crown of the heart

chapter 4

working in the palace had been nothing short of fantastic. delilah had started to get close with maya and amira, and she was starting to get used to the workload too.

right now, maya and delilah were heading to meet amira in the garden where they would be spending their break.

delilah’s eyes lit up when she spotted yeosang down the corridor. he always just seemed to be there.

there as in everywhere.

“hi, yeosang!” delilah called out cheerfully, waving her hand.

yeosang glanced over and, to delilah’s delight, returned the smile with a nod.

“delilah.” he greeted warmly.a

maya, who had been walking just behind them, suddenly stepped forward with a look of concern.

“oh, delilah. i almost forgot. did you get a chance to clean the library?” she said with a hint of urgency.

delilah stopped in her tracks, feeling a bit confused.

“the library? no, i didn’t realize i was supposed to clean it.”

maya's face softened into a sympathetic smile.

“yes, well, i was meant to handle it, but i forgot and something urgent just came up that i need to take care of before lunch. do you think you could take over for me? it shouldn’t take too long.”

“sure, i'll take care of it.”

after quickly grabbing the cleaning supplies from the supply closet, delilah   headed towards the library. as she entered, she was immediately struck by the beauty of the room. tall bookshelves lined the walls, filled with rows upon rows of books.

she started by dusting the shelves, handling each book as if it were a precious stone. one particular book caught her attention. the cover was decorated with intricate gold designs, and delilah couldn’t help but admire it. she gently lifted it and scanned the cover, wondering what fascinating stories lie on the pages.

her fingers traced the spine of the book as she wondered about the world within.

“what secrets do you hold?” she whispered, flipping open the book to the first page.

in her distraction, her arm brushed against a stack of books, and before she could react, they tumbled to the floor with a resounding thud. panic set in as she scrambled to gather them.

“careful.” a smooth voice said behind her, laced with amusement.

delilah’s breath caught in her throat and she turned slowly to find none other than the prince standing there, his gaze fixed on her with a mix of curiosity and intrigue.

'why is he always lingering?'

heat rushed to delilah's cheeks as she fumbled with the books, avoiding his gaze.

“i’m so sorry, your highness. i was just-“

seonghwa stepped closer and began helping her pick up the fallen books. his presence was both overwhelming and oddly comforting. delilah froze for a moment, unsure of how to react.

“you seem pretty interested in that book. are you interested in reading it someday?” he asked gently and delilah blinked in surprise.

“oh, not all, your highness.” she replied quickly, trying to hide her embarrassment. “i can’t read anyway. i was just curious about the stories inside, is all.”

an awkward silence stretched between them. seonghwa’s expression was unreadable as he continued helping with the books. he finally broke the silence.