Villainess Loves

Part 6

"I need to speak with Henry, to make sure he knows what I want." I clarify. My father's eyes shine in understanding and he bolts out of the room like he was never there. I quickly stand up and grab Henry's arm to drag him down to sit next to me. His muscles are tight and firm in my hand. Dang.

He flinches from my sudden touch but follows my actions and sits down next to me.

"So Henry, to reiterate." I start.

"I need a bodyguard or a personal knight as you said, to protect me during my time to break off my engagement with my fiance, the second Prince Orion. I need someone to watch over me as I will most likely be staying at the royal castle for a period of time for the engagement process. I will also need to collect evidence against the prince to support my case as it is my word against his. Living at the castle will allow me easy access to his various rendezvouses with his lover." I explain. Henry seems a little confused by my sudden explanations but I ignore him and continue.

"There are always dangers going on in the royal castle so having a trusted and dedicated knight with me at all times is reassuring and necessary for my safety. With me technically still the prince's fiance, I will surely be a good target for many. Jealous women, corrupted officials, opposing factions, etc. The usual." I list.

"I will be meeting with Prince Orion tomorrow to discuss the engagement and hopefully come to an agreement to break it off smoothly. It would be nice to use the excuse of our sudden broken engagement to avoid the upcoming party for the returning crown prince as it would create an awkward scene if an ex-fiance attends her ex-fiance's brother's return party. I personally don't want to attend any sort of public event after a big change in social relations. It's just asking for a disaster. But I don't have high hopes for this. So I will need a lover to help reduce the embarrassment if I can't avoid the party." I take a quick breath.

"The king may not be willing to suddenly break off the engagement since it would affect his political goals and it is hard to avoid attending a party hosted by the royal family. I can't really say no if they openly express their desire for my attendance. That would create a lot of problems. So if I appear with a lover at the party, it would give me and Prince Orion a way out of our engagement since I'm betting he doesn't want to reveal his affair first."

I look at him to make sure he's still with me, finding that he is staring at me. His stare is almost too much, so I glance away from his eyes. Why is he looking at me like that? I clear my throat.

"Ahem, anyways, your first appearance should be when I meet up with the prince, which is tomorrow. Any questions?" I finished.

Henry is still staring at me, his eyes slightly squinting. I wonder if he needs glasses. I try to picture him and almost got a nosebleed. Too much!

"This is quite an elaborate plan." His deep voice wakes me from my fantasies. Shoot. Wait, what does that mean?
"What does that mean?" I tilt my head in confusion.

"I didn't think the young mistress is interested in breaking off her engagement, and in such a fashion." He slowly speaks.

"I found out that my fiance has another lover, and I don't want to be on the receiving end. I would rather be the one to make the first move." I state.

"But I don't hate him, and I don't want to anger the royal family, so I tried to think of a way for both parties to leave with the least amount of consequences," I add on. Henry nods.

"How nice of you to do so." Because he speaks slowly, I feel like I'm hanging onto every single word, waiting for the next, until I realize that he's stopped speaking.

"So Henry, are you actually okay with doing this? I don't want to force you into anything that you feel uncomfortable doing." I feel a little guilty forcing this on him. Especially when his initial reaction was to leave. I assumed he was going to leave earlier but had to stop because I entered and probably thought it would have been rude to leave without being properly dismissed now that both my father and I are here.

"At first. But I'm interested now." His words surprise me. My eyes light up and I grasp his big hands.

"Wow! Really?" I'm happy dancing in my head.

"Why not?" He shrugs.