The Alpha Prince's Purchased Maid
Chapter 298: Our Understanding

Chapter 298: Our Understanding

I could feel regret in his tone, and something about it just didn’t sit well with me. I was the one who was in the wrong and there was no reason why the prince should feel like he had done anything wrong.

“It’s not your fault. Please don’t say anything like this...” I desperately tried to convince him.

“Thank you, Mila...” the prince thanked me before offering me another warm smile.

I felt a wonderful feeling bubbling up in my chest at the sight of his encouraging smile. Without thinking, my lips curved upward into a smile. As our eyes met, I could feel like we had arrived at another level of understanding, and I felt eternally grateful for it. I was wholly convinced that I had made the right decision to be honest and admit to what I had done to the prince. Everything turned out much better than I could have ever dreamt of.

“Duchess Flavia is well liked and respected by almost everyone in the palace and out of it. Most people have the same thing to say about her. She’s beautiful, kind, lovely, talented, and full of positive energy. On top of that, it is obvious to everyone that she is a very special person to the king despite not spending so much time by his side,” the prince told me before he came to a pause.

“I see...” I murmured softly while I waited for him to go on.

Prince Leonard had a faraway look in his eyes as if he was recalling his own memories of the duchess. Because she is Prince Florian’s mother, I could see how Prince Leonard would have been exposed to her as well when he was younger.

“Did you know that Duchess Flavia is the only member of the close royal family who is allowed to live outside of the palace?” the prince asked as he suddenly turned his attention to me.

“Oh, no. She never mentioned that to me,” I replied honestly.

“Unlike the rest of us who have to live here, Duchess Flavia has her own palace in the heart of the city where she can be closer to the theatres and museums of art. Of course, she still has a place of her own in the palace walls, but she doesn’t spend a lot of time there,” the prince explained further.

I wasn’t sure why the prince was telling me this, but I did find it interesting. It was quite unexpected for the king’s lover to be living away from the palace.

“The king allowed this?” I asked softly.

“Yes, he did. That’s just how much influence she has on the king, and everyone knows it. Unlike Darius’s mother who is overly obsessed with sticking to the king’s side and raising his children, Duchess Flavia barely spent time raising her only son. She only came to the palace to spend time with the king and the rest of her time was spent on advancing her career in the performing arts,” the prince explained.

“Is that so...” I murmured.

Without being able to help it, my mind wandered to Prince Florian as I wondered how the prince must have felt to not have his mother regularly by his side. I could figure out that the princes were raised in the palace, and even now, they were all required to live within the palace walls.

“There are many stories about her, which to this day, I’m not even sure just which ones are true and which ones are made up. For instance, it is commonly known that she got the king to imprison a politician for life for looking at her inappropriately. Then there’s that story that she stole a diamond necklace from another royal family during one of her visits with the king abroad. There are also rumors of her having an affair with almost every man that plays the role of her lovers in all of her works,” the prince said with an amused look on his face before he laughed a little.

As for me, I was too shocked by all the rumors and stories surrounding the duchess. Even if none of them were assured to be true, it still shocked me that such rumors were going around. I hoped that none of them were true.

“Mila, do you still want to continue having lessons with the duchess?” the prince asked after a moment of silence.

“Is it...possible?” I asked while daring to have some hope.

His abrupt and direct question made me realize that the prince had thought of terminating my dancing lessons with the duchess. I was certain that there were other dance instructors who could teach me how to dance besides the duchess; however, I couldn’t ignore the slightly bitter feeling that I felt when I thought that the duchess may be blamed or punished for this. Looking at it in a positive light, she was clearly trying to help me. Regardless of her true intentions, I had her to thank that I somehow found the courage to face the prince. If possible, I wanted the duchess to continue being my dance instructor.

I stared pleadingly into the prince’s eyes as I begged him silently to have some mercy. Prince Leonard pursed his lips together in thought as he seemed to consider what would be best. My heart beat a little faster as I started to fear that he would not go along with my request.

“Fine. I’ll let you have it your way, but I want you to promise me that you’ll be careful. If she does or says anything to make you feel uncomfortable, you will tell me right away. Is that clear?” he asked with slightly narrowed eyes.

“Yes. Thank you. Thank you so much, Leo...” I thanked him earnestly.

“Well, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way...” he said in a low murmur.

His touch on my arm almost made me jump off the sofa. It felt so hot, like he was burning from a high fever. I blinked in pleasant surprise as I wondered if that was just my own feeling because the prince did not seem to be suffering from an illness. He looked very healthy and well to my complete relief.

--To be continued...

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