Closing the door of the guest room, Florence's heart jumped out of her rib cage when she saw a figure at the corner of her eye.
"Irvin! Gosh! Always scare the living shit out of me" she held her chest.
Hugging her tightly, Irvin inhaled her addictive scent that always lured him. For the entire day she was gone, his heart wasn't at ease. Embracing her made him calmed down from the tension he felt through the whole day.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. How's your day?" he kissed her cheek. "And who's this magician that you picked up? I heard from the knights the both of you made a blood oath... aren't you too brazen?"
"Well, because of that she can't betray me. Isn't that trusting enough? Besides, she said she have dirt on the Blumes so it wasn't much of a difficult deal."
Irvin sighed, putting his forehead against her lean shoulders, "I'm worried about you darling."
"Who's your darling?!" Florence flustered and pushed him away from her. She then hurriedly escape with her blushed face. Irvin chuckled and followed her to their bed.
—————
"Good morning Milady!" Amelia greeted in her maid uniform.
"Good morning! I see you're getting into your role."
"Hehe Tina and Anna will show me around today so yes!" She smiled brightly. She was happy to fill her stomach, she was happy to meet a nice person to care for her. Even thought she knew Florence wanted her information as promised, she was happy.
After finishing breakfast, the twins went onto their lessons as usual and Florence went back to knitting. The King's birthday celebration was only two days away so the servants and maids were busy all over the palace. The messenger head out to deliver invitation letters to the aristocrats. Even though only the nobles were invited, the common folks celebrated among the streets. It was just another excuse to party and get drunk.
Florence was knitting in the garden as she need a change of scenery, not knowing a certain someone saw her from their window.
'Is she knitting?' He looked out of his office window. Being on the top floor of the palace, Irvin could see the vast garden in a wide view.
'Is that for me?' His heart pounded with excitement and adrenaline. Irvin felt his face grew hotter as the butterfly flew into his stomach. He wanted to run down and tackle her into his embrace... but he could only suppress his desires to scream to the top of lungs out of love. 'Florence, you'll be the death of me!'
"Achoo!" Florence sneezed. "Is it too cold out here? But the sun is brighter than usual today!"
Late that night Florence noticed Irvin behaving weirdly. He kept looking at her with doting eyes and kept smiling like a fool in love.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Is there sauce on my face from dinner?" Florence wiped her mouth.
Irvin shook his head and said with adoration, "you're... my ethereal one and only."
Not to make the atmosphere more awkward, Florence climbed onto bed with her face blushing red. Irvin follows suit and cuddled with her. He hugged her tighter than the other nights going to sleep. But Irvin kept chuckling with that deep voice of his, making Florence unable to sleep throughout the night.
The next day, she managed to finish knitting the scarf. It was a nicely knitted scarf for a beginner, Florence was proud of herself.
"Milady! You did amazing!" Tina praised.
"His Majesty is going to love the meaningful gift," Anna squealed.
"I thought the King was a cold person, but I was wrong" Amelia laughed. "Did you know how shocked I was when I saw him being so affectionate?! That was very unexpected of him!"
"Even though it's been a while since His Majesty became like that, I still get astonished when he gets lovey-dovey with the lady!" Anna responded.
Florence blushed hearing her maids' conversation. Back in the days when Florence didn't exist in the palace, Irvin wasn't as kind. One little mistake can send someone into the underground dungeons. His temper isn't to be messed with, so only his mother and brother were the ones who had his sole affections. But now Mother Queen and Duke were thrown to the side as his soon-to-be wife and kids came into his life. The cold-hearted Demon King became a loving father contrary to everyone's beliefs.
But it didn't mean the servants let down their guards around their King. Aside from his family, Irvin still treats everyone else coldly so many knew not to cross the line...
Meanwhile, Lillian was adding her finishing touches to her present for her father. Her present was a bit complicated and took time to make. Even Lawrence chimed in and helped.
"We can both give father this present since you helped me," Lillian offered.
"Hm sure. I'll just keep the fountain pen to myself then" Lawrence laughed. "But I must say, this is quite a present."
"I'm worried because I don't know if he likes something like this. Being a King wouldn't he like something larger in size?"
"This was already hard to make, how are we supposed to make it bigger than this?"
"I don't know! I thought Kings would rather have gems and diamonds for presents!"
"You know father likes the effort more than the value!" Lawrence pointed out the obvious.
Getting a box, Lillian put the present inside and wrapped the bow around the box. She took Lawrence's fountain pen and wrote:
'From Lillian and Lawrence
Your little troublemakers :D'
"Was that last line necessary?" Lawrence said.
"Oh please! He'll love it regardless hehehe."
Putting the box on the table, the twins went to sleep with a satisfied look on their faces.