Chapter 2.2

“Is it because I’ve been staying at home? Nothing unusual happened today.”  

Watching the sun set outside the window, Muriel felt relieved.  

The day before yesterday and yesterday had been filled with unusual events, making her secretly anxious, but fortunately, today was uneventful.  

“Miss Muriel, flowers have arrived.”  

The head maid, smiling brightly, came in holding a beautiful bouquet of roses.  

“Who sent them?”  

“Oh my, of course, it’s Young Master Elexion!”  

The bouquet, composed of roses in various hues harmoniously arranged, was unique and exceptionally beautiful. Though she received such gifts three or four times a month, flowers always brought joy whenever they arrived.  

Muriel inhaled the fragrance of the flowers with delight and discovered a card tucked inside.  

Elexion knew well that tomorrow was the day she would go to the royal palace for work. The card contained an invitation to leave work together at the same time.  

‘Romantic, sentimental, unchanged.’  

As usual, Muriel arranged the flowers and placed them in a vase in her room.  

“Tomorrow is the issue. If something unexpected happens at the royal palace, it’ll be difficult to handle.”  

While she could freely move around the Duke’s estate, the carriage, and her own home, the royal palace was a different matter.  

Even when she went to the palace for work, she always had to stay alert and on edge. In romance fantasy stories, the royal palace, or the imperial palace, was where the most episodes occurred.  

Muriel resolved to remain vigilant from the moment she left her house tomorrow.

***  

“Lady Lake, your engagement ceremony was truly splendid.”  

“Thank you, Princess.”  

“It’s a pity I had to leave at eight in the evening.”  

Muriel and the palace maids smiled faintly at the princess’s sulky remark.  

Tall for her age, the princess appeared more mature than her years, but she was only fifteen. According to the kingdom’s law, she had to leave before the time alcohol was served, which was eight-thirty in the evening.  

True to the royal family’s reputation for beauty, the princess was also stunningly beautiful. Moreover, being raised by the virtuous King and Queen, her character was equally admirable.  

After assisting with the princess’s private lessons and dining together, Muriel found herself in a tricky situation during the afternoon tea time.  

As soon as they recharged their energy with sweet cakes and pastries, the noble ladies seated around the table bombarded her with questions.  

Since the Crown Prince had married three years ago, the most eligible bachelor in the kingdom was none other than Elexion Fredior, the leader of the Five Knight Orders.  

Though she had anticipated this, the amount of envy-filled questions from the noble ladies exceeded her expectations.  

Responding with elegant poise, she gave prepared answers and then sipped her tea to soothe her dry throat.  

“Lady Lake, you attended the same academy as Sir Fredior, didn’t you?”  

“Yes. Although we majored in different fields.”  

“I don’t have anyone as remarkable as Sir Fredior among my playmates. Do you think I’ll meet someone like him at the academy?”  

“Many students come from abroad to study there. If you look carefully, I’m sure you’ll find at least one.”  

At the Royal Academy in the capital, students could choose between living in dormitories or commuting. Boldly, the princess had chosen to live in the dormitories.  

Thus, starting next spring, the Princess’s Palace would be empty. She had even declared that she wouldn’t return to the palace on weekends if possible.  

Therefore, Muriel’s role as a close maid to the princess would end this year.

***  

After tea time ended, it was time for everyone to leave work.  

When Elexion, dressed in the knight order’s uniform, approached the Princess’s Palace, the maids hiding behind pillars and doors held their breath.  

‘I’m envious.’  

‘So envious. Did Lady Lake save the country in her past life?’  

‘He looks so handsome today, sob.’  

After lifting his cousin, the princess, high into the air and then setting her down, Elexion took Muriel’s hand and left work together.  

“Xion, how many people are hiding in the bushes today?”  

“Thirty-two.”  

“Looks like some even came from other palaces.”  

The average staff count residing in the Princess’s Palace was twenty-eight. Muriel shook her head in disbelief.  

As the quintessential healing romance fantasy male protagonist, Elexion was immensely popular. During his academy days, he received confession letters every month.  

Even after officially getting engaged, his popularity hadn’t diminished.  

“Muriel, over there…”  

“I’m fine. Don’t mind it. It’s not your fault. What can you do about being born handsome?”  

“Once we’re married, this won’t happen anymore.”  

“Xion, even if you paint a watermelon’s rind gray, it’s still a watermelon. Everyone knows it’s a delicious fruit.”  

