Unedited as usual
Y/N) POV
I wipe my mouth and nose on my back of my hand and stand up.
"I don't need your help, I'm fine," I say while attempting to take a few steps.
My words don't fit my actions because the second I take a step my knees give out and I nearly hit the floor.
The prince responds quickly support me by my arms before I could drop completely .
"You're not ok! should I call the the imperial medic you for you?".
His voice is laced with concern as he scans my arms, face and legs for any wounds.
I have a small bruise on my arm because of the impact from the drop but it doesn't hurt that bad.
My legs however, are killing me from when that guard dragged me against the floor
The amount of friction between my leg and that tile was insane. The burn went from my knees, all the way up to my hips.
It stings terribly and leaves me feeling extremely uncomfortable.
I push him away with a lot less strength than before and dust off my hands.
"I don't need a medic. I don't wanna draw attention to this," I grumble.
His chews his bottom lip silently and casts his gaze elsewhere.
Although he's not saying anything I can tell that he's deep in thought. I can practically hear the gears in his head turning.
He looks up " Do you want me to grab some ointments for you instead?".
I shake my head and grip the edge of the bench to hoist myself up.
He holds my shoulders to support add some support.
"What about some pain relief herbs for you to chew? Surely your injuries must be painful," he frets.
"I already said that I'm fine so can you please just go-".
"At least let me apply some cooling cream for you. If it gets irritated it might-".
"Can you please just stop talking for 10 minuets?!," I snap.
"You clearly see I'm trying to get myself back together! All your yapping in my ear isn't going to make anything better!"
A hurt expression spreads across his face and he stops speaking.
I shake him off and plop myself down on the bench.
I place my ankle over my right knee and yank off my heels before chucking it somewhere in the bushes and repeat the same action for the other foot.
I let out a sigh of relief and slowly massage my foot. The balls of my feet are extremely sore even though I only had the shoes on for no more than 20 minutes.
I close my eyes and let my head hang back and inhale the cold, crisp, air deeply.
The cool air filling my lungs allows me to calm down and my heart rate starts going back to normal.
I no longer feel the need to vomit, nor do I feel like I'm going to pass out anymore.
I sit there for about five minutes, completely forgetting about the prince existence until I heard light shuffling coming from my right.
I Look to the side and is shocked to see him still standing there with his hands folded in front of him politely.
If it wasn't for the high quality silks and extravagant embroidery on his clothes,anyone would've seen this and thought I was a princess with a servant boy standing next to me.
He stayed a couple feet back to give me space and peared up at me through his long lashes.
For a split second he looked kind of beautiful standing there but I quickly catch myself and and get my thought back in order.
"Has your anger withdrawn itself from you yet?," he asks carefully.
A part of me wants to give him a sarcastic response and flip him off.
Although he's not exactly
responsible for my injuries he gets to share part of the blame since it kinda is his fault why I'm here.
However, the rational part of my hammers in the fact that he is our future king so I probably shouldn't disrespect him any further if I want to leave this palace with my head on my shoulders.
I already forcefully shoved him up a stone bench and yelled at him I don't need to cause any more damage.
It would be smart and beneficial to me and my family if I keep my attitude at bay until it's time for me to leave.
That way, I won't implicate them.
I swallow my pride and nod my head at him slowly.
He cracks a small smile of relief and hesitantly step closer before sitting on the bench next to me
He still keeps a small distance between us just in case I haven't fully settled down and looks at me.
"If it's all right with you, could you tell me what it is that has you this upset?," he ask.
I scoff and rest my chin on my palm while turning my head in the opposite direction from him.
"I literally was JUST dragged, manhandled , dropped, and left on the floor by some giant , overgrown, muscle bearing jerk and you expect me to be in a good mood?".
His stiffens up and waves his hand in denial. "No! Not at all! It's just seems that there seems to be more layers towards your anger. It couldn't possibly just be him hurting you that that caused you to be so agitated. There seems to be some underlying reasons as to why your this harsh ...especially towards me."
A sickeningly sweet smile spread across my face and I turn to face him.
