Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 233: His Conflicted Thoughts

Chapter 233: His Conflicted Thoughts

The next day, when the sun had casted its morning glow in the Chevalier Palace, everyone gathered within the Palace vicinity to celebrate Maurice’s accomplishment. Gone where those days when the citizens of GreenHollow were never allowed to step foot in the Palace, it was considered trespassing and punishment-worthy, but in Ivan’s reign, the people of GreenHollow were given the privilege to be a part of any public ceremony that was held in the Palace– for example, being bestowed the privilege to witness Maurice receive his award for making it out triumphantly in the end of the event.

A smile Ivan was only recognizing for the first time, graced Maurice’s lips as he lowered his head in a polite bow. With an honor that was both charming and admirable, he received the new, magnificent sword that gleamed mystically in the light. In the hilt of his new, majestic blade was the gem he had achieved in the finals– the reason for his attainment, and when everyone, including Helena and the royals stepped forth to congratulate him on his success, he inadvertently spotted his teammates through the crowd, unawareably sneaking peeks at them through the corner of his eyes.

Bryn quietly stood at a corner, arms folded, expression indecipherable, whereas Jack excitedly clapped his hand, singing his praises from afar. The mere sight of his teammates was enough to make the smile on his lips fade gradually, and at once, none of this celebration felt right to him. It had only been a day they spent together trying to locate the last gemstone, the time difference between each realm was equivalent to spending a whole day on Earth– reasons why he regained consciousness only to see the sky had darkened last night. The time difference wasn’t important anyway, but seeing them stand over there made him feel a pang in his chest, as though he was doing something wrong.

"What do you wish to say to His Majesty?" One of Ivan’s entourage spoke on his behalf, and the murmuring crowds instantly quieted down. The sudden, unprepared silence made Maurice feel a little uneasy, but when he looked at his sister who smiled while giving him a go-ahead nod, Maurice found his seeping courage returning, and he took in a deep breath.

"Thank you for this opportunity, your Majesty." He said, sounding genuinely grateful to Ivan, "but... I will have to decline all these rewards as they are.... unfair treatments towards my teammates. Honestly speaking, I wouldn’t have made it back with the final gem if it weren’t for them. Pardon my manners but If.. if you do not mind, I think they deserve to be awarded with this more than I do."

Maurice simply suggested, not daring to meet the gaze of Ivan after voicing out his perception. He could hear the crowds murmur their awe, even his sister was left evidently surprised by it, but that didn’t deter him from speaking what he had in mind. However, Bryn and Jack, who had come here to be a part of his celebration, were left frozen after coming to the realization that they were the teammates he was openly talking about. To be fair, his Majesty never casted them aside after their return, their accomplishments were honorably celebrated while he was unconscious all through last night, and to top it off, they were awarded a position, which meant they were successfully among the new recruits chosen to follow Helena back to the borders.

"Sigh... that thwart of a human, why is he being nice? It’s embarrassing." Bryn clicked his tongue, already feeling sorry for the human lad, but Jack remained inquisitively silent as he was still trying to comprehend the meaning behind Maurice’s statement.

In the midst of where Maurice stood, one of Ivan’s entourage frowned upon his manner of speaking. He was about to reprimand him for refusing His Majesty’s gifts in front of everyone, but, before he could let the words slip from his mouth, Ivan raised a hand, silencing his entourage. When they feared that it might be a little too late to stop his Majesty’s anger from rising, they dared to steal a peek at his face but alas! The vampire King bore no disappointment on his ethereal features, nor did he show any negative display to the behavior of the human lad, rather, his eyes flickered with warmth, as if proud– to their stupefaction.

"It is fine if you do not want them." Ivan replied, his tone surprisingly calm, as if he understood the views of the human lad, and then he added. "However, I cannot take them back as I have already given them to you. What you choose to do with them from here on out, whom you choose to pass it on to, or how you intend to make good use of them depends solely on you. If you have any fears that I may be offended, then that is not something that you should be bothered about... I don’t get offended for foolish reasons, and am not stopping you."

He assured Maurice who could no longer keep his gaze low, whilst his eyes snapped up in surprise to meet the crimson eyes of Ivan, as if trying to confirm if he was being honest with him or not. When he saw no hidden motive within the depths of those crimson orbs, he bowed his head in gratitude and turned around to immediately make his way towards his Teammate. For a moment, the vampire lad felt like snapping his fingers and vanishing from sight, away from the eyes that constantly bore holes in his direction, but unfortunately, he wasn’t blessed with the ability to teleport– if he could pluck their eyes out!

His beady eyes, which remained fixed on the heaven above, dropped slightly to gaze at the human standing before him– the human he hated, or rather, the annoying thwart he USED to hate. Unlike yesterday when the three of them looked like bodies with no soul, the same trio were active and looked pleasantly good to the eyes– most especially to the females who they deliberately ignored their signals.