In other words, even if he married Muriel and became a married man, the number of people hiding in the bushes might decrease, but it wouldn’t drop to zero.  

Elexion understood this. Though Muriel often seemed carefree and cheerful, she was incredibly wise, and her words were never wrong.  

“Hmm, are we taking the new carriage?”  

“The small and fast two-seater carriage was taken by Father.”  

Fortunately, it was dark all around. Muriel hurried into the carriage to hide her flushed face.  

Unfortunately, today’s carriage was the same one they had shared a passionate moment in just a few days ago.  

The long fingers dripping with fluid, the flushed n*pples adorned with traces of his essence, the relentless hands pressing and rubbing her cl*toris without mercy.  

From the moment she became aware of it, her back stiffened unnecessarily. She tried to hide her fidgeting hands in her skirt folds, but her face had already turned crimson beyond concealment.  

‘What do I do, what do I do? How do I handle this!’  

Before she could come up with a solution, Elexion took his seat.  

“Oh?”  

Right next to Muriel.

***  

“…Why?”  

Cold sweat trickled down.  

“Muriel, are you feeling unwell?”  

Now that she thought about it, she was the only one flustered, while Elexion seemed completely calm.  

As always, he examined Muriel’s face with a kind and gentle expression, as if nothing had happened.  

“No, it’s nothing.”  

“Boring.”  

—Then we shall depart.  

Henry’s voice echoed, and the carriage slowly began to move.  

Muriel wished Henry would hurry up, as staying in this carriage too long would only remind her of that incident.  

Elexion’s hand suddenly slipped into her skirt folds, boldly reaching in to hold her hand. Though she wanted to say something, his touch was so plain and innocent that she merely blinked.  

Elexion crossed his legs and tilted his head toward her, his gentle eyes blinking like a docile calf, as if asking if something was wrong. This only made Muriel’s cheeks flush again.  

Muriel pulled back the curtains and looked outside. Just as her heated face began to cool, Elexion’s brown eyes reflected in the window. She dropped her gaze.  

She felt like crying. What was she doing, making such a fuss all by herself?  

‘I’m like this, but why is Xion so composed? Isn’t he embarrassed?’  

Seeing Muriel struggling, Elexion lightly tapped her soft palm, which had only ever held needles for embroidery.  

“Are you really okay? You’ve been acting strange since earlier.”  

“No, it’s nothing… But doesn’t the carriage feel unusually slow today?”  

“Does it? Maybe it’s because the evening traffic has crowded the main roads.”

“Indeed, it’s time for everyone to leave work.”

Muriel sighed in relief, thinking she had successfully changed the subject, but a chill ran down her spine. The moment a firm fingertip grazed her palm, her back stiffened. Soon, a tickling sensation twisted her entire body.

“Xion!”

“Yes?”

“What are you—ah! Hahaha!”

She burst into laughter, shaking uncontrollably. However, she couldn’t escape Elexion’s large hands. Instead, he targeted even her most sensitive spots, leaving her completely helpless.

“No, stop!”

Muriel let out a shriek, laughing so hard she seemed on the verge of losing her breath. Xion was laughing too. Seeing his playful expression after so long caused all of her defenses to crumble.

As a child, Xion often played such pranks, so he knew Muriel’s weaknesses all too well. Perhaps he understood them even better than Muriel herself.

“Ah! Haa…. Ugh? Aaack! Hahaha!”

As she was relentlessly tickled, Muriel suddenly found herself pinned beneath Elexion.

“What is this!”

Her laughter faded as tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. The only sound she could hear was the gentle vibration of the carriage wheels rolling slowly. Everything around her was eerily quiet.

“Xion?”

It was then that she realized the position they were in. Her face flushed as she tried to sit up quickly, but the golden glow of the sunset filtering through the slightly open curtains reflected in his eyes, making them gleam yellow.

She wasn’t a prey, yet she couldn’t move.

His lips approached hers slowly, and she could do nothing but accept the solid weight of his masculine body pressing down on her.

Without even the smallest friction sound, their lips met calmly. Unlike before, the sensation of his lips sucking hers slowly made Muriel’s body feel strange.

How could she describe this? Was her chest tightening? Was her body trembling?

“Will you allow me?”

Whatever it was, Muriel’s answer to Elexion’s low question was already decided.