Chapter 25
He would give her 50 gold? Was this research worth that much?
It was so tempting that it actually felt suspicious. But upon second thought, a voice in her mind, blinded by money, said it didn’t necessarily have to be strange. Considering the necessities of research, she often couldn’t understand why Marius conducted so much of his research. Besides, Paiki was a man who bought dragonflies for 3 gold each, and 2,000 of them at that.
Since he has money to burn, he might just want to try some strange research.
Aniella’s head reached a positive conclusion.
“So, all I have to do is sleep and be lazily well-behaved?”
“Yes.”
“If it’s just about being lazy, why do I have to be confined here?”
“It’s more convenient for my observations.”
Aniella pondered. Under Marius, she had been responsible for all sorts of odd jobs, from cleaning to preparing magical ingredients. But here, she was told she could get 40 to 50 gold just for sleeping.
Where else would she find such a good job? Even if it meant being confined and feeling a bit stifled.
“How long will the research last?”
Aniella asked seriously. It was a tempting offer, but it would be quite problematic if she had to be confined forever. Aniella thought she could endure for two weeks, or even a month.
“Two months.”
Then Paiki held up two fingers.
It was twice as long as she had expected, but she thought it would be okay. Aniella, already completely swayed by the money, couldn’t make any other decision.
She thought she should have asked for money earlier if he was going to research her. Had she done that, she could have accepted this confined life from the start without much complaint.
The man she thought was a big rat gnawing at her stomach suddenly felt like a wealthy passenger aboard her ship.
“For two months, I will do my best to be lazy. For your research, Duke.”
Aniella nodded with a determined expression. Paiki was satisfied that the conflict had been resolved amicably.
“Good. Strive to sleep for 20 hours each day.”
“20 hours?”
Aniella, who had picked up her fork happily, asked in surprise. Twenty hours? It was a standard she wasn’t sure she’d even met as a newborn baby. The question of how an adult could sleep that much rose to her throat.
But how else could she earn money so easily? And such a large sum at that. If sleep wouldn’t come, she would just have to lie down. She steeled her resolve.
* * *
With this change in her perception of her own situation, Aniella diligently tried to sleep for a full 20 hours. Having no clock to check how long she had slept, she stayed in bed as much as possible, trying to sleep.
Closing her eyes, she found she could fall asleep feeling happy by thinking about what she would do after receiving the money from Paiki in two months. She ate well and slept well, so her complexion naturally brightened.
But even good things become boring if they go on for too long. Her back also hurt. Eventually, she stopped trying to reach the full 20 hours. There was no clock here anyway. If she claimed she had slept the full 20 hours, Paiki would have nothing to say. She rationalized it was Paiki’s fault for furnishing the place with everything except a clock.
She got out of bed and looked for something to do. Finding a way to pass the time in this place without a single book wasn’t easy. Ah, there was one book. The fairy tale Paiki made, ‘The Cat Who Wore Only One Sock’.
It was the only book, but she was reluctant to read it. Putting aside that the story was too depressing for children, the illustrations inside were horrible.
“Did he draw these pictures on purpose? Or was he serious when he drew them?”
It took her a long time examining the pictures at first before she realized the long, squashed black circles were supposed to be a cat. If she looked closely, there were even expressions on their faces, but without exception, they all looked pathetic and sad.
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