Claimed by the Prince of Darkness novel Chapter 106

Chapter 106: Charcoal and Rose

Ruelle didn’t know a Christmas gift could be stressful. Too many eyes lingered on her, waiting for her to oblige and her shoulders stiffened.

"I was thinking blue, since it’s my favourite colour. But perhaps it’s better if you choose your favourite colour for me," Edward continued, already imagining himself wearing the sweater.

Her lips parted. "I—"

"Red." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The word came calmly from behind the prince. Lucian had stopped a short distance away with Sawyer, who had stopped mid-sentence now forgetting what he was talking about earlier.

Lucian’s posture was relaxed with his expression unreadable and his gaze settled on Edward.

"I don’t remember asking you," Edward grumbled, as he was still bitter about the day he had brought Ruelle flowers. He frowned, stating, "I believe I asked Ruelle."

Ruelle blinked at Lucian.

Did he not tell her to concentrate on her studies and pause on knitting? She asked herself. Had he changed his mind? But the unnerving calm in his eyes suggested otherwise.

"You asked in a public corridor. I assumed it was open to answer," Lucian replied.

Sawyer frowned slightly, thinking aloud before he could stop himself, "I always thought red made it easier to aim at."

Edward turned towards Sawyer with an obvious scowl. He asked, "Ravencroft... Are you volunteering to test how sharp the royal axe is?"

Sawyer straightened at once and bowed, "My apologies, Your Highness. I misspoke. I should see if Angelina has arrived," and he slipped away.

Before things could escalate further, Ruelle spoke up, "Edward," drawing the prince’s attention immediately. She offered him a warm smile before continuing, "It is very kind of you to ask for something made by me. But I’m afraid I won’t be able to start any knitting for a while."

"Eh? Why ever not?" Edward looked offended.

Because she had given her word to Lucian for something he had asked of her for the very first time.

"I missed a week of classes and need to catch up with it. Studying is very important and I want to place well... just like you are. I would hate for someone like you to have a friend who is dull," she added. She was aware that flattery worked faster than reason here.

Edward’s mouth opened, then closed again as he tried to decide whether to be pleased or to protest. Before he could regain control of the conversation, someone else interrupted him again.

"If it is a sweater you desire, I would be honoured to make one for you, Your Highness," Caroline stepped forward with a bow, who had moved closer.

"Who is this peasant?" Edward looked annoyed with the number of people disrupting his time with Ruelle!

Caroline’s face fell at once, but she fixed her expression and replied, "My name is Caroline. I am Ruelle’s younger sister."

Ruelle watched Caroline introduce herself, while she stood there in silence.

"Sister? How come I have never heard about you?" Edward asked, giving her a look of suspicion. "You have different hair colour too."

"I just joined Sexton last week," Caroline smiled. "If Ruelle is busy, I would be grateful for the chance to be of service instead. We did knit together before coming here, didn’t we, Ruelle? Such wonderful memories."

Edward, who was unconvinced, turned to Ruelle to question, "Is she really your sister?"

Ruelle didn’t understand how Caroline could stand there smiling, speaking as if nothing between them had cracked beyond repair. The memory her sister reached for did not exist in her mind the way it seemed to in her sister’s.

"We share a father," Ruelle replied quietly. "Caroline is my half-sister."

Caroline’s smile faltered as Ruelle’s words were soft but they landed like a door closing on her face. Hurt flashed across her face before it was replaced with resentment.

"Ruelle—"

But Ruelle, who had caught Lucian turning at the end of the corridor murmured politely, "Excuse me," already stepping away. "I have somewhere to be."

"Wait—" Edward lifted a hand, annoyed at being abandoned mid-conversation. When she didn’t stop, his expression soured. He turned slowly toward the human who had interrupted, irritation settling across his features. He said coldly,

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