The Crown's Seduction
Chapter 204: [Bonus - ] Twisted

Chapter 204: [Bonus Chapter] Twisted

Mineah couldn’t get herself to sleep as she waited for Nikolai to come back home. It was already past midnight, but he was still not back and, she just couldn’t help but feel so incomplete being alone.

"This won’t do at all..." she breathed out in frustration as she sat on the bed.

Having had enough, she was about to contact him through their bond when something finally happened. Before she could actually contact him, Nikolai suddenly appeared before her.

"Lai..." she called to him, his back against the moonlight in a way that she couldn’t see his face very well.

"Go back to sleep, Mine. You have a busy day ahead of you in Cordon tomorrow," Nikolai informed her as if nothing was even wrong. "I already talked to Ezme, so Wizard Lurio should be coming here through a teleportation spell to pick you up at dawn."

Fidgeting, she couldn’t help but whisper, "Aren’t you coming with me?"

"I have urgent matters to attend to before dawn, Mine. Zoran will be delivering Dahlia at the border and I’ll be there to pick her up. I have to make sure that she will safely arrive back at her home. It’s a crucial moment, and I promised Zoran that she’ll be safe under my protection," Nikolai casually explained.

He didn’t even blink as he then asked, "Will it be alright if I ask your shadow maidens to look after Dahlia to make sure that she has no remnants of dark magic within her? I will have her confined in a secret room here in the palace for a few days until she’s cleared by your shadow maidens."

"I understand, Lai. Do what you must," Mineah replied. "My shadow maidens are also your subjects, so you don’t have to ask for my permission if you need them for something important like this."

For some reason, Mineah couldn’t hide how downcast her tone was. She understood the situation perfectly. She didn’t want to think negatively about it because she was confident about her husband’s feelings for her, and yet she couldn’t help but feel hurt at how his attention was being taken away from her.

"I will follow you to Cordon as soon as I’ve secured everything here," Nikolai plainly stated. "Go back to sleep, Mine. I still have a lot of things to discuss with my men."

Mineah bit her inner lip as she watched her husband disappear just as quickly as he appeared. She could feel how cold he was being to her, and she wasn’t used to it at all. She felt like crying, but it wasn’t like she didn’t see this coming anyway. Nikolai was absolutely justified in being upset and disappointed in her.

Sighing, Mineah weakly slumped her body back to bed, sitting down as she hugged her legs.

"I have to do something. I won’t last long with him feeling this upset with me," she murmured with a sigh. "There mus be something I can do..."

She tried her best to hold back the tears, but she lost her battle immediately as she felt them running down her cheeks. She didn’t know how long she stayed like that, but eventually, she finally dozed off.

******

Nikolai was just outside the bedchamber as he waited for Mineah to fall into a deep slumber. He then shifted into his mist form and went back in, transformed back into his human form, and checked on his wife, making sure that she was in a deep sleep.

He couldn’t help but sigh as he looked at her. As much as he wanted to stay away from her for some time, a part of him still wanted to be with her. Resigned, he quietly and carefully lay beside her. He then moved sideways so he could have a proper look at her. He wanted to hug her, but he stopped himself from doing so.

He had to stay strong. He was still upset and disappointed at the fact that she didn’t trust him enough to tell him everything right from the start. He was aware of how much his wife tried her best to tell him things, but she ended up holding things back anyway...

Then again, Mineah did mention to him once that she still had secrets she was keeping from him. ’And I even told her that it’s alright and that she can tell me everything once she’s ready,’ he reminded himself of the fact.

He let out a frustrated sigh. Moving closer to his wife, Nikolai comfortably closed his eyes to have a quick nap with her.

Hours passed, and before dawn came, Nikolai kissed Mineah’s lips goodbye before disappearing to go to the southeast border to pick Dahlia up from Zoran. By the time he arrived, Fritz was already by the border, and the latter promptly shook his head as Nikolai stared out at the vast sea from the cliff that he was standing on.

"Do you really think this isn’t a trap? I mean, Zoran is with the Devon King. This could very well be one," Fritz reasoned. "We’re not even sure if we can trust Zoran."

Nikolai kept his expression passive at Fritz’s words. His friend’s worry was valid, yet he still chose to trust Zoran’s words. Although, that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t take precautionary measures just in case.

"We’re more than ready to face it even if it’s a trap, Fritz," Nikolai firmly replied. "Right now, the main goal is to have Dahlia back."

"Also about Dahlia, how can we be sure that it’s really the same Dahlia?" Fritz asked as he voiced out his doubts. "What if she’s only alive because of Devon’s dark magic?"

"I already made the necessary arrangements. She will be confined for a few days in the Corvus Palace, and Mine’s shadow maidens will make sure that she’s clear from any dark magic inside her body before being released," Nikolai easily replied with conviction. "I already failed to protect Dahlia before, and I’ll do my best not to repeat the same mistake twice. She’ll be among my wife’s ladies-in-waiting after she’s been cleared."

"That sounds needlessly complicated. You do know that can cause misunderstandings, right?" Fritz reminded him. "It’s like you’re keeping a mistress for yourself. The Valcrez citizens at large might misinterpret this action, not to mention how unstable the Queen’s position is to all Valcrezians already. She’s not yet fully accepted by everyone."

"I’m sure my wife will be able to handle this kind of setback," Nikolai replied with a cold tone. "Trust me, Dahlia will be in much safer hands if she’s under my wife’s protection."

"How twisted would that be? Your first love being with your wife?" Fritz’s face twitched as he pointed it out. "Imagining them being together in one frame... I can’t... It feels so weird just thinking about it. How can you be so calm about this?"

"Why wouldn’t I be calm?" Nikolai chuckled. "And what’s so twisted about it when I know in my heart that there’s only one woman who has it? Don’t make a big fuss over this, Fritz..."

Nikolai was just about to shake his head when he felt Zoran’s powerful presence arrive.

"He’s here, Fritz," Nikolai informed him, his face darkening at the coming scene. "Ready the men..."