After finishing the royal court session, Drayce left the Grand Palace and headed back to the Queen’s residence so he could eat his midday meal with his wife. After that incident when Seren was almost abducted, he wanted to be around her as much as he could.

Meanwhile, Seren had been resting inside her chamber. She was about to resume her royal duties but Lady Tyra asked her to rest and continue recovery, her paperwork temporarily put away and social activities postponed for a later time. She was starting to feel bored after being put on bed rest, but her mood was instantly lifted when a lady-in-waiting came to inform her that the King would be coming to eat together with her.

She found herself feeling excited to see him even though she was with him in the morning. At the thought of seeing him, she could not help but feel happy and her lips curved into a sweet smile that unfortunately, no one could see. Still, her sparkling purple eyes were a clear reflection of her current mood.

“Your Majesty, may I ask what you are happy about?” one of her personal servants, Eva, asked as she arranged freshly-plucked flowers on one of the vases.

It startled Seren who was standing by the window of her room.

“Happy? Do I look happy?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Eva said with a gentle smile of her own. “Your eyes are showing that you are happy about something. Did you see something you like outside the window?”

Seren cleared her throat awkwardly. “Might be because the weather is nice today.”

Eva also looked outside the window. “Hmm? The weather, though the sky is clear, I think it’s quite windy today. Or rather, it’s getting cold as winter approaches. Do you like cold weather, Your Majesty? I thought you don’t like the cold because you came from the central regions where I heard it’s considerably warmer.”

Seren stared at her servant who was around her age and didn’t know what to say. This servant of hers didn’t seem convinced by her explanation. It’s understandable because Eva was one of the people who knew her choice of thick and warm clothes whenever there was a need to step out of her chamber.

“I…” Seren closed her mouth as she opened it.

“What else could it be, Eva? Her Majesty is happy because His Majesty will be here to join her in her meal,” Marie, who was tidying another vase in the room, could not help but comment.

Seren felt like a thief who was caught red-handed. Eva smiled at her with a side glance.  “Oh, now I get it…”

Seren pouted under her veil. “Are you two teasing me?”

“We dare not, Your Majesty,” Marie immediately said. They both bowed their heads before the Queen, but Seren could see them trying to stifle their giggles.

This made Seren shake her head. Though these two women were lower than her in rank, this kind of casualness between them was something she liked. She wasn’t upset, but it made her feel less embarrassed if they wouldn’t tease her anymore.

Seren cleared her throat. “When will his Majesty arrive here?”

The two servants could clearly see what they said previously was right, but they chose to not point that out.

Just then, the servant outside announced the arrival of the King. The door of the Queen’s chamber opened and Drayce entered inside while Eva and Marie left with their heads lowered.

Seren’s eyes brightened the moment she saw her husband. Drayce walked straight towards her as if he could see nothing else but her.

Drayce only stopped when he was merely a stride away from her. “Were you waiting for me, my Queen?”

She nodded and he asked, “Did I make you wait for long?”

She shook her head and then thought, ‘Why is he asking as if he knows how I feel? Is it not odd to feel like I haven’t seen him for a while even though it’s only been a few hours? I can’t help but long for him each moment, as if… as if I want him next to me all the time. But it’s not possible, right? He is the King, the busiest man in the kingdom…’

Seeing her distracted, he raised his hand to caress her cheek over her veil. “What are you thinking about?”

It pulled her back to her senses. “Ah…I was thinking about…Dusk, yes, Dusk” She was relieved she immediately found a decent answer. It was not a lie either as before he arrived, she was thinking about where their pet had disappeared.

“Dusk?” Drayce asked, a bit startled to have her bring him up.

“I haven’t seen him for a while now so I feel a bit bothered. Last I saw him, I think it was before I left for the Crystal Palace… had it been two days back?” she said while glancing at the window. She looked worried. “I know he’s been roaming freely in the skies all the time, but he never disappeared for this long. He would often come to me for snacks or drop by the tree outside at least once a day. Have you seen him lately, Dray? Is he fine or is he in some kind of trouble?”

There was no way Drayce would let her remain worried and said, “He must be having fun outside.” He pulled out the tiny wooden whistle attached to his waist belt and blew on it. No sound came out, but Drayce put it back since it had served its purpose. “I have summoned him. He will be here soon.”

“Is that whistle something  Dusk can hear?” she asked curiously as she was sure she heard nothing.

“It is.” He held her hand to take her out to the balcony. Seren followed him and asked again, “Is it the kind of whistle that only animals can hear but not humans?”

He nodded. “My Queen sure is observant.”

As they stepped out onto the balcony, a chilly autumn breeze welcomed them as they walked towards the railing. Not long after that, a majestic eagle came flying towards them and landed on that wide stone railing.

“Dusk!” Seren exclaimed happily and hurried to go closer to him. “You really came. Where have you been? Do you know how much I missed you?” She raised her hand and caressed his head.

Dusk rubbed his head against her palm and the two behaved the same as they were before. Nothing changed for Seren as she was not aware of Dusk’s true identity, and neither did anything change for Dusk though he knew he was deceiving Seren. This was his decision; he wouldn’t regret it as long as he could remain close to her.

On the other hand, Drayce stood quietly on the side, looking at his wife who was happy to see their pet. He was sensitive enough to keep the shapeshifter’s secret for him. Drayce said nothing to his own wife and let her remain ignorant. To him, nothing mattered more than her happiness and safety. He knew Aureus would not harm her, thus he chose to be a bystander.

“…Did you miss me?” Seren asked the eagle and he pecked on her delicate palm gently in agreement.

“See, you did miss me but you still didn’t come to see me for days. You don’t even know I was almost abducted.”

Dusk simply tilted his head at her; however, he was observing her to make sure she was fine and was not hurt anywhere. After he left her to Drayce, he didn’t even get to see her properly, much less be able to talk to her. Only in his eagle form could he do it openly.

‘She looks completely fine. Seems like Dray’s powers protected her well.’

“Dray, why are you just standing there? Won’t you pet him? You haven’t seen him too after so many days,” Seren said, unaware that her remark caused the two males to be taken aback.

Without a change in his expression, Drayce walked toward them and then looked at Dusk. He raised his hand and patted the eagle’s head. “You worried her by not showing up.”

Dusk in response rubbed his head against his palm. Such an act made Drayce relieved; it was an endearing habit this eagle had for more than two decades now.

“Don’t do it again,” Drayce said and Dusk pecked on his palm.

Seren was happy to witness their usual way of interaction. “He listens well to whatever you say. I hope he will always listen to me as well.”

‘I listen to everything you say,’ the eagle thought. ‘You are the only one I would do anything for.’

Drayce turned from his wife, who looked a little envious, towards Dusk. “You need to listen to whatever she says. You can disobey me but not her. Understood?”

Dusk pecked on his palm and Seren was amused to see the eagle being so smart and obedient. She chided their pet, “Now that you agreed then you are not allowed to disappear for long. You have to come to see me every day at least once, then whatever it takes or wherever you are.”

Dusk nodded lightly to show he agreed to her request which made her happier.

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