An Unexpected Proposal Chapter 9

April 2, 2020

"You’re back?"

The mont Cabelenus entered the bedchamber, Alicia quickly stood up. His eyes imdiately scanned her, assessing her condition. She no longer spoke of wanting to die, but that didn’t ease his concern. A woman who claid nothing as her own always seed like soone who could disappear at any mont.

"What’s that wound?"

His gaze landed on Alicia’s fingertips.

"Oh, this? I pricked myself on a thorn…"

As she spoke, her eyes flickered with unease, subtly gauging his reaction. She recalled his previous warning—if she so much as bled, he would kill the ones responsible.

"A thorn?"

"The roses in the garden were blooming beautifully, so I touched them without thinking…"

"In that case, have a servant handle it."

Fortunately, Cabelenus didn’t seem to rember his past words. Alicia let out a quiet sigh of relief before cautiously stepping closer to him.

"But I’m a slave. I shouldn’t be ordering servants around."

"Where did you hear that nonsense?"

"Since my kingdom didn’t have slaves, I read up on the status of slaves in the Blanche Empire."

A faint smile crossed Alicia’s lips. Though small, there was a hint of pride in her expression.

"Wasting your ti on pointless things. Who told you that?"

Cabelenus frowned.

"I, well… I found it in a book on my own…"

A lie. The hesitation in her voice made his forehead crease. He didn’t even need to ask—there were only so many ways for Alicia to acquire information. The servants who attended her in his absence must have told her.

"I’ll have different servants assigned starting tomorrow."

"B-But…"

He had caught her lie. Alicia looked up at him anxiously. She had studied to avoid angering him, not to get others into trouble.

"What? You don’t want that?"

"N-No…"

A slave was not supposed to oppose their master. Obedience was a slave’s virtue. Alicia lowered her head, recalling the lessons she had morized over the past few days.

"Haah…"

Cabelenus sighed as he looked at the woman bowing her head before him. A woman who strictly adhered to her designated place was an ideal slave. But that wasn’t what he wanted.

"The servants will stay."

"R-Really? Oh… I an, I wasn’t trying to question your decision, Your Highness…"

The more she spoke, the more awkward it beca. Frustrated, Alicia shut her mouth and bowed again. Cabelenus chuckled at the sight.

"You’re still a clumsy slave."

"I’m sorry."

"No, it’s fine. It’s better this way."

There was no need for Alicia to grow accustod to life as a slave. Cabelenus had no intention of keeping her in that position forever. Right now, there was no choice—only a short ti had passed since the war ended—but once things settled, her status would be restored.

"But if I can’t even manage this much, I’ll only be a burden to you, after all the kindness you’ve shown ."

"You think I’ve shown you kindness?"

Cabelenus’s lips curled into a smirk. He had no intention of telling her the truth—that she didn’t need to live as a slave. It irritated him that she could so easily say sothing like that when she had never accepted anything he gave her with joy.

"Of course. You avenged , and you’ve given clothes and jewelry…"

"I never avenged you. Neuschwein was simply a land I had to conquer. Killing your king had nothing to do with you—it was for my brother."

Even after securing the throne, Jerpeneus’s position remained unstable. As a half-blood prince, he was far from the noble faction’s ideal heir. He needed more power, more achievents to solidify his rule. Cabelenus had rely taken up the sword to make that happen.

"Even so, I was grateful."

"Grateful?"

"If you hadn’t co that day, my fate would have been sealed."

Her smile was so sorrowful that Cabelenus montarily lost his words.

"…Do you truly not resent ?"

No matter how much she may have despised him, the King of Neuschwein was still her father. Even if she hated him, Cabelenus had killed her father and displayed his severed head outside the palace. If she bore a grudge, he wouldn’t bla her.

"Not all parents are good parents. That’s all there is to it."

"My father loved another woman, not my mother. And for the son he had with her, he used every ans necessary—even if it ant sacrificing his other son."

"…"

"And yet, when he died, I still cried."

His voice was calm, but as he spoke, he carefully studied Alicia’s expression. There was nothing to gain from digging into the past, but he wanted to confirm sothing. Even if it was resentnt, he wanted her to feel sothing for him.

"Truly, you don’t resent ?"

"No. I don’t."

Contrary to his hopes, Alicia shook her head weakly.

To her, a father was not what most people imagined. When she had seen her father’s head displayed outside the castle, she had wept—but it wasn’t grief. It had been relief. It was all finally over.

"…You never change."

How could he break her?

Cabelenus reached out and cupped her cheek. Her face was so small it fit entirely in his palm. She posed no threat to him, yet every ti he looked into those dull eyes, he felt an inexplicable chill down his spine.

"Is that really how I seem to you, Your Highness?"

"Yes. That’s how you seem. Always so calm."

The only one who felt restless was him.

Cabelenus leaned closer to her.

It would be so easy to kiss her. She would only blush, never resist.

And yet, that was exactly why he couldn’t do it.

With a distorted expression, he stared at her, waiting with her eyes closed. He had kissed those lips countless tis, yet now, they felt impossibly distant.

And for so reason, he didn’t want to know why.

***

"What are you doing? Sit down."

Despite his command, Alicia hesitated, hovering near the bench. The long, narrow seat left only one place for her—beside him.

"Co on."

At his insistence, she stiffly lowered herself onto the bench.

