CH 6

“Madame?”

Mrs. Heston stood before her with an expressionless face as she barely opened her eyes. There was a glass of water in her hand.

“Drink it.”

“Thank you.”

Her throat was burning, and so she grabbed the glass and immediately gulped it down her throat till she regained a jolt of her consciousness. Only then did she feel the embarrassment creeping on her skin; Eloise grabbed the sheet and tugged it to cover her chest.

It hadn’t only been a day or two since Mrs. Heston visited her after their affair, but it was still shameful.

Is there a reason not to be ashamed? It was disgraceful for her to entangle sheets with the crown prince and present herself in such state to his head maid.

“Drink this, too.”

Mrs. Heston extended the cup of tea that she had placed on the side table. At first glance, the clear brown liquid emitting a sweet and sour scent doubled close to an ordinary tea, though it wasn’t.

“……Yes.”

She took it carefully in her hand then began pouring it into her parted lips.

She’ll drink it regardless, even without checking it. Mrs. Heston would remain by her side each time until she emptied the entire contents of the cup, leaving no drop to waste.

With a gaze full of fear that the precious seed of the crown prince would be stolen.

Eloise had been tormented throughout by Rishid; nevertheless, she downed the last of the tea, soothing her stomach away from being sick since she had just woken up.

It was when she was busy wiping the remnants of the tea running down from her lips with a handkerchief handed to her…

“Rest here today.”

“Yes……?”

Mrs. Heston let out a small sigh as she looked into her wide green eyes.

“This is an order from His Highness. You can’t take a single step out of here. Despite how much His Highness adores you, you don’t know what he’ll do if you disobey his order.”

“But…”

Since he attended a meeting with the nobles, no one knew how long it would take. Sometimes it even leads to an all-night discussion. The thought of having to be locked up in the bedroom for the rest of time made her eyes widen—she felt distracted.

“It’s an order. Please stay calm.”

“Yes, but—“

Mrs. Heston, who was about to turn away, shifted her gaze back to her.

“If you could give me……some clothes.”

The dress that Rishid ripped was nowhere to be seen. But, even if she had it, she couldn’t wear it; even so, it’d be better than roaming naked anyway.

Usually, he would send a new dress without fail when the dress was torn after a rough affair. Much more expensive and luxurious than the one he ripped. But today, there was nothing in sight.

“I don’t have any.”

Mrs. Heston’s voice shifted a little uncomfortably.

“Yes……?”

“You have no clothes to wear. It was part of his command that you remain as it is.”

Mrs. Heston left the bedroom, leaving Eloise sitting there with a blank look on her face.

* * * * *

After the tiresome meeting, he went straight back to the Crown Prince’s palace. He felt so repulsive that he wanted to soak his ears in water, which had been listening to the aristocrats the whole time.

“When the crown prince was a child, he contracted a disease, which caused him to be withdrawn and become temporarily unable to speak. And so, his marriage was delayed. That’s why we must act quickly.”

Now, the secret of the Imperial Family has been spelled out and feasted by everyone. The moment he thought everything was faring well, the pain came knocking again unexpectedly. Pulling a chorus of afterimages that he would rather bury beneath and never recall.

He strode with quick steps, opened the bedroom door connected to the office, and then found himself gasping for air.

Eloise was asleep on his bed, just as she had been when he left earlier.

Perhaps he was tired and yearning for rest; he yanked the blanket off, exposing half of her naked body.

She still carried those bad sleeping habits. His gaze relaxed a little as he glanced at those pale arms and legs and towering mounds in turn.

As he stripped off the decorative button from his collar, he strode towards the bed. He sat down into the soft mattress, one side of it was pressed down by his weight, but Eloise was still sleeping soundly and showed no signs of being stirred awake.

The way she sleeps with her face buried deep in her pillow has not changed at all.

Eloise would always fall asleep close to him in case of nightmares or sudden seizures at night. And when he woke up, she was holding his hand tightly, refusing to let go.

There were dried tears in the corner of her eyes, and the red marks on her skin were still visible. He’d been sucking her so relentlessly that the traces of his bites were unsurprising.

