“Aha…
it seems something rather interesting is happening here.”
Elena immediately looked up, her eyes filled with desperate hope.
“Please, Your Highness…
save me!”
The two vile gardeners panicked instantly, scrambling to pull their clothes back on.
They looked utterly petrified, as if they had just seen a ghost.
Meanwhile, Elena hurriedly gathered her torn clothes, trying to put them back on with what little strength she had left.
At that exact moment, Alexander unclasped his royal cloak, stepped toward Elena, and draped it gently over her trembling shoulders.
Their eyes locked.
It was as if time slowed to a crawl.
Alexander’s striking blue eyes stared down with intense scrutiny, while Elena’s honey-brown eyes gazed back, pooling with sheer despair.
“Are you all right?” Alexander asked.
His voice was laced with a tenderness that crept deep into Elena’s fracturing soul.
Slowly, Elena shook her head before lowering it once more.
Her hands gripped the edges of Alexander’s cloak tightly.
Alexander, however, kept his hands resting lightly on her shoulders, giving them a reassuring squeeze.
“Your Highness, please have mercy on us!
That witch…
she seduced us!!!” one of the gardeners shrieked.
The agonizing cries of the men being beaten by Alexander’s personal guards shattered the atmosphere.
It only fueled Alexander’s irritation.
With his hands still resting on Elena’s shoulders, he issued a cold command to his guards.
“Finish them.
At the very least, shatter their hands until they require amputation,” he ordered, his voice devoid of warmth.
“Understood, Your Highness.”
Alexander’s guards efficiently incapacitated the two wretched gardeners.
Alexander, meanwhile, focused his attention entirely on Elena, pulling out his handkerchief to gently wipe the dirt from her face.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“The pleasure is mine, Elena.”
Elena was taken aback.
She hadn’t expected someone of such high standing—the towering Crown Prince himself—to know the name of a mere servant.
“Elena…” Alexander murmured her name again.
The way he said it sent another jolt of surprise through her.
They held each other’s gaze for a long moment before another shocking turn of events occurred.
Without warning, Alexander leaned down and scooped her up.
“Your Highness, there is no need…
I—”
“Shh.”
.
The Grand Duke Dracox’s mansion was thrown into an absolute frenzy as whispers spread like wildfire among the servants.
The Crown Prince had emerged from the hedge maze, bringing with him two severely wounded gardeners.
But it was the sight of a young woman cradled in the arms of the empire’s most exalted figure that truly fueled the scandalous gossip.
Clementine was livid upon learning the news.
She watched in horror as Elena—the servant she despised above all else—was cradled against the chest of the man she loved.
The Crown Prince was carrying Elena in a bridal style.
Not only that, but his magnificent royal cloak was wrapped entirely around the servant’s body.
Every eye in the estate was fixed on them.
Overwhelmed by shame, Elena buried her face deep into Alexander’s chest.
She had never intended to seduce him, yet her protective gesture was bound to be misinterpreted that way.
“What happened, Your Highness?” Clementine asked.
She forced a tight smile, fighting to suppress the jealousy clawing at her throat.
“A servant was nearly violated by two of your gardeners, Princess Clementine,” he answered with commanding authority.
He swept his gaze across the gathering crowd before continuing, “We had best take this inside.”
With that, Alexander carried Elena further into the mansion, followed closely by a tense Clementine and a retinue of maids.
Alexander’s two guards handed the perpetrators over to the Dracox family knights before following their master inside.
Upon entering a guest chamber, Alexander gently laid Elena down onto the plush bed.
Everyone present watched his unusual behavior in stunned silence.
The Crown Prince had never shown such benevolence to a servant before, not even to those drawing their last breath in front of him.
Clementine still didn’t dare to speak.
But once Alexander finished tending to Elena, he turned and approached her, acting every bit the attentive fiancé.
“Princess Clementine, forgive my sudden intrusion.
While taking a stroll through the maze, I witnessed a rather unseemly act.
I felt compelled to neutralize the criminals and bring the victim here.”
Hearing this, Clementine’s expression visibly softened, her suspicion melting away.
“Ah, I see.
Thank you, Your Highness.”
“I have seen this woman on a few occasions…
My apologies, this plump piggy is your personal maid, isn’t she?
I assumed she was my fiancée’s favorite servant, which is why I simply couldn’t stand by and watch her suffer such a fate,” Alexander smoothly fabricated.
He then wiped his hands with his handkerchief, as if feeling soiled after touching a lowly maid.
This calculated gesture completely erased any lingering sense of threat from Clementine’s mind.
“Very well, Your Highness.
Will you be staying the night?” Clementine inquired.
She eagerly hoped to turn her maid’s misfortune into her own advantage.
She could use this opportunity to convince Alexander to stay and set her personal plans into motion.
Alexander appeared to ponder for a brief moment before nodding.
“That sounds pleasant.
I am quite fatigued myself, and I must return to my duties tomorrow.
Would it be possible for me to extend my stay here for another week?”
Clementine’s eyes instantly lit up.
This was a golden opportunity, the likes of which she had never been granted before.
“It would be our absolute honor, Your Highness.”
“You are most gracious, Princess Clementine.
I shall speak with your father later.
Until then,” he murmured before taking his leave.
Alexander even gave Clementine’s shoulder a gentle touch before walking out.
It was a small, practiced detail he used to reassure the public that Clementine held a paramount position in his life.
Once Alexander had gone, Clementine cast a venomous glare at Elena.
However, she didn’t dwell on it for long; Alexander’s recent behavior had clearly demonstrated that Elena was beneath his notice.
A smirk played on her lips as she turned to the head maid.
“Tend to her.
And…
ensure the Prince’s cloak no longer bears any trace of that fat pig.”
“Right away, Princess,” the head maid replied, bowing in blind obedience.