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Fated Eclipse: The Illegitimate Princess And Her Alpha Suitors

Chapter 287: A Most Improper Arrangement · Oct 17, 2026

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Chapter List (452)

Page number / 10

251 Chapter 251: The Unseen Web 2026-10-17
252 Chapter 252: Waking 2026-10-17
253 Chapter 253: The First Official Elimination Ball 2026-10-17
254 Chapter 254: The Popularity Poll 2026-10-17
255 Chapter 255: The Tears That Seemed Endless 2026-10-17
256 Chapter 256: The Duke Who Was An Anchor 2026-10-17
257 Chapter 257: The Second Competition 2026-10-17
258 Chapter 258: The Morning Visitors 2026-10-17
259 Chapter 259: The Problem of Marquess Corvin Hale 2026-10-17
260 Chapter 260: A Meal and a Question 2026-10-17
261 Chapter 261: The Evening Competition 2026-10-17
262 Chapter 262: The Music Competition 2026-10-17
263 Chapter 263: The Unconventional Performances 2026-10-17
264 Chapter 264: The Pirate’s Composition 2026-10-17
265 Chapter 265: The Honest Earl 2026-10-17
266 Chapter 266: The Results 2026-10-17
267 Chapter 267: The Laughter and The Fear 2026-10-17
268 Chapter 268: Secrets Carried Back 2026-10-17
269 Chapter 269: Letters and Loose Tongues 2026-10-17
270 Chapter 270: The Forgotten Corner 2026-10-17
271 Chapter 271: Conversations With The Baron 2026-10-17
272 Chapter 272: The Lesson 2026-10-17
273 Chapter 273: Summons From Jacinta 2026-10-17
274 Chapter 274: The Spawn’s Summons 2026-10-17
275 Chapter 275: The King’s Gaze 2026-10-17
276 Chapter 276: The Truth They Carry 2026-10-17
277 Chapter 277: What They Carry 2026-10-17
278 Chapter 278: The Revenge They Sought 2026-10-17
279 Chapter 279: For Those With Power 2026-10-17
280 Chapter 280: The Gathering 2026-10-17
281 Chapter 281: The Question of Strength 2026-10-17
282 Chapter 282: The Rose and the Wolf 2026-10-17
283 Chapter 283: The Boat Date With Duke Frostmere 2026-10-17
284 Chapter 284: The Library Window And The Shirtless Baron 2026-10-17
285 Chapter 285: A Rather Poor Musician 2026-10-17
286 Chapter 286: The Goblin Sister 2026-10-17
287 Chapter 287: A Most Improper Arrangement 2026-10-17
288 Chapter 288: The Comfort of Silence 2026-10-17
289 Chapter 289: The Scholar’s Explanation 2026-10-17
290 Chapter 290: The Wall Between Us 2026-10-17
291 Chapter 291: The Shadows and the Secrets 2026-10-17
292 Chapter 292: More Than Friends, Best Of Friends? 2026-10-17
293 Chapter 293: The Question That Would Not Be Answered 2026-10-17
294 Chapter 294: The Note and The News 2026-10-17
295 Chapter 295: The Search for Glenda 2026-10-17
296 Chapter 296: The Dance by the Lake 2026-10-17
297 Chapter 297: The Price of Colour Pencils 2026-10-17
298 Chapter 298: The Price He Actually Wanted 2026-10-17
299 Chapter 299: Good Food Is To Be Shared 2026-10-17
300 Chapter 300: Do You Like Me? 2026-10-17

Chapter 286: A Most Improper Arrangement

Lyria’s POV

Duke Valenridge gave me a look, his pale green eyes narrowing slightly, as though he were trying to determine whether I was serious.

”Did you just tell me to stay, Your Highness?” he asked.

I nodded, keeping my gaze steady.

”I d-did,” I said.

Duke Valenridge studied me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he spoke.

”Perhaps you have forgotten the rules of the competition, curious wolf,” he said. ”But no Moon candidate is to be seen with a suitor candidate without a chaperone present.”

I gestured toward my maids at that.

”They c-can serve as one,” I said. ”There are f-four of them. That is m-more than enough. A-and my guard is a-also present.”

He simply stared at me.

I paused, then added, ”A-also, I am d-doing this because I f-feel poorly that I d-disrupted your rest. I will m-make certain you are not d-disturbed further. You may s-stay.”

Duke Valenridge was quiet for a while, and then he sighed.

”Well,” he said.

”Who am I to refuse so wonderful a request from a beautiful woman such as yourself?”

