The Crown's Seduction
Chapter 86: The Mark

Chapter 86: The Mark

"What has she been up to lately, Mason?" Abel asked the Curb that he had assigned to observe Rosela from the shadows.

"There’s nothing much to report, Master," Mason reported. "She just kept herself busy with her usual routine as soon as she was back at the capital."

Abel sighed. He couldn’t help but wonder about how much longer he should wait for her. Was there even a chance for Rosela to give him her heart when she was like this?

It was clear to him that Rosela wasn’t in her right mind lately.

Ever since the arrival of the Princess of Ebodia in Nikolai’s life, he was afraid that she would do things that could harm her in the process. He knew of how in love Rosela was with Nikolai from the beginning, and he just knew that she was ready to die for the man.

He witnessed everything... How the twins became close with Nikolai... But in the end, it was Dahlia who captured Nikolai’s heart. And he, in the process, ended up falling for Rosela.

At first, his feelings for her were nothing but simple sympathy. But as time passed, his feelings for her became deeper. He was vocal about it to Rosela as well, and thankfully, she seemingly accepted his heart. However, he still felt that she wasn’t fully committed to him despite her words.

"Make sure that you look after her," Abel commanded. "Report to me if you ever notice something unusual about her."

"Yes, Master," Mason replied.

With that, Abel dismissed the man before he rested his head on the backrest of his chair. Closing his eyes, he thought about his pending duties. He still had a lot of things to attend to, and he had yet to check on Rosela ever since they arrived at the Capital City as a result. Plus, he couldn’t openly visit her since Rosela didn’t want him doing such a thing.

"Ahh..."

He hissed at the sudden sting he felt on his wrist. Pulling on his long tunic, his face darkened as he stared at the mark on his belly. It was the mark that he acquired from Dani ever since she did the Thrall Chaining spell on him, and it hadn’t faded even after all this time.

"This woman..." he grunted. "She doesn’t know what’s coming to her..."

Annoyed, Abel got up from his chair and promptly went out of his residence within the Corvus Palace complex.

"Maybe I should pay the Queen a visit too..." he smirked as he made his way to Amaranth Palace. The sun would be setting soon, and he was sure that by now, the Ichor Clan’s visit was almost finished.

"Chancellor."

Hearing a familiar voice call out to him, Abel bowed as he faced the Queen Mother. It would seem that their paths had crossed even as he was headed in another direction.

"Queen Mother," he respectfully greeted.

"Is there still no news from Fritz?" the Queen Mother asked with a scoff. "He’s been away for far too long."

"He hasn’t contacted me too, Queen Mother," Abel informed her. "The last I heard, he was in search of something called meteorites that fell not too far from the kingdom’s northern borders."

This was an expected question, Abel supposed. Fritz was Queen Mother Rania’s favorite among her Scions, as well as Abel’s Maker. It was him that turned him into a Curb.

Well, unfortunately for the Queen Mother, even though Lord Fritz was her Scion, he somehow developed a special ability to create a barrier even against his own Maker.

It was a very rare case according to history. Supposedly, only a few who were turned developed exceptional abilities like this, and no one could explain what exactly the cause of it was.

"Goodness, that man! When will he stop studying outer space and all the different phenomena when we have our astronomers to do that for us? I needed him here ages ago," the Queen Mother grumbled. "Look, if he happens to reach out to you, tell him I’m already mad! It’s been almost a season since he left! His presence is needed here!"

"I will inform Lord Fritz as soon as I regain contact with him then, Queen Mother," Abel answered with a curt bow.

"Thank you, Chancellor."

With a curt nod, the Queen Mother promptly went her way. Likewise, Abel continued on with his path to Amaranth Palace.

While he said that he’d do his best to contact the man, Lord Fritz was one happy-go-lucky Scion who did whatever he wanted regardless of what anyone told him. The man actually never listened to anyone except for Nikolai, and his telling the man his Maker was looking for him probably wouldn’t make a difference.

At that thought, he smirked as he wondered what the man had discovered this time during his time away from the capital. He was someone who loved to explore and study things, especially space, the stars, and the moon.

"Oh, by the way, Chancellor..."

Abel quickly turned upon hearing the Queen Mother’s voice. "Yes, Queen Mother?"

"When will you take a wife? It’s been more than centuries already," Rania asked with snapped brows. "Aren’t you planning to involve yourself in a more serious relationship this time and have a family of your own?"

Abel’s face paled. This wasn’t the first time the Queen Mother had asked him of this.

"You’re a part of the Ivanov Clan, Abel. You hold a strong position in our kingdom, and it is expected of you to have an heir sooner or later," the Queen Mother pointed out. "You are like a son to me like Nikolai. It would be nice to see you have a family of your own. How about you and Pri-"

"Queen Mother... I already have someone I like," Abel cut her off with a polite smile. "I’ll introduce her to you soon."

The Queen Mother’s eyebrows lifted up. Sighing, she said, "Fine. I’ll be waiting then. See you around, Chancellor."

Giving the older woman one more bow, Abel then quickly turned around as soon as the Queen Mother walked away.

While he couldn’t blame her for being worried about his life, he couldn’t blame her for simply doing her job. After all, Queen Mother Rania was the head of the Ivanov Clan, so it was her duty to look out for the best interests of her Clan members. It wasn’t just him either, since he was sure that she was also pursuing the matters regarding family with Lord Fritz and Princess Ezme...

Wait...

"I’ll be damned..."

Abel suddenly cursed, realizing something. He quickly turned to the Queen Mother, only to see that she was already out of sight.

"Ah... There’s no way..."

He mumbled to himself as if convincing himself from the sudden horrible thought that came to his head. There was no way that the Queen Mother would suggest he and Princess Ezme...

Just the thought of it gave him chills as he walked as fast as he could. He must have had his woman by any means before the Queen Mother tried something horrendous like pairing him up with Ezme.

"Chancellor," the guards in the Amaranth Palace politely greeted him with a slight bow.

"No one is allowed to enter the palace unless they’re approved by Lady Dani," another guard informed him. "Wait for a while, Chancellor. We shall inform her of your presence."

"You do know that I can simply enter in my mist form right?" Abel suggested with a frown.

"Why don’t you try then, Chancellor?" a familiar womanly voice interrupted.