Chapter 72 Teasing

Chapter 72 Teasing
It was a long day of duty for Sebastian, and he hated every moment of it. But somehow, he managed to hide his irritation behind a calm demeanor, one that his subjects found extremely odd.

The only thing keeping him calm was the sound of Fernanda's heartbeat which he had been keeping track of ever since she left the palace.

"I was gone for two weeks and none of you could get a single affair in order." Sebastian shot a deathly glare at the chief of trade who shifted uncomfortably where he sat. He hated these people because they worked with his father and had gotten so used to his careless ways of handling the kingdom's affairs.

It took Sebastian years after he became King to get everything back in order after the mess his father created due to his neglect. "Your majesty, we tried our best to get all accounts from the merchant trades... Although there might have been some shortcomings–"

"Spare me the pathetic excuse for how incompetent you are!" Sebastian hissed. "I was away for a second and now there are shortcomings everywhere. Bring me an account of every single trade made for the past two weeks before nightfall. Else I'll have your head. Now get lost."

The chief of trade tripped as he got up from his seat but immediately gathered what was left of his dignity and bolted out of the council room.

Sebastian shot a death stare at the rest of the council members and they all immediately scrambled, following the chief of trade.

"Fools." He sighed, rubbing his forehead. The door opened again and Sebastian let out another frustrating sigh. "What is it?" He snapped.

Levi stopped in his tracks, looking surprised. "You look particularly angry today, Your Grace."

"It is because I am." Sebastian replied. "These pimps got too laid-back as soon as I was gone. The witch?"

Levi shrugged, "She's on our side."

"I know she's Fernanda's confidant, friend or whatever but I won't hesitate to take her head if she so much as think of even betraying her." Sebastian said. Then paused, noticing the way Levi's body tensed up protectively.

"Oh..." He smirked, "I see."

"What, my king?" Levi's tone was cold. He knew Sebastian was right to want to protect Fernanda, he knew the king didn't care about anyone but his wife but still he couldn't help the automatic feeling of hostility within him when he spoke about Maya like that.

"Be rest assured I won't willingly harm her, only if she decides to betray Fernanda. That is when I will have my issues with her." Sebastian assured Levi.

"Understandable," Levi said, even though his tone was still tight with hostility.

"Now you can stop looking like you want to claw my lungs out, vice commander." Sebastian chuckled. He didn't mean to at that moment but he simply hadn't seen Levi–a man who had never gave a damn about anything other than duty–be ready to tear everything apart for a witch he once despised.

"I didn't know you were already such a goner for the girl." Sebastian seemed particularly invested as he leaned back against his seat with arms folded, staring amusingly at vice commander.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Levi shrugged. "Also we need to talk about Her Grace." He immediately continued, diverting the king's attention from the topic.

Which worked because Sebastian's entire demeanor change when Levi mentioned her. "What about her?"

"Her powers... It's a great advantage on our side. We could–"

"I'm not turning my wife into a weapon to fight a stupid battle with stupid gremlins who called themselves shadow wielders." Sebastian said, cutting Levi off.

Levi sighed and took a seat, "That wasn't the direction I was heading."

"Save it. I know whichever direction you planned on taking ends up with her being used as a weapon. And I will not let Fernanda step a foot onto the battleground again."

"I merely wanted to suggest she gets taught how to defend herself when the enemies come for her powers. She needs to get trained how to physically fight and not just rely on her powers. She also needs to learn how to properly channel them and Maya's more than willing to teach her." Levi explained.

Sebastian let out a deep sigh, not out of anger but because he knows everything Levi says is right. But a part of him simply is just refusing to want to subject Fernanda to brutality and violence again.

He drummed his fingers against the table, glaring hard at Levi who also stared back impassively but with eyes hoping that Sebastian would agree to his suggestion.

"Fine, but–" Sebastian's eyes suddenly shifted towards the threshold of the council chamber, sharply fixated on the massive metal doors. "That is my wife approaching," He whispered delightfully.

"We'll finish this conversation later but in the meantime, don't say anything about this in front of her."

Levi nodded as he glanced at the doors which opened just in time to let Fernanda in. "Vice commander Levi!" She exclaimed in surprised when she saw Levi.

"Your Grace." Levi stood up in greeting, slightly bowing his head. "You should be resting vice commander, your wounds aren't pretty much healed yet." Fernanda said, flashing her sweetest smile at him.

She made sure she took her sweet time in acknowledging Levi, totally aware of the sour look on Sebastian's face.

"You may leave." Sebastian snapped, giving Levi a death glare.

Fernanda faked surprised and said, "Why is that? I'm sure the vice commander still has somethings he wants to discuss with you about."

"He is finished here." Sebastian replied, still glaring at Levi who was even more confused than Sebastian. "Leave." His Lycan snarled telepathically at Levi.

"I'm afraid there are other pressing matters I need to attend to at once your grace, all which has been approved my his majesty." Levi stated and immediately excused himself, no longer wanting to be a part of Fernanda's playful schemes.

"What the hell was that?" Sebastian growled as he strode towards Fernanda. "What? I was just expressing my concern." Fernanda replied, batting her eyes innocently.

"He doesn't need your concern, I do. Your concern should be reserved only for me." Sebastian stated sternly, the jealousy in his eyes burning uncontrollably.

He clearly didn't appreciate his wife's lack of attention on him.

"But it's not like you're wounded. I would show you the same amount of concern if you were." She replied.

Sebastian wanted to say something in return but then paused when he saw how her lips wobbled from holding back laughter.

He huffed, then gently slid a hand behind Fernanda's lower back, firmly pulling her closer to him. "Are you teasing me right now, Fernanda?" He muttered lazily against her ear.

Fernanda let out a soft sigh as she tried to control herself from the overwhelming feeling of Sebastian as he began dropping featherlight kisses from her ear down the the side of her neck whilst he continued pressing her firmly against him

"No." She answered breathlessly.

"Is that right?" Sebastian prodded further and Fernanda managed to nod her head. She was surprised by how mushy her thoughts rapidly became just from Sebastian's little kisses. He hadn't even done anything significant!

Sebastian suddenly stopped and it felt like she was splashed with cold water. "No don't!" She exclaimed.

He chuckled when he saw how red she got. "You don't get to be the only one who teases the other." His lips curled into a mischievous smirk when she shyly looked away.

The door suddenly opened and some council members poured in. They all paused in their tracks when they saw Sebastian's murderous glare.

"Get out."