Arrival of King

"But you are still on my land. A greeting to your King won't hurt you, Villain's captive who is held against her will like all the captives in the world," The freaking King who was as gorgeous as Kostas Martakis (Sofia's favorite Greek celebrity) said, a playful smile dancing on his lips. 

Persephone's eyes widened when she realized that she had said all those words aloud. "I said those words aloud, not in my head?" 

The handsome King nodded. 

Collecting her wits, she said in a very confident and haughty tone, "So, what if you are a real King! I'm not your subject. And as the proponent of the oldest democracy in the world, I refuse to greet you as the king of this freaky island which is akin to paradise on this otherwise rotten earth." 

"Is she one of the harem?"The king said to Raven." Even if she is not one, tell your boss that I have decided which one I want." 

Raven's expression changed from respectful to that of fear. She stammered, "Your majesty--"

"Aren't my words clear?" The damn King flashed a smile at Raven who shrinked in fear and nodded. "Now leave me with this disrespectful guest who had taken a shelter in my land and refused to greet her King." 

Raven turned to find Persephone nodding her head at her to go ahead because she couldn't afford to create more problems for any of the two. 

The King's eyes narrowed in suspicion, studying Persephone.

Thus, Raven left, leaving those two alone. 

"You said 'Harem', right?" Persephone asked him. No trace of fear was visible in her eyes. Just curiosity and hunger for information. Surely, she knew what the word 'Harem' meant. But what did this King meant by his sentence? Or was he talking about his Harem? She had read some historical light novels where the King used to have thousands of women in his harem to serve him. Was he counting as one? 

Only if King knew what was going inside Persephone's brain. 

The King chuckled. "How long have you been here?"

"More than a week," answered Persephone honestly. She had no reasons to lie. Didn't Villain say that she could do whatever she wanted to on this island? Now see that's what she was doing -- talking to a king in real life. Though the King had a crack in his head still he was a real freaking King. 

"More than a week." The King repeated her words in a very weird tone. "And you still don't know what happens on this island. Strange..." Not giving a chance to Persephone to say anything, he fired a question at her. "What's your name?" 

Suddenly, Persephone felt an odd vibe emitting from the King. She was no fool and could understand that he was interested in her and was fishing for information. King or not! She was done with privileged men. She was the daughter of one such man. And was about to marry another man of his kind. Not to mention, she signed a deal with the same kind of privileged man. 

She was about to leave when the damn man pulled her arm. His fingers gripped her arm tightly, not letting her escape.

"Wait."

She took a deep breath and looked at him coldly. "Mr. King, I am not subjected to answer all your questions just because you are a King of some country. If you dislike my disrespectful behavior, you are free to punish me according to your country's laws. Even capital punishment is acceptable to me. "

"Do you really not know the truth of this island "This time, he solemnly asked the question.

"Truth?" Persephone crinkled her nose. She was looking so cute, deep in her thoughts that the King was finding it hard to not pinch her adorable nose. Where did Santiago bring this goddess from? 

"Is there some hidden treasure on the island?" Persephone tried her luck in guessing but damn she was not made for this guessing game. 

The super attractive King burst out laughing. "Treasure? You sure have a colorful imagination." 

"Tell me what's your name? And where did he find you?" He seriously asked her. "You seem new here." 

Call it her colorful imagination but she felt like a goomah (who*re) who had just newly joined the brothel.

She opened her mouth to ask him the questions which were troubling her, but before she could say anything a figure emerged making Persephone flinch. 

"I have no idea that His Majesty's schedule is empty these days," Santiago's voice was heard behind them. "If I had known, I would have informed your Prime Minister that His Majesty is here at my humble abode. Prime Minister Joseph had been meaning to talk to you for a few days but your assistant kept on notifying him that His Majesty's schedule is already packed these days." 

Persephone wanted to tell Villain that it's not how to talk to royalty when she herself disrespected the same royalty a few moments ago. 

Leave it! The pervert king deserves it! 

King Leonardo chuckled. "What a shame! I'm in need of a new Prime Minister but the same assistant told me that I have to wait another two months for elections to get a new PM for my people." 

Santiago knew what he was meaning to imply here. Too bad, he was not invited here. 

"What are you doing here, Your Majesty?" Santiago directly asked him the question. Of course, he was familiar with why King Leonardo was here. 

"Well, that's not how you talk to your King," King Leonardo said, still amused. He was too used to his friend's attitude. "Answering your question as to why I'm here on your island, it's because I have decided what I want this time. Time to repay the favor Villain." 

Santiago didn't immediately respond to King Leonardo, rather his gaze fell on Persephone who was continuously blinking her eyes at the king in utter fascination. His jaw clenched when he thought what King Leonadro was asking about. And what was so good about this man that she was still staring at him in fascination? 

"You!" Santiago pointed his finger at Persephone, who stiffened at her place. She was screwed. Would he punish him because she had disrespected the king? Worse, he would send her back to her cage and forget about their deal. 

She just knew he would ask the bodyguards standing behind him to take her from here and lock her again inside that glamourous tower. 

Why did all the bad things only happen to her? 

Why did this damn king have to appear before her? 

Why did the Villain have to punish her? 

However, she still awaited her verdict.