All of them felt a little wary to see her veiled appearance but no one dared show it on their faces. After all, those chosen to be part of the welcoming party were experienced leaders and merchants–their fortunes would have long been ruined if they did not know how to control their real emotions.

Though these people wore polite expressions, their gazes curiously followed the figures of the King and the Queen of Megaris, especially taking note of how gently the red-eyed king was escorting his wife.  What had been engraved in their hearts for the past seventeen years, that fear and those doubts about her would not just disappear so easily overnight.

Her Majesty Queen Seren Ivanov after all was still the same Princess Seren Ilven, the illegitimate daughter of the King, the cursed third princess of this kingdom, said to be a witch and an omen of disaster.

Seren could feel her heart beating faster with each and every step she took down the ship. She didn’t feel this strange when she visited the other port cities, but perhaps this was her own kingdom, her own people, she could not help but feel a mix of emotions. There was nervousness and anticipation, but also unease and a little dissonance as she felt like she was entering a foreign land filled with unknowns.

Before she realized it, the grip of her hand holding onto Drayce’s arm tightened. Drayce rubbed the back of her palm with his thumb to make her feel better.

“Just look at your brother. See how delighted he is to see you,” Drayce whispered to her ear.

Seren lightly nodded, obediently fixing her gaze on her brother who was looking at her with a warm welcoming gaze. She let out a shaky breath, as if trying to untangle her emotions along with the air, and put on a smile.

‘Even if it’s just Brother Cian, it is worth coming to Abetha.’

She felt better seeing her brother. However, this change was not noticed by many since she was wearing a veil. Only those closest to her could see the sparkle in her eyes.  She was pleasantly surprised to see her brother waiting for her arrival and could not wait to tell him about the things she had experienced and learned since they last met.

“Welcome to Abetha, His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen of Megaris,” Cian formally greeted as they came face to face. “Your respectable selves have come a long way to honor my kingdom with your presence. I hope your journey has been enjoyable.”

p-A- n-d-A-n-0-v-e-1、(c)om “Thank you, Prince Cian,” Drayce replied, exchanging some more polite words with the delegation while Seren remained silent at his side, simply smiling at her brother affectionately. Despite her veil, Cian understood her mood and smiled back at her. If it was the old her, she would have run to her brother’s arms right away, but now she was a queen and she needed to maintain a certain image in public.

Of course, Cian also understood that private matters should be set aside for now. At this moment, they were the Crown Prince of Abetha and the Queen of Megaris, not a pair of brother and sister. He treated Seren with the respect deserving of a queen.

After exchanging pleasantries with Drayce, Cian then turned to welcome the representatives of Griven. Though it was unexpected to see two kingdoms casually arriving in a single ship, it only further showed how close of an ally Megaris and Griven were. .

Cian looked at Arlan to greet him. “Welcome to Abetha, Crown Prince of Griven, Prince Arlan.”

“Thank you so much for your warm welcome, Prince Cian,” Arlan replied but Cian’s gaze noticed the strange person next to the prince. At first, he thought it was a woman, but in fact it was an extremely beautiful man with odd silvery hair, wearing a hood that made him look like a suspicious figure.

What kind of subordinate dares stand side by side with royalty?

“This is Yorian, a friend of Drayce and mine as well,” Arlan answered what Cian was going to ask.

“Welcome to Abetha, Mister Yorian.” Despite his strangeness, Cian politely greeted him to welcome him.

“I am honored to see the Queen’s brother. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Prince Cian.” Yorian bowed courteously with a light smile on his lips.

With the exchange of pleasantries finished, Cian escorted the group of guests from the pier towards their ride. Several carriages were arranged for them, with the King and the Queen having one for themselves while Cian and the knights rode on horseback. Drayce accompanied Seren inside the carriage, choosing to sit  next to her.

He caressed her hand. “Are you feeling fine now, my Queen?”

She exhaled through her mouth. As for whether it’s a sigh of relief or not, even she herself had no idea.

“Don’t pay attention to others. You are a Queen and no one will dare openly offend you. If anyone dares, they will see their heads rolling on the ground.”

