Working For The Prince (BxB)✔

Chapter 30 - Secret Passage

Laurent stuck to Asher like glue after his momentary disappearance and he suspected it wasn't out of concern.

Whenever Lady Elise spotted Asher coming too close to the beast, she would order the boy to show him some new skill or retrieve something she'd 'forgotten' in the other room.

Asher hadn't expected her to be the possessive type, but then again he and Leon did have a bit of a quarrel when she first showed up, and that wasn't the best first impression. 

He lost count of the days as he picked up more skills than he'd ever planned. Laurent was a decent teacher, despite being mute, and managed to demonstrate how to properly sew, polish, and present himself. Apparently Asher had been holding himself wrong and needed to work on his stance better, proving that it would take more than some fancy clothes to polish this commoner up.

Whenever they were done with the lessons, Asher would wonder what the beast was up to, though he had his suspicions.

Leon had put all his efforts into wooing Elise, so when she requested Asher go do something else for the sake of being alone, he would not interfere, though the monster would pointedly avoid eye contact each time.

Sometimes the servant would go into the kitchen to practice new recipes, and Laurent would follow close behind. Asher figured the boy might do well as his new taste tester, but that ultimately didn't work out when he realized the boy couldn't properly describe the flavors of the food.

"Well this is going fantastic..." He muttered to himself one day after Laurent was summoned to attend to Elise.

He licked the batter off his mixing spoon thoughtfully.

Would it be better if he, Laurent, and the guards left before the witch returned? There was a good chance she'd kill them for sport unless the beast found some way to convince her otherwise. 

He wanted to make the suggestion, but knew he'd be ignored because Elise was desperate to win over the beast. Not for love, but for the crown, and she was doing everything in her power to obtain it.

Elise remained calm and poised on the outside, but Asher noticed how she'd flinch whenever Leon flexed his claws as a subconscious tick. She was terrified of his form and would never let her guards leave her side. They were her protection.

He doubted the guards could stand up to Leon if he did decided to get rid of them. Even more so if Ebony returned and decided to kill them. Swords and shields were no match for magic...

Laurent was a different matter. Asher was curious if it would be possible to whisk the boy away. It shouldn't be too hard since she only needed her guards in order to feel safe, and a mute servant wouldn't offer much protection.

It was laughable how things were now. She had insisted it'd be inappropriate for the servants to be around while she and Leon got closer, yet she had her guards trailing them everywhere.

He wanted to hate her for the hypocrisy, but just couldn't because she was still technically working hard to break Leon's curse, which was his most pressing issue now.

Who knows? Maybe once the curse is broken they'll have a falling out and divorce?

Asher kicked himself for having such thoughts. If Leon found happiness with her then he should hope that they remained happy, not the other way around.

No longer interested in baking, the servant trudged out into the hall, confident that the magic would clean up his mess for him, and made his way to the reading room where he and Leon had spent their best moments together.