Masquerade [BANG CHAN FF]

8. Young noblemen

On September 30th, Madeline received her first payment as the royal tutor. The envelope was thick, meaning that the royals were pleased with Madeline's work. Although the royal twins were saddened that Madeline couldn't move in and live with them in the castle, they were still very happy that she read the stories to them before sleep.

And, luckily for Madeline, ever since her tensed and "heated" encounter with Prince Christopher that Saturday night, she hadn't seen him around much.

The prince realized his mistake, the way he behaved toward the young woman and the difference in their positions that he willingly stepped back, calming himself by training with the royal army soldiers, participating in different sports, or getting together with different girls every other night just so that he could push his complicated thoughts aside and stay away from the castle and the royal tutor of his younger siblings.

That worked well for Madeline - not seeing Prince Christopher gave her heart and mind enough freedom to function and focus on the lectures. During the day, Madeline was focused and calm - studying with the royal twins, but at night, when she would lay in her bed and close her eyes, Madeline would hear him in her mind. She would see his face clearly behind her closed eyelids, sense his touch on her hair and fingers, and smell his musky cologne evaporating from his neck and traveling up her nostrils. And all those feelings and images made it hard for her to fall asleep.

So Madeline included a calming cup of tea in her bedtime routine every night. It was hard at first but then, the more he was out of her sight and the more time passed, Madeline could sleep easier.

And on that September 30th, as soon as she came back home in the late afternoon, Madeline pulled Alissa out of the house for them to go to a café and treat themselves.

"Congratulations on your first pay," Alissa squeezed Madeline's hand tighter as they walked down the street.

"Thank you," she replied with a beaming smile.

The girls turned the corner and soon sat on the colorful chairs of a small local café. They ordered tea with cookies and Madeline excitedly talked about her job.

"I really love it," she sighed dreamily. "The children were hard work when I first began but now they're a couple of sweet angels. It's so delightful to work with them."

Alissa kept nodding and drinking her tea. But then she lowered the cup back on its plate and leaned closer over the table. Madeline watched her blonde friend in confusion as Alissa tilted her hat and pulled up her hand to cover her mouth.

"And what about Prince Christopher?" the blonde woman whispered, a small smile tugging on the corner of her lips.

Madeline tensed, straightening up in her seat. She didn't tell Alissa what happened that night because she wanted to forget about it as soon as possible so she didn't need to get reminded as just hearing his name would bring back those memories.

Madeline gulped her nervousness down, keeping a straight face. "We are not interacting much. I see him around the castle or the grounds but we barely exchange a few words beside the greeting."

Alissa's smile couldn't stay hidden - she smirked and leaned her head on the palm of her hand, her blue eyes scanning Madeline's face.

"You can fool someone else, Maddie, but not me," the blonde woman raised her brow. "I know you - whenever you're hiding something or feel nervous, you straighten your back, tilt your chin up, and act as if you're unfazed by the matter at hand. Something happened with the prince, I know it."

Madeline's jaw clenched and her breathing sped up. She closed her eyes for a moment before looking at her friend again.

"Alissa... he almost recognized me..." Madeline talked, trying to keep her voice steady so it wouldn't come out shaky and show her nervousness. Alissa's brows furrowed in confusion. "He almost recognized me as Liliana that night I stayed at the castle. He's..." she quieted down, leaning closer over the table, "I think he's in love with her..."