New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)
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Archdemon Empress Luna
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Some of the high-born ladies fetching Faerie confectioneries from the banquet set their plate down to their respective tables.
The rest of the women who gossiped at the sidelines broke their circles to step towards the edge of the thick red velvet carpet laid out by the helmed guards from the ascended golden throne of the Highest Monarch to the entrance.
And then, the King and Queen could even reveal themselves and step forward.
She frowned.
It must be the Fairfolk's tradition to let the aristocrats dance until their heels rot or their toenails fall off before the party hosts arrive to make the scene jovial and pleasant.
The guests would be contented to be free and idle while they waited for the Royals.
Everyone will be in good spirits: eating fruitcakes and bread with cream and jams, drinking milk and wine to socialize with their fellow aristocrats, and dance with strangers.
At midnight when the guests have lowered their inhibitions due to alcohol, some of these mated couples or random unmated strangers pairing themselves will sneak out from the Great Hall and find a private place to do the deed.
While Apollyon and Luna explored the second floor of the gazebo at the Hedge Maze Garden, where they could find an observatory, they found telescopes for stargazing and weather forecasting.
At the same time, dark red cushions and coverlets were settled near it.
Her husband suggested casually that they should fuck there sometime and watch the stars and the planets naked when there was no one was around.
She was so aroused by what he told her that she clutched the fabric of his chest and pulled him closer, wrapped her hands around his neck, and gave him an open-mouthed kiss.
Apollyon kissed her back with his tongue, exploring the inside of her mouth with scorching heat.
Groaning, he pulled away, claiming that they were in broad daylight and it would be awkward to meet her mother with an erection.
Luna glanced at Apollyon, who was at the other side of the carpet, alone, with no woman clinging to him.
Good.
She wouldn't have to grab someone's hair and drag her claws to the poor lady's flaking scalp if she would as much cling her hand on her husband's arm when he minded his own business.
Everyone must have known that Apollyon was the Vampire King and Luna was the Empress.
She was glad that the Summer Courts were caught on fast to the situation.
No one in their right mind would want to steal a mated individual when their mate watched over like a hawk unless she was as desperate as the Spring Princess.
Nodding her head in approval, she gave Apollyon a wink, and her husband winked back along with a knowing smile that made her breathless.
Her core flooded with delicious warmth.
"Princess Sapphire and the Vampire King—" He shouted louder, but he cut himself off.
"Never mind." The Herald muttered to no one in particular. "He isn't here."
Luna's mouth opened in shock as she returned her gaze to Apollyon, who gave her a half-shrug.
"And last but not the least, Princess Ourania and Sir Tristan from the Fall Courts."
Luna jerked her head slightly backwards in disbelief. Sir Tristan from the Fall Courts?
She blinked rapidly at what she had heard.
Lord Caspian clearly told her about an hour ago that Princess Ourania was engaged to a Prince that the aristocrats didn't know.
Who knew if this Prince really existed in real life when Apollyon's mother was known for talking to imaginary friends!
Since when did this Prince demote as a Knight?
Was it a mistake on the Marquess' part?
She scratched at her chin, squinting at them.
Did Luna hear him right, or did Lord Caspian heard wrong if he caught this gossip from the grapevine?
She clicked her tongue.
No one was truly reliable in the Court, huh?
While they were in the Spring Courts, Apollyon told her that rumours spread like wildfire in the Spring Courts.
It can escalate to an unpredictable exaggeration of problems and character assassinations.
More often, it can destroy people's reputations.
A victim of such gossip will never lead to a positive outcome.
It will go downhill from there.
It did more harm than good.
Since Apollyon and Luna were two mates who kept to themselves, they really had no desire to defend themselves when nobody in their area witnessed their great ideas.
Apollyon would probably be the type who struck at those who talked ill about them, no questions asked, but since she was pregnant, her husband would avoid confrontations and escape from there just like what she wanted.
He was good at heeding her request.
Luna didn't want any more deaths on behalf of her in Apollyon's hands.
What happened at the Prison House in Krininianopolis was enough, and neither will she allow her husband to drink into a stupor again.
For that to be effective, Luna would never be tricked by a husband, shape-shifting Archdemon.
If she had the slightest suspicion of her husband's behaviour, she would interrogate the man for one hour before she let him lift her skirts and touch the intimate parts of her.
Perhaps, the Marquess did it on purpose to throw her off the scent!
With clenched jaws, Luna crossed her arms in irritation.
Out of all the things… she hated being tricked despite the threats she had given Lord Caspian.
Luna wasn't doing a good job at being a villain.
She was an Archdemon!
Maybe, she just needed a little more practice with directness instead of beating around the bush when it came to scaring her perceived enemies.
After King Oberon and Queen Titania had settled on their thrones, Princess Ourania, who had her long auburn hair divided into two and braided over her shoulders, followed their footsteps.
Cherries, verbenas, daisies, bellflowers, and sweet-scented herbs were tied at the end of the braids.
She wore a tiara with the crescent shape as she wore a boat-shaped neckline of white feathers, which showed her cleavage.
Her sleeves were long and loose, with the colour of the rainbow, and she had a tight golden corset just below her breasts.
Apollyon's mother was too luxurious to look at compared to the man she was engaged with.