Chapter Fifty Four

"All these books… are for me?" I asked, feeling more than surprised.

"Yes, I have brought them here from my hometown. I wanted to give them to you as soon as I first saw you after coming to the palace, but I got a bit embar-" Nicholas stopped himself, blushing. "I-I mean, I think this is a better moment to give them to you."

"Thank you, Nicholas." I said touched by Nicholas's kindness. I couldn't stop my smile.

"But isn't it too much?" I asked, worried. Nicholas had way too many books in his arms, and it was even more surprising he was holding them as if they were nothing, though there were probably ten books with him, if not more.

"No, these books are just a simple gift, how would they be too much?" Nicholas asked, genuinely confused.

'Sometimes I forget he is a rich noble child, receiving tons of gifts might be the norm for him.' I realized.

"Here, take them." Nicholas said, placing the books on my arms.

"Thank you, urgh-" I said, almost falling because of the weight of the books.

"L-Let me take some of them for you." Nicholas said, quickly taking back half of the books from my arms, noticing my struggle.

With Nicholas's help, we placed all the books on the table. I wanted to take a look at them before putting them on the bookshelf.

'They seem to be all adventure or romance books.' I thought looking at them.

"Read this one first, Alex. It is one of my favorites." Nicholas said, excited while holding the book in question.

'I think it is an adventure book.' I thought, looking at the title and cover of the book he was holding. 

"Alright, I'll start with this one, then." I said, taking the book from his hands when he offered it to me.

I intended to leave the book on my headboard so I could easily read it later after finishing the book Ethan gave me, and then place the other books on the bookshelf. But Nicholas was intensely staring at me.

"I-Is there anything wrong, Nicholas?" I asked, confused.

"Won't you read it?" He asked staring at me with expectation in his eyes.

"Right now?" I asked, surprised.

Nicholas nodded, intensely looking at me.

'And you will just be standing there looking at me while I read?' I thought noticing Nicholas's gaze was set on me while I opened the book.

"O-Ok, but I will read just the beginning. I don't wanna keep you waiting…" I said, giving in.

"Don't worry about me. Take your time." Nicholas said smiling sitting in front of me.

And he stayed there, with both arms lying on the table while looking at me with a soft smile as if I was the only interesting thing in the room.

'Receiving such attention makes me nervous.' I thought feeling my cheeks getting warmer from shyness.

"Did you like it?" Nicholas asked as soon as I closed the book after reading the first chapter.

"Yes, I liked it. It's pretty engaging." I answered telling him the truth.

'It is truly interesting.' I thought surprised, it was better than I expected it would be.

Nicholas had a big smile on his face. "I am glad to hear that."

I chuckled after seeing his entusiasm.

After a moment in silence, he suddenly asked, insecure. "...These books are better than the one Ethan gave you, right? I am a better friend than Ethan, am I not?"

Looking at Nicholas's blushing cheeks and insecure eyes I almost felt like laughing, surprised by such childlike words.

'Was that why he gave me the books just now? Because he wanted to be a ''better friend''?' I asked myself smiling at the funny thoughts.

But I knew I shouldn't feed this type of behavior. I cleared my throat, knowing I should say something about that.

"I'm thankful for your gifts, Nicholas. But, I can't measure my friendships based on gifts, and neither should you." I said, trying to lecture him.

Nicholas might be so used to the noble society where people have tons of money and give each other luxurious gifts all the time that he might still not understand that sometimes the intentions behind the gifts are what truly matters not the gifts alone, how many or how expensive they are.

'Many nobles might use luxurious and expensive gifts to just buy each other's favor, not because they want to be friends or wish them well.' I thought quite worried about this way of thinking of him.

"You can't judge someone as a better friend than others based on how many gifts they give to you or how good the gifts are. You can only judge how good a friend is based on their intentions and actions towards you. Friendship is way more than just giving and receiving." I continued, trying to teach him something.

"...Is that so?" Nicholas said, obviously disappointed and sad.

Seeing his reaction I felt my chest heavy. I didn't want to hurt his feelings after all. 

"But, I know you had the best intentions when you chose these books to give to me, and I'm pretty thankful for that." I said, smiling, holding one of his hands.

