Chapter 61

Zen and I are currently walking towards the large living room of the palace, where Dastan's fiancé is waiting. I've heard Zen sigh several times because what we're doing isn't going well. There is a part of my personality that regrets it, but there is a bigger part of my heart that wants me not to continue.

What Rosh told me was right; I shouldn't do it for any other reason. I should do it with Zen wholeheartedly. No other reason, no other reason.

Zen clasped his hands behind his head as he walked lazily. Sometimes I catch him glancing at me, and when I catch his gaze, he just sighs.

"I like you tonight, Claret. I mean, I like you every day, but I like you more tonight. But there's something weird about you, baby. You forgot about the virgin thing? If Lily didn't appear, I probably devirginized you." I remained walking while Zen stared at me.

"Maybe I just got carried away..." I answered weakly.

"Oh, how I like that. We'll try it again?" he asked me awake.

"I thought you'd wait, Zen? Even a few hundred more years?" I asked him. Maybe he's forgetting that he told me he knew how to wait.

"I changed my mind after seeing your whole body? No way, waiting is damn impossible, Claret," he answered me emphatically. To this day, I still can't tell him that.

The information Dastan gave us was not true.

The virginity of an ordained woman has never been connected with the power and ability it possesses. How can I explain this to Zen without ending up in an argument with Dastan?

As much as possible, I don't want to see the Gazellian brothers arguing. They are my second family, and meeting the Gazellians is one of the most important events of my life. And their mess is the last thing I want to see.

"Zen." if I can tell him? Oh fuck! This is not the right time to talk about it. Is Dastan's fiancee going to be in trouble? Not a good idea, Claret.

"Claret, what's wrong with you? Are you not feeling well?" We stopped walking. Zen grabbed both of my cheeks and pressed our foreheads together.

"You were fine a while ago. What's wrong, baby?" he asked me in surprise.

"Maybe I'm just sleepy Zen. Don't worry." I gently moved my head a few times so that the tips of our noses could play.

"We'll just show them quickly." Zen quickly kissed my lips before he grabbed my hand and we walked together.

We arrived in the living room as the Gazellian brothers laughed happily. Dastan's future wife, who was next to him, had her back turned while the Gazellian men were facing each other.

here who are asking questions one after another. Casper and Harper were on the right sofa side by side, while Lily was on the left.

"Do you know that we've been excited to see you for a long time? You and my brother are perfect," Harper said happily.

"They say we are a thing of majesty," said the woman happily, with a slight inclination towards Dastan. Dastan did not answer and remained silent.

"Claret! Zen! Come here!" Lily called us. Zen and I started walking towards his brothers.

I don't understand why I feel this way about this girl. How does it feel? Why does my breathing get heavier every time I take a step closer to him?

Zen and I quickly sat next to Lily; I couldn't lift my eyes from the girl I knew was staring at me. Oh, fuck, why am I so nervous?

"She's..." Zen couldn't finish what he was going to say.

"Hi, snow prince!" he greeted Zen enthusiastically. and when I raised my eyes to the woman, I was almost stunned.

Elizabeth? Is that Elizabeth I see?

"How..how come?" Zen stood up from his seat.

"Sit down, Zen; respect my queen," Dastan said seriously.

"I am not Elizabeth; I am Rosemary Ava Camry, her sister," he smiled at us.

"This is how we reacted when we first saw him, Zen," explained Caleb. It started quickly.

its brothers in agreement.

I couldn't take my eyes off the girl; she looked exactly like Elizabeth. Zen sat down next to me again, still staring at the girl.

"It seems that Ate is really well known in this palace. I hope this palace will acknowledge me for who I am," he said softly to us.

"You will; you're my queen and not someone else," Dastan replied. He held Rosemary's hand, which made him smile.

As I stared at her for a long time, I also noticed the difference between her and Elizabeth; she always seemed to be smiling and happy, compared to Elizabeth, who was overflowing with charisma that could really attract men's eyes at any time.

