The sun finally sank behind the western horizon of the Empire, leaving behind a trail of purplish-orange light that was gradually washed away by the darkness of the night.
For the servants of the manor, the tolling bell marking the end of work hours was the sweetest melody they looked forward to all day.
The stone corridors in the rear wing, once quiet, began to fill with the sound of hurried footsteps.
Servants, both men and women, flocked back toward the dormitories to rest after a day of grueling labor.
Elena walked among the crowd of servants.
Her reddened, rough hands concealed the stinging pain in her waist and inner thighs.
With every step she took, the soreness from last night’s encounter and the torture of drawing ice-cold water earlier that afternoon seemed to consume what little strength she had left.
Yet, behind that overwhelming physical exhaustion, a faint flicker of hope burned in her chest.
That man, the arrogant Crown Prince, had acted as though nothing had happened all day long.
He had ignored her.
He had passed right by her.
‘Just a few more steps,’ Elena reassured herself, bracing her body as the doors to the women’s dormitory came into view at the end of the dimly lit corridor.
‘Once I step inside my room, I can bury my face in my pillow and pretend this nightmare is finally over.’
However, fate was not quite done playing with her destiny.
As Elena passed a gap between two massive stone pillars, just a few feet away from a group of chatterboxes, a rough, icy grip suddenly seized her wrist.
“Ah–!”
Elena didn’t even have time to process what was happening before her body was forcefully dragged into the dark alcove behind the pillars.
Before a scream could escape her throat, her back was slammed against the cold stone wall, and the imposing figure of Alexander stood directly before her, trapping her within his muscular arms.
The heavy scent of sandalwood and snow engulfed her senses instantly, shattering every mental wall she had spent all day building.
Elena’s eyes widened in sheer horror.
Just outside this dimly lit alcove, the sound of footsteps and laughter from the servants walking toward the dormitories was painfully clear.
They were mere inches away!
If even a single person glanced behind this pillar, her reputation—and her father’s safety—would be destroyed on the spot.
“Y-Your Highness?!” Elena whispered, panicked out of her mind.
Her voice trembled violently, her eyes darting frantically toward the hallway.
“What are you doing?!
Let me go!
The other servants are passing right there!”
Alexander didn’t listen.
The icy blue of his eyes now burned with an insatiable hunger.
A smirk, dangerously dominant, curled on his handsome lips.
He pressed himself closer against Elena, lowering his head until his warm breath fanned across her trembling lips.
“Let them pass,” Alexander murmured with cold arrogance.
His long fingers slithered up Elena’s neck, his thumb tracing the sharp line of her jaw.
“I’ve held back all day, Elena.
And now, I’m here to claim what’s mine.”
Alexander tilted Elena’s chin up, intent on pressing a demanding, possessive kiss right in front of the open hallway.
To Alexander, the risk of being seen by low-class servants was no crime, who would dare point a finger at the Future Ruler of the Empire?
To Elena, however, it was the absolute ruin of what little dignity she had left.
Seeing Alexander’s lips drawing closer and hearing the chatter of the servants nearing their pillar, something inside Elena abruptly snapped.
The fear that had accumulated over the past months, the agonizing physical exhaustion, the threat of her father’s execution, and the endless suffering under Clementine’s harsh words and abuse all erupted into an uncontrollable wave of despair.
Tears she had been holding back all day finally spilled down her pale cheeks.
“Let me go…” Elena whispered, her voice choked by a deep, shuddering sob.
Alexander paused.
His brows furrowed slightly as he felt the hot tears washing over his fingers.
“If you want to do it here…
if you want to humiliate me in front of everyone and destroy the last remnants of my worthless lineage…
then just kill me!”
Elena cried out in a hushed, desperate tone, her words laced with a terrifying resolve.
Her sobs grew heavier, her chest heaving as she struggled for breath.
“I’m exhausted, Your Highness!
I’m tired!
Every day I get tortured and intimidated by Clementine, insulted like trash, and now you treat me like a cheap woman in a filthy hallway?!
I’d rather die!
Kill me right now!”
Those words poured out of Elena alongside the dam break of her suffocated emotions.
She stared straight into Alexander’s blue eyes without a shred of fear.
In her amber eyes, glinting with tears, there was no longer fear of punishment–only the raw, unadulterated despair of a human being pushed to her absolute limit.
A suffocating silence fell between them.
The laughter of the servants outside gradually faded, disappearing toward the dormitories.
Alexander stood frozen.
His grip on Elena’s jaw slowly loosened.
For the first time, the notoriously ruthless and cold Crown Prince saw a different kind of defiance from the girl before him.
This wasn’t the proud resistance of a noble lady, it was the weeping scream of a soul on the brink of total collapse.
Alexander’s blue eyes flickered.
His jaw clenched tightly, as if fighting an internal battle within his mind.
He took a deep breath.
Without a single word, Alexander suddenly scooped Elena’s plump frame into his arms, lifting her effortlessly, and turned in the opposite direction—leaving the dormitory corridor behind and striding toward the most opulent wing of the manor.
