Please offer everything to Her Majesty the Princess

But Miss Doris did not show any contempt, nor did she have the expression that Grace imagined - the expression of a predator finding that its prey had been taken advantage of.

Instead, he whispered and gently reminded, "Women should take care to protect themselves."

Grace was stunned in surprise, and after a long while she only replied, "I know."

Doris continued to help Grace tie the ribbon around her waist, and said in a soft voice full of feminine power,

"If you need help, I can help."

Help? Did Miss Doris think she was in some violent situation?

She was not being greasy and intentional in her approach as before, but was tying the ribbon in a very gentlemanly manner.

Of course, the sensitive Grace was still a little uncomfortable. The mature feminine scent she brought with her gestures always reminded people of Irene...

Grace's body trembled suddenly. Why did she still think of her now?

"Miss Doris, it is very rude to pry into other people's private lives."

The girl gritted her teeth and tried to get Miss Irene out of her mind. She shouted in nameless anger, "Do you think I'm that kind of casual woman?"

"No."

The moment the mature woman's voice fell, Grace felt her waist tighten, and the knot was tightened and tied into a knot.

Doris came to Grace and said,

"It just seems that your lover doesn't cherish you very much."

Do you cherish it? Not really.

Thinking of Afro's performance yesterday, Grace's heart was always burning with a raging fire.

She stood up straight, took two steps back, and stared at Doris with a cold face.

"It doesn't matter. It's not important."

It doesn’t matter what Afro’s attitude is. Sleeping together or not cannot affect a person’s loyalty.

"But...smart girls shouldn't be treated like this."

As Doris spoke, she looked Grace up and down.

Her brows were relaxed and her eyes were sparkling, full of pure appreciation for the aesthetics of the human body, and she seemed to be marveling at her own taste in choosing clothes.

"But I have to say, Miss Grace, you look so beautiful in this dress... well... it should be said that you look like the goddess of beauty."

Grace followed Doris's words and saw herself in the dress in the mirror out of the corner of her eye.

The dark-colored dress highlights her fair skin, exposing her figure just right. The knot at the waist accentuates her slender figure, and the girl's youthfulness is matched by a hint of nobility, like a beautiful black swan.

Miss Doris actually has a good taste, which can even be said to be very consistent with modern aesthetics.

If Grace was really a teenage girl with love in her heart, who was in a chaotic and hazy stage about love, she would be easily attracted by the maturity and elegance exuded by Doris.

But alas…Grace’s soul is a ghost that has been wandering for a long time.

Therefore, she didn't care about someone's teasing at all, but kept urging with a polite smile.

"Thank you, Miss Doris, but can we have a portrait first?"

"no problem."

Doris arched her brows like a sly fox.

……

Doris's studio is on the first floor of the two-story villa, very close to the garden at the gate.

When you open the window in the early morning, you will see the flowers that are kept at a constant temperature by the magic circle.

Like every person who is passionate about art, the room is filled with gray and white plaster pieces of various sizes, and many unfinished paintings covered by curtains, but the floor is as clean and dust-free as a mirror, showing that the owner of the room loves cleanliness very much.

Doris moved a small stool to the drawing board, used water to dissolve the paint, and asked,

"Have you thought about what position to use?"

Grace, sitting on the soft cushions of the sofa opposite Doris, shook her head.

"I don't have much in mind. Don't you want to paint my portrait?"

Doris lowered her head and thought for a second, then said:

“Is there a word that can describe your life, or something?”

So how should I describe my life?

Grace looked up, her soul seemed to be trying to reach the end of her fate through the ceiling, and the memories of her past life gradually filled her mind...

It starts like the heroine in the story, but ends like the villain.

Gorgeous and... disgusting.

"Fireworks."

These words popped up subconsciously in my mind.

Doris's eyes painted carefully like a paintbrush, her bright golden pupils became more and more dazzling, and she praised:

“It’s a very romantic word.”

Grace let out a light laugh, "Isn't there nothing left?"

Doris, showing her freedom and her inherent romance, replied enthusiastically,

"At least it bloomed."

"Yeah……?"

Grace spoke with her eyes downcast, and picked up the book on the table. When she opened it, she found that it was a half-written script.

The pencil marks were neat and clear, and seemed to be written by Miss Doris herself.

"In the crowded square, the cat-like girl reached out her hand to the knight who was being beaten..."

The sequel came to an abrupt end, but it coincided with the fragment in my memory. Didn't I help up an injured father a few days ago? Wasn't Doris there that day?

Grace looked up in surprise, looked into Doris' eyes and asked,

"Have you... seen me in the square before?"

"um, yes."

