“No wonder he’s concerned. A fireball’s no joke,” Dahlia huffed, but suddenly scoffed too. “What was it about them not being your men, again?”
I raised my eyebrows in mock anger. “Come on, you were there when we met Claude for the first time. And Elias is a childhood friend.”
Instead of responding, she swished her arm in the air, and I followed the action with my eyes until I found Claude walking in our direction, bringing someone else in tow.
That someone else had onlookers turning their whole bodies to look at him. I didn’t have to guess who it was; it was obvious from his clothes, his mannerisms, the general aura around him, and Mia’s physical description of him — the man walking beside Claude was the Crown Prince himself, Winston Regalis.
Funnily enough, I thought he’d have a whole ensemble of people following him around wherever he went. At least a Royal Knight or two. But he was alone with Claude, and that made me wonder if Claude washis knightafter all.
With wavy platinum-blonde hair and majestic purple eyes, he was the embodiment of a holy angel, ready to smite evil demon lords.
“Are they actually heading towards us?” I whispered to Dahlia in a panic. It was enough that I had the attention of all these random people, but adding the Crown Prince to the mix was just too much.
“It seems like it,” Dahlia mused, but we didn’t slow down our trek towards the dining hall building. “But you know, it might be a coincidence? It’s not like that crazy guy had his sights set on you. What are the odds he’d find it normal to just shove the Prince at you?”
I glared at her while she looked smug, because the Prince and Claude were only seconds away and there was no way they’d suddenly detour if they weren’t gunning for me.
“Ah, there’s my baby girl!” Claude cheered so loud that if people weren’t already watching because of the Prince’s presence, they certainly were now. I hid behind Dahlia, who was giggling in disbelief.
“Is she actuallyyour girl?” the Prince asked Claude as they stopped in front of us.
“I just met him today!” I informed them in haste before any misunderstandings arose.
“Time isn’t an issue,” Claude tutted at me, reaching over to pinch my cheek before I could react. “Meet Beatrix Gadreel Havenglow, Win.”
“I know her,” the Prince smiled, with a contemplative expression that was the complete opposite of my distraught one. How could the Prince know me? I was a baron’s daughter at the edge of the Kingdom. “Baybluff estate, right?”
Okay,so he did know me. I nodded dumbly. Maybe learning every noble’s name was part of his education as the future King.
I couldn’t imagine this angelic face throwing a tantrum, though, as I remembered Mia’s story about his discontinued engagement with Lady Cecilia.
He reached out a hand, and by instinct or habit, I received it. He brought my hand to his lips as was the norm, but before it touched, Claude snatched my hand away and kissed it himself.
I tried to pull my hand from his grip. I wanted to say:What the fuck? Why did you do that? What the hell is going on?But my words caught in my throat, and like I had been doing a lot lately, I glared in silence.
“Whoa, Claude,” the Prince chuckled, but I could tell he wasn’t completely bemused. “Possessive already?”
“I found her first,” Claude exclaimed, raising his arms and bringing my hand up with it that I dangled next to him. “Finders keepers!”
“I’m not an object!” I squealed as I tried to detangle myself from his hold, but he was just too strong.
Claude ignored my attempts. “No offense to you, Win, I know you’re used to always getting what you want. Let me have this. Something for myself!”
But the Prince grabbed his wrist. I didn’t see what he did; Claude let go unexpectedly that I almost tumbled to the ground but caught myself in time.
“You’re hurting her,” the Prince smiled at Claude as he held the other man’s wrist. “We can’t have that, right?”
Claude visibly deflated like a sad puppy. It was both amusing and terrifying, with how the Prince, with his angelic, smiling face, could instill that kind of fear over the other man. He really was the heir to the Kingdom if he had that power.
“I’m sorry for hurting you, baby girl,” Claude whimpered, staring at my hand. “I’ll be a good boy for you, I promise.”
I couldn’t keep up with the craziness of this man. “I forgive you, and you don’t have to do that.” If I wanted as little disturbance as possible, I would let myself get walked all over, if that would make them leave me alone. These two are the worst pair of men to interact with me — they gathered too much attention.
Getting out of here was top priority. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to have lunch in less than thirty minutes.” Thanks to these two. “Goodbye.”
Without waiting for a response, I dragged Dahlia with me to the dining hall. Thankfully, they didn’t follow.
“They didn’t evenseeme,” Dahlia laughed. Why did she find this so funny?
