The Crown's Seduction
Chapter 147: Turn into Ice

Chapter 147: Turn into Ice

As soon as Mineah and Nikolai arrived at the encampment, Princess Ezme immediately greeted them alongside Commander Atlas.

"Brother!" Princess Ezme warmly greeted.

"Your Majesties," Atlas greeted alongside Nikolai’s sister, giving them both a curt bow.

Nikolai simply nodded at the greetings they received. He then turned his attention to his sister. "Ezme," he frowned.

As if sensing what she had done wrong, Ezme quickly corrected herself. "Your Majesty," she politely greeted Mineah with an awkward smile, to which the latter simply gave the princess a sweet and genuine smile.

Mineah, seeing that they were done with the usual greetings, turned to Nikolai. "I will see you soon," she informed him. "I would like to have a word with my mother and wizard Lurio first."

"I’ll see you later then," Nikolai nodded. "Let me formally greet Mother later."

Giving her husband a nod back, Mineah then turned to Atlas and said, "Please lead me to my mother’s tent."

Atlas gave her a curt nod. "Please follow my lead, Your Majesty."

Following behind Atlas, Mineah couldn’t help but think about the man currently leading her to her mother. If she recalled, Atlas was a genuine person and a good man who had been very loyal to their family.

Atlas grew up with her brother Ezekiel, and the two eventually formed a strong brotherly bond with each other. She was also aware of how he secretly loved her sister Xenia. Thinking about it now, he was probably devastated upon knowing that her sister was now bound to the Werewolf King.

Letting out a breath, Mineah walked up to Atlas’s side and casually asked, "How have you been Atlas?"

"I can’t say that I’m well, Your Majesty," Atlas confessed. "Physically, I probably am. However, I’m worried about Ezekiel."

"Atlas, please address me like how you did in the old times and call me Mineah whenever we’re alone with people that I’m close with including my husband," Mineah reminded him. "Don’t worry, I’ll find him no matter what."

Atlas gave her a curt nod, and Mineah’s shoulders slumped as she walked and passed by their soldiers. Everyone looked exhausted, and who wouldn’t be? They were at war. There were some wounded warriors and soldiers scattered throughout the camp along with the many healers that were attending to them.

On top of that, it was already winter, and some were freezing in the cold and snow. Humans like their soldiers wouldn’t be able to withstand this kind of weather in an open area like this.

But before she could further think about what she just observed, they had already stopped in front of a makeshift tent. Holding out his hand as if to signal her to wait, Atlas promptly announced her arrival. "Queen Mineah has arrived."

"Please let her inside."

It was Wizard Lurio’s voice. Gaining permission, Atlas signaled her to fully enter the tent before then bidding his farewell and going back outside.

Entering the tent, Mineah held her breath as she finally saw someone that she had sorely missed after all this time.

"Daughter!" her mother gasped out as the older woman immediately ran towards Mineah for a hug.

"Mother," Mineah breathed out.

"I missed you, Mineah," her mother uttered as she gently stroked her hair and back. "I’m glad we’re finally able to see each other like this again."

"Me too, Mother. Now let’s hurry. We don’t have so much time," she remarked with a hint of urgency in her tone. "We must find Ezekiel no matter what."

As if to further emphasize her urgency, she gently pushed her mother away before looked at wizard Lurio who instantly placed a large map on the table they had.

"Hold on, are you sure?" her mother asked with a frown as she looked at her from head to toe. "You just arrived, and your body..."

Mineah’s cheeks turned pink as she bashfully explained, "I’ve been feeding off Nikolai’s energy these days, so my body should be stronger compared to before." She explained to her mother how exactly she could easily get energy from Nikolai through their bond.

After she was finished, she noticed her mother and wizard Lurio exchange meaningful glances.

"Since when did you experience this?"

"Just after the Coupling Rites, Mother," she answered.

"Have you ever experienced the need to get energy from Nikolai even if you don’t need it?" her mother further questioned.

Mineah flinched as she realized just how much she was depending on Nikolai now. Her face paled as she asked, "Is it harmful to him? He told me that it’s nothing and that I can get energy from him whenever I want..."

"Dear, you’re not answering my question," her mother insisted. "Tell me... Do you have an urge to get more energy from him even if you don’t need to do so?"

"Yes," Mineah nodded. "I’m also having these weird feelings inside of me as well, Mother. I feel like I want more, but I’ve been able to stop myself from getting more of his energy so far..."

To Mineah’s surprise, her mother suddenly stumbled on her feet. Moving quickly, she grabbed her mother before she could fall. Helping her mother sit on the nearest chair, she anxiously asked, "What’s wrong, Mother?"

Shaking her head, her mother closed her eyes and whispered, "Lurio... Can you leave me and Mineah for a while?"

Their royal white wizard nodded and quickly left the tent. Once he was gone, her mother opened her eyes and tears started flowing down her cheeks.

"Mother?" Mineah breathed out, her eyes staring directly into her mother’s eyes as she couldn’t help but read her thoughts.

[Stephan... What should we do... Our daughter... She’s the one who’s about to bring an abomination into this world... Oh, this is all my fault, Almighty. Please have mercy and spare my daughter. It’s me who deserves punishment, not my children. Please, I beg you, my Almighty... Spare my daughter.]

Mineah’s face turned white at what she just heard. Her chest started pounding, and she found herself having a hard time trying to breath. The pain in her mother’s eyes was just too much for her as she sobbed in silence. She was trying her best, not to cry but it was too hard for her to stop it from happening.

Still, that didn’t stop Mineah from hugging her mother as she tried in vain to hold onto her own tears. "Shhh... Mother... Everything will be fine," she comforted her. "I only need to see the new Seer before I can finally solve everything about my curse. Don’t be sad... I’ll be fine..."

This was unfortunate. It would seem that there was no point hiding her curse from her mother now. She trusted her anyway. Still, something was confusing her. How did her mother find that out just from her knowing that she was borrowing energy from Nikolai?

"You knew?" her mother whispered as she gently pushed her away to look at her face.

"Yes, Mother. I’m sorry if I kept this from you," Mineah sighed. "Seer Beirut and I knew of it all along..."

From there, she explained how it all started. From her having dreams of hearing crying and pleas before they all turned into ice. She was there up from above watching them all turn into ice... Then the visions and dreams came to Seer Beirut and even a message from a Serafim about her curses...

Nothing was spared. She bared all that she knew about her curse...