Beating heart

"Eh? Quite the look you have got there, kitten!" Mikel chuckled, amused at the woman's frustration with his intimate action.

"Should a slave really be reacting like this to her Master's touch?" The man's grin widened.

Sylvia ignored the man's taunts and focused on calming herself down, because she knew that right underneath his hand, her heart was pounding crazily, like a dog in heat.

She was worried that it would give her away.

And much to her dismay, this was what the devil wanted as well.

He gazed into her eyes, chuckled at her silence, and then slowly asked, enunciating word for word.

"If you are not hiding anything… why is your heart beating like this?" The man's brows rose subtly, awaiting her response.

Damn it. Sylvia cursed her bad luck inwardly, trying her best to keep a straight face.

"I am not sure, your highness." She mumbled with a weak smile.

Hmmm? The man smiled, his eyes crinkling with mischievous mirth.

"If you are not hiding something… then perhaps your heart is beating for other reasons."

Sylvia's eyes widened, and she stared at the devil in front of her with her mouth agape.

The devil was not that subtle and she could tell what the man was insinuating. So shameless!

While the two intimately exchanged glances, just a hair away from each other, suddenly a pair of footsteps sounded breaking their secluded silence.

Sylvia prayed that it was the small kid and eagerly turned around as if she was going to be welcoming her lifesaving hero.

But unfortunately, standing near them was only Ana, another maid in the palace.

The young woman saw the two people in front of her in such a compromising position and she instantly bent her head down, not looking up any longer.

Sylvia's entire face reddened.

Someone else had actually seen her like this! With a man's hand on her chest!

How embarrassing! Ana must have definitely misunderstood the situation.

She wished that she could just dissolve into the wall behind her and turn invisible.

Mikel, on the other hand, was thoroughly enjoying her frustration.

He leaned forward and rubbed his nose on Sylvia's cheeks, making the woman tremble and shiver.

He did not even command Ana to leave or ask her the reason for her presence and purposefully prolonged this uncomfortable silence.

The man lifted his face and was just about to… when another pair of footsteps echoed near them.

This time Sylvia didn't even have to turn around.

Mikel instantly let her go and stepped back to warmly greet his adorable nephew.

His cold and frosty aura completely melted, once again turning into a warm and loving dollop of honey.

"Shall we head out now?" He smiled and asked the little kid, rubbing the boy's head.

TWO-FACED JERK! Sylvia screamed inwardly.

She gulped and looked at Ana, begging with her eyes to not mistake her, but the woman still had her head bent.

"You have something to tell me?" Mikel's voice sounded, finally giving her permission.

"Your highness, Sir Theodore is here." Ana bowed and announced.

"Ok. Let him in." Mikel nodded.

Who is this now? Sylvia pondered.

She couldn't help but hope that the man wasn't another one of the devil's brothers.

She didn't want to become a target dummy for a second time.

The loud clicking of boots disturbed her thoughts, and as she looked, a man turned around the corner and walked towards them.

He had a head full of inky black hair, that rested with arrogance and pitch-black eyes, that could instill a sense of ease on the beholder.

Sylvia watched him as his tall and muscular frame stood near her, in front of Mikel.

"Your highness." The man mumbled, slightly nodding his head. He didn't bow to Mikel as everyone else did.

Sylvia looked at him curiously and observed his attire. Clean simple clothes, a sword hanging on his waist, and metallic boots on his legs.

This man was a knight! And from the looks of it, most probably Mikel's personal knight!

Mikel, finally, shifted his eyes from his nephew and returned Theodore's nod.

"How did the mission go?" He asked him, a subtle interest swimming in his gaze.

Sylvia's ears immediately perked up, as she intently listened to the conversation, whilst appearing passive and blank on the surface.

She wanted any and all information that she could use against this devil!

Theodore, however, did not fulfill her wishes. The man spoke curtly without revealing any additional details.

"It went smoothly, your highness." He said.

Mikel nodded and then turned around, paying attention to his nephew again.

"Come with us. We are going out on a hunting trip and I have a feeling that I might need your assistance."

Sylvia didn't know why but when the man spoke the last few words, she could swear that he was looking at her from the corner of his eyes.

That damned devil!