Seren looked at him, feeling touched to see him acting this protective towards her, but she didn’t want him to harm anyone for her sake. In fact, the people staring at her earlier weren’t as bad as those in the Royal Palace of Abetha. Though there was fear and curiosity, there was no animosity or disgust in their eyes.

“I am fine now. You don’t have to trouble your sword for those unimportant people. They are not worth the attention.”

Drayce didn’t comment and simply caressed her hand holding onto his arm once more. He knew for someone to get the attention of his sword would probably cause some strain between the relationship of Megaris and Abetha, but he would not mind killing anyone who would offend his wife. Remembering his last encounter with the members of the royal court of Abetha, he had a feeling that a few heads would roll down on the ground of the palace on this visit.please visit panda(-)N0ve1.co)m

As they had experienced a long journey, everyone was tired and needed to rest. The royal entourage was guided toward the estate belonging to the territory lord of Baycall, Duke Savaric. Grand arrangements were made for their brief stay at the Sevaric estate. According to Cian, they were merely planning to spend a night in Baycall before leaving for the capital city of Abetha the next day.

After a nice meal and resting for a while, Seren decided to meet her brother. Previously, she met him as the Queen of Megaris, but now, she wished to meet him as his little sister. Seeing how Drayce’s siblings acted with him, especially how well he treated them back, doting on them even, Seren was envious.

She realized that she had hardly gotten any chance to be spoiled by his older brother. This was a realization she had because there was a reference of comparison with her husband and his family members.

Cian had always been busy as the sole male among the direct descendants of the King of Abetha, and the number of times she spent time with her brother in the garden of her tower could be counted on her fingers. Even then, due to her quiet personality, it was mostly Cian entertaining her with his stories. After he was assigned to the Northern Frontier, she thought her brother had forgotten her and she would have truly felt alone if not for Martha.

That day before her wedding when Cian brought her to play outside of the palace was the most precious day she had with him. The memories from that day, she still held dear to her heart.

Her servant had passed her message to Prince Cian that his sister wished to meet him. As if Cian was waiting for this moment, he immediately replied to her message and both were arranged to meet in the garden of the Sevaric estate for tea.

Seren was about to go to the garden when Drayce entered their chamber. The servants happened to have finished preparing her and tactfully left the couple on their own.

He observed his visibly delighted wife. “My Queen is so excited to meet her brother?”

She observed herself in the mirror for the last time to make sure everything was fine. “Should I not be? I also have a sibling, an older brother who cares for me.”

Drayce understood his wife. He didn’t miss the longing in her gaze whenever she saw him with his siblings. “Of course, you should be. I am glad that you got to meet him once again, my Queen.”

Seren walked towards Drayce as she looked into his eyes, taunting., “Also, he is the only person who always calls me by my name, Seren.” She turned to leave.

Drayce understood she had just called him out for not calling her by her name. He looked at his wife who was about to go out the door. “May I  escort the lovely Seren to see her brother?”

Seren acted as if she didn’t hear him but she sensed that her husband followed right at her heels but she pretended not to notice. The servant of the Duke who was in charge of leading her to the garden didn’t know how to react seeing these esteemed guests act like this. As she walked forward within the hallway, the Duke’s servant and her lady-in-waiting were about to run after her but Drayce raised his hand, genturing them to not not follow her.

He caught up with his adorable wife. “Seren, walk slowly. You might trip on the carpet. The skirt of your dress is too long.”

Seren once again acted as if she didn’t hear him and continued walking ahead, holding the long skirt of her dress firmly with her hands.

“Do you know the direction towards the garden, Seren?”

“How about you hold my arm so I can escort you to your brother, hmm, Seren?”

“I say, my Seren is trying to outrun me, but she still walks with grace. As expected of my sweet, lovely Seren.”

Drayce continued talking about various things by calling her by her name but not even once did Seren respond to him.

Behind those two, a single knight was following them, the sole witness to such a sight. Slayer was following them but made sure he maintained a reasonable distance from that couple. He sighed, throwing a pitiful gaze at his friend who was on the way to becoming his wife’s slave…

‘Well, not becoming. He is already his wife’s slave. I must inform the knights to clear the way so others won’t see the Devil King from Megaris acting like a nobody in front of his wife or else gossip would spread to damage his image.’

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