─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
I blinked a couple of times and rubbed my eyes to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me. To my surprise, he did have a worried expression.
"Your Majesty, we saw this piece of scum with the princess. We assume she may be the culprit of her sudden disappearance. Perhaps she was trying to blackmail her." One of the knights explained while they threw the girl to the ground with force.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" I screamed as I looked at the knights.
"She saved me from the crowd and was trying to help me find daddy! She has been nothing but kind to me! Why are you treating her like this! She is only a child!" I lectured in a loud tone.
The girl began to tremble on the floor as she cried.
I squirmed my way out of the trashman's arms to get down. I ran to the crying girl and hugged her.
"... Do you speak the truth, Amara?" The trashman questioned behind me.
As I hugged the girl, I looked back, nodded.
"Yes. She helped me from getting hurt during the crowd rush and even tried to help me find you, even after she found out who I was. If anything, she should be given a reward. Instead, she is being punished for a good deed. I am so disappointed in you, daddy. I am disappointed in you two knights as well. You are supposed to protect the people of Giodivonia, not harm them." I responded with confidence.
The alley went dead quiet. Enough to hear a pin drop.
"... You… girl… If what the child is saying is true. I will take her word for it. How would you like to be compensated for saving the child and keeping quiet about what happened today?" The trashman cleared his voice out of embarrassment.
The girl looked up and got on her knees, facing the trashman.
"Your… Majesty… My mother died when I was only six-years-old. Because of that, my dad fell heavily into a bad habit. Though he worked himself to the bone as a fisherman out in the docks, he lost his job, and with his bad habit- he has a lot of debt with some bad folks. I know you have more significant problems than that. But… you see your Majesty. My mom was everything to my old man. Once she died, he just… gave up on life."
I looked at the trashman as she told her story. When she mentioned her dad losing all hope when her mom passed away, I could see in his evident expression that this conversation hit close to home for him. To the point that it made his eye twitch.
The trashman sighed loudly out of frustration while he tilted his head towards the sky.
"And? I am assuming you want gold coins as compensation?"
The girl looked up at the trashman and shook her head.
"...All I want is a job, your Majesty. A job to pay my dad's debt back. At first, when you asked what I wanted… I thought some gold coins would do the trick. But my dad is a lost cause. My… my only compensation is… to work under the imperial family. Gold coins are a rare chance to have. But I need a stable job if I wanna live a good life." The girl explained as she remained kneeling on both knees.
"You? working for the imperial family? Have you gone mad, kid? Listen, child. I do not have the patience to listen to your request. Either take the bag of gold, or remove yourself from my sight. The choice is yours." The trashman threatened as he crossed his arms.
Her eyes grew out of shock as tears streamed down her cheeks.
I quickly ran up to the trashman while tugging his cloak.
"Please, daddy… she saved my life and helped me find you." I pleaded as I looked up at him with a puppy-faced expression.
He looked down at me with a familiar, cold look.
"Here… take this and get out of my sight. Pay your father's debt with that, and do what you will with the rest. I do not take in children to work in the imperial palace. Now get out of my sight before I lose my temper." The trashman responded as he tossed a pocket-sized pouch of what I believed to be gold coins onto the floor next to her.
We all stared at the crying girl who remained on her knees in silence.
"Th...thank you… your Majesty…" The girl wiped her tears with her dirty, ripped up shirt and bowed before she ran out of the alley at lightning speed.
"My mood is ruined. Call the carriage. Let's go back to the palace." The trashman demanded with a low voice to the knights.
Excuse me? We got here like… two hours ago, dude. I mean, yeah… our situation with me getting lost and you giving gold coins away to a weeping child may have been a bit of a setback, but I'm fine. No one got hurt. Did you forget you are the emperor of this enormous land! You are the wealthiest god of this whole empire! Come on! I didn't even get to eat delicious food or see any shows!
"But… daddy… We didn't even get to see the fireworks… plus… I am starving. Please… let's stay a little longer." I begged once again as I hugged his leg.
"... We can come back next year. Let's head back. It is getting late."
"PLEASE, DADDY! I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER!"
Gosh… I think I am going to throw up. The extremities I have to put myself through to convince this man.
"AND EVER AND EVER AND …."
"OKAY! STOP! YOU'RE GOING TO DRIVE ME INSANE!" The trashman poked my head with his index finger, pushing me away from hugging his leg.
"I cannot believe I am doing this. What have I become? Ugh… cancel the carriage. Instead, I only have five potions left for tomorrow. That being said, Gather all of the knights. I will only need five with me for the rest of our trip. You two will be part of the five that will stay with me. Choose the top three to remain with you and send the rest of the knights back to the palace... Once you two are done, report back to me. There is an upscale lodging called 'Emerald Inn', I will be staying there for tonight with the child. There is another Inn next to the one I will retire for tonight. Make sure you and the others remain in that Inn. At midnight, report back to me at the lodging room I will be at. Understood?" The trashman explained as he pinched the bridge of his nose as a sign of frustration.
"You seem to get your way lately; you know that?" He looked down at me as he crossed his arms.