" Well, that's because I don't want to be here," I say bluntly.
He blinks and confusion and rubs his ear. "I beg your pardon?"
I sigh.
"I. Don't. Want. To. Be. Here", I say slowly, making sure to put extra emphasis on each word as I do.
" I think this whole thing is stupid. You could've easily gone out to go meet somebody but you instead decided to round up 100 girls into some type of survival game to see who you like the best out of them," I spit .
He gives me a disapproving look. "I do agree that this whole thing seems a bit unnecessary, but couldn't you try to look at this through a more positive scope?.
My face contorts. " Are you trying to tell me that there is a positive aspect of this ?".
He nods his head confidently. "Yes there is, it is not a game," he huffs.
"Yes , this whole thing is a bit overwhelming , but it did give 100 different families an opportunity to better their lives. All lower contestants and their families automatically rose too a three the second they entered the palace. That means that those who were low and working like dogs now can get a job elsewhere and provide more for the families. Is that not positive?," he shoots back.
I glare and position my body away from him.
He does have a point, but I refuse to give him the satisfaction of me seeing that.
A few moments of silence go buy before he scoots a bit closer to me.
" it's now clear to me that there was indeed, something more that was bothering you."
I glance at him from the side and stay silent.
Once he sees that I'm looking at him he releases a sigh of relief and smiles slightly .
"Do you truly hate it here that much?," he asks softly.
I nod my head immediately.
"I don't even like you to begin with...," I mutter lowly.
A part of me slight panics when I realize that sentence escaped my lips.
I silently pray that he didn't hear me since it was quite low but judging from his reaction, it seems that he did.
He look down with a hint of sadness in his eyes before standing up.
"If being here makes you this unhappy, then tomorrow morning I will allow you to return back ho-."
"NO!," I shout, immediately cutting him off the second he mentions him letting me go.
The mere thought of leaving like that makes my pride sting in my chest.
He slightly jumps at my outburst and looks at me confused.
"But didn't you just say you didn't want to be here? Do you actually like it here then?he asks.
I shake my head instantly." Absolutely not. I hate it here."
He opens his mouth to say something but he closes it and tilts his head quizzically instead.
At that moment I begin to realize that I'm not making any sense.
Right now it kind of sounds like I'm saying that I hate it here but don't want to leave because of how it benefits my family.
I mean, that is part of the reason why I don't want to leave just yet, but the way I'm saying it right now makes me sound like a shallow, money hungry, hog.
It's mostly because I don't want to be released from here out of pity.
I wasn't trying to give him a sob story to make him feel bad and let me go. I was just trying to be straight up with how I genuinely feel.
But right now, I sound like a hog and I don't want it to go along those line.
I look up at him seriously." I really hate it here but not because I hate it here," I say.
He makes a face and looks around as if the meaning of my words is going to appear in the air somewhere.
That kind of made it worse but I can fix it.
"When I said I hate it here, I meant I hate it here because I'm not used to this. I'm still very uncomfortable with certain things and I'm having a hard time adjusting," I lie.
"I don't hate it here because it's bad, I hate it here because I'm struggling".
I mentally cuss myself out for not being able to come up with something that sounds more believable.
He narrows his eyes at me and it doesn't seem like he's buying any of this.
"Just a few moments ago, you were also talking about how much you hate this system. I thought you didn't like how the selection for my future wife is taking place."
Crap he's smarter than I thought. I immediately think of some bullshit reason to explain why I said that.
"Well, your majesty," I say, internally cringing as I do.
" I hate this system because I worry for the other girl's mental health. This entire system puts a lot of mental stress on the girls and can really damage how they view themselves if they are not picked or favored."
He goes from looking suspicious, to looking focused and curious as to what I'm about to say next.
He sits back down next to me and focuses his eyes on me, waiting for me to continue.
"Go on," he urges.
Ok! He's hooked.
I smooth back my hair. "Everyone here wants to be chosen by you, correct?," I asked.
When I see everyone, I mean everyone except me but he nods his head attentively regardless.
" I fear that those who don't get picked might feel that they are not beautiful enough, or not deserving of the prince."