I thought Nicholas would feel better, but for some reason he seemed weird, he was looking down and his face was red. "I-I am glad, you liked them…"

'Is he still sad?' I asked myself, unsure since I couldn't see his eyes.

I don't know if I should have to say such an obvious thing, but noticing how he reacted I decided to say it hoping it would ease his mood.

"Don't worry about Ethan, Nicholas, to me you are one of the best friends I have." I said, smiling, trying to truly express the sincerity of my words.

Nicholas's eyes were now looking into mine, he didn't seem sad, actually, he seemed surprised. 

"I am so glad to know that." He said with a sweet smile on his face.

I smiled back feeling relieved to have cleared any misunderstanding.

"B-But, who are the others?" Nicholas suddenly asked, frowning.

"Others?" I asked, confused.

"You said I am 'one' of the best friends you have... Who are the others?" Nicholas asked, sulking.

"Well, it's you and Prince Noah…" I said, without thinking much.

"Noah? Oh, I see." Nicholas said, suddenly seeming to be more calm.

Then, I noticed something.

"I-I shouldn't have called Prince Noah a friend, right?" I asked, realizing I was a servant and he was a prince.

"I don't think it is a problem, at least not in front of me." Nicholas said with a soft smile, trying to appease me.

'Still, I should be careful saying such words so casually. If someone like the Head Maid ever knows I said such a thing I will definitely be in problem. She wanted to punish me just for talking to the princess, after all.' I realized, getting nervous.

"Alex, you are in your free time, right? Noah won't call you anytime soon, will he?" Nicholas asked me.

"Well, I'm indeed on a break, but I'm not sure whether Prince Noah will call me or not, to be honest. He can summon me anytime." I explained.

"T-Then we should hurry." Nicholas said, agitated.

"Hurry, why?" I asked confused.

Suddenly Nicholas seemed a bit shy. "I wanted to invite you to have lunch with me. If we go right now, even if Noah calls you, he can't disturb you if you are having a meal with me."

"Have lunch with you?" I asked out of surprise.

I looked at the clock in my room and noticed it was indeed lunchtime, since Prince Noah's class ended so early I kinda lost track of time.

'Well, Prince Noah always calls me to have meals with him, he should have called me already by this time…maybe he will eat by himself today?' I asked myself, feeling quite worried.

"…Alright, it is fine by me, we can have lunch just the two of us, Nicholas." I said, smiling. 

But Nicholas seemed troubled by my words. 

"Is there anything wrong, Nicholas?" I asked, confused.

"Oh no…It is just it won't be just the two of us. My siblings wanted to see you so I suggested calling you to have lunch with us. Is that a problem, Alex?" Nicholas asked worried. 

'See me?' I thought, surprised. 'Why would they want to see me?'

"Alright, it's fine…I think." I said, feeling a bit nervous.

Nicholas smiled and quickly got up from his seat. 

"Let's go, then." He said, excited.

I nodded trying to smile, though I was still nervous.

'Well, at least I will see his oldest brother…' I thought, trying to convince myself that his looks would pay off all the discomfort I could have from this sudden invitation.

***

'...Why are they taking so long?' I asked myself feeling bored.

Nicholas left me alone in the dining room designated for him and his family in the palace while he went to look for his siblings.

Their dining room isn't as big as the main dining room where I usually have meals with Prince Noah, but it still is a nice and beautiful place. The room is smaller than the main dining room and the color pallet is darker, but it makes it seem cozy and comforting.

'Seems more like a family place compared to the main dining room that is just full of luxury.' I thought, looking at the room since there was nothing else to do.

I noticed the clock in the room, and seeing the time pass was making me worried. 

It wasn't because of Nicholas or his siblings, but because of Prince Noah.

'I should look for him after this is over.' 

The incident early in the morning already made me worried but since Prince Noah didn't look for me during lunch I was afraid he had skipped a meal today because of the incident.

'Or maybe he just didn't call me. Maybe Prince Noah already had lunch on his own, he wanted to be alone after all… I hope that is it.' I thought, trying to be optimistic.

"...I hope His Highness is alright." I whispered looking at the chair in front of me where usually Prince Noah would be whenever we had a meal together. 

