Letting her displeasure aside, she started her work all the while avoiding meeting his eyes. She tried her best to be calm under that intimidating gaze that was observing her closely.
With hesitation, she said, “Your Highness, you need to take off your clothes.”
Not replying to it, he seemed to mull over a discovery. “You are the one who changed me into wearing this robe.”
She gulped as she averted her gaze from him. “Indeed. Your clothes were ruined and—”
“Then it should not be an issue to remove them again,” he interrupted her.
She looked at him with her eyes wide with shock, as if she could not believe what she just heard.
He continued, “My shoulder is injured and I can’t move my arm.”
Hearing those words, she frowned inwardly as her hands clutched the lower part of the robe she was wearing, screaming inside her head with frustration.
‘This human! While holding me like a pillow, your hand didn’t hurt but now…what a perverted man he is. Taking advantage of me…I, the great….’ she sighed. ‘But I am nobody now.’
Seeing the young woman’s dazed appearance, Prince Theron asked, “Aren’t you going to treat my wounds?”
‘This human is really testing my patience.’
With all the willpower she could summon, Esther managed to calm herself, albeit she was tempted to punish him for being cheeky. She finally let go of her clothes that had crumpled under her clutch and eyed the blood-stained robe on his body. There was a knot in front of his stomach that he could easily untie with one hand, and since the robe was fairly loose, even though he had a shoulder injury, it would not take him much effort to push the sleeves off his shoulders. Prince Theron was just annoying her, wanting her to serve him like a handmaiden.
After composing her expression to one befitting a royal servant, Esther moved closer so her hands could reach to untie the knot.
“Why are you an arm’s length away?” he commented with a flat tone. “I’m an injured person, not someone with a contagious disease.”
Esther almost rolled her eyes at him, but she did obey him and scooted even closer. She was close enough that through the V-shaped opening of the robe, she could see a little glimpse of his muscular chest. She could feel her ears turning hot, but thankfully, her long blond hair was hiding her red ears.
‘Why am I getting flustered again?!’ she could not help but criticize herself. Not like she had not seen his chest before—she even had the chance to appreciate his muscles and trace her fingers over his chest— but she only dared to do so because he was unconscious at that time. Remembering what she did while that very man himself was wide awake and staring at her now was equally awkward and embarrassing.
Prince Theron’s gaze was unrelenting, fixed at her every action, most especially the various emotions seemingly flitting across her face.
Under his cold gaze, her usually steady and nimble hands shivered a little as she began to untie the knot of the robe. She then got on her knees because of the difference in their heights even though the Crown Prince was just sitting on the mattress. She pulled at the shoulder part of the robe, partially removing one side of the robe to expose his right shoulder and arm. As expected, the wound on his shoulder had opened due to his movements after waking up and the cloth bandage was completely drenched in blood.
She frowned at the sight of the wound bleeding again, already forgetting the frustration and hesitation she was feeling a moment before. With focus, she removed the soiled bandage slowly, being careful not to tear at the parts where scabs were forming. With a washcloth, she gently cleaned the wound, and generously applied the herbal paste. Afterwards, she started wrapping fresh bandages around his shoulder. Once it was done, she gave out a sigh of relief but then realized how close she was to the man’s face. She was so concentrated on her task, she did not realize how near she was leaning towards his body.
The entire time, Prince Theron was staring at her face intensely with those pair of dark eyes.
Upon meeting that cold gaze seemingly capable of freezing her soul, she immediately backed away, putting herself at an arm’s length once more from his body.
“I-it’s done, Your Highness.”
“That’s just the shoulder injury.”
“Ah, yes…then, next…” She looked at the second wound, the one on his waist. His cold gaze was making her more nervous than she already was, and she lamented in her mind, ‘Why is he staring at me like this? I was even being extra gentle when cleaning his wound, even though I was tempted to vent out my annoyance and make him suffer a bit. What is he even thinking? It’s so hard to understand what goes on in his mind. His mother is easy to read; why am I having troubles with her son? Are my senses getting dull?
Collecting herself once more, Esther proceeded to treat his second wound. But then, she had to further undress him, and that would mean he would be half-naked in front of her. She gulped and said, trying hard to not meet his eyes, “Your Highness, would you mind if I completely pull the robe off from your upper body?”
Prince Theron smirked coldly. “I don’t remember you asking my permission when you removed my clothes in my unconscious state. Why are you acting so shy and polite? Not like you have not seen me without clothes on.”
