Chapter 43: In the Prince’s room
Seraphel
I blinked repeatedly as I stared blankly at the massive portrait for a long moment. Even just staring directly at his imposing image sent an icy shiver running straight down my spine.
How could anyone possibly be that intensely intimidating, even when it was just a painted picture hanging on a wall?
The more I completely stared up at his handsome face, the more a creepy feeling washed over me. It seriously seemed like his dark red eyes were moving in the canvas, and he was subtly smiling down at me with a mocking glint.
"Snap out of it, Nathan," I groaned out loud, forcing myself to break eye contact as I quickly rose up from the bed, staring down at the heavy dark covers wrapped tightly around my body.
Then, I slowly looked around the massive space.
I was undeniably inside Azriel’s private bedroom. It was incredibly surprising because, according to the book, he never ever brought a single person into his personal quarters, no matter how much he supposedly liked them.
He was a complete loner who always preferred to keep entirely to himself, so it made me wonder in pure confusion why the hell I was waking up here.
The room itself was just as pitch black and suffocating as his twisted soul. The aesthetic was way too creepy for me, especially with that grand portrait of his face staring down from above the mantle, making it feel like he was actively watching my every single move.
But if I was currently stuck in his room, where the hell was he? I wondered anxiously, my eyes scanning every single corner.
His scent was absolutely everywhere—thick, heavy, and completely overwhelming but there was absolutely no physical sight of him.
Where the hell could he have gone?
And strangely enough, I felt completely fine. I felt absolutely no lingering pain in my abdomen like the excruciating agony I had endured right before fainting.
I rubbed my forehead in deep thought, aggressively tossing the dark covers away from me as I stood up onto my bare feet and started pacing around the cold floor. I reached the front of his imposing portrait again, stopping directly in front of the canvas as I slowly trailed my fingers through the painted fabric. "Look at you. Beautiful, yet completely annoying and cruel," I sighed heavily, rolling my eyes at the painted face. "I honestly can’t believe I am stuck in your room right now. I’m not even supposed to be a part of this story. I have completely messed up the timeline of this whole book because I went from Nathan to Seraphel. Please, all I want to do is leave, and fixing this plot is the only way out. So just let me return to my real home in peace with no worries." I slightly bowed my head toward the frame in a mock prayer. "Please cooperate with me, oh magnificent Prince of Lust," I muttered under my breath.
But the exact second I raised my head to look back at him, his painted eyes suddenly flashed with a brilliant, glowing crimson light. I immediately took a sharp step backward in pure shock, aggressively rubbing my eyes with both hands. When I looked up again, the eyes were completely normal and no longer glowing.
"Creepy bastard," I muttered, pointing a trembling finger accusingly toward the portrait.
I turned around and started walking around the vast bedroom again until I reached the front of a tall mirror. I paused instantly, freezing in place as I stared at my own reflection.
My hair was a completely disheveled mess, and my robes had been entirely changed. Instead of the torn silk from before, I was now dressed in a gorgeous, flowing blue robe elegantly adorned with delicate petals of a white lotus.
Who the hell changed my clothes while I was unconscious? Was it Azriel himself, or did he make a random servant do it? I wondered anxiously, rubbing my hand over my face as I noticed how incredibly pale my skin looked.
The sight immediately reminded me of seeing the real Seraphel in that mirror room, and how he had explicitly told me that this was my real destiny now. And then there was my meeting with Castiel, who promised to grant me a single wish if I won the story.
But how the hell could I even win this game when someone in this palace already actively wanted me dead?when there were probably more dangers waiting for me?
The sudden attack back at the harem’s hall had been a brutal warning, and I had barely survived it. The baby had barely survived it too.
At the sudden thought of the child, I slowly raised my hand and placed it flat against my non-existent stomach bump.
"It’s literally been only a week or so, Nathan. Don’t be completely delusional," I muttered to myself, shaking my head but the thought that one day, I was going to have a bump still intrigued me and I wondered what it would look like.
I continued walking through the grand space until I reached another heavy door. I pushed it open slowly, only to see that it led directly into Azriel’s private office, or whatever the hell they called a study in this historical fantasy world.
There were countless old scrolls scattered neatly across his mahogany desk, but what completely wowed me was just how massive the space was. The walls were lined with exceptionally tall shelves filled to the brim with ancient books.
"For even the wicked Prince of Lust thoroughly enjoys reading," I suddenly remembered Author Nude’s exact words when describing his character in the early Chapters, and the author was definitely right. Being in here literally felt like standing in the middle of a grand, royal library.
It was the beautiful library I had ever seen and if I wasn’t in this story, I woiuld never seen anything like that but I was here.