Alexander’s heavy footsteps echoed through the quiet, heavily guarded corridors of the upper floor.
Standing before the grand, carved mahogany door—the Crown Prince’s private quarters—were two burly men standing in symmetrical guard, clad in armor with swords at their hips.
Alaric and Hugo.
Upon seeing the Prince approach while carrying a softly weeping servant girl, the two loyal knights showed no surprise.
With practiced motion, Alaric quickly held the heavy door open, while Hugo stood tall, rendering a full salute.
The moment Alexander stepped inside, the thick door shut tight behind them, locking out all noise from the outside world.
Behind that door, the presence of Alaric and Hugo standing guard outside offered Elena a strange sense of security.
Being inside this luxurious room with Alexander for the second time did not trigger the same overwhelming terror as last night.
Her grounded mind began to process the reality.
Though Alexander tortured her mentally with his cruel dominance and insane possessiveness…
he had never physically harmed her.
Last night, beneath his absolute control, Alexander had treated her with a bewildering gentleness.
Alexander set Elena down with utmost care on the edge of the vast, dark-gold bed.
Elena could only sit with her head bowed, clutching her coarse apron with trembling hands, letting her tears quietly soak through the fabric.
The Crown Prince did not immediately touch her aggressively.
He unclasped his lavish cloak, tossing it onto a wooden chair, then walked slowly toward Elena from behind.
Gently and with rare care, Alexander wrapped his muscular arms around Elena’s chest and waist, pulling her soft body tight against his back.
He leaned his tall frame forward, resting his solid chin upon Elena’s soft shoulder, which was draped in messy, crimson curls.
The warm, heavy sensation of Alexander’s body wrapped around Elena instantly.
Elena remained still.
She allowed his warm breath to fan across her neck, letting this suffocatingly intimate posture happen without resistance.
‘My guess was wrong…’ Elena mourned her fate with a hollow stare at the marble floor.
‘He isn’t bored at all.
What the servants said this morning was completely wrong.’
Despair crept into her chest once more, but this time it was mixed with a cold sense of rationality.
‘Maybe he won’t get bored in just one day…’ Elena thought, releasing a heavy breath.
‘Maybe it will take a week.
Or two weeks.
A man like him just needs a little more time until the thrill of my rejection completely fades.’
Elena closed her eyes tightly, offering a silent prayer in her heart.
‘I beg of you…
please return to the Imperial Palace soon.
Go back to the capital and leave this place.
The sooner he leaves, the sooner I can breathe again.’
Alexander tightened his embrace around Elena’s waist.
His long fingers began to move slowly over her stomach, slipping beneath the folds of her dress with a slow, intoxicating rhythm.
His lips trailed along her neckline, leaving warm kisses that elicited a natural reaction from her body.
Elena bit her lower lip, holding back the gasp forming in her throat.
She knew where this was heading.
Knock!
Knock!
Knock!
A firm knock on the mahogany door suddenly shattered the tension building inside the room.
Alexander’s movements froze immediately.
His fingers, busy exploring Elena’s waist, went still.
From that specific, cautious pattern of knocking, Alexander knew right away that it was Hugo, his head guard, who only dared to interrupt if there was an urgent matter of utmost importance.
A frustrated sigh escaped Alexander’s nose.
The warmth enveloping his body vanished in an instant, replaced by a cold, dangerous aura.
Alexander released his grip on Elena.
Without uttering a word, he stood tall, straightened his slightly rumpled silk shirt, and strode toward the door.
He opened the door just enough to reveal his cold face to the knight.
Outside, Hugo stood erect with a grave expression.
In his right hand, encased in a leather glove, he held a letter sealed with red wax bearing the Imperial crest—an official summons from the Central Palace.
Before handing over the letter, Hugo’s gaze accidentally slipped past Alexander’s shoulder, landing on the bed where Elena sat isolated, her hair disheveled and her clothes slightly rumpled.
For a fraction of a second, a flicker of deep sympathy shone clearly from the hard-faced guard’s eyes.
Hugo knew all too well what it felt like to be trapped under the absolute power of the Crown Prince.
Hugo bowed his head deeply, handing the letter to Alexander in silence, then stepped back and pulled the heavy door shut once more.
Alexander stood by the door.
He broke the red wax seal harshly and unfurled the parchment in his hand.
Elena watched from the bed.
She saw his deep blue eyes scan rapidly through every line written on the premium parchment.
Within seconds, the calm composure on the Prince’s face shattered to pieces.
The muscles in Alexander’s jaw clenched violently.
His gaze radiated a burning, dark fury.
“Dammit!” Alexander cursed in a low, thunderous roar.
With a movement filled with sheer frustration, Alexander crumpled the valuable letter into a ruined ball in his fist.
Without hesitation, he walked over to the candle on his desk, ignited the paper ball in the flame, and let the fire consume the vital message until it became ashes scattered over the copper tray.
The atmosphere in the room turned bone-chillingly cold.
See you in the next chapter!