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Tea time with the First Concubine in her private garden had been a highly unpleasant experience, yet Seren went through it with quiet grace. With Dusk\'s presence, Lady Clarisa was also smart enough to understand this was Drayce warning her that she was being watched, and thus, the middle-aged concubine resumed her amiable smiling face and began to tell Seren about work-related matters of the royal harem and the Vermillion Palace.

After realizing she could learn the rest once she got to read the related documents from Lady Clarisa\'s office, Seren decided to leave. Though Lady Clarisa\'s mocking didn\'t affect her trust in her husband, she found it no longer necessary to pretend to be friendly with the woman.

"Thank you for the tea, Lady Clarisa," Seren said as she stood up from her seat. Despite not liking the older woman, Seren was raised to be a royal with good manners.

When Seren told her she had other things to tend to, Lady Clarisa also did not pretend to make her stay. "It is my pleasure to be at your service, Your Majesty."

In fact, she wished Seren would hurry out of the Vermillion Palace. The young queen\'s indifference and confidence about Drayce and her position left a bitter taste in Lady Clarisa\'s mouth.

After receiving a gentle pat on the head, Dusk let out a croon before flying away from the garden. When she stepped out of Lady Clarisa\'s chamber, Seren saw Lady Tyra and her ladies-in-waiting just outside the door, ready to escort her back to her carriage with the documents taken from Lady Clarisa\'s office.

Seren then left the royal harem after the ladies of the harem bid her farewell. Most of them were hoping that the new queen would treat everyone fairly well, as many of them had been targeted by Lady Clarisa\'s bad temper at least once before.

Once Seren returned to her residence, she took some rest inside her bedchamber. Thinking about how from today onwards, her schedule would require her to talk to nobles and royals like Lady Clarisa, people with blades behind their smiles, she could not help but start to miss those idle days she only needed to tend to her flower garden.

\'Being a queen is really not easy. It is only the first day… How much busier is Dray since he\'s a king? How does he do this every day?\'

Seren\'s thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door. Lady Tyra, who had left her to arrange the documents inside her study, returned to the Queen\'s chamber.

Marie opened the door to check who it was. "My Queen, it is Lady Tyra. Should I tell her you are still resting?"

"Let her in," Seren replied as she left the comforts of her bed and sat on the lounge chair. The old woman entered the chamber and gave her a curtsy before approaching.

"Your Majesty, I have something for you." Lady Tyra handed over a small wooden box to Marie who gave it to Seren.

Seren opened the box, and to her surprise, there was something she recognized inside that box, an item holding a gift that she had forgotten about. There was a brooch that had a familiar golden rose in it. It was not an engraving of a rose—rather, the head of the rose with golden petals was preserved in glass-like clear amber.

"Isn\'t this the flower that Dusk gave me on my wedding day?" Seren asked, observing how that flower was fixed on that brooch.

"Yes, Your Majesty. This flower is not ordinary, but a magical one. It will give you protection from evil things. That\'s why I wish you to keep it with you always."

Seren studied the flower brooch with appreciation. That day, she was in a hurry to even look at it properly and simply ordered her servants to put it in a vase. "This looks like a rose but now that I\'ve carefully seen its petals, it\'s different."

"Your Majesty, this flower is called Danshi. It\'s a kind of lily rose," Lady Tyra informed her.

"Danshi, such a nice name. But I have never seen a lily rose in this colour and it shines like gold," Seren commented as she studied the shine emitting from that flower. "This glows because of magic?"

"That is why it is a divine flower," Lady Tyra told her, "and only Dusk could get it."

Seren moved her gaze from the flower to Lady Tyra. "Why only Dusk?"

Lady Tyra didn\'t wish to tell Seren the exact meaning of giving this flower to someone, so she just told her just a part of it. "Dusk…His Majesty\'s pet is not an ordinary hunting eagle. He belongs to a near-extinct species of divine bird. This particular flower grows at the dangerous peaks of the snow-capped mountains in Northern Megaris and is not something that anyone can reach. Due to its rarity, its existence and effect were only known by a select few, his species being one of them. The flower had become a symbolism of sorts to the male birds of his species in particular. They give this flower to a person they want to protect… and they can do it only once in their lifetime."

It surprised Seren. "Only once? Why did he give it to me? That kind of loyalty to the wife of his master…He should have given it to someone who needs to be protected." She laughed a little and continued to speak, "He should have given it to a female of his species. It would have been put to better use, right? Can\'t wait to see him fly around the palace with his female eagle while carrying a rose in his beak."

To this, Eva and Marie laughed a little as they imagined that but Lady Tyra\'s expression did not change as she sighed inside. \'That silly bird.\'

Seren realized something. "Hmm, this flower\'s appearance seems to be the same for the past two days? There is no change in its freshness and there are no signs of its petals wilting."