I peek out of the corner of my eye to get a glance at him only to see that he's deep in thought while listening to my words.
" It would truly be unfortunate if they started thinking negatively of themselves and lost their confidence over one experience like this."
I can practically hear the gears in his head turning.
"Do you really think that would have that grave of an effect on them?," he asks concerned.
I nod my head immediately. "Of course, the emotions of a women is not something to take lightly.
He lets out a sigh of pity and nods his head slowly.
"I do see how it could possibly affect them...".
A part of me is actually kind of pleased that he cares about our mental health but the fact that he's satisfied with my excuse kind of worries me.
I'm a little shocked that he's even putting up with my bullshit to begin with .
The only good thing about him being like this is that I might be able to sneak a bit of sass and a few remarks here and there without being scared of getting killed.
This isn't something not something you see in a ruler everyday....which is what worries me.
I'm afraid that me might be a little too soft for the throne.
He grants wishes was too easily, acts without thinking and easily falls for people's words.
He can't just give the people what they want because they complain a little, or give him a sad story. He'd have to think about all the pros and cons of what they're saying.
When he said he'd let me go, I'm positive that he didn't even think of all the headlines that would break out of the paper found out that I was released a day into the competition.
His name would be all over the place and it could tarnish both mine and his reputation.
Is Athitin really going be in good hands after our current king?? Is there another family member or someone who can rule instead of the prince?
The prince standing up puts my thoughts to a halt.
He gives me a polite bow. "Thank you for saying what you did. I've never thought about how this might look like from a contestants point of view. Especially the health part. It's possible that someone could really take this competition to heart and suffer from it".
Damn, I could almost applaud him if I really wanted too.
He bows once more and begins to walk away before freezing and turning back to face me.
I raise a brow and he narrows his eyes at me with curiosity.
He walks back over and stands In front of me.
"You know, this just came to thought," he starts.
"If you truly are unhappy here and don't like me, why did you decide to participate?".
Because I believed that it would help my family and give us more money.
I though that when I returned I could marry Yeonjun and we wouldn't need to worry about cash.
I thought we could start a family and we wouldn't have to experience what he was afraid of me experiencing.
Cold.
Starvation.
Fear.
Poverty.
I wouldn't need to to experience that if we used the money from the selection.
I couldn't possibly tell him that.
"Everyone here is after one of two things, it's either me or the crown."
"If you're not here for me, are you here for the status?," he questions.
I shake my head. I'm not that power hungry to the point where I'd risk my own happiness for it.
He exhale. "Then what is it exactly that you're heard for?,"
After I few moments I open my mouth to reply but he holds out his hand to silence me.
"No need, it might not be any of my business and there's a chance that I could be overstepping."
I don't even know how I'm supposed to respond right now.
With a short huff he sits back down next to me on the stone bench and looks at the sky.
I stare at him confused. He was just about to leave a few moments ago and now he's making himself comfortable on the seat?
He feels my gaze at the side of his head and turns to face me.
He studies my face for a few moments before something goes off in his head.
"Oh!," he exclaims while scooching over to the side a bit.
"Was I too close," he asks while motioning at the new put distance between us.
I shake my head and direct my head elsewhere.
Why did he suddenly decide to stay? Does he think I'm going to do something if he leaves me unsupervised?
Does he expect me to do something bad once I'm alone?
I feel like a toddler being monitored...
"What are you?".
I look at him confused. "Uhh, human?". I rely, unsure as to what he's trying to ask me.
He smiles a shakes his head. "I mean what rank are you? A three?". He asks
I snort. "I wish, imagine how easy the life of a three must be. Their hands have probably never touch dirt in their life".
He nods his head . "You must be a four then. A farmer right? You must be considering that you're mentioning dirt."
I shake my head. "I'm actually a five," I say.
Saying that out loud made me feel weird and oddly inferior for some reason.
I'm pretty low in the ranks but I never really acknowledged that.
I understood that we needed to work harder for our food and money but that was pretty much it.
What makes this weird is that he knows what type of conditions fives live in. Everyone is educated on how this works and what conditions each rank lives in.
