It was just a week that they got to Dacria that Roselle found this place more comfortable and the Werewolves here doesn't look like monsters she and every human calls them.
Roselle who was about to take her seat halted but she forced a smile on her face to assure the butler. "It's alright, Elijah. There is no need to transfer places. I am fine with dining right here. It's not like this is the first time I'm going to eat alone," she replied when someone's voice echoed, pulling their attentions.
"Would you mind if I join you, Lady Roselle?" Roselle whipped her head towards the source of the voice, and an elegant grey-haired lady was smiling, approaching her. This was the first time Roselle saw a grey-haired Werewolf. They said that the major indicator that a Werewolf was old and ancient was their grey hair. The woman walking towards her was still very beautiful and elegant, exuding a regal aura of probably a queen dowager. Could it be that she's the mother of the late empress? "Duchess Rowena," Elijah greeted the woman and gave a deep bow to her. Roselle followed Elijah's actions and immediately did the same. She had yet to meet anyone other than Romeo and his men in this castle – not even the Duke and Duchess – so having the duchess suddenly approaching her totally caught her off guard. Was it alright for her to interact or stay close to her? "Duchess, it's a pleasure to meet you," Roselle greeted and the Duchess' smile widened. "I thank you for gracing me with your presence at this meal. I'm sure it must have been hard for an important figure like yourself to put aside some time to deliberately come all the way here to accompany me." Roselle remembered to be polite and gracious in speech as was expected of a noble lady. "The pleasure is all mine, Your Highness. I have been wanting to meet with Prince Romeo's wife ever since I've heard of you." She replied and the two ladies finally settled and sat across each other. After exchanging pleasantries, the servants laid out the dishes and both ladies started on their meal. "I hope you have been enjoying your stay here, Lady Rosella." "Yes. Though Dacria is very different from my home city, I find this place really fascinating." Roselle said. For some reason, she felt at ease with her, just like how she felt towards Elijah when she first met him. They were both unintimidating. Was it because of their soft eyes and warm smiles? "This city is definitely a magnificent place. I am exceptionally in awe of the snow and how beautifully it enhances the scenery here. We never get it looking this way back where I came from." "I am pleased to know that, Your Highness. If you feel bored, feel free to visit me, alright? I can be your company if you ever choose to have a spin and go sight-seeing around the city." "Thank you so much for the offer. I'll definitely seek you out when the time comes when I'd like a tour of the city." "It would be great if the prince would be the one to accompany you… but I'm afraid he's currently too occupied with state matters right now." The Duchess sounded a little apologetic and gave a gentle smile. "Yes... he is…" Roselle just smiled in return and gave an elegant shrug of her shoulders. After their dinner, Roselle and the duchess were still chatting as they left the dining hall and had just stepped into the massive living hall when they saw a number of ladies ascending the grand staircase heading towards the castles' ballroom. With just one glance, Roselle could tell that they were all gorgeous specimens of females – almost flawless. It was obvious they were probably the daughters of the nobles in this Dukedom. But why were they here? Did the duchess host a tea party? Roselle doubted it as from what she observed, those beautiful ladies looked as young as her. "Oh, they're finally here." The Duchess sounded pleased as she looked at the ladies with seemingly scrutinizing eyes. "Who… who are they?" Roselle asked curiously and hesitantly. The grey-haired werewolf glanced at her while Roselle still had her eyes firmly fixed on the bevy of fine-looking ladies. The Duchess regarded Roselle with an observant gaze as she spoke. "They are the daughters of the nobles, Your Highness." Duchess Rowena said, not taking her eyes off Roselle's face. "Why are they here?" Roselle finally met her gaze. "Is there an event happening currently?" she continued asking and the Duchess was silent for a moment. Seemingly weighing something in her mind before she answered. "They were invited to enter into the castle as the candidates for His Highness' concubines." It took a couple of seconds for Roselle to register those words that the duchess had uttered. Her mind could not quite accept what she had just heard. Roselle ended up standing there, frozen, as the duchess scrutinized her reaction. Even though Duchess Rowena had yet to meet her husband due to the current situation, she had already heard about this. And this was why she sought to meet the Princess. Of course, she already knew about the deal of Romeo's marriage to this human princess. And Duchess Rowena was actually disheartened when she heard about the deal that Romeo was not even allowed to touch his own wife. The duchess found it ridiculous, that a husband was not allowed to touch his own wife. So even though she does not approve with the idea of a married man having mistresses, Rowena could only support it in this particular case. She would definitely support the wife over any mistresses, because as a wife, she despised mistresses. However, how could she support a wife who denies her husband the right to touch her? Especially when she knows that her husband was in a dire situation and desperately needed an heir to secure his bloodline. "I am glad Prince Romeo finally agreed." The duchess continued, still watching Roselle's face intently."He… he agreed?" Roselle's face was suddenly drained of all colour. However, her facial expressions did not change in the slightest. "I haven't met my husband or the prince yet, but it appeared this was what the council had concluded and decided on. If the prince had not given his consent, there would be no way that anyone could have made a move." "I see…" was all Roselle said. But her reaction was clear to the Duchess. It was obvious Roselle was affected and was even probably devastated, and heart broken, judging from the dispirited look in her eyes. This was not what the duchess had expected. Didn't she hate Romeo that she didn't even allow him to sleep with her in the same room? Rowena had heard that yesterday, the prince left the princess' room and slept somewhere else. Even the servants have started gossiping, saying that the princess must have kicked him out in the middle of the day. So, what was with her betrayed expression now? Could it be that they were missing out on an
