Thankfully, the lanterns in the corridors hadn't been extinguished, and Jasmine was quick to follow Peter to the Prince's room. Peter knocked on his door and, upon hearing his voice, opened it to allow the maid to step inside.
"Welcome back, Prince Nikolai," Jasmine greeted, dipping her head low in a respectful bow. Nikolai had his back to her, busy with a scroll in his hand. He merely hummed in response to her greeting.
His room was more illuminated than usual, allowing Jasmine to see his interiors. Unusually for a prince, his room lacked exquisite paintings and extravagant furniture. She had seen Lucian's room, which was exquisite in every way. Her master's room, however, resembled a common room except for its large size. The walls were painted grey, and a large four-poster bed sat in one corner. Next to it was his closet, to which Jasmine walked.
She opened the doors and was immediately assaulted by his thick peppermint cologne. It was a large built-in closet, and she walked in to arrange his clothes.
Returning to the room, she went into the bathroom and squatted beside the tub. She reached inside the water, removed the plug stopping the water from draining, and refilled it with warmer water. There was a cupboard on the wall, and, as she had guessed, it contained all his bathing lotions. She poured some of the liquid into the water.
Standing up, she couldn't resist the yawn threatening her composure and raised her hand to cover her mouth. As she turned, she saw Nikolai, who had already stepped into the bathroom. He had removed his shirt and his trousers were left unbuttoned, hanging loosely on his hips. She quickly moved away from the tub and exited the bathroom as he began to remove his trousers.
Retreating to one side of the room, Jasmine succumbed to the urge to sit on the ground. With her knees raised, she folded her arms to rest her head and closed her eyes, convincing herself it was because the light was too bright.
However, it didn't take long for sleep to take over, and she dozed off on the floor. When Nikolai reentered the room, his gaze fell on his maid, who was already fast asleep. He could hear her soft breaths as he walked across the room to his closet. Peeling off his black robe, he searched for his black trousers and a grey shirt, put them on, and returned to the room. He had skipped washing his hair, and now he pulled the band from his locks, allowing it to fall around his face and over his shoulders.
His eye patch was removed from his left eye, and he walked closer to the window, he looked back at the girl and without turning off the lights in the room, he opened the window before jumping out of his room which was six floors high from the ground.
The next morning, when Jasmine woke up, she felt a little warmer. She raised her head from her hands, yawning and tilting her head to relax the ache she was feeling. Her blue eyes flew open when they fell on the room where she had slept, and she quickly sprang up from the floor.
The bed was empty and she touched it, feeling the coldness. She decided to leave the room quickly before the Prince arrived. Just as she opened the door, Nikolai appeared in the quarters with Peter. Peter, who had been wondering where the girl was as she had missed breakfast, was relieved to see her here. It seemed she had taken her work diligently to have rushed up here without eating since the meal was served to them at early hours.
"Good morning, Prince Nikolai," Jasmine greeted in a low tone as they reached the door. It was still wide open and he stepped inside.
"Sleeping in the master's room when he was out in the night. How disrespectful," Nikolai said, and her head dipped low as Peter's eyes shot up quickly to look at her.
"Forgive me, Prince Nikolai. I had only fallen asleep when Peter came to call me that you were back in the castle. I didn't mean to pass the night in your room," Jasmine quickly pleaded. As if her embarrassment wasn't enough, her tummy grumbled loudly, and she quickly placed her hand on it as her cheeks flushed a tint of red.
"I didn't ask for an explanation. It won't stop me from punishing you," the sides of his lips pulled up, but none of the servants saw this as his back was turned to them.
Hearing the word 'punish' made Jasmine go rigid, her body stiffening. Nikolai noticed this and turned to look at her. Peter had said something, but she didn't hear, and he was calling her name.
"Jasmine?" He called for the second time, and the girl jolted.
"Hm?" Jasmine looked at Peter, but when he didn't say anything again, she looked at the prince before bowing her head.
"Bring my food to the room, Peter. I won't be going to the dining room."
Peter nodded and stepped out of the room, leaving the Prince and his maid alone. Nikolai didn't say anything to her and took out the letter pouch from his trousers pocket. Bending over his desk, he opened his drawer and dropped the pouch before closing and locking it.
When Peter arrived, he was the one carrying the tray of food, and since he was the assistant head maid, she collected it from him and dropped it on the two-seater dining table.
"Come with me, Jasmine, there is work for you," Peter said after Jasmine had served the Prince's meal.
"She's staying here," Nikolai said before they could step out. Peter nodded and went out of the room, leaving them alone again.
Nikolai removed his eye patch and looked at the girl who stared at him once before looking down, her bare feet somewhat catching her attention.
Nikolai started eating without looking up until he saw the girl walk further and pour the wine into a glass, and he spoke.
"Have you ever been sold before?" Jasmine, who wasn't expecting him to talk to her, was surprised, and her hands trembled, tipping the wine bottle from the glass, and it dropped on the table.
"Sorry, Prince Nikolai," she said and quickly covered the mess with a napkin. When he stopped eating, she looked up to see him staring at her. Her eyes moved from his right to left eye, and she gulped.
Remembering he asked her a question, she shook her head. "No, Prince Nikolai. You're my first master," she replied.
"Why?" Jasmine paused a minute before replying to him, "Because I don't get auctioned." He was taking a bite of his steak while looking at her, and her gaze fell on his fork and her voice trailed off while looking at the well-cooked meat that made her salivate.
Noticing this, Nikolai's lips stretched slightly, and Jasmine caught this. Her face reddened in embarrassment, and she quickly stepped back and looked away.
Now she understood what punishment he was talking about. Her stomach growled as her senses were now fully aware of the sweet aroma from the Prince's meal.