บท 9: Chapter-9 Confidence or pretense?

"That's a good amount. What are you planning to buy with that? Dresses? Jewelry?" Sebastian paused.

Elliana had his full attention now, and the latter looked at her feet, unsure if she should tell him the real reason. The memories of Miss Zoya mentioned that the prince would kill her before she would be able to utter a word.

Elliana has known the prince for what? 24 hours? What if the prince really has a temper and kills Miss Zoya? She has no one in this place to call an acquaintance.

Elliana hummed and nodded at herself, feeling satisfied with her thought process.

"It's a wedding gift," Elliana blurted out, the first thing that came to her mind, and Sebastian quirked his brows.

"Wedding gift? For who? Your family?"

"Me," Elliana ran her tongue over her lower lip to wet her chapped lips.

This won't do. Elliana narrowed her eyes. She should act confidently rather than being nervous 24/7. She clenched and unclenched her fists before she looked up at the prince daringly, her eyes confident and full of zest. Sebastian was taken aback by her aura once again.

"I will be asking for more gifts in the future. I hope it's fine with you. You said you don't want others to have the impression that you treat me badly, right? You are royalty. I am royalty. You should know what kind of expenses girls have," Elliana stared back at him.

From her last conversation with him, she figured he wanted to keep her alive. The reason could be anything, but that was a fact. Or judging from how annoyed he gets and with his monstrous reputation, she would've ended up in that alligator's pond or 6 feet under the ground already.

She was done living like a mouse all her life. It didn't get her anywhere anyways. The only thing it brought her way was misery and humiliation. If she hadn't been so hung up and desperate about finding her biological mom, she would've never stayed in the palace for so long, at least not after the last time they punished her before going to prison, where she almost got molested.

If death is inevitable, the least she can do is stay comfortable in her skin.

The more nervous she acts around him, the more he will act like a predator.

"I didn't know you had this side to you too," Sebastian said before he took out his wallet and pulled out a black card from it.

"You haven't seen anything of me," Elliana said, and though she was sounding confident, her gaze still shook at the end, and Sebastian felt his lips twitching at her strong facade.

"Well, I intend to change this statement soon," Sebastian stepped ahead before grabbing her collar.

His gaze fell on her clear olive skin, and he was amazed at how she had such beautiful skin even after living in prison for a year.

She looked almost celestial.

He bent and placed his lips on her exposed neck before taking a deep whiff, scaring Elliana out of her wits as she almost lost her balance, if not for Sebastian, who held her in place.

Maybe she should start being confident slowly if she doesn't want to get herself killed.

"Easy there. I won't bite you. Not yet," Sebastian grinned before running his tongue over his lower lip.

He wanted to show her a hint of his fangs to scare her even more and ensure she stayed in line, but that would require him to take out his mask, and it wasn't worth the hassle.

Elliana gulped and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the prince leaving before looking at the card in her hand.

She hoped he would give her the amount in cash or a check. However, now that he has given her the card with the pin, she will have to ensure that she doesn't let this card go into the wrong hands.

'Why did I have to meddle in other businesses again? Right. Because I am the so-called innocent kind person who can't help herself from sticking her nose in everyone's matters,' Elliana gritted her teeth and stomped her foot in annoyance before she felt a weird heat clouding her mind.

'Aaaa,' She gripped her head and suddenly felt like some hot liquid rushed into her nerve veins.

"Elliana, take deep calming breaths. Don't let it take over you. Anger is not good for health. You can control your emotions," Elliana whispered what 'G' had asked her to whisper whenever she felt like this before she went inside the bathroom to cool down so that she doesn't end up doing something that would put her in an even bigger problem.

Meanwhile, Sebastian walked out and looked at the door one last time before going to his office.

"Sir -" Lucas stopped when he saw Sebastian looking at the trees thoughtfully.

"Did something happen?" Lucas couldn't help but ask, remembering the last night's events, and Sebastian hummed.

"Have you arranged for a personal spy from the S-class team to keep a look over Elliana? It would be better if it's a female. That way, she won't suspect the girl," Sebastian said, and Lucas nodded.

"Three candidates would be arriving after breakfast. You can choose whoever you feel fit for the position," Lucas wanted to ask what exactly happened, but he didn't want to provoke the devil, and thus he sighed.

"She asked me for money. Twenty lakhs," Sebastian said after a long pause, and Lucas, who was arranging the files for Sebastian to sign, paused and looked at him with raised brows.

