The Crown's Entrapment

Xenia was so worried about Mineah.

Tarah gave her a reassuring smile and said, "I don't see a miserable fate in her future. Come and let me put the final batch of medicines for your wounds. Tomorrow, you will feel as good as new. Let's finish this first, for the King will ask for your presence again soon."

Xenia still felt so anxious when Tarah left that she couldn't find it in herself to rest at all. In her head, concern about her sister, Mineah, filled her thoughts.

Unlike her, Mineah was the obedient and submissive daughter that any noble would love to have. She was the epitome of a perfect Princess; one who would sacrifice herself for the good of the many. It was no wonder that Mineah would agree to an arranged marriage despite what she might want.

Biting her lower lip, Xenia wearily whispered, "What did I do?"

Mineah… Because of her recklessness, her poor sister might suffer an even worse fate. She did not believe in Seers, but what if Tarah's vision about the marriage were to happen? What if Mineah ended up marrying the Vampire King on her behalf?

Xenia rose from the bed but whimpered because of the striking pain still wreaking havoc in her body. She needed to go back. She needed to fix the mess that her escape had caused.

Feeling her body, she realized that her wounds were deep from the injuries inflicted by the barbarians. However, she could feel the medicine that Tarah gave her was already taking effect. This was why Tarah had advised her to simply rest.

Her body would feel the burning pain and sensation of healing overnight with the payoff of having already recovered come the following day. As such, she simply had to tolerate the pain for the rest of the night.

Finding the strength to stand up, she headed to the door and opened it, only to find yet another shirtless man standing in front of her.

"Oh, you must be Xen!" the man cheerfully burst out.

Xenia stared at him in disbelief, her brows furrowing at the sight of him.

The man was about to hug her when a familiar voice roared from the hallway, "Leon!"

Leon stiffened. He turned to his side and stared at the king in disbelief.

Following Leon's gaze, Xenia surmised that the king was probably outside his door, already on his way out of his chamber.

Leon gave the king a suspicious look as he defended, "I just wanted to give him a warm welcome, Your Majesty. I heard that he's special and that you assigned him to the vacant room connected to yours."

Xenia didn't know how to react to those words from Leon. Bemused, she glanced at Darius before immediately turning her eyes back to the other shirtless man in front of her.

"I'm Leon, the youngest member of His Majesty's Moonlight Knights…"

"Oh, nice to meet you," Xenia said with a smile. It was a bright and fond smile. She had a good feeling about him, maybe because he was cheerful and approachable.

'He said I'm special though?' she inwardly thought as she glanced back at Darius.

Something smelled fishy about her situation now. She knew that werewolves could talk to each other through telepathy and that the King of Cordon, as supreme Alpha, could read the minds of all the werewolves under his command.

This Leon standing in front of her had mentioned the word 'special.' Why would the King fancy her and treat her nicely as a special person? Did the King know that she was a woman? Could he also read the minds of humans?

Xenia shook away the random thoughts. Such a thing was impossible. The Werewolf King could only read the thoughts of human individuals that they had marked or through the blood and flesh that they had consumed of them.

In this Kingdom, only Tarah knew of her secret, and she planned to ensure that it remained that way. There was no chance that the werewolves would know that she was a woman and judge her for it.

"Xen, I've heard that you're a great warrior!" Leon grinned at her. "If I am right, I'm probably just a year younger than you are. It's so nice to meet a fellow young warrior at last!"

Xenia could see the excitement in the boy's eyes. It was as if such a fact inspired him so.

She smiled at him and said, "I'm not that young, but I guess my small frame can make me look younger than I appear."

"How old are you then?" Leon curiously asked.

"I'm already twenty-one," Xenia answered.

"Oh, I'm eighteen." Leon rubbed his chin and looked at her closely. "Yeah, uhm… You look… How do I say this? You look too feminine for a warrior," He hesitantly commented.

Don't get me wrong. It's just that most warriors I've seen and met are a bit bulky, you know? Full of muscles? You're quite lean."

"Then it's good that we've met each other," Xenia chuckled and motioned to herself. "Now you know that it's not all about how intimidating someone can look."

"Well, I trust Gideon's words that you're an amazing warrior who vanquished all of those barbarians," Leon grinned. "Bartos may doubt it, but I believe it wholeheartedly. Maybe the two of us can spar next time?"

"Haha! We'll see about that. I'm glad to meet someone refreshing like you here, Leon," Xenia genuinely smiled as she offered her hand up for a handshake.

Leon was about to reach for her hand but halted when he heard a growl coming from their king.

"Leon, leave now and don't disturb the lad. He needs to rest and regain his strength," King Darius commanded in his authoritative tone.

Leon gulped, giving Xenia a timid smile as he scratched his head. "I guess I'll see you next time, Xen!" he called out before quickly disappearing into the hallways.

Seeing the young man leave, Xenia found it in herself to make another play for her freedom.

"Your Majesty, can I talk to you?" she asked. She would try her luck and talk it out with the King.

She already knew that she had no hope to escape and fight her way out of the castle in her current condition.

The King nodded and said, "Follow me into my chamber."

'Into his room?' Xenia questioned herself, but she still quietly followed Darius into his room. After all, there was no way for her to worry about her condition when the king thought of her as a man.