The Princess And Her Alpha Bodyguard

36~ DELIRIOUS I-LOVE-YOU: PART III

I knew I shouldn't do this. 

I should stop him. 

I shouldn't let his lips touch mine. 

Yet, all the same… I couldn't. 

The closer Edward's face got closer to mine, the more familiar I got. I knew I'd already closed the case in my head that day. I confirmed that Edward wasn't Valdemir when I pretended to pull his hair to see if he was wearing a wig to hide his red hair. It became more apparent the moment I accidentally kissed his cheek when I faked the fall. 

The difference between chamomile and sandalwood was vast. There was no way I got it wrong. 

Then why did this thought appear in my head again? Why did I feel that Edward and Valdemir were the same people?

It couldn't be, right? 

Then again, there was something about these two that attracted me. Every time their eyes landed on mine, they sucked my soul in, making me unable to break away. Just like now. Even if the voice in my head told me to snap out of it, I couldn't bring myself to. 

Edward's face kept coming closer until his warm breath brushed against my cheekbone. Just when I thought our lips were going to touch, a surprised voice reverberated throughout the silent room. 

"Oh my. Should I come back later?" 

Edward's eyes widened as his body froze in place, maintaining a small gap between his lips and mine. Then he leaped out of bed and looked at the door. 

"No need, Lumina. You come at the right time." Edward cleared this throat. "Where is Dila?" 

"She'll be here soon. She's waiting to bring the soup. I come first with the hot water."

"How long does the food take? Lae must be hungry." 

"Not long. Does Miss want to wash her face and get changed before the soup arrives?" 

"She is too weak to get up now. Maybe she'll get better after eating. We can wait—" 

"No. I want to get changed first. I honestly can't stand the smell coming from my body." I cut him off before turning my head in the door. "Lumina?"

"Yes, Miss?" Lumina directed her eyes from Edward to me. 

"Can you help change the bedsheet, too?" 

"I don't think it's a good idea. That'll require you to get off the bed and sit down to wait until they finish changing the sheet." Edward turned to me with a concerned look on his face.  

"I'll manage. It reeked of the smell of blood and sweat." There was a reluctant look on his face, so I hurried to say something to convince him. "I'll be fine. Don't worry."   

"Alright. If you say so." He nodded after a short while. "But we'll only do that after you eat. For now, just wash your face. Don't do anything yet." 

"I also want to change my dress." 

"You can't." 

"Why?" I frowned in confusion. 

"It'll consume too much of your strength." 

I was touched that he cared about me. Still, looking at things now, wasn't he a little worrisome? I just wanted to change into a new dress. It wasn't like I wanted to run around the castle. How much strength did he think it would take me? 

"How do you expect me to eat while smelling like this?" I asked, suppressing the urge to sigh. 

"Just bear with it. It won't take long." 

I shook my head. "No. I can't, Edward. I am doing my best not to throw up right now. How do you expect me to swallow the food down my throat while inhaling the pungent smell of my body?" 

"You can't even get up on your own. That's because you're too weak. How do you expect—" 

"Excuse me, sir." A small voice cut off Edward's words. Even before I looked for the owner, I already knew whose voice it belonged to. It was Dila.  

I didn't know when she had arrived, but I was thankful for this interception. I would have a nightmare with the word strength replayed endlessly in my head if he continued to speak longer. I searched for the source of the voice to see Dila and Lumina were already inside the room. They were standing next to the table, where they placed the tray of food and the basin of hot water on it. 

"If you don't mind me speaking out of turn, can I say something?" asked Dila.

Edward broke his eye contact with me and turned to Dila. "What is it you want to speak?" 

"I don't think changing a new dress requires too much strength. Lumina and I are experts in this. We can help Miss get it done in a blink of an eye. It isn't like she will do this all on her own," said Dila. 

"See? I know there is a rumor that says...it takes the sun to rise and set for a woman to get dressed. Still, I'm not dolling myself up for a party or something. I'm only changing out of this dirty dress. It won't take long." 

