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━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━
sᴇʀᴇɴᴀ |
A few days had passed since the banquet, but the weight of everything that happened still lingered in my mind. I lay lazily on the couch in my room, feeling the cool sensation of something sticky and soothing being applied to my face. Mira, as usual, was doing her best to make me "glow" or whatever it was she always blabbered on about. I didn’t care much about what was going on my skin. All I knew was that it felt oddly refreshing.
“It’s made from the gel of the aloe vera plant,” Mira said as she dabbed the cool substance over my cheeks, her tone focused, almost professional. “I swear, Your Highness, this will make your skin radiant!”
I rolled my eyes beneath the weight of the mask but let her do her thing. Mira was relentless when it came to beauty treatments, and even though I didn’t want to admit it, the face masks she applied made my skin softer. And maybe... I kind of liked it.
"Did you read the new book that was released last week?" Mira suddenly asked, her voice breaking the comfortable silence in the room. Excitement lit me up immediately. “Yes! I finished it in a day,” I replied with enthusiasm. “It was absolutely worth the wait. The plot, the twists, everything. I couldn’t put it down!”
Mira smiled, clearly pleased by my excitement. "I have heard rumours, there might be a side story releasing soon" We chatted briefly about the book, laughing over our favorite parts, when she abruptly changed the subject, a curious tone creeping into her voice.
“Your Highness... I still don’t understand how you managed to sneak back in the other night. The security was tight, especially with the banquet going on. Mrs. Glory and I were so terrified that we were this close to telling His Majesty you were missing. But then, suddenly, you just... returned.” Mira raised a brow as if waiting for me to spill my secrets. I smirked, completely unfazed. “Oh, Sir Lucian helped me.”
The room fell silent. Mira paused, her fingers frozen mid-air, the cool gel forgotten as her eyes went wide. “Sir Lucian?” she asked, her voice dripping with disbelief. “The hero of the war?” I nodded casually. “Yes, him.”
Mira blinked, clearly still processing what I had just said. She continued, her shock palpable. “The same Lucian who every knight fears because of his... reputation?” I laughed lightly, amused by her reaction. “Why are you so shocked?”
Mira resumed applying the mask to my face, though her hands were a little less steady now. “It’s just... hard to believe. As you know, my brother is a knight, and from what he’s told me, Lucian is a bloodthirsty warrior. They say he’s feared even by those who fight beside him. His presence alone is enough to terrify his enemies.”
I stayed silent for a moment, absorbing her words. A bloodthirsty knight. That wasn’t the Lucian I knew. Sure, he was fierce, even intimidating at times, but there was something more beneath that exterior. Something... different.
