CH 16

Now that I was looking at him squarely, I saw that Albert’s bangs grew quite a bit, poking his eyes. It was admirable that he endured until now.

I hesitated for a moment, then I suggested.

“Prince, would you like me to trim your fringe?”

“By how much?”

“Hm… Excuse me for a moment.”

I leaned down slightly to be on eyelevel with him. Then, Albert looked up at me.

I feel weird.

I’ve always looked up at him, but never looked down.

So I’ve never seen him from this angle before…

A day like this comes after all.

Albert’s face was immaculate of course, and I closed my eyes for a second and opened them again, pushing through with seriously measuring his hair length.

“Is it alright if it’s a little higher than your eyebrows?”

“Even if you say that, I wouldn’t know.”

“Are you only pretending not to know?”

“Why ever would I do that?”

And I had no rebuttal to this.

At that time, Albert grabbed my wrist gently. It didn’t even feel weird because he did it so naturally.

“It’s better if you just touch me to let me know.”

Unexpectedly, he pulled up my hand towards his hair, and Albert’s forehead—no, his face was too close.

I inhaled sharply, nervous that Albert heard the sound.

I turned my head at once because I knew I wouldn’t be able to control my facial expression.

If I get caught being flustered, Albert wouldn’t like it. I’m sure he said that without thinking.

No excessive self-consciousness.

You can’t.

Albert doesn’t like you.

There’s no way he likes you.

After chanting this like a mantra, I regained peace in my heart. Then, I summoned the demeanor of a subordinate towards her boss and went back to measuring his hair seriously.

“About this much.”

I used my index and middle finger together to indicate the length at about half of his bangs.

Albert’s gaze could sparsely be seen through his hair.

Then, the corners of his lips slowly turned up.

“Alright.”

“Then I’ll go get the scissors.”

I escaped from Albert under the pretext of getting the pair of scissors. I picked it up from the desk, but as I returned, I walked back as slowly as I possibly could. I wanted to delay it as much as possible.

However, my freedom was but a moment.

Back in front of Albert as he sat on the chair, I hooked my fingers into the handles and took in a deep breath.

“You said it’s alright if I mess up. You can’t take back those words.”

I didn’t forget to remind Albert again.

“Yes.”

At Albert’s blasé answer, my first attempt began.

“Prince, please close your eyes.”

Bowing his head slightly forward, Albert closed his eyes. When he did, his long eyelashes could be seen.

It was the first time for me to see Albert with his eyes closed. The face illuminated gently by the fire made him seem like a holy saint.

I even had the vague imagination that I’d be corrupting the saint the moment I touched him.

Of course, it was a ridiculous thought.

I carefully held a tuft of his bangs.

Then, I stepped closer to him and began to cut his hair little by little—really, little by little. As much as I possibly could.

Snip. Gray hair fell around Albert.

Snip.

The gray hair that fell seemed like the milky way.

“Hu… I’ll take a short break.”

While I rested for a moment, Albert opened his eyes.

He was so close that I couldn’t breathe.

All I could think was that his eyes were clear.

He stared at me for a long time. There was no end to the depth of his gaze.

And it was as if… I wouldn’t be able to get out the moment I’d fall into them.

It was a moment that made me want to laugh just because I was so disconcerted.

“Rosé, let’s kiss.”

Was what he asked.

And I thought I heard wrong.

But he said it again as though he knew that I’d make some excuse like not hearing it.

“Let’s kiss.”

Was there anyone who could refuse when he said that?

“I want to kiss you now.”

Though I would berate myself and say that I shouldn’t succumb to Albert’s words every time, I couldn’t resist.

His face.

His voice.

This atmosphere.

Everything about Albert just draws me in.

I wonder what made you say these words.

A moment’s impulse?

Or… something more than that?

I wanted to know, but I didn’t ask.

Instead, I closed my eyes.

Albert held the back of my head and pulled me in slowly.

And warm lips touched.

* * *

How did it come to this?

I recalled the first time I kissed Albert.

The very moment I transmigrated into this novel, it was the time Rosé was coercing Albert according to her self-interest.

I remember how Albert looked at me at that time.

I didn’t even close my eyes back then to let Albert know that I was confident—confident that it wouldn’t lead to anything romantic. I thought this kiss would be the same.

But no. It was different.

It wasn’t a kiss that could be brushed off as something that happened after being swept by the atmosphere.

Was it because the night was deep?

As if he noticed how I was distracted by other thoughts, Albert slightly pulled me in more with his hand still on the back of my head.

It was far from a light kiss. His other hand naturally wrapped around my waist.

It really felt like I was being drawn into him entirely—

—In this moment where two people share each other’s breath.

As he kissed me deeper, it felt as though he wanted to explore everything about me.

