Chapter 1: Silhouette

I am Seri Eclarim, a princess from a poor kingdom called Gebi. The world doesn't even know that I exist. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, my world would change?

I was tasked with seducing the future Prince of Riovas just to protect my poor home. Was that weird or unusual? Well, I never really knew what a real princess' list of duties contained. That might have been the norm for some royalties.

I'm still trying to figure out what else I can do to succeed. Am I ready for such a big responsibility afterwards? Of course not. But will I do it? I must.

The sound of light footsteps made me stop all the distracting thoughts floating over my head. Immediately, my back arched and I gracefully moved.

The warm water that fell on my head felt a little bit different. It was not hot enough to scald me, but it made me feel tingly.

I could never tell if it was because of the heater, maybe I couldn't figure out the settings, or was it the presence of the man watching me from outside these frosted glass shower doors.

I have no idea how clearly he could see, but I would hope for it to only be my silhouette, or he would see how anxious I am. It would never work if he saw how distorted my face was as I pretended to be a beautiful, graceful fairy.

I made sure to arch my back even more as I washed the soap off my neck. What an experience. I just invented a painful way of showering for myself. All of this is just to attract his attention. Sometimes, I wonder if it was worth it. But lately, I find myself almost wishing for him to come.

Why do I feel this sliver of excitement in my bones?

All I needed was the sound of his footsteps as he entered my room and I felt the rush. I knew that he was out there, watching, tracing the curves of my body with his eyes. It made my heart beat faster.

This isn't our first time. Both of us knew what we were doing. And it looks like we both like it a lot.

I heard him cough, as I scrubbed my waist and behind. I don't know what he was thinking, but he's making me feel the need to do more. So, I turned to the side and made sure that he could clearly see me washing my chest.

This might have been the very first time that my body gave me something more than a freaking hell of nonstop back pain.

As I finished showering, I grabbed the robe beside my set of new clothes that I was originally going to wear.

But my smirk disappeared as soon as I heard his footsteps again.

For the nth time, he's leaving again right before I head out. He wouldn't even wait to see me?

Why do I feel so defeated?

I let my wet hair fall to my sides as I slumped in dismay. There's no point, so I did not even bother to dray it with a towel. I had let it drip water on my robe since I couldn't be bothered to act all responsible and well put together anymore. Who fucking cares? I have nobody to impress anyway.

This freaking sucks. I was really waiting for something more to happen. I thought that by now he'd be more risky. But I guess he just wants to hear my shower running and immediately run out when it stops. Dang it, why am I like this?

Sulking with a frown on my face, I opened the door. And in a split second, my jaw dropped.

His blue eyes were like lasers, staring me down. Prince Hazan Riovas was standing outside my bathroom door, waiting for me to finish.

"Pri-prince Hazan, I-what-uh-" He's so fucking gorgeous that my brain literally got fried. Fudge! I already knew that, but how come I am still unable to look him in the eyes? I should be more capable by now. Especially because I could tell he was comfortable enough to stare at my exposed cleavage.

I knew that I should cover up, but I don't want to.

"I heard that you haven't eaten for dinner," His deep voice made my heart tumble. He was too close. I could feel his breath brushing against my bare neck.

"Oh-" fuck, why did he move closer? "I-I plan to eat after showering."

He lowered his head and smirked, "Hmm." I wanted to bite my lip so hard, but I am too embarrassed to do that. "You smell good," he said.

"Your highness, may I ask-uh-do you need anything from me?" I can't believe it. I sounded so freaking nervous. What a freaking turn off, Seri.

"I just wanted to check up on you, Princess Seri," he responded. His freaking eyes are killing me. Who wouldn't want to stare at those all day long? And his lips-gosh!

He brushed my wet hair with his fingers. "Come," he then said, pulling me over to the side. He pushed me down to sit on the vanity chair.

It is a very rare sight to see this beautiful man plugging my hair blower. His fingertips felt like fire burning my skin as he carefully collected my hair at the back.

I silently watched through the mirror. Still, with a golden pin of a sun on his black suit, signifying his importance to the kingdom, Prince Hazan started to blow dry my hair.

"Prince Hazan! Oh my God! Please let me do it!" A loud thud surprised us. However, a few seconds later, he softly patted my head. I freaking hate myself. How the hell did I manage to hit my head that hard on the blower?

"Does it hurt?" He was just asking me a simple question, but why does he look and sound so seductive? With his hand still on my head and his face frowning right beside mine, it made me feel things.

"So-sorry," I answered. What the hell? How would I tell him that he's making me shake.

I was supposed to be the one seducing him, but I became the one sweating and palpitating over here.

"Did you hear what I just said?"

"Huh-what?" Did I freaking just space out right in front of him? Gosh, that's so embarrassing.

His cute little chuckle made me hold my breath before he continued, "I asked, why are you acting so stiff with me still?"

I watched him smirk as he moved closer. I felt his chin touching my shoulder when he whispered, "How are we supposed to have fun all night then? Maybe we shouldn't, huh?"

I can see it in his eyes. He's trying to test me.

I should not back down now. I have to come across as stronger.

So, I bravely faced him. To my surprise, our noses almost touched. I did not expect him to be this close.

"What kind of fun are we talking about?" I asked, pretending not to feel my whole body turn to jello. "I could be down, you know."

"How about you stay in my room tonight? We can eat dinner together too. "

I could almost hear the two other princesses yelling and cussing at me from their rooms. But who cares? I have to do what I have to do. So, I nodded.

"Why not?" I immediately responded. "I'll just put on my pajamas." I gasped when he held my shoulders to keep me seated. I was thinking of standing up to wear the thickest jacket I could just to feel a little bit braver, but was stopped. I could only sit still and watch as he looked at my neck intently.

The shock in my eyes was too hard to mask when I felt a warm and wet feeling on my neck. In the mirror, I saw Prince Hazan leaving a kiss mark on me.

With a proud smile on his face, he looked at the mirror and said, "I've been trying to stop myself for a while, but look, it looks so good on you."

I couldn't even look at anything else! All I could see was how my face looked like a freaking tomato, ready to be harvested. For him to see me this way is too embarrassing. I wanted to run back to the bathroom and shower. Maybe it would be better to pretend that I forgot to wash the conditioner off my hair or something.

"Is it bad that I actually don't want you to wear anything else but that?"