DIANA
I had barely slept.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw red eyes and fangs.
And every time I drifted off, I felt his warm breath on my neck.
By morning, the strange tingling still didn’t disappear.
It only became stronger.
I sat before the vanity while Sarah and Mina worked on my hair, preparing me for the Dragon ball.
The entire palace seemed to be in chaos.
Servants rushed through the corridors, carrying flowers and decorations while noble guests continued arriving from every corner of the kingdom.
Normally I would have been fascinated.
Today, however, my thoughts kept drifting back to last night, the mark and the fact that I had almost allowed it.
The brush in my hair paused.
“Your Highness?”
I looked up and noticed Sarah was staring at my reflection.
“Hm?”
Her expression suddenly changed.
“What happened to your neck?”
My stomach dropped.
Before I could react, she lifted my hair on my neck.
Karl hadn’t successfully marked me, but the sharp tips of his fangs had pierced my skin just enough to leave a mark and it was still very sensitive.
The moment she saw the scratch, all color drained from her face.
She looked horrified.
“Princess.”
The brush slipped from Mina’s hand, her eyes widening the instant she saw it.
I tried to cover it, but Sarah caught my hand with her fingers trembling.
“Pri-princess.” She choked out.
“How… how did this happen?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but the words died in my throat.
I couldn’t exactly tell them that my cold, terrifying husband had transformed into a beast and pinned me against my bedroom door.
Mina covered her mouth, her eyes darting between the scratch and my face in horror.
Disappointment and fear clouded her expression.
“My lady, please tell me this isn’t what it looks like,” she pleaded, her voice dropping to a whisper.
“We know how lonely it must be to have a husband who ignores you.. but a lover? In the palace?”
For like three seconds, my brain stopped functioning, then I screamed.
“AN AFFAIR?”
“You cannot do this, Princess,” Sarah pressured, tears welling in her eyes as she knelt beside my chair.
“We know your marriage feels hopeless. But if the Dark Prince finds out you are seeing another man… he will kill you. He will kill both of you without a second thought!”
These ladies honestly thought I was having a scandalous affair.
The absurdity made me gasp before I could stop it.
I leaned back in my chair and laughed so hard my ribs ached.
“My lady!” Sarah cried, horrified by my reaction.
“This isn’t a joke! Your life is on the line!”
“Oh, Creator,” I gasped, wiping a tear from my cheek as my laughter finally subsided.
“Take a breath, both of you. You are losing your minds over nothing.”
“Nothing?” Mina gestured to my neck.
“That is a bite, Princess! Or a scratch from someone’s nails!”
“It’s a scratch from a zipper, Sarah,” I lied smoothly, leaning into the mirror to inspect it myself.
They exchanged a glance so I immediately seized the opportunity.
“Do you remember last night when I told you both to stay back? I was so exhausted and tried to get out of that dress that I pulled the zipper too hard.”
I looked up, giving them my most convincing smile.
“I scratched myself. I assure you, there is no secret lover.”
Sarah and Mina exchanged wary looks.
Then Sarah muttered, picking up the brush again with a sigh of relief, “You must be more careful. The court looks for any reason to ruin a woman’s reputation. Especially yours.”
To keep them from staring at my neck any longer, I reached for the platter on the vanity and began to eat the fruits in it.
I knew I couldn’t face those ruthless dragons on an empty stomach.
I needed my energy if I was going to survive the night.
Then a knock on the doors echoed through the room.
Mina walked over and opened it.
A royal servant stood in the corridor, holding a garment bag made with gold silk.
“A gift from Her Majesty, the Queen,” the servant announced, bowing low.
“For the Princess to wear at the ball tonight.”
Mina accepted the bag and the servant immediately turned and left the corridor.
When the doors clicked shut, I exchanged a tense look with my girls.
The amusement from minutes ago vanished.
Mina slowly walked over and placed the bag on the bed, opening it.
“It’s beautiful,” Sarah whispered.
“Too beautiful. Why would the Queen suddenly send you a gown? She has done nothing but look at you like an insect since we arrived.”
“She hates us,” Mina agreed grimly, her fingers hovering over the fabric.
“My lady, you shouldn’t wear this. It’s a trap. What if the fabric is poisoned? What if it’s designed to rip or cause a scandal at the ball?”
I walked over to the bed, staring down at the gown.
It was a sky blue embellished ball gown.
It was very beautiful.
“I don’t have a choice,” I muttered.
“If I reject a gift from the Queen on the morning of the grandest ball of the season, it will be viewed as me insulting her taste.”
I looked at the girls.
“We cannot give them an excuse to attack my kingdom. I will just have to be vigilant.”
The girls reluctantly agreed.
For the next hour, they carefully inspected every inch of the gown.
They checked the seams for hidden needles, smelled the fabric for toxic powders.
But everything looked perfectly intact.
It was flawless.
When they finally helped me step into the dress, the fit was terrifyingly perfect.
The corset snatched my waist effortlessly.
Thankful, the neckline cut was high enough to conceal the scratch on my neck.
With my hair styled and the blue gown hugging my body, I didn’t look like a fragile human foreigner anymore.
I looked like a dragon princess.
“Creator,” Mina breathed, her hands on her chest.
“You look… absolutely breathtaking, my lady.”
“The court won’t be able to take their eyes off you,” Sarah added, a genuine smile finally returning to her face.
“Let’s hope they are looking at the dress and not looking for a way to ruin me,” I murmured, taking one last deep breath to calm my nerves.
Then I turned away from the mirror, straightening my shoulders.
“Let’s go.”
With Sarah and Mina trailing closely behind me, I walked out of my chambers and headed down the lion’s den….well, dragons’ den.