"You must be Claret, the goddess from the mirror," he smiled at me. I gently smiled back at him. How did he and Dastan meet? Why didn't Dastan know that she was his 'mate' when he was with Elizabeth? Did they never see each other when they were together with Elizabeth? How come they didn't search immediately?

Unless she is not Dastan's mate, I remained silent while the siblings talked and kept asking Elizabeth. Sometimes Zen gets involved when I can't say anything.

"Is she the girl you saw at the meeting, Dastan?" Zen asked his brother.

"Meeting? We haven't met at a meeting, your highness; who is that?" snotty question said Rosemary to Dastan, who seemed stunned by Zen's sudden statement.

Dastan gently caressed Rosemary's cheek and smiled at her.

"I've seen a vision of you," Dastan briefly explained. When I looked back at Zen, his forehead was slightly wrinkled.

"When is the wedding?" Evan asked.

"Better soon, majesty, I really want to see our queen mother," Lily said softly. Even I want to see him and talk to him.

"I don't want to rush my queen," Dastan answered briefly. My heart almost skipped a beat when Dastan and I met our eyes. What the hell is that? I was nervous that someone might notice us. Maybe that's what they think.

"No, I am fine. If the palace wants to have the wedding early, it's not a problem for me," the woman said with a smile.

"Does he know our queen mother's request?" Finn asked.

"We talked about it." Dastan answered briefly. Rosemary nodded to us in agreement with what his majesty said. I wanted to ask them if Rosemary was Dastan's mate, but I knew I was out of place and would be rude.

The conversation ended with my mind full of wonder. Why did he suddenly appear? Why didn't Dastan recognize him immediately if he was just Elizabeth's brother?

Something is wrong with this. Something is wrong with these events. I see no harm.

With her, it's possible that I just got addicted to her presence, and if I look at her, she just seems like a happy girl. But why do I feel this way?

She has this warm and angelic aura, unlike Elizabeth, who seems to have a man's full attention falling into her tentacles. If you look at it, he looks more like an old man than me. I said she looks like Elizabeth, but her aura and her personality are really different.

"Can't sleep, baby?" Zen hugged me tighter. I thought he was sleeping.

"Zen, can I ask? Would you mind?" I asked him.

"Ask, baby," he whispered to me.

"About Rosemary... shall I continue to ask her this question?

"Yes, Claret. She's not Dastan's mate." I couldn't speak for a minute when Zen answered me.

"It can't be Zen. It should be his mate, shouldn't it? He needs the woman who is destined for him. He and Rosemary will only hurt each other." I said hesitantly. I've been in a situation like this, and it didn't turn out well.

"He's the firstborn, our king; her power in this kingdom will not be fully recognized until she is married," Zen explained to me.

"I think this is unfair; what if the real woman destined for Dastan comes? What about Rosemary?" It is again the policy of this world that I have never liked.

/

"The guys are about to cut off any connection between Dastan and the woman he is destined for. This Claret kingdom needs a real king, especially since it is experiencing various disasters in Sartorias. Dastan needs to reassure the will of our subjects through marriage." I shook my head several times at Zen's words.

They try to build and stabilize the Sartorias, but they don't know that they are slowly destroying their own king. Don't they know the sacrifice Dastan is making? I no longer wonder why I never once saw his majesty show emotion.

Did his brothers not notice this? Their law is ruining the king!

"Zen, I don't agree with this matter," I said softly. I felt him kiss my neck.

"Even I don't agree with Claret, but this is something he has to do, and we can't oppose it. It's Dastan's own decision, for the kingdom, for our brothers, for Sartorias, for all of Parsua. "But what about his own welfare?

This is Sartorias again, with their policies that will destroy the very foundation of their kingdom.

"Zen." He hugged me tighter.

"Not every time you don't agree with the rules of this world, you can appeal. Sometimes it's better to just accept it and not complicate everything." I fell silent.

said Zen.

"I'm going to sleep, my dear prince." I felt Zen just nod before he gently ran the tip of his nose down my neck until he stopped moving.

