death row prisoners here, but the underground city did not have its own military force. If the three extremely dangerous death row prisoners were left unattended here, it was highly likely that they would escape from the underground city.
Several soldiers made way for the slime and the girl to pass first.
The three death row prisoners looked ashen-faced.
One of them stared fixedly at the ground.
The reception room had been renovated, and the nearby paths were also neatly paved.
Following behind, the soldiers couldn't help but glance around. They hadn't expected that the young steward had only recently taken office, yet had managed to keep the underground city in impeccable order.
What a shame.
No matter how well she did, that difficult Lord Rod would surely find various excuses to strip her of her position.
If luck was not on her side, when she was thrown out of the underground city, she might end up missing limbs.
The group of people stood on the platform.
Ahead was the third prince's sleeping quarters. This wasn't their first time here, and they stood at a distance in an orderly manner, letting the captain escort the three prisoners over.
The stone door was open.
The man kept his head down as he pushed the three shackled prisoners inside.
"Lord Rod, someone has been delivered," he said.
In the Kalaya Empire, there had always been rumors about the third prince being a cannibal.
True, their ancient ancestors did consume "humans," those weak creatures. But millions of years had passed, and they had evolved into a new type of human, no longer capable of committing such insane acts against their own kind.
However, the third prince was different.
His existence was a source of discontent for many politicians.
But the king turned a blind eye to it.
He continued to dote on his youngest son in his own way. Even his two other princes were very protective of their younger brother.
But at least, the fact that they were sending death row convicts in the summer made it a little easier for them.
Even if it meant having the third prince assist in the executions.
The man stood at the door, quietly waiting for the stone door to close.
This unyielding stone door would keep all the evil within.
Time passed, minute by minute.
There was no sound from behind the stone door.
The pushed-in death row prisoners all wore expressions of terror. In the darkness, they could only see a dark figure sitting with its back to them, an ugly tail, and scales standing up like blades.
It slowly spoke, "Tonight..."
A few soldiers looked surprised. The third prince had never been one for many words.
They felt somewhat apprehensive and simply perked up their ears to listen.
"You don't need to cook for me tonight."
- Tonight, you don't need to cook for me.
This sentence seemed to be directed at someone specific, rather than the group of soldiers.
Before they could make heads or tails of the situation, the girl in front of them spoke, "Okay, I understand."
"Oh, by the way, I need to take a day off tomorrow," Yu Xiaoxiao suddenly remembered.
"Hmm?"
"To buy some personal items."
"Have you informed Lord Loco?" the third prince asked.
Yu Xiaoxiao shook her head, "Not yet. First, I wanted to report to you, and then I'll find Lord Loco."
The two of them chatted back and forth, and the several soldiers were shocked to the point of nearly dropping their jaws.
The indifferent Lord Rod, who never paid attention to anyone, was actually asking questions? Although his tone was very aloof, they could sense a touch of "concern" in it.
If the previous conversation seemed to show concern for the girl, then the next sentence...
- "Don't come back too late, it's not safe." The third prince's voice carried a hint of hoarseness, but the meaning of his words was crystal clear.
The group of soldiers looked as if they had seen a ghost.
They were genuinely suspicious, was the person in the sleeping palace the third prince of the Calia Empire?!
It's only been three seasons, how could he change so much?!
Yú Xiǎoxiao was also taken aback.
Then, she realized, that inarticulate third prince...
No, the inarticulate As, he was concerned about her.
Before she could reply, the stone door closed.
Slime turned around and said, "Let's go, I'll escort you out."
The soldiers were still immersed in their shock.
When they looked at Yú Xiǎoxiao again, their eyes had clearly changed.
If there was some pity before, there was now also some admiration.
It seemed that this steward would not be dismissed inexplicably. At least, the third prince had accepted her.
Their professional ethics prevented them from publicly discussing royal matters.
The twelve people left together with Slime.
As they passed the girl, they all bowed.
No matter when and where, a steward of the royal family, even if they did not have their own army, was a big shot to ordinary residents and soldiers.
Yú Xiǎoxiao did not leave.
She stood silently outside the stone door, thinking about the legend of the third prince being a "cannibal."
But Shana before had been devoured by that white halo.
Even Slime had always thought that the third prince had a penchant for cannibalism.
Perhaps the entire empire thought so.
It's just that this cold door stood between her and the third prince. This stone door was very strong, and not even the strongest magic could break it.
Inside the door was a world of darkness, cold, damp, and silent.
She thought, As has always been alone in there. He didn't want anyone to get close.
As...
Is he lonely?
The girl stood in front of the huge stone door, her skirt swaying slightly, her face showing a calm, almost hollow expression.
Yet it also carried a hint of determination.
After a long time, she turned and left.
...
Three condemned prisoners looked in horror at the white halo in front of them, its range growing larger, almost about to cover the entire room.
Only the stone bed emitting a blue light seemed untouched, like a sacred place for thousands of people to worship, inviolable.
And the third prince, sitting on top.
He was wearing a black robe, the crimson eyes watching as the halo gradually swallowed the three condemned prisoners.
Inside the halo, there were some faint purple mists, but they quickly disappeared without a trace.
It was unclear whether it had devoured three fresh live people, but the halo became unusually active.
But at the same time, it could be felt that its power was gradually weakening...
Slowly, the white halo dimmed, its range gradually shrinking.
Finally, it returned to its original size.
A small circle just big enough for three people to stand in.
The light dimmed, flickering.
A bit of purple mist gradually emerged, like a newborn, curious about the world before it.
It tentatively tried to crawl out of the halo.
"Bang!"
It heard a deafening noise, and before it could react, it was knocked back into the halo by flying debris, disappearing without a trace.
The third prince sat there.
Behind him, his hard tail left a deep mark on the stone wall.
In that split second, it was as if nothing had happened. He just sat here, like a statue, eternally staring at the white halo in front of him.
Thousand years.
Ten thousand years.
Never change.