Roselle ended up spending the entire time waiting up for Romeo in their room, sometimes pacing up and down, sometimes sitting on the bed in a daze – but he never did appear. She eventually fell into a troubled and fitful sleep, plagued with a painful and heavy heart. When she finally woke up, her gaze immediately fell to the empty side of their bed before she turned her head towards the window. It was already night. Though she slept, it felt as though she did not get any rest but suffered greater mental torture if it was even possible. A bitter smile curved on Roselle's lips. Her resigned heart could only conclude that he must have gone ahead and slept with those beautiful concubines of his. No matter how she tried to deny her feelings nor ignore it, the reality is that she hated how her heart squeezed in pain. A soft bitter chuckle escaped from her lips as she buried her face in her palms. She could not help but laugh because now that her husband finally did what she had been expec
Roselle stiffened at his words but she maintained her indifference. "Nothing happened." "Look at me, Rosella." He said firmly. And when Roselle refused to obey, Romeo took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a brief moment, and opened them again. "Don't make me repeat myself…" Roselle finally turned, and she could not believe that even at this moment, the stunning beauty of the man before her still could cause her breath to catch in her throat. Why does he have to be this bewitching? Trying her hardest to keep her emotion hidden from him, Roselle looked at him with emotionless eyes. The muscle in Romeo's cheek ticked along his jaw but he stayed very still for a long moment, as if he were having his very own internal battle within him while scrutinizing his wife's face. "Alright… I won't ask why you're acting like this anymore." His gaze softened. "Why don't you question me instead, wife? Won't you dig and find out the reason why I couldn't spend the day with you?" came his impossi
Romeo finally lifted his head from the thoughts of his maddening wife that were plaguing his mind and realized that no one else were in the room but the ladies who were with him. This made him narrow his eyes dangerously. The bolder one of the two women was already undressing in front of him. "Your Highness, we could tell you're in a very foul mood. Did your wife kick you out of your bed again? Do not worry, we are here to serve and please you, Your Highness." The other woman whispered to him as she caressed his chest seductively. "Let us help you relax." She added as the other woman approached him, naked. Romeo felt the rage he was trying so hard to suppress rapidly explode out of him. "Who gave you both the permission to do this!?" he snarled in a wintry, hostile voice. "Y-Your Highness, pl-please don't think about anything else and –" His eyes immediately burned red, and aura flamed outwards, causing the women to be knocked back a few steps and they even started to tremble just
"Evie…" Not knowing what to do, Romeo slowly lifted his hands and reverently touched her face, resting them below her ears. Her cheeks were icy cold it made his heart ache even more but what struck him the hardest were her tears. "I'm sorry…" his voice cracked a little and he then inched forward, erasing the space between them, he buried his face in her hair and held her, almost desperately. "I'm so sorry… this is a misunderstanding. Those ladies. I never allowed it. I never agreed. I didn't even know the duke had called them here." He explained as fast as he could. "Please. Don't cry. I was outside the castle since yesterday, surveying the frontlines in preparation for the war. It was so sudden as I received an urgent report informing that the crown prince was on his way here to siege the city. I only arrived a while ago and came straight to you." Roselle couldn't believe what she was hearing. The warmth of him as he hugged her so tightly, the desperate tone he was using, the crack
Shocked with utter embarrassment, Roselle automatically reached down and grabbed Romeo's hair to stop his face from reaching her most private area. Her face was as red as a cooked lobster as she looked down at him with wide-opened eyes. Romeo peeked up at her and his eyes glimmered more startlingly than usual. A hint of devious yet relaxed and hypnotic smile graced the corners of his mouth. Without averting his eyes from hers, he licked her inner thigh, causing Roselle to tremble and gasp again. Her hands on his head grasped onto his hair tighter and he took advantage of her disorientation, moving further towards his goal. His breath was hot as he trailed his searing tongue along her soft skin. "Don't worry, I'll make you feel good, wife." He said huskily, sounding as though he was soothing her with his mouth and tongue. "Open your legs for me, love…" he coaxed, and she did not know how she ended up doing so when he was not even holding her legs with his hands. She could feel him
Reluctantly, he finally eased away and pulled the blanket over her. He was about to stand when Roselle reached out and tugged on his robe. "Where… where are you going?" she asked, her face suddenly anxious as her fingers tightened on his robe without realisation. "I have an errand to take care of." He responded, as his gaze tilted towards the door and the commotion that was going on outside for a long while now. "Errand?" "Mm. Don't worry, I'm not going to leave again without telling you first." he smiled contentedly and kissed her forehead, causing her colour to rise again. "I'll come back as soon as I deal… as soon as I am done saying a few words to them." ... The duke and everyone else involved were waiting anxiously in the throne hall where it was silent and tense as they all stood before Romeo. When they were suddenly summoned by the prince with such an urgency, they could not help but feel threatened. Aside from his stubbornness, Prince Romeo had been a good and incredibl
Clad in a furry and thick white cloak, Roselle stood at the top of the tallest watchtower at the City's entrance. Romeo was standing next to her – a sight to behold as well as he stood tall and elegant clad entirely in black – holding her hand, and watching her silvery hair being blown behind her by the gentle cold breeze. Roselle had her eyes fixed at the vast snow-white meadow spread out before them, realizing from what her eyes were looking at, that Dacria was truly a fortified city. The giant ancient walls that seemed to be made from black stones looked so formidable and impregnable. No human army could ever manage to breach these fortifications and seize such a place like this. Now that she was looking at the full view of the entire fortress, and saw what a formidable stronghold Dacria actually was, Roselle could not help but look on with wonder. Why did the Dacrians ever thought of creating and building such gigantic walls in the first place? Was there an unknown reason that p