Chapter 9 Horse Riding

[Ares] When I came out of the palace, I ran into Andrea. “Your Majesty, I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep Lady Aimee in your castle.” I paused and looked at her. "That’s not something you should worry about." Andrea’s face paled a little, but she didn’t give up convincing me otherwise. “She’s just a useless woman who can’t shift, and you’re the prestigious prince. How could you be with her? Besides, I know her father, Lord Adrian, once tried to marry her off to Duke Mandi’s only heir, Alger. He did it because he wanted to take the Mandi family’s wealth when the father and son passed.” I knew about it as well. However, a decision must’ve been made when Aimee escaped to Moonlit Pines. Andrea was starting to step out of line lately. “You should know that she can’t fight and poses no threat to me, so stop talking about this. Mention this again, and I will send you to the Colosseum.” “Your Majesty!” Andrea refused to accept defeat. She tried to speak again, but I stopped her. “Call Letterman back. You can go back now.” It was a warning. If she wished to intervene in my matters, I wouldn’t hesitate to punish her severely. When I returned to the castle, I saw Aimee on the swing in the garden with her head down, seemingly in deep thought. Knowing Andrea’s personality, she must’ve said terrible things to the girl. I could tell from the look on Aimee’s face that she wasn’t happy at all. “Aimee,” I called her name. However, she didn’t respond. It was only when I walked up to her that I noticed she had fallen asleep on the swing. As her head was lowered, her long and dense lashes cast a shadow on her cheeks. The sun also shed its glory on her and highlighted the glistening sweat on the tip of her nose. When I picked her up, she nuzzled her head against me but didn’t open her eyes. I somehow realized if her father understood her more, he could’ve bagged her and sent her to Lord Damon when she was asleep. Wait. What was I thinking? “Your Majesty…” The butler came up to me as soon as I came back. “She’s asleep.” I gestured at Kerry, informing him to keep quiet. Then, I carried Aimee back into her room. Kerry opened the door for me and closed it quietly. Unlike my last visit, her room was filled with the floral fragrance she had on her, maybe because she had been staying for a while. Although I couldn’t identify the scent, it was comforting. After I placed her on the bed, she nuzzled against the pillow like a child and continued to snooze off, showing no caution at all. I looked toward the balcony to see that the spot where Rory's Kiss once was had been replaced by another pot of flowers. My previous experience had taught me not to touch any of the flowers. After all, a sleeping girl couldn’t possibly take care of me if I were injured. Then, I returned to my room. However, the absence of Aimee’s floral fragrance suddenly made me realize how accustomed I had grown to it. Even if she did nothing at all, she would capture my attention. I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or if Andrea was right. In any case, I believed I should calm down. Therefore, I sank myself into the bathtub, including my head. When I emerged from the bath, I had made up my mind. I didn’t care whether Aimee could or couldn’t calm me down after I shifted. All I wanted was to keep her by my side. It was an entirely different decision than the previous one. Keeping an adorable girl by my side would be quite the experience. [Aimee] When Ares put me on the bed, I was already awake but dared not open my eyes. Or rather, I didn’t know what to say if I opened my eyes. Fortunately, he left after taking a few glances at the flowers outside the balcony. Otherwise, I had no idea how long I could fake it. I lay on the bed, my eyes wide open. I wanted to go to the greenhouse but was scared of running into Ares. I must say that Andrea’s words affected me. Now, I dreaded seeing Ares because I might blurt out and ask him whether he treated me as his pet. I was afraid the answer would be ‘yes’ and even more so if he avoided the question. I missed Alger. At least with him, I could speak my mind without having to overthink it. Even if the answer was different from my expectations, I wouldn’t feel like this. I was conflicted and worried. When it was time for dinner, Mrs. Cynthia came up for me. Ares was already at the dining table, cutting the steak on his plate with a fork and knife. I sat opposite him. Just as I grabbed the fork and knife, my plate was taken away. Ares then pushed his plate to me. “Here.” Was he cutting the steak for me? Upon noticing that I didn’t react, he forked a piece of steak and delivered it to my mouth. “Mm…” I couldn’t speak with the piece of steak in my mouth, so I stared at him to inform him that it was a strange and unusual thing to feed me so abruptly. Ares, though, seemed to enjoy it as he continued cutting the steak on the plate. After dinner, I struggled with my thoughts for a long time before I decided to meet Ares. “Ares, can I see my friend?” Ares was reading a book as thick as a brick. He looked up at me when he heard my request. “Do you have other friends other than Alger?” I shook my head. After all, it was no secret. “In that case, I’m afraid you can’t.” “Why? Is it because what he said the other day offended you? Didn’t you say it was okay?” Agitated, I lost control of my tone and sounded like I was blaming him. However, Ares didn’t mind. Instead, he took the newspaper from the side and gave it to me. “Alger might be a little busy lately.” When I saw the newspaper, I realized I had misunderstood Ares. The duke was severely ill, and Alger was seeking a capable doctor through the newspaper. “I’ve told Mars to visit, so don’t worry about it.” I bit my lips and whispered timidly, so soft that even I could barely hear myself. “I’m sorry, Ares.” I wonder if it was in Ares’ nature to be forgiving or if I was the only one he was tolerant to, but he didn’t mind even if I had misunderstood him. He simply continued reading his book. His soft grunt was a sign of him accepting my poorly delivered apology. I wanted to leave in silence, but Ares held me back. “If you think it’s boring here, I can take you out.” “No. Planting flowers is fun.” “Why don’t we go horse riding? Do you like that?” Huh? It suddenly seemed to me that horse riding was more fun than planting. “Alright, but that’s if you have the time.” I replied with a smile, which also put a smile on Ares’ face. “Great. I’ll tell Mrs. Cynthia to prepare some clothes for you.” I looked at the dress I was wearing. It was definitely not the appropriate attire to get on a horse. Somehow, I thought of Andrea. The outfit she wore seemed fit for riding.