Masquerade [BANG CHAN FF]

6. Kind Prince

The carriage stopped in front of the most luxurious hotel in Brethorn Lake and Madeline went to the reception desk right away but seeing the royal siblings behind her, the receptionist tensed and pushed a nervous smile, giving Madeline the room keys as soon as she spoke up.

"T-These are our finest suites, Miss," the young man stuttered, "I hope they will be to the liking of Their Royal Highnesses."

Madeline nodded and took three keys with linked paper tags on them which had the room numbers printed on them.

"Thank you, Mr. Drewry," she smiled, reading the tag off his chest and the young red-haired man pushed his nervous smile further up.

"Our staff will help you settle," he gestured toward two uniformed bellboys who took the signal and bowed to the siblings before taking their suitcases.

"Thank you for your service, Greg," suddenly a male, accented voice came and Madeline closed her eyes for a second to breathe in. She got a sniff of his sharp cologne and almost gagged but when he touched her hand and discreetly took the keys from her grasp, Madeline opened her eyes to meet the smiling face of a taller man.

His black hair was slicked back and his aftershave was making her nauseous. His thin mustache above his pear-white smile annoyed her, just like his cold stare.

"Good to see you again, Madeline," he chirped, eyeing her face. She tried her best not to frown, clenching her jaw as the anger built up inside her at the sound of her name in his disgusting voice.

"Good morning, Pierre," Madeline nodded her head and he tilted his chin up proudly. He gripped the keys and clicked his tongue, turning on his heel and walking away, approaching the eldest prince.

Madeline politely thanked the nervous receptionist again and went to join the group as Pierre boasted about the hotel to the prince.

After Pierre's short but annoying speech, they started walking up the stairs, following the boys carrying their suitcases. Pierre continued talking about the hotel but no one listened. Two children admired the decoration and tapestry, running their fingers on the shiny wooden railing as they climbed up the stairs, while Prince Christopher walked behind them, his hands in his pockets. Madeline walked behind everyone, keeping her gaze lowered after what happened in the carriage.

She was partially mad at the prince for talking to her like that but she also could've picked her words better. But the anger about the prince was pushed aside as she couldn't block Pierre's annoying voice to focus on something else. Her day was getting worse by the minute...

"As your hotel concierge, you can ask me for whatever you want, Your Highnesses," Pierre smiled big, stopping in front of the closed doors, "Room 0324 is for the young ones," he said and opened it, revealing a large suite with two beds. The kids ran inside excitedly and Pierre's smile seemed to have faded a bit, the corner of his lips twitching once the twins started jumping on the beds.

He cleared his throat and let the bellboy carry the luggage as he moved forward, opening another room, "Room 0325 is for you, Your Highness," he bowed to Christopher, presenting a royal suite with a large bed before moving his attention to the young woman, "And for Madeline..." he unlocked the next door, showing her a neat suite that just breathed class with warm tones of the furniture and queen-sized bed, "I personally picked this one for you," his eyes narrowed as he gazed down at her, making Madeline more annoyed than she previously was. After all the hurt and terror he has brought to her, Pierre still had the audacity to smile and flirt like that.

"Please address me as Miss Simmons further on, Mr. Macon," she raised her chin and glared into his cold silver eyes.

Suddenly, Madeline felt someone glomp her around the waist, almost making her stumble forward and onto stuck-up Pierre. Looking down, she saw the young twins hugging her.