The Werewolf King's Bride

Though Dem was very rude and should not have said that, I still had to admit that it was better to stay at a side palace than the main palace.

I heard other kings and queens had arrived even before us except King Ford of Trouvaille. The king and queen of Mazazine were staying at the main palace, but the king of Lacuna was residing at one of the side palaces just like us. I heard he was staying at the palace beside us. But I had not gotten a glimpse of him yet.

"I heard King Ford is going to arrive this afternoon," Ruby said. "It\'s just a rumor. I am not sure."

"It\'s fine. It doesn\'t concern us when he is going to arrive anyway," I said.

Demetrius said he would come back at night since he was discussing something with the king and the new prime minister of Ataraxia. Perhaps it was about the previous prime minister. Then he would also have a little meeting with the king of Lacuna. It surely was about the sea border of Lacuna and Querencia.

I had not learned everything yet, but I surely had improved than before and knew some of the political matters and how to deal with them. Dem was my personal tutor for it. Every night, he would tell me about these things. In the way he talked, it was clear that he was a great king and knew how to deal with any kind of conflict.

Of course, his ways were not that moral; rather they were tricky but effective.

I offered Ruby and Perita to have lunch with me. It was boring to eat alone.

The weather surprisingly started to get worse even though it was sunny in the morning.

"I think it will rain," Perita said.

"Yeah," Ruby nodded. "At least, it will cool down the weather a bit."

"What\'s wrong, Your Highness? Are you thinking about something?" Perita asked.

"No... It\'s nothing."

These days, I had been hearing a strange voice. It was the same voice that called me \'daughter\' the other day. Dem and I thought that it was my real father. Dem informed Luc about it and Luc had locked himself up in his room and we did not hear a word from him again.

But it was all in my dream now. When I woke up, I did not remember what that voice said anymore. Trying to remember it made me exhausted and it got to the point that I could barely think about anything else.

Every time I heard that voice in my dream, I would wake up, gasping and trembling. Dem would hug me and soothe me until I fully calmed down. But I could not remember even a single word.

"Ah, it started raining," Ruby said.

The rain was quite heavy. Ruby kept the windows slightly open so cold air could come through the window.

After lunch, I stood near the window, feeling the cold and refreshing wind. I held my hand out and drops of rainwater fell on it.

I had sent Ruby to Luc to find out what that guy was up to. He at least should send me a word. It seemed like he was dead, but I was sure that he was perhaps absorbed in reading the new books he found in the magic tower of Ataraxia. Of course, he was not allowed to read all of them, but only the regular ones. He still was excited about it.

I sent Perita to take some rest. She kept being with me all the time. But she needed rest as well.

Actually, I wanted to be alone for a while as well. It was very tiring to be with someone all the time. It was not like I hated being with Perita or Ruby. But I still craved some alone time.

"The roof- can I go there?" I asked one of the maids that the queen of Ataraxia assigned for me.

"Yes, Your Highness... But it\'s raining," she said.

"That\'s why I want to go there. You don\'t have to come with me. I will be back soon," I said.

They had no obligation to go with me everywhere. And I did not want to take any of them with me as well.

I climbed up the stairs slowly and reached the door of the roof. I pushed it open and stood in the front, staring at the rain falling without stopping.

The sound of the water dropping on the floor was very pleasant and the scent of fresh rain was refreshing. I stepped under the rainwater, letting it wash over me. I shivered every time the drops of water fell on my skin.

"Haa, it feels good...," I muttered as I closed my eyes and felt the rainwater falling on my face.

The rain was not stopping. And I did not go back either. I liked it here, enjoying a bath in the rain.

How long had it been since I did this? When I was little, sometimes I used to do it. Then I lost all my motivation and did not feel like doing anything except breathing.

Now that I was under the rain again, I felt like a child again, that child who once had dreams.

"I don\'t even know what\'s missing in my life. I feel so drained... Is something wrong with me?" I mumbled. "I don\'t know... I don\'t know anymore..."

No matter how much love I received, there were times when my heart felt heavy. It as if it was tied very tightly and I could not even find the string to loosen it up. Sometimes, it was painful and I felt like tearing apart.

What was wrong with me? I had everything- love, money, servants... everything, but still, something was missing and I had no idea what.

I was wearing my black nightgown. Since I was inside all the time, I did not bother to change. The palace we were staying at was the third in line among the side palaces. The king of Lacuna was staying at the one on our left and it was right beside that Royal palace. The palace on our right was vacant.

It perhaps had been two hours. The rain did not show any sign of stopping. I picked a red rose from the nearby tree and shredded its petals one by one and threw them in the water on the floor. Even doing this little thing was quite fun.

"The white ones look good too, on your left."

"Ah, right...," I nodded and took a white rose as well. I shredded its petals as well. I threw them in the water as well. "Wow, it looks really beautiful."

"Right?"

That was when it hit me. "Huh? Who...?" I mumbled and looked ahead of me.

A pair of glowing yellow eyes were looking at me. He had blond hair and was wearing a normal suit that Dem sometimes wore while he was relaxing.

\'This man...\'

"I did not know the Queen of Querencia likes rain," he smiled.

"I enjoy it every now and then, King Ford," I said.

"I enjoy it too. The sound and the scent... It is refreshing," he said.

"Yes, that is true."

It seemed he was standing under the rain as well. Perhaps he had come later than me and I was so absorbed in enjoying the rain that I did not even notice him.

King Ford, despite the rumors, did not look scary. He was very good-looking and had a gentle smile.

\'But of course, my husband is the best looking. No one can compete with him.\'

"Oh, a cat," he muttered and grabbed the white kitty that was walking on the railing.

"It likes you," I said.

The cat had already started to snuggle in his arms and rub his head against him. It seemed pretty comfortable there.

"It seems so... Do you perhaps like cats too?"

"Yes, they are cute...," I said and quickly realized how I behaved. "Ahem! What I mean is I like them sometimes."

"Haha, I understand that you are a queen. But well, it\'s quite hard to try to be so upfront all the time. I know it too well since I am a king. It\'s tiring. That\'s why I try to relax every once in a while," he said. "If you feel uncomfortable, I will not tell you to be informal with me and I will not be so as well."

"It is alright, I guess," I said.

"Then let\'s be on good terms, Queen of Querencia."