Kat sat down across from Lucian, her senses still adjusting to the stark difference in atmosphere. She wasn't sure what to expect from the lesson ahead, and the thought of it left her feeling slightly uneasy. Lucian, however, seemed indifferent to her presence, his attention focused on the stack of papers he was meticulously sifting through on his desk.
Kat's stared at him for a while, she gave a look "I thought you said you weren't so busy; this doesn't look it," she eyeing the documents in front of her before meeting his gaze. She slowly slid out of her seat as she spoke, "I don't want to get between you and your work, so I'm just going to... leave." She blurted sheepishly, walking back to the door.
"Sit" Lucian said blandly, not lifting his gaze from his work as he spoke. Kat sneered grumpily, walking back to her seat. She sat down with a deliberate thud, making Lucian look away from his work and meet her gaze.
"Immature." he shook his head disapprovingly and commented. Kat glared at him but didn't retort. "Well, aren't you meant to tutor me, not be buried in your own work?" She pointed out, raising a brow. Lucian's gaze moved to the bookshelves, not too far from them, and Kat's gaze followed. "Third shelf, seventh book," he instructed, moving back to his work.
Kat felt annoyed, and wondered if this was really how her time with Lucian would be spent. She stood up and went to the bookshelf. Kat stood in front of the shelves, a majority of books lined up on it, each one calling her curiosity, mostly the one's at the bottom shelf. She glanced at Lucian, wondering if he had read them all. She had already spotted the book Lucian instructed her to take, but it was hard to ignore the rest.
Kat crouched in front of the bookshelf, her fingers running along the spines of the books. She was supposed to be following Lucian's instructions_ retrieve the seventh book on the third shelf. Instead, she found herself picking out more than just one book. Five, to be exact. She balanced them on her lap while flipping through another one; she didn't see this sort of book in her room. Even the covers were intriguing, she couldn't wait to read them.
Lucian glanced up, expecting Kat to have returned by now with the book. His gaze moved to the empty seat in front of him before shifting to the bookshelf. His expression changed, not quite disbelief, but a blend of displeasure and surprise. He saw her crouched in front of the bookshelf, engrossed in her own world, a small stack of books piling up beside her.
He was about to call out to her as his lips parted before closing, his eyes examining her for a moment, as she was crouched there. A pleasant smile on her lips, and her eyes scanned the pages. The dress she wore made her look no less than delicate. Her fingers moved to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ears when it obstructed her view. The expression on her face seemed genuinely happy, an expression he had only seen when she was around his sister or king.
"Katherine," Lucian finally called out. Kat looked up, blinking as if she'd just been snapped out of a trance. She quickly stood up, clutching the books to her chest as she walked back to him. But she didn't sit. Instead, she held the books, which were a little heavy, and Lucian's eyes narrowed when he noticed this. Kat instinctively moved the book out of his line of sight, hugging it closer, as if he was going to take them from her.
The little action made Lucian pause, and he wasn't sure how to react to it. "Can I borrow these? I will give them back." She requested with a serious expression, it didn't feel to notice the subtleness in the way she spoke. Lucian waved his hand "very well." He responded in a flat tone. At his words, he saw something he didn't expect, at least not in this manner - Kat smiled at him, it wasn't a sarcastic smile, and it caught him off guard.
Not noticing the reaction she got from Lucian, Kat took her seat, and set the books aside. But frowned when she noticed Lucian still staring at her. "What?" she asked, raising a brow.
Lucian didn't answer directly. Instead, he shifted his focus to the book she had in front of her. " write everything from that book," he instructed, calmly "In Syllanthian," Lucian added.
Kat blinked. "All of it?" she asked, but Lucian was already pulling another book from the stack of papers on his desk. He handed it to her. "And you'll also be reading this," he added. His tone was neutral, as if the task he had given her was perfectly reasonable.
Kat stared down at the book, her eyebrows shooting up. It was dense, packed with tiny script. "Do I look superhuman to you? No, I don't think so," Kat said sarcastically, and Lucian shrugged. "This will take forever!" she exclaimed, looking at him in disbelief.
Lucian gave her a look that clearly said, 'not my problem,' and returned his attention to his work.
Kat let out a groan and slumped back into her seat, muttering under her breath, "you are worse than the governess's" But Lucian didn't respond and flipped through another document.
