𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐃𝐎𝐌

𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲.

王国

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    As (Y/N) ironed Duran's clothes in his bedroom, she didn't notice the figure creeping up behind her. When she finally did, it was when his arms were already wrapped tightly around her waist with his head settling comfortably on the crook of her neck. While such affections were starting to become almost routinely, she couldn't help but stiffen each time.

It wasn't normal.

Duran's affections for her, nor his actions.

Ever since he had suddenly kissed her a week ago, he didn't let her leave his sight for even a moment unless they had to part for the evening or to use the bathroom. It was straining for her, being on the receiving end of his infatuation, but she told herself that he would soon get over her. To her, Duran had just been someone who was tired of the people below him, and those who were at his level. He couldn't connect with them in any way. And yet, she had crossed that line when she had entered the palace.

Now, she couldn't go back.

"My dear (Y/N)," Duran crooned as he inhaled deeply, the scent of her shampoo lingering on his senses. "Where did you go? To think that you would try and slip away while I was in a meeting... that makes me quite sad."

"I apologize, Your Majesty," she said, continuing her task even with him present.

He frowned at that.

He hated whenever she seemed so stiff and formal with him, wanting to see every single side of her. He had already made his feelings for her clear, yet she kept pushing him away, giving him the insight that she still did not feel the same. The very thought wrenched at his heart, so he tried to do everything he could to make her love him.

"Look at me, won't you?" He whispered into her ear, watching a small shudder run through her body.

Smirking at the reaction, he pressed his lips to her skin and started to kiss down her neck, the warmth of her flesh sending a buzz running through him. It had been so long since he experienced the relaxing presence of another person, and he wanted to relish every moment he could with (Y/N). When he pulled down the shoulder of her uniform, she tried to push him away, but he wouldn't budge, continuing to kiss and suck the supple skin.

When he was done, he was satisfied with marks that he had left on her.

It meant that she was his.

But when his dark eyes met (Y/N)'s, they widened when seeing her form pressed against the edge of his bed with a rumpled uniform, her expression one of surprise that left her flustered with heat climbing to her face. She looked so beautiful in that moment and so tempting that Duran wanted to ravish her right then and there, something he didn't get a chance to do since she immediately ran out of the room.

He pressed his hands to the mattress.

Biting his lip, he tried to hide the twisted grin that wanted to cross his lips and the blush that wanted to heat his cheeks.

But he couldn't.

His desire for (Y/N) had stemmed back to the point when she had caught his interest, having continued to do so with her pleasant conversations, her hard work, and the way she made everything she did look effortless. He hadn't realized it then, but he did now, and he wanted to make up for lost time.

(Y/N)...

She's so damn cute.

"Ah..." he leaned his head back, his body twitching and his smile widening. "I want her so badly."

(Y/N) currently was now in the garden, her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath, her embarrassment from what Duran had did earlier still replaying over and over again in her mind. She didn't normally react like this, since she had never been in a romantically involved situation before, but it had caught her so off guard that her only instinct was to run away.

She inhaled deeply, trying to calm down.

At first, she didn't mind his attention when it had just been an interest, but now things were different.

"I wonder how long this will last..." she murmured, straightening up and smoothing out the wrinkles in her uniform that were made both from Duran and from her suddenly running away from him. "A maid and a King romantically involved is so taboo... I never thought I would be caught in a scandal like this..."

Well...

It's not like I wanted to be involved.

But, then again...

(Y/N) let her gaze slide to the side as she thought of the life that she would have if she just accepted Duran's advances. Even if his affection waned later on and he brought in a Queen, if he gave her the title of a Royal Concubine, she would be showered with riches and luxuries that she never had access to before. Never again would she wonder if she would go hungry, if she wouldn't be cold, if she would have to bow to the whims of horrid masters. Her mind threw her back to King and Queen of Ushien who regularly beat their servants for even the slightest mishap, her eyes narrowing and her hatred for the two of them glaring.

Everyone always questioned why she felt no attachment to her home country.

But that was just it.

She didn't know if she was born in Ushien.

She had no parents that she knew of, only being told that she was left on the doorstep of an orphanage when she was only one year old. After she grew up, she was told that the wages given at the palace were nice, so she entered as a servant. She didn't know that she would be forced into a position where she no longer had a choice in the manner, her contract having been modified so she received lower pay and longer hours than was promised.

She was miserable.

She hated that place with her entire being.

So when Duran suddenly stormed the palace, she felt no need to try and save anything or anyone from that place. Sure, she had comforted a crying Juliya on the journey to Ophnelia initially, but she found the other's tears quite ridiculous since to her, nothing could've been worse than Ushien.

Not even becoming a prisoner of war.

(Y/N) jolted when a hand was set on her shoulder, she quickly turning around to see that the person in front of her was clad in armor that glinted in the fading afternoon sun.

Her tense muscles relaxed.

"Sir Elioud..." she smiled, the man taken aback by the rather relieved and comforted look. "...it's nice to see you again."

⎡ 𝑻𝑶 𝑩𝑬 𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑼𝑬𝑫 ⎦