23. As A Royal

"I hope you'll find a man who treats you well and sincerely," Adro said, giving a warm smile.

Grace stared into those crystal eyes with a pounding heart. She almost drowned in that gaze. However, she had to quickly realize that she shouldn't get too close to Adro. Besides their different worlds, Adro was engaged to another woman.

Clearing her throat, Grace forced a chuckle and said, "Sorry for saying unnecessary things. Oh... look! I've become skilled with the crutches. It's thanks to you."

Adro smiled and nodded once. "Glad to help you. You're an independent woman."

"Everyone becomes independent when circumstances force them to. My grandmother used to say, As humans, we must be able to adapt quickly—even though I still struggle with that, to be honest," Grace replied, her voice dwindling to a murmur.

"Your grandmother was a wise woman. No wonder you grew into a woman with a beautiful heart. No need to judge yourself," Adro said.

"Well, that's so kind of you, but it seems I've only grown into an ordinary, somewhat shy woman." Grace chuckled and continued, "By the way, are you hungry?"

***

The sun outside the window started to set, and Grace and Adro enjoyed a few slices of cheesecake that Grace had kept in the refrigerator as a snack before dinner.

As the sun completely set, Adro helped Grace close all the curtains and tidy the house so she could fulfill her promise to show and explain various electronic devices in her home to him. She also explained many things about her world.

It was a day when Grace smiled a lot, seeing Adro's reactions to various advanced things not present in his original world. Nevertheless, he learned quickly and was able to grasp almost all the electronic devices in Grace's home within a few hours, as if he were already familiar with them.

Night fell, and they had to sleep. However, Grace found a problem that she had not yet solved: she only had one room and one bed in her house.

"I'll sleep on the sofa until you return to your world," Grace said.

"You? On the sofa? No. I can't let you sleep there, especially with your injured foot." Adro replied firmly.

Grace understood that, as a man who respects women, he wouldn't let an injured woman sleep on the sofa while he slept in a comfortable bed. However, Grace winced at the sight of her sofa. Not because it was ugly or dirty. Yes, the sofa was quite old, but still decent and clean.

"But the sofa is too small for you. There's no way you sleep with bent legs," Grace said.

"I know. But it's okay. I won't be here for long, either." Adro replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Are you sure? I mean... you are a prince. Aren't you used to sleeping on a grand and comfortable bed?"

"That's true," Adro replied. "But I spent most of my life wandering and fighting. During that time, I often slept in unsuitable places. I even slept on the back of my horse. So, you don't need to worry."

"Well... Okay, I understand now. Sorry if I seem like I am looking down on you," Grace said.

Adro shook his head. "No need. I understand you just want to host your guest well. But you have to remember that I'm not just visiting your home but staying and asking for help. I shouldn't inconvenience you more than that."

"Then I'll go to sleep now. You can knock on my door if you need anything."

"I understand. Thank you, Grace. Rest well," Adro said.

"Good night," Grace replied as she opened her bedroom door.

Closing the door, Grace limped to her bed. As she took a breath, she dropped her buttocks onto the edge of the bed.

"Geez... I didn't know an injured ankle would be this troublesome," she muttered, leaning her crutches against the bedpost.

Grace laid her head on the pillow and pulled the blanket to cover her body. How long had it been since she spent a night in her home with someone else?

"It feels strange to know that there's someone in this house, and it's a man," Grace murmured.

Turning to the side, Grace found a pillow that had absorbed all her tears that night.

'If this pillow were a person, it's the only one who knows that I was about to commit suicide...'

"Wait a minute!" Grace jumped up with bulging eyes. "My suicide note!"

Grabbing her crutches, Grace quickly got off the bed. Considering that Adro was outside, she opened the door slowly and peered outside. She couldn't see whether Adro was asleep or not because the sofa didn't face her room or the way she would take from the room to the kitchen.

As quietly as possible, Grace slipped into the kitchen to check her refrigerator door. She didn't remember seeing that note all day because she completely forgot that she had made her last message and stuck it there. When Sarah borrowed her house, Grace just gave it away without a second thought.

"Oh, shit! Where is it?" Grace muttered, looking around her refrigerator door in vain.

Grace had many sticky notes on her refrigerator door. That's what made her forget about the suicide note. Unfortunately, she found that none of those small sticky papers contained her suicide note.

'Who took the note? Did it fall? If Sarah took it, why didn't she say anything to me?'

Grace grimaced as she tried to lower her body to check if the note had fallen under the refrigerator. 'Oh, God! This is so hard! I regret never exercising. If I fall, I might wake Adro—'

"What are you doing?"

"Whoa!" Grace was startled to hear a man's voice echoing behind her as she was trying to bend her only supporting leg.

"Careful!" Adro shot out his hand to support Grace's body, which was almost falling backward.

Grace looked into Adro's widened eyes, which were staring at hers. She cleared her throat and quickly tried to get up on one leg with the help of the crutches.

"Did … did I wake you up?" Grace asked, stuttering.

"No, I couldn't sleep. What are you doing? It's dangerous."

"I... I'm looking for something," Grace replied with a small voice. She hid her face down.

"What are you looking for? I'll help you find it," Adro offered.

"It's... a piece of white paper. I think it might have fallen under the fridge," Grace answered.

"I see." Adro nodded and was about to lower his body to see if the thing Grace was looking for was indeed down there.

However, he stopped when he was about to bend his knees. A prince shouldn't kneel and lay his head on the floor. It wasn't applying to a prince only, but to all royal family members. It was surprising that Adro had only been in this strange world for a few days, yet he almost forgot the royal etiquette ingrained in him since birth.

"Oh, my bad," Grace mumbled. Then she opened one of the kitchen drawers and took out a flashlight from there. She handed the small black object to the prince standing next to her, pressing its power button. "You can use this to see underneath."

Adro stared at the small object that could shoot out bright light, not because he was amazed by it. His mind could synchronize with all the advancements in this world. Instead of that, he was contemplating whether he should lower himself just to help the girl he had known for only a few days.