The Crown's Seduction
Chapter 286: His Dear Sister

Chapter 286: His Dear Sister

Mineah and Nikolai stayed at the Wright’s Manor for some time during the after-party celebration of the ceremony. And while Mineah was spending time with her family and friends, Nikolai took this time to approach her sister.

"When do you intend to come back home, huh? We already attended two weddings in a row of our own, Ezme... Taro, and Abel," Nikolai scolded while shaking his head. "Meanwhile, look at you... This Atlas hasn’t even formally visited our Mother yet!"

"Atlas is a bit busy at this time, big brother. And stop frowning, please. We’ll see Mother soon," she pointedly replied. "Goodness, it’s his only sister’s wedding today. You can’t expect him to have a wedding right after that. I’m sure you’re well aware of Ebodia’s customs. Even King Darius waited for those thirty days so that a bad omen wouldn’t occur to their family. Atlas has to wait before we can proceed with our own wedding."

"Days pass by quickly, you know," Nikolai informed her. "Mother is already mad at you since she hasn’t even met the man you’re about to marry in person yet."

Once he was back in Valcrez, he was just sure his mother would bug him again nonstop about this matter with Ezme. He could only hope that his sister would see sense this time instead of just having him bear the brunt of their mother’s anger.

"What can I do? It’s not like I’m just marrying some common nobleman," Ezme proudly scoffed. "Atlas is the Great Constable of Ebodia. He holds the power over the army, and he is the highest officer next to the king himself."

"Still not the King though," Nikolai snorted with a raised brow.

"Stop that!" Ezme grunted. "Since when did you learn to look down on others!?"

Nikolai chuckled at how easily her sister got flared up whenever Atlas was involved. "Well, you’re a princess, so you’re eligible to marry a king who will actually have the power and authority to spare enough time for you," he pointed out. "Just look at me and Darius. One word from our woman and our ass wiggles to quickly leave everything behind and simply attend to them."

A bout of silence followed, and Nikolai just knew how hard his sister fell into her own stupor. Mineah had read Atlas’s thoughts upon his request a while ago, and he found out from there about how the man himself was confused and conflicted regarding his feelings for his sister.

He knew Ezme well. He knew how stubborn she could be in getting what she really wanted. Clearly, she wanted this Atlas badly with how deeply she fell in love with him. Or at least, that was what Mineah read in their thoughts.

Shaking his head some more, Nikolai let out a deep sigh and asked, "Are you sure that you don’t want to hold the Ritual of Marking first?"

"I’m not that confident, Big Brother," Ezme weakly murmured. "That, and Atlas wants to remain as a human no matter what."

He nodded in understanding. Ever since she was born, Ezme had a disorder. For some reason, she was unable to control her own toxins whenever she would bite humans. She had the tendency to turn them without her intending to do so, which was why she would often only feed on werewolves who were surprisingly resistant to her toxins.

Well, she could always just get a drink of blood without biting someone, but Ezme had a habit of biting anyway. She said that her meal would be bland and dull if she didn’t have someone to bite directly from. Unlike him, Ezme had a great appetite for human blood. She would only drink fresh animal blood if she really had no choice in the matter at the time.

"Fine. I’ll continue to support you on this, Ezme. Only because I believe you’re old enough to know what you’re doing and face the consequences of your own actions," Nikolai responded with a sigh. "You’re taking a risk for that man. I just hope that he’s worth it."

Smiling, Ezme hugged his arm and reassuringly stated, "He’s worth it, Big Brother. Didn’t your wife tell you that many women wanted Atlas because he’s what every woman would want? He may not be a king, but he’s a good and honorable man!" She further defended, "I’m sure even Sister-in-law had a crush on him during her days at Ebodia."

"No, she didn’t!" Nikolai quickly defended with a crumpled face.

"You’re lying! And why are you even sulking when it’s perfectly normal for a woman to adore a man such as my Atlas?" Ezme scoffed. "And besides, whatever crush she had probably come way before meeting you, so don’t be jealous. You’re still the best man ever even in my eyes, Big Brother!"

"That’s not enough of a bribe for what I’m going through because of your actions, Ezme," he snorted as he shook his head. "You’ll be breaking rules for skipping the Ritual of Marking as well, and I can already hear our court officials whining regarding this matter, particularly Minister Marion."

"You’re the king, Big Brother... I’m sure you can manage them all," Ezme chuckled. "And besides, you terrify them now after Haman’s case, so I’m sure they will all behave and lay low for you."

Sighing yet again, Nikolai turned to face his dear sister, gently holding her shoulders as he addressed her. "Look, just remember that no matter what happens, you will always have me and Mother. You can always come back home to us, and thirty days should be more than enough for you to think carefully," he advised her.

"For now, I’ll allow you to stay with Atlas to see if you can really work things out in your relationship with him. But please, at least visit Mother and bring him to her this week. We don’t want any rumors spreading of how the Princess of Valcrez is running after the Great Constable of Ebodia. You still have a name to uphold, Ezme..."

"You worry too much," Ezme scoffed with a pout. "You said you trust me, right? So let me handle these things myself. Goodness, I’m already a century old."

"You can’t say that when I always see you playing around with your buddies and flings," Nikolai pointed out with a scoff. "This Atlas... This is the first time you acted so serious to a man... Anyway, I’ll just have to trust your word on it. I do wonder though, how come Prince Ezekiel didn’t catch your attention?"

Ezme’s face soured as she mumbled, "That man is too scary and boring!"

Nikolai burst out in a fit of laughter. He knew well that expression his dear sister was showing him. "I see... He instantly turned you down in your first attempt at seducing him then..."

Ezme’s face reddened as she unconsciously touched her neck. "Ah, I’m just glad that my head is still attached to my body," she mumbled with a gulp.