Chapter 284: Barefoot Whispers And Broken Composure
Soon, a tall figure emerged from the lounge room.
Every single person’s nerves tingled with anticipation as they subtly lifted their gaze to see who, or what, was about to appear.
One shifted uncomfortably as her anxiety rose to the point where she could no longer bear it. When she finally looked up, her mouth fell open, her eyes nearly bulging from their sockets as though she had been struck by an invisible bat from behind.
Her spiking heartbeat was enough to prompt others to do the same.
One by one, they slowly raised their eyes, and there he was, their tall and devastatingly handsome prince. He was every bit of the heartthrob, striding confidently towards the dining room.
But that was not all.
Cradled in his arms was an ethereal beauty, clad in a soft blush gown that draped over her as though he were carrying a delicate flower.
Yet somehow, that was not all that made several souls leave their bodies. The princess was blushing softly with her tender gaze fixed solely on the prince, as though the rest of the world had politely ceased to exist.
And the prince....Oh gods above!
He was smiling! His smile was so gentle, warm, and so unapologetically in love that they could only collectively think of one thing:
’Was this really their icy prince?!’
With great difficulty as their daring gazes trailed further, they noticed that her feet were bare and once again their mind screamed:
’Wait! Why is she barefoot? Oh my god! Has she really gone crippled?!’
At that precise moment, multiple servants were fairly certain their minds had short-circuited.
The maid who had first dared to lift her gaze suddenly felt as though her legs had turned to jelly. She shifted in a desperate attempt to regain her balance, only to bump straight into another maid, and like a cursed spell gone wrong, a chain reaction erupted.
Before any of the dazed heads could fully grasp what was happening, they went down one by one, collapsing in a most undignified heap, much like a house of cards that had lost the will to stand.
That, unfortunately, was only the beginning.
Someone who had been gripping the curtain under the pretence of adjusting it clung to it for balance after the impact of the fallen maids, only for the curtain to give way under the unexpected weight.
Then came the final tragedy; those who were standing close enough with trays in their hands watched in helpless horror as the trays slipped from their grasp, their lives flashing before their eyes, before both servants and silverware crashed spectacularly to the floor together.
At the loud noise, Ivan halted mid-step and turned his head to glance at the disaster left in his wake.
Eve, who had been utterly lost in his loving gaze, followed his line of sight and took in the tangled heap before them, managing only a stunned, "What in the world..."
Her words trailed off as she felt the chill of the temperature dropping around them. As absolute silence followed, the air quickly got thick with the volcano that was about to erupt.
"Arthur," Ivan called in a low, icy voice, one that made every fallen servant stiffen like a rod, despite the fact that they were still very much knotted together on the floor.
Arthur appeared as elegant and impeccably composed as if summoned by an invisible button. "Yes, Your Highn-"
His words promptly tumbled within his mouth the moment he truly registered the scene before him. His eyes widened to an almost impressive degree as his head turned almost robotically at the sight before him.
It was then that Eve, for the first time, witnessed the butler’s flawless composure crack so completely, and from such close proximity.
She felt Ivan was moments away from unleashing his fury upon everyone involved, and she was positively unwilling to let the morning descend into a bloodbath. So she gently lifted the hand resting around Ivan’s neck and placed it against his cheek, parting her lips to calm him.
But before she could speak, a frantic voice echoed through the hall.
"F-Forgive us, Your Highness!"
Her eyes snapped to the fallen staff that scrambled upright and dropped to their knees with remarkable speed, with their foreheads pressed firmly to the ground.
One by one, they began blurting out apologies in a flurry of panic.
"Forgive u-us, Y-Your H-Highness!"
"We d-didn’t mean to!"
"W-we were only w-worried about the p-princess!"
"And lost our balance!"
"P-please don’t leave her!" The last sentence, blurted out by a maid, made all of them flinch collectively before their heads whipped in her direction in horror.
Ivan and Eve were speechless, listening to them blabber one after the other.
But it was the last sentence that made them turn their heads ever so slightly to meet each other’s eyes. The same question swirled between them.
’Don’t leave her? What sort of unhinged madness had possessed the palace in their absence?’
Their baffled gazes slid back to the trembling maid, who now had her hand slapped over her mouth as though she were personally attempting to shove the words back inside.
Arthur and Alex were at a loss for words as they watched the prince stride towards the maid, knowing all too well that things were only going to spiral from here.
"Leave her?" Ivan asked, his voice cold enough to frost the air. "And what, exactly, do you mean?"
Eve remained quiet, only because she was curious herself to know what in the world had been happening in the palace while she had been tucked away in the safety of the cottage.
"Y-your H-Hig...hness," the maid stammered, shivering so hard that Eve half expected her to collapse right on the spot.
It was not like Ivan’s intimidating presence was helping at all.
So, taking a deep breath, Evelyn finally decided to speak, "It’s alright. You may speak freely and tell us honestly what this is about."
Ivan remained silent as his patience wore thin.
The maid, upon hearing Eve’s gentle voice, could no longer hold herself together. She broke down into sobs and spoke haltingly, "Forgi-ve me, Y-Your Highness b-but it is just that we were all scared."
"Scared of what?" Eve pressed, confusion settling across her face.
Ivan heard the sudden spike in everyone’s frantic pulse and narrowed his eyes at the maid.
She swallowed hard, keeping her head bowed, before blurting out, "Your Highness, I-I will be b-beheaded. Forgive me, Your Highness, I-I cannot say."
"I do not know what you all are concocting in those little heads of yours," Ivan said coldly, "but if you do not speak, I assure you that being beheaded will be the last thing you find yourself begging for."
The maid began to shake even more violently, and Eve pinched the bridge of her nose, certain the poor girl was on the verge of passing out.
Turning her attention back to the maid, Eve asked calmly, "Tell us. What did you mean by what you said earlier?"
The maid drew in a sharp breath before responding with great difficulty. "Your Highness, no one here saw you for a long time, not even out for a walk, so people began to think you were i-injured and unable to...."
Her voice trailed off as she felt a hard glare bore into her, directed by none other than the prince himself.
Arthur and Alex’s eyebrows shot up at the maid’s confession, and they could already feel their prince nearing the edge of his restraint.
Meanwhile, Eve took her time to carefully mull over what the woman had just said. Then, suddenly, it clicked. She asked in disbelief, "So you all thought His Highness would leave me because you believed I could not walk anymore?"
From the corner of her eye, Eve noticed a nerve throb on Ivan’s forehead, and the moment the maid nodded in admission, she knew he was at his breaking point.
The tension and dead silence grew thick in the air before a sound broke through it. Beautiful laughter rippled through the atmosphere, cutting the strain like gentle bell chimes. It mesmerised everyone present, drawing their gazes upward towards its source in utter daze.
Whether man or woman, all eyes were fixed upon the ethereal beauty in their prince’s arms. They were utterly bedazzled by her sweet laughter, struck with the uncanny feeling that they had died and ascended straight into heaven.
Eve could not help but laugh at such ridiculous rumours terrorising the palace simply because she had not shown her face for a long time.
As she calmed down, her blue gaze drifted to Ivan, who was looking at her as though spellbound, and a blush quickly coloured her cheeks. The anger that had been radiating from him only moments ago was gone, as if he had never been on the verge of ripping the throat of the maid who dared to speak those words.
Clearing her throat, she realised she needed to sort out this mess. She spoke gently, "Ivan, can you put me down?"
