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(3rd Person POV)
‘Your Majesty?! Ahhh, this is bad. We’ve bump into the wrong person!’
All the men who were being dragged away by the soldiers showed a sense of despair paired with a gloomy expression on their faces.
‘Oh my gosh, does that mean that I was saved by Her Majesty the Empress?’
The girl that Anastasia saved was also stunned speechless and filled with an indescribable emotion and surprise.
Anastasia gently asked the girl who was still trembling pitifully behind her.
“Are you okay?”
Only then did the girl realize that the question was for her and she hastily answered back.
“Y-yes…yes.”
It was then that Anastasia noticed, in more detail, the girl’s appearance .
Her black hair that came down to her chest was scattered haphazardly about, but the overall texture was fine and it shined like a polished jewel.
The girl bowed down at almost a 90 degrees angle as she expressed her gratitude.
“T-hank you so much for your help. You are my lifesaver. How can I repay this favor?”
“I just did what I had to do. I’m just glad that I was here in time.”
Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.
“Thank you so much. I was almost sold as a slave ….”
The girl, who was exhausted with the ordeal that she went through, asked Anastasia cautiously.
“I…ahm.. By any chance, are you really Her Majesty the Empress?”
Anastasia smiled awkwardly for a moment and then nodded. The little girl hurriedly knelt down in front of Anastasia that her knees made a loud ‘thud’ sound when her knees made contact with the ground.
“I greet you, the wisest moon of the empire, Your Majesty the Empress!”
“Come on get up now. You don’t look too good either.”
“Ah, but….”
“You’ll need immediate treatment first. I have a doctor with me in my carriage, so let’s go together.”
“Your Majesty, are you sure that you want to take this kid with us?”
Melina abruptly asked in shock, then Anastasia spoke to Melina as if to ask, ‘What seems to be the problem with that?’.
“I’ll take responsibility for her until everything has been settled down.”
“Your Majesty, you are not thinking about wiping out the illegal slave traders, are you?!”
“You’re right, I have been thinking about that problem.”
“Your Majesty, that’s too dangerous!”
Melina then tried to persuade Anastasia with a pale complexion.
“What would happen if you were in danger?”
“Don’t worry too much. How dare I do something so reckless?”
Anastasia smiled as she tried to calm down Melina’s anxiety.
“But of course I will not do it alone so please don’t have to worry.”
“However…..”
Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.
“There are a lot of them who are in the same situation just like this kid. I can’t simply ignore them.”
The life of a slave was of course a miserable one. It was the same case regardless of gender and age.
They were treated like objects, not as human beings. No matter how they were treated, the owner would never be punished.
It was inevitable because the very existence of slaves would be illegal so no owners could be held accountable.
“I have to save them since this could be my only chance to do so.”
“Can’t we just inform the Imperial Palace and leave?”
“You know that there’s no time to delay.”
Anastasia immediately gave instructions to the knights and sent one of the lieutenants to report the situation to the Imperial Palace.
Since the situation was urgent, a decisive move was needed to be made instantly, but it had to be reported as well.
“Sir Martin, go to the place where the slave auction would be held and buy everyone there.”
“Everyone?”
“Yes.”
Anastasia then handed the knight a full money bag.
“It doesn’t matter how much it costs, we need to save everyone as much as possible. But of course, your safety comes first. In the event you encounter a dangerous situation, make sure to get out of there immediately. Do you understand?”
“Don’t worry, Your Majesty. I will do my best to follow your order.”
“Hurry! We don’t have much time to waste.”
Anastasia checked the time on her pocket watch and said in an anxious voice.
A group of knights bowed briefly and quickly left.
Melina, who was watching it from the side, asked in a trembling voice.
“Your Majesty, what will we be doing now?”
“We need to go back to the carriage, and have the child’s wounds attended to.”
Anastasia immediately stood up from the bench.
“We also have to move as well. I have a place that I need to go to.”
-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-
(3rd Person POV)
Anastasia returned to the carriage, explained the situation to the maids who accompanied her, and then headed straight to Viscount Santoro’s residence.
On the way to the Santoro’s residence, the black-haired girl whom Anastasia rescued, was being treated by a doctor.
Although it was only simple first aid, she seemed to be in a much better condition than she was in before.
“Oh…come to think of it, I didn’t even ask your name. What is your name?”
At Anastasia’s question, the girl shook her head awkwardly.
Anastasia became puzzled when she noticed her odd reaction.
“I’m sorry but I-I… don’t know. I lost all of my memories, that’s why I don’t know who I am.”
“You have lost all of your memories?”
“I just opened my eyes to find myself in a cramped cage. Then I quickly found out that I was being sold as a slave.”
Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.
“Oh my god, you don’t even know your family or where you used to live?”
The girl nodded with an embarrassed face. Anastasia spoke in a very solemn voice full of pity.
“Then…you have no place to stay right now, is that correct?”
“Yes, but thanks to Your Majesty, the Empress, I was not sold as a slave. I plan to stay anywhere and recover my lost memories.”
“If it’s okay with you, then how about working as a maid in the Empress’s Palace?”
“What?”
