Sold to a Prince!

Once they reached outside the cave, Sylvia saw that Mikel was about to climb down, leaving her behind once again.

No way! She had had enough of him having his way with her today. She furrowed her brows and loudly clapped her hands. 

"I am not climbing down on my own." She scoffed, turning her head. It was clear that this was not a request but a demand.

Mikel grumbled in annoyance. "I wonder who is the Master and who is the slave."

Nevertheless, he walked back to her and when he was standing right in front of her, he lifted her up in one fell swoop, carrying her in his arms.

Though the man's words were complaining, his actions were extremely gentle and caring.

Sylvia glared at him, looking straight into his eyes and not turning away. He didn't say anything more. 

He just silently met her gaze and this time, he did not climb down. He rather jumped down, from rock to rock, muttering something under his breath. 

Sylvia gasped in surprise and looked down as she felt the strong rush of blood and wind on her cheek. 

So fast! She gripped him tighter without realizing it and within a few seconds, the two of them had already reached the carriage as opposed to the several minutes that they had taken to climb upwards.

Near the carriage, both Leol and Theodore were waiting patiently for the two of them and they turned to look at Mikel in surprise as the duo arrived.

Theo had a questioning look on his face that clearly wondered if everything had gone alright, while Leol blurted out without thinking, "So fast?"

The man had a mocking grin which made Mikel doubt what he was talking about and knowing his friend, he knew that he was talking about something inappropriate.

Mikel grunted in annoyance and put down the woman in his arms abruptly, Sylvia landing on the ground on her butt with an embarrassing thud. 

"No. My father summoned me." He muttered, walking into the carriage, banging the door open, hiding the fact that he had decided not to go through with it even before he received the message from the King.

Leol and Theo, both did not understand what was going on, but they decided not to ask him for all the details right this second, as there was Sylvia and not to mention the coachman along with them.

The both of them silently looked at Mikel who sat in the carriage, with a grumpy frown on his face, and then at Sylvia who picked herself up from the ground and dusted her back angrily.

Suddenly, they couldn't help but wonder if there was also something else going on here?

When they first began this trip, the two in front of them looked quite harmonious or at least normal but now they were clearly at each other's throats.

Something definitely seemed off. However, since Mikel hadn't told them anything yet, they could only sigh and get into the carriage silently.

Sylvia was the last one to get in. 

Several leaves, mud, and dirt had stuck to the back of her dress when Mikel had dropped her as had worn the dress while she was still wet from the skinny dipping session.

So it took her a couple of minutes to shake things off of her and she then stomped her feet and stepped into the carriage as well, sitting diagonally opposite to Mikel, as far away as possible from him.

The carriage then started moving once again, this time headed straight back to the castle. 

The same uncomfortable silence filled the air as no one spoke to each other, with only the suspicious duo occasionally staring daggers.

This made the other two men in the carriage feel very awkward and also curious at the same time.

A few more minutes passed, with only the carriage rumbling on the rickety mountain road, when suddenly the coachman made a blunder.

The winding mountain path was too uneven with a lot of rocks, stones, and protruding tree roots, so there was a sudden jerk and the carriage jolted. 

However, it was nothing drastic and the three men sitting inside were not in the least affected by it. 

They were all able to maintain their balance and remained seated perfectly calm as if this incident never even happened in the first place.

Unfortunately, the other occupant of the carriage didn't quite share their same fate. Sylvia was too agitated and upset and she hadn't gripped anything for balance. 

So as the carriage jolted abruptly, she swayed and her slender figure was unexpectedly directly thrown into the devil's lap, sitting diagonally opposite to her.

Oh no! Sylvia started panicking. Just as she thought that she couldn't be embarrassed anymore today, this had happened.

She bit her lower lip, making it redder, and hurriedly tried to scramble out of his lap, but she felt her body being pulled back in.

She turned to look at the man, to question his unruly behavior and when her gaze met his obsidian orbs, she found him staring rather longingly at her.

The anger that was burning brightly and swirling within his eyes was no longer to be seen and instead she only saw something soft and gentle.

Sylvia gulped meeting the man's loving gaze and felt her heart flip inside. She could tell that this was not one of his two-faced acts but genuine affection.

He looked at her as if he was begging and pleading with her and she found herself melting in the man's gaze. 

No words were spoken, yet a knot in her heart loosened. 

Sylvia wondered if he felt the same as well and her question was answered as she felt the man bury his head in her chest.

The devil pulled her closer into his embrace, his hands wrapping around her more tightly, yet delicately. 

"Don't marry him." He muttered, to which she silently tousled his golden curls and leaned her head over his. "I won't..."