Since waking up, the energetic Luciana had been weaving baskets non-stop. Nicole kept urging her to rest, but she refused every time.
After learning of the situation, Orizio said unhappily, "You've wasted the little energy you have left on something this boring."
Gino at the side was also so exasperated he nearly went mad. "What a complete mess. How am I supposed to turn this stubborn human girl into an elegant and refined fairy?"
But just as he finished speaking, Orizio, ever protective, sealed his mouth with divine power. At that moment, the man's preference for beauty over friendship was displayed to the fullest.
Seeing the girl energetically welcome his arrival, Orizio spoke somewhat incredulously. "Luciana, it's me."
"I know you are the great sun god's third son, the sun prince who values etiquette above all else. According to your request, I have been completing my task the whole time."
"According to my request?"
"I told you that my hands are very skillful and that I can make sturdy things. You said you wanted me to do my utmost."
Hearing this, Orizio suddenly extended his hand toward the girl. "Why not let me have a look?"
Hearing this, Luciana quickly handed over the basket she had woven. Orizio held up the basket and was completely stunned. Then he extended his warm hand once more. "Give me your hand. Your hand is dirty."
The moment he finished speaking, he used divine power in a flash to clean the girl up. Feeling Orizio's concern, Luciana blushed at once. But before the ambiguous atmosphere could last even two seconds, Nicole's tactless voice came from the side, shouting anxiously, "Lord Gino seems a little off."
The two of them looked toward Gino at the same time, only to see that Gino, whose mouth and nose had been sealed, was about to suffocate. So Orizio immediately waved his hand and released the seal.
Gino, having regained his freedom, was truly furious. "I thought I was going to suffocate. How could you treat me like this? What exactly am I supposed to do to make her look like a fairy from the imperial palace?"
Looking at the elf rolling around on the ground in a full-blown tantrum, Luciana cheerfully thanked him. "Gino, you're so kind. You made wind for us. Thanks to your efforts, the papyrus dried much faster."
Nicole also awkwardly chimed in from the side. "That does seem to be true. Thank you, Lord Gino."
Hearing this, Gino was furious beyond measure. "I really can't take this anymore. This is absolutely not the time to be weaving papyrus baskets."
But the girl refused righteously. "I have to do this. This is the work his highness assigned to me."
Gino was so anxious he stood on tiptoe and reached out to snatch away the basket Luciana had woven. "What is wrong with you, woman? Put that down at once."
"I am Luciana. My name is not woman. My name is Luciana."
Orizio's pupils contracted slightly, stunned by how unusually forceful the girl was today. A certain prince and a certain elf both froze in place. They muttered in low voices.
"What's wrong with her? What does this mean?"
"Didn't you say she had been bedridden for a week? She really is— You don't think there's something wrong with her head, do you?"
Orizio did not answer, which counted as tacit agreement. The woman who had once wanted only death had now completely changed before his eyes, and she had even become obsessed with weaving papyrus baskets. But she seemed much happier than before.
Luciana said, full of vigor, "Do you have any other tasks to give me? Just say the word and I promise I will give it everything I have."
Looking at the girl before him whose head was full of nothing but baskets, Gino ground his teeth in frustration. "Very well, Miss Luciana. Can you play any musical instruments?"
The girl shook her head.
"Can you recite poetry? Can you sing or dance?"
She continued to shake her head.
"Good heavens. Then what exactly can you do?"
"As you can see, I can weave sturdy papyrus baskets."
The volcano in Gino's heart finally erupted completely at that moment. "I want you to memorize everything on these scrolls. Stop touching those stupid papyrus baskets."
Late at night, Gino stomped back and forth anxiously. "This won't do. Absolutely won't do. She can't play instruments, and she can't dance or sing. No one will take her for a fairy. It seems the priestesses of Arato are not as capable in every way as I imagined."
"She is a slave."
"Did you say a slave?" Gino found it hard to believe. Then he suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "Perhaps it would be better to visit the mage."
"You must cross a dangerous mountain to meet that mage. Surely you don't want to bring a weak human girl with you."
"We have no other choice. There is only one month left until the new moon festival. I would rather risk climbing the mountain than let everyone discover that you slept with a human woman and be struck dead by lightning."
Orizio fell into thought and suddenly remembered. "We still have guests from the imperial palace to receive tomorrow."
"Has the queen sent another traitor over for judgment? I hope you leave first thing tomorrow morning. I don't want them to smell the human scent on Luciana."