After having the talk with Esther, Queen Theodora met her husband to confide with him about her thoughts on the matter of their son’s marriage. Both agreed on letting their son marry Esther. They called Prince Theron to inform him of their decision on the condition that he should bring Esther to officially meet them for a meal as the Crown Prince’s lover. Prince Theron could not be happier than this and wished to see Esther as soon as possible.

As soon as his palace duties were done for the day, Prince Theron instructed his knight, “Galien, get my horse ready.”

“Should I send a messenger to tell the Baroness we’re coming for a visit?”

“No need. I wish to surprise her.”

Sir Galien could not help but smile at the excited grin his liege was wearing. It looked silly, and it looked unfamiliar, but it was a welcomed change. He had served the cold-faced prince for years, from the time he was a boy too mature for his age up until he became an adult who buried himself with work. Ever since Esther came into Prince Theron’s life, the knight had seen more emotion and color on that face than ever.

Happy for his prince, he immediately followed his order and accompanied the Crown Prince towards Esther’s residence.

Unknown to them, a guest was already currently being received in Esther’s mansion. It was Lady Tyra who had left the palace grounds early on, as she wished to talk privately with Esther, away from prying eyes.

“Your Eminence.” Lady Tyra bowed as soon as the butler left the room.

Esther was standing by the window of her study, looking at the view outside. Despite hearing the greeting, she did not turn around. The older lady did not speak a word, and merely quietly watched the young lady’s back.

“I am sure something is troubling you, Tyra.”

“Ah.” Lady Tyra found herself snapping back to reality. “Yes, Your Eminence. Today…Today, Her Majesty informed me about you and Prince Theron.”

Still looking at the sky, Esther asked, “Then what do you think, Tyra?”

“I am happy for both of you, Your Eminence. This kingdom is blessed to have you as their next queen.”

Esther turned to look at her, who was still standing near the entrance of the study with her head lowered. “I am sure you have something else to say, Tyra.”

Lady Tyra kept her head lowered. “May I speak openly, Your Eminence?”

“Don’t hesitate,” Esther ordered.

“Your Eminence, being half human, I am bound to age though it is slower compared to humans, allowing me to somehow coexist with them… but Your Eminence is a being with the purest blood among our kind. You have stopped aging upon reaching adulthood more than a hundred years ago. I am concerned…I am concerned about how humans will react to your eternal youth as the years pass by.”

Esther looked at her for a moment.

“Our kind has a spell that allows us to change our appearances. Have you heard of it?”

“Yes, I have, Your Eminence.”

“I simply have to make myself look older slowly. Though it is an illusion that works only on humans, it will be enough.”

“Do you…do you plan to use that spell long term? Every single day of your stay in this human kingdom?”

Esther smiled. “Such is the privilege of the powerful.”

——

Prince Theron and Sir Galien soon reached Esther’s residence.

The servants received them with the best treatment possible, no longer finding the Crown Prince’s arrival odd as they were aware of the relationship between Prince Theron and their master. Although they were yet to hear the news of their marriage, they were already treating the Crown Prince as if he’s the husband of the Baroness.

The butler led the guests towards the drawing room while he ordered one of the servants to let Esther know that the Crown Prince came to visit.

When Prince Theron was about to enter the drawing room, he stopped mid-stride upon seeing Lady Tyra coming downstairs. The older lady was equally startled to see him, but the surprise on her face was brief.

Lady Tyra came to him and bowed. “Greetings, Your Highness.”

Prince Theron accepted it with a light nod and asked, “Did Mother send you here?”

“No, Your Highness. I just came here to meet Baroness Esther as an acquaintance.”

Prince Theron didn’t ask why and allowed her to continue on her way as she appeared to be heading back towards the royal palace. However, instead of following the butler towards the drawing room, Prince Theron directly walked towards the staircase.

The servants around and Sir Galien shared a knowing glance and decided to simply let the prince be. The knight did not follow behind his liege and rested in the drawing room.