“The Empress’s Palace always needs maids. Food and lodging are provided in addition. I think it would be better to stay at the Empress’s Palace until you recall your memories.”
“Is that really possible?”
The girl’s eyes widened, believing it to be an unexpected opportunity.
“I would definitely accept it! Since for me, I have nowhere to go anyways…. If you take me in, Your Majesty, I would definitely break my body and work hard!”
[pr/n: Um…working hard is great and all but don’t break yourself. No job is worth that. Even if you got saved by someone.]
“Oh no, I won’t allow you to work like that, since your body has been severely injured.”
“You don’t need to give me any salaryQ As long as you feed me and give me a place to sleep, I will do anything!”
[pr/n: Readers…readers no, get paid for the work you put in. Get your money. Don’t be paid in ‘ exposure ’.]
“What? But….”
“Anyhoo, I’ve been thinking about how I would be able to repay the favor to Your Majesty. You saved my life and even though my body is insignificant, I am willing to give my life for the sake of Her Majesty the Empress!”
Seeing the girl clenching her fists resolutely, Anastasia smiled and said to the girl.
“If I would be able to get rid of those slave traders, that alone is enough to repay the favor. So, please get paid as you work on the palace, okay?”
“But….”
“Nope, no argument. If you were not working without pay, what’s the difference between you being free now or captured as a slave? So please do as I say, okay?”
Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.
The girl hesitated at first at the stern tone Anastasia used, but eventually nodded her agreement.
“Since you don’t remember your name, why don’t we think of a new name for you. Let’s see….”
Anastasia looked at the girl silently and pondered.
After thinking about it for a while, Anastasia opened her mouth again.
“You look just like the goddess Selene, who was worshipped in a foreign country. Black hair and deep blue eyes, you’re definitely adorable.”
“What? Uhm, but that’s not true, Your Majesty.”
The girl, who did not expect to receive such a compliment, tried to turn the tables on Anastasia.
“But, Your Majesty is more……”
“Huh?”
“You are more beautiful….”
“Oh…thank you.”
Anastasia was very pleased and laughed softly.
“Until you remember your name, I would like you to use the name, Selene.”
“But, how can I use the name of a beloved goddess…  ”
“Who cares when it suits you very much.”
Anastasia shrugged and asked.
“Do you not like it?”
“…….”
The girl didn’t reply back right away, but after a while, she muttered shyly in a low voice.
“Yes, it’s so pretty…..”
“……”
Melina glanced at her with a displeased expression.
“Your Majesty, we’ve finally arrived.”
The carriage stopped in front of the mansion of the Viscount of Santoro.
-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-
(3rd Person POV)
“Welcome, Your Majesty the Empress. It is a great honor to have the Imperial Moon grace us at our humble home.”
Viscount Santoro, who was in his later years, was still impressive with his white sugar-like hair and black eyes.
After a while, a couple of maids appeared in front of Anastasia. They brought her and her companions towards the drawing room courteously, without showing any signs of being rattled by the sudden visit of the Empress.
“It is truly an embarrassment for me to have to host Her Majesty, the Empress directly in my shabby residence. I already have directed the maids to bring in the refreshments. But, I am afraid that it might not meet Her Majesty’s taste as it is not as high quality as what you’ve experienced in the palace.”
“No, it’s quite alright…..”
“What are you doing there? Hurry up! Her Majesty the Empress is waiting on you!”
Anastasia was in a hurry and tried to decline the offer, but  she could not stop Viscount Santoro who was a very strict person.
Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.
‘Since I’m here to ask for some troops that could help us with attacking the slave auction…’
She decided to catch her breath for a moment.
For dessert, they brought in bite-sized chocolate cookies, colorful macarons, and a cream cheese tart topped with grapes.
[pr/n: yum…]
“This is Uva tea. Please do try it.”
“Thank you, Viscount.”
It was when Anastasia took a careful sip of the tea and was about to talk about her purpose of coming here in earnest.
“Oh my, it seems that you don’t like it.”
At Viscount Santoro’s words, Anastasia looked at him with a puzzlement. However, the Viscount’s gaze was directed towards Melina.
Melina nodded her head with a slightly embarrassed face and responded.
“It’s a little bitter.”
“It was originally like that. Please try adding some sugar cubes. It will taste much better.”
Melina did that and after taking another sip, Melina’s face changed with satisfaction this time.
“Oh, it’s delicious!”
“Because this is not your usual sugar cube.”
There was a strong sense of pride that could be heard from Viscount Santoro’s reply.
“It is a sugar cube made from the sugar cane that was grown on our family farm. Santoro’s sugar cubes are of such high quality that they can be sold at a high price.”
“I thought the region was famous for its molasses, but I didn’t know that the Santoro region also harvested sugar cane.”
Anastasia, who was listening quietly, responded without realizing it.
Viscount Santoro answered quickly.
“Yes, Your Majesty. Although they are still in production, we plan to further expand the sugar cane farm lands in the future. When sugar is sold, it will yield a lot of profit.”
Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.
“But growing a sugar cane wouldn’t normally require simple labor…..”
At that moment, Anastasia stopped her words, without realizing it.
[pr/n: ah…damn. You smart cookie Anastasia.]