The Cursed King

It was so very difficult for Elise to keep restraining herself from trying to slap Hilde. 

Wasn't it obvious that Loriel was married?

The undertones in Hilde's flirtatious words were still very evident and were enough to make Elise feel as if she was the one who was supposed to be backing down.

"Hilde is the one who taught me how to cook Italian dishes." Loriel intervened and gave an explanation with a sigh.

"Oh, so that's what you taught him," Elise said with a small frown. 

That was far from intimate as far as Elise was concerned… Chef Lucy taught her how to bake but the man was nothing more than polite.

"Yes, I've come so many times over to his place to teach Loriel how to cook." Hilde smiled and then batted her eyes at Loriel. "And sometimes, he comes over to my place to learn more properly.. He's a stubborn one, that man."

Elise's frown deepened more and yet there was a certain seed of insecurity in her chest. Loriel never mentioned Hilde before despite him probably knowing that she was a celebrity here. She asked her husband, "Is that so, Loriel?"

"I think Hilde and I remember things quite differently." Loriel promptly answered his wife.

"Must have been a very long time since the two of you last met then," Elise forced a smile..

Even though Loriel didn't say it aloud, it was obvious that it meant that Hilde was not saying the truth. Elise was aware that this woman was trying to get Elise upset or rile her up to make a scene… but Elise also calmed herself.

There was no need to stoop down to Hilde's level.

All of the admiration that Elise felt earlier when she watched Hilde conduct herself as the emcee of the fashion show program and to how she acted right now showed the stark difference in her true personality.

Hilde huffed a bit at Elise's words. It was as if Elise was implying that Hilde did not have a good memory or was an old woman… but it didn't matter. 

"It has indeed been a long time, Elise. That means that Loriel and I need to catch up more properly." Hilde answered with a smile and turned to Loriel. "Isn't that how you treat your good and old friend who came from way back, right?"

"Actually, this is Elise and mine's last night in Italy," Loriel answered. "We have a flight right after this fashion show and we can't delay any longer."

Hilde placed a hand on her mouth. "Do you mean to say that you're flying in a commercial plane? Loriel, I think you have a private one, right? Or have you fallen so hard since we last met?"

Elise didn't even know about Loriel's private plane until he took her with it… but Hilde knew about it??

Just how close were they actually? She was wondering.

There were so many questions that churned in Elise's stomach that she wanted to ask Loriel when they were alone.

"That's none of your business," Loriel answered. "We want to go home as soon as possible because my wife has important engagements."

Hilde raised a brow and then looked in Elise's way. "You have engagements?"

Elise thought about it for a second and quickly nodded. "Yes, I am returning to work after our honeymoon. We can't stay here for too long."

"Oh, really?" Hilde asked and then looked more closely at Elise. "You choose to work despite being married to him? He can provide everything that you can ever dream of and so much more."

"I do not want to simply sit idle and expect everything to be taken care of for me," Elise replied.

"My, my… what a rather independent personality." Hilde tilted her head. "I don't think that's how I remember the woman that Loriel loves."

Elise batted her eyes in surprise. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Loriel gritted his teeth and threw a glare at Hilde, but quickly intervened. "What Hilde means to say, is that my ideal woman in the past… was not someone who likes to go out that much. You know how I prefer staying at my penthouse, right?"

Elise nodded. "I see. So that's what she meant. Your ideal woman is introverted like you?"

At first, Elise assumed that there was someone else that Loriel first loved before her… but Loriel never mentioned anyone at all. He didn't even have any family or friends, except Marc Sanderman.

But… wait. That's what he said, right?

What if Loriel didn't tell her the truth? The proof was, he was apparently friends with Hilde. What if Loriel actually had other family and friends which he just didn't want Elise to know?

While Elise's mind was filled with questions, Hilde smiled playfully at Loriel. She realized that she got the upper hand since Loriel seemed to hide something from his wife.

Hilde could guess that the man was worried Hilde would say something that could hurt Elise's perspective of Loriel.

Well, Hilde could have added more to make things harder for Loriel and saw the man try to talk his way out of this. However, once she noticed that there was something wrong, Hilde allowed the man to continue to vouch for himself.

"Well.. Loriel is right. We are talking about the type of woman that Loriel was into in the past," Hilde smirked.

Loriel cleared his throat and nodded.

"The woman that I love is somewhat shy and meek, a bit withdrawn from everyone else and yet devoted to the man that she loves and does everything for him." Loriel looked at Elise dotingly. "But that was in the past."

"Tastes change over time, huh?" Hilde laughed a little. "He once told me that I was too strong and difficult to deal with."

Elise raised a brow. "Really? How come?"

This time, a more bittersweet smile crossed on Hilde's face as she looked at Elise. While she could tell the truth and be a little more honest… Hilde shrugged. "He was rather competitive and didn't like losing to me."