Just like last time, Prince Theron found in which room Esther was staying despite not asking anyone where she was. The only difference this time was that Prince Theron knocked on the door before entering, unlike the previous time when he barged into her bedchamber unannounced to surprise her.

“Come in,” he heard her sweet voice from behind the door.

He entered what appeared to be her personal study and saw her standing by the window, staring outside with her back facing him. He walked towards her, and before she could turn around to know who came in, Prince Theron hugged her from the back.

“May I know what my lady likes so much about staring outside? Why look towards the sky? Do any of the cloud shapes tickle your fancy?”

Upon recognizing his voice, her body melted into his arms. “The sky makes me feel peaceful.”

Prince Theron looked at the sky and nodded. “It sure does but…”

“But?” she asked.

“But once we are married, you will probably forget what the sky looks like,” he replied.

“Huh?”

“Because you won’t get many chances to calmly stare at the sky,” he commented.

“Why so?” she asked nonchalantly, trying to guess what was in his mind.

“Because you won’t be able to see anything else but me and my body,” he answered in a low voice that sounded delectably seductive to her ear. “I will keep you busy with me all the time. Though my bedchamber has a nice view of the outside, the window will always have its windows drawn close during the day, as you would be mostly asleep after getting exhausted by me through the night.”

Esther’s body stiffened as covered her  furiously blushing face with her hands, not knowing what to say to this indecent rogue of a man.

Noticing her embarrassment, Prince Theron smirked and gently kissed the side of her neck. “What happened? Dare to share your thoughts with this prince?”

“I-I’m, ugh, nothing. I’m not thinking of anything!”

“Are you sure?”

“There’s really nothing!” she replied as she tried to regain her composure.

When she removed her hands from her face, her expression had regained its usual calm, though a hint of pink remained on her cheeks. She asked to change the topic, “May I know why Your Highness is here?”

“Can’t I come here to see the woman who will be my wife soon?” he asked.

“I don’t mean like that…I…”

“You know the answer. I came here because I missed you,” he said, making her face return to its earlier shade of red. Even the tips of her ears had turned red at this point, and Prince Theron could not help but find his future wife adorable.

He turned her around and made her look into his eyes.

“Did you miss me, Esther?”

“I…”

He pouted. “You didn’t miss me?”

He tried to make his expression look pitiful, but his handsome face was too distracting. Esther only found herself wanting to stand on her toes and kiss those thin lips of his. “Ugh! Stop teasing me!”

Seeing her act shy like this made him want to continue, but he refrained himself from doing so and simply gently kissed her forehead. “All right, my lady. I won’t tease you anymore. The reason why I came is to tell you personally that Father and Mother agreed to our marriage. My heart is broken, however, since it seems like news has already reached you first before I did. Lady Tyra…Well…Never mind, I at least get to see you.”

“I am glad to see you here as well, Your Highness,” she said with a soft smile.

“Shouldn’t you start calling me by my name, Esther?” he asked.

“We are not married yet.”

“We are lovers yet you won’t call me by my name?”

“Your Highness—”

“I would love to hear you call me Theron from this moment onward,” he insisted.

Esther, not being used to calling his name, felt hesitant.

“I am waiting, my lady.”

Esther cleared her throat. As a person with a high status among her kind, she was not originally the kind of person who was shy and timid, but for some odd reasons, this annoying prince managed to bring out that side of her. He always made her heart flutter, and his teasing would cause her to feel embarrassed. It made her feel strange yet delighted, because compared to the more than a century of living spent before she met him, she had never felt as alive as she did with him.

“Theron.”

He smiled. “I didn’t hear it.”

She knew he was just acting like a rogue again, but she did as he asked. “Theron.”

“What?”

“Theron.”

“Hmm, I think adding ‘my’ before my name would massively improve it.”

She slapped his chest and pretended to look angry. Yet she yielded.

“My Theron.”

“Amazing. My name never sounded so good before,” she heard him say while wearing the silliest grin she had ever seen on his face. “Remember, you must call me by my name from now on.”

“I will,” she agreed, “Theron.”

“Such obedience deserves a reward,” he said and gave her a gentle kiss before she could react.

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