In Sickness And In Health (Yandere M. Genius x F. Reader x Yandere M. Prince)

Chapter 50: Deer In The Headlights

(Y/n) already had a goal in mind as she marched directly through the rose garden, Sona trailing right behind her after he'd been powered on again. She was going to go to Orion, seduce him into letting her tag along with his father, and then she was going to ward them away from her home. It didn't really matter to her how much energy or how many resources she had to expend to do that. It just had to be done quickly before anyone discovered something important. On her way to the orange-haired prince, she, by no surprise, ran into his obnoxious knight. Though she did her best to ignore him as maturely as she could (by throwing him nasty glares), he suddenly fell to his knees in front of her.

It was a guilty pleasure watching him on the ground like that, for both her and Sona. That was the only reason she decided on hearing him out, crossing her arms over her chest to get him talking. He rambled on and on about something or other. Truth be told, she wasn't paying close attention. Why would she? Only now, when he clearly needed something from her, did he show her any kind of courtesy. All that she was thinking about was how, even despite the respect he showed, there was still an annoying look in his eyes that was cursing her. He occasionally darted his eyes over at Sona to give him a similar look.

"So, please. Please help," the knight implored, finally becoming silent before he noticed the blank look on her face, "Would it kill you to care about other people's issues? Do you even know how to care about others?"

"Do you even know how to ask a favor?"

Presley shut up. He didn't stop glaring at her, probably thinking of all the little schemes he could pull to get her kicked out of the palace. However, he did shut up. That was the most important thing. At least, it was for her. Maybe it was because of all the constant harping he did on her, but she had come to really dislike his voice, equating it to a fork on glass. It was not an unattractive voice in the conventional sense, but it definitely was to her. Presley lost his chance to be attractive when he chose to stand against her.

"I get the gist of it," the girl sighed, playing mindlessly with one of the royal roses to the male's chagrin, "But I don't see why I should help you. In case you haven't noticed - which I doubt - I don't like you."

"I'm not asking you to kill someone. It's only to give them the opportunity to talk."

"Killing someone would be easier," she muttered, rolling her eyes, "Well, fine. I could do it, but never for free."

"You're doing something for a close friend of yours and you're asking for compensation?"

"Orion's not asking. You are. And last I checked, you have a pretty hefty net worth, so you can definitely spare me something. If you really care about it, that is."

She definitely made him mad with that, testing his loyalty. Though he didn't seem to care much about material things, she did, so only when he offered her a decent prize - money and his silence for three full days of her choosing - did she accept. Much to her disdain, the knight then followed her on her way to see the prince. Sona made sure he was the one right behind the younger girl, an almost petty action. Whenever the knight got too close, the android would stall his steps, forcing him to back down. It was like he was brake-checking him.

Atlas practically jumped to open the door for everyone, beaming at the (h/c) haired girl. He welcomed her inside mostly, paying little to no mind to the others. Orion was not there, confusing her, but the head servant assured her that he would be back soon. In the meantime, he served her all kinds of desserts and drinks, strangely excited for her presence. Maybe he was just a smiley person. She didn't know him all that well yet; not enough to make assumptions on his behavior, in particular.

Just as the male had claimed, the boy returned shortly thereafter, carrying some flowers in his arms. He flinched as he saw (Y/n), but soon gave a bubbly smile, passing off the plants to Atlas, who was quick to place one of them in Sona's hair spontaneously before putting the rest in a vase. He arranged them silently, trying to make them as appealing as possible. Fortunately, because the royal palace's flowers were always top quality, they looked beautiful no matter what. At least, he thought so.