New World, New Life: I Became A Bigshot In The Ancient World
Chapter 50: PERVERT PRINCESS

Chapter 50: PERVERT PRINCESS

"So, what do you think, Owen?" Aristia blinked, blissfully unaware of what he was thinking. She smiled innocently at him.

He stared at her with his mouth agape.

To Owen, she looked just like trouble with that innocent smile on her face which seemed to hide a threat, coupled with her somewhat intimidating posture. He subconsciously shivered even though it wasn’t cold.

To Adeline, Aristia was the cutest, trying to convince the little kid to work for her. She wondered why though.

Aristia leaned back again relaxedly and crossed her arms, waiting for him to say the words she was expecting.

"Take your time," she waved a hand benevolently. "We have all the time in the world." She smirked, stressing the last sentence.

Owen glared at her, but he suddenly felt a chill run up his spine. A gaze burned through him with a dangerous intensity. The hairs on the back of his neck and on his back stood on end, as if his life was on the line.

’Dangerous,’

His mind screamed danger.

Owen slowly and stiffly turned his gaze to the person beside Aristia, but she was smiling. He gulped, wondering if it the scary feeling was just his imagination.

He turned away and suddenly began to seriously consider the pervert princess’s very appealing offer.

"I agree," he said after sometime of weighing the pros and cons, his eyes closed. He came to the conclusion that the pros outweighed the cons. It was time for him to better his situation. Opportunities came but once.

His eyes snapped open and determination flashed across the jewels, "I agree to work for you, princess."

"Excellent." Aristia chuckled and sat up, clapping her hands. "You took your sweet time, but you made the right choice, Owen. But first, you have to swear your loyalty to me."

Seeing Owen nod in understanding, Aristia continued. "Since we are done here, let’s leave." She stood up, the two following suit.

The door to the side room of the restaurant opened again and the same young lady who served them the food came out.

Seeing that they were done with their meal, she said, "That will be forty-five copper coins."

Aristia handed her fifty copper coins instead, saying;

"Keep the change."

"Why, thank you, miss." The woman smiled and accepted the money, before glancing curiously behind her at Owen and wondering if he was her servant.

They left the restaurant and got into the carriage. "Take us home, Lucas."

"Yes, princess."

Lucas held the reigns, watching Aristia enter the carriage with Adeline and Owen.

So, the princess was bringing the boy home with her?

Without any other words, he got the carriage moving as it left the restaurant.

[I hope Papa and Mama aren’t too worried. My walk took a lot longer than I expected.] Aristia thought as she stared at the sky that was beginning to take up an orange hue, showing that it was quickly nearing dusk.

***

The carriage rode home at a steady pace. Aristia patiently explained to Owen how he would work for her.

He was surprised but he didn’t say anything, just nodding to show he understood, and asking questions when necessary.

He kept looking out of the carriage, watching as the carriage went from the modest homes of the commoners to large gates that he could tell at a glance belonged to aristocrat households.

Owen wouldn’t lie and say he wasn’t nervous and unsure. He sat stiffly throughout the ride, wondering what would happen from then on and what to expect. He kept glancing at Aristia from the corner of his eyes, but she wasn’t even looking at him.

Instead, she leaned on the window with her arm with her chin on her hand, staring out of the window with a faraway look, as if she had forgotten he was there immediately she had stopped talking to him.

Owen didn’t know whether to feel relieved or not that her attention was not on him. Even the maid wasn’t paying him any attention, instead her whole focus was on Aristia.

Owen wondered what was going on. She seemed so sweet around Aristia, but she was actually very strange. The princess didn’t seem to notice.

He turned his gaze back to Aristia. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking now.

Meanwhile, Aristia was still trying to make sense of how her loyal assistant Owen, a grown man who followed her orders with unwavering dedication, would be in this world.

[Did he read another copy of that stupid book?] She wondered. But she dismissed that thought. He didn’t seem to have memories of another life. He was just a kid.

