Enthralling Lunatic

[ENG] ch. 4

"So? Should I have a legitimate wife first before having you?" His response was slightly indifferent.

Alresca felt a little worried, feeling that the crown prince might have ulterior motives. Surely.

"I am just a village girl, Your Highness—"

"I know."

Alresca fell silent.

"I can't help you with royal affairs—"

"Yes, I know."

"Your Highness—"

Cadius frowned, leaning closer to Alresca before cutting off her sentence.

"Be my concubine."

She could only fall silent again, not knowing how to dodge his attack any further. The prince's gaze grew deeper and colder over time, as if devouring Alresca's soul alive.

"Be my concubine. My mind has never been disturbed by anyone except you since that incident."

No, from the moment he saw her in the forest, Cadius had been disturbed, until now. His mind was greatly disturbed by Alresca's presence wherever he went, bringing him back to the palace of concubines again and again.

But being disturbed by someone for the first time like this isn't enough to make him sensitive to the disturbance. Rather he felt that claiming the "disturbance" himself as his own asset was the solution he needed. That's what Cadius always did as the crown prince.

And he always did it well.

This time too. Surely.

----

Alresca walked back to her room in the concubine's palace, her expression puzzled as her mind wrestled with the sudden proposal from the crown prince.

No.

It didn't sound like a proposal at all. Aren't proposals supposed to be romantic?

Alresca sighed, stretching out on the bed. It creaked softly under her weight. Her gaze fixed on the ceiling as she mulled over the crown prince's offer once more.

"I'll wait until the middle of the month,"

That's what the blond bear had said. He had given her only three days before the middle of the month.

"Concubine? Concubine... Oh my... Why would he need a concubine if not to secure support as the crown prince? Does he want me to..."

Suddenly, Alresca blushed.

Usually, princes courted women from noble families to secure support for the throne. But Cadius already held the title of crown prince, and he wielded considerable power. His position was unassailable. Furthermore, a village girl like her seemed to have little to offer beyond that.

"Oh, these thoughts..."

Alresca lightly slapped her blushing cheeks and pinched her hand and face, causing herself discomfort to suppress her smile.

No matter how handsome a man might be, he still needed to be a good man. That's what Alresca's late mother had always said.

"Besides, reality is often less appealing than my imagination."

The girl sighed, embracing her pillow and attempting to approach the situation with a more realistic mindset. She needed to give serious thought to this before the middle of the month.

----

The sun greeted Valvhanra. The warm morning rays filtered through the intricate carvings of the window glass, casting a spectrum of soft colors into Alresca's almost empty room. It painted her room, which was sparsely furnished with only a bed, a few wardrobes, a vanity table, a mirror, and the rest were just plain decorative items.