I felt my cheeks warm again.

I had blushed more in these past few days than I had in the whole of my life prior.

”W-where were you r-resting?” I asked him, choosing not to dwell upon the fact that he had called me beautiful. ”Before I c-came?”

He pointed toward a secluded corner of the library, tucked behind a tall bookshelf where the sunlight scarcely reached. It was a dark, shadowed space, cool and entirely unwelcoming.

I frowned at the spot.

Only then did I notice the books stacked there in uneven piles, some open, some closed, all arranged with a familiarity that suggested frequent use.

”D-did you not say you were t-taking a nap?” I asked him.

He nodded.

”I was.”

I gestured toward the corner.

”Then how w-were you taking a nap there?” I asked. ”That does n-not appear to be a p-place where one could c-comfortably sleep.”

He chuckled, the sound low and warm.

”You are not wrong, Your Highness,” he said. ”But I make do.”

He did not elaborate further.

I studied the corner again.

The stone floor looked cold. There was no cushion, no blanket, no chair. Only books and shadows.

For reasons I could not entirely explain, the sight unsettled me.

I had spent many years seeking out forgotten corners of the palace to hide in. I knew what it meant to choose uncomfortable places because one found comfort nowhere else.

”That is n-not ideal,” I said quietly. ”Taking a nap upon a h-hard floor with h-hard books as pillows. That c-cannot be g-good for you.”

I patted the cushioned bench beside me.

”You may t-take your nap here,” I said. ”It is f-far more comfortable.”

He glanced at the bench.

Then he glanced at me.

”You are presently sitting upon it,” he observed.

”I c-can stand.”

He shook his head immediately.

”You are meant to be studying.”

”I c-can stand while s-studying,” I said. ”It is n-not impossible.”

A smile tugged at his lips.

”You would surrender your own comfort for mine?”

I did not answer immediately.

The truth was that he looked exhausted.

And for some reason, I disliked seeing it.

So instead, I simply nodded.

”I am o-offering the spot as an a-apology,” I said. ”For d-disturbing y-your rest. I know how u-unpleasant it is to h-have one’s sleep interrupted. I become rather g-grumpy when it h-happens to me.”

His eyes brightened.

”I would very much like to witness you grumpy someday.”

I made a face at that.

”You w-would n-not.”

”Would I not?”

”N-no. You would r-regret it i-if you d-do.”

”I doubt that.”

I rose from the bench and gestured toward it.

”Take your n-nap, your g-grace,” I said. ”I shall be q-quite fine standing.”

He looked at me for a long moment.

There was something thoughtful in his expression now.

Something softer.

I suddenly found myself wondering what he saw when he looked at me.

But then he nodded.

”Very well,” he said. ”I shall take my nap.”

Relief washed through me.

”But first,” he continued, ”you are not to stand while studying.”

I frowned.

”What d-do you m-mean?”

He gestured toward the bench.

”Sit, curious wolf.”

”If I s-sit, you will not h-have space to lie down.”

”Just listen to me.”

His tone was not commanding.

If anything, it sounded amused.

I looked at him suspiciously.

Then I looked at Elara who merely smiled. That was unhelpful.

Reluctantly, I sat down.

I moved as far to one side as I possibly could, leaving what I believed was a respectable amount of space between us.

Duke Valenridge looked at the distance and laughed quietly.

”You appear to think I am contagious.”

”I d-do not.”

”You certainly sit as though you do.”

I refused to answer him which only caused his amusement to deepen.

Duke Valenridge sat beside me.

The bench dipped slightly beneath his weight.

He adjusted himself then adjusted himself again.

I frowned.

”Are you p-perhaps u-uncomfortable?”

”Yes.”

He shifted once more.

Then, before I could properly process what was happening, he leaned sideways.

And suddenly, his head was in my lap.

My mind ceased functioning for a few seconds.

”W-what are you d-doing?” I asked, my voice rising several octaves higher than I intended.

The reaction in the room was immediate. Debbie turned and she gasped in shock.

Pippa made a sound that I was fairly certain no being ought to make.

Margery choked.

Brayden’s hand returned to his sword and Elara, traitor that she was, simply smiled.

Duke Valenridge, meanwhile, appeared perfectly comfortable.

He closed his eyes.

”You wished for me to rest upon the bench,” he said.

”Upon the b-bench,” I repeated weakly. ”Not upon my l-lap.”

He opened one eye.

”There is no possibility that I shall permit you to stand while studying,” he said. ”And so I took the most agreeable solution available to me.”

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