Seeing his wife welcoming him with a smile, it felt like all the problems weighing his mind disappeared. His shoulders, which were initially stiff after experiencing the attack, inevitably relaxed. “May I ask what’s the occasion that my wife is smiling at me so pleasantly?”

Esther slowly walked towards him to help him remove his outer robe. “Do I need any other reason when my husband is in front of me?”

The smile on his lips widened as he stood facing her. He gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. “Well, I can’t say I don’t feel the same. It’s such a bliss to have you with me. Just the sight of you makes me forget everything and all the tiredness disappears somewhere.”

He caressed her cheek with his hand, and she placed her hand to cup the back of his hand. “How was your day? Is everything alright?”

King Theron shrugged. He didn’t wish to tell her about the assassination incident, not wanting to worry her with his safety. “It’s nothing much, just busy with kingdom matters. It is normal for people to dump work on a new king, trying to take advantage of his reign to propose new changes and policies for the kingdom. But I do not wish to talk about work with you. I can finally see you after a long tiring day. Let’s not waste time on boring matters.”

Esther simply agreed, and King Theron let out a small sigh of relief. Little did he know that his queen was the one who protected him tonight.

As they held hands, King Theron saw her eyeing the bracelet on his wrist. “Don’t worry, as you had told me, I never removed it from my wrist,” he said, knowing how much she had insisted in the past to never remove it.

“You better not or I’ll be upset with you,” she replied and said in her mind, ‘I will never let anyone harm you. That wizard today, he got what he deserved. Whoever dares to harm you, I will make sure they will vanish from the face of this continent.’

“What are you thinking so hard about?” he asked.

“Ah, I am going to see Mother and Father tomorrow,” she informed as they walked towards the bed.

“That’s good. They will be happy to have you visit them,” he said. “I would have accompanied you but….”

“You are the King. Of all people, they understand best how you have important matters to attend to,” she said, but deep inside, she was glad that her husband was troubled with palace work. She didn’t wish him to come with her as she needed to discuss an important matter with the previous king and the queen.

‘The issue of having direct royal descendants.’

The Ivanov Family of Megaris, no, even the royal families from other kingdoms also had the tradition of passing the throne to their most competent direct heir, a prince who is the child of the King. Some would even go as far as taking a number of concubines to ensure that there would be many royal children who could inherit the crown in the future.

‘All I know is I want you, nobody else,’ Esther remembered his words when he proposed to her. ‘I want you to be the only companion I will have in my life.’

Esther could not help but feel guilt. This man in front of her, she could never think about hurting him, but soon, she would have to ask him for something that would surely hurt him. He would surely hate it, and he might even be angered, but she knew it was for his own good—for his safety as well as for the sake of this kingdom who he vowed to protect.

The next day, Esther crossed the lake and reached the Crystal Palace where the servant welcomed her and guided her way. When she entered the drawing room, she found her husband’s parents waiting for her.

“Welcome, my dear.” the old queen’s face bloomed at the sight of her daughter-in-law.

Esther  greeted her in-laws with a smile of her own.

“How are you feeling today, Father?” Esther asked as the old king was still dealing with the health issues though he seemed to look better than her last visit.

As he was no longer troubled with palace matters, King Esteban looked visibly relaxed, as if he had put down great weight from his aging shoulders. “I am better than ever after getting to spend my days with my wife.” Though he was still not well, his eyes shone with happiness, as if he was content with the current situation and wished nothing more but to accompany his wife till the day he breathed his last.

Queen Theodora rolled her eyes at her husband. “Then you should get better faster. Didn’t you say you want to travel with me around the kingdom?”

“Well, it seems I need to taste your cooking once more. That will definitely make my health improve.”

“Oh, Esteban. You and your sweet mouth…”

“No, you are the sweet one.”

Esther smiled at the bickering old couple. Despite having spent so much time together, they still obviously love each other. The old king might have concubines, but he only cherished Queen Theodora as his wife.

‘Will Theron be the same after he gets concubines?’

Seeing her dazed, her mother-in-law asked, “Why are you still standing, dear? Have a seat. Just in time, imported flower tea from the west was delivered yesterday. It smells nice, and I thought you’d like it too.”

Hearing Queen Theodora order her servants to prepare tea, it pulled her back to her senses and she sat in the chair opposite the elderly couple.

The servants soon served refreshments and freshly brewed tea. Once they left the royals on their own, Esther quietly took a sip of the flower tea, but found herself too nervous to taste it. “Father, Mother, I wish to talk about something important with both of you.”

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