The Crown's Fire - Chapter 110

Chapter 110: Serious
Atlas took a sip of his wine, exhaling deeply before meeting Ezekiel’s gaze.

“I…” he began, but Ezekiel cut him off gently, expressing concern. “You don’t have to explain, Atlas. I know you’re reliable and responsible. But I hope you can move on from my sister and embrace a new life without regrets, without hurting yourself or others,” he said.

Atlas fell silent, refilling their glasses. He cast his gaze over the garden, now bustling with arriving guests, his eyes scanning the crowd below in search of Ezme’s face. His mother had taken Ezme with her early in the morning. He felt relieved seeing Ezme getting along so well with his family despite having met them only the night before.

Ezme was a peculiar woman indeed. Last night, she had challenged him, and he found himself entangled in her playful antics. He had to admit he was surprised at how much she seemed to affect him. He still couldn’t believe he had spent the night sleep-deprived while she slept soundly beside him.

Atlas found himself questioning what Ezme meant to him before he had even considered the proposal of a marriage of convenience.He found solace in her presence; she kept him distracted from the ache in his heart. Despite her stubbornness and childishness, he found her company tolerable. In fact, he enjoyed her naughtiness and found himself unable to imagine being with anyone else but her at this point of his life.

‘Look at her, entertaining the guests like she’s already a part of the family,’ he mused to himself as he observed Ezme welcoming the arriving guests alongside his mother.

Ezme noticed his gaze and waved with a wide smile, prompting a slight curve of Atlas’s lips. “I guess I shouldn’t worry,” Ezekiel teased, noticing his friend’s reaction.

Flushed, Atlas avoided Ezekiel’s gaze, busying himself with pouring more wine. “What happened to your hand?” Ezekiel inquired, noticing the bandage on Atlas’s palm.

“Just a minor cut,” Atlas replied nonchalantly, his gaze lingering on the injured hand. He remembered the day Ezme had scolded him for intentionally cutting himself so she could drink his blood instead. That day, she decided not to go out with Apollo at the Black Market, saying that she would just hunt for animal blood instead. It was clear she disliked seeing him wounded, even though his blood was tempting to her.

Atlas shook his head, inwardly scolding himself for his newfound openness to offering himself as a meal. The idea of vampires drinking blood disgusted him, yet here he was, willing to let Ezme feed from him. But the thought of her sinking her fangs into him, taking what she needed directly from his veins, lingered in his mind, despite knowing it wasn’t an option due to her inability to control her venom.

‘What’s wrong with me?’ Atlas muttered internally, grappling with his conflicting emotions. Despite his disdain for vampires, he couldn’t deny his growing attraction to Ezme.

Ezekiel interrupted his thoughts, reminding him of the upcoming ceremony. “You should head down. I might leave early, so don’t look for me after it’s over,” he said, breaking the silence. Atlas simply nodded in understanding.

******

The wedding ceremony of Atlas’s sister went well, Ezme knew well that she couldn’t avoid her brother NIkolai who was one of the guests in the ceremony.

“When do you intend to come back home, huh? We already attended two weddings in a row of our own, Ezme… Taro, and Abel,” Nikolai scolded while shaking his head. “Meanwhile, look at you… This Atlas hasn’t even formally visited our Mother yet!”

Ezme pursed her lips as her brother managed to corner her alone at the after-party celebration.

“Atlas is a bit busy at this time, big brother. And stop frowning, please. We’ll see Mother soon,” she pointedly replied. “Goodness, it’s his only sister’s wedding today. You can’t expect him to have a wedding right after that. I’m sure you’re well aware of Ebodia’s customs. Even King Darius waited for those thirty days so that a bad omen wouldn’t occur to their family. Atlas has to wait before we can proceed with our own wedding.”

“Days pass by quickly, you know,” Nikolai informed her. “Mother is already mad at you since she hasn’t even met the man you’re about to marry in person yet.”

Ezme was well aware of it, but she sensed that Atlas might not yet be ready to visit her kingdom. After all, it was a territory of vampires.

“What can I do? It’s not like I’m just marrying some common nobleman,” Ezme proudly scoffed. “Atlas is the Great Constable of Ebodia. He holds the power over the army, and he is the highest officer next to the king himself.”

“Still not the King though,” Nikolai snorted with a raised brow.

“Stop that!” Ezme grunted. “Since when did you learn to look down on others!?”

Nikolai chuckled, and Ezme recognized her brother’s playful teasing. Despite knowing it was all in good fun, she couldn’t bear to hear anything negative about Atlas. “Well, you’re a princess, so you’re eligible to marry a king who will actually have the power and authority to spare enough time for you,” he pointed out. “Just look at me and Darius. One word from our woman and our ass wiggles to quickly leave everything behind and simply attend to them.”

Ezme remained silent. Who wouldn’t want that? Of course, she desired a devoted husband too. As she and her brother continued their conversation, they delved into various topics, including the ongoing situations in Valcrez. After all, her duty to her kingdom still weighed heavily on her mind.

Sighing yet again, Nikolai turned to face her, gently holding her shoulders as he addressed her. “Look, just remember that no matter what happens, you will always have me and Mother. You can always come back home to us, and thirty days should be more than enough for you to think carefully,” he advised her.

“For now, I’ll allow you to stay with Atlas to see if you can really work things out in your relationship with him. But please, at least visit Mother and bring him to her this week. We don’t want any rumors spreading of how the Princess of Valcrez is running after the Great Constable of Ebodia. You still have a name to uphold, Ezme…”

“You worry too much,” Ezme scoffed with a pout. “You said you trust me, right? So let me handle these things myself. Goodness, I’m already a century old.”

“You can’t say that when I always see you playing around with your buddies and flings,” Nikolai pointed out with a scoff. “This Atlas… This is the first time you acted so serious to a man… Anyway, I’ll just have to trust your word on it. I do wonder though, how come Prince Ezekiel didn’t catch your attention?”

Ezme’s face soured as she mumbled, “That man is too scary and boring!”

Nikolai burst out in a fit of laughter. “I see… He instantly turned you down in your first attempt at seducing him then…”

Ezme’s face reddened as she unconsciously touched her neck. “Ah, I’m just glad that my head is still attached to my body,” she mumbled with a gulp.