Chapter 20 - His Bold Visit

Even the maids did not spare a greeting to her as they passed by, since her appearance was unremarkable and commanded no respect. If she at least wore fancy dresses, then they would recognize she was a high-ranking noble, but Viola purposefully opted for dull and shabby frocks. Instead of gowns with plunging necklines and extravagant decorations, her wardrobe consisted of modest ones more suitable for grandmothers than young ladies.

“Is that the only dress you have?” a maid asked, making no attempt to hide her dissatisfaction with Viola’s choice of dress. The occasional question was about as far as the criticism went.

“I’m not interested in dressing up,” Viola responded flatly, “and no matter how pretty of a dress I wear, with my appearance, it would be like putting pearls on a pig.”

“Clothes are wings. They can accentuate your looks. Don’t you think if you wear a fancy dress you would be somewhat more pleasing to the eye?”

“I prefer the way things are now. I’m more comfortable not dressing up.”

After breakfast, Viola found a sunlit spot in the garden to enjoy her tea. The maid who had accompanied her suddenly stopped speaking and everyone around them fell silent as they looked toward a certain man making his way toward them.

“…!”

Viola’s heart dropped.

‘He’s here already?’

He had told her he would come again during the day, but she hadn’t expected him to come so early in the morning. As he took a seat on the terrace, everyone, including Viola, stared at him breathlessly.

No matter how minute the action, his every little act seemed to be filled with elegance. She had never seen him in regular clothes, since he had always been either half-naked, soaked, or in armor, but today he wore attire befitting his noble rank. The clothes he wore were lined with silver and gold threads, making him look like he was studded with jewels. He needed no further adornments as his appearance already radiated like a gem.

The bright sun shone down on his ebony hair and alabaster skin, making him shine. He looked several times more charming in the day than at night.

Viola’s heart thumped. She hadn’t been aware of how long she had been staring at him before he turned towards her. Her mind briefly spun when their eyes met, and the hand that had been holding her dress started to sweat.

“Who is that?” she asked the girl beside her.

“Lord Lune, Commander of the Royal Knights.”

So the maid also called him Lune, which gave her more confidence he had told her the truth last night. At that moment, a servant who had been standing beside Lune came up to Viola.

“Lord Lune would like to request the honor of having tea with the Princess of Koronis,” the servant announced.

“… Ha…”

Viola took a moment to collect her breath. She tried to keep calm even though she was going crazy wondering why he came to find her. Since the knight was already here and there were so many eyes on them, it would be impolite to refuse him, so she rose and approached his table.

“You came,” he smiled again, flashing his brilliant teeth.

“Yes, I’m here,” Viola’s tone was not nearly as friendly. “What are you planning to do?”

She knew he wasn’t here just for tea, and the glint in his eyes told her that her suspicions were right. Lune stood up and instinctively her feet took a step back.

“Let’s go,” he gestured to her to follow him.

“Where?”

“Let’s go horseback riding.”

“Wha… what?”

“I thought you’d love horseback riding. Was I wrong?”

“Ah…”

He abruptly reached a hand out and grabbed Viola’s wrist. Viola was so surprised that she twisted her hands away from his grasp, but his hands sought hers again. Her mind was in a flurry.

‘Ah, what’s going on?’

She was caught in the hands of another man. Even more than that, she was on the verge of being taken away by him, yet nobody in the villa lifted a finger to stop him. The maids even went so far as to wordlessly step back.

“Ar, are you crazy?” Viola protested, “I’m, I’m a Crown Princess—”

“The crown prince won’t care,” Lune smirked, “because I sought his permission before I arrived.”

“Wha… What?”

He held Viola’s wrist and dragged her forward. She saw a surprised Rosha watching them in the distance, but Viola couldn’t afford to care about that right now. Her wrists were hot—so hot that her skin felt like it was burning. Her vision started to dim at the intense feeling of his skin on hers and the overall bizarreness of the situation. Right now, the Commander of the Royal Knights was walking around the villa holding the new Crown Princesses Candidate by the wrist.

“You won’t be punished for accompanying me. Trust me.”