The Crown's Fire - Chapter 108

Chapter 108: Can I sleep here?
At Wright Manor, Kingdom of Ebodia

Atlas had brought Ezme home to their family manor located on the east side of Ebodia, where Atlas’s father, George, was the Duke, as his sister, Dani, would have a wedding ceremony there the following day.

Ezme was eagerly anticipating meeting Atlas’s parents. Wanting to make a good impression, she ensured to bring along plenty of gifts, which she had already arranged for his men to deliver in advance.

Her smile radiated as she walked with Atlas towards the door. Upon entering, his parents warmly welcomed her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” she greeted them warmly.

“The pleasure is ours, Your Highness,” Atlas’s mother, Donna, replied. “I am Atlas’s mother, Donna, and this is my husband, George. We’re thrilled to finally meet you in person, and we’re also grateful for the gifts you sent earlier, although we believe it’s a bit too much for us to accept.”

“Oh, please, it’s really nothing. I would love to give more, so please don’t be burdened by it since they are just tokens of my gratitude for accepting me into the family. I hope you like them all,” she said with her sweetest smile.

“We are truly grateful. I’m sure you two are tired from the travel,” Atlas’s mother hummed. She turned to Ezme and added, “Let me escort you to your room.”

Ezme nodded gratefully and allowed the older woman to guide her to her assigned chamber. “I’m sure you’re a bit surprised,” Ezme couldn’t help but remark.

“We’re not really. Atlas already gave us some heads up beforehand, but I won’t hide the fact that we’re truly surprised he agreed to the marriage of inconvenience,” Donna remarked. “But as long as our son is happy, then we’re here to support him, just as we’ll be supporting Dani as well.”

“You don’t have to worry because she will marry a very responsible man. I’ve known Abel for a long time, and he’s a good man on top of being responsible and excellent at his work as the Chancellor in our kingdom,” she praised. Abel should hear her building up his name to his in-laws, so he should do the same for her.

“That’s reassuring, Your Highness,” Donna commented.

“Please call me Ezme,” she said with a warm smile.

“I will do that then, dear.” Donna nodded.

“I apologize that we have to bother you this late,” Ezme murmured, acknowledging the lateness of their arrival, which was almost midnight.

“You and Atlas indeed arrived very late, so everyone’s already resting for the wedding tomorrow, but it’s fine. It’s better since knowing Atlas, he alone may arrive on the wedding day itself,” Donna replied with a smile.

“Atlas is a workaholic,” Ezme replied with a playful pout. She had actually suggested they leave early, but Atlas insisted they stay until he finished wrapping up some work. He wanted to leave without any pending tasks, so they ended up traveling in her mist and arriving almost midnight at their manor. She didn’t even have enough time to get to know his parents better or talk more to his sister, Dani.

“Well, it’s nothing new. Some say he’s married to his work,” Donna humorously remarked, and Ezme chuckled.

“We’re here,” Donna commented as they stopped in front of a door. “I chose this chamber for you since it’s close to Atlas,” she informed, pointing to the next door. That lit up Ezme’s face. “Oh, thank you, Mother!” she enthusiastically beamed, making Donna laugh.

“I honestly want you to call me that, but I feel a bit awkward to ask you about it since technically you’re older than me,” Donna remarked. “Also, I’m not sure how you’ll take it. The last thing I want is to offend you or take things negatively.”

Ezme chuckled and said, “But you’re Atlas’s mother, so it will only be proper to call you Mother. Age doesn’t matter…”

“Alright, go and rest now since it will be a long day tomorrow,” Donna muttered, and Ezme nodded. She quickly entered the bedchamber and freshened up. Changing into a more alluring nightgown, she couldn’t help but wear a playful smile on her lips.

“Now, let’s see if this time I can sneak inside his bedchamber,” she excitedly murmured. She was itching to sneak into his bedchamber at Rose Palace, but she held herself back because she wanted him to warm up more to her. After kissing him in his work chamber and receiving a positive response, she had more confidence now that Atlas wouldn’t kick her out.

It wasn’t the first time she had snuck in, though. The previous time in his tent had been more of a necessity, as she had the discs allowing Atlas to watch Xenia’s trials, so he was unable to kick her out inside his tent in the encampment.

An idea suddenly came to her, so she shifted into her mist form and swiftly entered Atlas’s bedchamber.

He was about to get onto his bed when he quickly reached out for his sword. “Who’s there?”

Ezme quickly materialized in her human form in the darkest area of his bedchamber and muttered, “It’s just me. Geez, aren’t your senses truly impressive for a mere human?!”

“Expect nothing less from Prince Ezekiel’s men,” he simply answered, frowning as she walked towards him. She smiled, seeing how his jaw dropped. “What are you doing!” he burst out, his face flushing crimson.

“Oh, I forgot to put on my nightgown, sorry,” she remarked with a wide grin, enjoying Atlas’s reaction as his eyes hovered over her naked body. “You see, we usually have clothes with us and the magic automatically puts them back on when we materialize back in our human form. In my case, I usually sleep without clothes on. I thought to bid you goodnight first, so I shifted into my mist form without realizing I’m naked.”

Atlas annoyingly growled as he quickly removed his own tunic and threw it at her. “Wear that!” He turned around and walked towards his wardrobe closet to get another clean one. “I can’t believe you’re doing this!”

Ezme ignored him and simply crawled into Atlas’s bed. “Can I sleep here?” she asked when Atlas turned back to her. “No!” he exclaimed.

“Why? Are you scared you can’t hold yourself back from a beautiful woman like me?” Ezme innocently challenged. “If not, then there’s no reason for you to not allow me to sleep here… Unless…”

“Fine!!!” Atlas almost barked. Ezme giggled because she easily had her ways with him.