The Cursed King

The next destination for the newly wedded couple turned out to be Portugal. This country in the southern part of Europe was underrated. They had great food, wine, and of course, port, also better weather. Things there were also much cheaper than their counterparts in Western Europe.

So, it was one of Loriel's favorite places to go to. Not because it's cheap of course, because he could afford even the most expensive holiday, but because there were fewer tourists.

After the wonderful and ever-relaxing visit to Paris, France, that made them stroll through countless boulevards and enjoy cultural arts and fine designs, the visit to the warm and sunny weather of this country was also a welcome change.

Elise found herself basking in the warm rays of the sun. Everything around her was an orchard filled with sun-kissed and dewy grapes. 

Loriel took them to the base of Mount Pico in the Azores to enjoy both the view of the orchard filled with the grapes that grew in the rich fertile soil and the fresh countryside air. He liked Lisbon and Sintra, but he thought it was better to start their Portugal trip with the journey to the mountain..

"This is such a nice place, Loriel. Let's take a walk through this orchard together." Elise stretched out her hand.

Loriel gladly accepted his wife's hand, lacing their fingers together. He smiled and nodded. "Of course, wifey."

He tried to remember if he ever took Elise into one of these kinds of walks in the past.

But then he shook his thoughts, even if he was nostalgic, he needed to be in the moment. Loriel was finally alone and together with his wife. 

Except for the orchard workers that were still taking care of the grapes all around, the two had the entire place for themselves. 

He let this entire place be exclusive for them during their stay here. It was also a chance for them to experience Verdelho Wine.

"After this would you like to taste their wine?" Loriel asked.

Back in the mid-19th century, the English royal family and Russian czars loved and adored Pico's wine. The wine was a prized commodity.

While the wine became more available to others as the years and innovation went by, Loriel still actually enjoyed the taste of such drinks even when the current monarchies' tastes had turned elsewhere.

"I think I'd love to have some wine. According to a review I read online, Portugal is well-known for its seafood dishes. I think wine and seafood would pair well, don't you think?" Elise said.

Loriel nodded. "That's actually a good idea, I think the Pico do Refúgio will be more than willing to serve us their well-known dishes once we get back."

"They're a really lovely country home place." Elise sighed relaxedly. 

Loriel took it as a chance to tell her an interesting fact about the modern-day country house they were staying in. "Can you imagine that about four hundred years ago it was a mansion? There were a lot of renovations done." 

"Oh, yes! I heard that. According to the waiter that served us breakfast earlier, it used to function as a fortress, an artist's residence, a plantation, and a tea factory?" Elise said.

"That's right."

Loriel couldn't believe it when he first learned of the change, but eventually just accepted that even the historical architectures also started adapting to preserve their heritage.

"Did you know that there's a pool here… and even a nearby beach actually, would you like to take a swim?" Elise asked.

The two of them immediately remembered what happened in Japan and it made Elise flush whereas Loriel couldn't help but recall her sexy body at that time. He was surprised back then.

"This time, I think there's no dress code that says I have to stay naked or anything though." Elise was quick to add with a red face. She wasn't exactly trying to entice him to sleep with her right now, she wanted to make that clear.

Loriel laughed and tugged her closer to him. The wind all around them started blowing strongly as it scattered some of the flower petals from the nearby orange tree plantations. 

He whispered quietly into her ear with a husky voice. "Whatever you wear, Elise is completely fine with me."

"...Is it because you've already seen everything underneath?" Elise didn't know why she asked this. It was a silly question.

Loriel kissed her forehead. "You're already so beautiful that even if you have worn rags, I would think it's alluring."

Elise laughed a little at his joke and shoved the man away slightly. "You're really silly, Loriel."

"It's true though." Loriel chuckled back.

The two of them were so happy and content with each other that there was only a sense of bliss between two of them. After enjoying the entire late morning strolling together in the orchard at the base of Mount Pico, the two took their lunch back to the country house.

As promised and requested, both Elise and Loriel were able to partake in the traditional and authentic dishes from the country.

"Please try some of the Polvo à la Lagareiro, ma'am and sir." The servers smiled and placed one of the several seafood dishes that Loriel ordered from them. 

