As the saying goes—the panickier one is, the calmer they pretend to be.
Ruby had practically embodied that saying, despite the thunderous drums of her heartbeat threatening to break out of her ribcage.
She steadied her shaking hands and reached out for the ladle, her mind drifting back to the night before to make sure she hadn't said anything personal enough to stir his suspicion.
Julien had indeed sabotaged her phone and eavesdropped on her conversation with Madam Montclair. What was he planning by deliberately recooking the recipe the Madam had shared, though?
Ruby gave the matter a piece of her mind, eventually concluding that it must be his way to warn her, to remind her that he would be watching her no matter where she was and what she did—or maybe, he merely wanted to see her reaction, to test her loyalty.
She lowered her eyelids, thinking. What should she do to erase his suspicion, gain his trust, and satisfy his vanity?
Ruby scooped a bowl of fish soup for Julien and prepared another one for herself, bending her back humbly as she offered the bowl with two hands.
Her face was completely hidden behind her blood rose mask, but even an insensitive person could easily imagine the curve of her crescent eyes and the bloom of her pleasing smile as she addressed the man so sweetly as if they were a pair of newlyweds still in their honeymoon phase.
"Your Highness, it's truly an honor to see you here with me. You don't have to worry about the Montclairs as I have dealt with them over the phone yesterday. I've read through the files you gave me as well. Is there anything else that you want to know?"
Ruby's motive was simple. She'll prove herself a hard-worker with much use to offer whilst posing herself as an obedient underling with nothing to hide. What a way to highlight the convenience of having her on his side!
What Ruby didn't know was, she seemed to have mistaken Julien's intention this time.
"Let's eat first," Julien curtly answered without much care, receiving the bowl of soup from her before he reached for his cutlery.
He didn't seem at all tense or serious, unlike the nervous her who had placed her sweaty palms against her lap, sitting rigidly straight as she watched the casually-dressed man silently sip on his soup.
The current Julien was dressed in his usual worn-out tees and baggy pants, letting them hang loosely against his thin frame as each of his movements exuded a certain kind of elegance no ordinary person could mirror.
As expected of a royalty, even when dressed as shabbily as a poor peasant, the natural air of dominance in his bones could never be masked nor hidden.
Ruby didn't even realize how hard she had been staring, her eyes stubbornly glued to the man's glistening pursed lips as he licked the residing stains of the soup, when a loud harumph suddenly occurred.
"Ehem!"
Ruby was instantly pulled out of her stupor. She nearly jumped off her seat and swore that she hadn't been mesmerized at all, her fair cheeks burning like ripe tomatoes as she glared at the unabashed Mario, who had stared back at her so nonchalantly as if he hadn't just embarrassed her right there.
Fortunately, Julien didn't seem to notice her embarrassment as he warned Mario with a side glance, before lifting his oblivious eyes to throw her a questioning look.
"Why aren't you eating? Is the food not to your taste?"
Julien asked, his mild voice betraying no emotion. As he spoke, he licked his lips once more, unknowingly throwing her heart into a disarray. Ruby quickly clutched her hands together and looked away.
She didn't know what was going on with her. Was she ill or something? Why had her audacious thoughts kept on messing with her lately?
"She's hopelessly smitten. What else?" The busybody voiced out despite no one asking. Ruby burrowed her head lower.
This time, it was Julien who had glared at him, only letting go when Mario added with deliberate uncertainty, "Or… is she not?"
Ruby cleared her throat, dispersing the awkward tension. Another problem soon emerged when she reached for her own spoon.
How was she supposed to eat with her full mask on?
Removing the mask was out of the question. After all, she didn't want to be strangled on the neck and lifted into the air like a doomed fish caught on a fishing rod for the second time.
Ruby fidgeted in her seat. Noticing her difficulty, Julien sympathetically apologized. "Ah, apologies. I almost forgot. Mario, hand it over."
Mario stepped forward and passed her a white bundle. As she received the bundle with two hands, Ruby tilted her head and studied it closely, before she threw Julien a questioning look.
"It's a gift. See if you like it."
'A gift?'
In that instant, the arc of her brows shot up in pleasant surprise, the corners of her lips lifting slowly as she undid the bundle only to retrieve… another mask? Her smile froze.
Ruby instantly noticed the difference. It was a half mask that covered only the eyes and nose, letting the mouth area open to the air.
How considerate of him.
Ruby inwardly scoffed, half-heartedly thanking the man for the gift. But then, her brows twitched when she noticed the bright patterns on the mask.
Julien faintly smiled, "I figured some truth in your words. As a husband, it is only natural for me to recognize my wife from miles away. Thus…"
Julien slightly raised his chin to gesture toward the mask, "I painted those flowers myself. Red roses don't suit you, blue matches your energy better."
"Well then, what do you think? Do you like it?"
Being at the receiving end of his hopeful gaze, Ruby suddenly felt bad for even thinking of reprimanding his taste.
She redirected her eyes away from him, inwardly gulping as she struggled to reword whatever nasty things that just popped into her mind. The man didn't appreciate lies, after all.
After struggling for so long, Ruby finally mustered out a short, "I'm grateful," her expressions stiff and weird.
Strangely enough, Julien seemed to have thought that he had truly did a good job as he suddenly demanded, "Is that so? Then, should I be expecting a return gift?"
'Is this supposed to be another test?'
Ruby's heart leapt to her throat, her pupils shaking nonstop as she was once again thrown into another dilemma. What exactly would a royalty like him be expecting to receive from someone like her?
Fortunately, Julien soon provided the answer for that.
"What if you grant me a wish?"
"A wish?"
Ruby unconsciously mouthed out of surprise, her clear grape-like eyes reflecting the man's amused face as she heard him say,
"Call me Julien. I want to hear it personally from you."