INDULGENCE - KILLER X READER (Medieval AU)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Last Resort

"This is hideous. Positively ghastly. I refuse to wear such a thing. Absolutely not."

"Oh, but Your Grace, my lovely, beautiful Princess (Y/N), Lord Doffy insists! He truly insists! You must wear this dress!" Doflamingo's advisor, Trebol, clapped his hands together, grinning as the seamstresses forced me to do a spin.

"You can tell your Lord that he has vile taste, then. I look like a pile of folded linen." I did not really care what I looked like, as I was hardly trying to impress anyone, but this dress was a personal attack, if ever I had seen one.

Ruffles and folds, inches of lace and ribbon, and I could hardly take a breath with the tight, boned corset around my middle, cinched to its limit.
"Now now, Your Grace. I must insist that you cut back on this attitude. What harm will one day of this bring, hmm?" Lucci spoke up, though his face told me he thought it was just as horrid as I did.

"I shall garner the reputation Princess of Laundry if I am seen in this. I hate it. This is cruelty of the highest degree." Huffing, but deciding to shut up about the issue, I stomped back towards the privacy panels, nearly dragging the seamstresses along with me.

"May I have a moment with the Princess?" I heard Lucci's request, and everyone in the room hurried off, even Trebol, to my surprise. Everyone except Killer, who remained still as stone by the closed door. "Your Grace, I know this is hard for you, but you really need to-"

"If you are about to say that I need to do my duty, or quit vocalising my turmoil, I swear I will slap you, Lucci. Do not test me right now." Back in my original dress, I stepped out from behind the screen and narrowed my eyes, though the man hardly seemed to care.

"It would not be the first, nor the last time, but that wasn't exactly my point. May I speak, or will I be receiving a slap?" He waited, brow raised, until I motioned for him to continue. "I was going to say that you need to tread with caution. This is not fair on you, I get that, but Lord Donquixote is-"

"I swear, if you say he is crucial for the kingdom, I wi-" My lips zipped shut when Lucci jabbed his finger in my face, my eyes almost crossing from the close proximity.
"Dangerous. Yes, he's a strong ally to have, but first and foremost, he's a dangerous man. Really, Your Grace, is it that difficult to let me finish a sentence? Honestly..."

Sometimes, yes...

Sighing, I knocked his hand away from my face and walked to the window, looking out at the dark clouds making their way towards Marineford.
"I know that. He attempted to take me in the bathroom at the celebratory dinner the other night. Father was not pleased that I ordered Killer between us."

I glanced to the reflection in the glass, seeing Lucci turn to look between Killer and myself.
"I...was not aware of that occurrence..." He murmured, sounding quite displeased by the information. "Your Grace, I apologise. No woman, much less a Princess, should have to experience such a thing.."

Slowly, I allowed my head to loll forward, the glass pane cold against my forehead.
"What are you to be sorry for? You were not the one to choose such a vile devil as my husband. Unless you did have a hand in it...in which case I should request Killer to clean your head from your shoulders."

I was not particularly cruel, but seeing Lucci flinch when Killer made a show of reaching for his blades was rather entertaining. Perhaps I would have laughed if I had been in higher spirits.
"I assure you, Your Grace, I had no part in selecting Lord Donquixote as King Consort. That was entirely your father's doing."

That hardly surprises me.

Finally turning from the window, I looked Lucci up and down. As sharp as he looked at all hours, I knew him, and I could tell that he was telling the truth.
"Tell me, Lucci, is it not tradition for the King Consort to gift his bride with whatever they desire, as their first duty as a royal?"