Chapter 453 - Wail

The next morning, Theodore took Dragomir to Tarrin as he had promised.

As Theodore left early in the morning, Adeline felt a bit lonely without him. It hadn't been much since she started to spend most of her time together with Theodore. But she realized how much she was already dependent on him to spend her free time.

The training was also canceled for today since it was unsure how much time the King of Tarrin, Ventura, would take to agree with the deal that King Dragomir was going to propose.

And Adeline didn't have many things to do to keep herself busy at the moment.

"Ugh! The staff in court won't arrive this soon. What am I going to do for the next three hours?" To be honest, she didn't even feel like working on anything. So she flopped down on the bed and rolled to lay on her stomach.

She then spoke in a muffled voice, "I can't even go meet the twins. They are with Queen Claricia. And I can't even see her in the eyes because father hasn't told her yet… I might end up spilling it like I spilled the news about the war to father."

She turned her head to the side and sighed, "He is going through so much trouble because of that…"

She bit her lower lip and kept on blankly staring outside of the window.

After god knows how many minutes, she heard howls from the forest. "Ah! I think I should go and check on Fenris' training. I wonder how he is coping with his change."

Adeline got up on her feet and put on her old training uniform. She wanted to join the training with them.

When she finished getting ready, she went to the window and jumped out of it. Now that she was a changeling, she could easily land on her feet while jumping from a great height. Jumping a story was no big deal for her.

She ran at the top of her speed while feeling the morning breeze pass through her. For a while, she felt liberated from her worries when the fresh forest air was filling her lungs.

Adeline soon found the spot where Nigel, Fenris, and Rhea were training. Two of them were in their wolf form while Rhea was monitoring them.

"Hey, Adeline! You want to join us?" Rhea asked Adeline who looked breathless from the run.

Adeline gave a smile and asked, "Can I? I hope I won't be disturbing you all."

Rhea nodded her head and said, "Of course, you can." She pointed her brows at the two wolves while saying, "They are busy practicing their telepathy right now. So, there isn't much to disturb."

"Oh!" Adeline had hoped to fight with them but watching the wolves taking turns to point their paw at each other and nod their head also looked fun.

By now, Adeline was already familiar with all of their wolf forms.

She watched Nigel biting his own tail with great interest. "Ooh! Are they showing tricks to each other right now?"

Rhea giggled and replied, "It looks like Nigel challenged Fenris to do the same."

Both Adeline and Rhea abruptly burst into laughter when Fenris began to chase his tail and go round and round until he fell to the ground.

Time passed very quickly when Adeline watched the wolves showing their tricks and making a fool out of themselves.

Nigel had noticed how gloomy Adeline had been recently and he was deliberately turning himself into a fool to make his sister laugh. He gazed at his sister with his amber eyes as she let herself loose.

After spending some quality time with the werewolves, Adeline returned to her quarters to get ready for the court.

She buried herself in files and reports and kept herself occupied until her father and Theodore returned late in the afternoon.

Dragomir called her to his workroom and when she was there, he handed her a file with a huge grin on his face.

Adeline glanced at her father and Theodore with excitement. She took the file from Dragomir and asked, "King Ventura agreed to provide us with the required silver?"

Dragomir puffed his chest and held his head high. And he playfully answered, "Did you think that he would disagree with my request when I personally went there to convince him?"

Adeline laughed and shook her head, "I had confidence in you, father."

Dragomir then boasted even more, "Ventura even agreed to provide 20 percent of the silver at free of cost. Apparently, he was very impressed by the presence of Dragon Immortal at your wedding. And he was loathing himself for not bringing enough gifts for your wedding. He said that it would be your post-wedding gift."

Adeline's jaw was wide open after hearing that. She questioningly glanced at Theodore and he gave her a nod, "Your father is saying the truth."

"This is amazing!" Adeline ran around the table and tightly hugged her father. "Thank you so much for doing all this in such a short time."

Dragomir laughed contently and said in a loving voice, "Anything for you and Wyverndale."

---

The days passed by.

With each day, the training for the soldiers was becoming more intense in nature.

Adeline began working together with the councilmen to draft the budget for the war.

Everyone was giving their all and working overtime in preparation for the war. They didn't have the luxury to even waste a minute if they wanted to win.

Adeline and Theodore were the ones who have had the most work among everyone. They had the whole responsibility of the Kingdom on their heads.

Both of them were also drowning themselves in work in an attempt to forget about what was imminent.

However, no matter how much they tried, the sadness would always find a space in their mind and heart.

Adeline didn't say it out loud but with each day that passed by, she was secretly hoping that her father-in-law would show some mercy and forget about the punishment.

"Can't sleep?" Theodore put his arms around Adeline and completely invaded Adeline's side of the bed.

Adeline was surprised when she heard him. She was facing the other side but he still knew that she hadn't fallen asleep yet.

Adeline let out a sigh and replied in a whisper, "I was about to."

She turned around to face Theodore and gently placed her palm on his cheek. His warmth was the one thing that was preventing her from breaking down. She found solace in his arms.

Theodore took her palm and lightly kissed her fingers. "You have been working very hard these days. Don't you get exhausted?"

Adeline gave a soft smile and answered, "I do. But this is no time to take things lightly. We can rest properly after the war is over."

Theodore put Adeline's palm back on his cheek and put his arms around her waist again. "I hope that day comes soon."

Theodore brought his face close to Adeline's and kissed her. "Now close your eyes and get some sleep. You won't be able to think properly tomorrow if you don't get enough sleep."

Adeline moved her hand from his cheek to his waist and wriggled closer to him. "Goodnight dear husband."

"Goodnight love," Theodore waited for Adeline to close her eyes and he also fell into slumber quick enough.

It hadn't been many hours since Theodore fell asleep. He was suddenly startled when he heard a high-pitched loud cry that was so loud that his ears were hurting.

Theodore's heart began hammering at such a fast pace upon hearing that wailing that he had difficulty in breathing.

His throat parched within a second and his palms and feet went cold. He glanced at Adeline who was still sleeping peacefully. And his heart ached even more.

He didn't have the courage to wake his wife up but he knew he had to.

Theodore gently shook Adeline by her shoulder and whispered painfully, "Adeline, I heard the banshee's cry."