I fell asleep, seeing the smile of another female victim of the policy I had cursed several times.

--

Rosemary's stay in the palace went smoothly; the Gazellians always talked to her to make her feel warmly welcomed. She always smiles at all of us, and even Dastan, who only smiles once a month, also smiles because of her.

Zen and Dastan were currently talking in the palace library while I was walking in the beautiful garden and watching the colorful butterflies fly by.

"Claret!" I just turned to Rosemary, who was running just to catch up with me. Now I noticed that I was taller than him and he looked much younger than me.

"Can I go for a walk with you?" he asked me. I just nodded to him.

I remained silent as we walked; never once did I try to talk to him since he arrived at the palace. I don't know how to start because every time I stare at him for a long time, I remember once again how he makes everyone confused.

I found out that they were the ones who told Dastan that he should look for a queen and not wait any longer.

its partner. Councils are also the reason why there are witches today; they are the root and end of all these events. Only Grandpa opposes them, but what exactly is Grandpa against in the many councils with him?

"Claret, are you mad at me?" I stopped walking and faced him.

"No! Why should I be angry with you?" I wrinkled when I answered him.

"Because you don't talk to me, because you avoid me. Don't you hate me, Claret?" I shook my head at him several times. Is this what I conveyed to him? damn "I'm so sorry for that; maybe I've been thinking too much these past few days," I explained to him.

We kept walking, and no one spoke to us again, but after a few minutes, he broke the silence between us.

"I am not Dastan's mate." I couldn't say what he said.

"But I love him so much, Claret." I don't know why my chest suddenly ached. I remembered Danna from him.

"I was the first one who fell for him. I was ahead of Elizabeth; I was ahead of Ate." I just turned to him. He was currently holding a red rose.

"It was our mother's birthday, and almost all the men wanted to dance with Ate. She's the famous daughter of the blue fire, beautiful, charismatic, and every vampire fangs dream of. While me? Her replica, her copycat, her lame Sister, I remember that night that no one even offered me a dance. But out of nowhere, Dastan suddenly appeared, the first prince of Parsua Sartorias. He was the first man to ask for my hand to dance that night. I could see the smile in his eyes while he was telling this story.

"But after that night, Elizabeth was so furious. He hurt me and said bad words that I couldn't answer. I don't want to argue with my sister; she's my sister after all. It's my fault too; it's possible that your majesty just took pity on me." I wanted to touch my chest as it continued to ache.

"But my heart was immediately broken when I heard that his majesty had chosen to make good with Elizabeth. That he chose my sister more than the woman he expected to be his partner from the mirror." I know this thing. From the beginning, Dastan was the expected vampire.

"And when Elizabeth died because she sacrificed herself to another prince, my emotions were mixed: angry because I found out that the second prince only used my brother; angry because of his death; angry because he didn't love and even managed to betray Dastan; sad because I lost; and above all, revenge. In my eyes, Claret, my brother died because of the Gazellians, used and exploited. " I was speechless at what Rosemary was saying; Zen admitted about this matter.

"But I thought what else would happen if I took revenge? Would I repeat the past? One mistake can never correct another mistake. I'm here in the palace because I love Dastan and I promise to make him happy." I see her smiling eyes while telling this story.

"I thought at first that he only saw my brother in me. But the moment he called my name and kissed my lips, the anger and resentment I felt towards this palace, towards the Gazellians...." I took a deep breath. before I speak.

"Why are you telling me this?" I will ask.

"Because I know you will understand me. We both love a Gazellian; we are both captivated by a Gazellian. I want to prove that it is also possible for two vampires to have a love that is not set." He smiled at me very sweetly before he nodded and left me in the middle of the garden.

I just stared at him walking away from me. Will Dastan do the same as his father, the king, did? I wanted to tell this woman that what she was saying was impossible, but I chose to remain silent.

I don't know what to do when her sweet smile turns to tears.

I continued my walk again, and for the first time, I chose to turn a deaf ear and pretend to be numb to the event that I didn't like.