Chapter 197: Seren Ivanov, The Queen Of garis
Under the comfort of the extrely soft blanket, Seren tried to sleep but couldn't. She found it odd. It had been nearly a month since she left the Royal Palace of Abetha, and she had experienced travelling across three kingdoms, thus, she was already used to being in a new place every night. With each stop their entourage made from the central regions towards the eastern part of the continent, everything was new and different to her, as if she had entered another world. She should have been used to sleeping in an unfamiliar place by now. However, sleep couldn't co to her despite being tired of the long journey.
Giving up on sleep, Seren thought to get up and go check the balcony attached to her room to get so fresh air, but the mont she pulled that warm and thick blanket aside, her body shivered.
'So cold!'
The temperature that night was decent, normal even, for the natives of garis, but being a person who grew up in the warr side of the continent, Seren found it similar to the freezing cold of Abetha's winter.
Rembering the rows upon rows of clothes inside her wardrobe back when Eva and Marie helped her to get changed, she decided to get sothing warm to wear over her nightgown.
As she rubbed her arms, Seren took a lamp and hurried to the side chamber which was bigger than her room in the tower. Dresses, gowns, hats, boots, jewelry... The wardrobe was filled with luxurious things ant for a queen, things that Seren was not used to seeing or wearing.
She looked at the huge wardrobe spanning across the entire wall and felt worried over which one to get. After a while, she frowned to herself, 'What's to think about this? Just get sothing thick. Doesn't matter.'
Heading towards the part where coats and robes were located, she pulled out the first one that ca to sight—a thick coat of royal blue color, stitched in the way to make it look perfect on a woman's body. Seren did not even bother to properly button it and simply wore it over her nightgown before picking up the lamp again to go towards the balcony. As soon as she opened the glass door, a strong gust of cold wind passed across her body, causing her to shiver even when she wore such a thick coat.
Clutching her coat closer with her free hand tightly around her chest, she stepped out, pretending to be unbothered by the cold. She figured she should try her best to get used to it; after all, this place was now her new ho. She wanted to see what was outside and how everything looked from the balcony. It was such a strong unreasonable urge, wanting to confirm the view.
'Is it the sa as what I used to see from my tower every night in Abetha—faraway mountains, a winding river and a starry sky?'
She crossed the small distance from the door towards the semi-circular stone railings of the balcony.
Breathtaking!
From her balcony, it seed like the entire city of Blackhelm was a blanket of darkness filled with countless fireflies. After all, the Royal Palace of garis was built on a mountain, thus the nurous lamps and fire torches ignited everywhere below created a stunning sight. With the help of the moon, she could see a huge river about twice as wide as the Grand River in Abetha. On the riverbank, she could sohow see the tiny silhouettes of boats and rchant ships floating on the water due to the lamps hanging in them.
She gasped. 'A ship! I've read them in books, but this is the first ti I've seen one in real life. I want to see one up close!'
As she let her gaze admire the beauty of Blackhelm, she found everything? new and srizing. She stood on the balcony, not minding the cold wind which was making her shiver more. It took her several minutes to realize she could hear the sound of her own teeth chattering. She could only pull the lamp she placed on the stone railing nearer to her, before pulling the coat closer to her body.
'I should have worn gloves as well,' she could not help but pout.
Just then, a pair of warm arms surrounded her. The fact that soone was standing behind her without her realizing it made her jump in fear, but one manly hand held her steady. An arm circled around her waist, while the other one covered her mouth, stopping her from making any sounds.
She felt a pair of warm lips whispering in her ears.
"My Queen, you seem to be cold. Let warm you up a little."
The voice pulled her out of the shock as she realized, 'It's him!'
Drayce removed his hand from her mouth after she cald down upon realizing it was him. He moved to circle both his arms around her small body, his palms on the back of her hands to entangle his fingers with hers. After gently rubbing her icy cold skin, he held her hand tightly to pass her so more of his warmth.
"Do you feel less cold now?" he asked.
'He is so warm,' she sighed inwardly but didn't reply to his question. "Your Majesty... what are you doing here?" she asked, hesitantly.
"Can't I be here, my Queen?" he asked gently while letting his lips brush against her earlobe. Seren shivered again, but this ti, it wasn't due to the cold but the tingling sensation caused by the man holding her.
'It's his palace and kingdom. Of course, he can go anywhere,' she grumbled in her thoughts, 'but can't I have so privacy and alone ti for ?'
As usual, she did not put her complaints into words.
"I an, this is the Queen's chamber, Your Majesty," she explained, "and I have been inford that His Majesty has his own chamber."
Drayce humd in a response, agreeing to it, and added, "But did no one inform you that the king can go to his Queen's chamber whenever he wants to?"
Seren shook her head saying no and thought, 'What kind of rule is this?' as she heard Drayce continue speaking.
"If my Queen is not happy to be surprised by my sudden appearance in her chamber, then I will do my best to not make my presence unexpected, but rather, constant. I can stay to accompany my Queen in her chamber every night from now on."
Her startled eyes widened. 'Stay in my chamber?!' She spurted out in a hurry, "T-That would be too much of a hassle! It's fine as it is!"
Drayce smirked, "Is that so?"
"Yes!"
"Then, is it fine if I visit my Queen's chamber whenever I want?"
"Huh?" Seren felt trapped. She definitely didn't want him to stay in her chamber every night. Letting him visit was better than that. "Yes, Your Majesty..."
Drayce smiled lightly at her inner struggle to permit him. He decided to stop teasing her and changed the subject. "Do you like the view from here?"
"Hmm." She nodded.
Still holding her in his embrace, with her back pressed against his chest, the royal couple continued to appreciate the night view of the capital. The night was peaceful, and there was nothing to hear but the soft whistle of the wind and their own steady breathing. Seren was slowly getting used to having skinship with Drayce, and she didn't mind him standing pressed to her like this.
'Maybe, this is what husband does,' she thought, not realizing the fact that she enjoyed the warmth she felt from him.
"My Queen?"
"Hmm?"
"Welco to garis," he said in a low yet charming voice. Seren thought it was kind of funny he only decided to tell her this now, but she remained silent as he continued to talk, not wanting to ruin the mood. "This entire kingdom belongs to you now. You are? Queen Seren Ivanov, the Queen of garis, who will rule this kingdom alongside . Every single person in this kingdom is ant to obey your orders. Just do whatever you feel right without worrying about others, not even ."
She lowered her gaze, focusing on the flickering fla inside the lamp on top of the railing. 'Do whatever I want? Is he serious?'
"I an it," he continued, as if he heard what she thought. "You don't have to keep wearing this veil here either. Just live freely the way you want, not caring for how you look or what others say. I, your husband, accept you the way you are."
His words made her frown.
'Remove my veil? Martha said I can't. It will make and the man who will see my face suffer.' She seed to feel like Drayce was putting too much emphasis on her veil, and worry flooded her mind. 'What if he takes off my veil and sees my face? How can I stop him? I need to find a way.'
Seeing her remain silent instead of getting excited over her freedom, Drayce continued to reassure her. "You don't have to take it off right away if you are not comfortable, my Queen. Take your ti getting familiar with everyone here, and later, you can take it off whenever you want. Also, shouldn't I at least know what my wife looks like? This way, I can at least imagine what our kids are going to look like, either like you or like ."
"K-Kids?" Seren mumbled.
"Hmm." He nodded lightly. "Don't you want to have kids with , my Queen?" Drayce asked, forgetting his wife didn't know about the way to have children.
Seren looked down towards her stomach and mumbled under her breath, "But, it's not round yet."
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