The next day, garis' delegation was ready to leave Abetha Royal palace to head to the Kingdom of Othinia for the summit. Prince Cian was accompanying them with the royal troop of Abetha as he was the one to represent Abetha in the summit.
All the arrangents were made, and they were ready to leave in the morning. The King and the Queen of Abetha were present to see the guest off. Arn held his daughter's hand and patted with his. "Take care on the way."
"Yes, father," she replied with a light smile on her lips as she held her father's hand.
She looked at Queen Niobe who was standing next to her father. The woman's expressions were the sa, calm and dignified. "Queen Seren, I have arranged the gifts from Griven for you. I hope you do enjoy it."
"I will, Queen Niobe."
The Queen offered a light nod and said, "The question you asked yesterday that you wondered if the Queen in that story was happy after sending the child away."
Seren looked into her eyes and realized she had asked this question and replied, "Yes, I wonder."
"I think she was not happy as she still didn't get what she longed for all her life," Niobe answered.
Seren offered her a gentle smile which was hidden behind her veil. She then looked at her father who was busy talking to Drayce and Seren didn't know what to say to Queen Niobe. It was between her father and Queen Niobe and those two needed to handle it.
The carriages were ready. Slayer approached Drayce, "Your majesty, we received a ssage that the Royal troop of Griven is in Abetha and they are traveling from northern territory. They are visiting different places so it's highly possible that we will reach the capital of Othinia, the city of Nefer, on the sa day as Griven delegation."
Drayce nodded and he helped Seren to sit inside the carriage. The Royal troop of garis as well as the royal troop of Abetha led by Cian, left the Abetha royal palace.
The journey was going to be more than two weeks long. After a few days of travel while letting Seren explore the new places on the way, they entered the territory of Othinia.
Seren observed the territory and realized Othinia was blessed with greenery. She used to think only Abetha was blessed, but Othinia was on another level with green, dense jungle and the vegetation was denser, thriving in vitality with countless wildlife.
After passing through the southern jungle their journey was going to continue for another week until they reached the capital of Othinia, the city of Nefer. In between they halted at many places and explored this kingdom.
Seren was amazed by the beauty of this kingdom, culture, and people. The terrain and architecture, the society in general was different from garis and closely related to the Abetha but the difference was so significant as if she entered an entirely different world. The kingdom of Othinia was fascinating and remarkably different.
Othinia was a land where water shapes the very essence of its existence, with rivers and lakes intertwining to create a breathtaking natural wonder.
"It's a beautiful kingdom," Seren comnted.
"It is," Drayce replied as he watched his wife enjoying traveling with him.
"You must have been here before," Seren comnted to which Drayce nodded only to hear his wife ask, "Official or unofficial visit?"
Drayce smiled as his wife was getting smarter. She was aware of how her husband used his powers. "Most of the ti unofficial visits."
"More like sneaking into a foreign kingdom," she comnted.
Drayce chuckled, "You can say that, my Queen. I and Arlan, loved to explore different places and learn different things. It was just to improve our knowledge about this continent and nothing else."
"Next ti you go on exploration, you should take with you," she said.
"I will."
She discovered various different things, where festivals could be seen almost every other day, and where it was common for won to wear tunics and pants. Many even bare the skin of their arms and no one would find it indecent.
On this trip, she discovered the concept of floating markets, where goods were sold from boats.
While passing through the cities along the way, experiencing the authentic Othinian lifestyle through their stays at the houses of noble families, trying out dishes and enjoying local performances during the night banquets, she also found the nobles of Othinia to be far more open-minded and easygoing, extrely warm but at the sa ti proud of their rich heritage.
Traveling through various cities, she could see the people wearing sets of gold jewelry not only on their necks and hands, but even on their hair, arms, waists and ankles. Their attires were colorful, the fabric of their tops silks and satins with printed motifs.
However, the skirts of the won were unlike the balloon skirts favored by those in the Griven and Abetha, but rather long wrap skirts. The fabric around their bodies emphasized the fine curves of a woman's body and they looked so elegant and comfortable as they walked down the streets.
'How beautiful. Those ladies don't look shy, but confident in themselves. Is this kingdom liberal with won?'
It reminded Seren about Queen Niobe and her prideful, confident and elegant behavior, a true definition of strong woman.
anwhile, the n's garnts had prominent embroidery on them, seemingly more fashionable than their counterparts from the other kingdoms. So had headscarves like hers, while others wore short-sleeved coats or vests, or shirts with long loose sleeves to cover their arms, which ought to be comfortable for traveling under the sun.
'Everything here looks so colorful and bright. Extrely pleasing to the eyes.'
When they reached the city of Nefer, it was already midnight, and the city was quiet, other than having patrolling guards on the streets. They reached the Othinian royal palace.
As their carriages approached the entrance, they were greeted by a large sandstone gate, intricately designed with ornate carvings that depicted tales of the kingdom's history. Flanking the entrance gate were larger-than-life stone guardians, representing legendary warrior figures from the kingdom's folklore.
To announce an important person's entry, drums were the preference of Othinia. Troops of Othinian royal soldiers, clad in uniforms of forest green and silver, stood on both sides of the road wielding green-colored flags to welco them.
The royal crest of the Othinian Royal Family appeared to be a horned beast surrounded by fangs, representing an ancient hero who, according to the legends, united the lands devastated by warring tribes in the past.
The Royal Palace of Othinia looked like a grand war temple where wild animals could prowl around.
The first Prince of Othinia, Crown Prince Rhaine, ca to personally welco the King and the Queen of garis. Due to the sensitive identities of the summit's attendees, in order to not offend the monarchs and their heirs, only the direct descendants of the King of Othinia had been given the role of host to welco the guests from afar.
Arrangents were also made in that vast palace to ensure each participating kingdom lodged in separate mansions with similar grandeur as the residences of the Nefertiti Royal Family themselves.
Drayce stepped out of the carriage and helped his wife to step out. The mont Seren stepped out of the carriage, her senses alerted her about sothing and she gripped Drayce's hand.
"Dray…"
"I know, my Queen," he offered her an assuring gaze as he understood what she had sensed because he didn't miss it as well.
Understanding that they should not talk about it, Seren turned calm.
"Rhaine Nefertiti welcos His Majesty King and Queen and the delegation from garis."
After sharing the greetings, the Prince of Othinia personally led their way inside the guest mansion and left after making sure the King and Queen of garis were comfortable with their arrangents of stay.
Once the Prince left, finally Seren could talk. "Dray, did you sense it, the strong essence of power of darkness?"
"I did. It's similar to what we sensed on Azures Island."
"Does that an that black witch is here?" Seren asked.
Drayce nodded and looked at Yorian who entered the guest mansion. When Drayce and Seren entered the mansion, Yorian was still outside and trying to sense sothing more.
"Did you find anything?" Drayce asked the elf.
Yorian nodded, "It's coming from the guest mansion next to us."
"We need to find out which kingdom's delegation is staying in the next mansion?"
Slayer, who was there, imdiately stepped out and soon returned with the information. "Your Majesty, the delegation of Griven is staying in the next mansion."
It puzzled the other three. Arlan, why was he having a black witch in his mansion?
Drayce looked at tired Seren. "Let's rest for now. First thing we will do in the morning is to et Arlan and find out why the black witch is staying in the Griven guest mansion."
Seren nodded and she went to rest with her husband while Yorian went out to look around.
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Note- The readers who have read from chapter 167 to 170 of 3rd book (The Devil's Betrothed), can avoid reading next chapter unless you want to read it from Seren and Drayce's POV of seeing Oriana with Arlan.
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