The Devil's Betrothed novel Chapter 340

Chapter 340: Doubting Brother’s Preference

On the other hand, Arlan marveled at her long silky hair, strands like threads of golden sunset. It was the one of the things that made a deep impression on him during their first encounter in the forest of the Wimark Estate.

The cheeky trespasser who interfered in his hunt and stabbed his royal body, the image of a black-clothed woman with the most beautiful red-blond hair.

’Even her hair smells like honeysuckles.’ He could not help but comb through them with his fingers.

"Your Highness, are you doing my hair?" she asked tentatively.

"What do you think?" He threw a question back at her, and Oriana found him skillfully working with her long hair like he knew what to do with it.

"Do you know how to style a woman’s hair?"

"Should I not know?"

She frowned at his gimmick of not answering her directly and throwing questions back at her. She rolled her eyes. ’I shouldn’t have asked.’

Still, she was curious. It was easy to imagine this man somewhat dabbing in fashion or cooking, those aspects of female-oriented skills, but only a rare breed of men would even care about hairstyling. Even most doting fathers would rely on their wives or maids to fix their beloved daughters’ hair.

"How did you learn it?" she probed.

"When my siblings and I were children, we used to play with my older sister’s hair a lot. Her maids thought it was adorable and taught us princes how to set her hair in different ways. Maybe the maids preferred to let us style my sister’s hair than mess them up as my sister never stopped us," he answered with a wistful voice, as if reminiscing good old times.

A faint smile appeared on her face at this glimpse of the softer side of the prince. In no time, he set her hair in a proper bun at the back of her head. He swiftly dug out a new cloth matching her brown coat and snugly wrapped it around her head.

There was a knock on the door.

"Your Highness, your carriage is ready," they heard Neil’s voice. "We can leave whenever you want."

And they heard the sound of footsteps departing without waiting for Arlan’s reply.

Arlan retrieved Oriana’s shoes which were surprisingly clean. He helped her wear her socks and shoes, and once more, Oriana was struck with the strangeness of her master behaving like a servant.

Arlan was prepared to lift her but she spoke up, "I would prefer to walk."

Arlan didn’t insist and offered her his hand to support her stay on her feet. He grabbed her bag, and after making sure nothing was left behind, they left the room.

When they came out of the inn, Neil and Damien walked forward to help Oriana, but the moment Arlan’s gaze fell on the two, they stopped midway. They merely watched the Crown Prince help his youngest attendant climb inside the royal carriage.

—

It took more than two weeks for the Crown Prince and his entourage to reach the capital city of Griven. The Kingdom of Abetha sent escorts to pave their way, and thus, the rest of their journey after leaving the flooded borders of the kingdom was smooth-sailing.

Oriana had completely recovered during this time under the prince’s attentive care. When they reached Karlin and entered the royal palace late in the afternoon, the Crown Prince and the Minister of Foreign Affairs first went to the main palace to report the completion of their mission to the King of Griven.

It was nighttime by the time Arlan returned to his own residence. The paveway leading to the front entrance was lined with maids and stewards on both sides. Along with the butler, Roman, ash brown-haired, blue-eyed young man was waiting to welcome his brother in front of the Palace of Thistle.

It was Lenard Cromwell, the Second Prince of Griven.

Oriana stepped out of the royal carriage first, followed by Arlan. Lenard was surprised to see an unfamiliar boy disembarking from his brother’s carriage. The boy looked odd with his head wrapped like that of the nomadic tribes in the North, but his brown uniform belonged to that of a palace attendant.

Lenard’s curiosity did not disappear even after Arlan approached him.

"Welcome back, Brother," Lenard offered him a warm smile.