Scarlet's face darkened in that instant. “Are you going to pretend like you don't know me?" Her smile was cynical as if she was ready to tear apart the woman this instant if she dared deny their acquaintance. Laylin parted her lip and pointedly turned to her aunt who looked spooked. “Marquis.” Laylin took a breath to dissuade her but Berilla was more baffled. “Me? Princess, do you think you have met me?” She was even more shocked because ‘The Marquis of Balijour’ was an identity used by several witches and she or any other witch had never gone without the veil on. So it was impossible the Princess had seen her before. Scarlet looked at her shocked and in disbelief, “Do you not remember extorting me when I first bought rations from your guild?” “Ah.” The corner of Berilla’s lip turned up at both the ignorant Princesses who didn’t know the ways of the world and were glaring at her. The Palace sure was a glass greenhouse that limited their brains and thought processes. She could b
“Princess, excuse us for interrupting you.” She barged in unannounced and without a knock. Laylin raised a brow but kept her silence. The maid stepped forward in front of her and eyed the table set in front of her disgust and scrunched her nose at Laylin. “Ehan must be a very easy-going place for uncivilized individuals.” Berilla scoffed, ready to retort, but Laylin raised her hand. The maid saw that and thought she was stopping her to make conflict with maids who work directly under the King. The disturbance could make her lose favor. Her smile widened. “The Princess is a very sensible person.” She turned back and indicated at the trays behind them, “His Majesty has sent you fruits. They are from the far East. Please taste them, the King wishes to know if there is any you particularly fancy. Be sure to express your gratitude later.” She said that, and set them close to the fountain nearby and began clearing away the table with fast hands. ‘Was this maid trying to teach her manne
“The Summer Villa, huh…” It was no secret that the Summer Villa housed the King’s mistress for generations now. Even his uncle’s mistresses once lived there. It was to officially separate the Unofficial Concubines from those who were from noble houses. The purpose was to make political grounds clear and heirs obvious. As such, the mistress never dared cross the invisible lines, nor did their children for that matter. But the fact was that birth rate of beasts except with their chosens is ridiculously miraculous. Even then those kids didn’t survive for long but it was a good precaution. It was the way things were in the Royal Household, especially after the White Wolf was lost in their bloodline. Keeping the birth count limited was necessary. It certainly would be a perfect setting for him. After all, he had no way to let her go any time soon, he might as well set things ahead of time. She was a human, the heirs will probably be half-human, quarter beast, and quarter demon or mayb
There was a commotion amongst the servants as Laylin passed by the halls for the third time in a day. They immediately formed an assembly from the front of the lobby hall to the end of the corridor. “Aishh! They really think you are here to do a round check or something.” The Marquis murmured from behind her. Laylin chuckled, enjoying the comical show they were putting on while murmuring profanities at her. “It’s good to keep them on their toes than being under their foot.” She turned around to show her a smile. “I’m harmless, you know.” Berilla was infusing aura in a spell so their voices were unreachable to the ones who were passing by. “The fruits must really be dropped from heaven, look at you beaming. God! It’s creeping me out… don’t smile at me!” Berilla visibly shuddered and Laylin chuckled, hopping around. It could be true that there was something special about those fruits. She felt like her body was lighter and she had more energy to spare or maybe it was the bright rare
When Ambrose had gone over to their suite, his first observation was that it was dark. His breathing remained steady as he sighed into the night, scattering white huffs of breath into the night. He had thought to stop by her office just to be sure, but chose instead to head directly to the suite they shared. At first it was because she might have chosen not to come here tonight, but knowing her, she most probably decided to stay in the darkness or gazing out of the balcony. Such stubbornness, he couldn’t help but click his tongue in irritation. She made it seem like he had committed an offenses when all of this were just necessary arrangements. He pushed the entrance doors open, and locked it behind him as soon as he entered. The sound of the door’s locks bounced off the walls, echoing in the suite, before dying down and silence reigned once more. He pressed on, headed up to his room, where it was just as dark as the night outside. Not even the lamp was turned on. His room was beyo
“You’re so enchanting, it’s driving me crazy to know you are mine,” he whispered to her. She bit her lips, forcing herself to not make a sound. She just needed to endure it, her racing heart, her overwhelming urge to cry in his arm. She just needed to endure and it will be over soon enough. She wasn’t new to his body but somehow he felt closer than skin deep today. She was desperate and scared and it made her irrationally possessive. It was the fear that her sway will be lost once the new Queen is crowned and there will another woman he will lose himself in... And so she tried to turn away from him, and caught sight of the wall paneling on the side instead. She kept her eyes trained on it as she heard the ruffling of clothes and felt Ambrose’s warm body close to hers. She squeezed her eyes shut whenever he’d brush up against her sensitive spots either intentionally or not. He was baiting her to look. ‘Out of sight, out of mind.' In Ambrose’s eyes, she was absolutely perfect. The
She faintly wondered if she dreamed that musical laugh of his as she drifted into a dreamless sleep. Once Ambrose was content she was fully clean, he tossed the used cloth into the silver basin, before tucking himself behind Laylin, and hugged her back to his chest. It was crystal clear to him that he’d left marks against her smooth skin. He opted out of covering them with a blanket, wanting to admire her body some more as the warmth from the fireplace adequately kept the biting cold away. She was sleeping soundly in his arms, and he couldn’t help but admire the hickeys left on her body. They had been fading since, and he made sure to mark the same spots as before, all hidden under her clothes. She shuddered when a strong gust of wind breezed past them, before snuggling closer into him, letting out a satisfied smile as he tightened his arms around her. Still, she remained asleep. Ambrose continued to pat her, rubbing some friction on her skin whenever she’d shiver, and smiled to h
Her breathing grew ragged, but she held herself back so Ambrose who stepped closer to her can’t see why she was reacting in such a way. She tried to look away from him, but he’d grasped her chin and made her look up, searching her for an answer. He wanted to see if it fazed her. He wanted to see if she cared for the little trinket he had treasured like a stupid boy. Feeling conflicted, she swiftly shut the box and handed it back to him. Ambrose’s eyes narrowed at that action, but he remained silent, not taking it back. “No matter how I see it, it will be well-treasured only if you hand it to your ‘Queen’.” she had spat back at him, holding her chin up high as she glared up at him, “People will ridicule me anyway if I were to go around wearing something extravagant.” she told him, “In the end, it will only catch dust in my cupboard .” Memories of her days in Ehan when she indulged in her appearance every day rushed to her. She had been so happy when just innocently watched birds pla