“S-Sixth Princess!? N-no, I’m Her Highness’s...”

The orange-haired girl jolted like a lamb cornered by a little fox, fear written across her face.

“Hehe, drop the disguise. I know Princess Ji Wan followed the Fourth Princess, then slipped away halfway.”

“Eh—eh!?”

Her eyes flew wide, and she bounced from the chair like a startled sparrow.

“You—you’re not a restaurant... How did you see through me... I get it! You’re that... crooked house my sisters warned me about!?”

“Calling us a ‘crooked house’ is rude... You walked into the snare yourself.”

“LittleSnow... is she the Sixth Princess of Dragon Heaven?”

“Mm. I saw her once—back then a tiny sprout of a girl.”

Xiang Xiaoyan bristled at the noble manner, aura sharp as a blade, and strode toward the orange-haired girl.

“Dixue, how do we handle her? You said she’s tied to the Fourth Princess... Do we lock her up as a bargaining chip?”

“Lock me up!? D-don’t come closer! One more step and I’ll fight! I’m really strong!”

Her right hand gripped the sword at her waist, trembling like a fawn forced against a wall by creeping shadows.

“That’s a fine plan too. If the Sixth Princess won’t work, we’ll have to do that.”

Dixue’s smile turned sly as an ice fox; since getting Yue Liuyi, the silver-haired girl cared less and less about being the Rangers Lodge’s chair.

On the other side, San Hua Zhi quietly drew the curtains—dusk falling in a sweep.

“No! I-I’ll work!”

“Good. That’s the right wind to catch.”

Dixue pulled a contract from a drawer, already prepared, and slid it before the orange-haired girl.

“Your Highness the Sixth Princess, please sign.”

“Just a signature at the end?”

“Yes.”

“D-done!”

Princess Ji Wan had never signed a labor contract; the thorns hidden in its lines escaped her like nettles in shadow.

One clause read: I volunteer to wear a maid outfit and serve as a maid aboard the Skyship.

By the wages set there, she’d earn a pitiful sum. Board and lodging included, but only one coin a day. To clear her debts, she’d serve the Skyship for a year.

Yue Liuyi now saw how fearsome LittleSnow could be; when her belly turned black, she skinned like winter wind peeling bark.

Sure enough, the ink was barely dry, and the next heartbeat... the poor orange-haired girl was called to work by Maria.

“First, take off your clothes.”

“Wh-why do I have to undress?”

“Does that outfit look like work? A maid dress will be your uniform from now on.”

“No way—I won’t wear those commoner clothes!”

“Oh? Then we’ll strip you and toss you outside.”

“You can’t! I’ll be... ugh... fine, I get it.”

In the changing room, face burning like sunset, Princess Ji Wan let Maria peel off her clothes, then pull a maid dress over her like fresh snow.

Maria’s changing routine flowed like water, her hands circling like wind; even Yue Liuyi wondered if this was the Rangers Lodge or a group that specialized in snatching girls.

Naive Yue Liuyi never thought that if the Skyship were truly a trafficking ring, she’d be the first taken—a World Tree Maiden, rare enough to fetch a fortune with a single sapling.

After a while, Ji Wan stepped out, shy as a fawn leaving the thicket.

The orange-haired girl wore a maid dress. Her long legs were sheathed in black silk, and her shoes had thick heels front and back; Ji Wan tottered step by step, clearly unused to the gear.

There’s a saying: high heels were made to frame a woman’s charm. In heels, a girl’s steps wobble like reeds in wind, and the body seeks balance, turning sinuous as a river.

Yet the earliest heels, thousands of years ago, first gleamed on a prince in the Saintglow Empire, a boy addicted to dresses. He wore white lace day and night, and made high heels palace standard.

For a time, the whole court became a garden of warblers and swallows—long hair, short skirts, splendor in full bloom. But his sister grew upset; liking dresses was one thing, borrowing hers was another.

In anger, the princess sparked the Rose War, a royal civil war that ended the trend of boys in gowns.

Clad in her maid dress, Her Highness the Sixth Princess began “service” under Maria’s guidance. First task: tidy the room she’d live in.

“What! I’m going to live here? It’s so bare!”

She eyed the room—like a hotel standard twin—and set her hands on her waist, a small storm rising.

“Mm... it is a bit plain, not worthy of Princess Ji Wan’s status.”

“Exactly! Even if I’m working, I deserve royal treatment!”

“Mm... Maria, bring that.”

“Yes!”

“Bring... the key to the Presidential Suite?”

Dixue’s look hooked hope in Ji Wan’s eyes like moonlight on water.

“Yes, that’s right.”

A moment later, Maria came over carrying the “Presidential Suite” like a birdcage.

Except—

This Presidential Suite was woven from iron wire, cold as frost.

“W-what’s that!?”

“Your Presidential Suite, Princess. Great airflow, high safety. Perfect for staying inside.”

“That’s clearly an iron cage!?”

“Don’t call it a cage. It’s the Presidential Suite. Don’t be shy; Your Highness, do move in.”

“N-no! I’ll stay right here!!!”

The orange-haired girl dove for the bed in the standard room like a duck into water.

“Really don’t want it?”

“No!!!”

“Such a pity. If you choose the commoner suite, you follow commoner life. Sheets and quilts are in the cabinet; you make the bed yourself.”

“Huh? But I don’t know how.”

“Then you sleep on the wood boards.”

“Ugh!”

Dixue shook her head lightly, leaves in wind, and left the Sixth Princess alone in the room.

Outside the door, Yue Liuyi came up, still cloudy about the plan even while knowing what LittleSnow sought.

“LittleSnow, is it okay to keep Ji Wan on the Skyship? If she meets the Third Princess...”

“No problem. Princess Ji Wan slipped away because she opposed the Fourth Princess’s hunt for Qin Hui.”

“Eh?”

“She likely wants to make trouble for the Fourth Princess, to buy the Third Princess more time to prepare.”

“In that case... Princess Ji Wan’s nature sounds pretty good.”

“Mm. She’s not bad at heart, a kind child. But as the second-youngest of the royal family, she was spoiled by elders and lacks common sense. Lucky we found her; if she walked into the Chaoslands alone, it’d turn into a storm.”

“True.”

Yue Liuyi knew what LittleSnow meant by storm. As a princess of Dragon Heaven, wandering the Chaoslands alone would draw hungry eyes. With Ji Wan’s temper, even kind adventurers could be misunderstood.

If a fight broke out, who knows how many would die.

“By the way! Catching the Sixth Princess so smoothly was all thanks to you, Little Moon!”

“Me... thanks?”

“Mm! Before your coffee, Crimson Paradise sent me intel: the Sixth Princess was hiding in Rainbow Valley. I was stuck, headache pounding. Your coffee sparked the idea.”

“Crimson Paradise?”

“Yes. The Fourth Princess seems to know only Crimson Paradise in the Chaoslands. She declared: if they handle this, the Third Princess being taken by the Rangers Lodge will be forgiven.”

“Passing us a message like that... that group grows harder and harder to read.”

Yue Liuyi sighed. The situation in Rainbow Valley was getting tangled like vines; even the royal house of Dragon Heaven had arrived.

With Rainbow Fortress opening, more powers would flood the Chaoslands within two or three days—the Saintglow Empire, Atlantis Academy, the Yingyao Kingdom... all sending forces to fight for slots in the Rainbow Sanctuary.

“So... LittleSnow, what do we prepare next?”

“Mm! Baozi. And burgers. Tonight, we cook dinner for the adventurers.”

“Eh!? We’re still doing it?”

“It’s a rare chance. We’ve gotta make a killing.”