The Crown's Seduction
Chapter 220: Deserve

Chapter 220: Deserve

"No, Lai. I won’t feed from your energy," Mineah firmly answered as Nikolai gently put her down on the warm water of the bathtub.

He frowned at her and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Feeding energy from a powerful entity is one of the signs that I’m cursed by the heavens. The insatiable and uncontrollable need for power will lead the cursed ones to bring about abominations and chaos not upon themselves, but to everyone around them as well," Mineah explained. "From that alone, it’s not advisable for me to do so. It’s also not good for me to feed on your energy anyway. I should do it through the elements around me, seeing as that’s the proper way to do it."

Despite her long-winded explanation, she couldn’t help but smile at how attentive Nikolai was being as he listened to her.

"So you already knew that and yet you continued to feed on me to save your brother," he pointed out with knitted brows. "You knew you’ve been compromising yourself and yet you still continued?"

"I’m sorry, Lai," Mineah apologized as she bit her lower lip. She then let out a sigh as she couldn’t help but ask, "Although, can I ask you a question? Is there nothing you should do for your family? For Ezme? For the Queen Mother?"

An uneasy silence settled between them as those two questions lingered in the air. Somehow, Mineah was hoping that Nikolai could somehow understand where she was coming from. After all, before she met Nikolai, her family was her everything, and she was willing to do anything, even sacrifice herself for them, without any hesitation at all.

"They are my life before I knew you... And now, you’re also a part of my family and my life. Again, I’m sorry, and as I promised, I won’t make any moves without consulting you first or telling you about them," she sincerely stated as she moved towards him for a hug. "I was wrong for keeping you in the dark, and I’ll make sure not to make the same mistake again."

Seeing her sincerity, Nikolai let out a heavy sigh before leaning forward to kiss her forehead. "How can we know when it’s safe to use the new energy awakened in your body?" he asked.

"I believe it’s safe to use so long as it won’t trigger my chaos. I can feel it. I think everything is up to me now on how I’ll manage the energy inside of me," Mineah explained with a soft smile. "My mother’s also been assisting me through this even if she’s not with me. Trust me, they’re working hard together with wizard Lurio to look more into my case."

She then gave him an awkward smile as she added, "I also believe that something similar to my case had already happened back in the past, and Valcrez’s library is the most reliable source to look and search for evidence of it. So, I’ll be asking for full access to the library."

"There’s no problem about it, Mine. No need to even ask," Nikolai lightly chuckled as he answered. "I will inform Cian to assist you with whatever you may need."

"No!" Mineah quickly denied, and Nikolai frowned even as she began to explain. "I mean, it’s best if I did the research on my own, right? Can we trust Lord Cian? If I ask for his assistance, then I’m sure he’ll be suspicious of why I’m searching up curses. Word can spread from there, and it won’t be good, especially since not all Valcrezians have actually accepted me as their Queen."

She put on a serious tone as she added, "Let’s face the fact that some still believe that I’ll bring misfortune to Valcrez... There’s no denying that."

It was a simple fact. If possible, she preferred not to involve anyone while she was searching for answers about her curses. If only to at least try and keep things hidden from all but the barest minimum of people.

"But you mustn’t do things alone on your own now, Mine. You can trust Cian, that’s for sure. And Aunt Alexa as well. Both of them will be willing to help out," Nikolai pointed out. "How about we talk to the two of them together? You can read their thoughts, right? You can see for yourself what they think once they find out about your curse, and if you still decide not to let them help you, then I’ll both compel them to not remember everything you said about the curse."

"Alright then, let’s do as you suggested," Mineah conceded with a nod as she moved to straddle him in the bathtub. She could feel his erection poking at her even as he held her steady. "So, are you close to Lord Cian?"

The warm water felt soothing and relaxing on her body as they both bathed in each other’s presence.

"How’s your body feeling? I already put the spell in the water before dipping you in it, but I’m not sure if it’s working well," Nikolai hummed. "I learned about this a long time ago, but I didn’t practice using it since I didn’t need it at the time. I guess I should start using more of the healing spells Lucrezia taught me just so I could help you every once in a while..." He then added with a hoarse voice, "Also, can I tell you more about Cian later, Mine? I’m quite distracted right now with you straddling me like that."

Mineah comfortably wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck, resting her head on his broad shoulder. "Let’s stay like this a bit more. Talk a bit while my body is still relaxing," she murmured with a pout. "It still aches down there..."

"Alright then, let’s stay like this for a while, and let me practice my self-control more," Nikolai chuckled. "Also, about Cian... He may look like a lad, but that vampire is actually already a thousand years old like most of the Exordiums. He’s very knowledgeable in history as well since he loves studying not just about Valcrez, but also about other kingdoms as well."

"I see," Mineah hummed as she moved on her husband’s lap. She was starting to feel better, meaning that his spell was working wonders.

And speaking of... Nikolai growled when she brushed herself against him unannounced.

"I don’t know how I can make up for all my shortcomings to you, but I promise I’ll do my best to please you in other ways that I know of," she lovingly whispered in his ear. Of course, what she meant was by pleasing him generally and not just doing so during their intimate moments like this. Her husband deserved all her pampering in the world.