Silence.
It was as if time itself had stopped, the two turning silent and motionless until Ruby licked her dry lips and broke the ice.
"Before that, can we talk with the lights on?"
At her sudden request, Julien's gaze sharpened to that of a hawk's, his eyes narrowing dangerously as if he was trying to pry open her mind once more.
Half a minute later, he relented.
"Fine. But first, wear your mask."
Ruby didn't immediately do as she was told to. Instead, she picked up the white mask placed beside the bed and questioned him.
"Why?"
Julien answered her almost immediately, "Because I don't like the idea of killing my bride on day one."
The mask fell from her grip as Ruby's fingers turned weak. The ends of her lips couldn't help but twitch.
That didn't sound like a joke at all!
She quickly wore her mask and motioned for the man to go on.
Julien clicked his tongue, amused by her sudden obedience. He then snapped his fingers, ordering the other man hiding in the shadows.
"Mario, the lights."
Snap!
The room suddenly turned bright as if thousands of lights had just exploded.
That's just… too much of a shock. Ruby placed a hand on her chest just to make sure that it's still intact.
Donning the same exact mask as her, the lean man named 'Mario' moved to stand behind Julien, eyeing her the same spiteful way one would towards a verified criminal.
Ruby ignored the obnoxious side character. Instead, she studied the man sitting on the sofa intently.
The infamous mad cursed prince, Julien Sterling. He was unlike what the rumours had whispered about him.
He didn't have four eyes and six arms, not that it ever sounded logical to her to begin with. It's just that… he was unlike the savage they depicted him to be.
Instead, he seemed even more deprived upon closer look. Dark circles ran below his pitch-black eyes like gloomy clouds, painting a sharp contrast against his pale white skin.
It was as if he was an entity that never lived under the sun, his figure frail and thin. It didn't help that he was dressed as casually as a peasant of the lowest class would—his loose pants and shirt looking worn out like they had survived countless years of harsh washing.
What a waste of his devilish good looks.
"You're judging me again. What? Don't like what you see?"
Ruby furiously shook her head. Of course, she couldn't possibly tell him the truth when her head might be the one at stake. Still, her true intent was out in the open for all eyes to see.
Mario was the first to show his unhappiness.
"Even if you're truly the 17th Madam, I won't tolerate any form of disrespect towards the Master." He strode forward to shield Julien behind him.
Julien remained placid, seeming used to his attendant's protective side while Ruby… was without any doubt offended.
She hadn't even spoken a word yet and here he was, pointing fingers at her as if she was a witch.
"I didn't–"
She tried to salvage the situation, but was immediately cut off by Mario's humorless sneer.
"Lies."
The veins on her forehead twitched. She truly should've delivered her punch early on.
Ruby glared at Mario. One look and she immediately knew that their eight characters wouldn't match. A supposedly fine man with the mouth of a bitch, how obnoxious.
"Enough. Mario, you can leave us now."
With the bitch as comparison, Julien now looked better in her eyes.
"But, Sir. What if the girl tries to harm you when I'm not here?" Mario rambled out of desperation.
Ruby looked at him in disbelief. "Excuse me?"
She was literally only mere seconds away from exploding on the spot and dragging the man by the ear to tell him lessons about life.
Do you know why an ancient sage nicknamed Old Shen lived till his hundreds? It's because he could keep his mouth shut and not ramble like a bitch, unlike you!
"Mario, out." Julien sounded impatient. Ruby gave him the thumbs up for that.
Though unresigned, Mario couldn't possibly go against his master's order. He left the room with a listless back, but not before glaring at the girl who had glared back at him with haughtiness smeared all over her palm-sized face.
The door closed shut with a "click", heavy air restoring into the atmosphere as if it had never even left.
"Now, tell me. Who sent you here?"
Julien asked, his sharp voice unrelenting. Ruby's smile stiffened. Fortunately, she had enough time to provide a clever answer for that.
"My… father?"
Yes. Her clever answer was… play stupid.
Julien laughed at the audacity. Still, he persisted.
"How much did he pay you?"
"A dime worth 3 meals a day?"
"What did he tell you to do?"
"Uhmm, marry well and make him proud?"
"..."
This girl… was truly a clown.
Julien inwardly sighed for the girl whose eyes were darting anywhere but him, busying herself with her fingers and not daring to make contact as if afraid that her lies would be exposed.
But, she had been exposed long before he came to confront her in this room. He was only here to make sure that she was fit for the job.
Initially, he still had a lot of things to ask. Like, does she have no fear? Why risk herself for a mere subordinate? Don't they… hurt?
But now, he saw no point in testing further.
He noticed the girl braving herself to look him in the eyes. She looked incredibly meek, just like a kid dipping her toe into the waters to test if the waters would bite.
She was… bearable. Julien was quick to make his decision.
The chair let out an ear-splitting screech as he stood to his feet, catching Ruby off guard.
Ruby's enlarged pupils shook as she saw the man closing in, his hand stretching out towards her. She closed her eyes shut, her eyelashes trembling out of fear.
She thought that she would die. But instead, something cold seemed to have touched the soles of her feet.
It was… ticklish.
Ruby opened her eyes to something that seemed too absurd to be true.
"You should rest for today."
"H-Huh?
Even as the door closed before her, Ruby hadn't snapped out of her thoughts.
The Fourth Prince that was said to be cursed and cruel… that infamous Julien Sterling… Did he just lower himself to wipe her feet?