Villain, Let Me Touch You! - Chapter 39
In front of the door stood a tall man. With a refined stature, a handsome face, and an air of sophistication, he was anything but ordinary.
Nick cleared his throat and hastily tidied the sketches on his desk. “I don’t know who you are, but it’s not appropriate to barge into the Constable’s office.”
“It’s perfectly fine to barge in.”
Nick’s eyebrows arched. The man’s attitude irked him.
Cocky *sshole. Someone should teach him some manners.
Regardless of nobility, this was going too far.
The man glanced at Nick briefly before striding across the office. Without a word from Nick, he snatched one of the sketches and unfolded it.
“Hey!”
“Prince.”
“What?”
“I’m the Crown Prince. Helios Perry Augustine.”
The ring, engraved with a roaring lion, was proof that the man was royalty. That meant he had every right to be in the Chief Constable’s chambers.
Nick immediately walked back his earlier thoughts about the impudent brat.
“I apologize for not recognizing you!” Nick bowed deeply.
“Greetings aside. It seemed like you were about to erase something.”
“No, I wasn’t. Concealing evidence is a serious offense. I would never…”
“Not you. The perpetrator. They went through the trouble to incinerate the victim. There’s only one reason for that. They wanted to cover their tracks.”
“I see.”
Helios’s words sounded plausible.
“Here’s the question. What did the perpetrator want to erase?”
Suddenly drawn into the investigation, Nick blinked rapidly.
***
The chirping of sparrows woke me up, a rare occurrence as I rarely woke up at my usual wake-up time.
In the summertime, the mornings were bright, while in winter, they were dim. During this early summer season, it was a time when the sun diligently chased away the darkness.
I woke up feeling refreshed after a good night’s sleep. As I stretched, the door opened.
“Up early, aren’t you?” It was Jamie.
“Yeah, just woke up. Where’s the prince?” I replied.
“He said he had work to do.”
Seemed like Helios, who planned to stay by my side for a couple of days, suddenly had some urgent business.
“Are you upset?” Jamie asked.
“No, not really. Just worried about his health with all the rush. I should brew some herbal tonics for him,” I said as I got out of bed and headed towards the makeshift workstation.
“Are you sure you’re okay to work?”
“I’m fine. I feel perfectly normal. It’s like I was never sick.”
The effect of direct touch by the subject of the imprint had been remarkably strong. Even after nearly 10 hours, I felt fine.
If only the imprinted area wasn’t so intimate, I would have asked him to touch it more often.
It was so close and personal. The bottom of my stomach tightened at the memory of what had happened, an unfamiliar tension. I tried to busy myself to dispel that feeling.
“You should wash up and have breakfast first,” Jamie suggested.
“We don’t know when the pain might come back. I should get things done while I can,” I replied, trying to brush it off.
“Why not let someone else make the herbal tonic? It’s an easy task, and you’ve already hired a replacement.”.
“Oh, right! My replacement! What happened to that person?”
The memory of hiring a successor and writing a resignation letter felt like a distant past.
“They’re on standby. Basically getting paid without working,” Jamie said, lips pursed. I could understand Jamie’s jealousy.
“Jamie, how long has it been since you took a vacation?”
“A year.”
Not having taken a break for a whole year, even if Jamie went on strike, I couldn’t really blame them.
“Wow, I’m such a terrible boss.”
“It’s not your fault, Rienna. You haven’t had a break either.”
“That’s true. I really feel sorry for both of us. In that spirit, let’s go hang out sometime soon.”
“Really?” Jamie brightened up momentarily but soon looked disheartened again.
“Is something wrong?”
I glanced at Jamie as I added herbs into the herbal tonic brewer. Jamie had just lit the stove, hands and feet moving swiftly.
“You might collapse anytime, how can we plan a trip? Let’s go once you’re all better.”
Jamie’s concern was palpable, almost tangible. It was evident she worried about my well-being.
Even though it wasn’t her fault that I was unwell, I couldn’t help feeling guilty.
“Of course, we’ll go out when I’m fully recovered. But we don’t know when that will be. So, we should plan to do something even before then.”
“What if you collapse?”
“Well, um…”
“I’ll be with you, what’s there to worry about?”
As if on cue, Helios nuzzled his face into my shoulder.
