Ronan had not been focused on work all day. In his head was a picture of the disappointed face of a girl he had met yesterday afternoon. Ronan took another gulp of whiskey, but the image didn’t fade.
There was a knock on his study door, and Ronan told William to come in immediately.
"How is it?" the man asked without waiting for William to finish bowing.
"The princess is still resting."
Ronan gritted his teeth in annoyance. Almost every two hours since yesterday, he sent William and Lucas to ask about Arielle’s condition. However, they always came back with the same answer.
"Are you sure Princess Arielle is asleep and not passed out?"
William nodded. "That’s right, Your Majesty. Every time I came to visit, Princess Arielle’s maid always showed us that Princess Arielle was still fast asleep."
Ronan knew this was just a trick by the girl to avoid him. The man erased all his annoyance and sat back quietly.
"Okay, if that’s what she wants. You can go back to your place."
William bowed once more, then backed away from the king’s study.
Ronan poured the whiskey back into his glass. Back then he was able to smile but now he was less amused by Arielle’s antics.
A few days ago, he had deliberately avoided the girl because he felt that Arielle was just an ordinary guest who didn’t deserve more attention from him.
But on the day the girl painted, he was annoyed to see Priest Elis stand so close to Arielle. He followed and overheard that Princess Arielle could not read and write. Then, he asked something that he thought was strange. However, that simple question had made the girl avoid him....
"Why did the girl get offended? A princess should prioritize basic education such as reading and writing," he muttered in annoyance. "And now she dared acting offended? And she’s avoiding me? That’s stupid."
Ronan smiled sarcastically. He went back to his work until the clock on the wall rang six times.
Eventually William went back into the king’s study and asked Ronan to rest. However, the man paid no heed to William’s chatter. He put his mask back on and wore his coat.
"Your Majesty, where are you going?" William asked him.
"It’s none of your business."
William just sighed and let his King do as he pleased. As he saw Ronan leave the Blackthorn Palace and walk through the snow towards the Whitethorn Palace building in the west, William smiled.
"At least, it’s progress," William muttered to himself.
***
Tania was shocked to see the man in front of her. The sentence she had prepared suddenly flew out of her head. In front of her was neither William nor Lucas, whom she dared to lie to, but King Ronan himself.
"Is Princess Arielle still asleep?" asked Ronan.
Tania opened her mouth then closed it again tightly. The atmosphere in the room suddenly felt cold to her. The tone in which King Ronan asked her sounded quite sharp.
It felt more like an interrogation than a question. Moreover, the man’s mask added to the intimidating aura Tania experienced right now.
Since Tania was an old woman, she had never felt so afraid of anyone, not even towards Prince Alexis, Princess Arielle’s eldest brother. She was already that old but this young king made her feel intimidated.
Tania didn’t answer and instead kept her head down to pay respects. She opened the bedroom door wider, stepped back, and gave way for King Ronan to enter the chambers.
When the man stepped inside, King Ronan’s eyebrows rose when he saw Arielle lying under the blanket. He couldn’t see the young woman’s expression because Arielle was sleeping with her back turned to him. Ronan gestured for Tania to leave him and the maid followed his orders.
Tania closed the door from outside.
Ronan took off his coat and draped it across the nearby sofa he once worked in. Some of the snow stuck to it slowly melted as it was exposed to the warmth of the flames from the fireplace. His heavy steps sank into the thick fur carpet he stepped on.
Ronan chose the sofa as his resting place and was given a good view of the princess who was supposedly fast asleep. From behind his mask, he saw Arielle peek at him and then closed her eyes again tighter.
The man rested his chin on the palm of his right hand and observed the mound of blankets in front of him. He chuckled to himself and decided to play along with her.
"It’s too bad that Her Highness is still asleep, I have something important to discuss with her. Maybe I’ll wait here for a while," said Ronan loud enough for Arielle to hear him clearly.
Arielle’s heart pounded incredibly hard and fast at this moment. Her body felt stiff as she kept up with her charades. Even when her nose was a little itchy, she didn’t dare raise her hand to scratch it.
She was left with a lot of lingering questions she didn’t dare speak out loud.
’Where is Tania? Why did she leave me alone?’
Arielle prayed in her sleep that Ronan would go out of the room soon. That hope suddenly appeared to Arielle when she heard a knock come from outside. The princess felt so happy by the knock.
It was Lucas.
She could faintly hear Lucas’ voice talking to King Ronan. Hope lit up her heart and she was inwardly begging for him not to leave.
’Lucassss!!! Please don’t let me be alone!!!’ Arielle wished fervently in her heart.
Arielle didn’t know what was happening because she was maintaining her sleeping act and even the conversation was slightly muffled. A few minutes later passed by and Arielle was relieved to hear Lucas’ voice back with Tania.
Princess Arielle suddenly picked up the aroma of cooking, and she heard the sound of a trolley entering the room, followed by the sound of the bedroom door closing.
The aroma of the food that was brought in managed to make Arielle’s stomach growl. Even so, she didn’t dare to open her eyes. She hoped Tania would shake her and say King Ronan had left the room.
But that was just what she wished....
A blanket was wrapped tightly around her body, and moments later, Arielle felt her body float.
"AAAAH!!!" Arielle screamed in surprise when someone carried her.
Her eyes quickly opened up wide and stared up in horror. Until she recognized the mask of the man in front of her, and yet it was still so close to her face. From this position, she could see Ronan’s red irises staring intently at her.
"Y-Your Majesty...."