His Highness's Second Wife
His Highness’s Second Wife Chapter 22

Raena stepped into the back alley, looking at the small group of dirty and disheveled children that stared at her with eyes full of awe and curiosity. The older ones who stood at the back showed a hint of reservation as they exchanged glances before returning their gazes to her.

Just as she was about to speak again nobody seemed brave enough to answer her the first time – the children’s attention switched to something behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, not at all surprised to see Zen and Marden there. Zen’s harsh and cold expression was in stark contrast with Marden’s grin as he leaned on the doorframe.

“What are you going to do with these rascals?” Marden asked, glancing at her.

“Mister!” a little girl in the front of the group squealed. She ran to him without hesitation, hugging his leg and looking up at him with a hopeful expression. “Do you have more of those cookies like the last time, Mister?”

“Uh, no, I don’t,” he said awkwardly, scratching his head. The girl’s smile turned upside down, and he grimaced, picking her up in his arms. The fact that she was dirty and leaving muddy smudges on his clothes didn’t seem to bother him. She wrapped her hands around his neck just as Marden looked at Raena. “What do you need them all for?”

“A job,” Raena replied, still trying to overcome

her surprise at seeing Marden in that new light. “Do you know those children? They seem to know you.” She added, glancing back at the others, who seemed to relax a bit after seeing Marden.

“Uh, well, I give them food occasionally. They all lurk around these parts.”

“And he hides us when somebody bad chases us!” one of the bigger boys said with a grin. “And he even gave me this shirt!” He raised his hands, displaying his tattered, too-big-for-his-frame shirt.

He had to fold the sleeves few times and the bottom was torn, so it only reached his h!ps.

“Shut up, Pen!” Marden said quickly and to Raena’s shock, the boy grinned instead of getting scared. “So, what is the job you want them to do?

It’s not something dangerous, is it?” Raena chuckled, shaking her head.

“That can wait,” she said, tearing her eyes away from Marden and glancing back at the children. “I just thought of something else first. Everyone, come with me.” She stepped toward the door, sliding between Marden and Zen that were blocking her way.

The two men followed along with the nervous children. Raena opened one of the drawers, pulled out a handful of utensils, and turned toward the children. She distributed one to each of them while they stared at the shiny cutlery as if it were something alien. Raena turned and picked up two of the plates from the table, crouching in front of the children. Their eyes immediately locked on the food, and she smiled. “Dig in. You’ll have to share since I don’t have that much ready right now”

She handed a plate to one of the older boys and another one to a tall, scrawny girl with unevenly cut black hair and a nasty bruise on her cheek. Raena got up and distributed the rest of the dishes while they sat down on the ground and quickly devoured the food, letting out a chorus of pleased sighs and m***s, squabbling about who would lick the plate.

“I can’t believe you gave them this food for free and didn’t even offer me a bite!” Marden complained, shaking his head in mock hurt. Raena smiled, glancing at the excited children before looking back at him. Seeing how trusting and relaxed they became after seeing him, she figured money wouldn’t be the right motivator if she wanted them to do a good job and come back for more.

She felt a light tug on her sleeve and looked down at the girl that had run to hug Marden. The child stared at her with sparkling eyes, holding an empty plate.

“Miss, is there more of this?” the girl asked hopefully, lifting the empty plate.

“I’m afraid that’s it for tonight,” Raena said, feeling like a complete villain as the little girl looked down with disappointment. “But there will be more.

“At the sound of those words, all the children looked up. “I’ll give you one meal every night if you help me keep the street clean and do some work for me. I’ll also give you one thara for every errand you run for me. No funny business, I promise.”

The children exchanged a few glances and hushed words, then one of the older boys got up and stood in front of her.

“l do it” he said confidently. putting his hands his h!ps. The others slowly joined him in front of Raena, and she smiled, turning to look at Zen.

“Bring them,” she said, and he disappeared from the kitchen after sending Marden a warning look. He returned a minute later with the thick stack of flyers she had drawn in the past two weeks. He handed them to her, and she passed some of them to the children.

“I want you all to take those and put one on every door and workshop where people live or pass by. If you can, leave a few at the nearby nobles’ mansions. If there is anything left, pass them around the market tomorrow.” She distributed the rest of the flyers to the children, returning her attention to the tall boy. “Your name is Pen, right?” she asked, and he nodded hesitantly.

“I’m putting you in charge, Pen. Make sure everyone helps, so it’s fair, alright? And if there is a problem, come to me or Marden.” The boy nodded again, the look in his eyes a little less distrustful than before. “Well then, you can come tomorrow evening for your meal. “I’ll instruct the other managers here that every night around this time they should give you the food, even if l am not here.”

“Are you serious, lady?” Pen asked, narrowing his eyes. “You’ll really give us food? And even pay us?”

“That’s if you do the job well.” Raena shrugged, barely holding back her laughter.

“You can trust her, Pen,” Marden said suddenly, bringing the boy’s attention to himself. “But don’t be too cheeky, alright? And be nice or this guy over here would beat you up!” He added, nodding toward Zen, who stood with his hands crossed on the other side of the table. Pen measured Zen from head to toe before returning his attention to Raena and nodding. “Hey, brat, what did I say about being cheeky? Say ‘thank you’ at least!”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Pen murmured, glaring at Marden only half-heartedly. “We’ll work hard.”

“Great!” Raena beamed, patting his head. The boy froze for a second, but his shoulders quickly relaxed. “off you go now. You have work to do. You’ll get your money after you complete it.”

The children got to their feet, disappearing through the back door one by one. Raena stared after them for a second, then started gathering the plates.

“Why them?” Marden asked while Zen was locking the back door.

“Cheap labor. More incentive to work. Besides, they are pretty much invisible. By tomorrow evening, everyone would have heard of this place, but no one would know where from. People love mysteries and because they do, they’ll keep talking about it. And the fliers will help with that.”

Marden reached toward one of the remaining leaflets, pulling it closer so he could get a better look. His eyebrows almost disappeared in his hair as he looked back at her.

“You named this place Her Highness’s Secret Palace?” he exclaimed. “Do you have a death wish or something? Only the Imperial family can use that title!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get permission,” Raena smiled.

“Shouldn’t you have asked for permission first before promoting that name?” Marden asked, his usual playful self shrinking down to give way to a seriously concerned person she could barely recognize. “What are you planning to do? Go to the

Emperor and offer him a deal?”

“The Empress, actually” Raena replied, no longer smiling. She had hoped the Empress would have summoned her already, but she couldn’t wait any longer with the promotion. She had to start now if she wanted anybody to show up by the opening day. Besides, there was no way the Empress would refuse this tiny favor, considering what Raena had to offer.” This is nothing for you to worry about. “ll get it approved before the opening of the restaurant.”

Marden shook his head, letting out a defeated sigh.

“I honestly don’t know how you can be so confident. It’s one thing to convince a stuck-in-the-mud nobody like me to work with you, but a deal with the Empress herself? Who exactly are you? And what do you have that she might want in return?”

“It’s a secret!” Raena said in a tone she hoped would shut him up. His smile froze on his face as he studied her eyes, and in the end, he raised his hands in surrender. “You mentioned you have something to show me, right? It’s getting late. Let’s go see it now.”