When Cian learned that King Armen had returned to the palace, his shoulders visibly loosened in relief. The affairs of the kingdom itself were not hard to handle, but it had been difficult for him to deflect people from inquiring about the King’s whereabouts. Even when Queen Niobe asked him, he could only tell her to ask King Armen himself after he returned.

The Crown Prince of Abetha hurried to find his father in the King’s study.

Seeing the King’s exhausted expression, Cian grew concerned. “Did something bad happen, Father? How is Seren?”

“Things went as planned, and though there were mishaps, we managed to protect your sister,” Armen replied, “but she is currently unconscious. No one knows when she will wake up. Since that is the case, try to prevent people from seeking an audience with the royals of Megaris.”

Cian understood before proceeding to inform his father of the most important matters within the past few days. “The alliance summit that was supposed to be held in Mivesea has been shifted to Othinia.”

Armen offered his son a surprised gaze. “Why?”

“A great storm wreaked havoc on the southern regions of Mivesea, and the pirates from the west took this chance to cause some trouble. The royal family have their hands full. It will take time to get the situation stable, thus the host kingdom changed to Othinia.”

“Is Giselle safe?”

“It’s nothing much, Father. The capital is completely safe. The northern regions of Mivesea are safe. However, the waters of Mivesea are currently dangerous, cutting off the sea routes, limiting other kingdoms’ access to reach Mivesea.”

King Armen creased his brows. “Why do I feel like it’s not something normal? I have been gone for merely three days. The alliance needed to receive a majority vote for this to pass. For the host kingdom to change so abruptly…”

“I feel the same, Father,” Cian agreed. “I feel like they are using this as an excuse to move this summit to Othinia.”

“Do you have an idea why Othinia is desperate to have the summit in their kingdom?”

“The undercurrents point that this is the scheme of Thevailes. The King of Thevailes is the nephew of the current King of Othinia. From our latest intelligence, his mother, the Queen Dowager, is accompanying him to visit her brother.”

Armen mused. “That mother and son are plotting to use the summit as an excuse to visit and strengthen their relationship with Othinia.”

“The Queen Dowager of Thevailes probably felt that after losing the last war, Othinia had been distancing themself from Thevailes.  It is scary how much strings she’s pulling behind the scenes to benefit her son.”

“It is not surprising what a mother’s love can do. Your mother has been supporting you in the shadows as well,” Armen remarked. Niobe initially wanted to arrange Cian’s wedding with the daughter of the King of Othinia in order to pull the kingdom into their side.

“Mother worries too much. I will ask her not to,” Cian said politely.

Armen glanced at his only son. “It is impossible for you not to marry, Cian. You are the Crown Prince of this kingdom. What your mother is doing is both for you and our subjects—if we successfully gain Othinia as an ally, not only will you have more power,  it will also cut the threat that Thevailes poses to Abetha.”

“I understand, Father, but there are other means to deal with this future trouble.”

“Maybe you should try meeting the princess of Othinia first before you refuse.”

“I would like to focus on strengthening our kingdom, Father,” Cian declined once more, his tone firm but polite.

“Know you need a Crown Princess to ascend the throne.”

“Father, you can be the ruler of Abetha for another decade. I am in no rush.”

King Armen no longer pestered him about the issue. “I hope you can convince your mother to drop her idea. Her wishes cannot be taken lightly.”

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King Armen nodded but then asked, “Do you have a young lady in mind that you would like to have as your main wife? Otherwise, I cannot fathom why you refuse the princess’s hand so stubbornly.”

“There is no one,” the prince replied calmly.

“Hmm, I do hope you find someone. Getting into a political marriage is not always so pleasant.”

Cian didn’t know what to say. He originally thought the King sided with the Queen, agreeing to him having a political marriage. Was his father asking him to find a woman of his liking?

Not to mention kings, it was nothing new for noblemen to have multiple wives and concubines.

Cian then excused himself, thinking of visiting his sister as soon as morning came. She had come of age and he was yet to hand over his gift to her.

—-

With Seren unconscious, Drayce didn’t leave her side, not even coming out of their chamber for meals.

The next morning, Drayce had Slayer deliver some of his work to the tower. Most of them were documents from his trusted aide, Jasper, informing him about the situation of the royal court, while others were from the army stationed on the western border. However, he could not concentrate on their content. His gaze would often wander towards his sleeping wife. A sigh escaped his lips.

In the end, he put down his work and stood by the window, looking outside in daze. His handsome face appeared as calm as usual, and no one could tell how deeply immersed he was in various thoughts.

Never had he been this troubled by anything in his life. With his inhumane abilities, together with his status as King of Megaris, his life had been pretty much smooth sailing.

However, this was something even a powerful person like him had no control over- Destiny.

Must he give in?

After some time, he sensed the movement in bed and turned around to look at his wife. She was stirring awake.

Drayce sat at the edge of the bed before pulling her hand onto his. “Good morning, my Queen. Did you sleep well?”

Her purple eyes fluttered open, staring at the ceiling as if she didn’t know where she was. Her gaze slowly moved towards the man smiling at her. It took a while for her to recognize her husband.