Frustration and vengefulness

"Leave us!"

The maids and servants shivered in fear, scampering around and fleeing in different directions.

Left alone with her, he found his eyes wandering to her undeniably beautiful face. She wore a flowing dress in the softest shade of purple, complementing his dark purple robes.

He secretly felt happy, seeing she was finally this close; he had even forgotten he sought her out because he recalled the past and was angry with her. He saw that her hair was halfway done, walked towards her, and removed the golden pins holding her hair. Luciana looked at him through her mirror in confusion.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

He ignored her question and pulled out the last pin and was momentarily surprised by the silky locks of her black hair that cascaded down her shoulders and back as smooth as a waterfall, very silky and soft between his fingers. He felt his throat tightening and cleared his throat. Holding half of her hair up in a ponytail with the rest flowing behind her back, he nodded to himself,

"Better to wear your hair this way."

Luciana sat there unperturbed, her face calm at a lake with no ripples, and he cursed himself inwardly. 'What are you doing? What is wrong with you?' To think just this little closeness to her was causing such tension within him while she looked at him like a stranger.

"After Dora painstakingly made my hair, I was almost done, but see how plain he made it," Luciana mumbled under her breath, but her words were loud enough for him to hear.

Her words woke him up from his reverie, and he saw her face full of dissatisfaction. Ha! To think that he, Prince Nicholas, had bent his rules for this woman, time and time again, but she was still haughty.

Other women would be coyly blushing and seductively batting their lashes at him if he just grazed his finger on their chin. He didn't even know if it was anger or frustration he felt from seeing the only woman who was not affected by his charms.

'Does my presence not affect her at all?' he thought. The discovery made him furious for no reason. Feeling vengeful, his hand grabbed a fistful of her hair, roughly tugging it and tilting her head to look at him. Her teary and sultry eyes silently glared at him, but she didn't even whimper, and not a trace of fear was in sight.

The more he took in her expressionless face, with her slightly upturned eyes that looked as if she were mocking him, the worse his mood became. She wasn't angry, fine, but why wasn't she even afraid of him? All the maids and servants in his manor and even in the palace would instinctively make themselves appear smaller when he approached since they feared incurring his wrath.

But here she was, not shy, not angry, and not afraid. His father feared many of the ministers might think he was not fit to rule due to rumors of his mother's psychological condition and his violent temper. With his gift of super strength, many people feared he would cause a bloodbath at the slightest grievance.

Even though Prince Nicholas didn't care because he knew there were lots of people who still loved his fierceness and hailed him as the war god, the emperor had arranged several concubines from other countries in a marriage alliance to strengthen his power.

Prince Nicholas had, however, never touched his concubines and always preferred the thrill of having fun with women outside who didn't know his identity. He hid his identity and wooed the women, who flung themselves at him and wanted to please him in various ways, but this girl, who had a face that could make an emperor lay his kingdom at her feet, had come his way, and for months, he had thought about her to the point of insanity.

The more they played their cat-and-mouse game with him pretending to be an ordinary soldier and her acting as a noble lady from a respectable household who wouldn't fall for his charms unless he earned them. He had never thought his plans of conquering her and getting under her skin would lead him to such a situation.

Each time they met, she had continued to wrap him around her little finger, and like a fool drunk on the wine, he had been intoxicated, and unknowingly, she was the one who got under his skin; she had captured his heart.

"Tell me your name, not a fake one, your real name." Luciana was startled by his words and realized that in her past life, he still did not know her name around this time.

"Luciana," she said softly. She could tell he was in a foul mood, seeing how his gaze hardened the more he watched her, and she decided not to say something to displease him.

"Luciana," he repeated in a velvety, husky voice,

"Your name is as beautiful as you." He whispered hoarsely, his breath fanning the side of her neck, causing Luciana's heart to skip a beat and letting down her defenses; the feeling caused a sense of déjà vu within her, and she subconsciously a leaned into him, wanting to be close to him again.

Luciana knew Nicholas was a gentle lover when you were obedient, but too bad she was always stubborn and always got on his nerves, making their relationship merely become a game of who would win against the other. Their previous relationship was like a competition, with Nicholas showing his dominance to make her know he was the one in control and Luciana showing her unwillingness to bend over and accept him, and it had cost them dearly.

Nicholas sensed her change and pressed her body into his, his arms stroking her back, and leaned in, placing his lips on her enticing neck and sucking the skin. Luciana felt her knees weakening; her face flushed red, her heart racing, and she felt her body trembling, and her breathing became labored.

"Wh... what are you doing?" She stammered, her voice breathless.

A smirk formed on Nicholas' face, seeing the effects he was having on her. 'He won!'

He took a step back, and with a nonchalant tone, he said coldly,

"We are late; don't keep the elders waiting."

This time he saw a look of anger forming on her face and inwardly smiled to himself. 'He was Prince Nicholas, the legendary ice prince; there was no woman who couldn't bend to him and his rules. Even if she was her enemy's daughter, he was going to make sure that she completely surrendered to him.'