Lara POV

The castle was truly mesmerising; a sight I'd never thought I'd have the chance to see, yet here I was, being guided by the royal guard through the long corridors with their ceilings higher than I thought was possible. 

It felt impossible, this whole ordeal. Like I shouldn't be here, gazing around my new surroundings in awe; one side to the left of me exposing the beauty of the view outside, and the other the statues and wonderful paintings that had me staring. 

I was definitely dreaming. 

Today I had found out that all of this wasn't a lie, but rather the truth all along. 

Prince Jungkook was exactly who he said he was, and I was currently being guided by the royal guard to see him. 

Arriving at the castle gates, I was ready to be told to turn back around and leave, and that Prince Jungkook didn't know or had heard of me. I was ready for the disappointment, which was alright, because how could you believe that the random young man and his brother that you met at a festival was truly who they claimed to be? 

Apparently I was very wrong, especially when the guards recognized my name immediately and asked for me to wait a moment as one of them went to inform the prince himself. And now here I am, admiring the surroundings of my potentially new workplace. 

"Lara!" 

My head snapped in the direction of the voice calling my name, my feet coming to a stop and watching a familiar face near me with each step from down the hall. The exact same eyes that stared into my own under the stars the previous night. 

I'm dreaming for sure. 

"I'm so happy to see you here," he spoke with a welcoming smile, coming to a slow stop with his hands held behind his back. 

My heart hammered, suddenly overwhelmed to see him here. I didn't know how to act, or what to do. Do I curtsy? How was I supposed to address him? 

He did tell me to call him by his first name, but that was before I was sure that he was the prince. 

Before I could react, thankfully the guard previously guiding me interrupted, giving the prince a quick and short bow. 

"You may go Jinyoung, I'll take it from here," Jungkook spoke and with another bow, the guard excused himself. 

Now his doe eyes were set on me, studying me curiously with a twinkle in his eye that I thought were due to the stars at night. I was wrong, they had a twinkle of their own, one that solely belonged to him. 

"I'm sorry," I was quick to apologise once alone, flustered. "I-I'm not sure whether to curtsy or not." 

He looked amused. 

"On a normal occasion, you would have to, but I might just let it slide this time." 

My cheeks reddened, nibbling on my bottom lip as I took a mental note to do so next time, only for him to chuckle and momentarily interrupt my thoughts. 

"I'm kidding," he grinned, his eyes cresented, "and like I mentioned before, just call me Jungkook." 

"Are you sure?" I ask hesitantly and he nodded in reassurance. 

"As long as I get to call you Lara." 

This time I smile. 

"You have my permission, Jungkook." 

His smile widened. 

"Well then, let's skip to why you're probably here today, shall we?" I followed his slow pace down the never ending hall. "I'm guessing your presence means that you've accepted my offer?" he raised a brow in my direction and I nodded. 

"I'm glad to hear that. Taking care of the little…tyrant can be exhausting so I'm pleased to know I won't be the one running after him all day long." He spoke with a grin and I can't help but smile. 

From what I had seen Jungho seemed cooperative and shy, so for his brother to be referring to him that way amused me. 

As if having read my mind, he continued. 

"He's a handful, trust me," he gazed at me for a moment before looking ahead. "There's nothing he hasn't done to have his nannies replaced, and eventually we gave up on looking for someone new every week." he sighed near the end, brushing his finger through his dark strands. 

"What makes you think that he'll like me?" I ask, suddenly worried and the prince just chuckled. 

"Lara, I assure you, he already likes you. For the first time, I don't think he'll make a fuss about his new nanny." 

"You sound so sure."

"Because I am," his ebony depths met mine for a moment before slowly trailing down. He then cleared his throat and looked away. 

My heart pounds. 

"The only reason why he's not tangled around me is because he's currently undergoing his classes at this time." He continued, glancing my way momentarily with curved lips "It's the only time I get for myself." 

I let out a smile as we continued our slow pace down the corridor, noticing the guards stationed every hundred feet or so, and some other workers coming and going. 

"I'm guessing your parents, the king and queen, know of me taking up the position?" 

Jungkook nodded. 

"I've already spoken with them and they're looking forward to meeting you."

My breath hitches, eyes widening in disbelief. 

The king and queen want to meet me? Of all people? 

Jungkook seemed to have caught the shock written along my features and grinned. 

"I may have exaggerated the fact that you're the only person Jungho will listen to. But if they ever ask, we were never at the Rose Festival. I can't let them know that we snuck out." 

"Oh," I stare at the floor for a moment and purse my lips. "So what do I say?" 

"I told them that we bumped into you when at the gardens. We always have people coming to visit with tours down there, so it wouldn't be a surprise to have met you." 

"Oh, I see." 

A moment of silence fell between us, the clicking of his boots creating an echo in the hall. 

It was my first time seeing him in his normal attire, and with the white ruffled tunic and black pants he wore, he indeed looked like his title suggested. 

A prince. 

A very, very handsome one too. 

I try not to stare at him for too long. 

“How about I show you around?” 

~~♡~~

The rushing of footsteps drew me away from the conversation I was having with Jungkook, causing the both of us to look over our shoulders and catch sight of the small figure coming our way. 

Jungho came to a halt once I had turned to him, his small fist held in the air, positioned to land a punch onto Jungkook’s leg if he hadn’t come to a stop a foot away. 

The small prince blinked up at me with parted lips, letting his fist fall to his side instead. 

I couldn't contain my amusement and could hear Jungkook chuckling next to me. 

“This is only a glimpse of what I go through every day,” he grinned, his lip curled with victory. “Only when you see Lara you decide to play nice guy now, don’t you?” 

He now hid behind his brother’s leg, peeking up at me.  

“He’s only like this around you,” Jungkook added, looking back at me. I could only grin. “Why don’t you say hi?”

It took a moment for the small prince to do as he was told from behind the figure of his brother who he had found safety behind. He mutters out a shy greeting, one which I return with a smile. 

“So to go back to what I was saying,” Jungkook continues, referring to our conversation before his brother had interrupted. “You don’t have to be here everyday, just the weekdays should be fine. And as you can see, he’s often finished his classes at noon, so you’re not required to be here any earlier.”

I nod in understanding. 

“I can give you his schedule, so that you can have an idea. And if you have the time today, maybe we can go through what a day with Jungho looks like, and what we usually do together.” 

“That would be great,” I reply and Jungkook’s lip curls into the smile that I had now grown familiar with. 

“Well then,” he began, taking a moment to look at his brother still observing us from behind his leg, “with the little tyrant here with us already, why don’t we begin?” 

~~♡~~

THE HEIR HAS REACHED OVER 100 READS 🥺❤❤

Y'ALL KNOW WHAT THAT CALLS FORRRRR

DOUBLE UPDATE!! <3♡