378 I Will Sleep Here Tonight
‘Did I do it just because she requested me so she can repay my favour or was it my own greed of living among people after so long? Was I tired of living alone?’
Remembering how she made friends with her fellow servants within the Queen’s residence, Esther smiled fondly. ‘Seems like it or I would not have accepted her request so easily. And now I am getting used to life here in this kingdom. Did I abandon everything just to see this day?’
Esther remembered the times she spent serving Queen Theodora, and among them, she especially remembered those times when a certain young prince was present as well.
‘After living in isolation for more than a century, why did I decide to follow these people and come here? Was there any meaning to it? I never had the urge to mix among people before but why this time? It’s almost been a year since I came to the capital, and I still wish to live here and be in touch with these people. What will happen when the day comes that I have to leave? Will I even want to leave?’
She left out a helpless sigh as she murmured to herself, “Why am I so attached to this place and—”
All of a sudden, the sound of her door slamming open echoed within her bedchamber. Just as she turned around to see who entered her room in such a rude manner, the reproving words in her mind disappeared, and the hanging sentence she was mumbling earlier finished itself in her mind.
‘—and why am I attached to this man? Why do I want to be with him? What’s there that keeps pulling me towards him? Could it be that this man is the reason I came to this kingdom?’
While she was staring at him with those eyes that reminded him of sweet melted caramel, Prince Theron stepped towards the dazed woman, unaware of the bundle of untangled thoughts inside her mind. The moment he saw her, he only had one thing in mind and that was to go to her and hold her in his embrace. His body acted on its own and after leaving the lamp on a nearby table, he walked towards her and hugged her tightly.
All the thoughts and questions in Esther’s chaotic mind disappeared the moment she found herself in that warm and protective embrace. She could not help but wrap her own arms around him and hug him back.
When he decided to come unannounced tonight, Prince Theron was initially planning to tease her as he thought it would be fun to see her flustered. He also thought it would be a befitting punishment since this elusive maiden dared to make him yearn for her dearly by not returning to the palace, but the moment he saw her, his mind forgot everything. He just wanted to hold her in his embrace, like a soldier who had spent years away due to war and had returned home to his sweet wife to heal his weary soul.
Prince Theron hugged her tightly, as if trying to memorize the shape of her body. Against the dim light coming from the lamp, he felt like her presence was a dream, but he knew it wasn’t a dream and she was there for real. Tracing the tip of his nose against the soft curve of her neck, he softly inhaled the sweet scent coming from her skin, and only then could he calm down. With great reluctance, he let her go and gazed at her beautiful face, his dark eyes filled with longing staring deeply into her caramel eyes.
Esther snapped back to her senses as soon as he pulled away. “P-Prince Theron, why are you here?”
“Because I missed you,” he replied, not hesitating even a bit.
Esther had no response to such a sincere answer and felt a loss for words. This man was sure to be straightforward, true to his feelings.
Esther took a step away from him and said while struggling with words, “I…believe…Prince Theron loves to tease me.”
Prince Theron covered that one step distance, moving closer to her as he slightly bent his body to stare at eye level with her. Her hesitant eyes kept avoiding his gaze, and it caused him to smile inside. “Do you really believe so?”
She nodded and took a step back once more, but there was no more space behind her and she bumped into the window sill. She gulped as she realized she was cornered. The tall man in front of her had already removed the remaining distance between them, with his handsome face leaning close to hers.
“Then…do you like my teasing?” His gaze moved across her flushed face as he almost pressed his body against hers. The loose strands of her honey-blond hair moved along the sudden gust of wind that entered through the window, brushing against his face. He caressed those loose strands and tucked them behind her ear, intentionally touching his fingers along the edge of her earlobe as he whispered seductively, “So you like it, my lady?”
Esther gulped and managed to say, “Your Highness…It’s late…You should return to the palace.”
His playful fingers moved from her ear towards her neck, tracing along the smooth curve as if to appreciate the soft skin that looked more and more crimson with every passing second. He spoke while keeping his eyes locked into hers, “I wouldn’t have come here so late if I had planned to return. It’s your fault for not returning to the palace and making me come here late at night. You have committed another grave sin for having disturbed a royalty’s sleep. So now you have to make up for it. Yes, you need to add another punishment to your growing list, my lady.”
“Huh?” She didn’t know what he exactly meant. ‘Not like I asked you to come here.’
He let go of her and took a step back. “I will sleep here tonight.”
It shocked her. “Sleep? Here? How can that be—-“
Even before she could come out of her shock, Prince Theron already removed his outer robe and put it on Esther’s hands. The man, only wearing his inner shirt and pants, went towards her bed. After removing his shoes, he lay on the bed leisurely, as if he was perfectly at home.
He looked at the woman holding his robe, unmoving like a statue by the window. “Since my sleep has been disturbed, I believe Baroness Esther will help me sleep peacefully for the remainder of the night.”