Noticing Miranda lying limp on the ground, Alice bent to pick her up gingerly by the torso and set her down on Melissa’s lap. Then she continued to clean away until the other girl’s whole face was clean. She moved on her arm, taking a bit less care as it was more difficult to mess that up in haste. Besides, her guest was probably getting tired, and it would be rude to keep her awake longer than necessary.

When that was done, she moved onto the other.

Then she realized that she’d been distracted by Melissa’s pearlescent skin and hadn’t answered her question. Alice’s cheeks heated up with blush, and she hoped the faded light would cover it, though it probably wouldn’t.

“You may sleep wherever you feel most comfortable.” Her voice was quiet due to her fear that it would shake again.

She finished cleaning off the wounds preliminarily and made a note to herself to have her servants clean her better in the morning. Tossing the rag aside, Alice met Melissa’s gaze and opened her mouth to speak, but closed it after a second. She turned away from the white-haired girl with a small bitter smile on her face.

“I’ll be in my study. Call if you need anything at all.”

Alice opened the door adjoining the two rooms and then closed it behind her with a soft click. She sat down at her desk and began to scribble away, determined to write the decree without the help of a scribe. When she was satisfied with it, she left it on top of a pile of new minor royal orders. And what did the newest one say? Well, in short, it rescinded the charges against Miss Melissa Bellum, and made her a free subject of Crescentia. She was going to draft up the written version of the oath Melissa would be taking later, but she fell asleep before she was finished, her head resting on the desk and her small frame hunched uncomfortably. It wasn’t the first time she’d slept like that, and she always woke up aching. That girl would never learn!