Dear readers, at the end of chapter 290 some part was missing where Seren helps Drayce. Kindly clear the cache in the app and read it again. It was updated after a few hours of chapter uploading so there might be few readers who must have felt something was missing and could not read it.
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Just as the first rays of sunlight touched her face, Seren woke up and found the place next to her empty. She felt a twinge of sadness as she looked forward to seeing his face first thing in the morning. Since last night was special, she didn’t expect him to leave her alone in bed, but thinking about it again, it was nothing unusual. Drayce leaving early happened all the time, except for a few unusual situations.
Filled with disappointment, she turned her head to look at the window, only to see Drayce in his robe standing there, staring blankly outside. He looked deep in thought. The soft morning light highlighted the high cheekbones and the sharp jaw of his handsome face, reminding Seren that her husband’s appearance was nothing short of a beautiful piece of art. It was a sight she didn’t think she’d get tired of.
However, though they had spent a lot of time together ever since she left Abetha, not even once had she seen Drayce wear a melancholic face like this.
‘What is he thinking about? How long has he been standing there? Did he even sleep?’ Just as she racked her brain trying to come up with answers, Drayce turned his head to look at her and caught her staring.
“How is your sleep, my Queen?” He then slowly walked towards her.
Seren blinked back her daze as she watched his tall form covered by the morning light’s halo. His long black hair was messy, and she briefly recalled how she tangled her fingers into those silky strands last night. Only after he sat at the edge of the bed did she get her wits back. “What were you thinking about, Your Majesty?”
Drayce gave her a questioning look before answering in a somewhat teasing tone, “What could this Majesty be thinking about? Hmm, I wonder… I think I was fondly remembering the scene of my Queen saying my name again and again while I was making her feel good. Shall I assume that my Queen likes to call me by name only then?”
Seren felt like burying herself somewhere but she understood he said it because she didn’t call him by his name. She pulled her blanket up to cover her face and hide herself.
Drayce chuckled, “Are you embarrassed, my Queen?”
Seren did not reply.
“If you continue hiding yourself, I will become tempted to do it again…to make my Queen say my name again and again, even if the sun has risen,” his sweet words carried a tinge of warning that Seren didn’t fail to notice.
She peeked out of the blanket, only her eyes visible while everything below her nose was still covered by the blanket. She looked like an innocent kitten and Drayce didn’t know what to do with her. Something about her precious pair of eyes caused a wide pleased smile to be painted on his lips. He could not help but appreciate how adorable his wife was acting.
Drayce leaned down and pecked on her forehead. “Good morning, my Queen.”
“Good morning…” she replied, neither addressing him as His Majesty nor saying his name. He didn’t want her to call him by his title anymore, and saying his name was only embarrassing for her after Drayce mentioned how she called his name again and again when they were intimate.
“Since my Queen is not ready to come out from that blanket, then I have no other choice but to get inside it.” Drayce lifted the blanket up and accompanied Seren again. Now, Seren could not hide from him. Drayce did not let go of the chance to cuddle his wife.
He scooped her in his embrace and hugged her tightly, resting his chin over her head before closing his eyes. The entire time, he had been restless and worried, but the moment he hugged her and inhaled her sweet scent, all of the worries plaguing his mind seemingly disappeared.
Although he was not saying anything, somehow, Seren could sense what he was feeling at the moment. She herself didn’t know how, but recently, she had started to feel his emotions. It made her wonder if it was because of that soulmate thing they shared due to the flower mark on her head; however, she couldn’t be sure.
“Is there something troubling you, Dray?” she asked.
Hearing the concern in her words. Drayce froze. He felt his heart skip a beat. He didn’t expect her to worry about him, and neither did he expect her to ask it this way????— calling him by his name so lovingly.
He repeated her question in his mind once again????— ‘Is there something troubling you, Dray?’
He wished to imprint it in his mind as he truly felt like she was his wife, like she was someone who truly worried about his well-being and was not saying those words out of courtesy. For the first time, he got that sense that she considered him someone important in her life, not by force but willingly.
“You are not answering me. Are you truly troubled?” she asked once again, seeing him remain silent.
He let go of her and looked at those beautiful eyes which were filled with worry for him. “I am fine, my Queen.”
