“I don’t think he will cause trouble for you,” Rosha said. “Even if he is supposedly allowed in and out, he is the one who is in the wrong for sneaking into the villa at night.”
“I think so,” Viola nodded, “since it’s more dangerous for him than me if he gets caught sneaking in at night.”
“However, I don’t think he has any malicious intentions. You said so yourself that he let things slide a couple of times, right? If he was trying to harm you, princess, wouldn’t he have already reported these incidents to the higher-ups?”
Rosha was right. Judging by his bold personality, if he had wanted to harm her, then he would have already done so. So, if that was the case, then there might be some benefit to their meetings after all.
For one, he was someone who was allowed to freely enter the Royal Villa. Secondly, his position as a high-ranking knight made him a valuable asset for garnering information. However, Viola could not know for certain whether she could rely on him. What would be her best move in this scenario? She couldn’t just blindly gamble on his help because she didn’t know what his intentions really were, but she didn’t want to lose out on a powerful connection to the palace either. It would seem she had much to think about.
On the other hand, if it turned out that the royal knight’s commander was sent to stage these encounters in order to watch her, then that meant her movements would be severely limited around him.
What was she supposed to do about him? What should she do? She tried to encourage herself. ‘Think about it, Viola!’
There had to be some way to bring him to her side. As she went over the situation in her head, one thing was for certain.
‘… Inevitably, I will have to meet him again.’
♛
Lustian returned to his palace and changed out of his wet clothes. A smile lingered on his lips. Kyle looked awkward at the prince’s bemused expression.
“It seems like you played some kind of fun game,” he said.
“Game…” Lustian repeated faintly. “Yes, you could call it a game…”
He took a seat at the large chair in the center of his office and crossed his legs upon the desk. The princess’ scent lingered in his mind. He could still vividly feel the gentle give of her plush lips beneath his fingers. He couldn’t pinpoint what exactly made him so interested in them, but they were strangely attractive to his eyes. Lustian raised those same fingers to his own lips. It had taken almost his entire willpower to endure the need to kiss her.
Initially, he had been drawn in by the scent of Judith flowers in her hair, and then his attention had been pulled to her fragrant lips. He wondered what he would be attracted to next.
‘Why am I reacting this way?’
It was certainly strange, and what surprised him even more were the physical changes he was experiencing. His lower body responded to the thought of her. Lustian looked down in surprise at his surging manhood and laughed in bewilderment. His excitement threatened to tear through the confines of his pants.
The stiffness was agonizing. He desperately wanted to sheath himself somewhere warm and narrow… Was this feeling sexual desire? It can’t be… He was taken aback, as he had never been attracted to anyone in his life.
‘Sexual desire… even I have sexual desires?’
♛
Another day dawned. As usual, Rosha applied yellow cosmetics to Viola’s pale skin and garbed her in drab dresses. Part of Rosha’s make-up routine included adjusting the contours of Viola’s face to make her high nose look flat, her pointed chin look square, and her slim face look round. Finally, she would dot her cheeks with large, blotchy freckles.
The rumor that she was the ugliest princess to have ever set foot in the empire had spread not just throughout the Royal Villa but the whole Imperial Palace.
“The new candidate is too ugly.”
“I know. I saw the colour of her face and was shocked.”
“Ho ho, such an ugly princess… Our prince’s standards are too high to accept someone so plain. She will for sure become a concubine, right?
“Probably.”
Viola could hear the maids laughing at her appearance, but she was actually satisfied that they were talking about her behind her back. If this kept up, she for sure wouldn’t catch the crown prince’s eye because a Crown Princesses Candidate who was not pleasing to look at would certainly never be the center of attention. How could he be interested in a princess who was uglier than all the previous princesses who had entered the empire as candidates?