로그인The carriage moved steadily along the stone, the faint sound of wheels grinding against gravel filling the silence that lingered inside. It was still early, and the skies remained painted in soft shades of gray and gold while the cold morning air slipped through the small gap near the carriage window.Yet despite the peaceful scenery outside, the atmosphere inside was anything but peaceful. I shifted slightly against Lucretius, trying not to smile too obviously as I felt Enoch's gaze burning straight through us from the opposite seat.My older brother looked one inconvenience away from throwing Lucretius out of the moving carriage himself.Unfortunately for him—he couldn't do much anymore.Not after yesterday.Not after the truth.Not after realizing that separating our chambers apparently wasn't enough to stop Lucretius from climbing through balconies in the middle of the night.A faint smile threatened to tug at my lips at the memory.Beside me, Lucretius looked entirely unbothere
I sank deeper into the lukewarm water, letting it cover my shoulders as I leaned back against the edge of the tub, my eyes falling shut for a brief moment. Finally... No shouting. No tension. No questions I couldn't answer. But even then, my mind didn't stop wandering right back at her."Luna Queen Rachelle..." I murmured.It was as if saying it too loudly would somehow make everything more real than it already was. My fingers moved slowly beneath the water, tracing idle patterns I didn't even register. She had always been someone I looked up to, even before all of this. She was my inspiration back when I was still Euphyllia Ivara Ruinart. My idol was the first female soldier to join the royal military, rising through the ranks before becoming our Luna Queen.I remembered interacting with her and thanking her for existing. That if she didn't, I wouldn't be in a tactical keeper position.A faint breath escaped me. "Why you, Your Majesty...?" I muttered, my brows drawing together sli
"So what happens if she dies again?" Enoch leaned back, staring at him now with a different kind of intensity. It wasn't just anger or disbelief, but it was something more dangerous.He didn't look at me, and he was carefully watching Lucretius. "Do you follow her?" he continued. "Do you end your life too... just to find her again?"I turned my head toward Lucretius because I needed to hear it from him. "Yes," Lucretius replied, without hesitation. I couldn't even see the doubt lingering in his freckled hazel eyes."I see..." But Enoch didn't stop there. "Then explain this," he added, leaning forward, his eyes sharpening. "When she died three years ago... I remember the rumors. You almost left the royal military. You disappeared for days. And I heard you almost ended your life."I turned to Lucretius fully now because I had been confirmed to him that they happened after my death. "How did it not end you?" Enoch asked quietly. "If you were so desperate to follow her... why didn't yo
We told Enoch not everything in detail. Not every life, not every death, not every memory that still lingered like scars we couldn't erase, but enough for him to understand the shape of it.Or at least... we tried. Lucretius was still sitting beside me, his presence steady, his voice occasionally filling in the parts I couldn't bring myself to say. We spoke as we had practised it. Like... we had done this before. Perhaps we had. In another life. In another attempt. And that alone made everything feel more surreal.Enoch didn't interrupt us at first. He just listened, his brows gradually furrowing as he crossed his arms tightly over his chest. His gaze shifted between the two of us, as if searching for the slightest inconsistency in our words and deciding whether we had completely lost our minds.Or if we were trying to make him lose his. When we finished, we were enveloped with heavy and long silence. Lucretius and I were anxious, waiting for Enoch to say something."You expect
The conversation that followed was anything but simple. We told him enough.About the assassination...About the reason Lucretius had taken me away from the capital without informing anyone...About the mate bond...About how everything had happened faster than either of us had planned. Not everything. At least... not yet.But enough for Enoch to sit there in silence, his elbows resting on his knees, his fingers clasped tightly together as if he was stopping himself from standing again and throwing another punch.The parlor room felt smaller than it should have. Even the royal soldiers who stood outside the door had gone still, as if they could feel the weight pressing against the walls.I sat beside Lucretius, though not as close as earlier. Not because I wanted distance, but because Enoch had already glared at us three times whenever our shoulders brushed.Ridiculous.We were already married. But apparently, that didn't matter to him.Enoch was silent for a long while. His gaze wa
By the time we were escorted inside the manor and into the parlor room, the chaos from earlier had already settled at least on the surface.According to Enoch."We'll talk properly," he had said, his voice clipped and restrained, as if forcing himself to hold back everything he wanted to do. "Like adults."I rolled my eyes just remembering it.Adults.Right.Because punching someone twice in front of royal soldiers was definitely how adults behaved.A quiet huff escaped me as I sank into the cushioned chair, crossing my arms loosely over my chest.The room felt too small as if everything that had happened outside was being purposely buried under this forced sense of civility.But it didn't work.Not for me.Not when I could still feel it through the bond.My gaze flickered to Lucretius, which was only this time, he wasn't standing. He was seated beside me on the couch, his posture still straight and composed as if nothing had happened at all.He looked like he hadn't just been punched
"My, my, the newlywed lovebirds have finally shown themselves."That was Romina's statement as soon as Lucretius and I showed up in the dining hall with our hands intertwined. This wasn't my idea, but Lucretius's. It was right after the maids had finished their business with me that he demanded I s
When the dinner was over and the servants cleared the last of the plates, Romina was still giggling over Lucretius's shameless remarks to me until my face had gone red before she and Lorenzo had finally excused themselves for the night. Then, Redmund and Lilith followed soon after.The stiff smile
"Why are we frowning tonight, Euphyllia?"That was Lucretius' question to me when he was resting in the corner after a long night's chatter with his guests. I even bestowed him a glass of champagne before settling with him in the corner.My blood was boiling from his question because until now, the
Lucretius' smile widened as soon as I came out, his expression pressing a pride on it the moment I was in front of him.For a moment, I forgot how to breathe when his striking hazel eyes traced the gown he had tailored for me as he offered his hand to me."Beautiful," he murmured, breathless. I in