"Miss is right," said Lumina. "Dila and I will make sure not to touch her wound. Please leave it to us, sir." 

Edward hesitated. Still, he agreed in the end. "Okay. If the three of you are so adamant about it, I had no choice but to give in."

"Thank you, sir." Lumina and Dila curtsied at the same time. Then they winked at me, to which I returned the gesture. 

But it didn't take long for the joyous air to turn into an awkward silence. Though there were four people in the room, it was so quiet that one could have heard a pin drop. All eyes were on Edward. 

"Why are you looking at me?" he finally asked. His face looked so innocent that I couldn't help but find him cute. 

"What do you expect?" I said, suppressing the urge to roll my eyes. "Didn't I say I want to change into a new dress?"

"Yes." He nodded, looking so innocent. "I stop opposing it. Dila and Lumina, why don't you get started now? The soup will get cold if you wait any longer." 

The two looked at each other with shocked countenances. Their lips parted as if they wanted to say something, only to close them back without a single word. 

Unable to watch it anymore, I cleared my throat and called his name, making him turn to look at me. "Edward?"  

"Yes?" 

"How do you expect them to undress me when you're standing here, right inside this room?" I locked eyes with him, waiting to see how he reacted to it. 

What I got was priceless. The innocent expression on his face swapped into a shy one, where a dusting of red covered his white skin. It started with the tips of his ear, then his cheeks, and finally, the entire face. 

"Oh." His lips formed into an o-shaped. "I… I…" he trailed off like he was wracking his brain for words. Then he cleared his throat and said, "I think I need to go and wash my face. You all can take your time. Dila, let me know when you're done. I'll take care of her when you change the bedsheet."

"Yes, sir," said Dila in a calm voice as she bowed her head. It looked as if she showed respect when receiving the command. However, I caught a glimpse of it. She was trying to hide the smile on her face. I guessed Edward's reaction amused not only me. 

"I'm leaving," said Edward as he headed toward the door and disappeared into the corridor. 

When his footsteps subsided, showing he had already walked far from the room, a giggling sound came from where Dila and Lumina were standing. It looked the two had reached their limits. 

"When you two are done laughing, I hope you can get me a new dress. I meant it when I said I wanted to throw up at my smell." 

"Yes, Miss," said Lumina in her usual cheerful voice. "We're coming. Dila, get the new dresses out. I put it on the top right."

"I don't think a new dress is a good option here. I'll be applying herbs to the wound later. I don't want it to get dirty. Let's just go with the old ones." 

"No, Miss. That's the more reason to use the new dresses." 

"What do you mean?" My brows furrowed in confusion. 

"Sir Edward ordered new sets of dresses for you. It was an urgent request, and the tailors had to pull all-nighters to finish them. He told them to cut the back low so that you won't have trouble applying the herbs," said Dila as she took out a folded hunter green dress from the wardrobe. "He even ordered the color to be similar to that of the ground herbs so that the stains won't stand out." 

"He really cared for you, Miss. During the entire week that you were unconscious, he barely slept a wink," said Lumina. 

"What? You meant he didn't sleep for seven days?" I widened my eyes in bewilderment. 

"Yes. We told him we would take turns to look after you so he could get some rest in his room. But he refused to leave your side." Lumina soaked a white cloth into the basin of hot water and wrung it.

"He kept blaming himself for not being by your side when you were in danger. And so, he said he would never make the same mistake again," said Dila. 

Lumina walked toward me and knelt down next to my bed. Then, just when I thought she started wiping my face, she leaned down and said in a low voice that was only loud enough for the two of us to hear, "He even confessed to you one night, Miss." 

"What did you say?" I gulped, wondering if my ear was hearing right. 

"It's true. That night, I brought supper to him because he didn't eat much at dinner. When I arrived at the door, I overheard him said I Love You to you."  

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©️StellaKMary | The Princess And Her Alpha Bodyguard



A/N: I'm catching a cold today. Adding to the running nose, my eyes keep getting teary as well. Is this common?