The King's Mistress

Chapter 28: Embarrassed Beyond Belief

What was he thinking? Alistair cursed at himself for saying that out loud. Most of it was supposed to be internal monologue! It was clear he had taken a fancy in Sierra. How could he not?

She was mysterious, fierce, and unlike any other princess, he had met before. But she did remind him a lot of Roxine. They might not be cut from the same cloth, but they seemed to share a similar pattern.

Sierra was still processing Alistair’s words. Perhaps, it was that her mind did not want to, knowing what he might be insinuating. Was it possible that the King had already fallen for her?

But they barely knew each other!

Sierra shook her head a little, pushing the thought to the back of her mind.

"Do you have enemies?" Alistair asked.

Memories of what had happened to her recently flashed through her mind. Forced to enter the running to become the King’s concubine, upsetting and making herself an enemy of two princesses.

But could they really have what it took to plan something of this scale?

"I’m going to take your silence as a yes," he noted.

Sierra bit her lip as she nodded. Her mind was swirling with possible theories. Could one of the princesses really be behind this? If so who could it be?

Princess Agnes and Cassandra were obvious candidates. But what if that was simply too obvious? Could there be someone else who was targeting her from the shadows?

The scenes of what transpired replayed in Sierra’s mind. Could this attack perhaps be coordinated by someone from back home? Her hands curled into fists at the thought of it. Could it be that General Cedric instigated this as a way to silence her?

If she was to die in a foreign land, it would be difficult for anyone to chase the responsibility of the matter. The case would be open and shut within a matter of days.

"No..." she whispered to herself.

Her father would be devastated. Remembering the look of agony on his face when she left made her emotional. She felt a tear trickle down her cheek.

As she blinked her eyes, another teardrop flowed down her cheek. A warm hand caressed her cheek, gently wiping away the tears. It was Alistair.

"Is everything alright, Sierra?" he asked, concerned.

His expression softened considerably, unlike how he looked just moments before. It was a side of him she had only seen twice before.

"I’m alright, I was just thinking about something," she muttered in a soft voice as she reached her hand up to her face.

Their hands touched. An unknown feeling jolted through Sierra’s body. The same thing happened to Alistair too. They locked eyes for a moment, uncertain of what had just happened.

Realizing she was likely staring too long, Sierra quickly looked away. She picked up the wine glass to take a sip, hoping it would help block her face from him.

Alistair lowered his hand and cleared his throat.

He brought them back on topic, "In any case, I think for your protection, I will assign you a bodyguard for the time being-"

"I can take care of myself," Sierra replied. It was reflex.

Realizing she had not only cut the King off while he was speaking to her, Sierra widened her eyes in shock. Not to mention, she had also objected to his order. freewebnoveℓ.com

"I...My apologies, Your Majesty," she quickly apologized for her insubordination.

Another reflex move, Sierra got down on one knee and placed her hand over her heart, "I did not mean to cut you off, King Alistair. I..."

Before she could say another word, he cupped her chin, forcing her to look up at him. He had a cheeky grin on his face.

"Are you so eager to serve me, Princess Sierra?"

"What?"

"If not, why have you gotten down on one knee?"

Realizing what she had done, Sierra immediately got back up on her feet. She was so embarrassed by what his comment was insinuating and what she had just done. If only there was a hole for her to jump into right that moment.

Not wanting to embarrass herself any further, Sierra turned to leave. Just as she took one step, she quickly turned back around. She knew she could not leave just like that without saying a word.

She was not even supposed to leave without the King’s permission. But at that moment, nothing else mattered. She had to get out of there.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I’ll take my leave now."

With that, she turned back and went off. The guards in the room were caught off guard. Nothing like this had ever happened before. None of them knew what to do. Alistair was shocked by Sierra’s actions.

He could not help but chuckle to himself as he looked to the open doors. He lifted the wine glass and took a sip.

"You truly are most intriguing, sweetling," he muttered to himself.

Sierra, on the other hand, did not stop. She walked straight out of the King’s Quarters and returned to Celestial Lodge. Her face was burning hot and her mind was spinning she almost felt dizzy. She felt as if something was stuck in her throat but she did not know what.

Upon entering the main building of the lodge, she headed straight up to her room. She walked up the stairs and face-planted straight into the pillow on her bed.

Ida, who was resting in Myra’s room after Sierra had left, heard the sounds in the corridor.

"Princess Sierra, I think she has returned!" she exclaimed.

"I think you’re right! Let’s go check on her," Myra added.

Together, they made their way to Sierra’s room. When they saw the half-opened door, they knew she was back. They hurried up the stairs only to see Sierra with her face buried in her pillow. freewebnovel.cσ๓

"Princess Sierra! Thank the gods you’re back!" Ida exclaimed with glee with a tear in her eye.

She had been worried sick about the princess. When she did not get a reply, she rushed to her side.

"Your Highness? Are you alright? Did they do something to you? Oh..." Ida flustered.

Sierra turned over to face Ida, calming her down, "I’m alright. Don’t worry Ida."

She reached out her hand and pat the maid on her head. Myra noticed how red her cheeks looked.

"Did something happen, Sierra? You were away for quite some time, we were worried..." Myra came closer to Sierra and was about to place a hand on her forehead when she noticed the faint scent of alcohol in the air.

She paused to sniff the air.

"Is that... the scent of wine?" Myra wondered out loud.