Prince Dorian, Raphael and I decided to stay at the doctor's estate until the boy we had rescued recovered, it took him three days. When the child regained conscience, we learned that his name was Loyd, he did not have even a given family name since he was abandoned right after he was born. Once he was properly washed and dressed, I was stricken by his looks - gorgeous curly blonde hair, sparkling golden eyes, the ones that you could only expect to see in manga or anime, his skin was white with a slightly pinkish hue, the blush returned to his cheeks after good rest and some nutritious food received from the doctor.

"Loyd will grow up to be a heartbreaker with these looks. If he were born in Korea, his parent would have already sent him for idol training."

He did not talk much, he was still greatly shocked by all the harsh events that followed after the orphanage had sold him to the hands of Marques Montrel who was the owner of the underground scene. The only information we were able to get from Loyd was that he was bought almost 5 months ago and that night was his third fight which he was ready to lose because he could not do that anymore.

Even the little bits and pieces of information received from the boy helped us put together something massive.

- Our spy was able to locate three orphanages that were cooperating with Marques. The money was received from the House of Nobles by laundering the tax money, Lord Bane who is a chief tax officer was the one who took care of the money. He was also arrested that morning and put on trial for national tax fraud.

Raphael placed a stack of papers on the table in front of the prince and pointed his finger in the middle of the first page.

- This is the list of the people who work in those orphanages.

Dorian skimmed through the papers, rubbed his face with both hands and sighed loudly.

- Since my order was enough to take care of all the noble rats involved, we now need to think about what to do about the orphanages and how much information we should release to the public about this.

Raphael looked at the prince carefully from under his eyebrows, it was obvious that he wanted to say something, but he did not know how.

- I'm sorry... I know I'm not really qualified to meddle with these kinds of matters, but can I suggest something?

Both the prince and his knight looked at me with their eyebrows raised.

- Go on.

- As horrifying as it was, I think this incident can become good publicity for the prince. If you fire all the old personnel from the orphanages and assign new people, and also announce that the Imperial family is now going to fully subsidize the orphans with the prince being in charge, you will definitely upgrade your level in the eyes of the commoners.

Dorian looked at Raphael who was nodding at me with a satisfied expression on his face. I decided to continue.

- In addition, if the nobles' trial will also be public, it will show your resolve and how much you care about the Empire. If you truly wish to steal the spotlight and show everyone that you are definitely the Emperor material, I think it's the best opportunity to showcase yourself.

The prince was silent for several minutes. Although it all seemed quite straightforward to me, I guessed that being involved in such a big scandal was a lot to handle for someone who stayed in the shadows all his life and was never considered as someone with power in their hands.

- What are we going to do about Loyd? Shall we leave him with the doctor until he fully recovers and then send him back to the orphanage?

Raphael looked at Dorian with worried eyes, he knew that rushing him back to the place that sent him to his death was not wise but there was not really much choice for him anyway. The prince thought about the question for a few minutes, then sighed and rummaged through his already messy hair.

- Yeah... We'll have to send him back.

"Going back to the orphanage when you were already out of it... Even though it was real hell for him, I don't think he will be happier going back."

We came back to the guest room and saw Loyd sitting next to the window, looking through it at the garden outside the mansion. When he heard us entering, he turned around, his face shining brightly with a genuinely happy smile. Smiling made his face even prettier.

"Ugh, I'm a sucker for a handsome face. It's a shame he can't become an idol or an actor here."

- Who is going to break the news to him? Should we play "rock-paper-scissors"?

I whispered quietly to my companions since it was their decision to abandon the boy once again. The prince and his knight looked at me, their facial expressions indicating that they had no idea what kind of rock and paper I wanted to play.

Dorian walked up to Loyd, placed a chair in front of him and sat down on it. The kid talked first.

- You are going to send me back to the orphanage, right?

"Damn those smart kids that grow up so quickly."

The prince looked at me with a bewildered expression as if he was taking a verbal test and suddenly forgot all the answers and was trying to ask for help with his eyes only. I shrugged my shoulders and turned away. Although the prince's decision was probably a rational one, my thoughts were different. No matter how hard it was to live in a big scary world all by myself, I knew that I would not want to go back to the orphanage again, and my orphanage never tried to sell me to fight other kids!

Dorian gave up trying to get any kind of help neither from me nor from Raphael, swallowed a stone that was stuck in his throat, and finally answered.

- Well, there is not much choice for us right now... You have no relatives or anyone who can take care of you. And it's not like taking you with us to the palace is a valid option...

- Or maybe it is? I thought the son of the Emperor can do whatever he wants in his own palace.

I scratched my chin and mumbled those words with the clear intent for both the prince and the kid to hear me. I then threw a quick look at Dorian, whose face turned into a frame with just two huge round eyes quietly screaming "Woman, are you serious right now?!"

- Come on, prince Dorian! Let's take him! He is pretty and seems like a good kid, I'm sure you can give him something to do in the palace. If you want, I can take care of him, I grew up in the orphanage taking care of many kids, so I'm quite experienced. In addition, if the word gets out that you rescued a kid from that hell hole, took him to your palace, and gave him a job, your ranking will definitely go up even higher!

Three pairs of eyes were fixed on me, if it was at all possible, they would have probably turned me into ashes in an instant just with the intensity of their looks.

- Can I go? Please, I can do anything! Please!

Loyd jumped down to his knees and grabbed Dorian's legs with his small bandaged hands. Dorian looked at me helplessly once again, then sighed loudly and helped the boy stand up again.

