The Cursed Prince

Harlow inwardly sighed in relief. She looked up at Raphael and shook her head firmly.

"I'm sure that you have already met them, those elven royalties. You did break the heart of their princess and all." Harlow raised an eyebrow and gave Raphael an accusing gaze.

The Demon King's expression was blank and didn't even register it. "I broke their princess' heart? How? When?"

Harlow scoffed. She crossed her arms, looking annoyed. "Whatever. Those elves are no friends of mine and as a matter of fact, they grated on my nerves. I declined those elves the chance to accompany me and I can't imagine those princes suddenly swooping in to save me."

If those elven princes came to the demon realm, Harlow would rather stay locked in her chamber than come out to meet them.

She would rather go save herself, really, than having those presumptuous and pompous men come to rescue her.

"I also do not imagine them doing that unless they wish to instigate a war." Raphael chuckled. "However, that is only one example as to whom you might have befriended."

He continued, "As to whoever you could possibly be looking for here in the garden? There might be other people too. You are beautiful, friendly, and charming. Don't you meet other people and make friends?"

Harlow's lips pressed thinly and she refused to speak for a moment as the idea of Julian returned to her mind.

The elves were an example but the adventurer was the real deal.

If the truth of the matter was that Raphael managed to capture Julian, she didn't want to endanger the man by showing any kind of knowledge about him. Harlow narrowed her eyes at Raphael and wondered if this man was also feigning ignorance like her.

But if Julian was really captured… shouldn't Harlow intercede for the man? Shouldn't she use her closeness with Raphael to free the man if he was truly in a bad position right now?

The Demon King was ruthless against other people and Julian would have immediately been defeated if the adventurer encountered him.

Harlow was conflicted.

If she talked though, she could make things worse and trigger the dangerous side of Raphael.

The princess acknowledged all of the Demon King's good qualities, she would be blind to not see any of them… but Harlow was afraid that this was all a facade. A temporary thing. It may be possible that Raphael adored her, but what happened if she spoke about another man?

What happened then?

The situation honestly seemed too good to be true to Harlow. Why would this powerful Ice Prince suddenly put all of his efforts into making someone as simple as Harlow, even if she was a princess, happy?

There was more to the surface and until Harlow could figure out what was truly happening, she couldn't open her heart to this Demon King. 

Harlow sighed and rubbed her face. "Geez, I didn't realize how possessive you seem to be. Luckily for you, I only came here because I was bored. Do you really not believe me?"

The terse expression vanished from Raphael's face and he smiled. "Of course, I believe you, wifey. If you are feeling bored, you only need to approach me. Last night we discussed rooms, how about we go on a tour today?"

"A tour?" Harlow couldn't believe her ears. She was still a bit skeptical and wondered if this Demon King would finish the tour in the prison with Julian captured and tortured before suddenly revealing his dangerous personality.

However, Harlow was talking about a guy who created a glass of water and towel on hand just to make sure that she was alright.

Maybe she was overthinking the situation too much? Harlow was really stressed out but kept her face blank and thought about what to say.

Her body did the answering for her when suddenly her stomach let out a huge growl. She had forgotten her hunger when Raphael started talking with her, but she had been starving.

Raphael chuckled and gently looked down at her. "How about starting our first tour around the castle in the dining halls? Let the two of us have a feast!" 

Harlow wanted to say no but suddenly her stomach growled so loudly. It was impossible to hide her hunger from the demon king.

"Your stomach seems to agree with me," Raphael chuckled. He reached out a hand and clasped it with Harlow's hand. "You need food."

Harlow was too hungry to protest.

Dammit, Julian!

The princess was upset because the adventurer didn't keep his promise to find her today. Maybe she should prepare for the worst possible scenario and find ways to go home without Julian and still be able to break the oath.

Today's experience taught her not to rely on other people. At the end of the day, the only person she could trust was herself.

Harlow walked together with Raphael toward the castle entrance. Several servants came to welcome them at the door. When Harlow gasped at their hideous looks, Raphael was quick to wave his hand and change their appearances.

The next time she blinked, the servants suddenly looked like regular humans, wearing nice servants' attire. They didn't look ugly or scary. Harlow looked at them with furrowed brows. She didn't know if she would ever get used to this.

When she realized that staring was rude, Harlow immediately looked away, to hide her discomfort. When doing so, Harlow's gaze caught sight of a young man who was pretending to prune a rose tree right under the castle window.

It was Julian. He was wearing a gardener outfit and tried so hard to blend in, but Harlow could recognize him easily.

Her heart skipped a beat. Julian was here!! He didn't break his promise! He really came for her...

In addition to feeling relieved, Harlow also felt happiness swept away all her worries. This meant the demon king still didn't know about Julian and didn't catch him and put him in a dungeon to torture him.

"What happened to you?" Raphael could feel Harlow's hand suddenly tensing and he turned to look at her. Then, he followed her gaze to see what had startled her so he could take care of the issue.

Harlow was looking at a beautiful rose tree under the castle window. 

Raphael didn't know Harlow liked roses that much. He turned to look at her again and asked dotingly, "Would you like some roses? I can get them for you."

He proceeded to walk toward the rose tree and plucked several stalks. He chose the ones with the biggest flowers. They looked very beautiful. The roses were quite special because the color was gold. Harlow had never seen anything like them before.

However, she didn't have the mental capacity to admire flowers. She was standing frozen on the spot not because she was in awe at the roses.

Her heart dropped to the floor when Raphael went to get her the roses because she was worried Julian's disguise would be found out.

Her mind turned into a mess, and she tried to think of ways to handle the situation if Raphael caught Julian and she would have to pick sides.

However, that didn't happen.

Raphael walked to her with a broad smile on his face. "Here you go."

Harlow was in a daze and unknowingly had accepted the three roses. She forgot to say thank you.

The demon king reached out his hand to hold Harlow's hand again so they could continue their walk to the dining hall. He spoked merrily about the rose tree. "If you'd like, I will ask my gardener to bring some roses to your chamber every day. He has been busy tending to the other parts of the garden, but I will tell him to prioritize the rose. It badly needs some pruning."

Harlow's eyes suddenly bulged when she heard Raphael's chirp, and out of reflex, she stepped away from the man, removing her hand from his. Then she looked at the man in horror.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Raphael asked Harlow with a confused voice. "You don't like roses? Should I get you other flowers?"

The demon king looked at the woman with a concerned gaze.

Harlow stole a glance at the rose tree and saw Julian standing there with shears in his hand, still busy working, pruning the tree.

Didn't Raphael see Julian?