But even if it wasn’t him, why did his lookalike with the same name exist? How did the book create someone who looked exactly like him, minus the hair and eye colour?

In that case, would she see the lookalikes of her family?

The possibility of that thought both excited and scared her. She was excited knowing she would see them, or people who looked like them, and scared because they would just remain that— lookalikes, who would have no memory of her or of a different life, just like Owen’s lookalike. Her heart would break because even if she knew it wasn’t them, the familiar faces treating her with unfamiliarity would pain her heart.

She shook that thought away, not wanting to think about that.

And so the carriage ride continued in silence, with the two lost in their own thoughts.

Finally, the carriage entered into the gates of the Grand Duke Mansion and continued toward the entrance of the mansion. From the window, Aristia could see her parents and younger brother standing outside.

Owen tensed even more than he had, knowing that they had arrived.

The carriage gradually slowed down before coming to a stop in front of the Grand Duke and his wife and son.

Wilson immediately went forward.

"Mama, Papa," Aristia smiled as her father helped her get down from the carriage. She then walked towards her mother and brother.

"You returned quite late." Wilson stated, following her.

But, he didn’t seem exceedingly worried as he should have been, and she thought he would be, after not knowing where she was and only seeing her return home now, as if he was absolutely convinced nothing would happen to her.

"Yes. I and Linny decided to take a walk around the streets of the capital and lost track of time." Aristia chuckled, almost looking guilty.

"Is that all?" Wilson asked pointedly with a bit of confusion, looking behind her. Her mother was also looking confused.

[Huh?] Aristia was confused at their confusion, but when she noticed the couple’s gaze behind her, she understood.

Owen had gotten down from the carriage, standing awkwardly beside Adeline as Lucas rode off. He just stood there, not knowing what to do, and shocked at the large mansion before him.

Wilson and Catherine were confused when they saw a young boy step out of the carriage, whereas Alaric was just curious.

Wilson’s daemon had already informed him of the presence of someone else, but what Wilson was confused about was the identity of the boy and the reason for him following their daughter home. From his clothes, he didn’t seem to belong to the aristocracy.

Then, Wilson frowned. This kid came home with his daughter. Was she deceived by him? Just as he was about to step forward to interrogate the boy, someone held him back.

Catherine was calmer than her husband at this moment and could tell the thoughts going through her husband’s mind, so she held him back before he could give the little boy a scare. She instead turned to her daughter. "Who might this be, Tia?"

Her gaze ran the boy up and down and a frown settled on her face. It made Owen uncomfortable.

"This is Owen. He will be working for me from now on." Aristia gave a short explanation for the time being.

Meanwhile, Wilson had already conjured an explanation.

’Could it be that this boy tricked my innocent and naive Tia into bringing him home under the guise of working for her, knowing that she’s too kind? How despicably cunning at such a young age.’ He completely ignored Aristia’s explanation as he continued to glare at the boy with clear disapproval.

"Ah! Greetings to the Imperial second Prince and Princess." Owen who heard his name being mentioned, immediately recalled who he was standing in front of; The esteemed Imperial Prince and Princess. He had never been so close to them in his life.

He bowed quickly in greeting to the couple and remained in that position.

Sweat trickled down his back, and he tried his hardest to ignore the imposing glare being directed at at him. He tried not to fidget in front of them.

Only Catherine replied with a nod. "You may rise," she said and Owen immediately obeyed.

Aristia could guess what was on Wilson’s mind, so she assured, "...Papa, I wasn’t tricked. You can rest assured that I know what I am doing. How about we discuss this further inside?"

She paused, then put on a mischievous smile, "Besides, it would be me doing the tricking, not the other way round. Come, Owen."

With that, she walked into the mansion after a small wave at Alaric, Owen stumbling nervously behind her.

Wilson nodded. Yes, that was right, he thought. Then, he paused. "What?"

Catherine shook her head with a chuckle, patting his chest and turning to head into the mansion with Alaric. "Oh, Will."