Adeline and Theodore woke up in each other's arms in the softest bed and to the delightful environment.
Theodore gave a warm smile to Adeline and greeted her in his deep morning voice, "Good morning, my dear wife." He leaned forward and gave a peck on her smiling lips.
Adeline lightly touched Theodore's lips with her thumb and greeted him back, "Good morning, my dear husband."
Both of them giggled because of the new 'titles' that they had earned after the marriage.
They stayed in their warm embrace for a few more minutes. And after some time, Adeline unwillingly asked Theodore, "Theo, we should return back to the Palace. We need to attend the breakfast with our guests from Aberdeen."
"Right!" Theodore sighed and pouted.
That little reaction of his didn't go unnoticed by Adeline. She pressed her lips together and apologized a bit sadly, "I'm sorry that we didn't even get to have a peaceful honeymoon. A few days of getaway would have been nice."
Theodore didn't realize that his discontentment was that apparent on his face. He quickly tried to make amends and replied, "We can always go on our honeymoon when things about the war and everything quiets down a little. For now, let's focus on things that need our immediate attention."
Adeline gave him a wide smile and nodded, "Okay."
Theodore pecked Adeline's lips several times and made her giggle before teleporting back to their room in the Palace.
---
Adeline and Theodore warmly welcomed their guests from Aberdeen to the dining hall of their quarter.
Queen Mother Blevine and Queen Tasha settled down on either side of King Conall in the round table. Queen Claricia sat beside her mother, followed by Nigel and Rhea. And Prince Fenris and Crown Prince Wulfric also settled down beside Adeline and Theodore.
Adeline gave a gentle smile to King Conall and apologized to him on her father's behalf. "Your Majesty, King Dragomir sent a message saying he wouldn't be able to attend the breakfast with us. He said that he had to attend a meeting with the King of Tarrin."
King Conall gave an understanding smile to Adeline, "There's no need to apologize, Princess. We already got a chance to share the dinner with His Majesty yesterday. I'm sure he has to keep all of his relatives happy. It's understandable."
"Then we shall begin the breakfast," Adeline gave a thankful nod to the King and turned around to gesture to the maids to serve the dishes.
The maids and servants were already on standby inside the dining hall so the moment they got the signal from the Princess, the maids served the food to everyone.
"Please enjoy your breakfast," Theodore gave a polite smile to everyone before taking a bite of his toast.
Adeline was cutting the sausage into bite-size pieces but the knife slipped and a piece of sausage jumped out of her plate. For a second, Adeline pouted and stared at that piece of sausage as if it had betrayed her.
Theodore smiled softly and put his toast aside. "Let me help you," he pulled Adeline's plate closer to him and began to cut the sausages for her.
Queen Mother Blevine couldn't help but admire the beautiful newlyweds, "Oh, aren't you both in so much love. The two of you perfectly complement each other."
Both Adeline and Theodore had forgotten for a while that they were sitting at the table with others. They smiled at Queen Mother, and Adeline shyly thanked her, "That is very kind of you to say so, Your Royal Highness."
King Conall also agreed with his mother, "Yes, you two are a lovely couple. I wish you both a life filled with love and happiness."
"Thank you for your good wishes, Your Majesty," Adeline smiled and bowed and Theodore also gave a slight nod.
King Conall then took the chance to talk about the war directly with the Princess, "Adeline, we had heard from you asking for help for the upcoming war. I had even held meetings with the related people to discuss the same. But we are extremely sorry that we couldn't reach the unanimous decision sooner."
His brows furrowed and his expression turned grim. Everyone could clearly see a look of disgust on his face when he said, "I had never thought that those filthy bastards would be so bold enough to directly attack His Majesty and you… that also inside the Palace."
The whole mood of the breakfast turned from sweet and cheerful to serious.
Adeline put down her knife and fork and sighed. "None of us had predicted that they would come to Wyverndale like that. So, please don't be sorry."
"But I do still think that the war is bound to happen." Adeline looked at the King and put forth her request for help in person, "So, I still expect the support of the werewo–"
Fenris coughed violently pretending that he had choked on something.
And Adeline realized that she was about to expose herself that she knew about the secret of the Siccaldi clan. Nigel, Rhea, and Claricia kept on eating as though nothing had happened, as if they had not heard something very concerning.
And Adeline cleared her throat and instantly tried to correct the slip of her tongue, "…warriors of Aberdeen. I had heard from my father that the warriors of Aberdeen are very brave and skilled. So it would be a–"
"You know something about us, don't you?" King Conall abruptly asked Adeline. He could sense the change in most of the people's aura, they were scared. And he could also hear their elevated heartbeat. He was sure that he didn't hear it wrong. He was sure that Adeline was about to ask for help from 'werewolves' and not 'warriors'.
King Conall had asked that question with such a calm face that nobody in the room could tell if he was furious or not.
Nigel and Fenris prayed in their heart that Adeline would deny knowing their secret. They didn't want the King to get angry at all of them. Or worse, they didn't want the King to reject Adeline's plea for help.
However, Adeline did just the opposite of what the boys wanted. She confessed.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I am well aware that some of the people of Wyverndale are special. And to be honest, I need the support of werewolves in the war. We all know how powerful vampires are when compared to humans. We humans cannot defeat an army of vampires, not without the support of an equally powerful ally."
Nigel lightly face-palmed himself. Fenris completely avoided having eye contact with their alpha. Wulfric, Blevin, and Tasha were looking at Adeline with wide eyes. And Claricia, Rhea, and Theodore were looking at the King.
Theodore was especially being attentive to the King's facial expression so that if he was to lose his control, he could defuse the matter before anyone in the room got hurt.
The whole room went pin-drop silent.
Everyone, except Adeline and Theodore, was holding their heart in their palms and was praying that another mishap would not occur in the Palace.
They all were crossing their fingers and were waiting for the response of the fierce alpha.