368: Frustrated

Frustrated

 "I'm sure with your determination, you'll figure it out eventually." He assured her, patting her head gently. 

She hoped so too. Because she could not shake off the feeling that all this had to do with the reason she had been brought here by whichever deity had brought her here. 

She looked up at him, smiling warmly at his support. Suddenly, she wrinkled her nose and looked at him closely. "Did you eat something?" she asked curiously. 

A little embarrassed, he answered. "Uh, yes. Lady Victoria made some snacks for me."

 Since when did Alicia have a smart nose? He wondered.

He hadn't come here immediately after he left Lady Victoria. He had stopped by his chamber to check on Alvin and also carefully folded the scarf in his closet. He had also checked on the king before he arrived in her chamber, so he hadn't thought she'd be able to tell. 

She looked him over, hoping to find something extra, but he was empty-handed. 

Alicia's expression turned sour, and she dropped the diary on the bed. "You ate without me?" she exclaimed, standing up and crossing her arms. "How... could you do that to me?" She asked in a pitiful voice.

Harold tried not to laugh at her sudden outburst. "Princess, I've been bringing you food for the past few days. Surely you do not expect me to wait on you hand and foot every moment of the day."

"It's not the same thing," she pouted. "If you ate something nice, you should have thought to bring mine too!"

"But you always eat without me." He reminded her.

"Because you brought them for me. It's not like someone else specially made it for me. I would have brought yours too!" 

"A few months ago, you gave me some snacks and almost made me share them with Paulina. Do you think I have forgotten about that?" He asked her in a serious tone that made her exclaim in disbelief, 

 "So you are paying me back? Harold, are you this petty?" 

"You didn't know that?" He said in amusement, making her eyes widen in surprise.

"Wow! Just wow! Fine! Eat without me." She threw a pillow at him dramatically, but he was able to catch it, as he said,

"Are you always this hot-tempered?" 

"You didn't know that?" She asked, mimicking him. 

He laughed. 

"It's okay, Princess. You don't have to feel too bad or angry. The snack wasn't that nice, which is why I didn't bother bringing yours."

"Lies!" 

"True."

"Lies."

He went closer, dropping the pillow on the bed and rubbing her head again as he asked, "Okay, what can I do to make it up to you?"

"Nothing." She huffed and just kept staring ahead while he rubbed her head.

"You are being dramatic."

"Wow! First, you eat without me, and now I'm being dramatic?" She pushed his hand away from her head and glared at him.

"You really are not going to let this go, are you?" 

"Except you cook for me." She muttered, and her eyes lit up mischievously. "You could make me a meal," she said playfully.

Harold's expression turned horrified. "Me? Make a meal?" He asked in disbelief. 

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. It's just for fun."

"There is nothing fun there."

She got annoyed but suddenly looked at him, smiling lovingly. 

Of course, he became suspicious at once. 

"Do you want to see something else that's fun?" She said in a sweet tone as she got down from the bed and offered him her hand. 0

He took her hand hesitantly and continued to look at her with suspicion as she led him out of the room. 

He foolishly followed her, loving the feeling, until she opened the door and drew back her hand. 

She told him the fun thing was outside and asked him to look. 

Of course, he had also stupidly complied, and then he had his ass shoved out of the chamber. 

She closed the door with a bang and locked it, locking him outside the chamber.

"When you make up your mind to make it up to me, let me know." She said, feeling smug for successfully fooling him. 

He stared at the door in disbelief, only just realizing that he had been played. He was always smart, calculative, and manipulative, so falling into her trap most times was something he could not understand. 

So this was how he had ended up in Lady Victoria's chamber that night. Actually, he hadn't gone immediately. He had decided to be stubborn, thinking she would open the door for him, and when she didn't, even laughing at him, he decided to act tough and told her that he was just going to sleep in his chamber that night. He had thought she would call him back, but instead, she annoyed him by saying, "Good night, my lord."

In annoyance, he stormed to his chamber. He had been hoping to bump into someone he could take out his anger on, but suddenly no one was in sight. Where on earth did everyone disappear to?!

This also worsened his mood for the night.

However, after almost dying of boredom by just staring at Alvin's sleeping face, he decided to swallow his pride. He was eventually going to pay Alicia back somehow, but for now, he just couldn't bear it. He was already so used to her chamber that staying in his for the night felt very weird and uncomfortable. 

So he really couldn't believe that the woman, who had caused all this was yelling at him now when it was all her fault!

"YOU ARE CUTTING THOSE CARROTS TOO THICK," she said at one point when he began to actually do one of the weirdest things he had never imagined himself doing. 

And later: "YOU ARE PUTTING TOO MUCH SALT."

And later again: "HAROLD!!! YOU ARE NOT FIGHTING A WAR WITH THE CHICKEN!!!" 

Lady Victoria yelled in frustration before she started to cough from how sore her throat was from all the shouting. 

Maybe this was a bad idea.

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