The Werewolf King's Bride

He was checking my temperature every once in a while and also kissing my forehead. He even gave some pecks on my lips.

I had no idea when I fell asleep even when he was being like that. When I woke up in the morning, almost everyone was very busy.

Maids were running around, packing my dresses and accessories. Ruby was yelling on top of her voice, giving instructions. I heard my dresses would arrive later since it would take two carriages to take them to the palace of Ataraxia. They would take the shortcut, so it would take less time than it would if taken the front way.

Dem said he would have taken the shortcut too if he was alone. But since I was with him, he did not want to risk. I heard there were some monstrous animals in that way. Ten top-rated knights were assigned to protect my dresses.

\'It sounds really weird... I mean, what are the monsters going to do with my dresses? It\'s not like they would wear it or give it to their wife or something...\'

Perita came running to me once, showed me some strange and funny moves. Because of that, I had laughed for like ten minutes. She left again, saying that Dem would personally check if her sword was sharp enough. And she needed to pack her bag as well.

Perita said she did not need anything to take there, but I told her to at least take some nightwear and normal clothes, so it would not make people suspicious. Walking with a knight beside would surely draw too much attention.

Dem was actively looking for a mediator. Even if he found one, I would not be able to get in touch with them right away since we were going to Ataraxia today.

The cook personally came to me this morning and told me about how tasty he was going to make the foods. He was a pretty amazing and cheerful guy. But it seemed he cried a lot too. I heard he even cried when he heard that I was sick. He thought that I was sick eating his food. I had to tell him myself that it was not the case for him to calm down finally.

Luc sent me a letter asking if I had been feeling strange lately. I told him about the nosebleed. He had not sent a reply yet, so I did not know what he thought about this. Luc had the appearance of a very innocent boy and he looked younger than he actually was. He even appeared younger than me. He had curly brown hair and almost matching brown eyes.

Luc did not care about appearance, so he always wore a robe. I had seen in movies that wizards wore that kind of robes. Seeing that in real life was kind of exciting.

"Your Highness, His Highness told me to ask you if you are bored," a maid, no less than fifteen, asked me. She was panting as if she had been running for a while.

"No, I am not," I said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am. I am not bored at all," I said. Rather, I was feeling a bit for all those who were working. They were working very hard, yet I could not do anything.

I asked one of the maids if I could help, even just a bit. And she literally bowed her head and kept saying, "Did I do something wrong, Your Highness? If I have, please punish me. I will accept any kind of punishment you give me."

After that shocking incident, I did not try to help again.

"Don\'t they need to take a bit of rest? Jeez, I am really envious of their stamina," I muttered to myself as I saw the maids coming in and out of the room hurriedly with focused faces.

I stood up slowly and walked around the room with slow paces. These maids knew that I was sick, but they did not know that I was pregnant. One day, they would find out. Who knew which one of them would try to kill me?

Not all of the werewolves in Querencia wanted Demetrius as their king. But no one could oppose him. He was even hated by some because of his black eyes. It would be no surprise if even the workers inside the palace hated him. Hearing that Dem was going to have a descendant, they would try to do something for sure.

My guess was- I was not attacked because I was a human. They perhaps knew that it was almost impossible for me to conceive his child. Though I heard that I was almost poisoned a few times, since Dem put the securities around me too high, they were caught...

"Haa...," I sighed deeply. I opened the door of the balcony and glanced down. Dem did not let me come to the balcony much. He said it was dangerous. To be precise, I only got permission to come here this week, after the balcony was reconstructed.

The balcony was spacious, as expected of the bedroom of the royal couple. It was very lavishly decorated in black and golden, just like our room.

"Ah, Mother...," I muttered as I saw Mother taking a walk in the garden with her maids. Since yesterday, I had been feeling uneasy. I did not want to suspect Mother, but I was not sure that I would be able to be as easygoing as I used to be with her before. I did not tell anyone about the incident yet.

Though I thought about doing so, Dem kept nagging yesterday that I should rest and talk less, at least for that day. He seemed to be genuinely worried.

I had been feeling a bit of uneasiness since yesterday. It was not about Mother. But I always felt that I could sense something around me. It was as if a shadow was creeping slowly.

"My daughter..."

"Huh?"

"You are finally here."

I did not know what it was. But with my experience in life, I knew that unfamiliar things mostly meant danger. Perhaps it was out of habit that hearing the deep and almost unclear voice, I started to beat the air around me with a chair.

There was nothing. Not like I expected anything in the first place... But what was it? It was as if a voice into thin air. I was sure that I did not hear wrong or imagined it. How could I even imagine such a thing?

And that voice was saying \'my daughter\' and it was a man. He surely meant me since I was the only one standing here. My damned father could not be it. He was in another world after all and besides, how could he even do it? He was a human. Then was it my real father?

Luc said that my real father must be a dark mage.

"Tsk, I leave you for a moment and you keep pushing yourself hard," Dem muttered, coming from behind, taking the chair from my hands. "Really? What are you doing? If there is some kind of fly or something, ask the maids... What\'s with that look?"

"I heard a voice...," I murmured, clutching onto the hem of his suit.

"A voice? There is no one here though...," he said, but after seeing the look on my face, he added, "You mean, out of thin air?"

"I can guarantee you that I wasn\'t hallucinating or dreaming or anything like that. I was in my right mine, I swear. Like, I can even repeat our wedding vows right now though I don\'t understand the meaning..."

"It\'s alright. I understand."

"You sure? You don\'t think I am crazy or something?"

"Not really. Nothing surprises me anymore," he said.

\'I agree. It\'s kind of the same for me.\'

Dem looked around and then glanced down at me again. "Tell me more about it," he said.

"Well, it was a man\'s voice, kinda deep and unclear. But I understood. He was calling me his daughter. He said that I am finally here," I said. "You think it\'s my real father? Luc said that he is a dark mage."

"It refers to that," he said. "Why would that freaky man reach out to you? I will crack his bones and slump him in mud if he tries to do anything funny. I won\'t forgive him even if he is your father. So far, it seems he is shady whoever it is."

I thought that the person who actually made me was kind of suspicious without even meeting him. But to think Dem would put it that way...

I hugged him tightly.

"Darling?"

"I love you, really. You know, I don\'t think I care about anything anymore. You can betray me, but I will trust you from now on. I can\'t bring myself to think that you\'re lying, even if you are. So, I think I am ready to go down as well."