Bound to the vampire I must kill-Chapter 54: Royal heir

Chapter 54

Rhydian held Seraphina tightly, his fingers gently brushing through her hair as he felt her steady breaths against his chest. The world outside their room felt distant, irrelevant. He didn’t want to move, didn’t want to break the moment, but he noticed that her breaths had turned soft and even. He carefully shifted his head to check on her, and the sight of her peaceful face brought a rush of affection he wasn’t prepared for. She was asleep. Exhausted. And he had done that to her.

His heart sank a little, guilt creeping up as he realized that, perhaps, he should’ve been more mindful of how much she could handle. But the desire had been so overwhelming, and the way she responded to him—it was all too much. He scolded himself inwardly for not holding back, for making her this tired.

With great care, he gently pulled himself away from her, making sure not to disturb her rest. His body felt strangely light, but also uncomfortably warm in the absence of her presence. Still, he had to move. She was asleep, and he needed to make sure she was taken care of.

He moved toward the bathroom, his mind still lingering on her, and moments later, he returned with a wet cloth. Kneeling by the bed, he started cleaning her up, doing it with the utmost tenderness. He couldn’t believe how soft he was being, how careful, but it felt right. She was his, and every part of him wanted to treat her as if she was the most precious thing in the world.

When he finished, he tucked her in, the sheets gently brushing her skin. He paused, just for a moment, watching her. His heart swelled with love, and his hand instinctively reached to kiss her temple, lingering there for just a second longer than he should have. But he couldn’t help it.

With a final glance at her sleeping form, he reluctantly stepped away, heading to the bathroom to wash up. He scrubbed away the remnants of their earlier passion, though nothing could wash away the deep affection he felt for her and the lingering heat he still felt. After a few minutes, he returned to the bedroom, his eyes immediately landing on her again. She hadn’t moved, still lost in peaceful sleep. He smiled softly without even realizing.

After a while, he headed out of her room. He was already incredibly late for his meeting with the elders, something that had slipped his mind completely after meeting with her. He cursed under his breath, the guilt over keeping them waiting gnawing at him. But even so, his wife was more important than any council for all he could care.

As he strode into the council chambers, the sight before him almost made him stop in his tracks. The elders, all gathered in a half-circle around the long table, had fallen asleep in their chairs, their heads slumped forward, some even snoring lightly. He wondered for exactly how long he’d been away for this to happen.

He stared at the group for a long moment before taking a deep breath and slamming his hand on the table. The sound echoed through the room, and within seconds, every elder jolted awake, their eyes wide with panic.

"It wasn’t even away for that long, and you all already fell asleep?" Rhydian asked, his voice dripping with amusement and slight irritation.

One of the elders, an older man with a perpetually grumpy face, shot back, his tone sharp. "Your Majesty, you were away for four hours! How is that not long?"

Rhydian blinked, surprised by the length of time that had passed. But then, it made sense. When he was with her, he lost his sense of time completely, and it was something beyond his control.

"Forget it," he said, waving off the question and heading toward his throne. "Let’s begin. You said you had something important to discuss with me. Go on."

The elder who had spoken earlier cleared his throat and glanced nervously at the others before beginning, "Your Majesty, it’s been three weeks since you married the witch princess, and yet... there’s been no sign of you consummating the marriage. The kingdom is beginning to worry about the future of the royal line. We need an heir."

Rhydian stared at the elder, his expression blank for a long beat.

"Consummation?"

Of all the things they could’ve brought up at a midnight meeting after four hours of waiting, this was the emergency?

A few of the elders shifted uncomfortably. Some coughed into their hands. One looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.

The elder who had spoken cleared his throat again, clearly committed. "Yes, Your Majesty. The entire council is concerned. The people are beginning to whisper."

"Whisper?" Rhydian raised an eyebrow.

Another elder spoke up, a younger one with a sharp beard and absolutely zero filter. "Some say the witch might’ve cursed you—turned your manhood into a feather."

There was a choking sound from somewhere near the end of the table.

Rhydian blinked slowly. "A feather."

The elder didn’t flinch. "A very useless feather."

There was a short silence. Then, one of the younger elders—obviously regretting every life decision that led him to this moment—mumbled under his breath, "I told you we shouldn’t bring this up."

But the older elder pressed on. "With all due respect, Your Majesty, three weeks is a long time. And there’s been no indication of—" He waved a hand vaguely. "—physical bonding."

Rhydian’s jaw tensed.

Oh, if only they knew just how thoroughly that had been handled. Multiple times. With zero feather-like issues involved.

He leaned forward, lacing his fingers together. "You want confirmation that I’ve slept with my wife?"

"Well... not in those exact words, Your Majesty," one of the elders said quickly. "But yes."

Rhydian looked down at the table, then up at the ceiling, then back to the elders.

He really didn’t want to have this conversation.

He sighed, rubbed the bridge of his nose, then said with painful slowness, "Let’s just say... the issue of consummation has been resolved. Thoroughly."

The room went dead silent.

The elders stared.

A few blinked. One looked like he was rethinking every part of his job.

Someone cleared their throat. "So... there’s hope for an heir?"

Rhydian gave a dry look. "If she’s not pregnant now, it’ll be a miracle." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Another awkward beat passed. A cough. A squeak of a chair.

Then Rhydian added, "Now, unless anyone here wants a detailed diagram of what happened in that room, I suggest we move on."

"No!" came several replies, far too quickly.

"Good," Rhydian muttered, leaning back on his throne with a tired sigh.

The older elder finally nodded in satisfaction. "Then we shall update the royal physicians and prepare for early signs of pregnancy—"

"No," Rhydian cut in sharply, pointing a warning finger. "No physicians. No tests. No one disturbs her. We wait. Respectfully. Or I’ll start plucking council members like the feathers you keep mentioning."

They shut up real fast after that.