Ceti was a bit startled by his sudden request and glanced at her queen before saying in an apologetic tone, "I am sorry, but—"
"It's fine. You can go, Ceti. You can also partake in the feast," Rowena said with a brief wave of her hand, making Ceti hesitate, but then she bowed towards her, "I will be right back soon, Your Majesty. Thank you."
Silvan smiled as he courteously offered Ceti his hand while bending his back. Ceti briefly smiled before taking his hand as he led her down the platform.
"It seems like my little brother is really serious about that lowly bitch. I don't understand what he has to gain by making himself look bad. If it wasn't for her being someone important to the queen, I would have made her my bitch already," Oberon shook his head with a disdainful look.
"Whatever. There is no way I am going to let him marry someone born amongst those lowly beasts. You heard me, Seron?" Rebecca asked with a scowl.
Seron sighed as he rubbed his forehead with an annoyed look, "Will you just let it go already? I can assure you our son isn't going to marry anyone anytime soon. He is simply curious about his first love. It will fade away, and I will personally see to it."
"Hmph. It better," Rebecca said with a huff before turning away her gaze.
"Oh…don't tell me our Battlemaster has a crush on Prince Silvan?" Asher asked with a soft chuckle. Even if she was married, Asher was sure a egoistical and short-fused woman wouldn't definitely last.
But Asher's eyes glinted with a cold light as he thought about Seron and his entire family, which included Silvan as well. He still hadn't forgotten what Merina told him.
Sabina lightly smiled and said, "Would that be so surprising? He is said to be the youngest eligible bachelor in our kingdom. He is not only quite decent and courteous, but he has decent accomplishments in his pocket as well. All the young girls go crazy for him, and it's said that he receives at least a dozen proposals from powerful houses every day."
"The prince who has it all, huh?" Asher asked as he sipped on his wine and asked with a side glance, "Then why are you not interested in him? I am sure nobody could turn away a charming woman like you."
Sabina raised one of his brows as she caressed her lower red lips with her nail, "Fu, fu, I never expected the royal consort to have such a good eye."
'Is she testing me?' Asher couldn't help but feel that this woman had quite the seductive charms in every single action of hers. It was like she didn't have to try, and it naturally came to her.
Even though his will was strong enough to maintain his bearings, something within him was tempting his mind.
In his previous life, he was committed to his ex-girlfriend Aira only and even refused the advances of many beautiful women who tried to seduce him.
But why was he getting tempted now? Was it because he was a demon now?
Sabina pressed her hand fan against her cheek as she said, "Your question isn't applicable to me since I already have a fiance."
"Who is the lucky guy?"
"Lucky?" Sabina chuckled with a veiled glint in her eyes before saying, "Naturally, it's my younger brother."
'Seriously…so what I read was true after all…' Asher couldn't believe these guys were talking about incest as if it was a common and natural thing. Back on Earth, for almost all people, it was considered taboo due to various reasons starting with genetic defects and whatnot.
But thinking about it, Demons were not weak like humans. They were born with mana, and maybe they won't get affected by any problems caused by incestual relationships.
"So why are they not married yet?" Asher curiously asked.
"Unfortunately for the other girls, he only has eyes for Ceti. And even if Ceti has a respectful status, she still belongs to our enemy race. She can't marry anybody from the powerful houses, let alone Prince Silvan. Just the very mention of it could cause enough damage which even our queen would find it hard to handle."
"And I guess the same goes for Prince Silvan?" Asher asked with squinted eyes as he saw Silvan and Ceti dancing slowly, just like the others.
Sabina squinted her eyes as she shook her head, "Not really. He can let her be his mistress. Many had tried to court her to make her their mistress as well, but as a Battlemaster, she was able to refuse them. But it seems like Ceti dreams of being a legitimate wife. Otherwise, I see no other reason for her to stall like this. Maybe Ceti must have told him she doesn't want to be a lowly mistress after enjoying the status of a Battlemaster. Nobody would want to in her shoes since she would lose the Battlemaster title. This could be why she definitely knows she can't open up unless she wants to invite the wrath of everyone in our kingdom. How pitiful," Sabina clicked her tongue as if being sympathetic.
"An ill-fated romance?" Asher couldn't help but feel satisfied as someone like her deserved it.
She will never be able to marry the man of her dreams and can only look from afar.
But of course, he wasn't planning to let her off easily.
He then asked something he found odd earlier, "Isn't it strange he is risking his face and everything by having feelings for her? Why would someone like him do that?"
"I don't know about you, but some men can be really passionate. Ceti is definitely more beautiful than most of the noble women in our kingdom and definitely has the power and beauty standards to be part of House Drake. It isn't really surprising for Prince Silvan to fall for her, considering both of them had known each other since they were children. Why? Do you feel there is perhaps another reason?" Sabina asked as her gaze fixed on him, her lips subtly arching into a veiled smile.
Asher could see that this woman was trying to probe and casually shrugged, "Nope. I was just curious."
In the center of the hall, Silvan had a pleasant smile on his face as he was dancing with Ceti by holding her hands.
"I never expected we would get a chance to dance like this today. In a way, it's good he woke up," Silvan said while maintaining his smile.
Ceti furrowed her brows just by remembering the man who was causing her trouble since the moment he woke up, "Maybe," She said in a slightly piqued tone. However, she still couldn't shake off one thing in her mind that had happened recently.
"Is something the matter? Is this about the royal consort? You know you can tell me anything. I don't care if you feel like venting about someone you aren't allowed to," Silvan said after noticing how her mood changed the mentioned the royal consort.
Ceti's expression filled with hesitation, but then she briefly smiled and said, "It's really nothing. You have nothing to be concerned about."
Silvan nodded with a slow shake of his head and then asked with a gentle smile, "Aren't you forgetting something?"
Ceti's expression became slightly confused as Silvan added, "Today is the day you told me you would give me an answer to my proposal."
"Oh…" Ceti's expression became complicated as her gaze darted.
Silvan's expression became concerned as he said, "I know asking you to be my mistress isn't fair to you. But I give you my word, I will never make you feel less, and I will make sure nobody will look down upon you, including my own family. And it isn't like I plan this to be permanent. If you become my mistress, then soon I can make you my wife after I gain more influence. All these years, I waited for you, knowing that you needed time to think. But don't you think it's high time you made a decision so we can prepare for the future. I am not trying to pressure you, but that's how much I love you."
"I know you have a good heart but…" Ceti shut her eyes close briefly before saying with a sigh, "I am sorry…I can't decide now, especially since I can't let down our queen at this time. She needs me now the most, and I can't renounce my duties. I owe the most to her and need to look out for her," Ceti couldn't help but furrow her brows, thinking about the crude royal consort who might manipulate the queen. She definitely can't let him do that.
Silvan's expression hardened for a brief second. But then he nodded with an empty smile, making Ceti say with an apologetic look, "I apologize. You deserve better, and I—"
"Please don't say that. I waited for you all these years, so surely I can wait for some more. But as a compromise, can you at least spend more time with me from now on? Just simple strolls around our beautiful gardens would be more than enough," Silvan asked softly.
Ceti slightly pressed her lips together, "I will try."
"Haa, it's boring. My brother can't dance even a bit. So how about you show this lady a good dance?" Sabina asked as she emptied the chalice in her hand.
Asher chuckled and said, "I am afraid I have to refuse. After all, it wouldn't be nice of me if I didn't dance with my wife first."
