Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

After the dance with her brother, Seren left the centerstage with grace and composure despite fearing that she'd be asked to dance by some other important figures. She would be too ashamed to face anyone if she were to step on the foot of an unlucky nobleman. Luckily, her fear did not happen. It might have to do with a certain red-eyed king glaring at any male attempting to get near his wife, regardless of their age and intentions.

Seren was then surrounded by the wives and daughters of high society. Luckily, Lady Tyra and her ladies-in-waiting accompanied Seren the entire time, thus interacting with them was not too bad. The noblewomen introduced themselves to her one by one, trying to impress her with either the influence of their families or the status of their husbands.

After all, anyone with a brain knew that King Drayce was someone hard to approach, but his queen was different. They had yet to test the waters, but having Queen Seren's favor on their side would surely bring great benefits to them. Seren had nothing much to talk about and she could only nod to what the ladies were saying, whether it be praise about the wedding or anything else.

While flocked by these women of high society, Seren seemingly sensed a little girl hurrying towards her side. Rayjin, who was boredly listening to adult conversation, finally got a chance to sneak away from her father's side without giving Duke Wimark a chance to stop her.

"Seren!" Calling her name, Rayjin ran towards her and hugged her. Everyone who heard her address the queen by her name was startled, but seeing that the young queen did not mind it, they returned to their conversations.

Seren patted the little girl's head while looking down at her. "Rayjin!"

The little girl was smiling brightly while looking up at Seren. "You look so pretty, Seren."

The little girl's innocence brought a wide smile on her lips as she replied, "And you look the prettiest."

"Thank you," Rayjin grinned happily. She even twirled around to show off her dress and hair. "My mother chose my dress for me."

The others were shocked with how the strange girl was acting casually in front of their Queen when others would not even dare look her straight in the eyes.

Seren sensed their strange gazes on Rayjin. "Rayjin, why don't you introduce yourself to the ladies?"

The little girl did a perfect curtsy before everyone. "Daughter of Duke Wimark of Griven, Rayjin Wimark, greets everyone."

"Greetings, a young lady from the Wimark Duchy."

"Oh, she is the granddaughter of the King of Griven."

"She's a princess of the Cromwell Royal Family."

The ladies could only smile and greet her back as this little girl was a princess and just be quiet about her faux pas. Seren excused herself from the circle of ladies and walked away with Rayjin. Her ladies-in-waiting silently followed behind them.

"Let's go to Dray. I haven't talked to him yet," Rayjin suggested.

Seren looked around and found Drayce busy talking with the diplomatic party from Griven. Both the First and the Second Prince were there with Duke Wimark. It seemed like just as Rayjin ran away from her father, it coincided that Drayce came looking for the duke.

Seren thought it's not good to disturb them and was about to bring Rayjin elsewhere when Drayce looked at her. His gaze conveyed that she should listen to what Rayjin said.

After looking at the little girl's expression again, Seren decided to approach the men's group while holding Rayjin's hand. Along the way, everyone bowed to Seren as she was officially the Queen of Megaris now.

"I hope Rayjin did not trouble you, Queen Seren," Arlan smiled after giving her a small bow.

"She did not," Seren replied as she patted the little girl's head, looking at her affectionately.

Rayjin rushed towards Drayce and hugged his leg like she always did back in Griven. "Dray! I told Seren she looks pretty. Isn't she pretty?"

"Not just pretty but my wife is beautiful. She always looks beautiful," Drayce replied casually, not knowing his words would affect the young queen and make her blush. Seren felt a little embarrassed but did not dare say a word.

"In this white dress, she is looking like a snow fairy," Rayjin continued to exclaim and Drayce nodded as he glanced at the blushing face of his wife. Even though it was half-covered with a veil, the rest of her face and body language allowed Drayce to sense her emotions.

The entire banquet would continue on till late into the night, but it was not needed for all the guests to stay and enjoy the celebration.  It was the same of the King and Queen of Megaris, as they informed everyone they would be retiring early so the nobles could continue mingling on their own. Drayce was busy exchanging pleasantries with some of the guests who were leaving early as well, while Seren already found herself escorted by her ladies-in-waiting back to her chamber. Seren was exhausted, both in mind and in body, and she preferred to rest for a while. She told her ladies-in-waiting to leave her on her own for several minutes.

Once she had a little rest, her ladies-in-waiting returned to her side to prepare her for the wedding night.

"Allow us to undress you now, Your Majesty."

"Let me undo your hair."

"We will keep the crown safely into this jewelry box for now, Your Majesty."

Seren was aware of why her ladies-in-waiting were preparing her again in a different dress and why they were taking so much effort in making her look good. As the women helped her out of her ballgown, no one noticed the growing anxiety on her veil-covered face.

After another wash and series of fragrant oils, Seren was dressed in a simple white silk nightgown, and the fabric felt smooth and cold against her skin. She thought that was it, but the ladies put on another layer of clothes on her​​—a heavy red long robe with gold embroidery on its wide sleeves. The robe had sleeves long enough to drown her hands, and it was the kind of loose garment that needed to have a gold-embroidered belt tied at her waist. Her long hair was brushed, and only a few hair strands were left dangling to frame her face as the rest was tucked at the back of her head, secured with a gold hair accessory.

Once Seren was ready, the ladies-in-waiting led her out from her wardrobe room to her main chamber. Stunned, Seren looked around the chamber which looked totally different from how it was this morning