The Crown's Seduction-Chapter 37: Twenty-One Years Ago

Despite her eventful morning, Mineah continued with her schedule for the day. Currently, she was inside a room with a big enough space for her to practice dancing.

She blinked as she watched the two dancers perform the Coupling Dance that she had to do with Nikolai during the coupling Rites. It was the first time she saw such steps, but she guessed that she could copy them given enough time.

Besides, she had danced before. While it looked a bit too complicated and much more sensual than Mineah would've liked, she could still see herself doing it. Although, she couldn't help but gulp as she watched the smooth and sexy movements of the female curb named Aira as she danced her steps with her male partner.

"Keep your eyes on Aira, Your Majesty," Gregory reminded. "Make sure to remember the steps."

Mineah inwardly sighed. While he was a good teacher, he was so strict that he would always call on her whenever he would notice how she'd turn her eyes away from the performers. That was whenever they would do those cringe and sensual movements with each other, and she just couldn't help but look away if only to spare herself the pain of seeing them.

Still, she couldn't help but be grateful that she happened to be someone who studied well in honing herself to be a proper princess of Ebodia. As such, she was good at a lot of things, including dancing!

"Your Majesty, your turn please," Gregory remarked, signaling her to take the dance floor.

Nodding, Mineah promptly approached the center of the floor. She was alone at the moment, but it wouldn't stay that way for long

"You," Gregory pointed at Aira, "Be Her Majesty's partner."

Mineah turned to Gregory and gave him a questionable look complete with a raised brow. Likewise, her supposed dance instructor gave her an awkward smile as he rationalized his choice.

"His Majesty had strictly instructed me not to partner you with a male dancer while he was away and still unavailable to be your partner during practice," Gregory explained. "As such, she will have to be your partner for now."

Hearing the explanation, Mineah couldn't help but blush at it. Somehow, knowing that such instructions came from Nikolai made her feel giddy inside. Deep inside her heart, she was squealing at his possessive act. She didn't know why either, beyond that she simply liked it.

Taking to her instructions, Mineah began her steps together with Aria. She honestly felt more comfortable and a bit lose having a female partner while doing her practice, and she learned quickly under their shared tutelage.

At the end of the day, Mineah had completed all the tasks she had without so much as a fanfare. Now blessed with a bit of free time, she took her time to walk around the spacious main deck. She shook her head at how dead the ambiance was during the day, a stark contrast to how it usually was during the night.

"Most of them are probably still sleeping," Gregory remarked beside her upon noticing her gaze. "They'll wake up eventually once the sun sets."

Mineah nodded in agreement. Walking further out into the deck, she then sat on a vacant bench and gestured for Gregory to sit beside her. Together, they basked in the silence, watching as the waves crashed against the side of the ship.

"Most of the crews operating during the day are Melds like me, a hybrid," Gregory informed her. "Although we're not as powerful as any Scion and Curb in terms of vampiric abilities, our best advantage is that we're able to walk under the sun without any discomfort or problem due to having retained our human blood."

Mineah casually hummed in response, wordlessly telling him that she was listening. After a while, she turned to him and asked, "How long have you been roaming this world, Gregory?"

"Hmmm, let's see..." he chuckled as he started reminiscing. "I started being a vassal during the reign of King Nikolai twenty-one years ago, but I've been serving the Ivanov Clan of Her Royal Highness, the Queen Dowager Rania even before Nikolai was born a hundred and fifty years ago."

Hearing the big numbers being thrown around, Mineah shrugged. "I really don't like doing numbers," she admitted. "That's why I found it annoying that specific ages weren't written in the books you gave me. I had to count the years manually just to make everything line up in my head."

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In fact, she almost didn't do that either. She didn't bother computing for specific people's ages since she found it too time-consuming. Also, she would rather read more about the more important things she could find out about Valcrez and its history. Although, she would still get curious about the people she liked and got fond of like Gregory.

"If you must know, then I am a hundred and eight-year-old Meld, Your Majesty," he soundly chuckled.

"I guess you also stopped aging during your twenties like Lai," she hummed.

A short silence reigned, and the two of them simply stuck to watching the waves in front of them. Still, Mineah had a job to do.

Filling her lungs with fresh air coming from the sea breeze, she turned to look directly into Gregory's eyes.

This was a good time for her to find out more, seeing as no one was around to witness what she was about to do. Gregory was the perfect target, with him having been with Nikolai since her husband was born.

"Tell me more about Dahlia, her connection to Nikolai, and how she died," Mineah commanded as she began her compulsion using her right eye.

"Dahlia is the woman His Majesty cherished the most," Gregory droned out. "They were lovers, and her blood was the only thing that could quench His Majesty's hunger every full moon…"

Gregory then went in depth with what he knew, and the more that she listened, the more that Mineah felt something in her heart. So Nikolai had a lover before… Then again, what did she expect from a man that had lived for more than a hundred years? A celibate saint?

After hearing everything including Rosela's involvement with Nikolai, Mineah immediately compelled Gregory to forget everything she had asked. She then closed her eyes and relaxed her body as she suddenly felt a bit dizzy from the exertion.

"Are you alright, Your Majesty?" Gregory asked when he saw her holding her head.

"Yes, I am fine Gregory, just a bit dizzy," she lied with an awkward smile. "It's probably just the sea swaying the ship too much.".

"Right, winter is coming so the waters might be rough moving forward," Gregory hummed.

"I guess nothing goes that easily," Mineah half-heartedly chuckled.

She then looked out at the horizon and noted the sun's position, its warm orange tint coloring the soon-to-be night sky. "The sun will set soon, Gregory. I'm grateful to have someone like you who genuinely supports Lai's decisions, especially in accepting me as his Queen, Your Queen."

"It's a pleasure, Your Majesty," Gregory replied with a smile as he followed her gaze out into the sunset.

'I wonder when Lai will be back,' Mineah mused as sadness filled her eyes.

Sighing, she thought of how much Nikolai had gone through. Everything had happened twenty-one years ago, and yet it still made her sad. He lost the woman he cherished and loved, and not only that, from what she learned, he also lost his father, King Arturo, during that same year to the soul of the Dragon King, Vulcan.