"…"

"…"

"The scent is lovely."

In the lingering silence, Alicia finally forced out a voice. She didn’t know what Cabelenus was thinking, but for him to simply sit idly on a garden bench, doing nothing, was unusual.

"Do you truly enjoy this?"

Cabelenus tilted his head slightly as he gazed at the fully blood roses. They swayed gently in the breeze, their petals lush and vibrant, but they did nothing for him. He didn’t like flowers. More precisely, he despised anything fragile.

"You don’t, Your Highness?"

"The scent is too strong."

Alicia let out an awkward chuckle at his scrunched-up expression. He looked good anywhere, but sitting on a bench surrounded by flowers certainly felt out of place. The scent of roses didn’t suit him—the cold steel-like scent that clung to him was what she was used to.

"Shall we go sowhere else?"

Alicia carefully suggested after observing his deepening frown. A slave wasn’t ant to give opinions, but she couldn’t help it. Watching his expression darken made her nervous that sothing bad would happen.

"But you said you liked it here."

"Pardon?"

"Forget it. Just stay where you are."

Cabelenus leaned back against the bench, his face still twisted in discomfort. If Jerpeneus saw him like this, he’d mock him for another twenty years. He was painfully aware of how ridiculous he must have looked, but this was all he could do now. No matter how many riches he gave her, Alicia remained unmoved. If he wanted to break her, he had to try everything.

"……"

"……"

Silence once again stretched between them. Alicia continued glancing at Cabelenus, unable to pull her gaze away. Whatever was on his mind, he truly seed content just sitting there.

What is he thinking?

The Cabelenus she knew despised wasting ti. Sitting on a bench without even a docunt in hand was sothing he simply didn’t do.

"Um…"

Alicia hesitated, her face tense. She had no intention of asking unnecessary questions, but no matter how she looked at it, Cabelenus was acting strange today.

"What is it?"

"Is sothing wrong?"

"No. Nothing’s wrong."

"I see…"

Her shoulders slumped. She had received an answer, but it wasn’t enough to ease her doubts.

"You don’t like it?"

"Huh?"

"You always sit here. I thought you liked it."

Or maybe not. Cabelenus clicked his tongue at her sagging shoulders. He was beginning to realize that understanding soone’s preferences was a tricky thing.

"Ah, well… This spot gets the most sunlight."

"Sunlight? And what about it?"

"It’s warm."

Alicia glanced down at her hands, bathed in the sunlight. Though daily care had softened her skin, faint scars still remained.

"Haah?"

"On days like this, sitting here in the sun makes feel better. The warmth is so comforting that it lets stop thinking for a while."

"……"

The underground chamber where Alicia had spent most of her ti had no sunlight. Only the dim flicker of a candle lit the cold, damp darkness—and even that was a rare luxury. Her family had always been reluctant to waste even a single candle on her. She had spent her days curled up on the damp stone floor, trying to ward off the suffocating chill, desperately trying to push away the relentless flood of dark thoughts.

"Oh… Is that strange?"

Alicia laughed awkwardly under Cabelenus’s intense gaze. Her life had been far from normal, so it was only natural that her thoughts and behaviors differed as well. But was it wrong? She didn’t know. All she could do was watch him, trying to gauge whether she had said sothing that displeased him.

"…Smile again."

"What?"

"Just now. Smile like you did before."

Cabelenus’s voice carried an unusual urgency. Her smile had only lasted for a fleeting mont, but he couldn’t forget it.

"L-Like this?"

Startled by the sudden request, Alicia forced the corners of her lips upward.

"That’s not it."

Cabelenus shook his head firmly. The smile he had seen wasn’t this forced. It had been natural, soft—like the golden glow of the setting sun reflecting off her red hair.

He reached out, grasping a lock of her hair. It was much softer than before, no longer rough and tangled. But compared to the radiance of a sunset, it was still lacking.

"Then… how about this?"

"No."

"Oh… not this either?"

She had tried her best. The corners of her lips, which she had lifted with all her might, drooped once more.

Cabelenus watched her intently before exhaling deeply. The strands of red hair slipped from his fingers.

"Stop trying to read my mood."

"What?"

"Stop flinching at everything I say."

She had once begged him to kill her, speaking rudely without a second thought. But now, every word he spoke made her eyes widen in alarm. It was starting to get on his nerves. He pressed his fingers against his furrowed brow, trying to smooth the creases.

"I’m sorry. I’ll try harder."

Alicia bit her lip. She had been trying so hard not to upset him, but maybe it wasn’t enough.

"Stop saying things like that, too."

"But I was wrong. It’s only right for to apologize."

"And what exactly did you do wrong?"

"Regardless of the reason, I disrespected my master’s wishes. That is a slave’s mistake."

"…If you recite that ridiculous ‘slave doctrine’ one more ti, I’ll punish you."

He should have dismissed the servant who taught her such nonsense. Cabelenus clenched his jaw, cursing the faceless fool as he grabbed Alicia’s shoulder. Her body, drained of all tension, had bothered him for a while now.

"Then teach sothing else. Tell what you want, and I’ll do it."

"You don’t need to do anything. When have I ever asked that of you?"

"But if I do nothing, I have no worth."

Alicia’s body trembled faintly.

At so point, Cabelenus had stopped touching her.

He was losing interest in her.