𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐃𝐎𝐌

𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿.

王国

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(Y/N) stood by the door of Duran's office with a rigid posture, gazing straight ahead so as to ignore the burning stare that was boring through her. After he had witnessed her and Zenon sitting together in the garden, he made quick work of dragging her away from him to serve him dinner and now to serve him there in his office.

But the room was stifling.

Almost tense.

And she wasn't entirely sure why.

But...

Tilting her head, she thought of the way Duran had looked when she had locked eyes with him in the garden, sensing nothing but betrayal and jealousy and some anger present within the hues. If she were being entirely honest, she wondered if the 'care' that she had sensed that Duran held for her was starting to turn into something more, a factor that would explain his sudden strange behavior and rather possessive mannerisms.

I couldn't be right, couldn't I?

After all, His Majesty is to be wed soon, and I am far from a lovable person.

But if I am right... then what?

I have to know.

"Your Majesty, may I speak?" (Y/N) asked, her voice seeming to bounce around the space from how silent it was.

"What is it?"

"I can't help but notice that ever since yesterday, you've been rather... distant," she summed up, her grip tightening behind her back in hopes that what she was speaking wouldn't get her reprimanded. "And now you are upset with me. Can I ask what it was that displeased you?"

Duran didn't answer her right away.

And then, "The fact that you don't know what you've done is what displeases me."

She blinked.

What I've done?

Hm... it seems my theory is wrong then. Perhaps he is just upset because I have been slacking on my duties.

"Is it because I have been waning on my duty of serving you?" (Y/N) asked, noting how Duran's brow twitched at her question. "If that is the case, then I apologize, and will make sure that I will not allow myself to slack off again."

Duran suddenly stood up and slammed his hands down on the table, the sound a rather startling and thunderous noise that even surprised (Y/N). She hadn't been expecting such a negative reaction, even more so did she not expect the withering glare that he gave her. It was one that sent chills running up and down her spine in the most nerve-wracking ways, everything within her telling her to run away and not look back.

But her feet stayed rooted to the spot.

Her expression remained calm.

But even with all of that, her heart still picked up when sensing the danger around her.

"I've told you numerous times... (Y/N)," he started lowly, his tone taking on a rather sharp edge. "Your apologies are worthless to me. Even more so when what you're apologizing about isn't the main issue at hand here."

She lowered her head.

Duran flinched when seeing she had no reaction to his words, instead merely acting subordinate to him.

But she was.

She was confined to that role.

From the day he brought her and the rest of the war prisoners back from Ushien, he had sentenced her to be subservient to him for the rest of her life. Of course, he hadn't known her then, and had never talked to her or enjoyed her presence before she came to Ophnelia.

But, still...

I fucking hate this.

Striding forward from behind his desk, Duran approached (Y/N) and stopped right in front of her. His long brown hair hung from his shoulders as he too bent his head forward, hesitating, wondering what he should do now that he had worked up the courage to stand so close to her again. Finally, he lifted his gaze, and since it was at the same moment that she did so, their eyes met.

And in that moment, Duran knew.

Turning away from (Y/N), running his hands down his head to cup the back of his neck, he stood there for a moment, trying to process his thoughts.

Finally, he said, "You're dismissed."

He waited until the door closed behind (Y/N) to turn back around, walking back to his chair and collapsing into the plush cushions, feeling as if a weight had been released from his shoulders but like shackles were now bound around his wrists. Cupping the lower half of his face with his hand, feeling how warm his face was from (Y/N)'s close proximity, he tried to quell the emotions that roared within him.

This isn't natural...

This isn't natural at all...

I've had relationships—pure relationships—with women, whether they be noble or maids, before...

So why is this different?

How is just her presence alone making me this crazy?

Letting his head rest back so that he was now staring at the ceiling, Duran closed his eyes and thought back to the first time he and (Y/N) had met. If he really thought about it, he could trace their meeting back to the attack that he led on Ushien's palace. His memory showed him blazing flames that sparked orange and red and blackened everything around it, people screaming and running around as they tried to either save the palace or escape, and then his guards subduing everyone at the same time. However, his mind then showed him another image, one of a lone maid standing in the middle of such a mess with the calmest expression he had ever seen.

His eyes flew open.

So that... was (Y/N) back then?

I should have known.

Both were so calm and composed despite the situation... almost unfeeling at this point.

He laughed out loud.

That's right...

She's not normal.

From taming Ronan to watching him devour his handler... she showed no reaction.

And even now... nothing.

Gripping the arms of his chair tighter, Duran clicked his tongue, his joy from earlier immediately fizzling out. He found (Y/N)'s lack of reaction rather amusing at first, but now he was starting to crave something more. He didn't realize that such a feeling could be so strong until he saw her smiling with Zenon as if it were nothing.

She never showed such expressions around him.

Not once.

And now here I am...

Letting a bitter chuckle slip past his lips, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the carved wood of the chair, he shook his head at his rather pathetic situation.

Yeah...

Here I am, pining after a woman who can never be with me.

⎡ 𝑻𝑶 𝑩𝑬 𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑼𝑬𝑫 ⎦