By the time the Slaters’ and royal carriage returned to Sexton, Ruelle stepped down with a dazed look on her face.

Hermes turned to the prince and said, "Your Highness, I have an errand to attend to for the king. I shall return shortly."

"I will come with you," Edward replied, before walking off with him and the six royal guards followed them closely.

Was the errand related to her... or Kevin? Ruelle’s head had begun to ache again, her mind turning almost blank. The coachman drove the carriage away, while Ruelle and Hailey walked toward the building where their rooms were.

Hailey glanced back before asking, "Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost ever since we left the castle? I thought coming back here would brighten up your mood."

"Here," Ruelle said, handing the parchment to Hailey before making her way up the stairs.

Hailey’s eyes went wide when she opened the parchment, her mouth opening and closing. Earlier when it was time to leave, she had climbed into the carriage as if ready to bolt from the castle and never to return to notice anything outside.

"He must have some sort of ability... to restore things," Ruelle said with a sigh, before explaining what had happened during the hunt.

By the time they reached the second flight of stairs, where Hailey was to part and head to her room, they paused. The corridor was deserted.

"It’s not like the king isn’t giving you a choice. The guards alone make that clear," Hailey said in a lowered voice. She swallowed, "If I cross him, I lose my toes. If you do... Hermes or Kevin suffers for it. If Edward is serious about what he said, then just go along with the two days. It will pass before you even realise it."

Ruelle knew Hailey did not mean she had to accept the prince. Though she doubted things would go smoothly with Hermes and the guards closely watching them. Not to mention... what was she going to do about Lucian? He was nothing less than a bloodhound who could sniff her and find the truth.

"But don’t you think... he could have done worse but didn’t?" Hailey said, thinking it through. "The king, I mean. He’s probably the kind who enjoys watching people suffer. A sadis—" she caught herself quickly, "—a very generous man! Who else would show such hospitality to people like us?"

Ruelle noticed Hailey look behind her. When she turned, she caught sight of one of the royal guards making his way up the stairs.

"What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be with the prince?" Ruelle asked him.

"The prince is being served by the headguard," the halfling replied with a bow. "I will be guarding you."

Ruelle couldn’t believe the day had come when she would have a guard. It was almost laughable but then at the same time it was not.

"I don’t need it. Please return to the prince," Ruelle replied with a frown, but the guard didn’t make an attempt to move. "Fine, take me to him," and she turned to Hailey, "I will see you later," before beginning to walk down the stairs and the guard followed right away.

Walking down the three flights of stairs, Ruelle didn’t stop until she caught sight of Edward ahead. He was standing with two Elites, letting them talk while he listened.

"I hope you will allow me to join you on your next hunt, Your Highness," one of them said eagerly. "Or... if it pleases you, I could accompany you myself. In fact, a few of us are planning something after the year ends. A sea hunt. Sirens this time."

"Ha, sirens. They don’t interest me," Edward replied nonchalantly. "Bears are more of—"

"Edward," Ruelle called as she made her way towards him, pulling Edward’s attention right away as he turned to look at her. The other two Elites looked slightly taken aback with how a lowly groundling had addressed the prince.

"Shoo away. We have something important to talk about," Edward said, waving the two vampires away. Once they were alone, he turned to her.

"Can you not have your guards follow me? I am not comfortable with that," Ruelle said, holding his gaze.

"I thought, with the way you ran into trouble with the debt collectors and the minister, it might do you some good," Edward reasoned, his tone almost innocent, as if he meant nothing more than to look out for her.

"Thank you for your kind thought, but with the guard following, it feels like I have done something wrong. I would appreciate it if you would just... listen to me once," Ruelle replied, closing her eyes.

"Kai, stay outside the building, no need to follow her. You can leave," Edward ordered and the guard obliged with bow, before leaving them alone.

Ruelle’s eyes opened and she looked back at him. She murmured, "Thank you..."

"Ruelle," Edward called her name and Ruelle blinked, as his voice seemed softer than his usual loud one. "I would never do anything that makes you uncomfortable. I will listen to you. You are ready, right?" he asked, a grin forming. "For tomorrow and the day after. Those days are mine."

Slightly worried, she asked, "Is it necessary?"

"Well," Edward tilted his head, still confident, "unless you’re telling me you’re afraid of falling for me. Are you? I mean, I do have quite a personality, it is very hard for people to resist."

Ruelle considered his words and asked, "And you promise to talk to the king if things don’t turn out in your favour...?"

"I promise," Edward replied with a solemn look before he smiled. "I will help you with anything."

"For now... just make sure Kevin is safe," Ruelle said and he gave her a nod. "I should return to the room now." Excusing herself, she left the place without being followed by the guard this time.

When she returned to the room, she didn’t find Lucian there. Everything was fine, she told herself. There was nothing to worry about. Closing the door behind her, she walked to her trunk to gather her clothes as she had remained in the same dress for the entire day. The weather being cold, it still kept her body and clothes fresh.

It was then she heard soft footsteps from the other side of the divider, slow and familiar, before Lucian stepped into view.

A white towel was wrapped low around his waist, another resting around his neck. He caught one end and ran it through his damp hair, slow while his gaze was fixed on her.

There was something about Lucian like this... with his hair still damp, the water trailing down the line of his neck. Before her eyes would go lower, she looked away.

"I am back..." She said softly but Lucian didn’t respond right away. She continued, "We had a good time at the fair and the castle. It was my first time visiting the castle. There was a lot of crowd but the food there was...delicious," her voice trailed.

"Was it," she heard Lucian remark.

Ruelle nodded in acknowledgement, bringing her clothes closer to her chest.

"Must have been memorable if you’re talking without me asking," Lucian hummed. "Especially with the blood on your skirt."

Claude had told him! But she doubted the coachman had heard anything from within the castle. Because from what she knew, halflings didn’t have super hearing like pureblooded vampires.

"It isn’t mine, I swear. It was the blood that was served at breakfast..." Ruelle replied and when she glanced at him, she caught one corner of his lips curl. Shifting the subject, she pulled the clothbag from her pocket. "I... brought something for you. From the fair," she cleared her throat, as it was from his own money.

She loosened the bag and fished with her fingers before pulling out the silver chain, the flat pendant catching the light faintly. She stepped toward him and extended her hand.

"I thought it would look good on you. But you don’t have to wear it. You can keep it in the drawer—"

Her words faltered when she saw Lucian pull the towel from around his neck.

He stepped closer. Not enough to touch but enough to steal her breath. He bent slightly, bringing himself to level with her, his damp hair still clinging faintly at his temples.

"Help me with it."

Ruelle swallowed, her fingers tightening around the chain.

Her gaze dropped to the chain as she unhooked it, her hands slightly unsteady. The unsteadiness was different to how she felt last evening. When she looked up, she caught his unwavering gaze on her.

Lifting her hands up with the chain, she stepped closer to him, the distance between them vanishing too quickly. The metal lightly brushed his skin before she reached behind his neck, trying to hook the chain—

"Ruelle."

His breath brushed her neck, and her skin reacted before she could stop it. "Is there something you’re leaving out..."