The Cursed Prince

Harlow cleared her throat. "I think I have too many servants. I don't need all of them." 

Harlow thought in the off chance that she needed to make her way out of the castle, it was better to have fewer servants and she could put their guards down.

"Understood," Raphael said with a big smile. "As expected from such a wonderful woman. You are not spoiled and need a dozen servants to tend to your needs. So, how many do you need?"

Harlow pursed her lips. "Maybe just one… or two?"

She thought mayyyybe she could potentially make them allies. She was a very likable princess and all her servants adored her because she treated them well. So, perhaps, she could charm these maidservants too and get them to help her as fellow women.

Though that could be tough, considering that these servants would have to betray their King and that was unlikely. Either way, it was enough maidservants for Raphael to feel confident enough to leave Harlow right?

The Demon King gazed at the maidservants and the eight of them suddenly blinked out of existence. Harlow's jaw dropped momentarily and she couldn't help but wonder where they ended up?

"Satisfied?" Raphael asked.

"I guess…" Harlow nodded slowly. "Thank you."

"Good. I will take my leave." Raphael slowly nodded and then looked her in the eyes. There was a slightly unhappy expression on his face, but then his eyes twinkled. "If after you doll up you feel like seeing me, you will know where to find me."

"What?" Harlow blinked and then he was gone. Suddenly, Harlow was left alone with her two servants who looked like normal maids. They were only standing in the corner. When Harlow looked at them, they immediately bowed.

"We will prepare the bathroom for you, Your Highness," one of the women said.

"Please follow us to the bathing area," another added.

"Er, won't you girls at least tell me your names?" Harlow blinked and was surprised at their personalities. They seemed to not care about introducing themselves and only focused on serving her.

At once the two women blinked and glanced at each other. 

"Dorian and Beth." the two of them said in unison.

"Okay." Harlow pursed her lips and tried to extend her hand. "Nice to meet you…"

However, they were already leaving the door. "Follow us, Your Highness." 

It was really going to be tougher than she expected to gain information about Raphael. For now, though, she followed them and ended up in another room. When they opened the door, she was welcomed into a beautiful and spacious bathroom.

There was already a large bathtub filled with water. It looked amazing because the water was filled with lovely and aromatic bubbles. When Harlow glanced over her shoulder, she saw that there were fluffy towels in Dorian's hands and Beth was holding a brush.

"Please feel free to step into the bath, Your Highness," one of them said.

"The water is perfectly at the optimum temperature for you to bathe in," the other finished.

It was weird to see two people so in sync that they almost finished each other's sentences.

"Okay, thank you." Harlow decided to get undressed and then dipped into the bathtub. When she sat down, she truly felt relaxed. It felt so nice when Beth offered to help scrub her body while Dorian put down the towel to wash her hair.

It was the perfect opportunity for the princess to think about the situation again. 

Harlow could take the Ice Prince's words at face value and not bother with anything at all. Honestly, the real reason for wanting to marry her could be anything. If Raphael wanted to live in Draec and had aimed for the throne, Harlow wouldn't bat an eye.

It didn't change the plans she had with Julian.

She needed to find a way and communicate with Julian again. She realized it couldn't happen when the Demon King was around and always watching her. Harlow wanted to avoid his eyes and truly make sure he was preoccupied.

These two servants were no doubt extremely loyal to Raphael and Harlow had a difficult time getting a read on them. However, there was one way to find out and so she cleared her throat.

"Excuse me… may I ask if the two of you like working here in the castle?" Harlow asked. 

The two servants momentarily paused at their actions and glanced at the princess. Without another word, they nodded and then resumed taking care of Harlow and helping her get clean.

"Geez. Did Raphael tell the two of you to not smile or anything?" Harlow couldn't help but ask. "Is he some sort of tyrant to you guys?"

The two servants raised their heads again and stared wide-eyed at Harlow, that the princess knew she made a mistake. 

"Tyrant? Noooo, how can you say that about King Raphael?" Dorian batted her eyes at Harlow. "He is a good man and did nothing wrong at all to us servants. We adore him and we'd do anything for our King."

"Yes." Beth finally smiled. "He is a great man and he treats all of his people to the best of his ability. In the past, the demon realm was clearly divided and there were continuous wars between different types of demons."

"Huh?" Harlow was too shell-shocked and realized that she may have accidentally made the two servants very talkative, but this was her only chance to learn about Raphael from the perspective of his people.

"I still remember when the Witches were all arguing and the Goblins wanted to declare war? When King Raphael came here, he managed to unite all of them under his banner." Dorian added. 

Beth nodded. "Tyrant is not the word that we're looking for. I want to use the word savior, is that alright? Or something better. I just know that we have peace now and the demon realm is better than ever since he arrived here."

Both women looked so proud to be working under the Demon King.