The Cursed King

Loriel and Elise engaged in polite conversation and talked until their meal was brought to them. Loriel explained a little bit about the company which he thought would be a good place for Elise to apply for a job at.

She was grateful that Loriel seemed to care so much about her and went to great lengths to help her get a job and even buy clothes for work.

Deep inside, Elise vowed to pay back this man's kindness once she could get back on her feet.

***

DING

A message entered Loriel's phone. He didn't want to be rude and took out his phone while he was eating and chatting with Elise. So, he turned it into silent mode.

He could guess it might be ping from Horatio, telling him that the butler had bought a phone for Elise as Loriel asked before they left the penthouse this morning.

There were some things that Loriel noticed from when he first met Elise, and one of them was the lack of a phone. It was something essential in one's daily schedule in this modern times.

So, while the two of them were out… he had one delivered to their penthouse. As usual, Horatio was very handy in taking care of such tasks. He was almost as efficient as the real-life Horatio who worked for Loriel in his palace fifteen centuries ago when he was still the monarch of Summeria.

He already planned an excuse for the phone. Elise wouldn't be able to say no.

He would say something like his mobile service provider's plan always sent him a new phone every six months and he forgot to cancel it. It was a legitimate excuse that was actually believable.

Loriel wished to keep in touch with Elise during the moments that he wasn't at her side. He couldn't possibly stalk her wherever she went. She would freak out.

It would be best to make himself available whenever Elise needed him. He would be just at the tip of her finger.

"How's the food?" Loriel asked. The man sipped his drink and rested it on the oak table and watched Elise eating her meal.

"It's good." Elise smiled brightly at him. "Not only is the environment relaxing, but the food is great."

"You think the food is great here?" Loriel raised a brow in genuine curiosity.

Elise tilted her head, but then eventually nodded. "Yes?"

"Hmm, you should wait for me to cook us dinner later," Loriel said with a chuckle. 

"You're going to cook?" Elise looked at the man with her mouth agape. So… this handsome and kind man could cook too? How perfect could he be?

"Why the face?" Loriel teased her playfully. "Do you not believe that I can really cook?"

No… said Elise in her heart. She couldn't think Loriel could be any more perfect. He was like the ultimate husband.

Wait.. what was I thinking just now? Elise shook her head to get rid of the thought she was having just now.

How could she think of Loriel that way? They barely knew each other! Yes, he had been helping her, he was really kind, and Elise didn't sense any danger coming from him. But that didn't mean she could think of him… like that.

"No… I was thinking… it will be nice to try your cooking," said Elise, smiling sheepishly. "Can I help?"

Loriel nodded. "Sure. Oh, by the way, I'm inviting someone over for dinner, but I'll be the one preparing it mostly since I want to showcase my cooking skills. The person who's coming is someone I'd like you to meet since he'll be the one who'll decide to hire you."

Elise's eyes widened. "A-Ah, I see."

"Don't worry about it, think of it as something close to just mere formality," Loriel reassured her. "My old friend is really looking into hiring someone, and I think you'll be the perfect one for the job."

"That makes me consider if it was a great choice to buy clothes already."

"I'm sure you can start right away by Monday," Loriel told her. "The man really needs someone in this position and I don't think there'll be any delays. We made a good choice to buy now. You also got two additional gift cards which you can use to buy anything you need, should you think the clothes you got are not enough."

"Yeah… it's amazing. Ten thousand dollars worth of clothes could get me so far." Elise furrowed her brows and looked at Loriel intently. "You know what, you could actually cash out the points and gift cards for money. You need it more than I do. Soon, I will work and get an income."

"Ah, well… I am not that poor to sell my points to people. Besides, I don't like a hassle," said Loriel. "Just enjoy it and pay it forward. I am sure you can help more people if you pay forward the kindness you have received."

"Mm… you are right," said Elise finally.

"You should have bought more clothes, but it seems like you were in a rush," Loriel said.

Elise gazed down at the table and rubbed the back of her neck. 

"Sorry about that, I'm not too comfortable sharing it. I don't want you to get dragged into my problems," Elise said. "I didn't want to stay there longer because I wanted to avoid someone who will bring me trouble."

"I see… Well, if you ever need to talk about it with someone, I'm here. I can lend an ear to you." Loriel offered with a kind smile. "Most of my clients tell me that I'm a good listener."

That was obviously another lie. Loriel hated listening to people complain about their lives. He was not fond of people in the first place. So… yeah.

Elise smiled faintly to hear his kind offer. "Thank you, Loriel. I'll make sure to consider that."

The incident earlier was something that still stuck heavily in his mind. Loriel assumed it was something related to Elise's adoptive family now that he was aware of her past. 

Someone sheltered didn't have much opportunity to interact with other people, after all, so the ones who she must have gotten in contact with were only her adoptive family's relatives.

Now that Loriel was here, he'd make sure not to have anyone bother her.