Enthralling Lunatic

[ENG] ch. 3

"'You may leave'?"

Alresca chuckled before the mirror as she braided her hair. Her expression flickered between annoyance and disbelief. She paced around her room, trying to quell her frustration.

"I helped him, yet that pompous blond bear had the audacity to dismiss me without so much as an apology? Hah!"

From that moment on, she resolved to refer to him as the "bear." Moreover, his body felt unusually heavy, and she counted herself lucky that her slender legs could support such a weight.

Alresca let out a sigh.

"Well, I do owe him a debt of gratitude," she muttered softly as she gazed out the window, suddenly becoming self-aware.

Nobles were notorious for their reluctance to express gratitude or offer apologies. They preferred receiving such words rather than giving them.

Alresca was accustomed to being revered in public. However, behind her back? She was often belittled by her own kind, especially when her father wasn't around.

I missed father...

Recalling the bittersweet memories of her time as the princess of Amburse kingdom stirred her heart. She had thought she could cast aside those memories and embrace her new identity as a village girl imprisoned by Cadius. Yet, she couldn't deny the importance of having parents like hers. It was the world that had been cruel to them.

Yes, the wicked were destined to live long, for God did not welcome them in heaven.

"Am I not a good person, then?"

Alresca sighed once more.

How many times had she sighed today?

All because of that arrogant blond bear. The pleasant atmosphere she had enjoyed while socializing with the concubines over the past month had turned into a raging fire.

Alresca cursed inwardly as she pointed accusingly at the mirror, as if addressing the blond bear, before someone knocked on her door.

"Miss, someone wishes to see you."

A female servant informed Alresca. She swiftly adjusted her attire before leaving the room.

As she stepped out of her chamber, she noticed a figure that seemed familiar. It appeared she knew who it was.

With his towering stature, muscular arms, and forlorn expression, it was unmistakably the guard who had failed to deliver the prince's medicine box and had ended up seeking Alresca's help to calm the prince's madness. The source of her irritation today.

The guard turned at the sound of Alresca's footsteps as she made her way toward the open space in the concubine pavilion. He immediately bowed in respect. His furrowed eyebrows and parted lips betrayed his uncertainty about whether to offer a greeting or an apology first.

"Ah, the guard from earlier—"

Hearing Alresca begin to speak, the guard promptly knelt and crawled to embrace Alresca's feet.

"Miss, I apologize! I truly lacked judgment and have caused you inconvenience! I am deeply sorry, miss!"

"It's alright, I understand. Please, rise..." Alresca gently patted the guard's shoulder, hoping he would stand up and put an end to the embarrassing moment.

Several female servants, who were busy tending to the harem, cast curious glances at Alresca, who had her feet embraced by the guard. Meanwhile, the guard wept, pouring out his heart to Alresca's feet.

"Miss, I've had a stroke of bad luck today... Yesterday... Yesterday, I had to train lifting chain stones from dawn till midnight. It's because I'm new here... My arm muscles are so sore, and I couldn't bear the weight anymore today..."