Chapter 262: Crafty Devil

Ignorant of her husband's growing jealousy, Seren continued to daydream about the tales she would share once she meets her brother. After all, now that she finally experienced living outside her tower, there were many things she had tried doing for the first time. She would no longer be only a listener to his travels outside of Abetha, but as Queen of Megaris, had grown into someone with a story to tell as well. If Martha would be visiting too, Seren could even bring her along to the greenhouse in the Crystal Palace to view the wonderful sight of exotic plants inside.

On the other hand, Drayce did not know that Seren was also thinking of her nanny, thus, all his jealousy and annoyance solely targeted the Crown Prince of Abetha. It took him a full minute to calm himself. 

"My Queen," Drayce called out to get her attention. Only after he was sure she was listening did he continue. "This stone will not start showing its effect immediately. It will need to adjust to your body temperature first before it will start warming your body." 

Seeing how serious Drayce looked, Seren decided to think about her brother later and focused on observing the bracelet her husband gifted her.

"How long will it take?" she asked as she could not wait to take those heavy winter clothes off of her fragile body.

"By tomorrow morning, it will start working," Drayce informed her. 

'Well, it's not bad. I can even wait for a few more days if this stone can truly help me cope up with this cold,' Seren thought. Her spirits visibly lifted, she then showed her gratitude to Drayce. "Thank you so much, Your Majesty. I will always keep it with me." 

"Mhm!" Drayce made a sound of agreement as he gazed into her bright eyes, seemingly trying to see through her thoughts.

Seren smiled under her veil. Unfortunately, such a sight was something Drayce couldn't see, but from her bright eyes, he could guess how she sincerely liked his gift. 

Her line of thought started to head towards a direction he would have frowned upon.

'Now I can sleep nicely even during the nights when this cold won't let me be. I won't need His Majesty by my side to feel warm. No more embarrassing moments I would have to face!'

Just as Seren cheered in her world, she heard Drayce say, "But my Queen, you can't keep wearing it during the night."

As if a bucket of cold water was poured on her, she looked at him. "Can't wear it at night? Why?" she asked as she internally cried, 'But it's the coldest during the night!'

Drayce replied while maintaining a straight face, "That way it will work effectively during daytime when you have to go out. I am sure my Queen wouldn't enjoy wearing a heavy winter coat over your elaborate royal clothes while going outside." 

Seren sure didn't like to wear the fancy attire meant for queens, but they were still bearable since her servants always choose the simplest dresses in her wardrobe. Putting a winter coat on top of them, or even wearing those thick high-necked long-sleeved clothes with skirts dragging till the floor, would surely feel like she's carrying heavy baggage all the time.

She tried clarifying again. Perhaps, she heard Drayce wrong. "If I wear it at night, it won't be effective in the daytime?"

"My Queen, you can feel warm in the room in another way. You need to let this crystal regain its effectiveness by keeping it away for a while," Drayce replied, his sharp gaze fixed on that red crystal. Knowing her thoughts, how he wished to take it back— and he almost regretted giving the bracelet to her—but the next moment, he remembered the reason why he intended to give it to her in the first place. Seren's health worried him as she wouldn't be able to stand the cold once winter starts, and he could not be by her side all the time. 

What he said about the crystal was true that it needed to keep it away for a while to regain its effectiveness, but there was no need to keep it away for the entire night. Only an hour would do, but Drayce being Drayce, he didn't want to miss any chance to get physically close to his wife—which was something she only allowed because she felt comfortable in the warmth of his body, allowing her to sleep soundly.

"Understood, Your Majesty!" Of course, the innocent queen couldn't see through her crafty devil husband. 

Drayce smirked lightly, and thought, 'What is the need of this crystal at night when I am beside you to warm you up?'

"My Queen, would you like to go somewhere with me?" Drayce asked. He wished to normalize things with her as he believed that after what they did the previous night, she might be hesitant to spend time with him out of embarrassment. He had work to do, but he could keep everything aside for the sake of his queen who was much more important to him than anything else in this kingdom.

"Yes, Your Majesty," she replied, not asking where they were heading to. 

There was no way Seren would say no to him, even though he always asked for her consent. She could understand it was something her husband wanted. Moreover, there was no harm in going on a walk with him.

Drayce stood up and offered her his hand. "Shall we?" 

Accepting his hand, Seren stood up, and the next moment, Drayce held her closer to his body. "Hold tight."

Seren's reflex was strong whenever he said it as she knew what he would do next. She immediately hugged him tightly, shutting her eyes with her face pressed against his chest. A light smirk was painted on his lips before he hugged her back. 

Inside the King's study, nothing was left but a strong gust of wind.

Drayce and Seren finally reached where Drayce intended to take her. Though the journey lasted for only a moment, Seren again felt a little exhaustion as a consequence of his usage of magic. She continued holding onto Drayce, and he had held her in his warm embrace securely. 

"Are you fine, my Queen?" Drayce asked, lowering his gaze to Seren who still had her face buried in his chest.

Realizing the ground underneath her feet was steady, Seren tilted her head and tried to catch her breath. The cold breeze blowing left a salty aftertaste in her mouth. She slowly let him go before answering his question. "I-I am fine, Your Majesty."

However, Drayce still didn't let her go, keeping her tiny body wrapped in his arms. He then released one arm and made her look at him by holding her face at her chin. "I see my Queen is not as tired as before." Observing her face, he gave an approving nod and said, "Good. Soon, my Queen won't feel exhausted at all after traveling with me like this."

Seren nodded slightly and stepped away from Drayce after he let her go from his hold. Taking another deep breath, she finally turned her head to look at her surroundings. However, she had to immediately close her eyes as her hair whipped against her face the moment she turned.

'Why is it so windy and where are we exactly?' she thought trying to get her hair away from her face and especially her eyes so she could see something.