LOGINNoelle made her way weakly to Silas’s chamber. Before she could reach it, a wave of dizziness hit her, and she considered turning back. But the restlessness in her body urged her on. The thought of being replaced by someone else was unbearable.That wouldn’t only cost her closeness with her master, but make her more vulnerable and subjected to others’ bullying. No.She knocked gently on the door but received no response. She knocked again- same result. Disappointed, she turned to leave but bumped into a solid chest. The scent was unmistakable. She knew he was there before she lifted her gaze.Silas was right there as assumed.“Noelle,” he called out, clearly surprised. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be resting?” His curiosity was evident. Noelle suddenly became self-conscious and lost her words.“I- I’m ready to resume work,” she said hurriedly, facing down, unable to meet his eyes. Silence befell them before Silas spoke again.“You’re not fit to work yet. Even the s
“I’ll feed you,” Silas offered, catching Noelle by surprise. She had been deeply shaken by the earlier events, convinced she might die without discovering who had poisoned her food.But now, seeing the prince offering to feed her, she found herself distracted from her fears. Silas scooped some soup onto a spoon and raised it to her lips. Noelle hesitated, glancing up at him. His green eyes were warm, and that seemed encouraging.They continued like this for a while until Noelle gently suggested she’d had enough. “Thank you,” she said, aware that he could have asked anyone else to help her but had chosen to do it himself. She realized that, in a way, she was his responsibility.When she had been offered to him during their visit to the packhouse, his father had rejected her, calling her frail and weak. But Silas had wanted her, for reasons she didn’t fully understand.Noelle rationalized the prince’s kindness as a sense of duty he felt toward her. Whether or not anyone else would care
“Speak,” Silas commanded.Zenith started, “No-Noelle had a fight with one of the palace servants who work for Sir Alec.”“Who?”“ Au-Audrey.” Zenith informed him.He silently assimilated the information.“Please, your highness, I am scared. I will appreciate it if she doesn’t know that I told you. Audrey could be devious.” Zenith pleaded. She hated getting into problems like this one and she surely wouldn’t want Alec to know she just mentioned his girlfriend or whatever she was to him as a suspect.Silas knew who Audrey was. He had seen her together with Alec a few times before, and the girl had once boldly consulted him about her wishes to work for him. Calling Audrey to question would require some strategy, because Alec could devise that as a means to cause another problem.He nodded at the waiting servant. “You can leave now.”Zenith bowed and left the room. Silas returned to the bedside, watching Noelle’s chest rise and fall. A sense of protectiveness he couldn’t quite fathom, env
Distant voices surrounded Noelle, but she couldn’t tell if they were near or not. She could barely comprehended anything else except the pain tearing through her body like fire.She writhed, feeling burned everywhere.“Noelle?” Conor, the prince’s servant tried to steady her, his face paling with fear. Together with a few servants, they had been trying to figure out what was wrong with her.He sent one of them to inform the prince, and a moment later, he arrived.“Move” Prince Silas’s voice was heard as he appeared in the doorway, approaching them. He was clad in black suits like he was set to head out, looking all powerful and intimidating in the black material.Conor quickly stepped aside as Silas knelt beside Noelle’s writhing form.“We heard her screams and we’ve been trying to steady her” Conor explained, but Silas didn’t reply.A frown marred his face as he took Noelle in before leaning towards her to access her features, trying to decipher what the problem was. He sniffed her a
Noelle woke up to find herself tucked under a thick duvet. She didn’t remember covering herself the previous night. She had fallen asleep right after the prince did. Speaking of the prince, she turned to the other side of the bed and realized he was no longer there.Her mind drifted back to the events of the previous night; it all felt surreal. Silas asking her to stay with him, sharing a deep conversation, it almost seemed like a dream. A faint smile crept onto her face. The lingering scent of him in the air was the only confirmation she needed to be sure he had really been there.Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Noelle slipped out of bed and wandered over to the long window and that was when she heard noises. The palace seemed to be in chaos, with the sounds of shoutings echoing from below. Her curiosity was piqued, so she slowly left the room and followed the voices, leading her to the palace’s basement.“I said, who are you, and who sent you?!” Noelle would recognize that voice a
Noelle's heart skipped.She wasn’t expecting such a request. Especially not when he’s been cold to everyone else all evening.Did that mean he trusted her? She couldn’t help but get tingled by the idea as much as it made her anxious. Silas was unpredictable. She had learnt to accept that. Or start accepting that…"Okay, Your grace," Noelle muttered, her voice barely audible. The situation felt awkward as she pondered on whether to sit. As if sensing her hesitation, Silas interrupted her thoughts.“Here,” he said, placing a hand on the space beside him on the bed, gesturing for Noelle to join him. Noticing her discomfort, he continued, “I just need company, and you’re the only one close by that I don’t hold a grudge against at the moment.”Prince Silas's voice lacked the usual commanding tone he always used when addressing Noelle. It was tender now, and for the first time, Noelle wasn’t afraid of him. In this vulnerable moment, Silas didn’t seem like the intimidating and enigmatic Lyc