Lady Tyra nodded and explained, "Since it is a divine flower, once it blooms, its state will always be the same, preserved for as long as its innate divinity sustains it. It will only wilt the day when one who has gifted you this flower ceases to exist."

Seren looked at Lady Tyra as she understood the meaning of it. The one who had gifted this flower was Dusk. As long as Dusk exists, this flower exists too.

"Thank you, Lady Tyra. I will always keep this flower with me," Seren smiled, "and I wish for it to never wilt, for it to remain fresh and beautiful for eternity."

Seren was visibly moved by Dusk\'s gesture. She liked the smart and thoughtful eagle a lot, but she never understood until now how important herself was to Dusk that he chose to give her this flower with a protective attribute. She too would never want a day to come when Dusk would not be around her.

-----

Night had fallen, and during this time, Seren would normally be in bed, buried under the sheets and ready to retire for the night. However, her large and comfortable bed was currently empty.

The young queen, clad in her nightgown and covered by a thick robe, was standing by the window of her room, staring outside in a daze. She wanted to stand on the balcony, but she was sure that she would not be able to withstand the cold night breeze on her own.

"He must be busy with his work," she murmured with a sigh. "Maybe he fell asleep already…no, I think he is just late…"

She was waiting for Drayce to come to her chamber. She was sure he would come as there had not been a single night where he left her to sleep alone.

Just then, there was a strong gust of wind behind her. Even before Seren could turn around, a strong pair of arms surrounded her stomach. A tall man hugged her from the back and whispered in her ear, "Are you waiting for me, my Queen?"

Seren was caught off guard and turned frozen. There was no way she would admit that she was waiting for him. So embarrassing!

"Y-Your Majesty!" she said to greet him.

"Huh? Do I need to remind you of my name again?"

"I think I need to do the same?" Seren countered.

His breath felt warm against her ear. "I love to call you my Queen as it gives me a sense that you are mine and mine alone."

Seren turned quiet as she felt her heart do a flip at those intimate words.

Drayce continued, "Sometimes, I love to address you as something else as well."

It puzzled Seren as she had only heard him calling her either my Queen or Seren. "Something else?"

"Little kitten!" he replied with a low chuckle. "When did I start? Ah, back when I heard an innocent little girl trying to scare others by saying, "I am a witch and I can burn you!"

Seren\'s eyes widened at his admission. Her mind tried to recall if such a thing ever happened with Drayce. "I-I never said those words in front of you!"

"But my ears caught you saying it a few times." His arms wrapped around her tightened a little. "Seems like you love to call yourself a witch."

"That is what I am."

Silence suddenly enveloped the two. The atmosphere felt strange, but those words were her honest thoughts. Seren felt like she said something she shouldn\'t have and lowered her gaze.

"Seren, my little kitten, my sweet wife, my Queen," Drayce said in a slow yet firm manner as he entangled his fingers with hers, still holding her in his embrace. "Whoever you are, you are mine."

With her feeble back pressed against his hard chest, Seren felt a sudden warmth spreading within her heart. Even her breath had turned shallow as she tried to keep her emotions in check. No one had ever treated her as sincerely and as preciously as him.

The young pair of husband and wife stood in comfortable silence, seemingly listening to each other\'s heartbeats like they were the most wonderful music to their ears. After a while, she felt her husband move.

"I will be going away for two days," Drayce informed her.

Seren nodded. She remembered that Great Lady Theodora had already mentioned this to her. The old woman even offered for her to stay in the Crystal Palace during those two days.

"Where are you going?" Seren asked as she felt him resting his chin on her shoulder.

"The place where my mother disappeared from my life." There was a brief silence as Drayce hesitated to continue. "Once a year, I visit that place on the anniversary of her disappearance." Another pause, and then he added softly, "Many people believe she\'s dead, but I never gave up searching for her. I never gave up waiting for her to return to me."

Seren moved her fingers, slowly rubbing her thumb over his. Her voice was as soft as his. "What if she\'s not…?"

She felt his hand shiver under hers. His voice was slightly muffled as he buried his face into her hair. "I have always believed she is still alive, that\'s why I wait for her every year on the same day and same place…and now that I found you, that belief has grown even stronger."

He meant the flower birthmark on her forehead. She wished she could help him in finding his mother, but as Great Lady Theodora guessed, Seren must have been a newborn infant when she met Queen Esther.

"Why did she leave?"

Seren was always curious about what exactly happened to Queen Esther. Her curiosity was further strengthened after meeting King Theron.

Who was Drayce\'s real father? Why did the former queen abandon her son in the royal palace and not bring him away with her?