Chapter 20: Lemme teach you

Diana felt exhausted as she dove onto her bed right away but she couldn't sleep a wink.

She had a gist of what is making her feel so bothered that it's also ruining her night. Feeling frustrated, she gets up from her bed and sneaks out in the garden to have some fresh air along with her phone.

Although she was just going to have a breath of fresh air, she had thoughts of searching for connection signals, even though she knew it would be impossible. But still, there might be hope that her phone would receive at least one bar. She raises her phone as high as she could and roamed around the garden for minutes.

After some time, she ended up in a place where there was a pond but with no luck, she gives up eventually and sighs. As she gazed at the sparkling pond, thinking of what to do next, all of a sudden she hears a notification, "ting!"

She quickly checked her phone and was surprised to see a bar.

"No way..."

Diana hurriedly went through her contacts and tried to give her friend a call but as soon as she called her, the signal was gone.

She silently screamed as she denied the absence of the signal, "No... no... no, no, no please come back!!! Damn it! where's the signal? Please come back!"

As she frantically searches for a signal with her phone raised high while tiptoeing, a sudden sword was placed on her neck that made her startled and stumble in her place.

It was all so sudden that she accidentally dropped her phone along with her fall. As Diana lifted her head to see the person who scared her, she was surprised for a second and was straight-faced the next thing. It was no other than Darius.

"You again? Why do you keep on doing that when you're not going to continue?!"

"..."

".... If you're going to keep on giving me the silent treatment, then please go away."

"...."

"Did you just hear what I said, pervert? Go. Away."

"....How did I become a pervert?"

"Hah! A stranger who's at someone else's place is roaming around in the middle of the night? Would no one think that you look like a pervert? Even more with your full black attire?"

"... I'm on duty... part of the drill," Darius calmly said as he puts back his sword.

"That's.... so BORING."

Is it normal for a prince to do rounds at a Grand Duke's place...? Wouldn't that affect the royal family?

"What about you? Why are you still awake?"

"Just getting some fresh air..."

"And... what is this...?" He grabs Diana's phone that was beside his foot.

Diana got flustered as she hastily snatched the phone from his hands, "It's nothing important."

"Oh... so you're not telling me?" Darius draws out his sword once again, "Are you prepared to die right now?"

"Eh?!? R-Right here?"

He glares at Diana as he was prepared to give her another injury.

"W-Wait! Wait wait! Fine... "

Although she did say she wanted to be killed by him but with few clues she just had and just after receiving a signal, she can't be bothered to die right away.

"This is... a pho- a high technology device called phone... it's a bit similar to machines....?"

Darius was greatly confused and doubtful with her words while Diana gave a complicated look as she sighed.

"It's hard to explain since there are many technical terms so sit here beside me and lemme just show you."

He was taken aback by her casual words and sits beside her even though he hesitated for a second.

"First of all, I'll show you the power of this device," Diana opened the camera and faced it towards them, "on the count of three, smile. 1...2...3..."

After the photo was taken, they both looked at it and Darius was confused and surprised by what he was seeing.

"...Do you not know how to smile?"

"What... How... That's what I look like?"

"Pfft! Have you not seen your face in the mirror? Well, you can also zoom it in and out by pinching the screen like this..."

Darius was suddenly fascinated with the phone and gradually took an interest in it that made Diana glanced at him. She was surprised to see that he appeared so innocent and harmless.

A few hours later, they haven't moved at their positions and Diana's class session with Darius also hasn't finished yet as the sun slowly rises.

"Oh... I see..." Darius replied as he explored the phone.

I'm gonna die... It's already dawn and I'm goddamn sleepy but I can't let my guard down!

"Hmm... How about this one...?" Darius asked but as he faced Diana, she was already asleep.

He noticed Diana's exhausted expression along with the sunrise that is slowly lighting up their surroundings. He lifts Diana and carried her in his arms and was surprised about how light she was.

The thought of he could just casually swing or throw her around like a pillow made him realized how fragile a woman was.

He secretly and swiftly carried her to her room through her window without getting caught as it would create misunderstanding if someone saw them.

After gently laying her down on the bed and placing her phone beside her, he was about to leave when he was suddenly stopped due to Diana grabbing his clothes. He tried to yank it but Diana wouldn't let go.

"Stupid... Darius... Maniac... Pervert..." Diana mumbled through her sleep.

"..."

"Pretty eyes..."

"..."

Seeing that she still wouldn't let go after mumbling, he flicked her forehead hard enough that made her groan and he was able to break free.

Diana eventually felt comfortable sleeping on her comfy bed after Darius left but the peaceful atmosphere didn't last long.

Six in the morning, Eva comes into the room and immediately opened up the curtains that made Diana half-awake from the harsh sunlight coming straight to her snowy face.

"Lady Diana, I apologize but you have to get up right now since we have to prepare for the tea gathering. And also, Grand Duke Erwin is calling for you."

Diana moaned as she tried to open her eyes but not even one of them would open as she felt drowsy.

"Wha...t... is... it?" She mumbled.

"Did you sleep late at night?"

She couldn't hear what Eva was saying as she truly felt exhausted that she couldn't move an inch but not until Eva yanked her blanket and forcefully woke her up.

"Lady Diana, what dress would you prefer today?"

"Just... any normal dress..."

Still half-asleep, Diana was being groomed by the maids. By the time she was fully awake, she was already beautified from head to toe.

... What the hell just happened...?

"Lady Diana, Grand Duke Erwin is waiting for you."

"... Before that, why did you pick this dress? I hate wearing a corset."

"You said that any normal dress would do and I wasn't the one who picked the dress."

Diana sighs as she wouldn't be able to eat as many as she wants for the day, "Where's my father?"

"At his office."

As they walked on their way to the office, Diana felt stuffy and hot. She took a glimpse outside the window and felt the scorching sun, "Can't we cancel the tea gathering?"

"We cannot."

Diana sighs before entering Duke Erwin's office, "Good morning, Father. What is the matter for you have called me so early in the morning." She went straight to the point as she sat down immediately, not intending to greet Duke Erwin with a curtsy.

"..."

"So? I hope this isn't a waste of my time since I didn't dress up for nothing."

Duke Erwin sits down, calmly ignoring her cheeky behavior, "Are you heading to Lady Lucifer's place?"

"Yes."

"I was going to make you supervise the training once again with Prince Darius since Prince Devin is out of the country for the moment but since you also have matters to deal with, I suppose I'll just let Darius manage for the day."

Diana was suddenly silent making her think about the night class session she had with Darius.

"But for the next and the rest of the weeks, I'm going to make you supervise the training until Prince Devin returns."

"Do you badly want me to get killed...?"

"If you're talking about the incident yesterday, you don't have to worry. I have already talked about it with the Prince and he won't be able to lift a finger on you."

Diana scoffs at his response as if she just heard a lame old joke, "How trustworthy."