- Fine... Miss Yoona will be in charge of you until you recover completely and then we will think about what kind of job you can take.

- Thank you! Thank you so much!

Loyd hugged the prince, leaving him in a state of shock for a few moments, then ran happily to me, hugged me, looked up at my face and smiled brightly again.

- Thank you, miss Yoona, I will never forget this!

- Sure, let's take good care of each other.

It has been a while since the last time I saw such a happy smile on a child. I took Loyd's hand in mine and smiled at Raphael. He too was satisfied with how everything got resolved in the end.

- Alright then. Let's go to the palace and do some damage control.

Dorian stood up and left the room first, Raphael followed right behind him. I looked at the kid, he nodded quietly at me. And just like that, we returned to the palace bringing a new friend with us.

The prince's palace was in an uproar even before we were able to get off our horses. We were informed that the Empress has summoned Dorian to see her immediately together with the Crown Prince so he and Raphael left for the main palace right away, leaving me alone with Loyd.

"I guess I need to find Aurora and ask her to prepare a room for the kid. Should I ask to feed him first?"

- Loyd, are you hungry? Do you want us to visit the kitchen first?

The boy shook his head in denial, however, his own body betrayed him right away - a loud growling sound erupted from inside his stomach which made Loyd turn red immediately. I laughed warmly and pet him on the head.

- Come on, a growing child needs to eat properly, Marion will make you something good in the kitchen.

I left Loyd in the care of the grumpy cook and set off to find Aurora. I looked everywhere I could, but she was nowhere to be found as if she just disappeared altogether. I was ready to give up and go ask the head butler for help when I heard a familiar sound coming from the maids' bathroom. I rushed to the bathroom without even realizing what I was doing but stopped right in front of the door and hesitated for a bit. I knew what was going on and I knew it was Aurora inside the bathroom but I was not sure what I was supposed to do once I faced her.

"Screw it, let's go!"

I opened the door and almost screamed. I saw Aurora lying on the floor breathing heavily, her right hand with traces of blood on it, her lips smeared with blood as well. I fell on my knees right next to her, held her head and slapped her cheeks.

- Aurora? Can you hear me? Are you awake? Oh my God, what the hell is happening?!

I screamed for help and another maid came into the bathroom, she covered her mouth and looked at me with a mortified expression.

- Don't just stand there, go ask for help! Call the doctor!

I saw a bowl of water standing on the floor in the bathroom's corner, and splashed its contents on Aurora's face. She opened her eyes slightly and tried to say something, but her words were voiceless.

- Wait, Aurora, someone will help you, just stay awake, okay? God, what the hell!

The maid returned together with the guard who helped to carry Aurora to her room where the doctor was already waiting for her. When her examination was over, the doctor left some pills and herbs for her and stopped to talk to me on his way out.

- She is malnourished and exhausted. It looks like she is anorexic, the wound on her right hand indicates countless instances of forced vomiting. This time she threw up some blood because her stomach was damaged. She needs a lot of rest and only light cold broth for now. I left some calming pills and herbs so someone needs to make sure she is taking them and also eats. She is awake now, you can visit her but please do not strain her too much.

I thanked the doctor and entered the room. I took a good look at her - she definitely looked a lot thinner than the first time I met her, her face was pale, her skin was dry and almost transparent, and neither her lips nor her cheeks had that natural pinkish hue that looked so adorable on her.

- Aurora, how are you doing?

She looked at me, her eyes filled with tears.

- I'm sorry, miss Yoona. I'm so sorry.

- What are you sorry about? I'm just glad I found you fast enough and you are okay now.

"That was stupid, in what universe is this okay?"

Aurora placed her rough hand over mine and wiped her tears with the other.

- I don't know what to do now. I cannot control it anymore. Sometimes I try to eat but it's like I'm being possessed by something, my hand just goes to my mouth by itself, I cannot stop it.

Anorexia is the worst. It starts slowly and sometimes you don't even realize what you're doing, but then it gets out of control and it's already too late. We had 5 lectures in the PE academy about eating disorders and what kind of help you can provide if you suspect it.

"I was a fool. I was suspecting Aurora and now it's come to this. How can I even help her?"

- Aurora... It's alright, you will recover. It will take some time and effort, but you will, trust me.

- You don't understand. It's easy for women like you to say that it's going to be okay, you are thin and beautiful, what do you even know?

She pulled her hand away and turned her face away from me. I got needlessly mad and jumped on my feet so fast as if someone raised me up with force.

- Aurora. I was not born with this body, I worked hard for it. I spent years exercising and trying to eat properly to look like this. I studied for 4 years to understand how the human body works and how I can help make it fit and healthy. Of course, some people are born with a good physique and they are lucky, I agree, but as with everything in this life, most of the time you need to work hard to obtain something good but you also need to find the courage to know when to stop and evaluate your actions. We all have our reasons and our ways, so we cannot just mindlessly speak of something we do not understand. I might sound harsh right now but please believe me that I know how frustrating it may seem sometimes, so please... Take a good look at yourself right now and ask yourself if this is what you wanted to achieve. I want you to reach out to someone who can help you because this is far greater than I can deal with, I'm sorry. I'll talk to prince Dorian or the Crown Prince, anyone, I'll find someone who will help you but you need to want it yourself, otherwise, it will be useless. Please, Aurora.

She did not reply. She cried long and loud underneath the blanket as if she was trying to wash away that immense sorrow with her tears. I stayed with her until she fell asleep, then left the room, closed the door and sank to the floor.

"Just like Luther said... There is no magic in this world."