The Cursed Prince

Emmelyn really didn't understand what was going on. She opened her mouth to curse Prince Mars once again, but before she could say anything, the man had pulled her onto the bed and lay down while holding her tightly. And then, he just closed his eyes.

"W-what is this?!! ??Get off me! Pervert!" Emmelyn snapped as she struggled to escape the devil's embrace.

She was not a weak girl. She had practiced sword fighting since she was a child. Recently, she also did some weight lifting exercises to train her muscle. Yes, it was unwillingly, as she was made to carry heavy stuff for the devil while working as his servant, but still... it counted as exercise, no?

But why was her strength not even enough to pull that devil's hand off her stomach?

[This man... is really strong. Shit.] Emmelyn was starting to despair.

How could she get her revenge if the enemy was this formidable?

"Can you be quiet?" said the devil in an annoyed voice. "Tomorrow, there is an archery contest on the king's birthday bash. I need my rest. If you make me lose my precious sleep, I will ask the king to make you the archers' target."

GULP.

Instantly Emmelyn's body froze. Dying as a target for arrows was death no less gruesome than being beheaded in the plaza.

She was not that brave in facing such a horrifying death.

[OK. I will be still. But not because I am obeying you]

Emmelyn subconsciously held her breath. She didn't want to make the devil lose his precious sleep.

[I only give in to win.]

Emmelyn was lying motionless for half an hour. She was afraid of the devil's threat.

[Hmm ... by the way, why does this guy smell so good, huh?]

As she was lying in the devil's arms, trying to think about ways to escape, Emmelyn's mind got distracted by his scent. This was the first time they got so close during the one month she had known him.

The girl tried to rake her brain to think about why the devil could smell so nice. She didn't remember there was anything special when she prepared this man's bathwater every day for the past month.

For a man, this devil sure loved clean, she thought. Prince Mars Strongmoor always washed up every night before going to sleep.

Emmelyn had bribed the butler to transfer Prince Mars' personal servant to the main palace and put Emmelyn here. After working for a month and serving the crown prince every day, she was slowly able to move freely in his castle, because no one suspected her.

She worked hard and never complained. She only did dutifully everything told to her. She bear it all because she wanted the devil to trust her, so he would feel comfortable with Emmelyn hovering around him all the time. That was why she could come this close to him and try to kill him.

One of Emmelyn's tough duties as this devil's personal servant was to prepare his bathwater. That was what Emmelyn so called weight lifting exercise earlier.

Imagine, she had to carry buckets and buckets of water from the well into the prince's private room and filled his bathtub with water, then heat it. She could feel her muscles trained because of the physical work she did for the past month.

[Hmm ... maybe he smelled so nice because he took a bath every day.]

The girl's mind wandered to the first day she saw him undress before her to take his bath. Not only he smelled good, but Emmelyn also knew for certain that he looked equally good down there.

Emmelyn couldn't help sniff the man and inhaled his scent. Damn. Too good.

A while later, the girl furrowed her brows and decided to sniff her own shoulder to check how did she smell.

Ewhh ... She hurriedly put her nose away and tried to hold back her cough. Her body didn't smell too bad, but she didn't like how she had turned out. She used to smell like blooming roses, not smell like rags as she was today.

This was the risk of going undercover as a servant in the enemy's den. A servant could barely gain access to clean water to take a bath. Only the royal family, nobles, and court officials possessed that luxury.

Sometimes Emmelyn was actually tempted to take a bath in the devil's tub after he had finished bathing. She really missed her own room in Wintermere. She used to be a princess living in a nice castle, and she had a beautiful bathtub in her room and various servants who attended to her needs.

But now, they were all gone. Those were only things from her past. She had lost everything, including her family, because of this devil.

Everything I had is gone, Emmelyn thought sadly. Oh .. she missed her parents so much.

Emmelyn's grief was suddenly stirred as she felt the large hand that was hugging her waist, insolently slipped inside her clothes.

"..."

Instantly, the girl turned around and was about to curse the perverted devil, but she readily canceled her intention. Apparently, the devil was fast asleep. Maybe his hand had wandered over there unknowingly, Emmelyn thought with a frown.

Damn you, the girl cursed inwardly. She took a slow breath and calmed herself down. It looked like Prince Mars was very comfortable sleeping with his arms hugging Emmelyn's body. She could see his breathings were regular and soft.

[I have to give in to win.]

Emmelyn comforted herself by keep repeating those words like a mantra.

She decided to be patient. Later, when this bastard was fast asleep, Emmelyn would break free from his embrace and escape his castle. Once she was safe, away from this palace, she would think of other plans to get her revenge.

YAWN.

Emmelyn tried so hard to keep her eyes open. She had to run away from here. However, her body felt drained. The shock she experienced tonight and the physical altercation earlier with the devil while fighting over the knife had made her feel mentally and physically exhausted.

[I must not sleep.]

[I have to get out of here.]

[No. Cannot. Sleep.]

[I have to flee before he could kill me.]

YAWN.

[Oh, I feel so tired.]

***

"Finally, you're awake," the distinctive baritone voice from beside her, startled Emmelyn, who were fluttering her lashes and ready to wake up. She immediately sat up in shock.

"Where am I?" the girl muttered to herself. Her eyes were wide open. She immediately looked around and held her breath. "This is not a dream?"

The devil who was sitting beside the bed, smirked faintly at the little servant who had tried to kill him last night.

"You're still not dead. This is good," said the man in a cheerful voice.

Emmelyn frowned when she heard the man. "Why would I be dead? You didn't kill me."

Also… she shuddered when she realized the devil seemed in a good mood this morning.

[Is he planning on a more gruesome death for me? What makes him look so happy?]