Moreover, she didn't want to diss him in the first place. She was only making things difficult for him because she wanted to hide her true feelings behind her cold front.
As expected, Zach regained his spirits once he heard that Christina was willing to forgive him. He was willing to do anything if it meant that he could earn her forgiveness. He really had wronged her. Not only had he left her on their wedding day, he hadn't even explained himself to her or tried to contact her during all this time.
Just the fact that she was willing to talk to him after all this was Zach's good luck.
"Tell me what I can do to make it up to you then? If it is something I can do, then I will surely not let you down this time."
"We'll see about that. For now I haven't thought about anything that I want. The day we meet again, I will ask you then. Is that okay?" Christina was only pretending to be angry so she hadn't thought of how to answer that question beforehand. Moreover, the only thing she wanted from him was to reciprocate her feelings for him anyway. Therefore, she felt that it was better to be face to face when she made her demand to him.
"Okay then; as you wish. You can ask one thing from me when you decide on what you want." Zach happily agreed to her demand if it meant that he could stop feeling as guilty towards her as before.
There was a long pause during which neither Zach nor Christina said a single word. It was as if each of them was waiting for the other one to initiate the conversation.
Zach was slightly confused as to what to talk about with her. This was the first time he was talking to her of his own volition or without any prior objective in mind. Therefore, he found it slightly hard to grab the initiative. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was afraid that Christina would find his words offensive if he spoke anything.
But when Christina refused to say anything even after a long awkward pause, being a man he finally decided to initiate the conversation despite the risks.
"What have you been doing during this time? Are you looking after your family business still?" Zach mustered courage and threw out the words stuck in his throat.
"Of course not; ever since dad became a Marquis, it is like I have been on a vacation. There are so many people trying to ingratiate themselves to him that there is no need for him to be wary during business transactions. Even the most foolish of the families act straight in front of dad. So, there is no need for me to intervene at all. Dad's enthusiastic and gets most of the work done without any help. He is too excited at the moment to distribute some of his burden. Moreover, the things he does assign to others are mostly through my brother. Ever since I got injured, the whole family is treating me like a porcelain doll that would break with a sudden blow of air. Therefore, I am practically free nowadays despite it being terribly boring."
Zach could feel her boredom from within the earphones. She sounded laid back like a sleepy cat which was quite unlike the impression he had of her.
"It's good that they are asking you to rest. I would have been worried otherwise. Take it easy for the time being even if it is boring." Zach advised her gently while inwardly relieved that her wounds seemed to have healed mostly.
"Stop asking about me. I want to know what you have been up to after leaving Elizabeth city. Was it worth it?"
Christina had waited a long time for his call so it was only natural that she wanted to hear more about Zach instead of telling him all about herself. She believed that it should be an equal exchange.
"The day we said farewell to you was the beginning of our long journey across the state. It is only today that I managed to reach the safety of a city. Believe it or not, this is the first time that I have dared to sleep comfortably on a bed. At first I deliberately avoided the cities or any people that we might have come across on our path. Therefore, the journey that shouldn't have taken this long was stretched beyond the normal. Since it came to a temporary end today, I felt that I should call you and talk to you. But now that I am talking to you, I feel like a complete idiot."
Christina felt as if Zach had thrown a boulder the size of a planet straight on her chest which made her unable to breathe. No matter how hard she tried to suck in the air, her lungs remained unsatisfied. She drew out the worst meaning out of Zach's words and thought that Zach felt like he was wasting his time with her. Her insecurities took the better of her when she was unfocused.
Thankfully, this time she was able to reply in a cold and steady voice.
Zach noticed the change in her voice as she asked him, "Why?"
"I shouldn't have waited this long to call you. Maybe then I wouldn't be feeling this miserable for wasting all this time that I could have spent talking to you."
The more Zach talked to Christina, the more comfortable he felt and he told her about everything he encountered during this time. He told her about Byzantium city and the Windsor family. It was like the dam had burst open and the flood of words came out of his mouth drowning her completely. Of course, Christina didn't interrupt him or find it bothersome. She listened to him patiently albeit with a little excitement in her eyes.
Zach chatted with her until Christina stopped treating him briskly before finally asking her the question that he had been hesitating to ask.
"Luna has been unconscious after the battle. I have tried everything in my possession but there is nothing that can shake her sleep. It is as if she has stopped responding to the outside world. Do you know anything about it? Have your heard of such a thing happening to any other succubus before?"
"I am not very familiar with succubus physiology so I can't answer your question with confidence. But I can ask around for you if you want. Maybe I can find something useful for you." Although Christina's heart was breaking on the inside, she still wanted to help Zach save Luna. She just couldn't let Zach keep worrying about the succubus. Moreover, Luna had ended up in such a situation while trying to save Zach. Therefore, she couldn't be prejudiced against her even if she wanted to.
"Then I will contact you more often to hear more on this topic." Zach seemed full of energy all of a sudden after hearing Christina's reassuring words.
Christina felt slightly dissatisfied with this answer thinking, "Was he not going to contact me more frequently if I didn't agree to provide him with information?"
Of course she didn't ask him the question because she was afraid of the answer she might receive in response. Therefore, she hurriedly changed the topic that was interesting for both of them.
"Do you know what happened to that Prince Kolt from before?"
"Of course not. You might not know this but there isn't much news in the wilderness especially when you avoid all the people in your path." Zach replied in a sarcastic tone even though what he said wasn't true at all. He just wanted to tease Christina.
It was just that the news regarding the royal matters were mostly kept under wraps in order to maintain the royal prestige which was why Zach couldn't get the news even though he dispatched his men to the cities on various occasions to learn any kind of news regarding him.
Christina wanted to shout in indignation but then decided to be the more mature out of the two and gave in to his childish words.
"Then let me tell you. Apparently that Prince acted without the approval or blessing of the royal family and is now being punished according to the rules of the royal family. It is supposed to be quite a strict punishment."
"I see." Zach gave a perfunctory reply as he had already expected it after he didn't find a wanted notice in his name after hurting the spawn of the royal family.
"WHAT? Is that it? You don't seem surprised at all."
"What do you want me to do? I couldn't care less about what happened to him. Luther family had to leave Elizabeth city, Luna is already in this state. So what if he got punished for it or not; nothing's changed."
Christina felt his gloom oozing from his voice.
"The royal family also didn't put in any wanted notice for you and even hopes to have a happy cooperation with you. They probably gave made my father a Marquis in hopes that the royal family would be able to build a connection to you through my family. Still, you can at least rest easy and build what you lost without being cautious of everything like before."
"You're right about not having to be cautious. But I don't intend to cooperate with the royal family ever even if I have to disappoint your father…"
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