Esther had the strong urge to wipe that smirk off his handsome face. ‘This human! The more I try to be polite, the more he gets on my nerves.’ She silently gritted her teeth and swallowed her anger. Forcing out an insincere smile on her face, she put on a deeply apologetic expression.? “If His Highness finds that offensive, then this servant is willing to receive punishment for treating your wounds.”
Prince Theron pursed his lips but said nothing. Esther felt a little satisfied knowing he wouldn’t punish her over something so silly. She then continued her work and pulled the rest of the robe further down which settled around his waist. Since he was now sitting, the pressure on his waist had caused the wound to completely open. She sighed at how much it was bleeding and quickly worked to remove the soiled bandage which had completely turned red at this point.
‘It must be hurting a lot. This wound is quite deep, only a hair’s breadth away from almost reaching the internal organs.’
Esther started cleaning the wound while glancing at the young prince from time to time. For some reason, he was looking away this time instead of glaring down at her like she expected. She realized that it must be because even though she was trying to be gentle, cleaning this deep wound was extremely painful for him, and his face could not hide it this time. He was still trying to maintain his dignified image. Esther was somewhat amused.
‘If it’s painful, is it not natural to let out a groan or a cry? Why are you trying to be brave? None of the people you wanted to impress are here.’
When she pressed the herbal paste onto the deep wound, his body inevitably flinched. She saw that there were beads of cold sweat dotting his forehead, but even so, the Crown Prince did not let out a single complaint about the pain.
‘He is really trying to pretend nonchalance. Good grief.’
Esther could not help but blow on the wound to ease the pain which surprised him and he looked at her like she’s crazy for treating him like a little child. She only smiled at him in response.
That beautiful smile made him gulp and he turned his face away again. “Why are you taking so long? Just wrap it up.” He could feel his heart beating loud in his ears, and he didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit.
‘Why is this strange woman affecting me like this?’ he frowned.
Esther’s smile eased as she looked at him. “If Your Highness had only slept quietly instead of using me—-” She could not continue further under his questioning gaze and changed what she was saying, “I will continue applying the herbal paste now. Please bear with it, Your Highness.”
Both Prince Theron and Esther did not say a single word while the young woman finished dressing his second wound. Once his waist was wrapped properly in clean bandages, Esther leaned back and was about to say something, but then a strong grip on her hand pulled her and she felt a pair of soft and warm lips touching hers. Her eyes widened in shock, and she pushed the man away in the chest.
‘W-What are you doing?!” she exclaimed loudly. The young woman stood up in a panic and her hand covered her lips while the other wiped them, like she could not believe what had just happened.
On the contrary, the injured man had an expression of extreme pain as he held his chest where she pushed him. He had both an expression of incredulity and smugness, but there was also relief in his eyes, as if he had received an answer to a question that badgered his mind.
“So it was not the dream,” was what she heard him mutter under his breath.
“Y-You! What…what do you mean?” she asked, forgetting to talk formally at this point. “Why did you do that? Why—”
Esther was frustrated. She wanted to wash her face, no, she wanted to turn back time. How dare he do that to her? So what if he’s a prince? That was something only a rascal would do! Shouldn’t he give her a proper explanation and apologize for his unruly action?
Prince Theron calmly rubbed his chest as he gazed at her flustered face. Unlike Esther, his mood was sombre, as if he was talking about something not scandalous.
“I have a dream. It was a strange dream. I…I was conflicted if it was really a dream or not, after all, it was about this particular young lady who put her own lips on mine and was leading the kiss, over and over again. But now, I have confirmed that it was not a dream, but something that truly happened,” he replied in a tone as if he’s telling her about someone else’s story.
Esther realized what he meant. She closed her eyes, trying to keep her anger in check as she tried to explain. “It was to save your life…Your Highness.” She said the last words with gritted teeth.
“Are you sure it was to save my life and you were not taking advantage of me as I am the Crown Prince of this kingdom?” he asked, raising one eyebrow in a question, his gaze full of doubts.
Esther felt like laughing at this human, ‘Why would I take advantage of this lowly creature…this human is going ahead of himself!’
“Your Highness, you almost drowned after falling into the river. What I did to you was not to take advantage of you but to help you regain your ability to breathe after swallowing plenty of water. I am sure you are confused as it is not a treatment common here in Megaris, but an unorthodox one I learned by accident from a distant place. However, I believe if you verify this with one of the royal physicians, they will vouch for my actions, which was the only option to keep you alive. If saving your life is a sin, please go ahead and punish me.” Although her words sounded civil, her gaze was mocking.
‘What punishment?’ she chuckled inwardly. ‘At this point, I should even be rewarded!’
However, Prince Theron nodded, unaware of her thoughts.. “Punishment? There will be one for you.”
