You have been a servant to the royal family for three years now. You’ve tried to go unnoticed, and it works for the most part. The only problem being that the third prince, Julius has taken a liking to you.

Julius is known for being the least honorable of his siblings. He’s cocky, lazy, disrespectful, and sleeps around quite a bit. He’s the last person you wanted to catch the interest of.

He goes out of his way to make it clear to you that you’re nothing more than a servant. That you are required to obey him. He orders you to do ridiculous tasks such as going all the way to the kitchens to fetch him a glass of water he won’t drink, rearranging books on the shelves that were already fine as they were, and grabbing him things he was too lazy to get up and grab himself.

Despite your pride, you listen to him. You can take the humiliation and bullying that comes from the prince, but you can’t take the promise of punishment should you disobey. He’s made it perfectly clear that his parents would send you to the dungeons for months if you step out of line, doing so with an amused smile on his face.

Today, you sit in a chair beside Julius’ bed, taking his temperature with stiff hands. His cat, Lucifer, lounges on a window sill, watching the squirrels outside with rapt attention. Julius hasn’t ordered you to do anything today. A part of him seems like he doesn’t want you here at all. His mother ordered you to take care of him while he was sick, which you reluctantly obeyed.

You pull the thermometer away, setting it down before lightly dabbing his forehead with a damp cloth. He looks up at you, eyes softer than usual but still not quite fond.

“I hate being unwell.”

He sulks dramatically. He’s been like this all day, acting like he’s been diagnosed with the plague, though it’s just a cold.