Dear readers, do read the complete announcement at the end of the chapter.
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In the end, Seren reached the rose garden of the Sevaric Estate with Drayce leading the way for her, as for some odd reason the hallways along the way had been suspiciously lacking any person she could ask directions for. The entire time her husband followed her, he had been trying to coax her and make up for not calling her by her name, but she remained steadfast in ignoring him.
Only she knew she had been smiling secretly at her husbandâs sweet attempts.
When the garden came into view, she found her brother was already waiting for her past the rose hedges, standing near the arrangement of tables and chairs placed on the beautiful green lawn.
âBrother!â she called happily and hurried ahead.
Cian caught sight of her at the same time she did and smiled at her, his gaze doting. Seren had walked several steps forward when she realized Drayce didnât follow her and she stopped to turn around and wait for him to catch up to her steps.
She was puzzled when she didnât see him moving. âWhy did you stop?â
âYou can go ahead,â Drayce replied.
âAre you not coming?â
âYou are meeting your brother after so long. I donât wish to meddle in you twoâs reunion.â
âNo, itâs fineâŠâ
âIf I come to join you, the conversation probably wonât last more than ten minutes before I bring you away. Will you be fine with that?â
She sure didnât want that. âAh, alright. I will go on my own.â
Seren turned around to go towards her brother. Meanwhile, Drayce crossed his arms over his chest, intending to watch her be seated before leaving the pair of siblings to enjoy themselves when he saw something that made him narrow his eyes.
The moment his wife reached her brother, Drayce found his wife jumping into her brotherâs outstretched arms. This caused the gentle smile on his lips to morph into a stiff one. Especially upon hearing Serenâs voice filled with happinessâ
âBrother!â she exclaimed as she tightened her arms around his torso. âI missed you, Brother.â
Though somewhat surprised by her enthusiasm, Cian hugged her back, enjoying this rare moment of his normally quiet little sister openly showing affection. âI missed you as well, Seren.â
It happened that when Drayceâs stiff smile had turned into a frown, a hand patted his shoulder as if to console him.
âDonât tell me you still feel jealous seeing your wife in the arms of her own brother. Donât be so petty.â
Drayce shrugged the hand off his shoulder, his gaze still fixated on his wife who was talking cheerfully with another man, not himself.
âTell me that again when you see your mate jumping in her brotherâs arms, Arlan.â
âMate? Not wife?â Arlan chuckled. âSeems like jealousy is taking over your human side that it unleashed that beast inside.â
Drayce closed his eyes briefly to calm himself, and when he opened them, he turned around to leave. Arlan smirked and followed his friend, only to come face to face with Slayer who looked as cold as usual.
âI thought it was suspicious youâre not shadowing Dray. What kept you busy?â Arlan asked as the three walked together, with Slayer purposely keeping himself a step behind.
âTrying to keep one wife slave away from peopleâs eyes,â the knight replied.
Drayce frowned at this remark. âWhen you are in love, you donât mind being her slave, and doesnât matter what others think. You two will understand what I mean when you yourselves found your other halves.â
âAt least not in your wifeâs home kingdom. You are still a king and how you act affects the image of Megaris. Even if you donât care about strangers, you need to maintain your dignity in front of your in-laws at the very least,â Slayer countered.
âLet them know how capable their daughter is to turn this invincible devil into her slave,â Drayce replied with pride as he continued to walk ahead.
Slayer could only sigh. He was raised as a commoner and normally cared little for courtesy, but he had at least a bottom line. As a knight, he had a duty to preserve the honor of his king but that king was currently being irresponsible.
Arlan chuckled as he patted Slayerâs shoulder to comfort him. âYour liege is totally ruined. Donât waste your breath on him.â
âMakes me wonder if I was in my right mind to agree to be his guardian knight,â Slayer said, which, of course, was meant for Drayce to hear.
The young king gave him a side glance. âDo you want me to relieve you of your post?â
âIf you keep acting this way again openly, I will turn over the transfer request myself,â Slayer said.
âWhy transfer when you can retire? That way you can go manage that piece of land youâve long been neglecting and take care of that estate that you donât even pay attention to. Better yet, accept the marriage offers sent your way and choose a fine lady to help you manage your household.â
âThat estate, you can take back. I never asked for it.â
p
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âI donât mind being one.â
âBoth of you can stop now. My ears are hurting,â Arlan stopped them.
