The next day, the Royal Palace of Megaris was in a busier state than usual with their preparations for the young king and queen setting off together for the Queen’s homeland, the Kingdom of Abetha.

Seren’s servants prepared everything for her, and it was decided that three of her servants were accompanying her—her head lady-in-waiting Lady Xena, as well as her maidservants Eva and Marie. Eva and Marie had been to Abetha before when they went to bring their Queen to Megaris and were the most familiar with the things that would make the trip more comfortable for Seren.

Especially since Drayce had planned a surprise for his wife that she never could have expected.

That morning, Seren met Drayce outside of her residence where the carriage was waiting for them to take them to their destination. He was clad in an all-black travel attire with the crest of the royal family on his cloak, reminding her of his looks back in the early days of their marriage. His handsome appearance was simple yet imposing, and Seren could not help but smile as she remembered how scared she was of the red-eyed stranger back then.

‘So much has changed…’

Meanwhile, Drayce helped her climb inside the royal carriage and then followed her to sit opposite her. Their servants along with their luggage were on another carriage. The escort knights then rode their horses, positioning themselves both at the front and rear of the carriages.

And then, the carriages started moving.

Some time later, Seren realized she could smell the salt in the air, and she could not help but look outside the window. Their entourage reached the port city at the coastline territory of Megaris, rather than the familiar road of the southern land route that would pass through Griven.

Seren stared at the blue waters that sparkled under the sun. “Dray, why are we here?”

He smiled lightly. “Guess?”

The carriage happened to stop at that moment, and from where Seren was seated, she could clearly see a familiar ship anchored on the pier, one she recognized to be the same one she visited before, a magnificent sea vessel that belonged to Drayce. The servants and knights were carrying their stuff towards the ship.

She looked back at Drayce with an expectant gaze. “A-Are we…going by ship…perhaps?”

Drayce nodded. “I thought my Queen would like to travel by ship.”

“Of course, I would!” She turned excited as it was something she had only imagined in her dreams. It was akin to experiencing the same adventures as the characters in those books she’d read. “I can’t wait to travel by ship. How good it must feel to travel on water. In the books, the main characters always have—”

Drayce simply listened to her excitedly ramble on like a little girl. It was such a rare sight to hear her speak so much, and he didn’t want to disturb her. A light smile pulled at the corners of his lips as he enjoyed gazing at his adorable wife.

“—oh, I apologize,” she said, seemingly realizing that Drayce hadn’t spoken a word for a while. “I got too happy and delayed us from boarding…”

“We have plenty of time. Do not worry.” Drayce offered her his hand. “Shall we go out then?”

As they stepped out of the carriage, all the people stopped their actions and bowed to the King and Queen.

As Drayce led her way towards the ship, Slayer came to them and bowed. “Your Majesty, the sailors have just finished loading the cargo, and the knights are in the middle of checking the vicinity. According to the ship captain, we are expected to depart in half an hour.”

While Drayce and Slayer were talking, Seren’s head was tilted up the entire time, looking at that huge ship. Its size was so massive she found it difficult to capture the sight of the entire ship in a single glance. The smile on her face didn’t leave even for a moment; unfortunately, this beautiful smile was hidden behind a veil.

“My Queen, shall we?” Drayce asked after Slayer excused himself.

She nodded and the two walked towards the wooden gangway, the bridge connected to the port used to climb aboard the ship. Waiting for them on the bottom of the gangway was  Jasper, who was there to confirm the final arrangements before the King and Queen left. He bowed to greet them.

“Have a safe and nice journey.”

“I believe that in my absence, as usual, you will take care of everything.”

Jasper scoffed. “I believe that others are already thinking I am the real King of Megaris since the one supposedly sitting on the throne leaves everything for me to handle.”

“Go ahead and sit on that throne then.”

“Forgive me for my bold words, Your Majesty, but for the sake of my health, I rather stay as far away from that thing. I would like to live long in peace instead of dying young, buried by the weight of that throne.”

“Sure. You have to live long for everyone’s sake,” was all Drayce told him as he patted his shoulder, his red eyes seemingly laughing. Given the King’s good mood, his trusted aide could only inwardly grumble in discontent. Jasper moved to one side to let the King and the Queen walk ahead.

Drayce held Seren’s hand and helped her walk on the angled gangway, matching her slow pace patiently as they climbed towards the ship.

Only the sounds of the waves splashing against the ship could be heard, as everyone—from the sailors to the servants and the knights, both from the port and those on the deck of the ship—stopped whatever they were doing. It wasn’t that they waited with bated breath for the Queen to board the ship; most of them were gawking in disbelief, watching how their king, the Devil of Megaris, was treating their queen so tenderly. The rumors about the King’s love for his wife had long spread among the common folks, still it was different personally witnessing how affectionate the King was to the Queen.

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