He paused, the smirk slipping just slightly. "I wanted to check on you," he admitted.
"You wanted to check on me?" I raised a brow.
"Yes, I was kind of worried about you," he said without missing a beat.
I rolled my eyes and laughed, despite feeling extremely touched. "Well, thanks for the concern, Klaus. I'm surviving. Bleeding, bruised, sore in places I didn't even know existed—but surviving."
"Good," he nodded. "I believe you can do it."
I shook my head, studying him. "You're being weirdly supportive. Are you okay?"
He scoffed and turned to go. "I'm regretting this already."
I called after him, "Come again soon!"
Klaus waved a lazy hand without turning back. "Try not to die, Bella. There might be war soon."
I stood there for a moment, watching him go. I hadn't expected that. Not from him. But it warmed me in a way I wasn't quite ready to admit.
I was on my way back to my quarters when I heard a muffled sound—something between a yelp and a plea. I glanced toward the corner hallway and saw a man gripping one of the maids by the arm, too tightly, his face too close to hers. Her eyes were wide with fear. Something about the situation put me off.
My blood boiled.
I didn't care who he was. I didn't care what reason he had for doing that. I picked up my pace, seeing the maid so powerless reminded me of who I used to be so I punched him hard in the face. He stumbled back, more out of surprise than pain. "What the hell—"
"What do you think you're doing?" I screamed, standing between him and the maid like a wall. I turned to her, reaching out. "Are you okay?"
But instead of stepping toward me, she dropped to her knees and kept her head low. Her voice trembled. "Your Highness, please... forgive me."
I blinked. "Your what now?"
I turned to the man again, really looking at him this time.
No. No way.
"Wait… You're not—" I swallowed. "Are you a prince?"
He raised an eyebrow, rubbing his jaw with a smirk that made me want to punch him again. "Well, I am."
I felt heat rush to my face, but I didn't back down. Not completely. "She looked terrified. What was I supposed to do?"
He stepped forward slowly, his eyes locking with mine, unreadable. "You were supposed to think before throwing punches in the first place."
He sighed.
"It wasn't what you think," he said, glancing at the maid. "She dropped a confidential scroll. I startled her, that's all."
The maid nodded quickly, still too afraid to meet either of our eyes. "It was my fault, I'm sorry, Your Highness. Please, don't punish her…"
He gave a soft sigh and turned to me again. "You've got guts. I'll give you that."
I immediately dropped to my knees, my pride crumbling faster than I could catch it.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness. Please forgive me," I said, my head bowed low, voice barely above a whisper.
He tilted his head, amused. "Now you're begging?"
The smirk on his face was insufferable.
"How about I make your life miserable?" he continued, his tone light but dangerous. "Assaulting royalty is punishable by death, you know."
My heart skipped a beat. "Please," I begged again, my palms pressed together. "It was a mistake—I didn't know—"
He held up a hand to silence me. Then he pretended to think for a moment, as though deciding whether to have me executed or just mildly tortured.
"I suppose…" he finally said, dragging the words out like a bored cat playing with its food, "you didn't know I was royalty. But you should still be punished."
I nodded quickly. "Yes, Your Highness. Of course."
"Run around the courtyard. Fifty laps," he said with a straight face. "Do you dare?"
I was already on my feet before he finished.
"Thank you for your benevolence, my prince," I said, with what little dignity I had left.
He waved dismissively. "Have fun."
And then I ran.
By the tenth lap, I was breathing hard. By the twentieth, my legs felt like jelly. By the thirtieth, it felt like my entire body was tearing apart from the inside. My lungs were on fire. My muscles screamed. My vision blurred.
And yet... I kept running.
I hadn't even finished the laps when I saw Prince Jesse walking toward me, his pace steady and eyes locked onto mine. I slowed down, unsure of what to expect. Sweat clung to my skin, my breath was ragged, and my legs felt like lead, but I pushed through—until he raised a hand.
"Stop," he said firmly.
I blinked, confused. "But… but Prince Julius instructed me to. It's my punishment for—"
"I don't care what you did," Jesse cut in, his voice sharp. "No one touches my person except me."
Before I could respond, he reached for my arm and began pulling me away from the courtyard.
And of course—because the Moon Goddess clearly wanted drama today—Prince Julius showed up at that very moment.
"Brother," Julius's voice rang out, cool and laced with challenge. "What do you think you're doing?"
Jesse didn't stop walking. "This soldier is under my wing," he said, still holding my arm. "And I've decided to take responsibility for whatever she's done."
"She offended me," Julius snapped, stepping forward, his eyes narrowing. "And I chose to lightly punish her. Yet here you are, trying to make her offend me even further?"
Jesse turned to face him fully. "I don't care what she did wrong. She's under my command. That means only I—or the king—have the right to discipline her."
I stood awkwardly between the two royal brothers, sweat still dripping down my back, caught in what was now clearly a royal standoff.
"I will punish her myself," Jesse added, his voice calm.
Julius let out a low laugh, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Really? That's interesting. Because I don't recall you ever defending any other soldier under your wing before."
Ouch.
I quickly jumped in, trying to defuse the tension. "Please, I'm almost done running the laps. Don't—"
"Speak no more, Bella," Jesse said sharply, not even looking at me.
I shut up immediately.