Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

As usual, Seren was busy looking after Rayjin while eating. The Great Lady could see Seren had changed and she was not as reserved as before. She looked at her grandson who looked back at her knowing what his grandmother was thinking. She gave him an approving nod,  the pleased smile on her aged face saying he did well in taking care of his wife. 

The way Seren was raised in an imprisoned atmosphere where her existence was scorned, it would have been normal for a girl like her to not trust anyone, and it was evident in her early behavior that she was wary of others. She was a quiet woman who never made demands for herself, like a doll who merely observed the world but never felt she was part of it. When the Great Lady first met her, she saw how Seren paid more attention to plants than to the humans around her, but she was no longer like that and the Great Lady believed it was all because of the care Seren received from her grandson.

After finishing her meal and seeing Seren was also done with hers, Rayjin could no longer wait to roam around the Crystal Palace. "Seren, I am done eating. Can we go now? I want to see the garden outside. Uncle Arlan said it has lots of beautiful butterflies."

"It's the start of winter here, Rayjin, so you might not be able to see butterflies," Arlan said. 

Rayjin pouted. "But I want to see them."

"Rayjin, there are other interesting things in the garden. We can have a look at them," Seren consoled her. "I can bring you to see Grandmother's greenhouse. It is really warm and beautiful inside, much more beautiful than the hanging gardens outside."

"Really? Then let us quickly go there!" Rayjin already forgot everything about manners and immediately jumped down from her chair with a bright face. 

Seren could only let out a helpless smile at the energetic little girl and looked at the Great Lady. "Please pardon her rudeness. I will now excuse myself to show her around."

The Great Lady was not bothered by such a small thing and gave an approving nod. The two left with Rayjin's excited squeals echoing within the hallway.

"Seren seems to be good with kids," the Great Lady commented. 

Drayce remained silent as he knew his grandmother's intentions. Arlan replied in his stead, "That's true, Grandmother."

"She will be a good mother," the Great Lady added. 

Drayce looked at his grandmother and finally responded, "She is still too young."

Cian didn't expect to hear that from Drayce. Because of the promise Drayce made to the King of Abetha, Cian knew it wouldn't happen any time soon, but the way Drayce said it, it showed how much he cared for Seren. 

The Great Lady agreed with Drayce, but she wouldn't say that and said in the tone of the elderly,  "Of course, I know she's still not of age. When did I say you have to give me my great-grandkids right away? In the future, I expect to have plenty of them!" 

"Rest assured, Grandmother. There will be little devils playing around us," Arlan commented, again, in Drayce's stead. 

"I won't mind a few more angels like their mother," the Great Lady added grumpily. "I am getting old and don't have much energy to chase around little devils!"

Drayce ignored the two as he quietly finished his meal. What those two were talking about was not going to happen till he controlled the devil inside him as he didn't wish to hurt Seren. In front of her and her safety, everything was just secondary to him. 

After finishing their meal, the Great Lady and her guests came out of the dining hall to return to the drawing-room. Duke Wimark looked around but could not see anyone along the way aside from the servants. He could not help but sigh towards Lenard, who was walking beside him at the edge of the group. "I wonder where my daughter is. I hope she is not troubling Her Majesty too much." 

Lenard patted his brother-in-law in the back. "We should have let servants follow to assist them."

"How about we look for them? Perhaps they are in the hanging gardens outside," the Great lady said. Everyone followed her to the garden that seemed to be integrated with the Crystal Palace itself, and it was filled with blooming flowers. 

"It's surprising to see flowers in full blossom in such cold weather," Duke Wimark commented. It made him wonder if he should try to raise these kinds of flowers for his duchess to enjoy in their garden.

"There are winter flowers, but still, I agree with what you said. It is not always like this in winter, but this place is blessed with someone's arrival, thus we have the luck to see this sight," the Great Lady said with pride. Her words were clear that she was referring to Seren's presence.

While walking through the garden, they didn't find even the shadows of Seren and Rayjin. 

"Have you seen the Queen and the little lady with her?" the Great Lady asked one of the female servants tending the garden. 

Before the servant could answer, Drayce raised his hand to stop her from speaking and focused his senses. He looked like he heard something and it was something surprising.

Without a word, Drayce walked away from their group, causing those left behind to stare at each other with bewilderment. 

Arlan understood his friend best and told their group, "Seems he found them." He then asked everyone to follow the young king. 

Drayce was so immersed in what he's heard that he forgot he could teleport instead of walking like a normal person. 

Seeing the direction they're heading in, Great Lady Theodora explained, "Seren must have taken Little Rayjin to the greenhouse." 

Drayce entered the greenhouse quietly. Standing at the entrance of the dome-shaped ceiling part of the greenhouse,  what he saw in front of him was something he did not wish to disturb. Just as others reached there, he raised his hand, signaling them to be quiet.

Everyone was initially chatting animatedly as they followed behind him, but as they saw his gesture, they all stopped at the entrance of the greenhouse. Though the glass dome was full of rare and exotic flowers, their gazes were not on those plants but on the view in front of them.. They could not take their eyes off the breathtaking sight.