Page 46 of I Destroyed the Elf Prince's Harem

I put some in my palm and returned the stopper to the jar. At his side, I picked up one of his hands and rubbed the lotion into his skin, paying attention to the various acupressure points while working slowly up each individual finger. It had been prickling in the back of my mind since I’d met with Governor Brimsey that Nylian was a prince. He’d been born to a pampered life of the finest things, people waiting on him.

But in the past several days, even weeks, he’d been on his own. No one to see to his needs. No one to take care of him. And with each passing day, more and more weight was piling onto his shoulders. He was growing prickly and short-tempered.

Would it be so hard for me to pamper him for five minutes?

That was when I thought of my favorite salon. Their prices for haircuts were ridiculous, especially for a guy, and my cut was stupidly simple. I didn’t go there all the time. Only as a treat after I finished a book. And my favorite part was the shampoo. They took the clients to a separate, darkened room where soothing music played. A warm, scented towel was placed over my eyes; my hair was washed; my scalp, neck, and temples were massaged. They even massaged my hands before returning me to my stylist’s chair. It was an incredibly relaxing experience that helped to shed weeks of tension in a matter of minutes.

Nylian fought it for five seconds. Then his shoulders lowered, and his perfectly straight spine curled as he sunk into the chair.

“Governor Brimsey admitted that my performance was rather good, but I fucked up when I thanked a servant. I don’t even remember doing it,” I admitted. Nylian opened his mouth to ask more questions, but he shut his mouth again with a warning look from me. “That weasel we cornered in the alley—Barnaby—was Victor’s personal servant for years. He recognized I wasn’t the prince in an instant and ran off to whisper in the governor’s ear. That’s why he invited me to breakfast.”

“Considering you’re still alive, I would guess that the governor has a scheme to use you,” Nylian said, sounding much more relaxed.

I winced. “Scheme might be too big of a word for this. Apparently, after hearing you’d been exiled and the Wolfrest court was in turmoil, Prince Victor ran off to cause problems. He was being reactive to what happened to you and your brother. I don’t think he was the mastermind behind your brother’s poisoning. My guess was that he intended to kidnap you and torture you for inside information about Wolfrest’s defenses. He wanted to start a new war between Wolfrest and Edros. Governor Brimsey is not a fan of that plan.”

“Nor am I,” the elf grumbled, slumping even farther in his chair. I pressed my thumbs into the palm of his hand, working away the new bit of tension creeping into his body.

“That’s why the governor was rather pleased to hear that I didn’t want the throne and I didn’t want a war with Wolfrest. He’s happy that King Gerald has mellowed with age and Prince Rufus, who’s next in line, also doesn’t want a war.”

Nylian stared up at me, a half smile lifting one corner of his full lips. “So, he’s going to let you impersonate the prince because you won’t ruin his comfortable life here in Riverhold.”

“Pretty much.”

I put his hand on the arm of the chair and stepped back. Nylian lifted his relaxed and lotion-soft hand, moving it slowly as if surprised by how the tense muscles had disappeared. Trust me, I understood the feeling.

“What about that Barnaby fellow?” Nylian asked. He lifted his other hand and held it out to me, nudging for me to continue my massage. I held in a laugh as I poured more lotion onto my palm and worked on the other one.

“The governor said he’d take care of the man,” I replied, my brain shying away from what those words meant. “He’s doing what he can to stop the rumors, but we walked right through the front gates. Countless guards saw my face. By now, someone has sent a missive to Gushan about Prince Victor’s appearance here.”

“Where they’ve told the king or someone else in power that Prince Victor Montcroix was spotted traveling with the exiled Prince Xeran,” Nylian finished for me.

I grunted and fell silent for more than a minute as I worked on his other hand. “I’m worried.”

“That someone will guess that you’re not the prince?”

“That, or maybe they’ll think I’ve kidnapped you and I’m about to start a war. Or a hundred other weird ideas that people with too much time on their hands can think up.” I existed in a world where something hideous called social media existed and false information spread like a plague in the blink of an eye. Yes, this world didn’t have social media, but there were still plenty of gossips and people with bad intentions.

A sigh escaped my parted lips as I worked my way along his pinky before returning to the center of Nylian’s palm. While the massage had been to help Nylian relax, it had done wonders for my chaotic thoughts. It also could have been giving voice to all the things that had been floating in my head all day.

“I wonder if it would be better for me to go to Gushan and play the part of Prince Victor. Tell this crazy story about how you saved my life from ogres and I traveled as far as Riverhold with you. If I’m careful, I can slowly convince people I’ve changed, that my opinion of Wolfrest has evolved because you saved my life. It could ease a lot of tensions between Wolfrest and Edros.”

I released Nylian and took a step away, but he caught my hand and held tight, trapping me in place. “While it is a noble idea, the problem lies in Victor’s allies. There are plenty of people secretly on his side, wanting a war.”

“For God’s sake, why?”

He smiled at me, and I got the feeling he thought I was being naïve. He was right.

“War brings endless suffering for the people of both countries, but for the nobility and the ambitious, war creates almost limitless opportunities. People die in war, especially important ones. If you want to climb to a new position of power and there’s someone in your way…”

“It’s not too difficult to push them in front of a sword or arrange for an ‘ambush,’” I muttered.

“It doesn’t even have to be that dramatic. Sometimes, you just need to turn the tide of opinion against them in court, and they can fade into obscurity.” His hand tightened on mine, almost to the point of pain. “I don’t think the people supporting Victor will fade quietly if he changes his mind about attacking. In addition, these are people who will know Victor the best. They will be harder to fool.”

“And the first to denounce me out or try to blackmail me.” A heavy weight sank into the pit of my stomach. This sounded more and more like a terrible idea, but I would still go through with it if it meant taking more pressure off Nylian.

“Going back won’t help me find the person responsible for the poison ending up on that sword, and that’s the only thing that matters to me. You got the answer I was seeking regarding Edros—the royal family wasn’t involved. This wasn’t an attempt to spur a new war.” Nylian released my hand, stood, and grabbed my shoulders. He turned us a hundred and eighty degrees and shoved me into the chair. With both hands resting on the arms of the chair, Nylian leaned forward, and I pressed into the chair as far as I could, my heart jumping into my throat. What the hell was he doing?

That question was still forming in my brain when he smiled. “Thank you for taking that risk and helping me.”

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