The Crown's Seduction
Chapter 212: The Coronation

Chapter 212: The Coronation

Another chilling morning came, but the coldness of the weather didn’t bother Mineah more than the emptiness she was feeling because she was away from her husband. She knew they were together yesterday, and yet it still felt like it had already been forever since she last saw him. She missed him that desperately.

[Lai, good morning,] she spoke through their bond, fully expecting to not receive a reply from him. [I miss you...]

She let out another sigh. Still, she was already glad that somehow, Nikolai was keeping her in the loop regarding Dahlia’s matters like last night. He had allowed her to witness his conversation with the woman based on her observations. And judging from what she heard, it looked like Dahlia had something special going on with the warlock Zoran with how she begged Nikolai to save the man.

To her surprise, seeing Dahlia’s emotions about Zoran honestly put her more at ease. In truth, she was worried to face another Rosela in the future. However, it would seem that Dahlia already had someone that she cherished more than Nikolai. Still, that didn’t mean she should stop wooing her husband to forgive her.

Mineah sighed yet again before she once more tried talking to Nikolai through their bond. [Again, I’m really sorry. I promise I’ll never make the same mistake again,] she sincerely apologized. [I’ll tell you everything in the future, regardless of the hesitation I might have just so the two of us can talk and figure things out TOGETHER...]

Currently, she was having breakfast with her family, and yet she was busy inside her head updating her husband with what she was doing despite not receiving any response from him.

[I’m having breakfast with my family at the moment. Ezekiel is hell-bent on killing Devon, and we’re planning on retrieving the Ancient Book of the Dragons. My mother and Wizard Lurio believe that we’ll find more answers there, especially regarding the possibility of extracting Vulcan’s Soul from my brother,] she lengthily stated.

[I know it sounds impossible, but we can’t just give up. After all, I want you also to exact justice against Vulcan. Ezekiel wants the same thing, and he’s doing everything on his part to fight against Vulcan’s soul.]

"Are you going to the procession?" King Stephan asked her, interrupting her from her stupor.

Mineah almost jumped at the sudden attention. From what she recalled, her family and Wizard Lurio were scheduled to return to Ebodia today.

"I won’t," she answered her father with a practiced smile. "I’ll just stay here with Mother and Wizard Lurio for now." She then looked at Ezekiel and asked, "Seer Tarah will be arriving soon, right? I want to talk to her."

"Yes," Ezekiel nodded. "We’re just waiting for her before we leave as soon as she’s here."

Mineah nodded at that information. She was hoping she would receive some good news from Seer Tarah for a while now. Also, she was planning to discuss with her what she was feeling inside her chest with the divine dagger reacting to Ezekiel’s presence. It was weird since she knew her brother didn’t harbor dark energy in him. In addition, Vulcan’s soul and powers weren’t anything close to dark energy as well.

After having breakfast with the family, Mineah’s thoughts were still running even as her mother started helping her sister Xenia get ready for her coronation and procession.

Trailing behind her family, Mineah went inside the throne room to bear witness to her sister’s formal coronation. She smiled as she watched her big sister in her golden regalia and frills walk to the throne like a queen. She confidently strode forth, servants tailing behind her to hold onto her coattails as she went up to the throne room.

As soon as her sister arrived, the entire room fell silent. In front of her stood King Darius, equally dressed in all of the regalia befitting his stature as king as he waited for Xenia to walk forward.

"Attention all citizens of Cordon! The Queen has arrived!"

An announcer called out her sister’s arrival, and everybody that wasn’t of equal rank to royalty knelt as they waited for her to move. Mineah, with her parents and Ezekiel, simply bowed their heads, signifying that they wouldn’t bow to a ruler that wasn’t Ebodia’s own.

"My Queen," King Darius addressed Xenia with the formality befitting the ceremony.

"My King," she replied back.

"Here is your crown," he loudly stated as he gave her a circlet bearing the insignia of Cordon. "From here on, you will be my Queen, and you shall help lead this Kingdom to prosperity."

Xenia bowed her head just enough to expose her head to her husband. Then, King Darius placed the crown on her head, coronating her in front of everybody present.

"Wear this crown with pride, for you have earned it in spite of all the hardships you have faced," Darius recited. "You have proven your worth, and you are now rewarded for your efforts."

Xenia stood straight up. Turning to face the crowd, it was now her turn to speak.

"As you’ve all seen through the trials I’ve faced, I do not condone any sort of injustice being done to anybody. I might look like a tyrant for saying this, but my own brand of justice does not discriminate. I will uphold the peace and order in this kingdom, and help my husband King Darius in all manners of running this nation," she proudly declared. "I will act in good faith, and I shall do my best to be the Queen that this kingdom deserves."

She took a deep breath for one last shout of the Kingdom’s guiding words.

"Long may Cordon stand proud!"

The insides of the throne room were filled with joyous cheers.

"All hail Queen Xenia!"

"Long may she reign!"

The procession soon followed, and Mineah watched from the second-floor open balcony of the castle as her sister Xenia rode on an open chariot with King Darius.

"The Warrior Queen!"

"Cordon’s Nephelim!"

The cheers continued even outside. It would seem that Cordon really loved her sister.

"Do you think you’ll also grow wings like her?" Ezekiel humorously hummed beside her using that special language of theirs.

Mineah chuckled. "Well, I would love to."

"Have you told her anything already about your curse and powers?" Ezekiel curiously asked.

Mineah shook her head "Not yet, but I plan to once I’m given an opportunity to do so," she sighed. "And besides... I need to tell her that I also compelled her into running away. I still owe her an apology for that."

"We both owe her an apology," Ezekiel shrugged. "Still, with how things turned out... I believe she’ll be grateful that you compelled her anyway."

Mineah smiled at that. She knew well how happy her sister Xenia was right now with her husband, and it wouldn’t have happened if things didn’t turn out the way they did.

"I’m really glad that everything turned out so well for her," she whispered with a bright smile, hoping that both hers and Ezekiel’s fate would turn out well in the end as well.