The Crown's Seduction
Chapter 313: Completely Petty

Chapter 313: Completely Petty

Dahlia sighed as she found herself pacing back and forth in what was supposed to be her shared room with Zoran. Ever since he woke, she had been forbidden to see him despite her constant protests. They constantly tell her that she was in too much danger whenever she even went near her own husband, and she couldn’t help but feel bitter at everyone else who got to see him.

"What is going on here?" she grumbled to herself. "Why in the world am I the only one that’s not allowed to see him?"

It almost felt comical that she was the only one forbidden from seeing her own husband. All the while, she saw and heard seemingly everyone else come and go through Zoran’s current room like nothing was even wrong. Sure, Lord Fritz told her that Zoran was still undergoing some kind of new vampire training to allow him to control himself around her, but couldn’t she still at least get a glimpse of what was happening behind the doors? She at least deserved that much as the man’s wife.

Still, at least not everything was going wrong in her life right now. Despite it technically being bad news, her mother’s trial went surprisingly decent enough for her tastes. She watched along the proceedings as her mother was given a rather light sentence compared to her crimes. King Nikolai was the one who went over things, and she could only be grateful to him as he made sure that her mother would walk away with her life intact.

"I still have to see her this week too," Dahlia mumbled to herself as her thoughts went to her mother. "She must be busy though..."

Indeed. While her mother escaped with her life, that didn’t mean that she went unpunished. She was under strict house arrest with careful supervision from the king’s men. Her mother was also given a few tasks to help with the running of the kingdom. What those tasks were, she didn’t know, but what Dahlia knew was that it at least helped her mother feel like she wasn’t being completely abandoned by the people around her.

"At least she’s keeping herself busy," she chuckled to herself, her gaze landing on the open window in front of her. "Not unlike myself..."

Dahlia let out another sigh as she remembered something else. While Zoran was busy recovering and her mother busy with what was essentially community service, she almost felt like she wasn’t doing anything to advance herself. She would’ve cooked for Zoran way before now, but seeing as he was a vampire now, the only thing she could even remotely offer him was her blood, and that was currently not in the cards until the others could say that her husband’s training was finished.

"Still, there must be something I could do..."

With a frown, Dahlia grumbled to herself before finally allowing herself to plop her body onto the bed. She let out another sigh as she thought of everything she could do to try and help, only for her mind to draw a blank as her frown deepened further.

After all, what else did she even bring to the table other than her love and affection for Zoran? She could cook, but her husband wouldn’t be able to eat it anymore. At least, not until he was cleared to do so. She could maybe talk to Zoran, but she wasn’t even allowed to come near him. She wasn’t even allowed to sleep in the room next to his!

"Why do things have to be so hard..."

Letting out another frustrated sigh, Dahlia shrugged before finally allowing herself to sleep for the night. She still had some work to do as Queen Mineah’s handmaiden, and she also had to visit her mother as well. After all of that, maybe she’ll try to petition the king to try and get his permission to see Zoran.

Surely, if she just kept at it, something was about to give. They won’t be able to keep her away from him forever.

***

Nikolai sighed as he leaned into the seat of his throne. Same as last time, Dahlia just came into the throne room to try and get his permission to see Zoran. Unfortunately for her, Fritz had told him to refuse Dahlia’s requests no matter what. He saw the reasoning, however, and he could only do his best to remain impassive even as Dahlia constantly begged him to perhaps let her even catch a glimpse of her own husband.

"It’s the right thing to do for now, Your Majesty," Fritz reassured him as he entered the room. "Let her hate me all she wants. Until the situation changes, it would be best for her to not see what’s really going on."

"Is there really no other way?" Nikolai asked him with a shake of his head. "We can’t keep her from knowing what’s happening for too long. Either way, she deserves to know."

"My King, the heartbreak of seeing her beloved remembering everything except for her might be too much for her," Fritz sighed back. "I’m still looking to see if there’s a way to reverse it, but for now, it’s best that she remains in the dark."

Nikolai let out another sigh as he thought about the situation. It wasn’t too long ago that Fritz told him about Zoran’s situation. The fact that Devon even found it in himself to remove Zoran’s memories of his wife was completely petty. It gave him nothing in terms of advantage, and yet he exerted effort just to spite the man who managed to escape his clutches.

"Devon really managed to hit us despite him being so far away," Nikolai growled in both anger and annoyance. "I’m sure we can still reverse whatever he did to Zoran. I just hope it won’t take too long."

"Agreed," Fritz nodded. "All we need is time. Time that will hopefully be by our side."

Nikolai hummed in agreement. If anything, by the time Zoran was well enough to walk around Dahlia without thinking of her as food, they would’ve at least come up with a plan to fix