Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

Seeing Drayce remain in a daze despite the silver-haired elf being long gone, Slayer called for him. "Your Majesty, shall we head back? Dawn is breaking."

Drayce briefly closed his eyes before nodding. He then looked at Aureus who offered him a light nod as he stretched his wings behind him, leaving the King and his guardian knight by themselves in the still dark forest.

After taking one last look at their surroundings, Drayce put a hand on Slayer's shoulder and both of them disappeared from the forest. They appeared in front of the Crystal Palace in just a few moments.

Drayce patted Slayer's shoulder as he eyed the quiet lake. "Make sure to rest. After teleporting twice and staying awake for an entire night, your body must be exhausted."

"I will." Slayer bowed to him. "Good night, Your Majesty."

"Good night," Drayce replied and left to go back to his wife.

When he reached the chamber where Seren was, he found himself feeling relieved to see her still sleeping soundly. Drayce went closer to her and found her without a trace of fear or fatigue despite what happened the previous night.

He sat at the edge of the bed and caressed her head. After what that elf had said, his mind was a mess. The King of Agartha and he was connected?

'How are we related? How come Mother never mentioned it? That elf has no reason to lie to me about something I can sooner or later confirm…so was Mother keeping something from me? From her stories, she sounded like she's someone really close to that man, Draven Aramis.

'Is that elf just mistaken, or is there truly something she never told me?'

With countless chaotic thoughts going around his head, Drayce lay down in bed next to his wife who remained in deep sleep despite his movement. He turned to rest on his side, allowing him to watch over her peaceful form. The sight of her was so relaxing for him that his mind started to let go of those chaotic thoughts the more he stared at her.

His hands moved to caress her cheek over her veil as he continued to watch over her. He could not help but move closer to pull her in his warm embrace. His arm wrapped around her body with her face resting at the crook of his neck. Her sweet scent tickled his nose. He closed his eyes, and as he matched his breaths to her calm rhythmic breathing, it made him feel calmer than ever.

'Just like this…if only every moment can be just like this…'

Time flew by, and soon, morning came. Outside the windows, the sun had brightened up the sky. When Seren opened her eyes, she found herself wrapped in a familiar scent and warm embrace.

'Dray…?'

With her face against that firm chest, she could hear the heartbeats of the man who was holding her.

'When did he return?'

Seren moved her head up to look at the handsome face of her still sleeping husband. A light smile painted on her veil-covered lips as she appreciated the welcomed sight of him.

'He kept his promise that he would be next to me when I wake up'

It was the first time she was seeing him sleeping in as it was normal for him to leave her side once the morning sun was up. She wished to cherish this rare moment and tried not to move as much. However, she later realized that even if she moved, Drayce remained unresponsive in his sleep.

'I wonder how late he returned. Seems like he is very tired.'

She observed his sleeping face closely, and she found it curious that no matter how much she looked, she felt like she would never get tired of his face. That handsome appearance could never fail to make her heart skip a beat.

'Why does he have to look so good? It seems unfair that he makes my heart beat faster like this without doing anything.'

She smiled at her silly thoughts and then moved her head back to where it was before and closed her eyes to enjoy the quiet comfort they shared.

'If I leave bed, his sleep will be disturbed. I can sleep a bit more like this. Being close to him feels even better.'

-----

At the breakfast table, the Great Lady found herself sitting at the head of the table with the seats for the guests empty. Even after the servants had prepared everything, neither the King nor Queen came to join the old lady in her meal.

Great Lady Theodora looked at her lady-in-waiting. "Dray and Seren, are they not up yet?'

"They seemed to be still sleeping, Your Excellency," the lady replied.

The Great Lady smiled lightly. "Hmm, let them be."

-----

Drayce woke up after some time and realized he had slept in, waking up later than usual. From the sunlight coming through the open windows, the day had long begun for most people.

"Did you sleep well?" he heard the woman in his embrace ask him as she moved her face up to look at him.

"I did." He noticed her eyes didn't look sleepy at all. "Have you been awake for long?"

She nodded. "But it felt good to stay like this."

"You are getting good with words," he commented.

"Shall I not be?" she asked.

Drayce stared at her for a moment. Ever since he returned and they started communicating, he noticed that Seren had changed a lot—she was no longer as quiet and as guarded  as before. Rather than simply listening to the things he said, she would now respond to him, even taking a more active role in conversations.

"I didn't say that."

Seren's beautiful purple eyes seemed to be smiling at him. "How was last night? Did you find anything?"

"Not much, but we did have some discoveries that could be helpful. Like I promised, I did not put myself in danger. You have nothing to worry about. We will catch those people sooner or later," he assured.

"I believe you will," she replied.

He pecked on her forehead. "It's time to get up."

She agreed as Drayce helped her get up and both of them got out of bed.

"Grandmother must be wondering why we woke up late. We missed eating our morning meal together."

Drayce chuckled. "Rather, I believe she must be happy to know we are still in bed."

"Why?" Seren asked.

"She must be looking forward to seeing her great-grandchildren soon," Drayce replied with a teasing smile.

Seren felt her face turned hot just at the mention of this. By now, she understood the matters between husband and wife and knew the meaning of his words.

"I…I think I should freshen up and not keep Grandmother waiting."

She immediately ran away towards the attached bath of that bedchamber, leaving her husband unable to hold back his amusement.

Drayce could not help smiling at how adorably she reacted. Though the lower part of her face was covered with a veil, he could see how  embarrassed she was from how red her ears and the rest of her face was.

'Not till you turn an adult on your coming of age, my Queen—wait, not even then. I want to enjoy years with my wife without her worrying over children. I am not ready to share her with anyone so soon, even if they're of my own blood. Grandmother has to wait for a long time.'

While the King and Queen of Megaris were spending time in the distant Crystal Palace, other people like Lady Tyra had returned to the main grounds of the royal palace. More so for Lady Tyra, she could not be away for long as she attended to her duties as the most senior trusted servant of the Queen, especially so in the absence of Seren.

After she had her morning duties fulfilled, the old lady went to her chamber to take a break, where she found a young man with golden hair waiting for her. Ever since that incident with the mysterious people, they didn't get to have a proper talk as Aureus had been unconscious for long and then he left once he was awake.

Lady Tyra was not surprised by his presence the moment she entered her chamber, She found the young man standing by the open window, looking at the view outside as if he hadn't heard her arrival.

"Were you waiting for long?" Lady Tyra asked as she closed the door.

Aureus turned to look at her and shook his head. "I saw you leaving in the boat so I left accordingly."

Lady Tyra went to stand in front of him. "What is your plan?"

"About what?" he asked.

"About revealing your identity to the King and the Queen," Lady Tyra explained.

Aureus met her calm gaze as he thought about what he truly wanted. All these years, there were many times he imagined the scenario of telling the truth of his identity to the man he treated like a brother and a friend. However, even now, he still hadn't made up his mind.

"Dray…" he started. "Did Dray not suspect anything?"