Doris nodded, her index finger and thumb formed a frame in front of her eyes to lock the girl's cold face, and she praised softly,

"But the feeling of the book suits you very well. You can read it lazily, and then half of your back is exposed from the side, which will feel very beautiful."

"Like a noble princess."

The word "princess" seemed to be a key detonator, and Grace raised her eyebrows slightly.

She crossed her legs modestly as Doris requested, leaned to the right side of the sofa, and posed with a book in her hand, looking like someone wanted her.

A quiet literary girl.

"You should know who I am, Miss Doris."

——These past few days, there were often Royal Knights patrolling the streets looking for my whereabouts based on my appearance.

With the same name and the same appearance, given Miss Doris's identity and background, it should be easy to know who she is.

"Um...I don't know."

Doris half-raised the paintbrush with a confused and shocked look on her face. She covered her mouth and took a deep breath.

"Is it too late to arrest you now?"

Grace stared at her: "Poor acting."

"Okay... I know, no more jokes."

Doris curved her eyebrows and raised her hands in a gesture of surrender.

"As you can see, Dark Street is the script I wrote. I just need more character material. It seems like it would be nice to listen to the wonderful life of Her Royal Highness the Princess."

How could her life be so exciting? She was a genius magician and a sought-after opera singer... ?

"But I think Miss Doris's life is wonderful enough. Everything goes smoothly, she can do anything, like a free bird."

The curve of Doris's mouth suddenly dropped, and she said in a low voice, as if reciting the lines in an opera:

“Everyone in this world is a bird in a cage. No, the world is a huge birdcage.”

“Everyone has a past that cannot be escaped, and everyone is a bird that cannot escape.”

Doris's eyes dimmed and the atmosphere became a little gloomy.

A bird that can't escape...? Grace repeated the word carefully in her heart.

From a world-renowned magic genius to an opera singer, there may be many magnificent and unknown stories hidden in it.

Grace was about to ask for information when she heard Doris let out a long sigh.

Then she swept away the haze, smiled as bright as a beautiful rose, and changed the subject, saying:

"This topic is too boring. Hmm... let's talk about something interesting."

"Speaking of which, I have a close friend whose cousin has the same name as you."

"Best friend?"

Grace understood it too well. According to the unspoken rules, a best friend is a person himself.

Her golden eyes, like autumn water, were lost in the memories of the past. Doris said softly and nostalgically,

"She is a brave and beautiful knight, not only skilled in swordsmanship and magic, but also loyal and kind."

"She was my roommate at the time. She always had to hold a sword in her arms to fall asleep at night. It was very strange."

"However, she is from Ibro and has long black hair. She is always picked on by some aristocratic children in the academy."

"At the age of 15 or 16, people are most likely to be instigated, and bullying is common."

"She would fight them one by one with her long sword, and beat them until they were black and blue. She would also ask them - did they not eat? Why did they come to fight on an empty stomach?"

Doris herself is an excellent opera singer. Her deep voice tells the story with such cadence that it is as if you are listening to a unique storytelling session.

Seeing her pause for a moment, Grace couldn't help but ask,

"Then what……"

"what……"

Doris sighed softly, as if she couldn't help but sighing as she recalled the wonderful years.

"Then, I did so many things that I can't even list them all... like participating in opera performances, fighting bandits, helping people with revenge, burning down casinos, and so on..."

"Afterwards, I became close friends with her. I would occasionally ask her what she was pursuing, and she would just say she wanted revenge."

"She wanted to kill her uncle who slaughtered the whole family for property, and skin him alive, so that the devil could also taste the pain and despair of having no relatives in this world."

"So I asked her what would happen to your cousin if she killed your uncle?"

"She just asked a rhetorical question - would you keep the child of your enemy? I know the answer."

Grace had not been in the palace for a long time, but she still knew some things about the fallen princess of Ibro and her biological mother.

According to the story, Doris couldn't be her cousin...

Otherwise, she would have a thousand possible ways to kill me. After all, she was a genius magician, and I was just a powerless patient.

She held her breath, like a cat curled up waiting to catch its prey, and squinted her eyes as she looked at Doris.

Doris knew exactly what Grace was looking at, so she stopped keeping the secret and told the ending.

"Later, my best friend was wanted. I was very anxious, so I helped her escape to the north."

The story seems to be developing in a reasonable and unexpected direction.

Grace asked curiously, "Wanted? Wanted for what crime?"

"The reason is that she killed someone who was not allowed to be killed in the palace... I was the one who gave her the magic crystal to escape. I didn't know about it until she had been on the run for seven days..."

"It turns out that my best friend is the fallen princess of Ibro and the leader of the Ibro rebellion in the north - Phoenix."

At this moment, a familiar mechanical sound rang in Grace's mind.

[System prompt: The new character Phoenix has been unlocked]