He didn’t mean to. He clicked his tongue. But the sight he witnessed this morning was enough to rattle his stomach upside down.

At first, he was just following Eloise unknowingly as she sauntered towards the rose garden and filled her basket with flowers.

The gentle wind caressed several strands of her hair, gently flowing beneath her braided curls, while the silk ribbon tied around her head fluttered towards the sky, capturing his attention.

His attention was drawn to the way her mouth moved as if she were humming a song. Those excited steps were as flirtatious as if they were dancing. It was like a butterfly hovering over the flowers as she picked up each rose and placed it in her brimming basket.

At that moment, he presumed that she was probably picking flowers to decorate his rooms.

As he thought of Eloise and the Count facing each other in the rose garden, his mind was instantly painted with displeasure.

Mine, mine alone.

From the moment she was first thrown into his playroom, Eloise belonged to him. It was an absolute and unchanging truth that he had never doubted for even a single moment.

The visible redness of Count Kint’s face could be seen even from a distance. His mood immediately hurtled to the ground at the sight of his hands crawling over one of the flowers and snatching it, then dashing away like a fool.

Soon after, the instant she sensed his gaze, Eloise turned her head and looked at him.

He caressed her cheek gently with the back of his hand. As he stroked her face with his fingertips, she wrinkled her nose and curled up to avoid his touch.

He couldn’t help the smile hanging over his mouth as he tickled her face a little more. It was infuriating to see her sleeping peacefully after spending the morning branching off his stomach inside out.

Indeed, he did not intend for her to be stripped naked and locked up like this. At this point, he considered putting a chain around her wrist the next time.

“……Your Highness?”

Her delicate eyelids quivered and opened. Her eyes, which were lavish with green hues reflecting the view outside the window, were fixed on him.

Her hazy eyes were still sleepy and staring at him. When it was directed at him earlier, her orbs resembled a lush forest battered by torrential rain, but now it was engulfed in a calm wave of green.

“Very lazy.”

As he spoke reproachfully, Eloise woke up and raised herself.

“Who told you to keep me locked up the entire time?”

He burst out laughing in amazement at the sound of her voice.

“I lived only with my mouth.”

“Since I don’t have anything to do, I just sleep well. You were too much.”

Eloise sat closer to him in her still sleepy voice, whining a little louder.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment and inhaled before reopening them as if savoring the sweet scent emanating from her. At times like this, he had to stay alert. He can’t afford to slip—he knows there’s a reason for something to be so pretty.

Sure enough, a voice close to his ear whispered to him.

“Can I……can I put some clothes on?”

“No.”

A flush of disappointment bristled on her small face at his answer that came back almost immediately.

“I look like the shaved Nini—it’s embarrassing.”

There was a time when a cat named ‘Nini,’ raised by Empress Dowager, suffered from a skin disease and had to have all of its furs shaved.

The cat hid in the dark corner for a while, refusing to be seen until its fur grew again. It was even pointless to try tempting it with its favorite snack. It wasn’t until later that she learned that animals also felt shame from the veterinarian.

“That is why I placed that order.”

“…….”

Eloise’s face was fraught with despair at his indifferent response. She can’t believe he did the same thing like she was the cat.

When she realized he wasn’t completely mollified after endlessly conquering her at his desk and in the bedroom, she felt like she was being dragged to the ground.

“As long as you’re naked like this, you won’t consider walking around shaking your ass.”

“…… I’ve never done that.”

She blushed as she bowed her head.

“I’m sorry. I really am.”

It’s not impossible to stumble across someone in the garden.

“I just wanted to collect some fresh flowers.”

“There must have been in the greenhouse.”

“You’ve seen quite a lot of flowers in the greenhouse. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to see flowers grown outside at least once. The outside air, the rain……How lovely is the rose that grew up receiving all of these things.”

“Why does that matter? It’s well enough if it’s pretty to look at.”

“That…….”

“Why? Did you think the flowers in the garden would be different?”

His face lit up with a smile as if he were looking at something insignificant.