He happened to run straight into the Grand Duchess's fury. "Head attendant, you people have gone too far. It's just a gold mine deed. Did you really have to turn our house upside down?"
The head attendant hurriedly waved his hands. "You misunderstand, Grand Duchess. I don't know these people at all."
The Grand Duke's daughter couldn't hold back anymore when she heard that. If he didn't bring them, then who did?
Just then, a familiar voice came from behind. "We're the ones who sent them."
The newcomers turned out to be Marquess Iris and his daughter. Seeing Ruth, the Grand Duke's daughter immediately rushed forward and grabbed her hand enthusiastically. "Miss Ruth, why are you here? Are you feeling all right? What on earth is going on?"
But Miss Ruth only replied coolly. "After I fainted and woke up again, my body had improved dramatically. So I came with my father, because there's something I absolutely had to say to you."
The Grand Duke's daughter assumed Ruth had come to thank her. "You're far too polite. But I suppose it makes sense. After all, when you were suffering under the curse, I was the only one who reached out a helping hand."
Before she could finish, Ruth savagely tore the crown from her head. Then Ruth fixed her with a cold stare and said, "Take off that dress. You're not worthy to wear it."
The Grand Duke's daughter never expected Ruth to turn on her like this. In utter terror, she demanded, "What did you say?"
Seeing how cowardly she looked, Ruth gave a chilly smile. "It seems you're not only vicious, you can't even understand plain speech."
Humiliated, the Grand Duke's daughter shook with rage and immediately pointed at Ruth, shouting curses. "How dare you treat me like this? Right up until this very morning, you were still clinging to me, you ungrateful wretch."
Ruth reacted as if she had just heard the world's biggest joke. "Your kindness. Do you mean how you used my curse as an excuse every day to order me around and humiliate me? Well, now you've received my kindness, so you're the one who should be grateful."
But the Grand Duke's daughter shot back at once. "I helped purify your curse. How is that not kindness?"
At that, Ruth immediately held up her fingers to show a tiny amount. "You only purified the tiniest bit of my curse. That little favour isn't enough to buy my family's heirloom and that dress, so I'm taking them back. As for all the gifts we've given you up to now, I'll be taking those back as well."
The Grand Duke's daughter exploded the moment she heard that. "You already gave them to me. Anything that reaches my hands is mine. Who do you people think you are, trying to take my things?"
Before she could finish, the maids Ruth had brought with her grabbed the Grand Duke's daughter and dragged her away by force.
The Grand Duchess sidled up to Ruth with a sycophantic smile. "So then, Lady Iris, what about your support for us?"
Ruth gave her a faint sidelong glance. "Naturally, it will be cut off. If you have any objections, you're free to sue us."
Hearing this, the Grand Duchess felt as though she had fallen into an icy abyss.
On the other side, the maids had already taken the dress off the Grand Duke's daughter. The Grand Duke's daughter cursed furiously. "When you need me, you wag your tail and beg. And when you don't, you mercilessly snatch everything away. Are those treasures really that important? I really did purify you, too."
Ruth let out a cold laugh. Then she plucked a small gem from the dress and tossed it in front of the Grand Duke's daughter. "This should be enough to pay your fee, right? Though it seems this gem is still worth more than the curse you purified."
Humiliated, the Grand Duke's daughter screamed at Ruth. "Even if you snatch them away, they still don't suit someone like you."
Ruth shot her a cool glance over her shoulder. "You're right. Neither of us is suited to them. The only one truly suited to these things is a single person, and that's the little princess who's like an angel."
Not long ago, people all across the country had learned the true nature of the Grand Ducal family. They were overjoyed to learn that the girl possessed purification power. The head attendant had also successfully obtained the gold mine deed for the girl.
This instantly made the girl wildly excited, only for that damned system to start throwing errors again at the worst possible time, which immediately killed her mood. Seeing this, daddy cautiously asked the girl what was wrong. When the girl saw how worried he looked, she waved her hand to say she was fine. Then she held the gold mine deed aloft and showed off with great flourish, finally dispelling daddy and brother's doubts.
As the three of them walked hand in hand down the long corridor, the girl suddenly and for no reason thought of that annoying Prince of Nazca. She couldn't help letting out a small sigh.
Daddy and brother instantly snapped into high alert. They unanimously decided that the prince of Nazca, who was disturbing the girl's peace of mind, had to be kicked out. So angry she could scream, the girl shouted at them, "You two are enough already. I told you this has nothing to do with Ahr."
But her words only made daddy and brother's anger levels spike into the red. The girl actually remembered the prince of Nazca's name. Now their plan to chase him out was more urgent than ever.
Realizing she couldn't win against these two childish idiots in an argument, the girl could only act spoiled with them. "Daddy and brother, I want to take a walk in the garden, but my legs hurt a bit. Could you carry me?"
Sure enough, the moment she said this, daddy and brother immediately became obedient as lambs. This trick really was a hundred per cent effective.
In the afternoon, Marquess Iris and his daughter took the initiative to pay a visit and express their thanks. Daddy and brother insisted on staying by the girl's side, afraid that she would be tricked because she was too kind. The girl was exasperated by this, but thinking about how in their previous life Sister Ewaine's family and theirs had practically been family friends, she felt it was a good opportunity to let daddy and brother grow closer to them.
As soon as the family arrived, they dropped to their knees with a thud. "Your Highness the princess, my daughter owes her life to your grace. We are deeply grateful, but please, we still beg you to punish me, the sinner who violated the covenant."
The girl had no idea what he was talking about and couldn't help looking over at daddy.
It was said that the first king had once made a covenant with the founding families who were his meritorious retainers. They agreed that no one would interfere in succession disputes. In return, the first king entrusted ten gold mines and granaries to the ancestor of the Iris family. This was to prevent succession struggles from losing their fairness. For generations, the Iris family had faithfully upheld this. But not long ago, they had broken the covenant.
Hearing this, Marquess Iris began banging his head on the ground over and over. "It was all because I was desperate to save my daughter. I lost my senses. Everything is my fault."
Ruth also began to cry beside him. "No, it's all my fault. Father only did that to cure my curse."
Watching the father and daughter grovel and beg, the girl found herself at a loss. To show his sincerity, Marquess Iris offered up the family heirloom to the girl. The girl never expected he would present such a precious treasure solely to her. Daddy and brother even looked deeply gratified.
Yet at this crucial moment, that damned system was of no help at all. Just when the girl was panicking, unsure what to do, daddy suddenly spoke up. "In that case, as you wish. We'll confiscate your title and estate and give them to the princess."