''Alex, we are here!" Nicholas shouted entering the room in a hurry, startling me.

"N-Nicholas." I called him, surprised getting up from my seat, trying to be polite. 

Nicholas was the first one to enter quickly coming to my side. 

'Did Nicholas came running leaving his brothers behind?' I asked myself, noticing how long his siblings followed by some maids had taken to enter the room after him.

Nathaniel, the middle child, the one who was the same age as Prince Dylan, was the first to talk after entering the room. 

"Hey, you are Alex, right? Nice to see you again." He said with a weird smile on his face. 

"Nice to see you both again, Nathaniel and Adrien." I said, bowing politely to both of them.

"Nice to meet you again, Alex. Thank you for joining me and my family for a meal today." The oldest, Adrien, said to me.

I raised my head to look at him, his blue eyes were set on me and he had a beautiful calm smile on his handsome face. His handsomeness made me lose my words.

"T-T-Thank you for inviting me…" I said stuttering, averting his gaze, looking at the floor.

'I'm an idiot.' I thought ashamed of myself.

"Should we take our seat?" He asked, basically telling us to sit.

"Sure." Nathaniel said taking the seat in front of mine.

Adrien sat beside him while Nicholas sat by my side facing Adrien. 

The maids started to set the table, appetizers, and beverages were set on the table for us. 

"So, Alex, my brother told me you have been working here in the palace for two years and just recently became Prince Noah's servant, is that right?" Adrien asked with a gentle smile.

"Y-Yes." I answered, blushing.

"You are so lucky." Nathaniel said with a friendly smile as if he was congratulating me.

I just nodded along smiling back. 

"Are you and Prince Noah close?" Adrien asked looking at me, curious.

"I-I think so…" I said, unnable to look at his eyes.

"I see, that is good, then." Adrien said, seeming to be glad about my answer.

While drinking the juice in my cup because of my dry mouth from shyness I noticed Nathaniel was intensely staring at me.

"I-Is there anything wrong?" I asked Nathaniel, confused.

'Is there anything on my face?' I asked myself, embarrassed.

Nathaniel laughed softly. "Sorry for my rudeness, I was just curious about something."

Nathaniel's vague words left me confused. Then I looked at Adrien thinking he would say something about his brother's words, but he just looked back at me smiling.

'W-Why is he so handsome?' I asked myself embarrassed, avoiding his eyes.

"Stop bothering Alex, Nathaniel." Nicholas said, glaring at his brother.

"Sorry, I was just curious about the boy my little brother couldn't stop talking about." Nathaniel said with a playful smile on his face looking at Nicholas.

I looked at Nicholas a bit confused and his face was completely red.

"...Was Nicholas talking about me?" I asked, curious.

Nicholas quickly turned his head to me shocked that I asked that, embarrassed.

Nathaniel's smirk became larger. "Yes, even when we were home he was talking about you. He couldn't stop talking about the cute boy he met at the palace." 

'Cute?' I thought, surprised.

"And he also kept whining about how he ruined everything and you would never see him again. Nicholas even wanted to come to the palace when he was sick just to see you." Nathaniel said louder than he should with a playful smile. He was obviously teasing Nicholas.

"S-Shut up, Nathaniel !" Nicholas shouted embarrassed. He seemed like he wanted to throw something at his brother, but he couldn't.

I wasn't surprised that much by Nathaniel's words. After all of Nicholas's actions toward me, I know he was genuine about how much he wanted to be friends with me.

'Though I didn't know he was so expressive about that to others too...' I thought, looking at Nicholas blushing while glaring at his brother.

"After seeing you in person I know my brother wasn't exaggerating. You are indeed pretty cute, Alex." Adrien suddenly said, smiling at me.

 I have never felt my cheeks get so hot before. His handsome smile and comment about me made my mind completely stop working.

'H-H-He called me c-cute?!'

Adrien softly chuckled looking at me. And Nathaniel seemed to do the same, but he was actually openly laughing while looking at Nicholas.

Then, the door was suddenly opened again.

"You all seem to be very lively here, I hope this is a good thing."

The one saying that was the Duke, Nicholas's father.

'W-What is he doing here?!'