The Alpha Prince's Purchased Maid
Chapter 314: Can’t Find Love

Chapter 314: Can’t Find Love

“It’s truly simple, Mila. You should aim to become someone special to him. Isn’t it that simple?” she suggested while still maintaining her air of absolute confidence.

“Someone special to him...” I repeated her words in a whisper.

Come to think of it, the prince did mention something like that before although he was just speculating and wasn’t entirely sure if that was the case. If I wasn’t wrong, he said something like...

‘You’re right. It’s not usually possible. That’s why I believe that you are special. At least, to me, you’re probably someone special...’

When we were able to connect our minds and communicate with each other through our thoughts, Prince Leonard did say that I’m ‘probably’ someone special to him...

“Who knows? Maybe you’re already special to him without you knowing it,” the duchess said with a grin my way.

“I don’t think...” I began denying it immediately.

If I thought that I could be someone important to Prince Leonard, I would just be getting ahead of myself. Even when the prince told me that I could be special to him, he seemed very surprised like he wasn’t quite sure if that was the case or how that was even possible. He did use the word ‘probably’ so there’s probably a high chance that it wasn’t the case.

“Has he never said it?” she asked.

Her sudden question snapped me out of my gloomy thoughts, and I found the duchess staring at me with a look of disbelief on her face.

“Say...what?” I asked in a mumble.

“What else is he supposed to say to you? Did he ever tell you that he loves you?” she asked excitedly, and it looked like she was about to let out a squeal.

Love?

I wasn’t sure if I had never realized it or if I just wanted to ignore it by not thinking about it and pretending not to take note of it. Now that the duchess had pointed it out, I was forced to acknowledge the fact that the prince had never once said that he loved me.

“No...he hasn’t...” I replied as my entire face felt cold and numb.

“Huh? Not even once?” the duchess asked with clear regret in her tone.

“...not even once...” I replied before showing her a tight smile.

The way the corners of my lips twitched from the effort of forcing a smile told me that my smile must have been very lacking and not at all convincing. I didn’t care much about that because I was starting to get overwhelmed by the pain that seemed to throb uncontrollably in my chest. Although I knew that the duchess did not harbor any bad intentions towards me, her words felt like knives stabbing deep into my chest and my heart.

The depressing fact was that Prince Leonard had never once told me that he loves me. Duchess Flavia was stunned into silence, and I could tell that this wasn’t the answer that she was expecting when she asked me her question. I realized that the prince and I never spoke about our feelings despite all the time that we spent together. It didn’t feel like there was a need for it, but I wondered if that was how we both tried to evade the topic. I doubted that the reason why the prince had been avoiding the topic was the same as mine.

“Oh...is that so?” the duchess said with clear disappointment in her tone.

The bright look on her face quickly evaporated and suddenly she looked extremely worried. I knew without needing to ask that she was genuinely worried for me.

“It’s fine, you don’t have to worry about it,” I quickly told her before trying my best to smile.

Once again, I felt like my efforts just led to failure and I couldn’t produce a convincing or reassuring smile.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you something like that...” she said regretfully.

“Oh no, it’s not your fault...” I replied with a soft shake of my head.

“Well, I can kind of see how things may turn out this way, but I have to say that I’m still very surprised,” the duchess admitted.

“It’s fine...” I repeated softly.

By that time, I wasn’t sure if I was telling the duchess this to reassure her or if I just wanted to hear those words. I just wanted to tell myself that it was fine.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it if I were you. Some men really have a hard time talking about their feelings and expressing it,” the duchess said before smiling at me.

“I see...” I murmured.

I wondered if Prince Leonard fell into the group of men that she just described or if there was another reason. Of course, I wanted to believe that the duchess was right about the prince but that would be the same as saying that the prince was in love with me. Duchess Flavia tried desperately to laugh it off and I ended up giggling a little although I couldn’t quite move on from that topic.

“On a more serious note, I don’t think the past or the present is as important as the future. Let’s just say that in the past you were not important to him, and you are not important to him right now, that doesn’t mean that you can’t become someone special to him in the future, right?” she said before beaming a very encouraging smile my way.

The duchess truly had a way with words, and I was getting a full taste of it. Despite my dark thoughts of forlorn feelings, her words gave me a glimpse of hope that the future may change things between the prince and me. I nodded my head a little in response but didn’t say anything.

“Why don’t you try to conceive his child?” the duchess suggested.

The way she looked at me with her steady gaze told me that she was very serious. Her suggestion seemed to be the most obvious way to address the issue; however, I wasn’t sure that I was comfortable with the idea.

--To be continue...