Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

After their morning meal, they were ready to roam around the city. The royal carriage was prepared for them, and she saw that a small number of knights were riding their horses alongside the Crown Prince of Griven.

After Drayce helped Seren get into the carriage, he closed the door for her. It surprised her that he didn't climb inside the carriage like all the previous times. Through the glass window of the carriage, she saw him climbing on the empty horse beside the prince of Griven, a gallant black warhorse that seemed to be prepared specifically for him.

Though she wished to play pretend that she didn't notice him and his presence didn't matter to her, subconsciously, she continued looking at him. She couldn't deny that the sight of the red-eyed man in his royal black robe was difficult to ignore.

She shook her head after realizing what she was doing. She mumbled under her breath, "He looks better from a distance;  he should just always stay away from me."

Traveling through the city, Seren looked at the streets with curiosity. This was the first city of Griven after crossing the borders of Abetha. She was looking forward to seeing the difference between the two kingdoms. Soon enough, they reached the merchant district, where just like the marketplace in the capital of Abetha, it had plenty of shops everywhere. The place looked more crowded than she expected, and the various shops were generally bigger in size as well.

Seren had heard from her servant last night that this was one of the most famous and richest cities in the Kingdom of Griven because it was the hub for merchants. Having a strategic location at the border of Griven, both the small and big merchants treat this place as one of the places where they could trade goods of both the east and west regions, especially since this was connected to the wealthy Kingdom of Abetha.

From inside her carriage, she saw people visiting different shops alone or with their families or friends. She could hear the loud voices from the shops where merchants were announcing the goods they have. Aside from the fact that this merchant district was of a larger scale than what she experienced in Abetha, as well as the presence of hawkers with their goods presented on carpets on the street sides, the clothing style of the people here seemed to belong from different kingdoms.

However, her attention was not entirely on the sight offered by the merchant district. Seren's gaze also followed Drayce who was riding his horse beside the royal carriage, as if to say he was looking out for her despite not riding the carriage with her.  She could not help but glance from time to time at the handsome man riding the black warhorse.

As if he could sense her gaze at him, he would also look at the carriage, only for her to immediately avert her sight. This had happened several times, and Drayce could only smile lightly as he continued to ride the horse.

They soon stopped the carriage and the horses as they planned to walk inside the merchant district. Drayce helped Seren to step out of the carriage.

Arlan climbed off his horse and came to the couple, only greeting Seren as there was no need to greet his friend. Seren replied politely. During their journey, Arlan only greeted her once after introducing himself to her. Since there was nothing to talk about between them, they mostly simply greeted each other whenever they met.

Arlan looked at Drayce. "You can take Her Majesty to wherever she wants and enjoy yourselves. I can visit the merchant that you plan to meet on my own. Just join me once Her Majesty is—"

"Ahh, no need to trouble His Majesty by accompanying me," Seren said in a haste. "I can manage on my own," She didn't want him to accompany her, not at all.

Drayce could see through her that she wanted to be alone, maybe even using this chance to run away again. Even if he was to give her the benefit of the doubt, she must want to explore everything on her own. He didn't want to interfere with what she wanted.

"Fine, but my captain, Rulf, and will go with you," Drayce pointed towards one of the knights with them.

Seren looked at the robust man who immediately bowed when he sensed his queen's gaze on him. He was the one to send food boxes for his queen through Dusk and he was glad to be able to serve her directly this time.

"I am extremely honored to serve you, Your Majesty," Sir Rulf said as he gave her a knight's salute.

Just then, an eagle let out a screech before dropping down to sit on Sir Rulf's shoulder. Drayce instructed his captain, "Get one more knight with you."

Arlan looked at his knights and instructed one of them to escort Seren. "You can accompany them as you are familiar with this place."

The knight nodded and stood beside Sir Rulf.

Drayce would have preferred to send Slayer with her but the commander of his knights was still not recovered completely. He preferred to keep him with himself, knowing how handful his queen could be.

Moreover, Drayce was confident that even if she tried to sneak away from her escorts, he would be able to find her. She didn't know he could sense her presence anywhere as long as she was within the area of his reach, which was broader than one could imagine, enough to encompass half the city. It was only interfered by some unknown power in that strange forest which didn't allow him to spot the energy coming from her. It was like that forest had trapped her entirely inside, not letting the outside world know about her presence there. Drayce was sure, if he were to be an ordinary man, he wouldn't be able to leave that forest once he got past a certain distance.

Seren could sense his powers too but only if he was nearby. The area of her reach was not broader like Drayce's. It must be due to his powers were stronger than hers or her powers were still suppressed.

Their group walked together until they reached one of the largest merchant guilds in the area. The place was in the center of the merchant district, and Seren was fascinated by everything she could see nearby.

Standing at the outer entrance of the guild building, Drayce turned towards Seren. "You can visit any shop and buy whatever you want. Just don't go too far, and don't leave your escorts. This place is not safe."

Although he wanted to say no harm would fall her way with the protection of the two elite knights, he still said the last line to scare her so she would not try to pull any tricks that would land her in trouble.

Seren nodded like an obedient girl. Just then, her attention was caught by one of the carts being pulled by two horses. But there were no goods placed on it; instead, it had a giant metal cage with two fierce-looking wolves kept inside, glaring and snarling at everyone as if they were their prey.

The cart passed by Seren and entered the outer entrance of the merchant guild through the gate and stopped in the premises of a shop that seemed to specialize in selling beasts. Seren felt scared of them and Drayce noticed it.

"You should go stroll in the boutiques," he instructed her. He didn't wish her to stay there for long.

"Shall I guide you to the shops selling the best dresses, Your Majesty?" the knight from Griven offered. Rulf gestured for her to walk ahead so he could walk behind her. The other knight acted like a local guide, giving brief introductions to the shops that they passed.

Seren did not like the crowd, but she enjoyed the experience of shopping. She kept looking here and there, observing everything calmly though it was too crowded for her comfort. Due to the busy nature of the market, no one had time to pay attention to her, other than noticing that she seemed to be a noble lady with a veil, walking with two knights as escorts.

However, the uniform of the knight from Griven bore the crest of the royal family; thus, no one dared to trouble Seren, other than a few brave shop owners asking her to visit their luxury shops. Seren didn't stop at any shops and simply continued her stroll, seemingly admiring various goods.

The two knights trailing behind her, despite their vigilance, did not even realize that the Queen of Megarishad something else in mind.

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