Chapter 56 Reyna

Zen at the girl crying in his arms with a look of guilt.

"Reyna…"

"Hic- Everyone said that you might not even return… I didn't believe them! I knew… I knew you'd come back!"

Overwhelmed with emotions, Zen returned the hug, pulling her close to him.

He gently kissed her on the forehead.

"I'm sorry for worrying you."

Reyna buried her head in Zen's chest, enjoying the sound of his heartbeat.

"I-I know you weren't at fault for this… But… Don't do that again! I don't want to lose you!"

*SSSIIIPPP*

Everyone around the table sipped tea while enjoying the spectacle they put on.

They all treated the event as a good source of entertainment.

Realizing they were being watched, Zen's face flushed red as he whispered something into Reyna's ear.

"Hieeeee?"

She raised her head and noticed everyone staring at her.

Reyna's entire face went red.

She promptly got back up on her feet after reluctantly parting with Zen.

Facing the duke and lady, Reyna lifted the edges of her skirt and curtsied.

"Reyna Winstrel greets Lord and Lady Silvercolt. I hope you can forgive my earlier emotional outburst."

Lienna and Wilfried exchanged glances and smiled.

"It's fine. It's always pleasing for parents to know that their child is loved, especially by their betrothed. But… The two of you should save that stuff for when you are alone together." Lienna said with a teasing look.

"W-We will k-keep that in mind!" Reyna stuttered.

Wilfried sighed.

"Lienna, don't be too hard on her. You weren't any less emotional when you saw Zen again."

Lienna stealthily pinched Wilfried's thigh.

"Hmm? Did you say something, dear?" Lienna said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"N-Nothing, I said nothing at all!"

Wilfried hurriedly tried to pacify his wife.

Even though he was the duke, they had a strict hierarchy in the house…

Everyone in the room laughed after watching this scene, even Reyna.

"Come on, Lienna! You're making me look bad in front of the kids!" Wilfried complained.

"Hmmph!"

Lienna finally let go of Wilfried's thigh, allowing him to sigh in relief.

"Since everyone finished eating, let's head to the drawing-room. I'm sure Reyna has some questions of her own."

Wilfried stood up and led the group to the drawing-room, which was only across the hall from the dining room.

After everyone was seated, Zen narrated the story of what had happened to him and of Arvell's help throughout their endeavours.

Reyna sat silently while taking in the details, but her facial expressions revealed her immense anger and resentment towards the fate that befell her fiancé.

After Zen finished narrating his story, Reyna walked over to him and hugged him deeply.

"To think that while I was sleeping in a warm bed while indulging in delicacies, you were forced to sleep in a cage with little to no food in your stomach. I feel ashamed to call myself your fiance. I could do nothing to help you, yet I spoke of taking care of you for the rest of your life..."

Tears began to spill from Reyna's eyes.

"I-I'm sorry, Zen, I am so sorry!"

Zen's eyes became soft when he saw his fiance shedding tears for him.

Knowing that she loved him to that extent touched his heart.

Zen reached out and hugged Reyna, placing his hand on Reyna's back. The unexpected hug caught her by surprise, causing her body to shake.

However, after remembering it was her fiance doing this, she gave up all resistance, allowing Zen to slowly stroke her back.

Reyna allowed the sense of security Zen gave her to take over and melted in his embrace.

"None of this was your fault… Even if you knew what was happening, there wasn't much you could have done."

Taking his other hand, Zen wiped the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief he produced from his pocket.

"Look, all that matters is that I'm home now. So don't be sad anymore, okay? You look much better with a smile on your face."

Reyna looked at Zen with a conflicted expression etched on her face but decided to listen to her fiance.

"Mhmm"

A small smile formed on Zen's mouth, and he turned to Arvell

"I'm just glad that Arvell was there to save me. I may have never been able to return if it wasn't for him."

Hearing Zen's words, Reyna snapped out of her daze.

Hurriedly fixing her appearance, she detached herself from her fiancé with a flushed face.

Taking a deep breath to calm her heightened heart rate, Reyna turned to Arvell and bowed.

It was not a simple bow to show courtesy but a deep bow.

One reserved for extremely important people or people that deserve immense respect.

To her, Arvell was the latter, of course.

"Thank you for saving my fiancé Zen's life! I Reyna Winstrel am in your debt."

Arvell took a deep breath and put on his most lustrous smile.

"Don't worry about it; I only did what was right. It's good to see that my sworn brother has such a caring fiancé."

Frankly, Arvell was tired of having to act like a saint, but he did need to keep up appearances…

While Arvell was inwardly cringing, Reyna felt her heart skip a beat when Arvell smiled at her.

'He's… He's so handsome! But… Zen's the one for me. There's no way I can be unfaithful to him.'

Seeing Reyna's flustered face, Zenos shot Arvell a stink eye.

'I know you're single, but there is honour among sworn brothers! So don't gun for my fiancé!'

Arvell could almost hear Zen yelling at him purely through his glare.

Arvell put his hands up to show that he didn't mean any harm.

'This drama routine is making me lose brain cells… Can't I go back to training or something?' Arvell lamented inwardly.

Lykos brushed his ethereal hair to the side.

'Sigh... This is the curse of being too good-looking. I had to deal with it, and now it's your turn.' Lykos sympathized