"Emma, you're joking, right?"
"Sir Kaisen, this is your last warning. Stay where you are, or I will call the guards. Your choice."
With a finality in her tone, she called out loudly,
"Guards!"
"Wa-wait. Okay, okay. I won't co any closer. Happy?"
He raised his hands in surrender, flashing a nervous smile.
Esralda simply nodded, her attention already back to her book, leaving Kaisen to wonder about the sudden change in her attitude.
"So...what's up with the cold shoulder?"
He asked, trying to break the tension.
"Sir Kaisen, I'm gonna say this one last ti. I don't know what you want from , nor do I care. You're supposed to leave today, right? What are you still doing here?"
Esralda replied sharply, her tone as icy as the tundra.
Her words hit Kaisen like a punch to the gut, leaving him feeling as if he'd been stabbed in the chest.
'What the actual fuck happened overnight?!'
"I...uh...ca to check on you, Emma."
He stamred, feeling the weight of her cold deanor.
"For the last ti, Sir Kaisen, stop addressing as Emma and start calling Princess Esralda."
She snapped, her tone cutting like a knife.
"And... I don't need a stranger to check on . I've plenty of maids and knights for that. If you're done with your questions, respectfully, get out."
With each word, her dismissal grew more evident, her attention solely focused on her book as if he were nothing but a passing shadow.
Stunned into silence, he stood frozen.
'What the actual fuck?! She's serious.'
"Well, you do have knights and maids to check on you, but as your friend, I do have an obligation to see how my friend is doing today."
Kaisen retorted, trying to maintain a semblance of cheerfulness.
"To just talk to her and play with her. Maybe tease her a lil' bit..."
His smile was t with a cold stare from Esralda, and Kaisen's awkwardness only grew.
"Friends? Friends?"
She scoffed.
"Sir Kaisen, you're just a re adventurer and I'm a princess. What makes you think we can be friends? You're wasting my ti, oh and you're annoying . Get out or else I'll call the knights now."
His smile faltered, his confidence crumbling under her words like a deflated balloon.
He looked down, shaking his head in defeat.
Sohow, he had managed to ss things up, though he couldn't quite grasp the reason why.
'Perhaps its because of yesterday...'
"Emma, I'm sorry. Sorry for yesterday. I didn't know..."
He began, his voice tinged with regret as he moved closer to her and kneeled beside the chair she sat on.
His hands reached out to touch hers, but she imdiately snatched hers away and tucked them under her thighs.
"Yesterday? What about yesterday? Sir Kaisen, I don't rember what happened yesterday."
She didn't push him away or anything; she simply averted her face to the side, refusing to et his eyes.
She didn't want to think about yesterday—about how she cried herself to bed because she was scared and sad that he had left her.
And how she thought it was due to her, like with the previous incidents, like all of her previous friends leaving her in the dark.
She didn't want to go through it anymore.
It was better to be alone than to be with soone who constantly reminds you that you are alone.
"Emma... Em... co on, don't be like this. Look, I'm sorry. I... I just got carried away. I shouldn't have touched you like that. I--"
"Touched ?! Is that what you think the problem is? Are you that dense? Yeah, yeah... I was right about you. You were only after my body from the start.
"You never cared for my feelings or my wants. All you did was what you want. You are selfish. Very, very selfish."
She suddenly snapped at him, her eyes glistening, lips trembling.
He backed away from her sudden outburst and looked at her.
"Emma, I--no. Listen to ... I really do care for you. I just wanted to give you what you want. What you desire--"
"And you think I desired for you to suck my breast and strip naked?! Huh? That I desire to be violated by a random stranger!
"Ha, ha, ha. You're funny. You think I desired all those things. Then let tell you sothing. NO! I DIDN'T WANT ANY OF THOSE TO HAPPEN!"
She slamd her book on the chair handle and glared at him, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Em...listen to ...I'm sorry, okay. I truly am sorry. I don't know what to say except for I'm sorry. I thought that--"
"Yeah, yeah, I understand now. Yes, the most important thing the Crooked princess want is for soone to violate her, right? Like that would be the thing she truly desires, right? For soone to suck her boobs. HUH?!"
She wiped her tears angrily and looked away, her breathing shallow and rapid.
"Em...that's not what I ant..."
'Oh, no! No, no, no. What have I done?!'
"Em...I want us to be friends. Not because of your body or your status...I went too far with it, I'm so sorry for that. But I want us to be friends again.
"Truly... I want us to be friends like we were yesterday night. I really enjoyed our ti together...and I wanted to see you smile more...like how you smiled at ...I want that Emma back...please..."
Kaisen begged, feeling genuinely sorry for what he did.
He realized he was being a hypocrite.
Last night, he left this poor woman all alone, despite her just wanting a friend.
He rembered her cries, but his mind was focused on Alice's thoughts then.
And now, he wanted to be her friend again.
He had to admit it to himself: he was being a hypocrite.
But he didn't want to lose this friendship.
He wanted to nd their relationship and beco genuine friends.
"Friends? Friends? Do you even know what that word ans? Get out! You're not worth my ti. Get out of here! Guards!"
She shouted, tears streaming down her cheeks.
But Kaisen didn't budge.
He kneeled beside her, his eyes pleading for forgiveness.
"Em, please. I'm truly sorry."
"Get the fuck out! Don't hurt more with your presence, Kaisen. If you even truly cared about even for a fleeting mont, please... please just get out..."
She wasn't shouting anymore.
Her voice just faded into a whisper, as if she had lost all her energy and willpower to shout anymore.
She looked at him with teary eyes, her gaze filled with fear and vulnerability.
Her eyes were red and puffy, her lips trembling.
In that mont, he realized that not everyone was like Alice.
Not everyone was driven by physical desires alone.
So people simply craved companionship, soone to talk to, soone to listen to, soone to be with them.
He realized he had shattered her simple desire for companionship, and guilt weighed heavily on him.
Slowly, he stood up, the silence hanging thick in the air.
She kept her gaze fixed on her lap, tears streaming down her cheeks like a river.
Kaisen sighed, feeling the pain in his heart as if it were being pierced by a thousand needles.
He gently placed a hand on her cheek and tilted her head towards him, wiping away a tear with his thumb.
Beneath his touch, he felt her trembling, her teary eyes eting his gaze.
"I'm sorry for what I did to you, for shattering your heart. But I'll make it right. I promise. When I co back after dealing with that thing, and I will co back, I'll fix things again."
Leaning down, their faces were now inches apart.
"And I'll definitely earn back your friendship. No deceit, no lies. Just genuine companionship. I'll make you see as a friend again, I promise."
He said with a reassuring smile.
"Actions speak louder than words, and I understand that. So just wait until I'm back. I'll make things right. I promise."
"You--"
"Ssshhhh..."
She began, but he gently silenced her with a finger to her lips.
He smiled softly before leaning in, pressing a tender kiss to her forehead.
He stepped back, a soft grin on his lips, his eyes bright with earnestness.
She remained quiet, her face revealing a whirlwind of feelings, her mouth slightly open as if she had words waiting to spill out.
And then, without uttering a sound, he pivoted and shuffled towards the door, his head bowed with regret.
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