01 ‖ The Psychotic Prince

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My mouth hangs in disbelief as I rub my eyes for the millionth time, praying internally that the plumes of smoke engulfing the once ecru, now blazing duplex is merely a wicked trick by the eyes.

"The party's pretty lit don't you think? Get it? Because the building's literally on fire right now." A husky chuckle travels from behind as the man takes a step forward. He then drapes his left arm around my shoulders.

Looking to the side, I am instantly mesmerised by his eyes which are the blue of mountain lakes. It is almost as if the luminosity of the flames is nothing compared to his blonde luscious curls that shone as they reflect each wavelength of light from the blazing inferno glaring right at us.

I know, he sounds like the typical ideal fictional boy that we girls would probably be drooling over. However, trust me when I say that he is definitely far from typical.

"Seriously Dom? At a time like this?" Rolling my eyes, I hastily shrug his arm off my shoulders. "Where is Casimir?"

Upon hearing my question, Dominic negligently scans our surroundings before giving a nonchalant shrug. "Who knows, he could be sleeping in the building right now for all we know but what's there to worry about? He's Caz, he does all sorts of things and always finds a way out."

Tilting his head down to look at me, he notices the worry smothered on my face and continues.

"School's starting tomorrow. Let loose a little Rissa, you're too uptight. You have to live a little while you're young. Don't ruin that precious face of yours with wrinkles from all that frowning you're doing."

"I might have done lots of things in life Dom but I'm certainly not fireproof or dumb enough to sleep through a fire." A tall silhouette emerges from the flames together with an adorable baby pomsky that rested in his arms.

It is undeniably impressive how his chestnut hair had managed to remain satiny and tamed despite the mess he probably had to go through to keep the puppy unharmed.

"Bailey! Thank god you're safe! Thank you so much your highness for keeping her safe!" A petite blonde girl runs up to Casimir as he carefully hands the puppy over to her.

I was bewildered.

Did she actually thank the man who first of all, set her house on fire? Secondly, he basically ruined her 18th birthday party by putting her puppy and everyone else's life at risk. Thirdly, he set her house on fire. 

Yes, I know I already mentioned it, but really? Do people enjoy living in a pile of ruins and ashes now? If so, please let me know, I think I'd be great at real estate.

Noticing the look of disbelief plastered very evidently on my face, the prideful brunet then approaches me triumphantly. "And this Larissa, is what I call a masterpiece."

I give him a blank stare.

Absolutely insane.

The man standing before me cannot possibly be next to the throne of Acreria. Perhaps his parents had accidentally dropped him when he was a baby. That had to be the case because only then would it explain his nonsensical behaviour. His brain had to be somewhat damaged.

To what extent would the future king of a kingdom go, just to get me to resign? The fact that he was even willing to put the lives of innocent citizens at risk by burning down an entire apartment to nothing but ashes leaves me speechless.

His actions definitely speak volumes. He wants to get rid of me. He wants to get rid of the current restraint in his life. But most importantly, he wants to get rid of the female bodyguard his ego refuses to accept.

Attempting to seem unfazed by his outrageousness, I look him dead in the eye. 

"Try me, your highness," I challenge coolly.

He is expressionless.

As much as I try to scrutinise the look on his face, he remains unreadable. It is just impossible to guess his thoughts. Is he infuriated? Disappointed? Or perhaps, even thrilled? I simply could not tell.

Before Casimir could even say a word, the sounds of sirens wailing interrupts the seemingly endless silence. A silence that was so brief but the tension that was built up in that fleeting moment felt everlasting. The firefighters had arrived and I did not know if I was appreciative of their arrival because it cleared the heavy atmosphere or if I was annoyed because their appearance stopped Casimir from responding.

As the firefighters escort us and everyone else away from the fire, my mind begins to process the events that had unfolded today.

Tonight marked the very beginning of Casimir's plot to get me to resign.

Funny enough, it has yet to be a week since I officially became his bodyguard and the first plan that came to Casimir's mind to convince me to leave was to incinerate someone's house as if it was waste. 

How much worse can it get?

"I wasn't wrong," I blurt subconsciously as I turn to face Casimir. Doing so earned me a puzzled look from Dominic as he raises an eyebrow at me. Similarly, Casimir shoots me a quizzical look.

"You're psychotic."

I am unsure which brain cell of mine decided that it was a wise idea to tell the prince that he is a lunatic. However, before my mind could even register what had just happened, Dominic bursts into fits of laughter. 

"You're incredible."

Baffled, I blink at Dominic in confusion and so did Casimir.

"My dearest friend, we've known each other since the age of 2. Is it really necessary for me to tell you that you're supposed to have my back in situations like this?" Casimir questions as he places his palm on his chest, acting as if he was heartbroken.

While attempting to catch his breath, Dominic holds up a finger, indicating that he needs a second to regain his composure.

"Here, let me retry." He proceeds to take a deep breath and continues. "Outrageous! How dare you call his highness psychotic? Look at his face. How can you call that psychotic? It's a work of art."

"Thank—" Casimir tries to express his gratitude but unfortunately, gets interrupted by Dominic shushing him.

"I got this, don't worry." Dominic gives Casimir a reassuring look before turning to face me as he continues. "I know at first sight he might look like a weirdo with his outlandish appearance and perhaps he does idiotic things sometimes. And maybe he comes up with utterly ridiculous ideas that make him seem unintelligent and stupid. However, that does not— Forget about it, I tried. She's not wrong for thinking that way. If I didn't know you, I'd think you're some maniac too."

