3 chapters today.

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Prince Theron’s words scared her. ‘Help him sleep? What does he mean?’

She heard him continue, “Baroness Esther, is this how you treat the direct orders of royalty? By wasting time?”

She glared at the man who was resting in her bed. His head was lying on her pillow with his left arm folded and hand tucked at the back of his head, looking so at ease it was as if he was in his own room. The grin on his face was annoying, and she was ever-so-slightly tempted to throw him off her bed with her powers.

“Your Highness, if you wish to sleep in my residence, I can arrange for your stay in the guest room,” she offered.

With his right hand, he caressed the soft cover of the bed. “But I am already in this room and the bed feels comfortable.” He then offered her a questioning look. “Do you dare order the Crown Prince of this kingdom to get out of this room?”

She let out a quiet sigh and said politely, “No, Your Highness. My apologies. It is my utmost honour for you to find my personal chamber to your liking. I must bid you a pleasant evening now, and will retire to another room to let you rest.”

“Then who will attend to my needs?” he asked, as if he was mortified Esther came up with such nonsense. “I do not like strangers serving me. In this mansion, it seems only the Baroness can serve me.”

“What do you want me to do, Your Highness?” she asked, frowning inwardly.

“Serve me,” he said matter-of-factly. Seeing her still standing by the window, he said with impatience, “How can you serve this prince when you are standing that far away from me?”

Esther forced herself to steady her breath. ‘This arrogant rogue! One of these days, I will really—’

After calming herself, she went to hang his robe on the wooden stand inside her bedchamber. Just as she went closer to the bed, she heard him speak again, “I am feeling a little hot. You should sit by my side and use a hand fan to—”

Before he could even finish his sentence, all the windows of the bedchamber flew open, and a strong gust of cold wind seemingly responded to his complaint, causing the temperature within the room to drop. Although there was no snow at the start of the year and winter was ending, it was still far from springtime. The Crown Prince could not help but let out an involuntary shudder at the sudden cold.

Esther looked at the Crown Prince with a pleased smile on her lips, but her eyes carried the mockery. “I think now Your Highness won’t feel hot.”

However, Prince Theron was not one to back away.

‘Trying to stay away from me huh?’ the prince thought and smirked. “In fact, I think I need to change to a thicker and warmer blanket since it is now too cold for me to sleep well. These pillows are too hard as well, and it is not comfortable for me.”

His quick wits merely caused Esther to want to roll her eyes at him, but she decided to play along.

“Apologies. Let me change it, Your Highness.” She went closer to the bed to gather up the blanket and the pillows, thinking that as soon as she left her chamber, she would turn over the childish shameless prince to her servants and she would escape to another room, but the Crown Prince held her hand in a strong grip and pulled her. She fell on top of the man’s strong body.

‘I should have known! This shameless rogue keeps pulling this stunt on me!’

She glared at him, but he pretended not to notice and instead said in a low whisper, “No need. You can help warm my body, and you can double as my pillow as well.”

The way he looked at her scared her, but she heard him assure her, “Do not look at me like that, my lady. I swear on my honour that I will not do anything unless you want it. Just sit here on the bed.” He let her go, and hesitantly, she obeyed him and sat on the bed. He moved his body and put his head on her lap.

“This is more comfortable,” he said and closed his eyes.

Esther felt her chest tighten. For some unknown reason, she could not say no to this, and she also could not make herself push him away. For what seemed like a long, long time, she continued to sit and stare blankly at his head.  When she later returned to her senses, she rested her back against the headboard of the bed, and let him use her thighs as a pillow for the rest of the night.

—–

When Esther woke up the next morning, she found herself sleeping comfortably in the bed with the quilt covering her. The windows were properly locked, and the curtains were drawn close to not let sunlight in. She looked at the place next to her but it was empty.

‘Did he leave?’

Esther did not realize it, but there was a hint of disappointment on her face.

After a while, there was a knock on the door and a servant entered her bedchamber. “Good morning, Baroness.”

Esther didn’t know how to ask the servant about the Crown Prince as it was embarrassing enough that they knew a man had spent the entire night inside her chamber. Though they did nothing indecent, outsiders would think otherwise.

“The Crown Prince left by dawn,” the servant answered her unspoken question.

Esther only nodded and said, “Prepare the bath for me.”

The servant started her work, while Esther continued to stare at the empty place beside her. ‘Why did he leave without even informing me?’

That day, Esther prepared to go back to the palace, but the difference this time was that she would not enter with the identity of a royal servant, but as a novice palace official working in the royal library.

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