Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

'My beauty? But I'm wearing a veil…and the gems aren't even the color of my eyes…'

Seren felt her choice of words was odd, but since it was a gift, she could only nod while Lady Xena accepted the gift from the servant who was holding it. 

Princess Taisie came forward and presented her gift next. "Your Majesty, I thought of you and chose a gift that I knew would honor your beauty as well."

What she had prepared was a thick waterfall necklace made of gold. It reminded Seren of the kind of deathly heavy necklace she wore during her first wedding and her neck seemingly tingled at the horrible memory. Though she personally disapproved of this kind of extravagant design, she accepted it with grace. 

After that, it was Lady Yavia's and her daughters' turn. Their gifts turned out to be precious jewelry as well, just like Lady Clarisa and her daughter. 

When Lady Saira and her daughter Ayira followed her to show their gifts, Seren's eyes showed a genuine fondness for the first time. 

"Your Majesty, I got to know you like playing the flute." The older lady pointed at the finely crafted wooden flute inside a rectangular box. "As you can see the phoenix engraved on the body, this flute is specially crafted for you, the Phoenix of Megaris. I hope you can play it in your spare time."

There were no gems embedded in it, and it was made of wood, not even expensive jade. Even the engraving was nothing spectacular, not even gilded with gold, only a few deep strokes on the wood that seemed to be a large bird in flight. Seeing the simple wooden flute, the other royal ladies thought it was a lowly gift for the Queen, especially considering that everyone in the harem had spent hundreds if not thousands of gold to buy something expensive to catch the eyes of Queen Seren. They started talking among themselves, but Lady Saira didn't bother with it as she only looked at the Queen. 

"I appreciate the thoughtful gift, and perhaps I can invite you in the future to hear me play it," Seren said, which made everyone shut their mouths. 

Lady Saira bowed an elegant curtsy as she said some humble words in response. When her daughter stepped forward next, the servant girl—who was happy to see the Queen who had saved her before—excitedly opened the gift in appreciation of what her lady had prepared for the Queen. 

Princess Ayira bowed to Seren. "Your Majesty, this gift I have made myself. It might be simple, but I hope you will like it."

There was a purple silk scarf neatly folded in the middle of the wooden tray. The young princess picked it up and gently unfolded it to show Seren her craftsmanship. "I kept it purple to match it with Your Majesty's pretty eyes." She then pointed at the embroidery on the scarf. Starting from the edge, delicate flowers and lively butterflies were seemingly drawn like a painting. If one were to see it from a distance, they might even think real butterflies had decided to land on the scarf. "I came to know that Your Majesty is fond of flowers and butterflies so I have personally embroidered them on the scarf."

"My Lady had spent many sleepless nights preparing this for you, Your Majesty," the servant girl spoke up, causing many of the ladies near them to gasp. Unless asked a question, it was never appropriate for a servant to talk when the royals were talking, but the servant girl could not hold it back. 

"Apologies, Your Majesty!" Princess Ayira looked at Seren, thinking she might decide to punish her servant for being rude. "A-And it was not a big deal, Your Majesty. I am happy to create this scarf for you. I apologize in her stead, so please forgive my servant."

Seren did not even notice the servant's mistake as she was looking at the embroidery on the scarf with amazement. Even if she did, she would not pay attention to it, as she did not care much about palace etiquette. 

"It's pretty," Seren said.

She understood how difficult and time-consuming the process must have been as she could never succeed in embroidery, no matter how long her nanny Martha tried to teach her. Princess Ayira's servant was right. To make embroidery on such a big scarf—such fine work, to boost—it must have taken lots of time and effort to do so. 

Hearing the Queen's praise, the two young girls in front of her, Princess Ayira and the servant, could not help but feel happy inside. Wide smiles could be seen painted on their lips. 

"I am honored, Your Majesty," Princess Ayira said as the two bowed before their queen. 

Afterwards, other ladies approached Seren as well with their own gifts. Hearing the introductions of some, it surprised Seren to know that many of the ladies here were lesser concubines of Former King Theron, unofficial wives with no titles due to their commoner background and that the handful of little boys were in fact Drayce's younger brothers. Seren did her best to memorize their names as everyone presented their gifts to the Queen, and when the gift-giving affair finished,  Seren's servants carried those gifts back towards her carriage.

Lady Clarisa once again took the reins of the situation as she casually dismissed the ladies of the harem to leave the central hall. Knowing that Lady Clarisa meant to turnover her responsibilities to the new queen, everyone politely excused themselves.

"Your Majesty, should I tell you more about the affairs of the harem? Perhaps we can talk about it over tea," Lady Clarisa smiled as she invited Seren to her residence. Her demeanor seemed a hundred times friendlier than before. "The central hall, alas, you will get tired of this throne once the novelty wears off. Sitting on that throne means that there is a problem within the harem you need to solve. Believe me, for us ladies, having to keep ourselves within the confines of a study with paperwork is pretty suffocating. Personally, I prefer to work inside my chamber, where my study is in the private garden attached to my chamber."

Seren did not decline the invitation as it was a good chance to get to know the harem, and Lady Clarisa being the one to handle it before she came, she was sure she would get to understand more than what the documents contained. To get to know the harem ladies, it had to start from Lady Clarisa. Though Seren was not interested in the politics within the royal harem, as she had decided to stand by Drayce as a proper wife, she needed to fulfill her corresponding responsibilities as Queen as well. 

Lady Clarisa guided her way towards her chamber while casually talking about things that Seren already knew, like the difference between the titled and untitled concubines, as well as who were the unmarried Ivanov royals staying within Vermillion Palace. Still, Seren listened well to each of the lady's words. 

Before entering the chamber, Lady Clarisa stopped and looked at Seren's servants, including Lady Tyra. Her expression looked hesitant at first, as her gaze seemed to imply she had to say something she didn't want. "Apologies, but may I request you, ladies, to follow my servants for refreshment in the nearby drawing-room? I wish to speak privately with Her Majesty about sensitive information only ladies of the Ivanov Family are privy of."

Lady Tyra could not oppose this and looked at Seren to ask if she was comfortable on her own. Seren nodded lightly, saying she would be fine.. Seren and Lady Clarisa then entered the First Concubine's chamber while Lady Tyra and her ladies-in-waiting were directed to a nearby room.