Despite her efforts to stay optimistic, Cas could tell that Iris was starting to feel the weight of her situation. It showed in brief flashes on her face and in her voice and in the sigh that escaped her lips. He couldn’t imagine what was going through her head at the moment, but he knew it couldn’t be good. If his father didn’t agree to let her stay with them, it was only going to get worse for her too. He really hoped her family would show up to collect her before it was too late, so they wouldn’t even have to find out if his place was an option.

After he brought up his suggestion, he couldn’t help but smile as she brightened. He hadn’t wanted to bring up his backup plan to her so soon, especially since he had no idea if it was even possible, but he was glad it had lifted her mood. He only prayed she wouldn’t get her hopes up. All he’d been trying to do was let her know that he was still trying to help her, even if her situation was starting to look grim. He didn’t want her to take it to mean that he was going to come swooping in with a solution if things went south. It would have been great if he could, but everything depended on the king.

[color=#b97703]“Well, yeah,”[/color] he shrugged when she asked if he would really do that for her. [color=#b97703]“It would be pretty cruel of me to just watch you leave without trying to find a place for you to go. Besides, we’ve got plenty of room.”[/color] That was an understatement. The Maydestone mansion had at least ten bedrooms, most of which sat empty now that the only people living there were just him and his father. It used to be packed with his other relatives, but since the rebellion had started, his father had made the rest of the family, aside from him and his mother, move to a different house. Now, he wouldn’t have been surprised if a squatter had moved in and no one noticed—well, that was a bit of an exaggeration, since they had security guards everywhere, but there was still a lot of space.

[color=#b97703]“If my dad agrees, it won’t be any trouble at all,”[/color] he assured Iris when she said she didn’t want to cause any problems. If anything, he was more concerned about the problems the paranoid king might cause for her. It wouldn’t have been out of character for Atlas to assign extra guards to the hallway outside her room just to make sure she didn’t try anything funny. He just hoped his father wouldn’t do anything too outlandish to keep tabs on her if she stayed with them.

Iris’s next words gave Cas pause. Though it was a kind gesture for her to offer to help around the house, she should have known that everyone in the capital had hired staff to take care of all their household chores for them. Had she done the work in her own family? He’d never met anyone else who had. Even the people who moved into the apartment complexes usually paid at least one maid to take care of their homes for them. Basic skills like cooking and cleaning simply weren’t needed among high borns. He studied her curiously. She [i]was[/i] a sweet girl. Maybe she had learned a few chores to help out her family’s servants? It was the only explanation he could think of that made some sense.

[color=#b97703]“Um, thanks, but we’ve got maids for that,”[/color] he offered her a smile, still grateful for her gesture even though it wasn’t practical. [color=#b97703]“They do all the cooking and cleaning and everything else, so you don’t have to worry about pitching in.”[/color] Unable to help his curiosity, he added: [color=#b97703]“Actually, I’ve never met a high born who knew how to cook or clean before. Do you think you used to help out around your house?”[/color]