The King's Lover
Chapter 174: Torture

Chapter 174: Torture

Rose accepted the water the servant brought—she needed it. She had been speaking non-stop since the moment she walked through the doors. The crown prince kept taking her back in her story, making sure she wasn’t missing any details. It was pure torture at this point, and the worst part of it all was the delight she could see on his face.

She gulped the water so fast, some dripped down her neck, but she didn’t care. Rose quickly stretched out the cup to the servant once again. Thankfully, the servant had brought a whole jug and not just a cup of water. .com

He stared at her oddly but was quick to pour out the water. This one Rose drank very slowly. This was the only space she had. As soon as she was done, she would have to speak again. Rose had spoken about her day in more ways than one.

"Leave the jug," the crown prince said as she was taking her time.

Rose’s eyes flew open, and she gulped the rest of the water. Rose didn’t like the sound of that. It would mean that the crown prince would expect her to keep talking, and there was water, so no more excuses.

"I ’ave finished drinking the water," she said and handed the cup to the servant. "There is no need to leave it," Rose heard herself say before she could stop her lips from moving.

"There is," Caius said.

Rose closed her eyes in realization that he wanted her to do more talking. Why? He was asking the same questions over and over again. It was like speaking to a child and them repeating the same questions, but still being delighted about each response.

She slowly opened her eyes and watched the servant place the tray on the carpet, not far from her feet. He bowed and left the room.

"Now, where were we before you painstakingly asked for a cup of water only to drink two?"

"I was really thirsty," she said with a stiff smile.

"After that, what did you do?" Caius asked, cut in. fre ewe bnove l.com

"I came here," she said and tried not to roll her eyes. The answer was clearly obvious. She already told him the maids helped her get ready. What else could they be helping her get ready for? Rose wasn’t used to this type of torture.

"Thomas should be back tomorrow," he said, changing the subject, but his mischievous smile didn’t change. It was clear he was enjoying her discomfort.

I’d rather play chess, Rose screamed internally, but she didn’t dare say this out loud. She just nodded to his words. As long as she didn’t have to speak, he could say whatever he wanted.

"You can pick where to go," he suddenly said. "Thomas will show you almost anywhere in the castle and out of it. No one will stop you if he is with you. You can even request a trip outside of the castle."

But you will have to tell me all about it, sparing no detail, Rose mentally added. This was worse than making a deal with an evil witch. Why was he making her do this? It was one antic or the other with him. The crown prince drove her nuts with how confusing he was.

However, she would be lying if she said his offer wasn’t tempting. She could go into town. Wouldn’t that be scandalous? The royal knight taking the crown prince’s whore around the capital just before the ball. Rose didn’t want to imagine it. Besides, taking up his offer meant there would be more of this. Absolutely not. f r\eew,eb novel.c(o)(m)

"I don’t mind staying in the room, Your Majesty." She didn’t want to deal with Thomas all day as she did today. It was fun when she didn’t know the end goal, but finding out she was just going to be as miserable as Thomas, just much later, took all the fun out of it.

"You do. You complained about it once. About being stuck, you called it. I told you you could move freely, but I guess safety must have been an issue. Don’t hesitate to use Thomas whenever you like. He has been instructed to take you wherever."

Rose did her best not to glare at the crown prince. Sometimes, she couldn’t help but think he was completely out of touch with reality—or perhaps he didn’t care enough to think about how his actions affected other people. As long as it aligned with his wishes, that was all that mattered.

"Yes, Your Majesty," she said. There was no point arguing. She had found out that against the crown prince, she would always lose. That was just how things were.

She noticed the crown prince’s eyes narrow. Rose immediately froze up as she wondered if she had done something to upset him, but his expression quickly changed, and the mischievous smile appeared again.

"You may retire for the night," he said.

Rose could scarcely believe her ears, and her face brightened up. She couldn’t even control it. She had thought she would be stuck here until the jug was empty, but somehow, the crown prince was letting her go.

Rose got to her feet instantly. "Thank you, Your Majesty," she cried as she stood up.

"Come closer," he suddenly said.

Rose froze immediately, but she knew better than to not obey, so, though unwilling, her feet moved towards the chair until she was only a foot shy of touching his feet with hers.

His eyes rested on her face. The brown irises moved side to side just a little as he watched her face. Rose felt her stomach knot as his gaze rested on her lips. He was going to tell her to kiss him. The knot in her stomach tightened, and her chest started to feel warm.

"Goodnight, little lady," Caius said with a small smile.

He could see the shock in her eyes—the way her lashes fluttered open and closed, the sound she made as she let out a breath. Since when did he notice the little things? He had called her for a kiss, but he knew he wouldn’t stop there. Best to let her leave for the night.