42: Testing his patience

Testing his patience

Dante had seen women's legs before, and he would even place this woman's legs to be like the rest of them. 

But it was the fact that she didn't realise that she was baring her legs for his gaze like a deer giving its neck to its prey that kept his attention. When her foot touched the surface of the water, she shivered. 

"Planning to take a dip first?" 

"Huh?" Caught off guard, Anastasia turned to look at him before getting flustered. Hurriedly, she untied the skirt of her dress and pushed it down to hide her legs. "I—I was going to pull out the plug at the bottom."

Dante dropped the parchment on the table and stood up. He made his way over to where she was, not breaking eye contact. Coming to stand at one corner of the bathtub, he bent down, and his hand reached for a chain. 

"Pull this chain, which is connected to the plug at the bottom, and that should do the trick," Dante educated her, but he didn't pull the plug, so that she would do it. 

Anastasia nodded and said, "I will do that! Thank you!" 

Enthusiastically, Anastasia went to walk around the bathtub when the length of her dress hindered her movements, along with the bubbles at her feet. Stepping on the hem of her dress, she lost her balance before falling right into the bathtub. 

When Anastasia emerged from the cold water, she gasped and wiped her face with both hands. But as her eyes moved around, they fell on the prince, who didn't look happy. It was because when her body broke through the surface of the water, she had splashed water right onto him. He sat there kneeling next to the edge of the bath, staring at her.

"The hem of my dress, it tripped… Prince Dante…" Anastasia's voice was meek. She tried to hide herself in the water by lowering her body down. 

At the same time, Dante's jaws clenched, and his hand pulled the chain of the plug to control his anger. He remarked, "If taking a bath was what you were planning on doing, I have a better place that you might quite enjoy with abundant water." 

Anastasia didn't meet his eyes and said, "No… I am good. Thank you, Prince Dante." 

Unamused, Dante asked, "Do you think I was offering you a favour?" 

She shook her head as she wrapped her hands around her arms while the water level lowered with every second that passed. She replied, "I am not always this clumsy… I am very meticulous. You can ask Mr. Gilbert." 

"Are you blaming me for your clumsiness?" Dante raised one of his arched eyebrows. 

"No! I would never… Please forgive me, that's not what I meant," Anastasia offered a bow to him from where she stood. She internally cursed herself. Somehow she seemed to be making a fool out of herself in front of him.

Dante noted how the upper part of the maid's dress stuck to her body. Though it wasn't transparent like the last one, it reminded him of that night when water dripped down her body. He ordered, "Leave. Having you clean in your current state is useless." 

Not cleaning the bath? Was she free to go? Anastasia asked herself. As she exited the bath, water dripped from the ends of her dress, which stuck to her body. Bending down, she awkwardly wrung out her skirt under Dante's glaring eyes. 

Anastasia realised she would have to leave the room in her drenched state and turned to look at Dante, who stood straight. Noticing the look of a quiet plea, he asked sternly, 

"What? Want to take a bath here again?" Sarcasm laced in his words, and Anastasia shook her head. 

"No… that, I am drenched, and I was wondering if, if I could g—"

"No," Dante's response was quick, like a knife. "The first time I let it pass, but the second time was thoughtlessness. Let us hope that this time's outcome will prevent you from repeating it for the third time, yes?" His eyes held no ounce of emotion. He said, "Have a maid sent here to fix the bath."

"Yes, Prince Dante," Anastasia whispered, wringing out her skirt again before she approached the door. 

But when Anastasia opened the door, she came to stand face to face with the Mother Queen's minister, who held a bundle of parchments under his arm. Aziel's eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the maid, who was drenched. 

Anastasia offered a bow, and then bolted away from there at a speed that had people wondering who had zoomed out so quickly, with only the evidence of water drops on the floor. On the other hand, Aziel cleared his throat and said, 

"Prince Dante, I brought the parchments you asked for." They contained some confidential information, which was why the minister had decided to come here himself. But when the first prince appeared at the door, the minister's eyes widened on noticing the wet patches on his dark shirt and slightly wet hair. 

Did the prince try to drown the maid in the bathtub? He did threaten that the next woman sent to him would cause him to shed blood. Though from the Mother Queen's perspective, her conversation with her grandson had been light, she and Aziel both knew that Prince Dante wasn't joking about it. 

When Prince Dante took the parchments from him, Aziel offered a bow and turned his back to the prince when he heard, "Aziel." 

The minister became slightly nervous, wondering if this was about the concubine sent to his room. Aziel answered, "Yes, my Prince?" 

"Have the physician meet me this evening. Though mother has been sick, she insisted on joining the public gathering, but I don't think she's been doing well," Prince Dante said with a frown. 

"I will have the physician brought here soon," Aziel bowed and then watched the door close. 

The minister released the air he didn't know he had been holding, and he returned to where the Mother Queen was still eating cherries. The servants opened the door for him, and he entered. 

"What has got you wheezing, Aziel? Don't tell me you are dying so soon?" the Mother Queen made a face of disapproval. 

