For the past two months the Prince had visited her, Leonor didn’t know how to accept his kindness at face value. She was constantly suspicious of an ulterior motive, yet she was t with generosity each ti she doubted him.
Deep down, Leonor knew that most of her suspicions were simply because his father, the King, was an evil man to his core. It was hypocritical for her to doubt the Prince because of his father. After all, he could very well do the sa thing to her.
At a certain point, she had to relax her paranoia and accept that nothing was predictable. He had never given her a reason to doubt him. Her best chance at life was being away from her father and he had given her that much.
During one of his visits that the Count mistook for interest in his daughter, Leonor went on a walk with Prince Stephano after dinner one evening. He confessed to her that he would need capable people on his side when he was the King of Castille. Although the reasoning was vague, he never went into more detail than that.
The last ti Leonor and Prince Stephano spoke to one another, he wished her well at the academy. She had jumped to the conclusion that her ti with him was over.
However, as Leonor stepped out of the carriage and was t with a self-assured smirk from the prince, she knew she had bitten off more than she could chew. She accepted his help into the Academy and would pay for it.
"Your Highness," Leonor greeted him. "I shouldn’t be standing above you."
"I’m hardly a prince here," he admitted. "This place was my school when I was a teenager. I’m here to show you around since you’re being here is my idea."
"Should we see what others think?" she asked, trying to ignore the attention they had already begun to receive. "They will undoubtedly treat you differently when they realize who you are."
The Prince led Leonor to the curb and he shook his head.
"You didn’t," he reminded her. "That’s why I find you tolerable."
Leonor gasped.
"It isn’t fair to hang this over my head all the ti, Your Highness," Leonor urged, thinking of their first unexpected eting. "That was an entirely different scenario. And to call tolerable? As if I’m food you don’t particularly like but have gotten used to."
Her words fell on deaf ears as the Prince led her toward the building that would house her for the foreseeable future. Her father’s coachn were already bringing her few crates of things into the building, knowing the unit where she would be staying. Of course, her father hadn’t told her specifics. She was ant to figure things out for herself.
"That isn’t accurate," Prince Stephano insisted. "I don’t particularly care for eating."
His slender fra wasn’t because of his tabolism. If he wasn’t in Coeurvalle, he hardly ate at the worry soone was trying to poison him. His father’s paranoias lived on in the Prince’s heart as crippling anxiety. Sotis he couldn’t even take a bite without imdiately throwing it up.
Once he knew Leonor beyond his sword instructor’s love for her, he realized she was soone who didn’t make his anxiety spike. His serious nature took a break when it was just the two of them. All of his friendships had been fleeting, but sothing about their friendship made it seem more concrete than the ones prior.
"As a noble lady, I wish I were more willing to starve myself," Leonor admitted, but the small smile pulling at her lips indicated she was kidding.
There was a silent understanding that the Count had starved her the first day Prince Stephano showed up to the manor unannounced. He was far more observant than anyone gave him credit for.
Leonor realized the Prince knew where she would live because he hardly paid attention to anyone in the foyer and went directly to a stairwell that went up four stories. The two friends only walked up three floors before stopping and going down a narrow hallway.
Leonor observed everything there being made of a reddish wood. The walls were plastered in a light cream color and most things weren’t adorned or decorated. It was basic compared to the heart of the manor she grew up in.
She welcod the change.
Seeing that her father’s n were already ahead of them with crates in their arms, it was easy to tell which room was hers. It seed they had also gotten help from workers within the building because there were a couple of n carrying crates whom she didn’t recognize.
At the end of the long, narrow hallway with four doors on each side, she found a small dormitory made of the sa wooden floors, beams, and cream walls as the rest of the building. It was a decently sized room that fit a single bed, a desk with two chairs, a comfortable armchair, and a bare bookshelf.
What she enjoyed the most was the large window sitting above the desk. The reddish wood created a grid pattern on the window and cast shadows across her room considering it was approaching early evening. She was happy to see she could open the window if she needed to.
Breaking her from her thoughts, one of the coachn spoke to her first.
"My lady, do you need anything else before we return to Burien?" one of the n asked.
Leonor t the man’s eyes and she offered a small smile but she shook her head.
"Nothing else," she assured him. "Thank you for helping settle in."
Even if she needed help, she wouldn’t ask him. Multiple tis in her life, that very man had reported back to her father on her behavior and actions. She was elated to be an environnt where fewer people were reporting her every move to her father. However, getting over that paranoia wouldn’t be instantaneous. She wanted to trust people but she knew she couldn’t right away.
Before the man could leave, he bowed to Prince Stephano who only acknowledged it with a stiff nod before uttering a quiet farewell. It wasn’t lost on the Prince that the man sized him up before he shut the door.
"Will he report back to your father that I am here?" Prince Stephano asked.
"Certainly," Leonor uttered from where she stood at the window. "Sothing about the promiscuous Count’s daughter has another man hanging around her. Fortunately, the Magic Academy doesn’t allow guards to follow even nobles around. I’ll be able to breathe a bit easier."
The Prince held out a gloved hand as if asking for a handshake.
"Then I would like to reintroduce myself," the Prince said. "The Count’s promiscuous daughter, et the King’s womanizing son."
Leonor’s eyes widened and a grin spread across her lips. She shook Prince Stephano’s hand.
It seed they were both wrongly accused of sothing in the past. The title of womanizer should have put her off, but she trusted him more.
"Now that you know the ’real’ , shall I introduce you to soone you’re going to get to know quite well during your ti here?" the Prince asked.
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