If only Maximus was surprised, he wouldn't show it on his face. He would rather hide it behind his unwavering smile. "I just followed my King's order at that time. I hope you won't hold a grudge on me."
Lilac chuckled upon hearing what he just said. "What am I supposed to say? Should I say, 'Oh, Let bygones be bygones dear!' or, do you expect me to pet your head and say 'Oh Maximus is a good boy!'??" said Lilac, talking like how a person would talk sweetly to a dog.
She then quickly spotted how his emotion was stirring inside him after hearing her sarcasm. Her words had unfailingly triggered his anger that was slowly increasing through his eyes. Who wouldn't react like that? She insulted him straight in his face!
However, the moment he spoke again, whatever wrath he felt, it didn't reflect in his tone. He was a manipulative person after all. "I like the 'let bygones be bygones' part. Besides, you won't be here if you don't have a strong reason, am I right?"
Lilac didn't answer his question, and Maximus took it as a 'yes'. "Let me offer you my help," said Maximus sweetly. He sounded just like an a.d.u.l.t who was talking to a cranky little child. Hearing that, Lilac couldn't help but to raise her eyebrows and said, "Do you think you can help me?"
"I will do my best to meet your expectations," said Maximus, sounding like a polite gentleman. Lilac really couldn't believe it. How could this man have the audacity to shamelessly appear in front of her, offered this alleged helping hand? As if what he had done years ago was nothing.
Yet, she chose to play along with him. "Do you think you can convince him?"
"War is about to occur and it was already mentioned in the prophecy. The appearance of guardian angels was one of the signs." said Maximus, explaining his standpoint. "The King will put the interests of the kingdom above personal interests."
"Okay, but you don't answer my question though, and you know that, right?"
Maximus gave her another harmless smile and said, "We have the same goal therefore it depends on how we convince him." Then, Lilac walked towards him, and snapped at him, "First of all, there is no 'we' and there will never be. And second, I will never forget what you had done years ago."
Maximus sighed. "If there is someone that you want to blame, it's your mate. I wouldn't have done that if it was not because of his order."
"So, with all that being said just now, why do you think I will trust you now?"
"Because you don't have the privilege to make another choice," said Maximus loud, and clear.
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Maximus escorted Lilac to the north wing of the palace. It was the farthest part of the castle from the King's chamber and the great hall. So, the chance of Lilac would run into Jedrek was most unlikely.
"All the servants in this part of the castle are mute and deaf. So, you don't need to worry about them." Then Maximus opened the first chamber when they reached the third floor. Lilac frowned when she heard that. It was weird for having them as servants. But it wouldn't be so odd if they intentionally did that as a job.
"They won't be on my list of things to worry about." said the girl. Maximus chuckled lightly upon hearing her response. He stepped inside the room and followed by Lilac behind him. "I will not be around often, but if you have a plan about how to convince the King, let me know." said Maximus.
Lilac tilted her head as she gave him a sweet smile. "Of course, I would love to share my thoughts with you." The sarcasm in her tone was so hard to ignore. But, Maximus didn't mind it even a little bit. Then, he excused himself, and left.
Lilac watched as he closed the door behind him after giving her a polite, pretentious bow. Only when she was left alone, was when she gave her new room a close attention. Despite being considered as an abandoned place of the castle, she thought that this part of the castle was decent enough for a human like her to live in.
The room was big enough for her. There was a seating area with a fireplace, and a few cushions on a red rug on the floor. But, of all things in her room, what caught her eyes the most was the long windows lined in stones. They were beautifully placed on this wall where from there, she could see the view of the city. When the night came, it would look even more beautiful to see.
Although, she would've liked it even more if there was a balcony there. She then realized that she shouldn't be so picky about the room. Especially when she was actually living under her enemy's roof. She was rather lucky to not end up in a dungeon after the destruction she had done to his castle.
At least she had a place to stay now. Or else, where did she supposed to go? Would Selene listen to her complain if the situation ended up worse? She was unsure of that. The Moon Goddess said it clearly that from now on she was on her own.
Lilac went to her bed. She was about to lay there and give her injuries some care. Then, suddenly the door swung open. At first, she thought it was Maximus. Instead of him, she found a young woman who looked slightly older than her. She walked inside her room with a tray of foods in her hands.
Seeing this, Lilac just raised her brows in confusion. Wow, I got to experience a room service too in this castle? What is this place, a five stars hotel?—she thought sarcastically. The young woman glanced at Lilac, but didn't say anything. She just put the food on the table near the fireplace silently, and left.
Lilac walked closer to the fireplace. She inspected her food. There was a roasted chicken, a bowl of soup, and a few fruits. The food didn't look so bad. But she was sane enough to not eat anything from this castle. It was bad enough that she ended up involved in a shady deal with Maximus, and accepted his invitation to stay.
She stared at the door carefully, and thought if there was anything she could do about it. She had to do something with it. So that no one would enter this room as they pleased.
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"Your Majesty, what do you mean that you let her go, Sir?" asked Sebastian who was confused. "Is it true that she is a guardian angel?" he asked again another question to his King who had just returned from his battle with the girl.
"Impossible!" Kyle, the third general spat. "The guardian angels aren't capable of such things that she did. She must be a witch!"
There was a small argument going on inside the room for a while, until someone noticed Jedrek's shoulder, pointed it out openly and said, "Your Majesty, your shoulder is bleeding, Sir."