"My Queen, I think Prince Dante almost killed a maid today, but then both of them were drenched," Aziel turned a little confused. 

The Mother Queen raised her eyebrows before pursing her lips and saying, "Is this Emily's maid?" 

The minister hadn't paid attention to the princess's maid, and he answered, "I am not sure…"

"It looks like after that woman Tasia disappeared, my grandson has begun to sleep with maids, and his actions leave me no choice. Something needs to be done," the Mother Queen placed her hands under her chin while her elbows rested on the armrest. She then ordered her minister, "Fetch Maya. This matter needs to be fixed before the sand scatters too far."

"Yes, my Queen," Aziel replied. 

After a few minutes, the minister returned with Lady Maya. Lady Maya had been enjoying the music and dance with the others when her entertainment was interrupted. She offered a polite bow to the older woman and said, 

"Mother Queen, I heard that you wanted to see me." 

"I did," the Mother Queen smiled at her son's first concubine, and she said, "Sit down, Maya. It has been long since we had some tea together, hm?"

Lady Maya returned the Mother Queen's smile with one of her own and sat next to the older woman. She said, "Thank you for inviting me to join you, Mother Queen."

"How is everything going with the preparation of Maxwell's wedding? William told me that the dates have been selected. Have you chosen your dress?"

"The tailor is making one which matches the earrings that you gifted me," Lady Maya replied,  her words sweet and poised. 

"That sounds wonderful. You will look right in it, as the groom's mother," the Mother Queen nodded. She paused momentarily before saying, "Something has come to my attention. I heard Maxwell has promoted one of the courtesans to be his exclusively. I thought I'd hear the news from you." 

Lady Maya replied, "Unfortunately, like you, I didn't know Maxwell had sent the papers to have the courtesan exclusively to himself until this morning. He told me it was sent out two weeks ago, before he found his soulmate. Should I request a revoke?" 

"That is not how it works, Maya. It isn't something easy to do, and is quite a hassle," the Mother Queen stated. "It is fine though, as long as it doesn't cause any harm to Maxwell and his soulmate. How are all the concubines doing?"

Many years ago, when Lady Maya had given birth to Prince Maxwell, King William was so pleased to have a second son that he had turned her into the head of the concubines, leaving the concubines under her care. And on some level, she also had the strings attached to the control of the courtesans. 

"One of them returned scared this morning after Prince Dante's threat. I don't think the prince is interested when his heart lies somewhere else, Mother Queen," Lady Maya said calmly, with a pleasant smile on her face. She said, "We should perhaps wait for it to heal?" 

That Tasia, thought the Mother Queen, as her eyes narrowed at the memory of how she and the rest of the family had been fooled. If only she could find that young woman! She would… she should have married Dante and her that day! But then, at the same time, no one knew anything about that suspicious woman, and she was history. 

"Healing is definitely required," the old woman linked her fingers together and said, "Speaking on the same subject, there's a maid that needs to be added under your care." 

"A maid?" Lady Maya asked, slightly uncertain if the Mother Queen was joking, because she had the habit of doing so. 

"Yes, a maid. Emily's maid to be precise. I want you to consider adding her, as she seems to possess a certain talent," the old woman raised her eyebrows. 

Lady Maya had already heard about the rumours going around concerning Dante, and she knew exactly what the Mother Queen was trying to do. But she wasn't like the other women, and there was a reason why she had risen to the top to be King William's first exclusive concubine.

"Princess Emily's maid?" Lady Maya looked slightly stunned. She said, "I don't think she is fit to be a concubine. She's a mute. If I am not wrong, the maid was appointed as Princess Emily's maid because she cannot speak, after what happened with the princess's previous maids."

"That is true. I still want you to consider it, as it wouldn't be good if rumours spread too far," the Mother Queen said, as that part of the palace wasn't under her control.

"Of course, Mother Queen," Lady Maya offered a bow with a smile. She wondered if it would cause any damage or if it would go in her favour if she were to add a lowly maid under her care. But she didn't have to decide right now, as she was busy with her son's wedding. 

On the other side of the palace, Anastasia had changed out of her wet clothes. After drying her hair, she tied it back into a tight bun and pinned the stray pieces in. Before she returned to Princess Emily's side, she made a little detour on the way. 

Climbing up the stairs of the Paradise Tower, she reached the floor and appeared at the front of the entrance as she peeked around, trying to find Marianne there. 

"Whom are you here for?" One of the courtesans, who was walking by, asked Anastasia. "Hm?"

'Marianne,' Anastasia mouthed.  1

"Marianne? She doesn't live here anymore," the woman replied as if uninterested in talking about it, and was about to leave when Anastasia caught the woman's sleeve and asked why. "She's exclusive to Prince Maxwell now. She lives on the inner side of the palace." 

No… Anastasia whispered in her mind.

The prince's exclusive concubine attempting to escape was even worse than just a regular courtesan doing the same. Not to mention, with Marianne now living in the heart of the palace, it would be harder to escape. 

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