4 chapters, dedicated to reader "Peaches". Thank you for the supergift. <3<3
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With his mind filled with hopeful thoughts about the possibility of his wife starting to have a real affection for him, Drayce felt as if the fog of sadness he didn't know he had surrounding his heart was slowly being lifted. His shoulders relaxed as he continued to hug her small slender form while breathing in the sweet smell of her hair.
Whatever the reason was, Drayce liked the way his wife was treating him since she woke up.
Once she felt content with the hug, Seren raised her head to look at him. From the gentle curve of her eyes, he could see that she was smiling at him. She seemed happy. "My Queen, would you like to go back to our chamber and continue further?"
Though Seren could not clearly understand the meaning of his words, she had a vague idea based on the glint of his eyes and immediately let him go. Her face was blushing as she looked away. "I think we should visit Grandmother. I want to personally let her know I'm fine."
Drayce no longer pursued the topic. Still, as they walked, a smirk could be seen on his normally cold face. He enjoyed teasing Seren—the way she always reacted to him was quite a sight to see.
The couple reached the garden in no time where they saw the Great Lady talking to her servants. They overheard her instructing them about the new plants they have planted in the hanging garden and telling them which plants they should move over to the greenhouse.
The moment she saw Seren, Great Lady Theodora ceased what she was doing and turned to the newcomers with a wide smile on her lips. She excused the servants and went to hold Seren's hand.
"My dear, how are you feeling now?" the old lady asked and she gently squeezed it. "Why did you leave the bed? Shouldn't you continue resting?" She threw a blaming gaze at Drayce. "Dray, why did you allow her to walk when she should be in bed?"
"I am fine, Grandmother. I wanted to see you." Seren squeezed back the Great Lady's warm hand. "Apologies for worrying you."
"Oh, dear, no. Why are you apologizing? I should be the one to apologize that you had to go through something terrible while you were staying here with me. I failed to protect you," the old lady said with an apologetic tone.
Seren used both of her hands to cup the Great Lady's hand as she comforted her. "Grandmother, please don't feel bad. I am fine and in front of you now."
As he watched his wife and grandmother talk, a servant came to inform him that his guest, Lord Jasper, had arrived at the Crystal Palace as per his orders.
Drayce had been expecting Jasper to arrive, as he had summoned him through Slayer while Seren was unconscious. He left the two women to talk in the garden and went to the drawing-room that had an open balcony attached to the garden.
Inside were his most trusted subordinates, the King's aide and his guardian knight.
The two men stood up from their seats and bowed to Drayce as soon as they saw him enter through the open balcony. "Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Drayce gestured for them to sit down as he took a seat for himself. Slayer was unusually quiet, while Jasper looked agitated.
As soon as Jasper arrived in the royal palace to start his day, he found Slayer waiting for him in his office with the King's immediate summons. From the knight's brief recount, Jasper had been informed about the breach of security within the royal palace. He also learned that while such a terrible incident occurred last night, Slayer, who had been given the role of the Queen's escort, had been unaware of it all.
Jasper kept on glancing at the view outside the balcony, where he could see the Queen talking with the King's grandmother.
"Seems like Her Majesty is fine now," Jasper started while checking on Drayce's expressionless face.
Slayer glanced in the direction of the female royalty outside and felt relieved to see the Queen looking uninjured. As the commander of the royal knights, he was feeling guilty after learning what happened the previous night. He failed to keep his duty and failed to protect the Queen in the absence of the King, his friend.
Draven nodded to what Jasper said. "Nothing to worry about."
"Your Majesty, I am awaiting your orders," Slayer spoke up. "Three brigades of royal knights are ready to be dispatched to search the forest around the Crystal Palace. I will lead the search—"
"No need for it, Slayer. Our knights won't be able to find them," Drayce replied.
"Even if we don't find them, we can look for traces."
Drayce still turned him down. "Those are dangerous people with powers humans can't handle."
"Your Majesty, I chose our elite knights for the search."
"More reasons for them not to go. I don't wish to put them in unnecessary danger. I will take care of it on my own."
"But—"
"Slayer," Drayce pressed, "you can stop blaming yourself. Those are not the ones that can be dealt with by humans. It was not your fault that they sneaked in. I should have been more careful with my wife's protection."
Jasper sighed deeply. "The same thing I have been trying to tell him but this stonehead doesn't want to listen. I bet the only thought in his head now is how to slaughter the enemies. He will only stop feeling guilty after he finds the enemies and kills them."
Slayer didn't deny it as he could not wait to get hands on those who tried to abduct the Queen. He could never forgive them for harming her greatly.
Though Drayce was not blaming him as those were someone he could not deal with, Drayce could not let go of the fact that he failed to fulfil his responsibilities as a knight of the royal family. Drayce had clearly trusted him to protect his wife, and yet he was unable to do so.
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