With a resigned sigh, Kat picked up the quill and began writing. The Syllanthian script was complex, and the sheer amount of text was daunting. Her hand moved steadily, but after a few hours passed, her fingers began to ache from the repetitive motions.
She glanced over at Lucian, who was still calmly focused on his own work, as if he hadn't noticed the time passing. Kat could tell how much she had changed sincerely arriving here. Back home, she was always busy, with her career and shoots and everything, always working, and yet it never seemed to bother her. Now, everything seemed so much harder, and easily distracting, had she really gotten so lazy.? Hanna would be disappointed.
Kat sighed again and shook her head, trying to refocus. Lucian glanced at Kat who looked like she was having a whole motivational speech in her head, he glanced down at her work noticing she had gotten somewhat far.
But it hadn't even been more than an hour after Kat's self motivation, he quiet of the room was occasionally interrupted by Kat's quiet groans. At first, Lucian ignored them, his eyes fixed on book in front of him. He heard her mutter something under her breath, but he ignored her still, he had finished with the pill of documents and was now calmly leaned against his chair with his legs crossed as he read a book.
The second time she groaned, a little louder, making Lucian's brow twitch, mildly irritated, but he continued ignoring, he knew better than to give her the attention she was obviously seeking, knowing she was bound to throw a tantrum.
But by the third groan, which sounded more of an exaggerated sigh, Lucian finally looked up from his book, clearly annoyed. Kat was slumped over the desk, her quill resting limply in her hand as she rubbed her wrist.
"What is it?" Lucian asked, his tone calm yet impatience.
Kat huffed, dropping her quill on the desk. "My hand hurts," she complained, not bothering to hide the frustration in her voice. "I've written so much, and I'm still not even halfway through this book." She gestured dramatically toward the pages in front of her. "This is ridiculous! I've barely made it through a quarter of the text, and I've been at it for hours."
Lucian eyed her for a moment, his gaze shifting to the pages she'd completed. It was true, she had written a fair amount. But it wasn't unreasonable to him. She could get through it in two days, perhaps two and a half, if she really focused.
Still, seeing her like this, slumped over and clearly exhausted, made him pause. For a moment, he considered easing up on her, but then he remembered her stubbornness. She needed discipline, not leniency, he thought to himself, flipping the next page of his book. "You still have time," Lucian said simply, slumping back in his chair. "You'll finish it if you keep at it."
Kat groaned again, dropping her head dramatically onto her folded arms. "I've been at it all day! And look at you, you don't even look stressed. How are you not tired?" Lucian wasn't at all used to anyone complaining this much to him. Most probably because no one would dare even stand beside him, but this girl... he watched her as she kept complaining, he didn't think it was humanly possible for a person to complain this much.
Finally, he spoke, "If you don't shut up, Katherine, I will do it for you," he warned, rubbing a side of his temples. The threat seemed to have worked, and she quieted down for a while.
Some hour passed, and Kat's groaned again. They became more persistent, and he glanced up, Lucian's eyes narrowed as he looked at her. One again she was slumped at the desk. She let out an exasperated sigh and then blurted out, "Sorry, but I am actually human. I need to eat!" She glanced at the clock and then back at Lucian with wide, pleading eyes.
The look on Lucian's face was like he saw something odd, and then he looked away. Still trying to wrap his head around how he got in this situation in first place - The king because a babysitting, it was obvious Sabastian suggested he tutored her so she would stay out of trouble in his absence.
He pointed to the small row of Bell's, Kat reached for the small bell by the desk and gave it a light ring. Almost immediately, Mary, entered. She knocked before coming in and bowed deeply to Lucian "good afternoon your Majesty," she greeted, and then, with less enthusiasm she turned to Kat, "good afternoon my lady,"
Kat noticed it immediately and, the way the maids eyes stylishly lingered on Lucian, her eyes briefly showed a flicker of disappointment, as if awaiting something. But Lucian remained silent, his attention back to the book. Mary hesitated for a moment before turning to Kat.
"I'd like some food, please," Kat said simply.
Mary's expression didn't change much, but there was a flicker annoyance. Regardless, Mary bowed once more and left to fulfill the request.
