AWLC 11

Chapter – 11

While Asha went out with the Crown Prince, Ruby was tidying up the Almond Room, humming softly.

I have a little time… maybe I should take a short nap?

After inspecting the room she had neatly arranged, Ruby was about to step into the small room set aside for the servants to rest, when someone came knocking.

Knock, knock.

Flinch.

Ruby instinctively knew as soon as someone knocked.

“A bribe.”

But… so soon?

It hadn’t even been a full day since the Almond Chambers had welcomed their new resident.

Honestly, she was nervous—this was her first time—but there was no avoiding it.

[Note from the mistress:] Report in detail to Head Maid Lady Watch about anyone approaching the Almond Chambers and any conversations that occur.

This wasn’t simply a task to report a few people talking; it was a mission to relay every interaction with anyone who approached the Almond Chambers.

In other words, she had no right to refuse a conversation based on time, place, or personal feelings.

Ruby took a deep breath to calm her nerves and carefully opened the door.

The visitor was Perrel, the candle manager from Blossom Palace.

“…Mr. Perrel? What brings you here?”

Her voice carried curiosity, and Perrel smiled warmly.

“So Ruby has come up to the third floor. Here, take these first.”

He carried four long, thick boxes.

“What’s this?”

“They are candles specially crafted with rare fragrances, made for the Almond Room. And this,” he added, placing a small box on top of the long candle boxes, “is a little gift for you, Ruby.”

The packaging was clearly luxurious, and Ruby immediately recognized it as a bribe.

“A gift…?”

Perrel held the Almond Room door for her, winked, and said,

“Every beautiful woman deserves to receive gifts. By the way, who is the new resident of the Almond Room?”

Ruby looked uneasily at the gift boxes but steadied herself.

“I can’t back out now.”

She put the long candle boxes on a small cabinet by the door and opened the luxurious little box—Perrel immediately spoke:

“Sapphire. It matches your blue eyes perfectly, Ruby.”

Ruby checked the sapphire, quickly closed the lid, and pocketed it.

“…The new resident you were curious about is Miss Asha, the daughter of Count Herman’s family.”

Asha discreetly diverted her gaze from Cedric and spoke to Alesto.

“How about you, Your Highness? Have you ever been in love?”

Ever since she brought up the topic of romance, the Saint’s demeanor had clearly changed.

Her cheeks were flushed, her voice shy, and a constant smile lingered at the corners of her lips.

A satisfactory response.

If she’s like this, I’ll soon be able to hear her whisper words of love.

Naturally, his own lips curled into a small smile.

“Me? It’s my first time, too.”

The Saint’s eyes widened.

“Really?”

Alesto nodded lightly.

“Yes. Doesn’t it show?”

She rolled her eyes as if her thoughts had been exposed, then confessed:

“Um… yes. You just seem so calm and composed, I thought you might have had some experience.”

Alesto took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and gave an awkward smile.

“Calm and composed… that’s good. I was worried I might look awkward because I’m nervous.”

Seeing the Saint expressing her feelings so openly made him feel strangely thirsty.

He took a sip of wine to moisten his throat.

Then, when he set down the glass…

What’s wrong?

Asha’s expression had become oddly tense.

Her eyes, which had been fixed on him the entire time, now wandered elsewhere.

What’s going on?

Asha had the same thought as Alesto.

She had glanced away, feeling her cheeks burn, only to notice Cedric staring at her as if trying to pierce her soul.

If their eyes had merely met briefly, she could have ignored it. People’s eyes sometimes meet.

That wasn’t the problem.

Why… why won’t he look away?

The fact that he kept staring endlessly was troubling.

We just met, right? Does he know I was the other party for a matchmaking meeting? Why is he looking at me like that?

Seeing a girl on a date being stared at like that—wouldn’t any guy see it as a provocation?

Asha’s small, timid heart started beating rapidly.

Thinking back, Asha was obedient at the mansion, but when she tried to escape or someone else intervened, she was ruthless, right?

Her thoughts flickered to the original Cedric, twisted by obsession.

Lost in her anxious thoughts, a calm and low voice suddenly came from ahead.

Stable, kind, and low—almost unnervingly so.

“Do you usually get distracted during conversations?”

“Huh… yes, um?”

Startled, Asha looked at Alesto. He turned his head as if asking what was behind her.

“Wait a moment!”

Asha instinctively called out, panic rising.

The Crown Prince likely conducted a thorough background check before allowing her into the palace.

He wouldn’t let just anyone enter, and he may already know about her matchmaking meeting with Cedric.

But now, in this sweet, romantic moment, she had been misunderstood as glancing at another man… and that man happened to be Cedric, her matchmaking partner?

Would the aspiring tyrant Crown Prince just let it go?

And look at Cedric’s expression.

It was as if he had just witnessed a lover’s betrayal.

If Alesto and Cedric realized the situation, disaster was inevitable.

I must stay calm.

The threat could come at any moment.

But I can handle it.

I am, after all, the heroine.

She armed herself with confidence and chose her immediate response to avoid disaster.

“Yes. I’d rather you didn’t check.”

Perhaps he didn’t like her answer.

Alesto gave a faint smile, then remained silent for a moment.

After the brief silence:

“Very well. But… you did say, Asha, that until trust is established, I may confine you.”

Asha’s back went cold.

She realized too late that she had walked into a tiger’s den with no escape route.

Alesto was informing her of her future.

“Then I shall do so.”

His words of confinement were intoxicatingly sweet.

Ah, right. I am the heroine in a captivity story.

I completely forgot.