LOGINSaying goodbye was the hardest part. I didn’t want to leave my parents. It’s only been a few days since I got them….
I cried. My mother cried. And my father hugged us both, trying to calm us down. I knew he was sad and worried about how things were going to be. I did my best to seem like I had everything under control.Meryl decided to come with me. She packed her things and excitedly got on the servants’ carriage after my father gave his permission.I was a little“Why not?” I frowned, pinning my eyes on him.“Because I simply don’t like it. There’s no need to plant anything in the front garden. It’s beautiful as it is now.” He said flatly, but I could hear the way his voice shifted to a heavy tone suddenly. “But I want to plant roses. This is my home too, right? I have the right to make decisions like these.”“Yes, you do, but not on this one. The garden will stay as it is right now.”“I’m not going to listen to you,” I huffed, turning my face to the other side as I stubbornly glared at the wall. “I will plant roses there. What kind of garden has only green bushes? It’s so plain and bor—”I couldn’t finish the sentence. Cyrus’s fingers clamped around my chin, pressing into my cheeks as he forced me to look at him.Oh man, he looked pissed.I tried to get away from him. I slapped his hand and pulled on it with all my strength, but his grip tightened each time I struggled.“Let me go!” I tried to say but my words came out muffled.“Don’t you da
The maids took me and Meryl to see around the castle after lunch. The castle is bigger than Zariya’s, so it took us some time to explore everything. There are a lot of interesting places and things in the castle. What I liked the most was the library. There were so many books. Books can help me deal with my boredom. The maids showed us the training ground. We didn’t go down there, but we could see the warriors training from the castle. The annoying part was that the guards kept following us around. I don’t know why they’re doing that. I’m in the castle, for god’s sake. I was excited to see the garden, but I felt disappointed when I saw it. There was nothing except trimmed green bushes. “Why aren’t there any flowers?” I asked, and the maids looked at each other. “The king told us not to grow any flowers,” they said, making me raise my brows. Why would he say that? T
I was going to be crowned queen.I nervously bit my lip as I walked up the steps toward the throne. King Cyrus reached for my hand, surprising me. He held it firmly as we continued our way up.He turned to face the crowd gathered in the grand hall. Everyone was there—the noblemen, knights, soldiers, and royals.They were all shifters of different kinds. You couldn’t tell what kind just by looking. Most of them appeared human, except for a few who had slit-like eyes or strange marks scattered across their skin.“Everyone,” Cyrus began, drawing their attention. “We’re going to crown your queen.” Then he turned to me.I took a deep breath as someone walked toward us, carrying a crown on a velvet cushion.The crown was beautiful, with diamonds embedded in it. So pretty and shiny.Cyrus took the crown and held it in front of me. “Swear on the crown that you’ll fulfill your duties as queen.”I nodded. Mother and the r
I hugged myself and sat on one of the cushioned chairs. The thin silk fabric did nothing to keep the cold away.I still couldn’t believe I had been naked in front of the Ice King.How am I supposed to handle his terrible attitude?Lord, give me strength.I waited patiently. I didn’t have any other choice. I couldn’t step out of the room dressed like this and go looking for the maids.All I could do was sit and wait for them to arrive.After some time, I heard a knock. I prayed it was the maids as I walked toward the door.I paused for a moment. “Who is it?” I asked, just to be sure.“My queen, we’re the maids. We apologize for making you wait so long,” came a nervous voice from the other side.I let out a sigh of relief and opened the door.“It’s fine. Come inside,” I said, stepping aside to let them in.The maids gave me grateful smiles as they entered the room.“I need somet
“W-What?!” I shouted once I was finally able to react. My hands shot up to cover my chest and the area below.My hands aren’t enough!I looked around, desperate to find something—anything—to wear. That idiot had tossed the towel somewhere I couldn’t even see.“Look away!” I screamed when Cyrus kept staring at me with that amused look on his face.“Why?” He tilted his head, as if he genuinely didn’t understand.“What do you mean why? I’m naked!” I snapped. With no other choice, I pulled all my hair forward, trying to cover myself as best as I could.It didn’t help much, but it was something.I’m pretty sure I’m red as a tomato right now.What even happened a few minutes ago?Is this guy insane?Who the hell undresses a woman like that?Pervert!He stepped closer, and I instinctively backed away. I wanted to run and find something to wear, but the thought of moving around like t
Saying goodbye was the hardest part. I didn’t want to leave my parents. It’s only been a few days since I got them….I cried. My mother cried. And my father hugged us both, trying to calm us down. I knew he was sad and worried about how things were going to be. I did my best to seem like I had everything under control.Meryl decided to come with me. She packed her things and excitedly got on the servants’ carriage after my father gave his permission.I was a little happy and relieved that she was coming with me. I’d probably feel like a lost child without her.It took us three days to reach Nethilor.We had to camp in the forest for two nights. The ride in the carriage wasn’t comfortable at all, but it was still better than what the maids and servants had to deal with.I felt so bad for Meryl.She told me it would have only taken a day and a half to reach Nethilor if we’d ridden horses, but that wasn’t possible at the mo







