She gently caressed his hair.

“...Ashen. L-look at me.”

When he didn’t move, Cessilia sighed and pulled his hair a little.

“L-look at me, I s-said.”

Despite her stutter, her imperious tone was clear. He sighed and leaned on his arms to face her, still sullen. His dark eyes looked full of doubt, and even a hint of fear. Cessilia smiled at him and gave a quick peck on his lips.

“Ashen,” she muttered, “you’re n-not like your father. You t-took good c-care of your mom and b-brothers, all you c-could. You c-cared about so many of your p-people today t-too. You always d-do your best for others’ sake. You really are a k-kind man. You d-don’t even realize how k-kind and selfless you are. ...Plus, d-do you really think I would let you d-do anything to our children? If you d-don’t trust yourself, at least, t-trust me. I am n-not a weak woman.”

He finally broke into a faint smile. Ashen gave her back that quick peck, and tilted his head.

“...Right. I underestimated a dragon mom. Your children will be so lucky to have you...”

“Our ch-children. I d-don’t plan to have a b-baby with anyone else b-but you.”

“Still,” he groaned, “I should have... had more restraint, until we talked properly about it.”

“It’s alright. We just d-did.”

Her confident smile was enough for him. He chuckled, giving in to her confidence. He leaned forward, and they resumed their kissing, caressing each other for a while.

Suddenly, a knock was heard on the door.

“Your Majesty,” said a female voice. “They are waiting for you for the second banquet...”

Ashen groaned.

“Damn it,” he grumbled.

“Let’s g-go.”

He nodded and helped Cessilia get out of the bed. While Ashen went to the door to tell the servant to announce his arrival, Cessilia walked to the little basin to clean herself up. She felt like the remnants of what they had just done could be seen on her, even if it was irrational. She did her best to clean herself up in a short time, putting her dress back down and combing her curls with her fingers. Because she didn’t have any hair ornaments this time, she braided her hair and quickly twisted it into a low bun, some curls naturally falling out nicely. The result was simple but very elegant, and when she checked in the mirror, Cessilia found her cheeks didn’t need any blush nor her lips any more pink...

“Cessilia.”

Ashen called out to her, and she came to take his hand, her heart thumping. It was strange that after all they had already done together, even the simplest gestures of affection made her heart flutter... After letting the servant in to put out the fire, Ashen and Cessilia walked out of the room, hand in hand.

He guided her throughout the castle but, as they got closer to the location of the second banquet, Cessilia noticed he was frowning, lost in his thoughts.

“Ashen?”

“I’m just thinking... Next time, I have to be more careful. I might really get killed before I get to meet our child, you know.”

“W-why are you saying that now?!”

Ashen sighed and shook his head.

“I’m being rational. ...I’m pretty sure your dad and brothers will take my head the minute they find out.”

After a second, Cessilia laughed, unable to hold it. This part, at least, sounded like a reasonable concern of his...

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter 19

“They won’t be late, right?” muttered Nana, while pacing back and forth in the corridor.

“They will definitely make it,” sighed Tessa. “They are probably just acting all lovey-dovey who-knows-where...”

She crossed her arms again, leaning against the wall. They had only been waiting for a few minutes, but the atmosphere was tense, as expected. It wasn’t just because her cousin and the King were a bit late. That guy was the King, he could probably be late all he wanted. No, Tessandra had an odd feeling since seeing the Lords from the different clans walk by earlier. The two girls had bathed, changed into new clothes, and even grabbed dinner with Sabael. Thankfully, the young soldier had apparently decided to stop teasing her each chance he got, so she had been able to eat comfortably. Probably because things were getting more serious in the castle. Tessandra glanced at a duo of Royal Soldiers walking by again.

“...Familiar faces?” she asked Sabael without looking at him.

“Not really.”

He had an odd feeling too. All of the Royal Guards they had seen so far seemed to be strangers to him. Although he was usually posted to the Inner Wall, Sabael should have had at least some sense of familiarity, but there was none. Tessa caressed the handle of her sword, frowning a bit. Perhaps it wasn’t a bad thing that she had chosen a more practical outfit rather than a ceremonial one...

“Do you think the clans are plotting something?” she muttered.

“Definitely. The Yekara and Pangoja Leaders are not happy with the King choosing Lady Cessilia over their candidates... I heard the last Royal Council caused quite an uproar after she made an appearance too. If they know they might lose, they might act before they really lose everything...”

“That can’t be good,” muttered Nana, nervous. “They own so many military forces! Their private militia was estimated to be over three hundred soldiers in the Capital alone just two years ago, and it’s been growing since then...”

Tessa turned to her.

“What else do you know, Nana? About the Yekara and Pangoja?”

“They are two of the oldest and most established clans, and among the largest ones,” she immediately began reciting. “The Yekara grew from an ancient military family after they recruited a lot of the forces that had turned their back on the ancient King, and they heavily invested in combat training and weapons. The Pangoja have money. Lots and lots of money, but their military power is only about a fourth of the Yekara; they mostly use their money to hire mercenaries. They both have at least three residences within the Capital and many more properties.”

“So if those two began to cooperate...”

“A catastrophe,” sighed Naptunie. “That would be a catastrophe!”

“It’s highly unlikely, though,” said Sabael. “The two clans don’t see eye-to-eye...”

“You can never know for sure,” Tessa grumbled. “People with common enemies become friends surprisingly quickly...”

Just as she finished her sentence, Cessilia and Ashen appeared at the end of the corridor, holding hands. Tessandra smiled. Although she wasn’t fond of the King himself, she had rarely seen her usually shy cousin looking so happy.

“...No need to mention all that to those two,” she muttered to Naptunie and Sabael.

“Why?”

“They probably already know,” she said, moving from the wall.

The five of them met up in the corridor, Cessilia smiling at them, although there was a dash of pink on her cheeks. Both she and the King had changed clothes too.