And when I opened my eyes, his lips still on mine, I met his gaze, only an inch apart.

His eyes were half-lidded, cloudy.

He was focused on me and me alone at this very moment.

As soon as I realized what just happened, my face heated up. I felt embarrassed, so I turned away to get away from him, even a little.

But Albert didn’t even allow me to. As I turned away, he followed.

The gap that was created between us for a second disappeared as soon as Albert pulled me in once more and crossed his lips over mine gently.

I realized that the maid Rosé never truly experienced anything with Albert.

He wasn’t the kind of man who would only place his lips over another’s and wait for time to pass.

This was my only thought.

The kiss that followed was so breathtakingly intense, so utterly sweet that I was left with no choice but to focus on just this moment. There was no room to think about anything else.

By the time my face had turned entirely red and when I needed to breathe, Albert pulled away. I gasped for air.

His eyes that were once veiled by his hair were now clearly curved into crescent moons. His ease and satisfaction seemed too apparent.

Half-lidded eyes looking at only me. His relaxed appearance, which was so different from mine as I continued to gasp, made him seem like a languid tyrant.

Still, he swept his fingertips over my lips, his touch leaving a trail of scorching heat. Albert had the same relaxed expression, but he was different from his usual self as he kept an appropriate line between us.

A tyrant. A king who reigned over all the land he wanted. A beast that would never let go of what it had sunk its teeth in.

The fingers sweeping over my lips lowered and stopped at the tip of my chin, and with this, I thought that he was going to kiss me again.

And I was a little afraid of that kiss.

…Just what the hell changed?

Because I was restrained by the contract, I couldn’t approach him.

Of course, I could ask if I could kiss him just as he did, but that would only make him lose his trust in me. I could never imagine the opposite from happening.

This was the second time Albert had asked me.

I looked up and stared at him.

As I saw him from below, him looking down at me, it seemed like there was a flicker of desire within his gaze that I had never seen before.

Was it something I didn’t notice?

Or has he been hiding it?

His gentle touch on my chin went in slow circles, but the arm wrapped around my waist was steady. After the kiss, I was still breathing heavily in his arms.

“Rosé.”

Albert smiled dazzlingly.

If his earlier expression was like winter, then right now, it seemed as though spring had come as flowers bloomed. It was a season that marked a new beginning for everyone.

As Albert always did, he stroked my head.

“You’re a good person, hm?”

With the atmosphere still different, his voice was too low, too sultry.

“Maybe this is because of the contract.”

And these words pulled me back to my senses.

Pardon? The only thing I’m guilty of was following the Prince’s orders.

Complaining inwardly, I took a deep breath.

Now, this can’t just be regarded as me being overly self-conscious.

It was clear that this man was determined to bewitch me.

This was beyond just taking an interest.

From the moment he asked to kiss, the moment we shared each other’s breath.

It was a fact that Albert didn’t see me as just a maid.

A maid and a prince. It was nothing more than a contractual relationship, or a relationship with a power imbalance. Lightly, sneakily, the definition of that relationship had changed.

There was a rupture.

“Prince.”

“Yes.”

“I think we need to talk.”

Looking at me with his arms folded, Albert replied straightforwardly.

“If you want.”

“…And if I end up not wanting to?”

I’ve since given up trying to understand his actions—I didn’t want to know the reason behind his actions.

“That’s also your choice.”

There’s no way he didn’t know what I meant. I clenched my hands into fists, but I soon unclenched them to sweep them over my face, shaking my head.

“I’ll clean up first. Is it alright if you wait a little?”

Cutting his hair had long been forgotten between us. Albert nodded once. Just as I erased my usual playfulness and mischief while focusing on the conversation at hand, he did the same.

I cleaned up the hair that had fallen to the floor, then I placed the scissors back in the drawer. Even at that moment, my mind was a mess of complicated thoughts.

I brought another chair and sat down. Albert stared at me, touching his lips. This reminded me vividly of when he touched mine.

I spoke first.

“I prepared a hypothesis because I thought it would be too rude to ask Your Highness bluntly.”

“Why don’t you just ask, Rosé?”

“No, this is better. Would it be alright if you tell me if I’m right or wrong?”

I thought very hard on why he was doing this.

In fact, quite a few guesses came to mind. If I were to base his actions on what happened in the novel, I thought that he might be doing this in order to use me, just as he did with the maid Rosé.

However, the most circumstantial hypothesis was another reason.

This was a sudden hunch, but it was the only guess I could think of that would fit the way his attitude and gaze towards me changed.

It was the honest truth that would be burdensome to hear directly from his lips.

“Prince, perhaps… Do you have feelings for me?”

Liking someone.

It was that.