The King's Lover
Chapter 215: Wild Animal

Chapter 215: Wild Animal

Rose heard the sound of knocking. She groaned, turning on the bed as she protested against it. She didn’t want to wake up—not yet. She had not been asleep for long before the knocking started. She ignored it, her body falling right back to sleep so easily.

Another knock, another quickly followed, and another—but Rose didn’t even stir. She slept peacefully; the sounds of the knocks no longer reached her ears. fr\eewe.bn(o)v\el.c(o)m

Chelsy looked worriedly at her sister as they both stood outside the door of Rose’s room. This was a little strange, as Rose was usually quick to respond to their knocks.

It was time for breakfast, and they were even a little late, as this morning was hectic for the maids and every servant. Most lords didn’t leave after the ball, especially those who had arrived a day or two earlier, which meant breakfast was even rowdier, as a few lords and ladies would be getting ready to leave.

This also meant that Rose was still stuck with the sisters, as the other maids were too busy. And regardless of the crown prince’s orders, Rose was still a peasant. To treat a lord or lady as lesser than her would be insulting.

"Should I knock again?" Isla asked in response to her sister’s stare.

"I don’t know," Chelsy whispered.

"I am worried," Isla said.

"Me too," Chelsy replied, turning her attention to the door. "I have no choice but to open it. We’ll deal with the consequences together, right?"

Isla took a moment to nod, but she didn’t counter what her sister had just said. Her body grew tense as Chelsy moved to open the door. They half expected it to be locked, but it opened easily. Chelsy shared a look with her sister before pushing the door and walking in.

Chelsy stepped in first, then Isla. Isla tried to close the door with her back, but she was too nervous and ended up slamming it harder than necessary. The loud sound jerked Rose from her slumber.

She woke up suddenly, completely disoriented as she tried to get her bearings. The first thing she noticed was Chelsy and Isla staring at her with horror and concern clearly written on their faces as they stood right in front of her bed with trays in their hands.

Rose rubbed her eyes as she forced herself to wake. She moved to a sitting position, wondering why they were just standing there, staring at her like that. However, as she sat upright, she realized she was dressed in nothing but the ripped nightdress.

The covers didn’t do a proper job of hiding her completely, and Rose immediately pulled them upwards to cover herself. She held them to her chest and lifted her head to look at the sisters.

"Were you attacked by a wild animal?" It was Isla who spoke first. Her words snapped Chelsy out of it, and she dropped the tray she held at the end of the bed and quickly rushed closer to Rose.

"Are you okay?" she cried.

"I am," Rose said with a sigh. How was she supposed to explain this to the girls?

"What happened?" Isla asked. "We were knocking and you didn’t respond."

Rose closed her eyes. She knew they were just worried, not nosy. Besides, all the questions seemed to be coming from Isla; Chelsy just looked at her with concern.

"I was just tired. Thank you for bringing my breakfast."

"Do you need assistance getting ready?" Chelsy asked.

Rose lifted her head to look at the teenager. She stood beside the bed, her wide, gentle eyes looking at Rose. Her expression showed that all she wanted to do was help.

Rose smiled softly at her. "I’m really fine. I just overslept. I don’t need help getting ready."

This was wrong. Rose didn’t oversleep—she had barely gotten any sleep the night before because of a certain person. And she wasn’t fine; she was sore all over. Her shoulders hurt, and there were red marks all over her chest, her back, and most likely her behind.

She closed her eyes in embarrassment. She could imagine the scene, and there was sufficient reason for both sisters to stare at her as though she had been mauled. The crown prince didn’t hold back in the slightest.

"Are you sure?" Chelsy pressed. Her younger sister had also moved closer, and they were both staring at Rose with concern.

Rose almost palmed her face. The crown prince couldn’t have tried to make this look less like she had been attacked by some wild animal. She feared she might have traumatized the girls.

Rose wasn’t surprised he wasn’t in her room, she had expected nothing less. She also didn’t even know when she fell asleep, and by the way her body felt, she needed to wash up immediately.

"I am," Rose replied, looking up at them. "Last night was just a rough one. As soon as I clean up, I’ll be right as rain."

Rose gathered the covers and started to get out of bed, but she didn’t make it out of the before she sat back down. She might need to eat first.

"We can help you clean up," Isla offered.

Rose didn’t need help getting ready. What she needed help with was the sheets. She missed the older maids who knew exactly what was going on. At least they wouldn’t ask her too many questions and would immediately get to work.

"The sheets," Rose whispered. "I need them changed." And washed. But she didn’t add the last part. She was hoping they would figure that out on their own.

"At once," Isla replied, rounding to the other side so she could help take out the sheets. fre\e(w)ebn ov.e l\. co.m

Rose forced herself to stand, and this time she didn’t feel the dizziness she had the first time she tried. She also recalled she hadn’t really eaten much the night before and coupled with the activities after, it was no surprise she felt this way.

She held the covers tight as she stepped away from the bed. Chelsy looked like she might help her, but when she saw that Rose didn’t need her help, she withdrew her hands and concentrated on taking out the sheets on the bed.

Rose smiled tightly at them before she walked away. She didn’t take off the covers until she was out of sight. When Rose returned to the bedchamber after washing up, the room was empty and the bed bare.

Rose got dressed quickly, not missing that the sisters had placed her food on the table. She didn’t have a lot of options for clothes. Right now, the only dresses she had were the one Bailey had mended for her and the one she wore to the ball the night before. Of course, that was completely out of the question. The Queen would have her head.

She spun a little as she inspected it. It really was well done. She could even wear this to the wedding. As soon as she thought about this, Rose panicked immediately. She could clearly recall that the crown prince hadn’t said a single thing about her request.

She froze. Did that mean he wasn’t satisfied with her performance? Rose cringed as she thought about it. She hugged herself and walked toward the table. He did say she could go anywhere, but she really couldn’t without permission.

Rose realized she was mentally and emotionally exhausted. It was pretty hard, pretending this was her life now. As much as she tried to act accordingly, a huge part of her was hoping the crown prince would let her go. But would Ander be willing to take her back?

Rose felt soiled. She avoided thinking about it and instead just kept one foot in front of the other. She paid attention to the little comforts, as she couldn’t deal with the things staring her in the face.

She pulled the tray to herself as she began to eat, but the food felt dry. It was hard to place exactly why she felt like this right now, but she suspected Edna’s wedding might have something to do with it.

She shouldn’t go. It would be too painful. But at the same time, she didn’t want their farewell to be in this manner, and maybe being away from the castle—even if it was brief—was what she needed. To pretend that she was a little free might help the rest of her stay feel a little easier.

She was halfway through her meal when the sisters came back with clean sheets. They smiled at her as soon as they saw her dressed, and Rose feared that Chelsy might try to hug her—but the latter just nodded toward her and got to work. freew\e bnovel.com

When they were done, they said their goodbyes and left with the empty dishes, as Rose was done with her meal. She smiled tightly as she watched them leave, not saying anything.

She had thought to ask if Mister Henry had sent any message, but Rose doubted they would keep it from her. If there was a message for her, she knew she wouldn’t need to ask before the sisters would inform her.

The only person who would have information she wasn’t supposed to have was Welma. Rose nearly jumped out of her chair as she remembered the maid. She didn’t know what had transpired after the crown prince took her away. What if...

Rose didn’t get the chance to complete the thought before a loud knock rang out. She jerked, almost falling off the chair, but she recovered quickly and rushed for the door.