The Crown Prince's Bodyguard

26 ♛ An Unsteady Heart

- Long'Er -

Her body froze.

Although she may appear calm on the surface, she was, in fact, panicking in her mind.

Every breath of hers rattled as butterflies swarmed in her stomach. She never had a man, much less a devilishly handsome one, come up this close to her and there was no place to escape in this small room of hers. When he ignored her protests and pulled her boots off, she averted her eyes and stared at the floor, highly aware of his warm touch on her skin. Her heart pounded hard enough that she swore it was audible to anybody's ears.

Be still, my heart.

She remembered the way Li Xun held her in his arms. His muscular arms were strong and firm. She had always been independent, but this was the first time a man held her like this. It robbed her ability to think properly.

For once, it was nice to be taken care of by others.

But it was proving to be quite a challenge to calm her racing heart, and Li Xun made it worse with what he did next.

He drew away from the window and approached her slowly. His fingers reached for her drooping ponytail, combing through the wet strands gently. Before she could react, he deftly pulled off her hair tie and watched her long, raven hair tumble over her shoulders.

"You need to dry your hair," was all he said.

A furious blush rushed up to her cheeks. In her panicked state, she pulled away from him quickly. Away from his touch. Knowing how close she was to having a mental breakdown.

He didn't seem to notice her odd behaviour. Dropping his hand to his side, he took a step away from the bed and canted his head curiously at her. "Don't you want to take off your mask and change your clothes?" he suggested. "You might catch a cold."

Horror hit her. "No!" she exclaimed, her voice growing a notch higher than she expected. "I mean yes, but I'll change later."

He watched her for a long moment, amused. "Why not now?"

Caught off guard by his question, she fumbled for a quick answer. "It's rude for me to undress myself before you. Besides, how can I allow myself to be comfortable knowing that you aren't?" she reasoned. "Your Highness, you should return to your bedchamber quickly and change out of your clothes. If you fall sick, the entire palace will be distressed over your health."

He remained still, barely moving a muscle. She could feel the weight of his stare on her, as if he was trying to understand her.

"You're right..." he eventually agreed. "I can't bear to watch Chief Eunuch cry again. The last time I was sick, he made such a big scene and refused to leave me alone."

He rose to his feet, telling her to get a good rest. After he left, she placed a hand over her chest and let out a huge sigh of relief. Realising how dangerously close she was to having her true gender exposed.

***

A week later, the palace was humming with excitement.

The Emperor's birthday was approaching soon. A banquet would take place three days later, which meant everyone was currently overwhelmed with the preparations.

Thankfully, Long'Er's bruised ankle had healed. She resumed her duty of guarding the Crown Prince. Often, she would find her eyes wander to him unconsciously, watching as he constantly worked through the days and nights to organise his father's birthday event and conversed with his aides.