The people in Portugal were mostly laid-back and more than happy to proudly discuss their meals. Elise looked eagerly at what appeared to be a deceptively simple octopus dish. 

Loriel knew she enjoyed and savored the takoyaki back in Japan, but this was also really good.

"The Portuguese olive oil gives a more flavorful and distinct taste to the octopus after it's baked and roasted," Loriel added helpfully.

Once the server was gone, Elise tasted it and hummed happily. "It's really good. There's almost a fruitful flavor thanks to the olive oil?"

"Uh-huh, that's how it works." Loriel himself wasn't eating seafood but instead was eating Porco Preto, an expensive ham that came from the native Iberico pigs."

"Mmm… I can't wait for desserts," Elise enjoyed sampling all the different seafood dishes that Portugal had to offer her.

Right after that,  the two of them would enjoy what Loriel explained as Pastel de nata once the server brought them fluffy-looking pastries with a creamy top and drizzled generously with powdered sugar. 

"These are what the Portuguese call conventual desserts," Loriel said as he sampled the sugary treat.

"Ah, I think I remember them from Chef Lucy's lessons," Elise said. "They're pastries that were created in convents and monasteries typically made with lots of egg yolks and large amounts of sugar."

Over the course of their stay in Portugal, one of the visits that the couple made was to one of the oldest libraries in the entire world.

Elise first met Loriel in a small cafe while he was reading a book, so this was something that made this destination special for the two of them.

The two of them entered the library and found several golden-like plaques that held information about the place.

Elise tried reading them silently to herself and found Loriel saying the same exact thing. He wasn't even looking, because somehow it seemed like he knew this from memory.

"This is Livraria Bertrand and it was founded way back in 1732, although once again this is now a redesigned one," Loriel said, glancing around and imagining the tinier wooden rooms in the past and the dustier bookshelves.

One of the reasons why Loriel may have also started getting bored of traveling is recognizing all the changes that happened for what seemed like a brief century or so to him.

Though, in his opinion, nothing could beat Archelius Library from back home, when his kingdom, Summeria still existed. It was the largest library in the world in its time, containing almost one million books in two compounds. Each compound housed 600,000 and 400,000 books respectively.

It was also one of his favorite places in the world.  Unfortunately, when Summeria was destroyed, Archelius Library was gone with it. Loriel only had a few books and artifacts from Archelius to remind him of that place.

"It's the world's oldest bookstore that is still in operation, according to the Guinness World Records," Elise finished reading the golden plaque aloud and gave her husband a smile. "You know a lot, as usual, Loriel."

"Well, I happened to read the book before and it stood out to me," Loriel admitted with a laugh.

Elise squeezed his hand. "You really do love books so much, it's great that we came here so you can have a good time too."

Loriel smiled and found his gaze only on Elise and it made everything fine. He glanced around the library and saw their next destination. "This library now has a bookstore, would you like to buy the latest copy?" Loriel asked.

"It does? We should!" Elise said. "I'd love to be more well-read and be like you."

Loriel only smiled when he heard that. No amount of effort could beat fifteen centuries of experience and book reading. There was just no way Elise could be like Loriel in this regard.

.

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From the author:

Please be patient with Loriel's story. I realized when I started writing important scenes from the past between him and Emmelyn, the woman he loved before Elise, that I need to focus on his story there (in The Cursed Prince) and give them both proper closure before Elise could enter the picture in the way that she deserves.

So, maybe in September, this book will be slower than before. I still hope I can publish every day for Win-win, but if that didn't happen, please understand. I don't want to ruin Loriel's and Elise's story with half-baked chapters just to meet the publishing deadline.

If you haven't read "The Cursed Prince", I still won't push/force you to read it. "The Cursed King" is still standalone and you can read this story without ever having to read the other book.

I only beg your understanding that in September my focus mostly will be on TCP so the book can end in October and then I can focus on TCK.

BUT... if you like TCK and wish to read more stories from me while waiting, TCP is a  perfect recommendation.

PS: Follow my Facebook Page/ TikTok / Instagram to see videos, visuals, and memes about this book. My handle is @missrealitybites.