Moonlight Ball - Chapter 136

Lauren Bin, a 25-year-old commoner, was often compared to Queen Rosemary in terms of beauty, but in reality, she was a member of the guild and worked as a problem solver, completing various missions that ranged from murder to other requests. Known as “The Woman Outside the Window,” Lauren boasted a hundred percent success rate and her motto was “We will definitely solve any difficult request if you pay enough.” Her work was expensive, but highly sought after.

As a servant of the Surah family, Lauren had approached Frederick, the third son, and pretended to be killed after being raped, spreading rumors that she was possessed by a demon. This led to her receiving various requests, but meeting the Queen was not part of the plan. When she was pulled in by the Queen’s messengers, she looked around nervously. She had yet to spread the demon rumor and there was still a lot of work to be done. It was unbelievable that she was meeting the queen, of all people.

“Hello,” the Queen spoke.

Lauren was taken aback for a moment. The moonlight made the Queen look excessively beautiful. Although Lauren made a lot of money, she was a beauty fanatic who spent all of her earnings on collecting art. She was enchanted by the beauty of the Queen and snapped back to reality. This wasn’t the time for this.

“Help me, please,” Lauren whimpered, attempting to sound distressed. Perhaps her acting skills would help her, she thought.

The Queen approached her, concern etched on her face. “Are you in pain? What happened to you?”

Lauren panicked, realizing that if she claimed to be hurt, the Queen would quickly see through her lies. She scrambled for a response.

“I’m not sure…where am I?” she asked, hoping to buy herself some time. Her eyes filled with tears, she put on a dramatic show, letting them fall dramatically down her cheeks. The Queen seemed surprised by her sudden outburst.

“We’re on Mt. Sato. Do you know how you got here?” the Queen asked, her tone gentle.

Lauren looked around, confused and disoriented, covered in dirt and leaves. “I don’t remember…why am I here?” Damn it, it’s great talking to a beautiful queen, but what am I going to do? This is not how it was supposed to go, Lauren thought to herself as she struggled to come up with a convincing response.

“I am a servant of the Surah family,” she stuttered, trying to buy time to come up with a convincing story. “Frederick… he, he…” she trailed off, hoping the Queen wouldn’t press her for more information.

The ghost was supposed to appear and speak Frederick’s name, spreading the necessary rumors, but now she was stuck and the client’s anger and the resulting fee cut loomed over her.

Despite the stress of the situation, Lauren couldn’t help but notice how stunningly beautiful the Queen was. Her eyes sparkled like jewels and Lauren couldn’t help but feel drawn to her, even as she tried to keep her composure.

“Say it again, who did this to you?” Iris demanded.

Frederick. Iris clearly remembers that name. The name Frederick echoed in her mind. When she was young,  Iris went out of her way to avoid Frederick, more than anyone else. He would pinch her undeveloped chest and slap her buttocks, causing a distinct kind of pain that was unlike Margaret’s punishments. Iris always knew it was unusual, and the experience was shameful and unpleasant.

What did he do to this woman?!

“Uh, how should I put it… I, I really, how… Frederick called me in the middle of the night, and suddenly tore my clothes off,” the woman stammered.

Sidrain’s words echoed in Iris’s mind, reminding her that certain chapters of her past must be closed for good. Avoiding her past wasn’t going to make it disappear. The people who had wronged her in the past, like Frederick, would continue to live their lives and might even cause more harm.

Iris was grateful that she was still alive, even though she had suffered in the past. She shuddered at the thought of what might have happened if she had stayed in that family for a few more years.

Iris removed her robe and draped it over the naked woman’s dirt and leaf-covered body. With her bare hands, she began to gently brush off the debris that clung to the woman’s skin. Despite Lily En Oswald’s objections, Iris continued to tend to the woman, gasping for breath as she worked.

That despicable man…

Iris couldn’t imagine the horror and suffering that this woman must have gone through at the hands of Frederick. He had tried to rape and kill her, and then left her to rot in the mountains. The very thought made Iris sick to her stomach. She knew all too well that Frederick was capable of doing the same thing to her, or even to her family, if he thought he could get away with it.

“If you’re willing, we can report him to the authorities. I’ll provide you with a lawyer, if you need one,” Iris offered.

Queen Rosemary was rich, but so was Iris Elaine. She gently grasped the woman’s hand and expressed her determination to seek justice. The thought of the unimaginable suffering the woman had endured made Iris shudder.