“But I feel like something is troubling you. I want to ignore it, thinking it’s my imagination, but I can’t stop feeling like this. Besides, you are also not acting like your usual self,” she added.
Drayce stared at her for a while, wondering how to answer. The two of them had many interesting interactions ever since they met, and thus, he knew what his wife was like, perhaps more than she knew herself. Although she was kind, she was never the perceptive kind. In fact, she lacked the experience of dealing with people. She had been learning ever since she left her old life, but she barely started opening herself to him. Why would she show sudden sensitivity to his emotions?
His gaze landed on the flower mark on her forehead. ‘Is this the reason she can sense my feelings? Is this the reason she gave into me and accepted me? The feelings she has for me, are they all because of this flower?’
Heavy sadness covered his heart at the thought. He wanted her acceptance for him to be something out of her own free will. He then looked at her curious eyes again and realized that she was patiently waiting for him to talk.
‘Whatever it is, she is my wife and we will be fine. I don’t care about that flower. I can never let her go away. She is just mine,’ Drayce thought. He put a light smile on his face. “I am a king so there are always many things for me to worry about. But let’s not talk about work. We are still on our wedding bed and we should take some more time to enjoy it.”
Seren noticed the change in his eyes that showed his wicked intentions. He wore a smirk that showed she was in trouble. Just as she thought of getting away from him, she was already turned on her back and Drayce was on top of her.
“Are you trying to run away from me, my Queen?”
Trapped under him, Seren could not move even an inch with her hands pinned on either side of her head. She tried to give an excuse. “It’s morning and the servant will be coming inside anytime soon…”
“With me here, will anyone dare enter without being called?” Drayce countered as his gaze roamed across her face. Her face was covered with a veil, but the previous night he had touched her face and he was now trying to relate it with the shallow impression of the lower half of her face in his memories.
He was not one to care for beauty, but he could not help but say, “You are beautiful, my Queen.”
‘He did not even see my face but he is calling me beautiful?’ she thought.
Drayce had more to say, as if in answer to her thoughts, “No matter what, to me, it is you, my wife, who is the most beautiful.”
Just like how he never cared for beauty, Seren too never cared about appearance, much less expected to hear anyone praise her looks. Moreover, given the scales on her body that she herself never wanted to get rid of, she was sure that everyone must think she is ugly. But this man was different. He found her beautiful, never caring about the scales or how she truly looked.
“Thank you,” was the only thing she could say after being praised by her husband.
His sight stopped at her lips and he asked, “Are your lips still hurting?”
She nodded. “A little.”
Drayce thought of kissing her, but as she said she was hurt, he could not make himself do it. He pecked on her forehead instead. “I hope you will forgive me for hurting you the previous night.”
Now that Drayce had mentioned it, she wanted to ask something that bothered her. “That was not you, right?”
It startled Drayce, but he quickly got back to his senses. “Why do you say so, my Queen? Other than me, no one will dare touch you.”
“I-I just felt like you were different,” she explained hesitantly.
“Whenever you feel I am different, you have to stop me. If you can’t, you have to run away from me,” he said. By the tone of his voice, he obviously placed much importance on this.
“Why?” she asked.
“My Queen, I can not explain everything to you now, but I hope you will do as told.”
Seeing the concern in her eyes, he added, “I do not want you to get hurt.”.
The little romantic atmosphere that was created a moment ago had completely disappeared. There was only tension in the air, as if Drayce was… afraid. He asked again, “Will you, my Queen? Will you promise me?”
“I promise,” she assured.
Drayce let her go and sat on the bed. “I need to leave now. Will you be fine on your own?”
Seren nodded and spoke, “I will not be alone. My servants will be here to help me.”
Drayce got out of bed. “Today, you are officially starting your duties as Queen of Megaris. Prepare to attend the royal court today. After the morning court, I will be granting a private audience to each of the royal delegates from the other kingdoms. You do not need to meet everyone, but as the Queen of Megaris, you will have to at least see off a few guests along with me. Tyra will guide you.”
She nodded again. The door of the chamber opened on its own and Drayce walked out without looking back. Seren watched his retreating form until he disappeared from her sight. Only then did she get back to her senses.
‘He is hiding something.’ She was sure about it.
Afterward, her servants entered the chamber to take care of their queen.
