Slapped

Kaie peeked around the corner with Shiroi to see some maids greeting Royal. Elgis was also there.

Royal appeared at the door, looking exactly as he was written in the book. Black hair, with golden eyes. He wore a cape on the side, just like Elgis.

Royal bowed and looked up. "Father."

Elgis smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Son, how was your expedition?"

Royal pulled out a scroll from within his cloak. It was stamped with the royal seal. "Everything worked out as planned. We even got permission to scout the new area later."

The duke took it and put it in his pocket. "Is that so? Great job." He turned to the side and saw Kaie. "Lucille, come greet your brother."

Shiroi gave her a thumbs-up as she walked towards Royal. Kaie took a deep breath and curtsied. "Welcome back, brother." She gave him a wide smile.

Royal frowned. "Hello, Lucille." He unclasped his cape and gave it to her. "Put this in my room."

She tightened her smile on accident. "Of course, brother." Kaie quickly started walking up the stairs towards Royal's room. She silently hissed in annoyance. 'So annoying! I'm not his maid!'

Kaie pushed open the door to his room and looked inside. The curtains and windows were closed and the lights were off. It was quite dark, so she pulled open the window.

His bed was draped with a navy blue canopy, while he had a large desk on the other side. There was a scroll and a quill there. Kaie peeked at it and saw writing.

{My dear Catiana,

It has been a while since I've seen your beautiful face. I shall be back from my journey with gifts just for you. Please wait for me and we shall meet at the garden. See you soon.

Love,

Royal~}

Kaie looked under the piece of paper to see a response from Catiana.

{Royal,

I'm glad you're coming back soon. You'll see this after you come back from your journey. I hope you're safe. I'll be waiting for you everyday at the garden.

Best Regards,

Catiana Helvsen}

She read it through a few times. 'Catiana? In the story, Royal ended up with a girl called Aria, not Catiana. Did something change that?' Kaie was shifting through the papers, when the door behind her opened.

Royal had just entered the room and he had seen her shifting through the papers. Kaie froze. 'Shit- I'm screwed.'

He stomped over and yanked the paper out of her hands. Royal hissed, "What do you think you're DOING?"

She pointed at the window. "It was dark in your room, so I pulled open the curtains. Sorry if I did anything you didn't like, brother."

Royal pointed to the papers in his hand. "So, what if you did open the curtains? Why were these papers in YOUR hand?"

Kaie looked down at the ground, pretending to feel guilty. "I...saw them on the desk and decided to clean them up for brother."

There was silence for a moment, before a stinging feeling was felt on the side of her face. Royal growled, "I really detest that nice attitude of yours. You never stand up for yourself, thinking you're below everyone. Get out of my room."

Kaie clenched her hands. 'Did he just hit me? Royal never did that in the novel...' She turned around to leave when she saw a mini knife on top of a cabinet. She sneakily grabbed it, hoping that he wouldn't notice. 'If a sword is too heavy for me, then I'll just train with a knife for now!'

She ran out of his room, ignoring the pain in her face. Kaie was about to make it back into her room when she almost crashed into Shiroi. She adeptly shifted her foot and sidestepped.

Shiroi panicked in surprise and crashed onto the ground. He rubbed the back of his head in pain. "Ouch...Oh, Lucille! What did your brother say?"

She quickly hid the knife within the fold of her dress. "Brother said hello and he's happy I'm here." Kaie quickly placed on a fake smile.

He grinned. "Is that so? Well, Lucille, I'm glad I got to see you today. I have to head back to my house now, it's getting late."

Kaie gave him a wave. "Bye, Shiroi! I'll see you soon." She watched as he waved back, and left, heading towards the front door.

She was finally about to enter her room, when Elgis interrupted. "Lucille, my daughter. What happened to your hands?"

Kaie whipped around to see the duke standing there. 'Tch! I didn't hear him at all! My senses have gone dull.' She lifted up her hands for him. "Oh this? Dad, I'm all right. Shiroi lent me his sword and I wanted to try swinging it around. I might have overexerted myself by accident."

Elgis took her hand in his and gripped it. "Alright, but if that happens again, I'm preventing you from touching any swords. I don't want you to get hurt."

Kaie put a strained smile on her face. "Okay, Dad. I'm going to bed now, it's getting late."

He nodded and kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight, Lucille."

With that, Kaie finally entered her room, safe and sound from any troubles. She sighed in relief and placed the mini knife underneath her pillow. 'Finally! I'm all alone! I can sleep and then start working out early in the morning once more.'

She quickly changed into pajamas that were short and comfy. Kaie flopped into her bed and looked up at the canopy. Her eyes started drooping as she thought, 'I wonder who that masked man was...'