For the first time since Liora had started working at the mansion, nothing seemed to be happening.
No strange glowing flowers.
No mysterious voices.
No doors opening by themselves.
No terrifying grandmother arriving unexpectedly.
And, most importantly, no one had asked her to deal with anything involving the Demon King’s personal life.
Liora considered this a blessing.
She was sitting in the garden, sorting a basket of herbs the gardeners had harvested that morning.
“This one is useless.”
She held up a small green leaf.
The gardener beside her frowned.
“That’s moonmint.”
“I know.”
“You said it was useless.”
“I said this one is useless.”
She pointed to another leaf.
“This one is damaged.”
The gardener laughed.
“You’ve become very particular.”
“I’m responsible for the kitchen herbs now.”
“You’ve been here barely two weeks.”
“Exactly. I’m still fixing everyone’s mistakes.”
The gardener shook his head.
“You really aren’t afraid of anything, are you?”
Liora smiled.
“I’ve met the king.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It should be.”
She returned to sorting the herbs.
Everything felt normal.
Almost too normal.
Then a shadow fell across the table.
Liora looked up.
Lucien stood there.
She immediately looked back down.
“Good morning.”
“It’s afternoon.”
She checked the sunlight.
“Oh.”
Lucien stared at her.
“You’ve been sitting here for two hours.”
“I’ve been working.”
“You’ve been arguing with the gardener.”
“That’s part of my work.”
The gardener suddenly found something very interesting several meters away.
Lucien sat across from her.
“What are you doing?”
“Sorting herbs.”
“I can see that.”
“Then why did you ask?”
Lucien stared at her.
Liora smiled innocently.
He sighed.
“Never mind.”
She picked up another herb.
“You look tired.”
“I am.”
“You should rest.”
“I have work.”
“You always have work.”
“Because I’m king.”
Liora nodded.
“That’s what you said yesterday.”
“And?”
“And you use it as an excuse.”
Lucien raised an eyebrow.
“An excuse?”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“Everything.”
He leaned back.
“You’ve been working here for two weeks.”
“Almost.”
“And you’ve already decided you understand me.”
“No.”
Liora smiled.
“I’ve decided you’re predictable.”
For some reason, that made him laugh.
It was quiet.
Brief.
But real.
The gardener glanced over.
Liora did too.
Lucien’s smile disappeared almost immediately.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
She returned to her herbs.
But she couldn’t stop smiling.
That evening, Liora was preparing dinner when she heard someone enter the kitchen.
She expected one of the servants.
Instead, Julian walked in.
He looked around.
“Where is everyone?”
“Working.”
“You’re working too.”
“That’s generally how jobs work.”
“I need help.”
Liora put down the spoon.
“With what?”
“I need to buy something.”
“What?”
“A gift.”
Liora narrowed her eyes.
“For who?”
Julian looked away.
“For someone.”
She smiled.
“Celeste.”
His head snapped toward her.
“How did you know?”
“You’ve mentioned her every time you’ve seen me since the restaurant.”
“I have not.”
“You asked about her yesterday.”
“That was one time.”
“You asked whether she likes flowers.”
Julian went quiet.
“You remembered that?”
“I remember everything.”
He looked impressed.
“That’s slightly frightening.”
“It’s useful.”
He leaned against the counter.
“So?”
“So what?”
“What does she like?”
Liora smiled.
“You’ve met her.”
“Briefly.”
“And you liked her.”
Julian sighed.
“Yes.”
Liora’s expression softened.
“Then don’t buy something because you think she should like it.”
“What should I do?”
“Pay attention.”
Julian frowned.
“To what?”
“To her.”
He considered that.
Then nodded.
“You’re surprisingly good at this.”
“I’m surprisingly good at everything.”
“I’ve noticed.”
She laughed.
Later that night, Liora met Celeste at a small café in the Common District.
Celeste immediately noticed something was different.
“You look happy.”
“I am.”
“Why?”
“Nothing happened.”
Celeste stared at her.
“Nothing?”
“Exactly.”
“You finally have a peaceful day?”
“Yes.”
Celeste smiled.
“I’m happy for you.”
They sat together with warm drinks between them.
For a while, they talked about ordinary things.
Clothes.
Food.
Work.
Money.
School.
Then Celeste casually asked,
“How is your mysterious employer?”
Liora nearly choked on her drink.
“He’s the Demon King.”
Celeste froze.
“What?”
Liora covered her face.
“I didn’t know either.”
“You work for the Demon King?”
“Apparently.”
“And you didn’t know?”
“He didn’t exactly introduce himself as the ruler of an entire kingdom.”
Celeste stared at her.
“What did you think he was?”
“An extremely rich man with anger issues.”
Celeste burst out laughing.
Liora joined her.
When they finally calmed down, Celeste studied her carefully.
“Do you like working there?”
Liora thought about it.
“Yes.”
“Even though he’s the Demon King?”
“He’s still my employer.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Liora looked down at her cup.
She thought about Lucien sitting in the garden.
The rare smile.
The way he listened even when she complained.
The way he had never used his position to make her feel small.
“I think…”
She paused.
“I like the person he is when nobody is treating him like a king.”
Celeste smiled.
“That’s interesting.”
Liora frowned.
“Don’t.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You were thinking something.”
“I was.”
“Stop thinking it.”
Celeste laughed.
“Fine.”
A few moments later, a familiar voice came from behind them.
“Liora?”
They turned.
Julian stood there.
He looked surprised.
Then he smiled.
“Celeste.”
Celeste smiled back.
“Julian.”
Liora looked between them.
Then slowly grinned.
Julian noticed.
“Don’t.”
“I haven’t said anything.”
“You were about to.”
“I was.”
Celeste laughed.
Julian pulled out a small wrapped box.
“I wanted to give you this.”
Celeste blinked.
“Me?”
He nodded.
“I saw it and thought you’d like it.”
She accepted the box.
When she opened it, she found a delicate silver hairpin shaped like a small flower.
Celeste’s expression softened.
“It’s beautiful.”
Julian smiled.
“I’m glad.”
Liora quietly looked away.
She had suddenly become very interested in the café wall.
Celeste looked at Julian.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Their eyes met for a moment.
Liora smiled.
Something was definitely happening there.
She decided not to interfere.
For once.
Across the city, Lucien sat in his study.
A stack of documents rested before him.
He had read the same page three times.
He still hadn’t absorbed a word.
His thoughts kept returning to the garden.
Liora had laughed today.
She had looked happy.
And strangely, he had found himself wanting to see her again.
Lucien leaned back in his chair.
“This is becoming inconvenient.”
A knock sounded.
“Enter.”
A royal messenger stepped inside and bowed.
“Your Majesty.”
Lucien’s expression immediately became serious.
“What is it?”
“The Council has sent a formal notice.”
Lucien held out his hand.
The messenger gave him the letter.
Lucien opened it.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then stopped.
His jaw tightened.
The messenger waited.
Lucien folded the letter.
“They’ve chosen a date.”
“For the engagement?”
“Yes.”
The messenger hesitated.
“Should I inform Her Highness’s family?”
Lucien’s eyes hardened.
“No.”
He stood.
“I’ll deal with it myself.”
The messenger bowed and left.
Lucien looked toward the window.
The mansion was quiet.
Somewhere beyond those walls, Liora was probably laughing with Celeste and Julian.
He wondered what she would say if she knew.
Then he shook his head.
It wasn’t her problem.
At least, it shouldn’t be.
But somehow, Lucien already knew that keeping her away from his problems was going to become much harder than he expected.