Chapter 392
Demiliore Castle, Noxville, Netheria
A convoy of cars entered through the gates of the Castle in the afternoon, and as soon as Keith stepped out of his vehicle, he had to open his arms for the red blur that came running out of the front door and lunged right into his embrace.
"I missed you too, Princess." He chuckled as he hugged the little girl back and then comfortingly squeezed her small body.
Ingvild merrily smiled at being called a Princess, and expressed her happiness by kissing him on his cheek. She then let him go and hugged Kiara, leaving him a little impressed at the control she was showing on her thirst for his Blood.
She was trying to distract herself by greeting everyone, and from her smile, it was quite hard to discern that she was very agitated.
The only reason why he could sense her agitation was because he was her mate and much more now.
He let the girls be and entered the Castle, where a smile soon formed on his face when he saw Ingrid coming over, and as much as she wanted to just come forward and hug him, she bowed to him.
"Welcome Home, Master."
"It's good to see you, Ingrid." He nodded to her before leaning in and planting a kiss on her forehead.
Despite herself, she could not help but blush at his show of affection, and her body trembled a little as her thirst for his blood flared up.
"Ayesha is resting in her room. Her fever is getting worse." She informed him, exercising control over her urges as best as she could.
"And Qingyue?" He asked as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it, inspecting the changes that had taken place inside of her so far.
"She locked herself up in her room after Kiara called us and informed us that you were coming." Ingrid sighed. "She tried to create an antidote, but she failed, and now she's blaming herself even more."
"I see." He nodded to her and smiled again when he saw Nana rushing over to him from down the hallway.
"Keith!" She smiled as she hugged him and he planted a kiss on her head.
"You seem to be doing well."
"I am fine." She nodded to him and quickly tip-toed to take a quick peck of his lips. "Ayesha is in immense pain, and her fever..." She started speaking as she led him straight to the girl.
Whilst they moved towards Ayesha's room, she informed him how she, Ayesha, and Qingyue were having their daily spar and how the accident happened.
Nana emphasised that it was an accident and that Qingyue was quite devastated, not blaming her, even though she too had nearly been caught by poisonous miasma that had suddenly erupted from from his wife's hand.
Perhaps they did not realise it, but any normal person would have died by now if they had been the victim instead of Ayesha. It was how deadly Qingyue's poisons were.
Luckily, there were no Ordinary Mortals at the castle.
Ingrid and Ingvild were staying at the Manor with his grandmother, so they were not present here at the Castle when the accident happened.
The only Maids at the castle were all Aurors and Espers, belonging to the little Princess of France, who stayed here with them.The source of this content no/v(el)bi((n))
"It's your fault too that you failed to erect the Runic Shield in time."
"I am sorry." She immediately apologised. "But please don't blame Qingyue..."
"I am not blaming her for anything." He cut her off. "She lost her composure in a spar against her friend, whom she claims she considers her sister."
Ayesha tried to defend her again but found herself at a loss of words.
"It was an accident..."
"Accidents usually happen when you are not careful enough." He told her and then turned around to keep walking towards Qingyue's room.
His words were not only directed at his wife but also at his lover, who was careless enough to test her limits against someone who could potentially kill her by accident.
Sure enough, Ayesha felt embarrassed as she followed him, keeping her head lowered.
When they arrived at Qingyue's door, Keith glanced at her, and his she silently requested him to not go too hard on her sister-like friend.
He did not say anything to her and knocked on the door once, and then proceeded to open it before entering the room.
Qingyue was up and standing next to the window, wearing a frown on her face as she anxiously looked at him.
When she saw Ayesha enter the room, and saw that she was absolutely fine, her body trembled and a tear slipped out of her eye despite her efforts to hold it back.
"Envy is a vice that corrupts you if you are not wise enough," Keith said as he started walking towards her, and his words made her flinch. "You lost your composure because you found out that Ayesha and Nana were much stronger than you had anticipated, and that they could keep up with you, leaving you with no advantage over them."
"Keith..." Ayesha tried to stop him, but when he glanced at her, the coldness in his eyes chilled her and made her lower her head obediently.
"I..." Qingyue tried to speak, and more tears welled up in her eyes as she could not refute his words.
Just when she mustered up some courage to meet his eyes and tell him how sorry she was, she felt him place his hand on her head, and for a moment her mind blanked before she looked at him in surprise.
"Work on yourself." He told her, and then gently smiled. "Go, freshen up. The girls are waiting for us."
"Keith, I..."
"We know how you feel about it." He said. "And we know that you are sorry. I hope you will be careful next time." He nodded to her and then stepped aside, letting Ayesha come forward and hug her. "I will see you in the Main Lounge." He said to them before he left the room, leaving the two of them alone.
He knew very well that Qingyue would only feel better once she understands that Ayesha did not blame her.
Keith realised that he had to he hard on her and force her to work harder on herself, but punishments were not going to work here.They would only make her feel more depressed.
A perosn like her would only learn through their mistakes and experiences, and he knew her better than anyone.
Qingyue was going to take her time, but she would eventually become the perosn that she was destined to become.