The next day, Megaris' delegation was ready to leave Abetha Royal palace to head to the Kingdom of Othinia for the summit. Prince Cian was accompanying them with the royal troop of Abetha as he was the one to represent Abetha in the summit.
All the arrangements were made, and they were ready to leave in the morning. The King and the Queen of Abetha were present to see the guest off. Armen held his daughter's hand and patted with his. "Take care on the way."
"Yes, father," she replied with a light smile on her lips as she held her father's hand.
She looked at Queen Niobe who was standing next to her father. The woman's expressions were the same, calm and dignified. "Queen Seren, I have arranged the gifts from Griven for you. I hope you do enjoy it."
"I will, Queen Niobe."
The Queen offered a light nod and said, "The question you asked yesterday that you wondered if the Queen in that story was happy after sending the child away."
Seren looked into her eyes and realized she had asked this question and replied, "Yes, I wonder."
"I think she was not happy as she still didn't get what she longed for all her life," Niobe answered.
Seren offered her a gentle smile which was hidden behind her veil. She then looked at her father who was busy talking to Drayce and Seren didn't know what to say to Queen Niobe. It was between her father and Queen Niobe and those two needed to handle it.
The carriages were ready. Slayer approached Drayce, "Your majesty, we received a message that the Royal troop of Griven is in Abetha and they are traveling from northern territory. They are visiting different places so it's highly possible that we will reach the capital of Othinia, the city of Nefer, on the same day as Griven delegation."
Drayce nodded and he helped Seren to sit inside the carriage. The Royal troop of Megaris as well as the royal troop of Abetha led by Cian, left the Abetha royal palace.
The journey was going to be more than two weeks long. After a few days of travel while letting Seren explore the new places on the way, they entered the territory of Othinia.
Seren observed the territory and realized Othinia was blessed with greenery. She used to think only Abetha was blessed, but Othinia was on another level with green, dense jungle and the vegetation was denser, thriving in vitality with countless wildlife.
After passing through the southern jungle their journey was going to continue for another week until they reached the capital of Othinia, the city of Nefer. In between they halted at many places and explored this kingdom.
Seren was amazed by the beauty of this kingdom, culture, and people. The terrain and architecture, the society in general was different from Megaris and closely related to the Abetha but the difference was so significant as if she entered an entirely different world. The kingdom of Othinia was fascinating and remarkably different.
Othinia was a land where water shapes the very essence of its existence, with rivers and lakes intertwining to create a breathtaking natural wonder.
"It's a beautiful kingdom," Seren commented.
"It is," Drayce replied as he watched his wife enjoying traveling with him.
"You must have been here before," Seren commented to which Drayce nodded only to hear his wife ask, "Official or unofficial visit?"
Arrangements were also made in that vast palace to ensure each participating kingdom lodged in separate mansions with similar grandeur as the residences of the Nefertiti Royal Family themselves.
Drayce stepped out of the carriage and helped his wife to step out. The moment Seren stepped out of the carriage, her senses alerted her about something and she gripped Drayce's hand.
"Dray..."
"I know, my Queen," he offered her an assuring gaze as he understood what she had sensed because he didn't miss it as well.
Understanding that they should not talk about it, Seren turned calm.
"Rhaine Nefertiti welcomes His Majesty King and Queen and the delegation from Megaris."
After sharing the greetings, the Prince of Othinia personally led their way inside the guest mansion and left after making sure the King and Queen of Megaris were comfortable with their arrangements of stay.
Once the Prince left, finally Seren could talk. "Dray, did you sense it, the strong essence of power of darkness?"
"I did. It's similar to what we sensed on Azures Island."
"Does that mean that black witch is here?" Seren asked.
Drayce nodded and looked at Yorian who entered the guest mansion. When Drayce and Seren entered the mansion, Yorian was still outside and trying to sense something more.
"Did you find anything?" Drayce asked the elf.
Yorian nodded, "It's coming from the guest mansion next to us."
"We need to find out which kingdom's delegation is staying in the next mansion?"
Slayer, who was there, immediately stepped out and soon returned with the information. "Your Majesty, the delegation of Griven is staying in the next mansion."
It puzzled the other three. Arlan, why was he having a black witch in his mansion?
Drayce looked at tired Seren. "Let's rest for now. First thing we will do in the morning is to meet Arlan and find out why the black witch is staying in the Griven guest mansion."
Seren nodded and she went to rest with her husband while Yorian went out to look around.
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Note- The readers who have read from chapter 167 to 170 of 3rd book (The Devil's Betrothed), can avoid reading next chapter unless you want to read it from Seren and Drayce's POV of seeing Oriana with Arlan.