Chapter 14
Only If
Ara was blankly staring at the seven persons standing near the table. Some of them were talking happily while waiting for the king's arrival. The only person she recognised was Lady Alyssa, the rude concubine of the king.
"The one wearing the red dress was Lady Natalie, while the white one, she's Lady Mariah," Cattie whispered to her when she saw her watching them. The three young girls were undeniably gorgeous, but Ara noticed they weren't talking to each other, and she could even sense tension, a huge tension towards them.
'Maybe they hate each other's gut.' Ara thought as she averted her gaze on them and looked at Cattie instead.
"If you're wondering." Cattie continued and smiled awkwardly. Ara smiled slightly and nodded, "Thanks for informing me. I needed that later if ever they ask for my assistance; it will be a trouble if I don't know how I address them." Ara said as a matter of fact.
"I'm glad that I helped."
"Guys, did you notice?" Maddie asked, which made them look at her. Cattie looked at her confusedly and asked, 'Notice what?'
"I saw Mr. Rogers glance in our direction multiple times." She answered; Cattie looked even more confused.
"The Knight Commander?" she asked to confirm.
"Yeah, obviously. Take a look at him, but don't make it obvious." Ara slowly looked at the crowd again. Who the hell on them was the Knight commander? She never saw him, not even once.
"Confirmed, he's glanced here. But why? Oh my, did he see that we were gossiping about him and the ladies?" Cattie whispered in shock.
"Yeah, maybe. We should stop talking now, then." Maddie agreed. Ara remained staring at them until she noticed the blond-haired man spared a glance at them. On her? Ara can see the curiosity in the man's eyes.
'This is probably the Knight Commander.' She thought lifelessly and averted her gaze on the floor. He has a pretty face and a nice body build, but she's not interested in him or anyone.
"Bow down and hail to the king!" A man announced loudly. Suddenly, the loud atmosphere became silent; all of the persons inside the room bowed, and the maids kneeled on the floor to show fear and respect.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
The king entered the dining room without any expression on his face, the same as Sir Nicolas, who was walking behind him. Vladimir suddenly stopped walking when he smelled the familiar scent. It's strong and addicting. The scent was killing and torturing him softly. He gulped hard and forced himself to calm down.
He secretly looked around and searched for her. In a corner, there, he saw her kneeling on the floor. He didn't expect her to see here now. He saw her and her friends cleaning the third floor just a few minutes or hours ago. Did they work overtime?
Anyway, that's out of his concern. He started to move again, ignoring them all. He walked straight to his chair, and Nicolas adjusted the chair for him. "Why did you stop there?" He mind-linked him out of curiosity. Vladimir just looked at him.
"I know there's a reason, but if you don't want to talk about it now, we have plenty of time later." He continued.
"You're too nosy, Nic. Shut up, start this shit." He answered back seriously. Nicolas laughed softly before obeying his order.
"All rise." He announced to everyone. Ara slowly stood up and spared him a glance. He looked bored and seemed like he didn't even want to attend this lunch.
"Please be sited," Nicolas continued, so they did. As soon they settled down, he looked at Miss Alyssa.
"Thank you for arranging this luncheon, Miss Malcolm." Alyssa plastered her big smile; she was glad that the king attended.
"No worries, thank you for having you all here too. Especially you, my king." Ara secretly grinned. From what she heard, this young girl was blindly in love with the king. Well, she can't blame them, though. He's almost perfect in everyone's eyes, but not to her.
Ara saw and noticed that he never spared a glance at his concubines since he arrived here. There's something wrong with that one. Ara shrugged and stood straight; she shouldn't think about them.
"You looked great today, my king." Lady Mariah said to catch the king's attention, which Lady Alyssa failed to do. Alyssa was wearing a revealing black dress, obviously seducing the king. But it seems like her hotness doesn't affect the king anymore. Did she lose her charm?
"You mean, I don't look great every day, Ms. Blacksmith?" Vladimir icily responds without looking at her. Mariah gulped hard and panicked. "No, I mean. You looked divinely great every day, your majesty." Nicolas laughed in his mind hard.
"Dude, you just burned her compliment." He commented in Vladimir's mind as he laughed even harder. Ara found the situation funny, too; that is absolutely a not-so-good compliment.
"Look at her face, super red like a tomato. If I were her, I would wish the ground to open and swallow me alive." Maddie whispered in amusement, forcing herself not to laugh. Cattie elbowed her, "Stop it, Maddie, she's pitiful. I somehow felt bad for her; she's not that worst, unlike that bitch Alyssa." Ara looked at the two when she heard them whispering to each other.
"Yeah, but it's really hilarious. See, the king always rejects her, even her compliments." Maddie answered back again. How did this girl become his concubine when he was always rejecting her? Again, it's none of her business.
"Was he always like that?" Ara asked them.
"Who? The king?" Cattie asked her. She nodded her head. Yeah, she's somehow curious about him, about her mate.
"Yeah, he's always like that. He's grumpy and cold, but that's his natural trait. And one more thing, who knows his true personality? We seldom see him around." Cattie answered. Maddie nodded and agreed.
"The three of you, stop murmuring." Mrs. O'Neil suddenly showed up beside them. Maddie almost gasped, but Ara quickly covered her mouth. Making unnecessary sounds will get their attention. Ara looked around to see if someone noticed them, but no one. She's glad that she released Maddie.
"Sorry." She mumbled embarrassedly. Mrs. O'Neil gave her a look, "Don't make any mistake. Remember that. Stand straight, lower your gaze, be attentive and lastly, behave; no more talking." She instructed them.
"Sorry for the fuss, Madam." Ara apologised. "Pardon, Mrs. O'Neil," Cattie said too. The woman nodded her head. They were still safe because no one had heard them and seen what had happened.
"It's alright, focus. They will start eating a moment by now." Ara glanced at them; they were still having a conversation. What if they start eating and talk while eating? They were wasting time, but again, they owned their time.
Ara let out a sigh and closed her eyes lightly. This will be a long day, she murmured as she opened her eyes. Accidentally, she looked in the king's direction exactly when Vladimir looked in her direction, too.
Ara quickly averted her gaze first, not because she was afraid but because she couldn't stand looking at him. Every time she saw him or even heard the word king or majesty, it was enough to bring back all the painful memories of yesterday.
Ara bit her inner bottom lip and lowered her gaze. She can't help but pity herself for having a miserable life. Only if that night hadn't happened, maybe she'd still be happy now.