You would not believe the incredulous look Casimir had on his face. Let me tell you, it was gold. The look on his face would live rent-free in my mind for as long as I live.

"Just because she's your type Dom, doesn't mean you should throw your best friend and may I add, the prince of the kingdom you live in, under the bus," Casimir says dejectedly as he lets out a sigh of defeat.

Dominic chuckles softly before swinging his arm around Casimir's shoulders. "Don't worry, I'm just messing with you. Just like the prank you just pulled on our gullible duckling here."

Prank?

Casimir's eyes instantly widen as he nudges Dominic with his elbow. If looks could kill, Dominic would have already been brutally murdered by Casimir's glare. 

"She's not supposed to know," he grunts irritably at his clueless friend.

"First off, duckling?" I raise an eyebrow at the unanticipated nickname Dominic had just given to me on the spot. 

This has got to be the first and the very last time he will ever call me that. What did I look like to him?

Before Dominic could even explain anything, I shoot Casimir a questioning look. "And what exactly is this prank you've pulled?"

Casimir looks at me innocently, shrugging as he puts both hands up in the air. It was a little too late. Seems like Casimir had forgotten to convey to his oblivious accomplice, that he was not supposed to come clean about the prank. Moreover, Casimir gave it away too seeing how he was unable to look me in the eye.

Gosh, he is one terrible liar.

Knowing fully well that Casimir did not want to give me an answer, it was very clear that his mouth was remaining sealed. Therefore, I decided to go with the next best alternative and I give Dominic a you-owe-me-an-explanation look which thankfully, he understood.

"Well, duckling because ducks are pretty gullible and cute. The nickname suits you well." Dominic clarifies matter-of-factly before continuing. "As for the prank, I know Caz is dumb but not to the extent where he would set someone's house on fire. It was all to mess with you."

I blink, confused while Casimir looks daggers at Dominic for the insult and for leaking the truth.

Catching sight of my perplexed expression, Dominic attempts again to clear up my doubts.

"Everyone knew that there was going to be a fire. The escape route was already planned and shared with everyone beforehand. Well, everyone except you." Dominic continues to further expose the prank and a look of despair smears across Casimir's face. His expression screams hopelessness.

It is too late to turn back now. Dominic had already given away too much for there to be a turning point.

Thank god, Dominic is an airhead. So much for his good looks though. Guess it would have been too unfair to bless him with a functioning brain as well.

Nonetheless, finding out the truth did not make me ecstatic. In fact, the revelation made me feel stupid.

"What about the puppy? If it was a prank, why was Casimir still in the building during the fire?" I try to debunk Dominic's claim.

I cannot deny that a part of me was unwilling to accept the fact that I was fooled.

Dominic opens his mouth, ready to explain but got silenced by Casimir before he could even say a word.

"Just so you don't unintentionally insult me again, I'll explain it myself." He then turns towards me as he reveals the truth himself. "The puppy was a mishap. Ava, the girl from earlier on, carelessly left the puppy behind so I had to go back to save it. The puppy is fine. Everyone is safe. I've already set aside guest rooms in the palace for Ava and her family to stay over for a few days before they move into their new apartment. After all, I am a prince and I cannot risk innocent lives. It was just a harmless prank with the intention to scare you off."

"Oh, I see. That's assuring," I responded unsurely.

I did not know if I should feel relieved or annoyed. On one hand, I am glad that everyone managed to escape unscathed. Had anyone gotten injured, it could have been enough to end my career which had barely even started. On the other hand, I was feeling exasperated by how thorough the prank was thought through. It was so realistic to the extent that I was actually fretful. Though, I had to admit that somewhere in me was a little surprised that Casimir had risked his life by reentering the blazing duplex just to rescue the puppy.

Don't get me wrong. If it had been any other heirs to the throne, I would not have been as astonished since it is expected for a prince to look out for his people. However, it is Casimir Hughes that we are talking about. He is not recognised for being careful or selfless. Rather, he is known for being the infamous reckless teen prince, the heir to the throne that any logical person would not want.

In fact, word spread around like wildfire in Acreria. Though Casimir might be well-liked by people our age, it did not correspond to people's support of his succession to the throne. Many to this day still feel that he is unsuited for the throne. In fact, most remain anxious ever since August Hughes announced less than a month ago that he would be stepping down from his position as king and passing on the throne to his only child in a year's time.

That is also why I came into the picture. If it had not been for the news that Casimir will soon become king, there would not have been a need for a personal bodyguard. It isn't uncommon that there will be attempted assassinations when someone is about to succeed to the throne. However, such news threatens one's life much more than usual. Everyone's eyes are on him now. One wrong move and anyone could turn against him at any moment.

Thus, I had to be around to ensure his safety and also to stop him from doing anything that could further ruin his already-tarnished reputation.

Will he be a good king? That is probably the one question that runs through every citizen's mind.

Despite all that, I cannot help but find it surreal whenever it hits me that Casimir would only be nineteen when he becomes king. That is undeniably a very young age for anyone to start ruling an entire kingdom.

Sometimes you'd actually wonder how he felt about it.

Nevertheless, my impression of Casimir had already been ruined. Regardless of the truth, the existing image I had of Casimir, one where he is absolutely heedless and uncaring, remains indelibly etched in my mind and it is extremely unlikely that it would ever change.

What exactly do I think of him, you may ask? Well, you are in for a treat.

Casimir Hughes, the successor to the throne of Acreria, is one psychotic prince.

Respectfully psychotic.


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