Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

"For the first time, I see someone turning this devil speechless," Arlan commented and looked at Rayjin with approval. "I am so proud of you, my little niece."

Drayce offered him a displeased look and then returned his attention to Rayjin. "Every husband loves his wife. Now can we leave? If we are late, I might not accompany you." It was clear to the Cromwell siblings that Drayce avoided answering the other question, but nobody pointed that out.

Rayjin panicked. She wanted to go out and play with Drayce. "Wah! Let's go! I don't want to be late."

Seren lowered her gaze as she thought about her husband's answer. 'So since he's saying he loves me as his wife, that means he is a breeding bull too, isn't he? And I'm a cow? It's really weird wording. No wonder the Second Prince is embarrassed. But I wonder what this love between a breeding bull and cow means. Is love a special gift? I don't understand.' 

Just as they all turned to leave the drawing-room, Rayjin ran towards Seren. "Your Majesty, can I hold your hand?"

The little girl's attention on her puzzled Seren, but looking at those sparkling and hopeful eyes filled with innocence, she could only nod. 

Rayjin immediately held her right hand, even squeezing playfully, not minding the scales in that hand. 

"Your Majesty, your hand is so soft." The little girl held her hand with both hands, playfully stroking and poking with a smile.

'Of course, it's really soft like cotton,' Drayce could not help but inwardly agree. 'Not only her hand but also her entire body is soft, so soft she's even more comforting than a  pillow—'

Drayce immediately stopped thinking as comfort was a taboo creating a mess between him and his wife.

Seren again didn't know how to react, but she wanted to let this little girl know she liked her. She then remembered what Queen Julien said to her earlier that made her feel warm.  "Please don't call me Your Majesty. You can call me Seren." 

Hearing how the Royal Family of Cromwell converse with each other had a huge impact on Seren. 

"Really? But...Mother said…" The girl looked hesitant due to the strict instructions she got from her mother. 

"You call His Majesty by his name so you can call me by name too."

Hearing her initiate something on her own, Drayce stared at his queen with a small smile on his handsome face. Seren was a quiet young woman. She didn't talk much with others, even to her own servants, and much less with him, other than the few words she said in response to his questions. He could not help but push his luck.

"My Queen, you can also call me by name," he said, wondering how his name would sound if she were to say it out loud. 

Seren didn't even look at him. "I dare not, Your Majesty. I am comfortable with calling you the way I do."

The Cromwell siblings could only smile at Drayce's attempt. From their interactions so far, even Alvera who had met Seren for the first time could guess this young couple was not a normal pair of husband and wife.

"Seren!" Rayjin called out her name with a wide toothy smile. 

Alvera immediately came forward with a small bow. "Your Majesty, pardon her. She is still so young."

Seren looked at the duchess. "It's fine. I liked it when she called my name."

"We are spoiling her with too much love, and soon, she will forget her manners and etiquette," Alvera said with a motherly scolding tone directed at her daughter, accompanied by a narrow-eyed look that meant the young girl would be taught discipline at home.

The pregnant duchess then turned to Arlan. "Because of you, she started calling Dray by his name, and now she is doing the same with Her Majesty. You are the one responsible for her poor manners."

"I think we are forgetting something here," Arlan commented. 

"What?" Alvera asked. 

Arlan looked at Rayjin. "My cute little niece, can you tell us other than me from whom you learned to call him Dray?"

"Mother. Mother always calls him Dray," Rayjin answered. 

Arlan gave his sister a meaningful look and said nothing. 

Alvera was taken aback a little and said, "Well... I am older than him so I can call him that."

"It's fine, Sister Vera. Rayjin can always call me by my name, and she can also address my wife by her name since my wife likes it." 

Seren smiled at the little girl who looked back at her with a chuckle after getting the permission to call her by name. Seren can't help but think, 'So adorable this little girl is.'

The reason Seren asked to be called by her name was because there was no one who called her name often. Martha always addressed her as 'my lady', and the others called her 'Her Highness', 'Third Princess' or 'witch'. Even her own father, King Armen, called her Third Princess. Now she became queen, her address was changed to 'Her Majesty' and 'Queen of Megaris'. Only Cian called her by name, but it was so rare since he normally addressed her as 'sister' on those few times he visited her in her garden. She had no friends and no one around who would keep calling her name. Sometimes, she felt like she would probably forget her own name from lack of use.

Their group finally left the drawing-room to return to their own chambers, agreeing to meet each other again in an hour. 

Since they planned to enjoy their time outside, they had changed into clothes that were worn by ordinary nobles, as going outside the palace walls as royals was troublesome, and they wished to get attention from neither the fawning nobles nor the ordinary people. The purpose was to show the city to the Queen of Megaris, and it was necessary for their trip to go smoothly without anyone troubling them. 

An hour later, the First and Second Prince of Griven, the King and Queen of Megaris, and the young lady of the Wimark Family met each other in front of one of the side palaces. Two carriages without the crest of the royal family were prepared, and even the accompanying knights were wearing cloaks and ordinary clothes.

This secretive trip somehow reminded Seren of Martha whenever they sneak out of the palace. 

"It will be fun today," the little girl said to Seren to which she nodded. 

Seren could relate to Rayjin's excitement. It seemed that this was not the first time the little girl had done something like this.

Seren and Drayce sat inside one carriage together with Rayjin, while the Cromwell siblings sat in another carriage. They left the palace through a side entrance with the disguised royal guards following them in secret.