The difference in love style between a five and a one is pretty dramatic.
I peak at him, expecting him to be disgusted after finding out how low my ranking is but his reaction wasn't what I expected.
Rather thank looking at me with disgust, he looks rather intrigued
"Really?," he asks, almost as if he didn't believe me. "You're a five?," he asks while scooting closer to me .
"So you sing and dance, am I correct?," he asks.
I hesitantly nod. "Uh..yeah I guess, I don't really sing though." I respond.
"What's that like?," he asks while moving even closer.
He's too close now. I can smell the fancy cologne and expensive soaps on him.
His eyes twinkle with interest and anticipation as he waits for my answer.
"What do you mean what's it like? What's it like being a five or what's it like performing?," I ask.
"Both, or whichever one you feel comfortable with answering," he says quickly.
I'm a little confused as to why he's this interested with me being a five.
He kind of remind of a child seeing an exotic animal for the first time.
I raise a brow at him and that seems to bring him back.
He straightens up and moved over again.
"My apologies miss - -, may I have you name?," he asks.
I narrow my eyes at him, not too sure I even want it tell him that.
Still, he's the prince and the next successor to the throne so it's only right for me to give my name when asked for it.
"(Y/N), (Y/N) (L/N)", I say.
He blinks in surprise and smiles.
"You have a beautiful name, I'm shocked that you even told me it," he teases.
I tense up immediately and all color drains form my face.
Was I really being that bitchy?
Almost as if he read my mind, his his smile slightly widens. "It's alright, I don't mind".
I analyze his face cautiously, looking for any trace of hidden annoyance or any indication that he's lying.
He seems to genuinely not care that I barely carried any proper etiquette or manners while speaking to him.
"Your majesty," I call. Being extra careful now.
"Are you not upset with my behavior in any way? I mean, I even pushed your ass of the damn bench earlier-," I immediately stop taking once I realize how bad my choice of words are.
I'm staring to realize that this look isn't cute at all.
I sound like I lack basic manners that even little children ranked lower than me have.
This whole time I've been speaking to the future king like he was in the same rank as me.
He laughs at my reaction and stand up. "I'll admit, I was a bit put off at by you way of speaking," he says.
Yikes, so he was feeling some type of way about it.
"However," he continues, "It was refreshing in a way. It was nice to be talked to normally for a change."
"For once, my tittle didn't affect the way someone treated me."
"If you'd like, I can let the staff here know that you're allowed to come to the garden whenever you like, that way you'll be able to come out here whenever you like without being manhandled like that again."
His eyes change towards the end.
He closes them for few moments and their usual kind look returns to them once more when he opens them again.
"Would you like that?," he asks.
"I don't....I don't think I want any special privileges like that from you, especially since the other don't get that too." I scratch the back of my neck awkwardly.
There's no other way to really say it, in fact, I think I was pretty nice with my delivery.
His smile slightly falters and he looks a little taken back, slightly hurt even.
I kind of feel a bit guilty about not taking up in his offer.
It's nice and all but I don't really want to accept any special treatment like that. If I get too comfortable here it's gonna be harder to plan a leave.
A part of me does feel slightly bad though.
"(Y/N), dear," he calls.
I make a face upon hearing that that pet name again.
He lets out a small laugh and nods his head to my look.
"(Y/N), I actually wasn't supposed to meet you one on one until tomorrow. It's best to not tell the others about this. In wouldn't want anyone getting upset or calling favoritism on you."
Wasn't he just trying to give me special privileges a few moments ago?
I wait for him to finish regardless.
"Would you keep this a secret for me? he asks.
I nod my head.
He takes my hand and presses a kiss to it.
"Thank you, I'll be taking my leave now, I should've been with the rest for supper almost 30 minutes ago. Feel free to join us if you like".
Hell no, I'm going back to bed as soon as he's gone.
Once he's out of sight, I and look down at the hand he kissed and look back up at where he was with pity.
"I probably shouldn't tell him that I wiped my nose with this hand when I was fake crying..."
To be continued...