ââ
Meanwhile, the pair of Ilven siblings finally pulled away from each other. Cian glanced in the direction of Drayceâs retreating figure and asked, âSeems like your husband is not pleased to leave you here.â
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Seren followed her brotherâs gaze, and as she watched Drayce disappearing from her line of sight, and smiled. She looked back to her brother. âBrother, I have many interesting stories to tell you this time.â
âTruly? I freed up my entire day to accompany you. I can listen to them all with no worries,â he replied and guided her way to the table overflowing with cakes and pastries. He pulled a chair out for her in a gentlemanly manner and let her sit.
ââŠand you know, Brother, I learned to play the zitherââ
Seren enthusiastically told Cian a play-by-play of things she experienced for the past month, except for the things related to supernatural beings and her abduction. She didnât wish her brother to worry about her. Moreover, these things were hard to believe unless a human had personally experienced dealings with the supernatural world, and it would be better to let Cian remain ignorant of things beyond his control.
The entire time, Cian played the role of a good listener, asking questions here and there, content to simply enjoy tea as she shared things that left a deep impression on her.
âShe has changed.â
The old Seren would never initiate conversation; she would reply when asked a question, but aside from that, their past interactions would mostly be her nodding or shaking her head, or simply staring as if she hated how others could not just read her mind.
But the current SerenâŠshe was a lady overflowing with the energy of youth, finally acting her age, cheerfully telling stories about how she spent her days. Happiness was clearly reflected in her beautiful eyes.
âCould this be her real personality?â
ââŠit was scary on the ship that night because of the storm, but fortunately, we somehow made it out alive and everyone was safe. I hope next time I board a ship, I will never experience going through a storm again. But aside from that, I enjoyed the journey. I never thought I would ever get to see a ship up close, much less ride one.â
âItâs a pity I never got to bring you on board one, but itâs good to know you had fun.â
âYes, I never thought it would be that fun. Thatâs one thing less on the list of things I want to try.â
âHmm? List? What more do you want to try doing?â he asked.
âUmmâŠâ Serenâs eyes seemingly glinted with excitement. âSwordsmanship!â
It wasnât that he was looking down on his sister, but to think his frail sister who would twist an ankle at the slightest mistake would want to try wielding a weapon. âYou want to learn how to use a sword?â
She nodded fervently. âIn Megaris, everyone, regardless of gender, seems to know how to use a sword. Even the skills of the previous queens were either fit for knighthood or had earned them military merits. I know itâs too late for me to start, but I want to learn a few defensive moves so I can at least protect myself and not be a burden to others around me.â
âYou should definitely learn then, but promise to not overexert yourself during training. Since your body is not trained, you will be easily prone to injuries. However, as long as you are determined to learn, I believe you will be good with the sword as well.â
âI will surprise Dray once again,â she remarked with a cheer.
Cian noticed that for every two or three of Serenâs sentences, he heard her add the name of the King of Megarisâand his sister hadnât seemed to realize this yet.
He smiled lightly, covering it behind a teacup, and asked, âHow does King Drayce treat you? Is he treating you better than when you just got married?â
âDray? More than better. He treats me the best.â Her purple eyes brightened up as if she found an interesting topic to talk about. âHe always listens to everything I say. Even if I trouble him or annoy him, he puts up with me. He lets me do whatever I want and never stops me, and you know, Brother, if something out of place happens to me, he is the first to fuss around me to check if Iâm fine.â She giggled a little. âSometimes, I feel like he is my nanny.â
Cian laughed a little as well. âThatâs good to know. I am glad to see both of you are happy together.â
âHmm, we are.â
The sky had started to turn dark by the time the Ilven siblings finished their talk. For the course of the day, they didnât just stay in the garden to have tea. They also had a light meal together, and afterwards, they strolled around the garden before heading to the nearby orchard within the Selve Estate.
âHow are your feet? Do you wish to go back to your chamber and rest?â Cian asked.
Seren looked at the sky and nodded, âItâs late. I guess we should head back.â
âLet me escort you then.â
Cian took his sister back to where she was staying, and after leaving her with her servants, only then did Cian withdraw from her chamber.
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A/N- A surprise Art gift for the readers to view in advance.
1)Aureus and his mate couple art.
2)Arlan and His mate couple art.
3)Slayer and His woman couple art.
Q- How to get access to the Art?
A- You can see them in private channels of discord meant for the readers who are eligible for it. ELIGIBILITY is the gifts for the second novel.
1)Dragon gift- Aureus and His mate art.
2)Supergifts- Includes all three arts and any other arts related to the novel made afterward.
All the art will be available in January but you can get a glimpse of Aureus and his mateâs art at this moment if you are eligible.
Discord link- https://discord.gg/FeBvNrBbkn
When you arrive at the server, do let me or the admin know the reason.
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