335: The Audacity Of This Woman!

The Audacity Of This Woman!

"I need to clean your wounds," was his nonchalant response, and she could feel his fingers tugging loose the rest of the bind.

"No! You can't!" She attempted to move away from his reach, but the sudden movement brought out a groan from her lips. It was as if each and every muscle from below her neck was protesting in pain.

Oriana could hear a frustrated sigh behind her.

"Why can't you be obedient? I told you to not move." Even though he was sitting behind her, she could easily imagine him scowling at the moment. "Your back is a mess, and this cloth is dirty with blood."

"But…"

She tried to refute but was cut off by his next words. 

"But what?" he snapped, seemingly at the end of his patience. "I am sitting behind you so I can't see anything. Sit tight and let me do my work. Put your hands aside."

Oriana reluctantly lowered her hands, allowing him to unwrap the layers of fabric binding her chest. As his arms moved, she could see that he was telling the truth. The front part of the chest bind might be intact, but the rest were stained with blood. She could only guess how terrible her injuries must have looked.

She could not help but flinch every time she felt him leaning closer to her back, but she pretended those were caused by the slight sting from clotted blood being removed along with the cloth. 

Once the last layer was removed, Oriana's hands instinctively covered her bare chest, disregarding the pain caused by moving her arms. She felt exposed and self-conscious, even though Arlan assured her time and time again that he had no other intentions. She heard the prince sigh in disapproval, but he said nothing more on the subject.

Arlan was in an extremely foul mood. The sight of her back reminded him how much pain she must have suffered throughout the night in the speeding carriage. It was lucky she did not break a bone, but the bruises and scrapes on her back was nothing to scoff at. 

Back when he was holding her in his arms, she probably silently bore the pain until she fell asleep.

The prince began to clean her back as gently as possible, his touch precise as he moved with care despite his anger. His mate did not deserve this, and he was frustrated, hating himself for allowing her to put herself at risk. 

'If I had used my powers sooner, then this wouldn't have happened. I was careless…'

He thought he had everything under control. He was even proud to see Oriana showing off her archery skills against the enemies. What happened was an accident, but it was something he could have prevented easily in the first place.

Arlan could only let out a frustrated sigh.

As his hands worked on her bare back, his mind wandered to the first time he had seen this lovely sight. Back in the city manor of the Ahrens, Oriana had once taken advantage of the absence of her 'new lord'. The daring woman took her sweet time enjoying washing her body in his bathtub. 

That alluring image back then, her slender back, the shapely curve and her full bottom clouded by steam… 

Only he knew how much he suffered after that night,  what kind of wild thoughts he had in mind, how he feared he turned into a real beast. 

Even now, with her bruised and all, Oriana remained attractive to him. Arlan felt the need to comfort his mate by planting sweet kisses on each and every bruise,  tracing his lips across those scrapes, running his hands all over her body to check for hidden injuries...

Immersed in his fantasy, he did not even notice when his hands stopped working. 

Oriana could sense his gaze, seemingly boring holes into her back. Because he was sitting behind her, she could not see his expression, but it was probably not good. 

As time trickled by, she began to feel a shift of mood inside the room. The tension in the air was almost palpable. Her heart fluttered, both nervous and excited, despite her chanting to herself that there was no reason to feel that way. 

Until she felt his hot breath fanning against her bare shoulder.

Her heart raced and her body stiffened. She momentarily forgot all the pain she was feeling. A rush of heat went to her head, and by the time she regained her senses, she realized he was up to something.

"Y-Your Highness, is my back fine now?" she gulped, intending to break the strange atmosphere.

Arlan snapped  back to his senses and moved his face away from her shoulder. He acted as if nothing happened, rinsing the cloth once more on the basin before wiping  her back with an indifferent expression. He even forgot to answer her question. 

With the tension discharged, Oriana felt relieved, letting out the breath she didn't know she was holding. When he stood up, she hastily grabbed the pillow he set aside to cover her front. Moving her left hand brought her a new wave of pain, causing her shoulder to cramp, but it was her only choice. She did not want him to see her naked.

She watched as Arlan wordlessly took the herbal paste from the table and returned to his spot behind her. He quickly applied the ointment on her cleaned wounds this time. 

Her injuries cleaned and treated, Oriana felt a mixture of relief and loss. Though she was reluctant to be helped by a man, it was Arlan who did so, and there was a small satisfaction in having him serve her. 

Oriana kept the pillow to cover her chest as she watched him going through her luggage. He found her a change of clothes. 

He resumed his place behind her and held a white  undershirt. "Lift your arms."

"I need my chest bind first, Your Highness," she remarked.

"You don't have to. No one will enter the room," he replied. "I will help you with it before we leave this town."

"I don't need help. anymore"

"We will see." His voice turned cold and she tactfully kept quiet. 

Arlan helped her slowly put on the shirt, and then  she felt herself in his embrace, his arms around her with his chest pressed against her back. He was holding the sides of the open shirt in front of her, intending to button her up. 

Her delicate earlobe grew red as she could feel his hot breath fanning against it. 

"I can do—"

"Stay still." 

His words sounded right next to her ear, and it was as if all her blood in her body rushed to her face. Wasn't it fortunate that he was sitting behind her? Otherwise, he would have seen the furious blush on her cheeks.

Oriana lowered her head, only to see his hands were already quickly buttoning her shirt. With his arms caging her in, she felt like she was trapped in sweet torment, their intimate position causing her heartbeats to sound like a drum.

As he finished, his voice disrupted the charged tension in the air.

"It's done."

His slightly hoarse voice brought her back to her senses. Oriana blinked, her breath slightly uneven as she offered him a timid, "Thank you, Your Highness."

Arlan had long noticed how her adorable ears had turned red. The sound of her heart beating wildly even caused him to smirk in satisfaction.

'If only she was not hurt…'

He could only let out a helpless sigh before rising to his feet. 

Oriana grew flustered.

Despite having a shirt on, this was the first time she had worn a single layer of clothing without her chest bind. She had grown used to wearing one for years. Even back when abandoned her attendant uniform and pretended to be a noble lady, she wore a hose, chemise and corset under her gown. 

As is, Oriana felt like she was not wearing anything. When Arlan sat in front of her, she could not help but cross her hands in front of the protruding mounds under the white fabric. 

"I can't see through clothes. You can calm down," he flatly told her. "We are not done yet." His hands were poised towards her dirty pants.

"I-I think we're good?"

Arlan raised a brow at her blatant lie. Her brown pants were stained with mud, even torn at the knees with her skin covered in dried blood. 

Oriana continued to shake her head. "Please leave it alone, Your Highness. I am fine. I only hurt my knees and it only looks bad but nothing serious..."

However, Oriana's stubbornness was no match for the prince. His action was quick, removing her leather shoes first, and then her socks, which brought to attention the swelling on her right ankle. 

Arlan's expression darkened once more. It was probable she's lying about her legs having no other injuries.

Just as he was about to reach for the belt of her pants, intending to pull the pants down her legs, she panicked and threw a pillow towards the prince.

"I said I am fine, Your Highness!"

'The audacity of this woman!' His hands retreated, but he pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes for a moment. "Why is this simple task taking so much time? Should I just knock you out so that I can treat your wounds in silence?"

Oriana didn't know how to react to his threat.2

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A/N- Dear readers, instead of gifting to the chapter, kindly vote your coins to Oriana on the new event page for "Most Popular Female Character" I wish Oriana to win this event as she deserves it. 

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