Princess of the Silver Ocean - Chapter 57

“So your uncle owns such a house but makes you sell flowers? That does not make sense because anyone can clearly tell that the man is wealthy,” Prince Yashiro stated, eyeing the house and garden.

Lara just stared at the ground, not saying a single word in response to what the fox prince said.

‘Prince Yashiro is right,’ Astoria thought, ‘How can he make a five-year-old child sell flowers by herself to raise money for her grandmother’s oral surgery? Especially when he owns such a house and garden? Something fishy is going on here, and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.’

Her police senses were tingling and on high alert. She crouched down so that Lara could stand on her own. The little fox stood next to Astoria and ushered for them to follow her into the house, her hands clasped together.

“Granny, uncle!” Lara exclaimed, “I’m home!”

“Did you make any money? I hope you made more than the last time because if not…” a male fox stated, coming out from the kitchen, but then paused upon seeing prince Yashiro and a strange woman in his house.

“P-prince Yashiro, your highness,” the fox gasped, his black eyes widened in shock and disbelief, “W-what are you d-doing here? T-to what do I owe the pleasure of having y-you in my h-house?”

Astoria crossed her arms and quickly examined Lara’s uncle.

‘There is dirt under his nails, a scratch on his face, he reeks of alcohol and…’ Astoria stared at his gaze, which was menacing and aimed at Lara.

‘And he is clearly in a foul mood. I sense danger here.’

This male fox was better dressed and looked well-fed compared to Lara’s clothing and physical appearance. She stared at Lara, who was tightly clenching her dress, her tiny knuckles whitening in the process.

‘Lara is clearly scared,’ she thought, ‘I am starting to see what is happening here.’

She tsked loudly in irritation and anger upon understanding the situation.

“We came to see Lara’s grandmother,” prince Yashiro stated, glancing sideways at Astoria, who held a sour expression on her face.

He stared at her, confused as to why she was suddenly in a foul mood.

“M-my granny i-is t-this way,” Lara softly spoke and walked in the direction of her grandmother.

Prince Yashiro followed her, and Astoria did the same after internally glaring at the uncle. They walked to the second floor and entered Lara’s grandmother’s room. They found the grandmother lying in bed, asleep.

“Sorry,” Lara said, standing across them, “It appears she is sleeping.”

Lara folded her arms and bent her head.

‘It seems her uncle did not follow us, so now is the chance to ask her,’ Astoria thought as she walked towards Lara.

Lara watched as Astoria crouched down to her level.

“May I ask you something?” Astoria gently asked the little fox.

Lara slowly shook her head ‘yes.’

“That bruise on your neck,” Astoria said, pointing at the scarf which was covering her neck.

Lara instinctively pulled the scarf tighter, afraid that the princess would see it again. Astoria put her hand down, not pointing at Lara’s neck anymore.

“How did you get such a bruise?”

Lara’s eyes widened, and she backed away from Astoria, her head facing towards the floor.

“Oh, I um…fell,” the little fox lied.

“You fell?” Astoria repeated.

She knew Lara was hiding the truth. Honestly, due to working as a policewoman for three years and handling major violent cases, she had come across numerous child abuse and domestic violence cases. This, here, was evidently one of them.

“I see,” she said, standing up.

She did not want to make Lara feel uncomfortable about answering her questions, especially when she knew the real reason for her bruise. The little fox probably had other bruises all over her body but was hidden by her clothing. Astoria walked towards the fox prince, who raised an eyebrow at her unusual behavior. She turned to him, her back facing Lara and her grandmother.

“Is it possible for you to help this child and her grandmother?” she quietly asked him, not wanting Lara to hear her just yet.

“With her grandmother’s oral surgery?” he asked her, tilting his head and pressing his lips together.

She nodded and internally prayed that he would say yes. It was not like he was obliged to help solve Lara’s circumstances, but she did hope that he would understand what was going on. After a minute of thinking, prince Yashiro nodded.

“Well,” he began, looking into her honest and sincere cobalt eyes, “If it makes you happy, then yes. I will-”

“No,” she cut him off and looked up at him, “Do not do it to make me happy. Do it as a prince of Chesropis. Do it as someone who is protecting his people.”

He stared at her for a while, her eyes holding a glint of seriousness.

“All right,” he agreed, giving her a dashing smile.

She sighed and smiled.

“Stay here with her,” she said, placing her hand on his shoulder, “I need to have a word with her uncle.”

He froze and stared at her wide-eyed, his eyebrows raised. “Her uncle? Why?”

She clenched her fists and whispered in his ears, “That son of a b*tch has been abusing Lara. He has also been negligent as her guardian.”

She began to walk away, but he held her hand and pulled her towards him.

“What the hell are you talking about? How can you be so sure that it is him?” he asked her, crinkling his nose.

“I am pretty sure,” she said, “that you believe me about the negligence part. As for the abuse…”

She managed to escape his grasp and pressed her lips together.

“Let’s just say, I have a gut feeling, and my gut is always right,” she winked and walked away before he could say anything, leaving him wide-eyed with his mouth open.

Lara walked towards him, “Where is princess Nexi going?”

He shook his head and turned to face the five-year-old. He leaned down to her level and smiled.

“She will be right back. In the meantime, how about you and I eat something, okay?” he asked her, pointing at the food he had bought for her and her grandmother.

Her stomach immediately grumbled upon hearing the word ‘eat,’ and she blushed, avoiding eye contact with the fox prince. She buried her face in her hands, feeling slightly embarrassed and ashamed about her stomach grumbling. She slowly nodded while covering her face and the fox prince smiled.

‘I hope princess Nexi knows what she is doing. I will give her five minutes. If she does not come back within that in time, I will go to her,’ he thought, pressing his lips together.

‘After all, if what she said is the truth, then this girl’s uncle is dangerous and could hurt her. If I do see that he hurt her or is attempting to hurt her, I will rip his body apart, limb from limb.’

Lara watched as the prince’s face distorted into a serious and sour expression. She wondered what he was thinking about that caused such an expression. She also wondered where princess Nexi had rushed to. If it was to speak to her uncle about her bruises, did it mean she would be in trouble once the prince and princess left? Was her uncle going to beat her up again tonight?

Astoria had walked downstairs to find the uncle leaving the house. She ran to the door and saw him walking towards the small garden. He had a watering can in his hand, wore white gardening gloves, and wore thick shoes he could get dirty in. She walked close behind him, and he stopped at a rose bush.

Different color roses were growing in the same bush. Roses that were pink, red, yellow, and white were all scattered on the rose bush. The uncle gently poured water on the roses, his face beaming at how beautiful and perfect they were growing. He hummed a tune as he continued to water them.

“Someone is in a good mood,” Astoria said, standing behind him with crossed arms.

The uncle shrieked in shock, almost dropping the watering can. He placed his hand on his heart and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Goodness gracious woman,” he said, “Why did you sneak up on me like that? You scared me. I nearly had a heart attack.”

Outward, she smiled, but internally she rolled her eyes.

‘You should have had that heart attack, bastard,’ she thought.

He placed the watering can down and took off his white gloves. She still had her arms crossed and just watched him as he smiled lustfully at her. He was a brown-colored kitsune, about 100 years old. His ears and tails moved as he examined her, almost salivating at how ravishing she looked.. Heavy amber eyes, set deep within their sockets widened as he watched her approach him.