The woman in the shop looked at Rosalind while wiping down a tray, her expression bored and unimpressed. "Listen, young woman, I already told you I cannot hire you. Just look at this place. My business is small enough already, and I manage perfectly fine on my own without paying an assistant," she said.

"I wasn’t here looking for a job," Rosalind replied quietly, and the woman raised a brow at her.

"Then what?"

Rosalind lowered her gaze shyly. "I was wondering if you could give me a little food today and I’ll pay you tomorrow."

The woman’s eyes moved over Rosalind from head to toe. She already looked poor enough from going around asking for work, and the woman clearly did not believe she would ever see her money again.

"I don’t do credits," she stated firmly.

"But you still gave those people yes..."

"I don’t run credits anymore starting today," the woman cut in sharply. "Now if you would please leave my shop, today is a good day and I don’t want trouble."

She turned her back and began arranging the tables.

Rosalind sighed quietly, her shoulders dropping in disappointment, but she still lingered there. The smell of the fresh buns sitting out in the open drifted into her stomach painfully and reminded her just how hungry she was. She had not eaten since the previous night, and now even standing felt exhausting.

If only someone would give her work that paid daily.

Her heartbeat quickened as her eyes slowly drifted toward the steaming buns. The woman still had her back turned and probably thought Rosalind had already left.

Rosalind stretched her hand forward cautiously.

It was only one bun.

Nothing more.

"Sorry," she thought guiltily to herself as she quickly grabbed one.

But the woman faced her suddenly. "What are you still doing here?" she called suspiciously.

"I was just about to leave," Rosalind answered quickly, trying to hide the bun by her side, but it was still burning hot against her fingers.

The woman narrowed her eyes.

Rosalind tried to walk away, but the heat made her lose her grip and the bun slipped from her hand straight onto the ground.

The woman’s eyes widened instantly. "Thief!" she screamed. "Catch her!"

Rosalind’s heart leapt violently into her throat.

Before she could even react, men appeared from different corners of the street and immediately began approaching her. Rosalind ran at once, weaving through the crowded roads while her heartbeat thundered loudly inside her chest.

They followed her everywhere.

She leapt over a woman’s fruit stall in panic.

"Hey!" the woman shouted furiously behind her.

"Sorry!" Rosalind yelled back breathlessly while the men chasing her crashed through the stall without care.

A man pushing a cart of carrots appeared directly ahead and Rosalind slammed into it in her haste, spilling carrots across the road.

"I’m sorry!" she cried again while continuing to run, and the men behind her shoved the poor man aside as they kept pursuing her.

"All this over one bun?" Rosalind thought frantically.

But it was not really about the bun.

Merovia punished theft harshly, even the smallest kind. The kingdom encouraged people to share and help one another freely, but stealing was considered disgraceful. That was one of the reasons Merovia remained one of the safest kingdoms with the lowest crime rates.

Rosalind darted through an alley with one of the men close enough to grab onto her shawl. He yanked it hard to slow her down, but Rosalind quickly pulled it off her head and left it in his grip before continuing forward.

The moment she burst out of the alley, loud cheers suddenly filled her ears.

Rosalind barely had time to understand what was happening before she was pushed straight into an open street and fell hard onto the ground directly in front of horse hooves.

Her breath caught.

The horse was already descending toward her.

Luckily, the rider reacted fast enough and pulled the horse sharply aside before it could crush her beneath it.

Rosalind stared up in horror while trying to catch her breath.

By then, the men chasing her had already surrounded her completely.

"What is going on here?" the rider asked sternly.

The royal family had just been parading through the streets, which explained the crowds and cheering. The entire procession had come to a halt because of Rosalind. Carriages had stopped abruptly and the once noisy streets had now fallen silent as everyone watched the scene unfold.

"Your Highness," the men immediately bowed.

Rosalind turned properly toward the rider.

He wore regal clothing trimmed richly with gold, and his dark hair had been combed neatly back away from his face. His hazel eyes fixed on her sharply from atop the horse.

"Who is this filthy peasant?" he asked coldly. "You won’t bow before your prince?"

Rosalind’s heart pounded harder. She immediately lowered her gaze and bowed her head quickly, panic tightening inside her chest. She had never imagined things would escalate this far.

There was no way she could escape this now.

"Your Highness, we were chasing her because she stole from one of the shops," one of the men immediately answered the prince’s earlier question.

At once, the prince’s sharp gaze landed fully on Rosalind. "You stole?" he asked coldly.

"It was only a bun," Rosalind said quickly. "I was really hungry."

"You miserable thief," the prince snapped. "You call it only a bun? No one is allowed to steal anything in Merovia."

His horse shifted beneath him while he glared down at her. "You will serve your punishment."

The moment Rosalind heard that word, panic seized her completely as her mind went to prison and chains.

She immediately turned and tried to run but she barely made it a few steps.

The prince swiftly pulled a long whip from his side and lashed it forward. The whip wrapped tightly around Rosalind’s leg before he jerked it back hard.

Rosalind cried out as she crashed painfully onto the ground and was dragged across the street while gasps erupted from the crowd around them.

"What is happening?" the queen asked from inside the carriage, wondering why the procession had suddenly stopped.

"Do not worry, Your Majesty," the prince answered confidently. "I have the situation under control."

Rosalind struggled desperately against the whip while trying to pull herself free.

"Seize her and lock her up immediately," the prince ordered.

The guards surrounded her and grabbed both her arms tightly. "Please, let me go," Rosalind begged breathlessly. "I won’t do it again."

But none of them listened.

"You should have thought about that before stealing," the prince scoffed dismissively.

Rosalind was dragged away while the parade slowly began moving again.

Just before she disappeared from sight completely, her eyes met briefly with the queen seated inside the carriage. The woman’s gaze narrowed at her before Rosalind was finally forced away with her arms restrained behind her back.

She was taken straight to the cells and locked inside one of them while a guard stationed himself outside. Rosalind let out a heavy sigh before walking over to sit on the small bed inside the cell.

Then she drew her legs closer to herself miserably. How bad could one’s luck be in a day? she thought bitterly.

If she had not stolen the bun, none of this would have happened. She would not have been chased through the streets, she would not have run into the royal parade, and she certainly would not have ended up imprisoned because of a single stupid decision.

And worst of all, she did not even get to eat the bun since it had fallen to the ground.

Now she was hungry, exhausted, and trapped in a prison cell.

Her thoughts drifted immediately toward her mother and Mallory. She had told them she would not be gone for long, and by now they were probably worried sick wondering where she was.

Rosalind had no idea how much time passed afterward.She remained seated quietly on the bed while her stomach growled from hunger.

After some time, two guards arrived carrying food for the prisoners. Plates were shoved through the bars one after another until a plate was pushed into Rosalind’s cell too.

Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of the food. Without hesitation, she grabbed it and began eating quickly. She had been starving for too long to care about dignity anymore.

Before long, the plate was completely empty, even the cup of water drained dry.

Rosalind leaned back against the wall afterward with a deep sigh.

Maybe being locked up was not entirely terrible after all. At least she had finally eaten.

Still, guilt settled inside her chest almost immediately afterward because her mother and Mallory were probably still hungry at home while she had eaten a full meal here.

Not long after, exhaustion finally overtook her.

Rosalind wrapped the thin sheets around herself and fell asleep on the narrow bed while night slowly passed and morning arrived.

The loud sound of metal unlocking jolted her awake. Rosalind opened her eyes sleepily just as the guard pulled the cell door open. "You are free to go," he told her.

Rosalind quickly rose from the bed and walked toward him. "But first," the guard added, "the Queen wishes to see you."