Elena truly loved James; she did. But as she stood there, watching how he smothered her stepsister with kisses, she was surprised at the fact that she did not feel even an ounce of pain. It was so much so that she stood there, studying the complexities of the way he kissed her; it almost seemed as if he was swallowing her whole face. James had never kissed her like that. The highest he had ever done was to give her a featherlight kiss on her lips, one she doubts she even felt. She supposed she should have seen it coming, the betrayal, that is. Nothing had been going right for her ever since the death of her beloved Queen Mother. And her father, the King, did not waste his time replacing her. She doubts that her father ever loved her mother. As soon as she had reached the age where she could understand her surroundings, She realized that the marriage between her parents was just a farce. Oh, her mother loved her father, but the King never even glanced at her. She had

Elena finally arrived at the entrance of the castle gate. To avoid the guards from seeing her, she sneaked out in the form of a maid. It would have been hard to discern her as she was never treated, especially in the castle, so her clothes were worse than a maid's. Her heart was beating hard when she reached the guards. Fortunately, they didn't suspect anything, so she left the castle without a problem. It was a good thing that not everyone knew her face. They have heard stories about the bastard child, but most haven't seen her or even care to. She spent most of her time in the castle library or her secret passage hideout, listening to the King and his advisors. Thanks to the extensive knowledge she accumulated, she knew following the Forest would lead her to the border between her Kingdom and the Kingdom of Neba. Neba was her mother's homeland. Her mother had always talked about that Kingdom, its scenery, the food, and the culture. To be honest, Elena had always been a

The next day came very quickly. Elena had already prepared the ingredients she would cook for the crowd that day. She was currently bringing out her utensils to set up outside. "Are you ready for today?" Mac asked. "Of course. You?" "Yes. Yes, I am. You know you do not have to be nervous right? I'm right next to you."Mac said calmly. Elena stopped what she was doing to take a good look at him. Despite the calm look on his face, the twitching of his fingers and the way his legs were shaking gave him away. "It looks like that advice was meant for you, don't you think?" She said teasingly. Mac sighed. "I can't help it. So many people already want to come to our restaurant. I took a walk yesterday evening after our showcase, and we were the talk of the whole town." He said, smiling. "Well then, that's good isn't it?" Elena asked. "You have no idea. Enough with the chit-chat. Let go prepare for more customers." He helped her carry her working table to the

The Blood kingdom. Castle of the Blood king... It was a dark room. The curtains were drawn close, and the candles on the side tables were lit. Next to the door on the wall of the room were two swords hung in the form of an 'X.' Farther to the right of the wall was a huge bear's head; its eyes so frightened and dark like it had seen the scariest thing the moment before its death. The room's color was dark blue, but the room's furnishings were blood red. The carpet, bedsheets, pillows, and cushions were all made from very expensive fabric. There was a huge fireplace, and the logs were burning at room temperature. The room ceiling was pale white, with no art or depiction of anything on it. There were no paintings on the wall either. The room was bare, apart from the bear's head and swords, along with the exquisite furnishings. A figure opened the door to the room, entered and closed the door quietly. She moved softly on the red carpet, her bare feet pale against its

The stranger Elena and Forest brought back had been sleeping since they carried him into the restaurant. He did not open his eyes all through the period when they took care of him. His breathing was rapid at some point, coming out in harsh puffs, causing Elena to become worried. Mac helped to remove the man's attire and dressed him in more comfortable clothes. When he was done, Elena took over from Forest and began to wipe off the man's sweat. His breathing eventually became normal, and Elena sighed in relief. The man slept for a long time, and they all surmised that his body required the much-needed rest. So they went about their daily duties as the man slept. Later in the evening, as they were preparing for the public banquet, the man woke up. Forest was the first to find out as he was in his room searching for what to wear. When the strange man woke up, Forest jumped in alarm when he called out to him. Finally recognizing who was talking, Forest reached out to the man and