The Werewolf King's Bride

"Your Highness, what...? How?" she muttered as she looked up and down at me.

"Well, I just took a bath in the rain," I said.

"A bath in the rain? So suddenly?"

"Yup, I felt like it."

"Has Your Highness enjoyed it?" she asked.

"Yeah... It felt really good and refreshing," I nodded.

"Then it is fine, I guess. I mean, as long as Your Highness does not fall sick, it is alright," she said.

Ruby gave me a hot water bath again. I was pretty surprised when I came here and saw hot water. I thought they heated that much water at first. But then I noticed that there were two different taps; one was for hot water and the other one was for cold water. Later, I found out that it was magic and these kinds of things were created by Luc.

"What do you think of King Ford, Ruby?"

"King Ford? Why so suddenly?" she asked as she wiped my wet hair.

"Just tell me."

"He is a manipulative person and extremely cunning," she said. "It\'s better not to get involved with such a person."

"Have you ever met him?"

"Well, I saw him once. Of course, he has an angelic appearance, but... he truly is dangerous."

\'Now that I think about it, there is not much of a difference between Dem and him as a king. Both of them are cunning and they play dirty tricks. And both of them managed to rule greatly. The only difference between them was that one of them had an angelic appearance, and the other of them looked very dangerous. But other than that, they were the same.

Because Trouvaille was a rival kingdom of Querencia, most werewolves of Querencia hate him.\'

I talked to King Ford for a while. I was quite good at judging a person and after talking to King Ford for a while, I understood a few things.

He knew something about us, some kind of secret perhaps. When he was saying that he wanted to be on friendly terms, he was giving that kind of hint. And if I was right, the next time I would meet him alone or he would make it happen that I somehow ended up meeting him alone, he was going to tell me what he knew.

But what was more surprising was that I did not feel like he wanted to threaten me or something. Rather, it felt like he truly wanted to be on friendly terms with me.

But I could not say anything for sure. It was just what I thought. I needed to wait to see if I was right or not.

That night, Dem came back just in time for dinner. I was waiting for him. He looked exhausted. After all, he had to go to meeting all day long.

He freshened up a bit while I waited for him in the dining room. "Did you wait long?" he asked as he came back. His black hair was still damp and a few drops of water fell on the loose white shirt he was wearing.

"No, you were really quick," I said. "You are wearing white today."

"Yeah, it\'s really hot today," he said.

"Still, we wear black outside."

"That\'s true. Showing off the royal color all the time is kinda fun."

\'Fun?\'

"What did you do all day?" he asked. "Were you bored?"

"No, I woke up late and then had pork ribs for breakfast."

"Pork ribs for breakfast?" he asked, surprised.

"I felt like it all of a sudden," I muttered. "I ate a lot."

"Is that so? That\'s good. Then what did you do?"

"I walked around the bedroom and then before I knew it, it was time for lunch. I asked Perita and Ruby to eat with me. It started raining too, then."

"Yeah, it was raining pretty heavily. But it cooled down the weather a bit. Though I still think it\'s really hot."

"Then I went to the roof and took a bath in the rain."

"What? Really? But you are sick."

"I am fine. Look! I didn\'t have a fever then. And not even now," I said, grinning. "It\'s been a long time since I did it, so I was kinda excited."

"Did you go alone?"

"Uh-huh," I said. "I wanted to enjoy some alone time."

"But, darling, you need to be careful. I understand that you want alone time, but still, keep your personal maid with you at least. I will ask her to pretend to be invisible."

"What are you saying? It doesn\'t make any sense."

"... Just be careful," he said.

"I know. I am careful," I said.

\'Should I tell him that I met King Ford today? He hates King Ford.\'

"I met King Ford today," I said. There was no point in hiding it from him. Rather, if I hid it, it might raise complications in our relationship for no reason.

"King Ford, you say?" he asked as his fork stopped just an inch away from his mouth.

"Yes," I said.

"When?"

"When I was taking a bath in the rain," I said and quickly added, "I was not naked! Jeez! What are you even thinking?"

"I haven\'t said anything."

"Your eyes did," I muttered.

"Then what happened?"

"He was actually enjoying the rain as well," I said. "I did not notice him before. Anyway, we talked for a bit then."

"I see..."

"I know what you are thinking. But don\'t worry. I kept my distance. And he did not do anything inappropriate either. He was quite easy-going."

"Easy-going?" he raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah, like quite friendly," I said. "We talked just a bit and then I came back. I napped again and woke up late in the evening."

"What did you two talk about?" he asked. I knew he was going to hold onto that part only.

"Just this and that, not much. He said that it\'s quite hard to behave all formally all the time. He also said that he likes rain and so he was taking a bath in the rain just like me. You know he is in the palace on our right."

"Yes, I heard so," he said.

"That\'s how we were able to talk like that," I said. "I came back very quickly, so we did not talk much."

"Hmm..."

"You know that I am keeping my distance, right?"

"Yes, I know. I believe you," he said. "Don\'t worry. I am not worried about it at all. It\'s just a matter of your safety."

\'It doesn\'t seem like that case to me though...\'

Dem was someone who got easily jealous. He was very protective and kinda possessive. But he was trying not to cross the line. But what he was thinking was really obvious in both his actions and facial expressions.

He was usually very clingy and liked skin-to-skin contact a lot. And when he was jealous, he would do it even more and would not let me go at all.

That night, just like I expected, he was hugging me for no reason and it had been a while, but he was not letting me go.

"Dem... What are you doing?" I asked tiredly.

"I am hugging my wife," he said.

"Really? You have been hugging for fifteen minutes."

"So what? It\'s not enough."

\'So childish...\'

"Dem, it\'s hard to breathe."

"Ah, sorry," he said, letting go quickly. He was very serious about me and when I said I had the slightest hardship in any way, he would do anything to fix it.

"You said you had a rough day. Let me massage your shoulders," I said.

"Well, it\'s not a bad thing," he said. "Should I take the shirt off?"

"Yeah, and besides, it\'s quite hot too. I wore a very thin nightgown as well."

"Quite hot? You mean the weather?"

"Yes. Or what would I even mean?"

"It has double meanings, so..."

He took off the shirt and I climbed up on the bed behind him. His shoulders were broad and athletic. Actually, his whole body was just perfect, as if a beautiful piece of art.

I started massaging his firm muscles. My hand felt too soft against his hard shoulders. And no matter how hard I pressed, it did not seem like he felt any pain.

"Is it okay?"

"Hmm, it\'s fine."

He had his eyes closed while his lips were formed into a satisfied smile. He looked very relaxed. It was a rare sight to see him enjoying some free time and relaxing without thinking about anything else.

And he improved his thinking and behavior as well. He surprisingly did not take the matter with King Ford too far.