Chapter 159: Naive

Drayce returned to where his captain of knights and Arlan were talking while Seren went towards the riverbank. She sat on one of the huge rocks near the water and enjoyed the pleasant scenery. Although she was surrounded by people she did not know, she felt relaxed and happy. Unlike in Abetha, there was no need for her to hide and sneak out, and she could openly admire the view without the worry about being cursed by other people. Here, no one called her a witch. 

'Must be because I am their queen,' she thought. One of the servants even placed a piece of cloth on the rock before she sat down, saying that her clothes must not go dirty. Such thoughtfulness and dedication were something she had never experienced, even with Martha. 'It's fine even if this is out of fear as long as no one is showing disgust or hostility to me. .'

In the capital, whenever she went out to visit the river, she and Martha had to be cautious to not be seen by others. In addition to avoiding people and hiding their identities, their visits had to be brief as well, because they left the palace grounds without permission. As she sat by the river today, for the first time, she didn't feel the need to do so. 

The other servant brought snacks for her in a basket. It was filled with fruits like wild berries and persimmons. 

"Your Majesty, please have some fruits," said the servant. 

Seren looked at the one who offered her a basket. It was a young woman a few years older than her, wearing a black and red dress with her hair set in a tight high bun that not even a single hair strand moved with the wind. The other servant was older, perhaps in her late twenties, but her attire was the same. 

'Seems like it's the uniform of the royal servants of Megaris,' Seren thought. 

Seren accepted the basket, deliberately making the scales on her right hand visible to both servants, watching their reactions as she probed if they would feel scared and drop the basket in her hand. Contrary to expectations, both servants appeared unflustered, reacting to her as if they had seen nothing wrong with her hand. 

Seren could not hide her surprise. "What is your name?" 

Though both of them had told their names before, Seren didn't pay attention as she didn't think it was important, but now it appeared that these two women were going to stick with her all the time throughout the long journey so she needed to know them.

The younger servant, the one holding the fruit basket, replied, "My name is Eva, Your Majesty."

Seren then looked at the other one. "And you?" 

"My name is Marie, Your Majesty," the older servant replied. 

Seren nodded at them before looking at the basket filled with fruits. She tasted a few of them and found them really tasty. She held the basket in front of her two servants and said, "Have some. They are nice."

Startled by her action, the servants shook their heads and then kept them lowered as they cried, "We dare not, Your Majesty!" 

How daring and bold would they be to eat anything that was meant for their queen? 

"Though I am a witch, I am not poisonous," Seren commented.  "You two won't die, trust me." 

The two servants were caught off guard as there seemed to be a misunderstanding. Though they had heard the rumor that their king had married a witch, their refusal had nothing to do with that. Since their king was the one who chose this young princess, they would serve her with respect and to the best of their abilities.

"We do not mean that, Your Majesty," Eva carefully explained. "You are our Queen and we are your mere servants. We dare not eat nor covet anything that belongs to Your Majesty."

"Since it belongs to me, I can give it to whoever I want, right?" Seren asked back. 

The servants nodded hesitantly, only to hear their queen say again, "Have some." 

The servants first looked at where their king was standing. Drayce was busy talking to his men while looking into the map. 

"His Majesty the King will punish us," Eva said with a low voice.

"Ignore him and take it," Seren urged. 

The two servants looked at her in shock. The person she asked them to ignore was the King of Megaris who everyone feared. How could their queen take him so lightly?

Seeing their queen adamant, the two servants picked up a few berries from the basket while thinking it would be the last day of their lives.

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When Drayce returned to his knights, his ears and mind were still focused on his queen. He couldn't miss anything about what she did or said. 

Slayer was there along with the captain who worked under him and the Crown Prince of Griven. Slayer pointed out a place in the map that was being held by the two knights to let their king see it clearly.

"Your Majesty, we are here at the moment, this side of the river. If we keep our current speed, we will enter this city, Bayrock, before sunset. Here, we can stay for the night. It should have nice inns as the city is one of the developed ones in Abetha." 

"Hmm." Drayce nodded. 

"Tomorrow, we can leave after our morning meal and since we are taking the official routes, we will pass through several more cities during the day and arrive at the border of Griven. This one, Cavevale." Slayer traced the route on the map with his finger. "On the third morning, we will pass through the mountain ranges and officially enter the territory of Griven. We can rest there for a day if Your Majesty wishes."

"After reaching Griven, you can leave everything else to me," Arlan said as he looked at Drayce. 

"Hmm." Drayce nodded again. 

Arlan saw that though his friend agreed to everything, his mind was somewhere else. 

Arlan looked at the knights and said, "We can discuss the latter part of our journey once we reach Griven." 

The knights nodded without saying anything else. Like Arlan, Slayer too noticed the same thing about his king. 

Slayer bowed to the two royals, saying, "I will look after other arrangements," before leaving with the other knights. 

All along, Drayce was thinking about how Seren must have lived her life, and later, he was listening to Seren's conversation with the two servants. She was so naive, not acting like a queen at all, and he didn't wish to change her. Let her live the way she wanted. 

"What are you thinking, Dray?" Arlan asked once they were alone. 

Drayce's gaze swept past his friend towards where Seren was sitting while eating the fruits along with her two servants. 

"I was wondering how isolated the King of Abetha had kept her from the outside world that she is not even aware of the most basic knowledge regarding people. She is book smart, but not aware of the simplest things. She is as good as a naive kid. If by chance she is left alone in the outside world, she will not be able to survive in this evil world."

Each word from Drayce was filled with worry for Seren.