"Here, you can have this." He handed the sword to Bryn, but the vampire lad averted his gaze elsewhere, feeling reluctant on taking it. "You’ll be heading to the borders soon, I heard it’s not a safe place since the borders lead to the main entrance of GreenHollow, our empire as a whole, so you’ll need this more than I do." Said Maurice, and Bryn’s attention returned to the magnificent sword in Maurice’s hand. He gazed at it for a brief moment before retracting his eyes to Maurice.

"Are you sure you’re okay with it?"

"I understand that you feel that you are undeserving, in regards to how many times you have maltreated me." Maurice didn’t hesitate to quote, and Bryn rolled his eyes sarcastically. He continued, "fortunately that hatred inside of me has been replaced by our new bond. You still saved me, despite our mutual..."

"Frenemies?"

"Yup!" Maurice nodded to Jack’s inquiries. "If you don’t want it then I will not force you to have it, I’ll just hand it over to Jack. Ja–"

"Over my dead body you’re giving that mouse a sword!" Bryn received the sword from Maurice’s grip.

"Hey! Who the hell are you calling a mouse! That’s disrespectful!" Jack, who was literally standing beside Bryn, could feel his head light up with invisible fury flames. His hands balled into fist, but he was crying internally at being mercilessly referred to as a mouse, but, all that emotion was quick to disappear when Maurice handed him the Dragon scale.

"You can have this one."

"The Dragon’s scale?" Jack inquired, his surprise evident as his pupils dilated in wonder, and Maurice nodded enthusiastically.

"It’s like a shield, you can use it mainly for defense and protection. You must be wondering how something so little could be used for protection but I’m telling you, you’d be blown out of your wits when you figure out how this scale can multiply ten times its actual size. Fire resistant, and strong enough to hold against anything that comes your way." Maurice explained the benefits of the Dragon’s scale, feeling quite proud with how he had structured his sentence.

"Whoa! That’s insane!" As expected, Jack was eager to test his new gift.

"I’ll show you."

"What a bunch of babies!" Bryn snorted.

At the entrance of the Palace, Ivan came to stand behind Samantha who watched her brother interact with his teammates, their laughter filling the air as they tried out the weapon he had given them. A smile subconsciously graced her lips at the sight, but Samantha was jolted back to the present when she felt someone kiss her left cheek.

With her eyes snapped wide, she turned her head to the side to look at who it was, and as expected, Ivan’s handsome face came into view. Her pupils dilated when Ivan suddenly hugged her from behind, his hands secured around her waist, her back connected to his front, and his chin resting intimately on her shoulder. Immediately, Samantha tried to free herself from this position he had shamelessly placed them both in, her face flushed red.

"Ivan, there are people watching!!!"

"It’s their eyes, let them watch, I’m not doing anything wrong, am I? Besides, We’re getting married in a few weeks. Let me hold you... my precious little lamb!"

"Did you ever study the etiquette of a King?"

"Those etiquettes don’t apply to my soon-to-be wife, my Queen. I can pretend to be what I’m not to everyone else, but you’re an exception. Little Lamb, give me a kiss!"

"Are you perhaps drunk? Your Majesty?" Finally breaking free from his hold, only because he allowed her to do so, Samantha kept a safe distance between the both of them. She quickly smoothened her skirt, her eyes surveying the crowds, and she didn’t need their gaze to be on them in order to know that they had witnessed her future husband’s behavior. The thought of it only made the blush on her face deepen, and it moved right down to her neck.

"You are being improper!" She pointed a finger at him, reprimanding him through a whisper, but his eyes, which were still fixed on her, no longer seemed to be gazing at her face but something else. Samantha, who found that focused stare to be a little suspicious, followed his eyes, and a gasp of horror escaped her lips upon realizing what the shameless man was presently gazing at.

"Ivan!"

"I can’t help it." He defended right away, but their little bickering was cut short when Abdiel approached them both.

"You two are here. Actually, your Aunt Lucinda requests both your presence in the drawing room. She said something about having major challenges in picking a perfect wedding invitation card. As a couple, she thinks it’s best if you two decide which invitation card would suit you best, so hurry before she brings the roof down."

"Of course, Uncle." Ivan answered, and together, he went into the Palace with Samantha by his side. As they made it past the vestibule, Samantha felt quite excited to see how the wedding cards eventually turned out. She anticipated it, whilst she lifted the hem of her flowing gown from the floor so she could walk faster.

"As long as Aunt Lucinda is the one dealing with our wedding invitation cards, I’m certain they’ll turn out lovely." She commented, happily trying to indulge herself in a conversation with Ivan but unbeknownst to her, the vampire King was struggling with his own inner turmoil.

He was doing his best to keep his attention on what she was saying, but from time to time, his unruly eyes just couldn’t resist the temptation of looking at those milky-white cleavages that appeared visible above her the line of her dress. The neck-line was beguilingly squared down to her chest, revealing a tantalizing glimpse of that smooth bosom that was hidden in her tight bodice. When she heaved a sigh, or when she made efforts to speak, they threatened to burst from the cage they were entrapped in, and what’s worse, the symbol of her necklace plunged directly into the center of her cleavages, conflicting his thoughts.

"Ivan, are you listening to me?"

"Hmm?" His heated eyes automatically snapped up to meet her green ones.