The Werewolf King's Bride

(From Blue's Perspective)

The banquet date was getting closer. And now, tonight was the banquet. Mother had arrived two days before along with my dresses. She was staying at the palace we were in.

The banquet was supposed to take place a few days ago, but it was postponed for unknown reasons. The main palace's servants were extremely busy. Dem was correct. It was a wise choice to stay in a different palace rather than the main one.

Luc was going to join the banquet as well, even though he did not want to. Dem said that Luc needed to be around me for my safety.

"It won't be too boring, Luc," I said, patting his arm as he sat beside me in my room, furious, while the maids combed my hair.

Dem was taking a shower after running around all day. It was unusual for the master of the magical tower to enter the king's and queen's bed chambers, but Luc was a friend of ours. So, it did not matter. But the maids did not know this and were very surprised.

"You don't know," he grumbled. "These kinds of gatherings are always dangerously boring."

"The food will be delicious. At least, you can try different kinds of food," I said. Luc liked food too much. So, only that could lure him into doing something.

"Well, perhaps...," he murmured.

Perita was not going to be with me since she was not invited. Only the king, the queen and the master of the magic tower were invited. There were times when knights escorted the king or queen, but only when they were not married. They could also go by themselves. It was their decision.

"Ugh, what are you doing in our room?" Dem asked, disgustedly, as he got out of the bathroom.

"You sure take a long time to shower," Luc remarked bitterly.

"... Just leave. You are vexing. You're bothering my wife yet again, aren't you?"

"Wow, Luc, you also have some silver strands in your hair," I exclaimed. "I'd never noticed them before. Were you born with those? Or did you dye?"

"I was born with those," he said.

'So, that's why Dem calls him silver punk. I thought it was for no reason...'

"They are kinda unique," I muttered and glanced at Ruby. She was blushing furiously, but oddly, no one noticed it.

'Oh my, is that how I look whenever I think of Dem or hear something about him?'

Luc was forced to return by Dem. Dem also went to get ready. After the maids of Ataraxia saw the dress that I was going to wear tonight, they were squeaking like little birds.

It was a black mermaid satin dress with a short train, a black furry bottom line, and sleeves with a gold chest part attached to a gold necklace. Gold strings were also attached from the waist to the lower part.

Dem chose it for me along with the other dresses. The gown itself was stunning. But I was not sure how I would look in it. Perhaps it was because I was not too confident in my looks.

"Oh my goodness, Your Highness! You look stunning!" Ruby exclaimed as they finally managed to put it on me properly. It took a whole hour just to put it on, especially because the chest part was made of hard gold and it was attached to the necklace.

But more than beauty, I appreciated the comfort of wearing this dress the most. The fabric was not normal. At first glance, I thought it was just satin. But it was after wearing it that I realized it had a feature that cooled my body from within. No wonder Dem was smirking when I said I would get sweaty wearing it.

"Wow, so cool!" I muttered.

"Right? It's amazing! Your Highness looks stunning in it!" Ruby exclaimed.

"I am not talking about that. It's really comfortable inside," I said. "By the way, my chest doesn't look bizarre, right? I mean, it's literally gold..."

"Your Highness, the gold part is on top of the fabric. You don't have to be concerned about them peering," she said as if she knew what I was concerned about. "Your Highness, just look in the mirror. You look truly amazing."

As she said, I glanced into the mirror. Well, perhaps I looked a little different. They twisted my hair into a bun. I was wearing a hairpin made of gold and black feathers.

And finally, it was time for the tiara.

"The tiara," Ruby muttered. "I should call His Highness."

"Why? Is there something wrong?" I asked worriedly.

"No, there is nothing wrong. Your Highness is ready. I think I should call His Highness now," she said. "Please wait here, Your Highness."

Ruby left hurriedly without saying anything else. I had no idea why she needed to call Demetrius. I thought we were going to meet downstairs.

"Your Highness is truly beautiful. It was an honor to serve you," one of the maids said and bowed.

Even though I heard this kind of thing quite a lot, I still had not gotten used to it. It still made me slightly uncomfortable, but I had learned how to remain calm at least.

"Yes, I had seen Your Highness' portrait before, but Your Highness' beauty still astounded me..."

"What are you saying?" another maid yelled at her. "How can we see Your Highness's portrait before?"

They were most likely discussing my portrait, which had been stolen from the palace of Querencia a month before. Dem informed me of it. He claimed that it was stolen by a member of the Ataraxia royal family. The maids, perhaps, knew that they were not supposed to talk about it. But it seemed they did not know that the portrait was actually stolen.

And I could not let this opportunity slide.

"Ah, the portrait..." I said with a smile. "Wasn't that the one I sent a month ago?"

"Your Highness sent it?" the maid with golden hair asked, surprised.

"Oh, yes... I could not ignore his request, could I?"

'Dem also told me it was undoubtedly a man. I can use it now.'

"So, it was Your Highness who sent the portrait to His Highness, the Crown Prince," she exclaimed, relieved. "I, too, was wondering how His Highness would obtain Your Highness' portrait. I had the impression it had been sent by Your Highness or His Highness, King Demetrius. It seems I was right."

'So it was the crown prince... Why the hell would he steal my portrait? It's kinda creepy...'

I heard a soft knock on the door. It was Demetrius. But why was he knocking? It was unusual to see him do something like this when he usually just barged in.

"Ah, you all worked very hard today. You can leave now," I said and smiled at them.

They bowed and left. I was thinking why the crown prince would do that. He was intriguing in a negative way. And his actions were making me worry a bit.

"..."

"Did you say something?" I asked, looking at him.

"... Stunning..."

"Hmm?"

"You look stunning," he said, glancing up and down at me. "I knew this dress would be a perfect choice. But now, I think this dress did not enchant your beauty, rather you enchanted its beauty."

"... Where did you learn to talk like that?" I muttered, flushed.

"I am merely telling the truth. You look just perfect tonight, my love."

"You look great too," I said. "My perfect king."

"Well, it is pretty hard to receive a compliment from my wife. I am glad you like my look."

"That's not true," I muttered. "You just compliment me way too much about every single thing. Even last week, you complimented me just because I can touch my nose with the tip of my tongue. So, my number of compliments seems so little to you."

"That's a rare thing to be able to do," he said. "I can't do that. And I haven't seen anyone who can do it either."

"I know it's rare, but it's not something to be complimented about."

"Why not? You looked so cute..."

"Ugh, really...? Anyway, I have something to tell you."

"I read their minds a little," he said, grabbing my arm and assisting me in sitting on the stool in front of the mirror. "Does it have anything to do with the stolen portrait?"

"Yes, the crown prince of Ataraxia is the one who did it," I said.

"Hmm... I thought the second prince did it. I think it's because of the crown prince's appearance that I did not suspect him."

"I know, right? It's because of his glasses, right? Sometimes when you suspect him, you feel like you are the stupid one for suspecting him, isn't that how you felt?"

"Yeah, those damn glasses...," he grumbled. "Anyway, let me put the tiara on you."

'Now I know why Ruby called Dem...'