"It's fine between husband and wife," he replied and took off his robe. He was wearing nothing but pants underneath. "It's fine if you look at me. I won't feel upset."

Seren still refused to raise her head. "I will rest, Your Majesty." She immediately lay back on the bed and covered herself with the quilt.

Seeing her flustered, Drayce smiled and went to the side room to bathe.

Seren shut her eyes with a disapproving frown. 'Didn't his nanny teach him what Martha told me? What poor education he must have received!'

When Drayce came out of the bath wearing new pants, ready to put on his travel clothes prepared on the side, he noticed that his little kitten was still wrapped inside the quilt.

'Does she want to suffocate herself?'

Drayce went towards the bed and pulled the quilt away from her head. "Do you want to suffocate yourself, my Queen?"

Seren opened her eyes, only to be welcomed by the sight of a wide and muscular chest.

With her eyes open widely, her gaze remained fixed on it before slowly climbing up to the tattoo on his neck before heading towards his cold yet attractive face. From where he's standing at the moment, the morning sunlight seemed to be highlighting the sharp lines of his upper body. As he had just finished a bath, he looked relaxed and refreshed, causing her to fall into a daze. In her mind, she could only recall one word to describe him.

'Beautiful.'

She didn't know how to praise a man's appearance. She wasn't in fact sure what the standard of beauty was, as she rarely interacted with people. But to her, at this moment, she was sure no one would deny the beauty of the man in front of her.

This red-eyed man had always made her scared and wary, but his appearance now was different, completely unlike the unapproachable imposing aura of a king he wore around all the time.

He was the same man, yet also didn't seem to be the same man. She didn't know why that was the case, but at this moment, he looked like an ordinary handsome young man.

When her gaze met him, she flinched and immediately lowered her gaze again, allowing herself to curiously appreciate his chest. It was the first time she had seen a man without an upper garment, and his chest looked strong and solid, nothing close to hers.

Seeing her dazed, Drayce asked, "Are you fine, my Queen?"

His cold voice brought her wandering thoughts back to reality. She shut her eyes tightly.

"Apologies! I-I didn't see you, Your Majesty." She acted as if she had committed a crime.

Drayce didn't know whether he should laugh at her. Instead of having a wife for himself, it was more like he had adopted a kid and now had a responsibility to raise that kid into an adult.

He didn't wish to rush because he was worried he would just scare this innocent little kitten. With a shake of his head, Drayce went towards where he had kept his clothes and wore them. Once he was ready, he informed her, "I am sending your servants in. My Queen can order them what she wants."

Seren heard him but didn't reply. She opened her eyes only after she heard the sound of the door closing. When she realized Drayce was gone, she buried herself back under the quilt.

----

After some time, Seren heard the sound of someone knocking on the door. Eva and Marie entered the room and saw their queen still under the quilt. The two shared teasing smiles with each other, thinking their king and queen had spent their first night together as husband and wife. But little did they know it didn't go the way these two were thinking.

Eva went towards the bed while Marie went to the side room to prepare a bath for Seren.

"Good morning, Your Majesty. Are you feeling well?" Eva asked.

Seren peeked her head out of the quilt and looked at the smiling young woman. "I am fine." She sat up in bed.

"Are you hurt somewhere, Your Majesty? If so, we can help you stand," Eva offered, her voice gentle as she reached out a caring hand for her queen.

Hearing it, Seren was not puzzled, but she felt embarrassed.

'Did he tell these two that I tried to run away and hurt my foot? How dare he? What will these two think about me after learning that their queen tried to run away?'

Seeing Seren's embarrassed face, Eva could only smile wider as she thought it was due to some other reason. Since she was older by a few years than the queen, she could not help but act like an elder. "Where are you hurting, Your Majesty? It is normal to hurt down there—"

Mistaking what 'down' meant, Seren confirmed that Drayce told them about her injury. She pulled the quilt away from her feet and showed that silk-wrapped ankle to Eva. "My ankle."

"Ankle?" Eva looked puzzled.

"His Majesty has treated it so it will be fine soon," Seren replied nonchalantly, not knowing what was going on in her servant's mind.

"How did Your Majesty hurt your ankle?" She was surprised, and then her imagination ran wild. 'What exactly did their king do to their queen last night to hurt her ankle? Oh my...'

Before Seren could say a word, Marie came out of the side room. "Your Majesty, the bath is ready."

"I had it already," Seren informed her.

The two servants looked at each other and then noticed Seren's clothes. The nightgown was not the one that they arranged for her to wear last night. It was a different nightgown.

Knowing that their queen had a mild and pleasant temper, Eva decided it would be fine to be more casual with her. She cleared her throat and blinked her curious eyes. "Did His Majesty the King help Your Majesty bathe?"

Seren nodded, not thinking much, but then realized too late she had agreed to something bad. She had indirectly told them that the red-eyed man had changed her clothes and seen her naked. Such a disgrace to a lady!

Seren looked at the blushing faces of both servants and didn't know why they were like this. 'Perhaps they were embarrassed that I had disgraced myself.'

To change the topic, Seren instructed, "I am hungry. Can both of you bring in my morning meal?"

Eva and Marie immediately turned attentive towards their queen. "We will bring your food right away, Your Majesty."

The two servants left while Seren continued to sit in a daze on the bed, waiting for her meal to arrive.