As the door closed behind her, Kat glanced over at Lucian, With a slight frown "I get the feeling your head maid doesn't like me very much" she commented.
Lucian didn't look up, but he responded with a hum. A few moments later, Mary returned with a tray, setting it down in front of Kat. She gave another quick bow to Lucian before retreating from the room without another word.
Kat stared at the food. her hunger taking over. "Not that I really care, but aren't you going to eat something?" She asked, "no" Lucian responded sharply. "Once you're done, read the other book. you can take the couch if you feel uncomfortable" he added, she nodded and continued eating.
It was already close to the evening. Kat was seated on the couch her knees folded up to her chest while she read, she had almost gone through a whole half of the book and she yawned, Lucian glanced at her every now and then, each time seeing her in a different position while she read.
By the time of the evening, the room was entirely quite, making Lucian's arch his brow, when he didn't hear the sound of Kat scrambling around on the couch anymore, he glanced at her, just to see she had already fallen asleep, that's what he gets for giving her a more comfortable place to read.
Just then a knock came from the door , "come in" Lucian said and Sebastian stepped in with his usual relaxed smile. He walked over to Lucian. "Good evening, Your Majesty," he greeted and bowed. He handed Lucian a file, explaining the issues he had encountered in the capital and the solutions he had implemented. Lucian listened intently, nodding as Sebastian spoke.
After Sebastian finished his report, he glanced at Kat, who was sleeping on the couch, "seems miss Kat had quite a day." He commented.
"Perhaps you should spend a night in the dungeon, as you deliberately left her with me to babysit" Lucian commented back, making Sabastian grin.
"I apologies but as sweet as miss Kat is, still I could only imagine the kind of trouble she might stir up if left alone in this castle with nothing to do." Sabastian explained, still smiling.
Lucian scoffed at the word Sabastian had used to describe Kat 'sweet', he couldn't say the same for how she was around him, but then he remembered her smiling face, and glanced at Kat, she was curled up on the couch, her book resting beside her. She looked peaceful, and for a moment, he found himself staring longer than he intended.
"She was... persistent, but was easy to calm with food and books" Lucian replied as though he was talking about pet. He turned his gaze back to Sebastian. "I'll handle the rest. You've done well with the capital."
Sebastian nodded but hesitated. "Shall I carry miss Kat to her room?" He gestured toward Kat.
Lucian waved him off, and didn't say anything. With a respectful bow, Sabastian left the room, leaving Lucian alone with Kat.
Lucian stood up and walked over to Kat, he watched her stirred in her sleep but didn't wake. The sky danced with a mixture of dark hues, casting a warm glow through the large windows.
He walked passed her, into the a door close to the side of his bed. The door led to his personal bathroom, though calling it a 'bathroom' felt like an understatement. As he stepped inside, it was more like entering an entire separate room—a vast space designed with opulence in mind. The centerpiece of the room was a large pool, fed by the steady streams of water that poured from the mouths of intricately carved lion statues. The pool shimmered in the soft light, its surface reflecting the tiles and marble pillars that surrounded it.
Lucian's gaze traveled over the pool, not even paying attention to Mary, who was already present, standing in a corner near the towel rake. She held a towel in her hands, waiting silently. She entered through the other door, which connected this room to the hallway.
Without a word or glance, Lucian stopped walking midway and Mary dropped the towel walking up to him, she carefully removed his shirt, her movements precise and practiced. Which is shirts discarded, Lucian's toned abs and torso where exposed. After hanging his shirt up, Mary silently stepped back to her place, waiting for him to continue.
Lucian's hands moved to the waistband of his trousers. He removed them with the same quiet efficiency, not minding the maid was in the room. She didn't look at him, her eyes fixed straight ahead as she maintained her respectful distance. He then descended into the pool, letting the warmth of the water envelop him. The gentle waves rippled around him as he sunk deeper into the bath, closing his eyes and leaning his head back.
The warmth soaked into his muscles, relaxing his senses. He inhaled deeply, the scent of the water mingling with the faint aroma of rosewood that still lingered on his skin. As he closed his eyes the world around him fading away into a pitch black abis.
The gentle sound of the water filled the room, the only noise braking the silence. Lucian's mind stayed blank and calm, until the image of Kat's smiling face flashed in his head, and his eyes fluttered open with a shallow breath.