Curtis Arrived

Swana looked back at the vineyard that stretched alongside the daisy garden. Where the beautiful colors of the flowers were Swana's only comfort. This was probably the only consolation she had, while expecting Curtis' arrival.

"Queen..."

"Don't call me by that title anymore, Auntie. I will soon relinquish that title."

"You are still the queen now. " Of course Nancy refused to obey Swana's orders. To her, Swana was queen until Prince Noel was crowned king.

Swana didn't want to argue either. She was still looking at the scene in front of her. Everything was beautiful, and to her liking. But everyone knew that the beauty of the gardens and parks was to cover the graves of her father, stepmother and half-sister who were beheaded by Curtis.

"What about my order yesterday?" Swana asked.

She hoped that the news delivered by Nancy would dissolve Curtis' anger.

"I have delivered everything you ordered. "

"Good."

Actually, she had planned all this. She knew she would get pregnant. Swana felt the signs when she was kidnapped. So she dared to make a deal with Eden, even though Curtis would be furious.

A few days later, Swana received a report that Curtis's troops were moving north. That meant Curtis would be coming here. So Swana ordered Nancy to have all the servants prepare quarters for the soldiers.

"We have a lot to prepare," Swana said with a smile.

"Leave it to me, Queen," Nancy said.

"Of course, you're the only one I can rely on, Auntie."

Nancy chuckled and turned around to order all the servants to prepare the soldiers' quarters. Everyone knew that the Curtis soldiers were not too many. However, each person could face several soldiers. So it was no wonder that those few soldiers could defeat hundreds of thousands of ordinary soldiers.

And finally, they arrived at Duke Estelle's residence. Swana welcomed the soldiers happily. Samuel and Jason met Swana to pay their respects. However, Swana was disappointed that Curtis was not among them.

"Well, you may retire to the place we have provided. I hope you will feel at home here and consider the Estelle residence as your home."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" they replied enthusiastically.

Swana smiled and motioned to the butler, Nancy to lead the soldiers to the place they had prepared.

Swana finally turned back to her room. There she remained silent and tried to control her mood. She wanted to see her husband whom she loved so much. But what happened was a disappointment.

"Curtis, why didn't you come?" Swana asked.

"Did you miss me?" Curtis asked.

Curtis' voice startled Swana. She turned her head towards the window. Her husband was there. He had come to see her. She couldn't say anything so she just cried. Swana hoped her tears could convey all her heart and feelings.

"Honey, why are you crying?" Curtis came closer and rubbed his wife's face. He knew that Swana was crying because of him.

"I miss you so much."

"Me too. Forgive my selfishness Swana. I really feel guilty for defending my selfishness," Swana whispered. Curtis knew that there was no point in holding on to the anger he felt. All the werewolves in the kingdom of Arta, even the soldiers no longer remembered the grudge, but he still kept it. He was doing something futile.

"You should be angry. Because I did something bad," Swana said.

"No darling, forget everything. Now think of your baby, so don't cry anymore."

Swana and Curtis embraced. They both let out the longing that had been building up in their chests. Curtis realized how much time he had wasted just being angry. He could have been with the woman he loved so much sooner.

Meanwhile, Noel heard that Curtis and his troops were in the depths of Estelle in the northern region. This surprised and delighted him. The nobles also felt the same way. They felt that it was time for Noel to be crowned king.

"Prince, we must not waste this opportunity." Of course it was the prime minister who made that suggestion.

"Yes, I know, but we must wait for Queen Swana's orders. I don't want us to make the wrong move and destroy everything," Noel said. "We know very well that Curtis can destroy us easily if he gets angry."

All the nobles immediately shut up. What Noel said was true. Everything would be ruined if Curtis took offense.

"Well, we'd better wait for things to settle down. I hope the throne of this kingdom can be held by a direct descendant of King Damian."

Noel nodded. He dismissed the meeting. Then he went to see Yerenika. Noel wanted to have a discussion with his sister.

"Noel? What a surprise you came," said Yerenika. She was currently in charge of helping manage the royal household.

Noel was stunned. He began to realize that he had not yet held his sister's debut ceremony.

"Gosh, I forgot about your coming-of-age debut party," Noel said regretfully.

"Don't worry about it. I know you struggled to be recognized by the royals. I'm glad to see you're now recognized by them."

"It was all thanks to Swana's help. Now Curtis has left the royal city. So we discussed holding my appointment ceremony," Noel said. He looked at his younger sister to see Yerenika's reaction.

"I don't think you should act rashly. Wait for instructions from Swana. We all know that what happened was the result of her plan."

"I think so too. But I fear that the nobles will consider me a weak king. "

"Don't mind them. We all know that Curtis is powerful and invincible. So it's not just you who fears Curtis but all the kings on this continent."

Thanks to Yerenika's words, Noel felt relieved.

"Thank you. I enjoyed talking to you. I feel so relieved. "

Yerenika smiled gently. "You can come whenever you want. You are the only brother I have left in this world."

"Thank you."

Noel took his leave. He intended to hold a coming-of-age ceremony and debut for Yerenika. Well, this event could also celebrate Curtis' departure from the royal city. Which meant the freedom of the kingdom from Curtis' clutches.

Tbc.