Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

Late at night, inside the Obsidian Palace, the place froze--from the rustling of leaves outside, to the knights patrolling the area-- as if time had stopped. Someone entered the Obsidian Palace and headed straight towards the bedchamber of the previous king.

The door of the bedchamber opened without a sound, and the intruder walked towards the bed of the unconscious man covered in bandages.

A pair of red eyes were fixed on the terrible sight of the man lying on the bed. There was no need to bother with  the royal physician who was appointed to keep watch on the patient's health nor the servants assisting him on the sides.

Inside that chamber, only Drayce was capable of moving. The rest were all under the effect of his spell, and no one but him would know what was going on around them.

Drayce continued to stare at the man lying in bed, the man he used to consider as his father. Before he realized it, he found himself sitting at the edge of the bed. With a silent sigh, he remained in place, knowing the injured man would not wake up due to the spell he had put.

"How long are you going to continue this play? Mother won't be happy to see you like this. Though you failed as a husband and had hurt her, she still loved you. At least for the sake of sacrifices she made for you, you should not let her down."

As he gazed at the pale face of the injured man, his eyes could not help but catch the sign of wrinkles he had never noticed before. Even the trademark brown hair of the Ivanovs now had several strands of gray hair.

Though handsome and still fit, Theron Ivanov had visibly aged from the man in Drayce's childhood memories. The past flashed in front of the young king's eyes, back when he was a mere boy running around the gardens near the Grand Palace.

Back then, he couldn't wait to become an adult. How much his young self adored his father, the wise king, always wishing to be like him when he grew up. Though Theron was distant and always busy, he wasn't lacking in his sons. He did not dote on him, but still there were many memories of their interaction.

Whenever he had a chance, Theron would show care for him as if he was his own son, because he treated both Keiren and Drayce equally.

Drayce could remember his father lifting him in his arm on those rare occasions the busy man spent time with his two sons. His young self would also often sit on his father's lap, acting cozy with his father in his warm embrace. Though Theron would often wear a cold expression on his face, even a child could see the warm affection in the eyes of the younger Theron whenever he saw his sons...

Everything, Drayce still remembered everything clearly, and for a while, he put away the bitter memories they had after his mother left.

'Though I am not your real son, you are the only father figure I have in my memories. If it weren't for...' Drayce closed his eyes for a short while, unable to continue his line of thought. 'Don't be hurt like this. Though I hate you, I cannot see you hurt like this. In the end, you are the one my mother loved. You are still my...'

Drayce sighed, his eyes filled with worry for the older man. He sat there for a while more and then fixed the blanket over him. He stood up to leave and just as he approached the door, he turned to look at the unconscious man for the last time.

"Good night..."

He stopped, as if a part of him was reluctant to say the next word, but at the same time, holding it in was similarly not easy.

"...father."

The door of the chamber closed behind Drayce, and the next moment, the unconscious man opened his eyes, those dark brown orbs fixed at the closed door of his chamber.

Theron's eyes were brimming with tears, and he turned his face to stare at the ceiling, trying to keep those tears at bay. But he failed. Tears rolled down from the corners of his eyes, and then he merely sighed before closing his eyes once more.

Drayce was not aware that Theron was immune to his sleeping spell because Esther had shared a part of her soul with her husband. Even Esther's more powerful sleeping spell didn't affect Theron, much less one Drayce casted casually, and this was something she never got a chance to mention to their son. Thus, Drayce never would have expected that the injured man he visited in secret would be aware of his true sentiments.

-------

When Drayce stepped out of the gates of the Obsidian Palace, beyond the line of sight of the knights on guard duty, Slayer was waiting for him with two horses in tow. Upon the young king's return, both got on the horses and left. Then and only then did the frozen time inside the Obsidian Palace return to normal.

On the way back to the King's residence, Slayer asked, "Why do you always sneak in to check on your father like this whenever he is not well? This time, it would have been better for you to meet him personally and check. There are many tongues wagging lately about how cold-hearted you are to your own family."

"Should I care what others say?" Drayce spoke without much change to his expression. "Besides, whenever we meet, only bitter words spill out of our mouths. It can't be helped. I don't want to say anything that would anger him when he needs a good rest to recover fast."

