Elena froze in sheer shock.
Her heart felt as though it had stopped beating entirely.
She had never once sat on that man’s lap; the thought hadn’t even crossed her mind!
She had stood a full meter away from him.
Why was the most exalted man in the Empire lying?
How utterly cruel.
Clementine let out a sharp gasp, clapping a hand over her mouth.
Daisy and Emily exchanged victorious smirks.
Their malicious slander had just been validated by the Crown Prince himself.
Only moments ago, they had been terrified that their heads would be severed from their necks.
“You whore!
You actually dared to entice His Highness!” Clementine snarled, driving the heel of her boot directly into Elena’s abdomen.
Alexander merely stood there.
He made no move to stop Clementine’s assault.
Instead, he pulled up a chair, sat down gracefully, and watched the unfolding scene as if it were an entertaining opera.
Clementine paused for a split second to glance at the prince, but Alexander simply offered a smooth, amused smile, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.
“Do carry on, Clementine.
I had no idea your personal maid was quite so daring,” Alexander remarked, resting his chin casually on his hand.
Elena curled into a ball, enduring the agonizing pain in her stomach and the far deeper ache fracturing her heart.
She stared up at Alexander once more, the man she had foolishly mistaken for a knight in shining armor–and bitterly regretted ever placing her hope in him.
Alexander hadn’t come to rescue her; he was merely treating her suffering as a form of amusement.
He was breaking her, crushing her as though she were nothing more than a minor insect crossing his path.
“No, My Lady…
I never crawled onto His Highness’s lap.
Please believe me, My Lady.
Please, My Lady, don’t–ah!” Elena rambled desperately, trying to defend herself.
Laughter and hushed whispers drifted from her fellow servants, all of them secretly hoping she would be broken sooner.
Elena wept, her voice cracked as she continued to plead her innocence.
Yet, the more she begged, the more brutal the torture became.
Clementine was entirely possessed by rage.
The fires of jealousy consumed her until she could no longer see reason.
She went into a frenzy, relentlessly beating Elena black and blue.
Several maids stepped forward to pin Elena’s arms down, ensuring she couldn’t escape.
Elena kept pleading, defending herself, and crying out in agony.
Eventually, she was seized by her red hair and dragged ruthlessly through the corridors all the way to the servants’ quarters.
On the other hand, the architect of Elena’s profound misery remained entirely unbothered.
Alexander gently inhaled the rich aroma of the coffee in his porcelain cup, his eyes locked onto Elena as she was continuously reviled.
He savored her every scream, every tear, and every drop of slander hurled against her.
“Naive,” he whispered softly, his voice barely audible amidst the chaotic din of the hall.
“How utterly naive.”
Nightfall arrived by the time Elena finally awoke from her unconsciousness.
The last thing she remembered was her head being slammed violently against a stone wall until darkness took her.
Trembling, she raised a hand to touch her head, finding it wrapped tightly in bandages.
Her life was in absolute ruins.
She had thought that growing accustomed to Clementine’s routine torture would make her numb.
Now, she had to endure the shameless addition of her fiancé.
Elena had no idea how many tears had leaked from her eyes by now.
All she knew was that she utterly loathed the heartless Alexander.
As a quiet sob escaped her lips, a sudden shadow flickered across the window of the servants’ quarters.
The room was shared by four people, containing four simple beds.
Yet, for some reason, the atmosphere was suffocatingly still.
Elena didn’t care; she dragged herself backward and leaned heavily against the wall.
Her body felt entirely shattered, and her head throbbed with an unbearable ache.
At the very least, she was grateful someone had bothered to tend to her wounds.
“Mother, Father, Brother…
what are you doing right now?” she murmured into the empty room.
Suddenly, a voice answered.
“Sleeping soundly, most likely.”
Elena’s heart gasped.
She snapped her head around, scanning the darkness.
“Who’s there?!”
In the next fraction of a second, a hand clamped over her mouth, bringing with it a scent that had become terrifyingly familiar.
Sure enough, when she looked up, those deep ocean-blue eyes were staring right down at her.
The eyes belonged to a breathtakingly handsome man, but the soul within was entirely monstrous.
The Crown Prince slowly released his grip on Elena’s mouth and took a seat on the edge of her shabby cot.
“Quiet down.
Keep your voice low.
If anyone sees us, there will be a round two to your beating.”
Elena was in complete shock, the man was utterly insane.
She glanced around the room, noting that all her roommates were still fast asleep.
It was bizarre, as they were never the type to sleep like the dead.
Usually, the slightest sound would startle them awake.
Reading her frantic gaze, Alexander leaned in and whispered close to her ear.
“They certainly won’t be waking up anytime soon,” he murmured, holding up a small vial.
Though Elena didn’t know the exact concoction, she could easily deduce it was a heavy sleeping draught.
“What are you doing here, and why did you drugging them?”
Alexander let out a low chuckle.
“To see you, of course, Princess of the Marquess of Rosemoor,” he murmured, lightly flicking Elena’s chin.
Elena instantly recoiled, shimmying away to stare at Alexander with unadulterated disgust.
Though she had briefly been captivated by his physical perfection, she now felt nothing but pure hatred.
Beauty and charm meant absolutely nothing when the soul within was profoundly wicked.
Alexander did not miss the shift.
He saw clearly that Elena had firmly marked him as an enemy after the afternoon’s events.
“Backing away won’t keep you out of my reach, Elena,” the Crown Prince stated smoothly.
Elena remained silent, forcing herself to stay strong even though she knew she was merely a mouse cornered by a viper.
As Elena began to tremble with mounting terror, Alexander closed the distance, backing her into the tight corner of the bed.
Alexander raised his hand, his fingers slowly tracing the cheek of his fiancée’s maid.
The lingering touch caused Elena to shudder instinctively.
A cold sweat broke out across her skin, and her head began to swim.
When she forced herself to meet Alexander’s gaze, a dark smirk played on his lips.
“Elena, that look of hatred in your eyes…
it is absolutely beautiful,” he murmured, his voice a cold, raspy whisper.
The pressure suffocated Elena entirely.
Her head throbbed with blinding pain until the welcoming darkness finally enveloped her once more.