Laina thought she misheard what the King had said. She blinked a couple of times and tilted her head to the side in disbelief. She took a few steps back. Did she hear him right?

“Sorry what?”

The smirk never left his face.

“I can’t let you leave, Princess Laina. You’re a guest in my castle,” he replied.

Laina laughed. The servants who had stayed hidden behind the columns to listen in on their conversation shuddered. They knew their King well. He gets what he wants. They all held their breath, waiting to hear Laina’s reply.

Her eyebrows creased. The initial smile faded from her lips.

“I’m sorry, your majesty. But can’t keep me here against my will. I am grateful for your care but I’m afraid I must leave,” Laina stood her ground.

The King might be handsome and charming, but she will not be held against her will. She wondered how he would react to her open defiance. After all, this was the king who was rumored to kill anyone or anything that stood in his way. His battle tactics in war were second to none.

His enemies trembled at his feet.

But Princess Laina was not an enemy. They were not at war. They were having a conversation in the Royal Garden. Surely he would at least be reasonable.

If this was any other person, the open defiance would irk him. He would have ordered an immediate execution. He would be the executioner himself. But this was Laina, he could never bring himself to do that to her.

But the King wants what the King wants.

“No.”

“No?” Laina echoed.

“No. You are a guest here and will remain as one for as long as I decree. You’re not going anywhere, princess,” he replied.

Laina could not understand why Dante was being so unreasonable. Why did he want to keep her here so badly? They barely know one another.

“Can you at least tell me why?” she asked as she crossed her arms in annoyance while Titan the mastiff dog sat obediently at her feet.

The other servants gasped in shock by Laina’s question. A princess should never talk back to any form of authority, especially to the King himself. She could hear their audible gasp but paid no mind to it.

“Because, I would like your company,” Dante replied smoothly.

Laina laughed, she could not believe how ridiculous this was.

“I’m sorry, your Majesty, but this is not a good enough reason to keep me here against my will. I enjoyed the time we had spend the night before, but -”

Before she could finish her sentence, Dante came up close to her again. This time, he placed his hand around her waist and brought her closer to him. They gazed into each other’s eyes. Laina was caught off guard by his actions. She did not know how to respond.

Dante reached out his hand and twirled a lock of her hair with his fingers.

He whispered to her seductively, “If you truly enjoyed the time we spent together last night, then give me another chance.”

Laina tried to ignore the embarrassment. She had never been this close to another man before! She could not help but gaze into his eyes.

“Another… chance?”

He nodded, “Another chance to give you a good reason to stay.”

He released her from his embrace and knelt down before her. Dante pets Titan on his head and ruffled his fur.

“This mastiff has been in my care for some time now. He has never taken a liking to anyone else but you. You can say no to me, but can you say no to this cute adorable face?” Dante reasoned with Laina.

He held the dog up so that Laina could look at it in the eyes.The moment the dog heard that Laina wanted to leave, it showed her the cutest puppy eyes she had ever seen. There was something about this lovely mastiff that melted her heart.

She could not resist.

As much as she wanted to leave immediately, she also wanted to pet and play with the dog.

“Fine, I will stay for one more day for Titan. But no longer than that. I have to get back to Kinshearth after that,” she relented.

Hearing that she was staying and calling his name, the dog barked enthusiastically and began to wag its tail. Its ears stood up straight too as it wriggled out of Dante’s grasp and into Laina’s embrace.

Laina was laughing and smiling as the dog licked her face. A smile appeared on Dante’s face. As her reply replayed in his mind, he realized something. She remembered the mastiff’s name was Titan. He did not bring it up. Instead, he took the moment to negotiate the terms of her stay.

“One day won’t be enough. Five days.”

“What? No,” Laina replied swiftly upon hearing Dante’s reply. But seeing how excited Titan was to play with her, her heart melted a little, “Two days.”

“Let’s agree to meet in the middle, three days,” he said.

As soon as he said that, he turned and walked away. Dante did not even give her a chance to rebut. But she was not about to give up either.

“Wait! I did not agree to it, two days, two days!” she argued.

Dante did not even bother to turn back around as he walked away. He held up his hand, showing the number three with his fingers.

“No exceptions,” he said without turning back.

Laina wanted to give chase but Titan distracted her. As she watched him walk away into the distance, she noticed the cat that she saw in her room trailing behind the King. The cat turned back to glance at her for a short moment, before continuing to follow the King.

She was perplexed by the King, but Laina did not think too much about it. In fact, at that moment, she was more worried about the chaos that likely ensued after her disappearance. After all, no one knew where she went after the Ball was over.

“Margaret would be worried now. I should probably send her a letter or something.. To let her know that I am safe,” Laina said to herself as she continued to pet the playful dog in her arms.