my next life as a villainess, all routes lead to doom x fem!oc [Book 2]

The royal palace!?

Today was a day off from the Magic Academy so Kiana, as usual, wished that the day would go according to her plan. Her mother was in the living room, probably cleaning the tables and chairs. It was going great so far, she read a few pages of an action novel, had a nice warm bath and baked homemade vanilla cookies. She was enjoying the peace and quiet atmosphere as she hummed a tune to herself, while taking out the freshly baked cookies. She took a sniff at them and her eyes immediately sparkled with joy at how good it smelled. 'Waahh it smells delicious! Glad I baked a ton~' She thought to herself while carefully placing the tray on the dining table, before taking off her red oven mitts. After placing all the cookies in a plate, she stared at them with a proud face, because she managed to bake them perfectly without burning them.

'Gah! I can't hold myself back anymore!! Nothing could ruin this heavenly moment..I'm just gonna take a bite!' She thought to herself as she hold the cookie near her mouth, before opening her mouth to eat it. "YAH KIANA! YOUR BOYFRIEND IS HERE, AND WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT YOU WERE IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH SUCH A HANDSOME MAN?" Her mom suddenly barged in with a huge smile on her face. This made Kiana pause in confusion, before her mom took the cookie in her hand and ate it. "M-MOM! I WAS GOING TO EAT THA-" Kiana said with wide eyes, before her mother cut her off. "Shush shush! Don't make your boyfriend wait at the door, He wants to take you somewhere. Ooo this cookie is good-Now shoo!" Her mom said as she pushed Kiana to the living room. "B-but my cookies-" "Leave them to me, gosh. Just go!" Kiana's mom cut off Kiana, before successfully pushing Kiana out of the house. 

Kiana stared at the closed door with a deadpanned expression. She looked down at herself wearing a pink cat apron in disbelief. She heard someone cough awkwardly behind her, so she spun around and saw Alan in a casual attire with a small blush on his face, as he stared down at her pink cat apron. "A-ALAN? OH MY-" Kiana blurted out, before looking down at her pink cat apron once again. She quickly took it off and put it on a window outside her house in embarrassment. "You didn't tell me you were coming here-" She said while scratching the back of her head awkwardly. "Ah- right..sorry for showing up unexpectedly. ALSO! I didn't tell your mother that I was your boyfriend or anything! S-she just assumed, since I told her that I was looking for you.." Alan said while putting his hands in his pant's pockets, before looking away. "Oh. It's ok, my mom is always assuming a lot of stuff..This is the first time that a male shows up to our house and asks to bring me somewhere, so I shouldn't be surprised that she thought you were my boyfriend." Kiana said while laughing a bit. 

Alan smiled when he heard Kiana's laugh. "Anyways..where did you want to take me?" Kiana said after she stopped laughing. "Oh right, to my resident." Alan replied casually. Kiana froze, half confused and half nervous. "W-wait- isn't that the royal palace?" Kiana replied back. Alan nodded at her question. "Yeah. Don't worry, we'll be back before night falls." He replied, before grabbing her hand and pulled her inside the carriage. "But my attire! It's not fit to go to the palace??" She asked, nervous at the fact that people at the palace might look down on her because of what she's wearing. "Oh, that's not a problem. You don't need to care about that, silly. Alan said, before ordering the carriage man to take them back to the palace. They sat beside each other in the carriage as Kiana sighed. 

"If you say so, why are we even going to the palace?" Kiana asked again, before gently combing her hair with her hands, since she had no brush. She was glad that she wasn't wearing her pajamas and wearing a bit of makeup. "We can hang out there...I'll teach you how to play piano and um..show you around the gardens?" Alan said, realizing that he was unsure of what to do with Kiana when they arrive at the palace. "Hm, okay then! Sounds good." Kiana replied while looking out the window of the carriage. After about an hour, they arrived at the palace. Alan got out of the carriage first and held his hand out for Kiana, who was still inside. She gladly took it and Alan helped her down the carriage. They went inside and Alan was greeted by many servants, as well as giving curious looks to Kiana. Kiana followed Alan as they turned multiple corners and passed some hallways. Alan finally stopped at a big door, before opening it.