The King's Heiress

2: An Angel

"It has been five years," he said as he sighed and started walking toward the Dean's office, where he sat and waited for the Dean. He was accompanied by one of the professors there. Soon, a knock took his attention. A young professor entered; she looked like she was in her early 40s, petite but tall enough, emphasized by her small heels.

"Good day, sir. I just brought you some refreshments," she greeted him as she placed a glass of juice on the center table in front of him. Then, she exited the room, leaving him looking around with a face full of longing. Another knock caught his attention, and soon an old man, old enough to be his grandfather, entered with a big smile, greeting him.

"It's the greatest pleasure to have you here. Thank you for accepting our invitation despite your busy schedule," the old man said as he walked toward him and shook his hand.

"It is a great honor for me to be here," he replied, taking the old man's hand in a handshake.

After some time catching up with each other, he soon needed to go where he was expected. Bidding goodbye to the old man, he left the room.

After a while, in one of the classrooms in the business department, a group of students was already in the room, waiting for their professor. Their voices filled the hallway—some talking, some singing, some discussing something, and even a group harmonizing together.

"Ahem..." A clearing throat caught everyone's attention, and as soon as they realized who it was, they quieted down, knowing it was already their professor. They hurried to their seats and listened attentively.

"Good afternoon, everyone," the old man greeted as he stood before them all.

"Today, a guest will be joining you to share some knowledge and his own tactics in business management. You may ask him anything you want, as long as it is business-related. So, be good to him," the old man said and motioned for him to enter, which he did voluntarily.

As soon as he walked in, everyone's eyes followed him, their jaws dropping.

He stood in the middle and swept his gaze over the room.

"Good day, everyone. I'm pleased to be here today to share my knowledge with you. My name is Carlisle Anderson," he said, scanning the room until his gaze dropped to his left, where a girl was busy doing something on her own, completely unbothered by his entrance—unlike everyone else. He tilted his head, trying not to mind it.

"I guess they're ready for you," the old man said as he patted Carlisle's shoulder, to which he nodded.

As soon as the professor exited the classroom, Carlisle began his discussion about profit. Everyone listened attentively, which made him somewhat grateful. As he paced the room while explaining, he noticed their jaws had yet to return to normal. He couldn't help but drop his gaze to that one girl in the corner.

She had yet to lift her head, too concentrated on writing. He wasn't sure why, but he felt certain she was taking down notes. He found it amusing how engrossed she was, analyzing things on her own.

After a few moments, he finished his lecture. Like any other lecturer, he opened the floor for questions or further elaboration. Out of everyone in the room, only one eager hand shot into the air.

It made him laugh to himself—she looked like an elementary school kid who had just found the answer in her notes. She raised her hand with all the eagerness she could muster. Though he could only see her side profile, he could tell she was taking this seriously. Her lips twitched and moved as if she were murmuring incantations like a little witch. He chuckled at the thought before pointing at her.

"Yes, miss?" he asked, as he didn’t know her name.

Now I get the chance to see what kind of face she's been hiding, along with her name, without making it obvious or desperate, he thought to himself as he saw her seatmate nudging her elbow.

What do you see down there that your eyes can't leave, even for a second? he wondered. But soon, he was blown away—literally, his mind went blank. He forgot everything he had been doing the moment she stood up and faced him.

He heard her voice—it had a pleasant ring to it—as she began her question.

"What is..." That was all he heard before falling into a daze.

He nodded his head and thought, Yeah, indeed. What… what are you doing here? A fallen angel, it seems.

There she stood—an angel. Fair white skin with faint reddish spots, short black hair styled into a bob that reached her jawline, perfectly framing her flawless face. It was as if she had been painted on a canvas by a famous artist—everything proportioned perfectly. She was the most magnificent painting he had ever seen.

Her eyebrows arched perfectly above her large, chocolate-brown eyes. Her small, pointed nose led down to her soft pink lips, which she had been biting the entire time. Her cheeks were flushed red, kissed by the sunlight.

He took his time. He had never stared at anything for this long—not even business proposals or plans. He knew he had stared too much, but he couldn’t stop. Not until a waving hand appeared in front of his eyes, snapping him back to reality.

He wasn’t sure how long he had been staring, but it was long enough for the students to start whispering among themselves.

Turning his gaze back to her, he cleared his throat. "I beg your pardon, miss. Could you please repeat your question?" he asked, a bit embarrassed.

The crowd erupted into laughter, some teasing him. "Sir, I think you might have just dropped your pants!" someone joked, causing an uproar.

He smirked and raised his hand to silence them. "Okay, enough. I haven’t dropped them in 22 years, and I might never. She just looks like someone I know," he excused himself, though even he knew how lame that sounded. He chuckled along with them before signaling for them to settle down.

Turning back to her, he said, "I once again beg your pardon, Miss...?"

"Kei Miller, and my question was..." she began.

He couldn't help but repeat her name in his mind. Even her name sounded angelic.

As he listened to her question, he was surprised—it wasn’t from his lecture but something deeper, something she genuinely wanted to know. He smiled at her eagerness, admiring her dedication. A hardworking girl, he thought, a smile tugging at his lips.

He answered her question, watching as she eagerly nodded while jotting down notes. Cute, he thought as she remained so focused.

Soon, their time together came to an end. He had to bid them farewell—but most of all, he had to bid her farewell.

"Goodbye..." he said, locking eyes with her before sweeping his gaze across the room to finish his sentence. "...everyone. I hope you learned a lot, and I hope I was of help to you. Good luck with the unknown future." He waved at them and exited the room.