"Sure are, Boss," Jax winked and tapped his nose. "You don't have to look far if you feel lonely tonight. These girls are the finest in the business and won't accept just anyone as a client. Only the richest of the rich can get their services. We figured someone ought to take care of you properly, seeing as she won't. I mean your fiance..."
The rest quickly nodded, "Don't worry about the expenses, we've got it all covered. It's a gift from us, to you, Boss!"
"..." Lucian blinked a few times before bursting out laughing, "I can't pass this one up, can I?" he asked and stood up. Everyone was already on their feet, ready to carry him to his room if he lost balance. "Bathroom, first," he said, and showed that he could still walk perfectly fine.
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After using the bathroom, Lucian climbed the window and sneaked out of the inn. He made a detour outside to the back of the building, entering a storage room.
The raven pecked on his hand, and he opened his palm, showing it a piece of bread.
Crates and barrels of different goods were stacked upon each other, and it would have been impossible to find her if she hadn't revealed herself by stepping into the light. She was here. She returned, for him.
"Do I look decent enough for your tastes, My Lord?"
Lucian made a show of examining her from top to bottom. She was wearing a wig with long, dark-blond hair. There was a small mole underneath her red lips, and when his gaze reached the dress, he saw that the corset she was wearing was pushing up her breasts, "..."
"I've heard that you have a thing for whores," she said and twirled around, limping cutely on her right leg, "but to think that you would get involved in a fight for one? My, if I knew that this was the case, I would have seduced the prince sooner and let you fight to your heart's content─"
Her words died on her lips when he suddenly pulled her close. She closed her eyes, but when nothing happened, she opened them to find him looking down at her chest, "..."
"Is that something you would say to the person you are trying to seduce?" he asked, his voice calm, but a joyous spark flickered in his eyes. "The corset is to make them look bigger, not to spill them all over the place," he paused, "It's meant to tease, not show."
She turned around and tried to tug them in, but they popped back out. "..." She glared at him when she saw him holding back his laugh. She took out the filling in her bra and threw it at his face, "There, happy now?!"
"Much better, yes," he laughed and caught the paddings. The happiness was seeping through the cracks in his voice, and he couldn't keep his face straight, nor his heart calm.
She should be blaming him for standing her up, for choosing another woman, but her glare was anything but hateful.
People called her desperate for chasing a man who had no interest in her. Shameless for not knowing how to stay within her limits. Stupid for not knowing how to let go. And stubborn to the point of madness. What others found as her biggest flaws, he could see the charm in them, and it was making him feel things he shouldn't.
"Shouldn't you be with the Crown Prince?" he asked when she shamelessly snuggled back into his arms (after he let go) like she owned the place, "What would he think if he found out that you came to see me instead? Does your love for him run this shallow? And loyalty this thin?"
She chewed the inside of her cheek and looked to the side, "He knows it's just love for his power and status. I've made myself clear in that regard."
"Wouldn't it be easier to make him fall for you, then?" Lucian asked, "It would be more profitable to have him in love with you than to have him as an enemy."
"He can't fall in love with me, so why bother to make him?" she said, "And why are you pushing me towards him? Do you want to see me with another man that badly? Are you not jealous at all?"
"How do you know he won't have a change of heart when you are no longer in the picture?" he asked, thinking how the Crown Prince would react if he could no longer take her for granted, "I need to know if I should expect him to try and get you back."
She got on her tiptoes and squinted her beautiful eyes at him, "So you are jealous?"
"Should I be?" he asked, and she nodded. "Then, I am."