I Tamed the Monstrous Prince - Chapter 32
Chapter 32
The Emerald Palace was in a truly appalling state. Even my bedroom, supposedly the most presentable, was only hastily tidied. How did I know?
“Looks like they only cleaned what they could see.”
Thanks to the dust-covered prince, who seemed to have rolled in every speck of dirt in the world, I now had firsthand knowledge of just how filthy the floor was. I brushed off the surface dust clinging to him, then quickly pulled out my handkerchief to wipe him down. The white linen turned black almost instantly, a clear sign that this wouldn’t suffice.
“Here.”
Cesar gently placed the cushion he’d just thrown at me into my lap. Accepting it, a small puff of laughter escaped my lips.
“Oh…”
It was nothing, really, but I couldn’t stop the giggles that bubbled up. My laughter continued until my stomach ached, leaving Cesar tilting his head in bewilderment.
“Ahaha, sorry. But it’s just so funny…”
His dust-covered, disheveled appearance was both comical and endearing. The laughter, once unleashed, refused to subside, eventually bringing tears to my eyes.
This dust-covered prince had stumbled into the storm clouds of my heart, a messy, dirty, and utterly disrespectful sight. Yet, strangely, I didn’t find it repulsive. Instead, it was… comforting.
Since arriving at the palace, I hadn’t had a moment’s peace. The constricting clothes, the stiff shoes, the scrutinizing stares that followed me everywhere, treating me like some exotic creature… It all felt like it was slowly draining the life out of me.
The palace’s opulence seemed to mock me.
‘No matter how much silk and jewels you adorn yourself with, it will never suit you. This place isn’t for a lowly, crippled bastard like you. This disdain is the treatment you deserve. Be grateful you’re even alive.’
Anxiety choked me, crushing my lungs. I felt a constant urge to vomit, gasping for breath, desperate for even a sliver of air. Intermittently, this suffocating feeling morphed into a desperate need to scream, only to be replaced by a chilling fear that froze me to the core.
It was the terror of balancing precariously on a high wire, knowing one wrong step could send me plummeting into the abyss.
But now, the cushion Cesar had given me felt like a safety net, catching my free-falling heart. He, covered in dirt, had disregarded all the world’s judgments and rules. And for some reason, I found that incredibly liberating.
The dark clouds within me seemed to momentarily disperse. With each chuckle, bits of that darkness seemed to pop and vanish into thin air.
“This won’t do, though.”
No matter how much he’d rolled around in the dirt, this was simply unacceptable.
“I did promise to show them his human form.”
Cleanliness was a crucial first impression. I gently brushed his unruly hair back from his forehead, revealing a handsomely shaped brow and striking dark eyebrows.
His captivating red eyes followed the movement of my hand, the bridge of his nose casting a defined shadow. A perfectly sculpted face stared back at me, sending a flush to my cheeks. I quickly pulled the bell cord to summon a servant.
“Was His Highness here?”
It was Mercedes. She looked relieved to finally find him after what appeared to be a frantic search.
“He needs a bath.”
“A…bath?”
“Yes.”
“A bath?” Mercedes’ face paled slightly.
“Well, yes, look at him. He’s covered in dirt.”
“But…”
At the time, I failed to grasp the meaning of her hesitation. She soon returned with several servants, her expression grim.
“Go on, Cesar.”
I waved him off with a cheerful smile. His frequent glances back seemed to plead with me, but surely nothing could go wrong with a simple bath?
“Could it?” I muttered to myself, unsure who I was asking.
