14 How To Learn To Respect Yourself?

After having the lunch, Evelyn collected the trays and was about to leave the chambers when Regan called her.

"Come back after doing this."

Evelyn's eyes flickered as she thought that the prince had finally decided to assign her some work. She felt relieved to know this and bent her knees as she said respectfully.

"Yes, Your Highness."

However, as she turned to leave she couldn't notice the frown on Regan's forehead who was looking towards her knees.

Evelyn returned soon and saw Regan seated on the bed and checking through the same documents.

"Your Highness…"

She called him out repsectfully as well as eagerly.

The eager her wanted to know what kind of task Regan would assign her. She wanted to show Regan that she was not as useless as he thought of her.

Regan rasied his head to look at her. He then turned to pick something from the bedside table and passed it to Evelyn.

"Go and apply it on your bruises."

Evelyn blinked as she looked at the small bottle in Regan's hands. The bottle in Regan's hands looked like the same bottle that the physician had given to her but …she had that bottle with herself in her bundle when she had come here.

Evelyn thought that Regan might not know about this so she told him

"Your Highness, this slave already had the ointment given by …"

However, she was forced to stop amidst her words when she saw a deep frown on Regan's forehead as he looked at her.

Panicked she lowered her head and looked on the ground trying to come up with something that would calm down his anger.

"Go and apply this."

Regan said again but this time more firmly.

When she still didn't move, the frown on his forehead disappeared and Evelyn heard him say

"You are indeed very difficult to serve. Do you want me to apply this on your bruises? Then come here and …"

Evelyn who heard all this swiftly rasied her head and shook it vigorously. Her eyes were slightly wide and filled with horror.

She immediately stepped forward and took the bottle from Regan's hands. However, when she turned around to leave, she heard him speak again in the same cold voice

"Use the bathroom inside this room only."

Evelyn immediately changed her direction and walked towards the bathroom's door.

Regan looked at the almost running back for a few moments before he lowered his head to look at the documents in his hands again.

Inside the bathroom, Evelyn opened the bottle and she realized that the ointment inside was different from the ointment the physician had given to her.

It smelled completely different from the other ointment.

Evelyn seriously applied the ointment on her wrist, knees and back upto where she could apply.

A few moments later, she stepped out of the bathroom and walked towards Regan who was seated at the same place.

As she walked, Evelyn was surprised.

She felt that the pain she had been feeling before while walking had lessened to a great extent. She looked at the bottle in her hands in a daze and wondered how could it work so fast!

'This must be very precious.'

Evelyn thought silently and when she approached Regan, she kept the bottle on the nearby table.

"Your Highness, this slave is grateful."

She bent her knees as she said these words and Regan couldn't tolerate it any further.

"Did you not say that you were hit on your knees?"

He asked Evelyn in a cold and sharp tone making her almost step back in fear.

"Yes, Your Highness"

"Then why are you bending your knees again and again?"

It took Evelyn a moment to understand what he just said. But when she understood, she felt lack at what to say. Could she choose not to do such a thing just because she had pain in her knees?

Evelyn remembered how once she had fallen down and she had so much pain in her knees. But when she couldn't bend her knees properly in front of one of her previous mistresses, she had been punished to stand in the same position that was so painful for her for the entire night.

She gulped as she asked Regan genuinely

"Is not that the norm for all the slaves and servants?"

When no answer came, she was confused until she saw Regan getting up from the bed and walking towards her.

She stared into his red eyes when he approached her and asked her calmly

"Evelyn, who do you belong to?"

"Your Highness"

Her answer came in almost a whisper as she felt nervous because of how much close they were standing to each other.

Especially when Regan leaned closer, her breath hitched inside her throat. Her eyes widened as she stared into his red eyes while his words fell into his ears.

"Good that you know. Since you belong to me, all the norms that you will follow will be decided by me. And from now on, you are not allowed to bend your knees. Stop referring to yourselves as this slave."

Regan paused for a moment. Perhaps he realised that she was scared and this time, his voice was less cold but firm as he continued

"Evelyn, my people should first learn to respect themselves …before they respect me. So if you want to be one of my people, you need to learn to respect yourself. Do you understand that?"

Learn to respect yourself…

The words sounded so foreign to Evelyn that she took a moment to nod.

She lowered her head as Regan stepped away from her.

"Take the ointment and apply it thrice a day."

She heard Regan speak and raised her head slightly.

As she looked at Regan who was walking back to bed, she had another question inside her mind.

How does one learn to respect himself?

Perhaps this was also something that her new master would teach her.