"That much?"

"She says it's a wedding gift. She would be asking more in the future if she felt like it. She even said that if I don't want people to think I am treating her badly, I should keep giving in to her requests," Sebastian's words amazed Lucas.

Did she have some major change last night? Where did the sweet, kind, and naive girl described in the documents suddenly go?

But wait. Sebastian was too calm for it. He wouldn't be acting this calm if some random human threatened him like that, whether she was his bride or not. Why was it becoming hard to believe?

"She threatened you, and you just stood there and did nothing?" Lucas asked, and Sebastian hummed.

"Well, the words weren't exactly these. One thing led to another, and Elliana ended up saying this. I gave her my black card. Let's see what she will be using so much money for. I want you to keep a close look at her," Sebastian walked around the table before making a cross with the red pen over the map displayed on the noticeboard.

"You suspect she will try to give this money to the human royals and help them strengthen their armies?" Lucas asked, and Sebastian shook his head.

"No. Those royals are rich. They don't need our money. If they are indeed planning something against us, there is no way they would risk it for some petty money. This could be bigger or way different than our minds can think about. Her demeanor was different. She actually pretended to be confident when asking for money. I want you to keep a keen look at Elliana with the new spy. She could be meeting someone else for all I care," Sebastian looked at his phone, which rang with an incoming call.

Seeing the name of the caller ID, his jaws ticked, and he looked at Lucas, who went to the door and closed it.

"Hello?"

"Well, isn't this my favorite brother in the family? I just returned from the Canada trip, and guess what I found? Did you get sacrificed? That's a pity," Stephano, Sebastian's cousin, said, and Sebastian looked at the map with pointers on where they would be setting up the base with a thoughtful look.

"What can I say to that? Grandpa knew only the most diligent kid of the family could be trusted with a task as important as maintaining the peace that he had wanted for years. He can't trust just any man who*re with a loose character to have a human bride, no?" Sebastian answered in a fake concerned tone, and Lucas almost choked on his saliva.

Sebastian was indeed getting better with his insults these days, no?

Though Sebastian was the infamous rude vampire prince among all, Stephano was his best competitor and many years older. He was the first grandson of Abramo, the former Vampire king, while Sebastian was the youngest one.

"What did you say?" Stephano's voice turned cold, laced with malice, promising nothing good.

"I said that Grandpa should've chosen you instead. You are the most diligent among us. Unfortunately, you weren't in the kingdom," Sebastian smirked inside the mask, and Lucas sighed before walking to the balcony, scrunching his brows when he saw Elliana standing on the balcony again.

What was this girl's obsession with looking at the forest?

The entire forest was under the jurisdiction of the vampires, and a major part of it was part of the kingdom and royal palace, so there was no question of her looking for her human partners if there were any.

She was quite obsessed with it. She has been here for around 24 hours, and he bet she has spent most of her time standing there.

Her body posture was elegant and screamed loyalty, but it also showed the prime trait of being a royal. Loneliness.

She looked lonely and sad. Was she thinking about her parents? Her family?

But she doesn't have a reason to.

Shouldn't she be happy that she is out of a place where she was the scapegoat for all the crimes again and again?

Lucas hadn't mentioned the extent of the abuse Elliana suffered in that household, but it even included getting whipped by her aunt in place of Madeline because the latter broke an expensive vase.

How cruel could they be? Weren't humans supposed to be the kind ones? Then again, they have shown nothing but hostility.

What kind of pain must her soft skin have gone under for something she didn't even do? Lucas sighed when he saw her humming some lonely words and was about to turn around when something caught his eye.

What the hell was she doing? Lucas widened his eyes when he saw her climbing over the railings.

"Sir!" Lucas shouted, catching Sebastian's attention, who wasn't too far from him.

Seeing the scared look on his face, Sebastian immediately rushed to the balcony to see what it was.

Seeing the girl climbing over the railing of the balcony, Sebastian's eyes widened, and he immediately threw the phone and jumped down from the balcony from the seventh floor, rushing under the balcony of his room.

Standing under the area, he looked up at the third floor with wide eyes.

The girl was sitting on the railing with her eyes closed. What the hell was she thinking? If she wanted to die, why did she go through such a hassle?

No. He can't let her do anything that will jeopardize his plans of becoming the king. Sebastian clenched his fists.