"Do whatever you want." Slayer sighed. "If families treat each other like this, then I should be thankful I never had one."

"Why don't you make your own family?" Drayce casually threw back.

"I am fine like this." Slayer shrugged. "If I build a family, won't I be unable to work as your sole guardian knight?"

"Are you using me as an excuse? Be honest and say you cannot find a woman who will fit your temperament. Maybe I should search someone for you?"

"You talk as if you searched high and low to find a bride for you. Don't trouble your royal self for me." Slayer muttered, "You were lucky to meet Her Majesty."

"Then, I shall trouble Jasper."

As if Drayce had said something really wrong, Slayer exclaimed, "Don't you dare, Dray."

Drayce laughed. "Don't you trust his choice?"

Jasper arranging a marriage partner for Slayer? He could already imagine the man stacking up papers upon papers filled with the details of countless young women that he considered eligible for marriage. Rather than a marriage proposal, it would probably feel like a business transaction of sorts.

"You know the answer to that," Slayer responded with a frown. "I am better alone than being in a mess brought by him."

"Then--"

Slayer cut him off. "Aren't you going back to your wife, Your Majesty?"

Drayce sighed and no longer troubled his friend who was always against this topic.

------

Since it was already quite late in the night, Drayce went directly to the Queen's residence rather than his own. He found his wife already sleeping when he entered her chamber. He removed his outer coat and boots, merely leaving the inner shirt and pants still on. Without  delay, he climbed onto her bed and got under the blanket with his wife. She had her back facing him and he scooped her closer to him but the moment he did that, Seren turned around to face him.

It shocked him. At first, he thought he had somehow woken her up, but he changed his mind when he looked at her face. "Weren't you asleep?"

She shook her head. "I could not."

He caressed her long hair. "Why? Is anything troubling my wife?"

She again shook her head and asked, "Where were you?"

Drayce could not lie to her, so he tried to be vague. "I went to see someone important."

"Your father?" she asked, but from her gaze, he could see she knew the answer already and the question was just a formality.

"How did you know?" he asked.

She smiled under her veil. "Just!"

Drayce chuckled with her reply. "My wife is getting smarter."

Her eyes curved into smiling ones that showed she was pleased, "I am glad that you went to visit His Excellency."

"Hmm," was all he said and nuzzled her hair, thinking their conversation was done.

However, he heard his wife speak after a bout of silence, "Dray?"

"Yes, my Queen?"

"There is something I want to say."

Drayce pulled back a bit to stare at her purple eyes, wondering what this could be about.

"Is there a problem?"

"Umm...no, it's not a problem. Just...This mark on my forehead is given by your mother, right?"

"Hmm." He nodded.

"I was thinking... is it possible for us to visit Abetha to see my nanny? Or if not, can we summon her here in Megaris? My nanny is a special person, and since she's the one who raised me since I was an infant, no one would know me better than her.  She might know how I got this mark and she might know something that will help us find your mother."

Drayce had already thought about that, but he was aware that her nanny was not in a good condition, that was why she allowed Seren to part from her without fuss. Summoning that woman here would probably not be well-received, and he had an inkling that if Seren was to find out something was wrong with her nanny, it might hurt her...but he needed to find his mother.

"Soon, we would be leaving for Abetha," Drayce told her.

"Really?" Her eyes brightened up. She had complicated feelings about returning to the kingdom that threw her away, but the thought of seeing her nanny excited her. "I can finally see my nanny. When are we going?"

"I happened to remember we received an invitation for the wedding of the Second Princess of Abetha," he informed her.

Hearing it was her half-sister's wedding didn't excite her even a bit as all Seren could remember was the treatment she received during the engagement celebration. She pressed her lips into a thin line. "As long as I can see my nanny and Brother Cian."

Drayce could guess why she was like this but didn't comment on it, and instead, hugged her tightly, hoping to help ease her mood with his embrace. "It's late. We should sleep."

Seren didn't say a word and chose to obey her husband. Once again, her husband showed that he was a kind person. Which brought a question to mind.

'Don't know why they call him a Devil? If he is a Devil, then I guess Devils are better than humans,' she could not help but think as she closed her eyes.