Chapter 353: Tasting Sweets
The room fell inexplicably silent, and Lucy watched him take off his long royal coat as he walked away from her, leaving himself clothed in just his white tunic tucked in fitting pants. He hung it on the makeshift stand and moved to the table to sit down, and for some reason, he couldn’t help but glance her way, only to find her watching him, but she had that familiar worried expression on her face this time around.
"Did I do something wrong?" She asked softly, maintaining her distance. It sounded like she was being careful not to anger him further, and a sudden feeling of guilt took over his conscience. He could sense her genuine worry, the unmistakable pull he always felt around her, including that sweet scent she unexpectedly emitted – the familiar scent that made him blurt out the word, ’mate’ by accident.
"It’s... it’s nothing."
He averted his gaze from her own, wanting to ignore this feeling that was starting to creep onto his chest. He tried to keep himself busy, fixating his eyes elsewhere, but there was nothing he found meaningful to do at the moment. Knowing there was no escaping her harmless question, he shook his head mildly and buried his face on both his palms.
"You did nothing wrong," he answered more audibly, leaning back against his chair. He was starting to sound like himself again, but the way he responded gave her the feeling that he never wanted to react that way with her, but Lucy refused to believe her thoughts, not when they’d make up enough excuses to keep her deluded in her unrequited feelings for him.
"There must be something I did wrong, else you wouldn’t be angry with me." Lucy pointed out before delving into her thoughts to try and remember if there was anything she might have accidentally done to anger him, but she heard him sigh all of a sudden, and he murmured gently.
"I’m not upset, or angry with you. I just want you to stop all these things you’re doing for me." He explained, and a flicker of sadness penetrated his usually unwavering gaze, "I don’t want to get used to this, and I hope you understand the boundaries enough to avoid crossing them."
"Boundaries? But I haven’t even started crossing them, and you’ve always been kind to me so the least I can do is make you feel comfortable in your stay here," Lucy stated, taking the risk of dropping her thoughts, "I know I’m nothing more than just a servant assigned to you, or the lady you believe can help you in some way but to me, you’re someone I really look up to! Both in height and personality."
She smiled gently, but her inner thoughts were slapping her across the face for indirectly calling herself short. Duncan’s facade still remained the same, despite her attempt to liven his mood, and he seemed to doubt her cause he was no longer looking in her direction.