Hello, my dear reader. I am so grateful that you are still with me. My move is over and now I’m back in the ranks and can work on a novel.

I will be very grateful to everyone for your feedback, comments and stones of strength - it gives me motivation and supports me in this hard work.

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Giselle’s imminent arrival ruined all my plans with Thea. I was on edge and I needed to calm down. But her absence from the room did not help to calm down. I’ve been thinking hard about where she might be. Skars searched the entire castle where she could be, but he never found her.

Little brat, where did you run off to?

She just burst into my life and started turning it upside down from the very beginning. And what do I have now? Unstable psyche, increased excitability, nervousness and excitement? Why would I care about anyone at all, especially a girl. But no, I have already accepted the fact that it is the excitement about her that occupies most of my thoughts.

If I had my way, I would lock her in a cage, why do human beings need to be so weak and defenseless. Is that where she went? Where did she go? Although she will not be able to go further than the castle in any case, but there are enough dangers inside.

I took a deep breath, catching my breath, but inside I was still raging incipient fire. Unable to control myself, I went to the dining room.

Okay, princess, I’ll deal with you later. I’ll find you and deal with you, believe me. In the meantime, there are other important urgent matters.

The servant who opened the doors to the dining room notified everyone of my arrival and everyone present stood up from their seats, greeting me. I walked around the table with a measured step and took my place in the very center of it.

I leaned casually on the table, propped his chin on his hands and looked at all the upright people. It’s a funny sight and they won’t sit down until I let them. The thought brought an evil grin to my face.

Giselle stood proudly, as if time had not dragged on, as if it was necessary. Her slim figure was covered with satin fabric in advantageous places. She prepared herself by coming here. I grinned again. It will be too easy with her and, anticipating, too boring. Next to her, a little apart, were her two ladies-in-waiting, the same ones who had accompanied us earlier. Silent, a little modest, but probably this is only an appearance, because not a single mannered gesture and not a single twitch of the facial muscles escaped my eyes. Haughty, I have to take a closer look at them.

At the table, in addition to Giselle, Duke Jorel was also present – the royal adviser and faithful dog of King Adaman Christopher Pegins. He certainly wouldn’t have let his daughter go into the enemy’s lair without a trusted person. His face expressed complete discontent, generously seasoned with insult and an evil frown.

But it was not he who surprised me, but another person, even more haughtily towering at the table. Her lips, folded in a thin tight line, piercing sharp eyes and aura screamed about the rigidity of her character.

- Well, wow, what an honor. – I dramatically spread my arms. – Serena herself, Queen Adaman! – tilting my head to one side, I took one hand away from my face and rhythmically began tapping on the table, stretching a wide, not quite friendly smile across my face.

- King Raphael. – despite her age, Serena curtsied deeply, and her daughter followed her. The latter, by the way, was more honest in her behavior.

- What are you standing for, dear guests? Sit down quickly before the food gets cold. - I said with a slight note of mockery, because it was I who did not give them the order to sit down. But considering their royal status, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if they didn’t wait for my permission. But the situation forced us to be friendly with each other and step on our pride’s throat.

The guests took their seats, but the atmosphere was tense and the silence in the dining room could be safely cut with a knife. And at that moment, servants began to enter the dining room in turn and bring in the most diverse and fragrant dishes for which Abion was famous. Needless to say, those dishes that the king himself favored were considered special delights. And these were exclusively meat dishes, the most minimal roasting.

Juicy meat appetitively lay down in front of each guest, spreading a hypnotizing smell, with every drop of dripping bloody juice. My mouth immediately filled with saliva. A divine smell. But still not comparable to the smell of my sweet little hostage’s blood.

I thought of her again.

I cut the meat into small pieces and greedily bit into the tender meat with my teeth, and it melted in my mouth. Yummy. Others did not share my delight and looked with disgust at the bloody viands presented to them.

Giselle, meanwhile, did not lose her head and put a salad of vegetables on her plate, covering the meat with it, which she was not going to eat. The servants filled the glasses with aged red tart wine from our vineyards, and I raised it, encouraging the others to do the same.

- I suggest we put aside the officialdom and drink to this fateful meeting for all of us. - I glanced at the Adamanian princess, gracing her with a smile.

- King Raphael, it is a great honor for us to be here at your invitation. And although King Christopher could not come, I took the liberty to accompany my daughter here and make sure that she would be successfully attached to your royal court. - Raising her glass, Queen Adaman said matter–of-factly, but softly.

- You can be sure of that, Serena. Lady Giselle’s comfort will now be my personal headache. I assure you, my future wife will live and feel according to her status. No more, no less. I said, receiving an approving nod.

- Well, I’ll take you at your word, King Raphael. – Serena looked at me significantly and began to slowly sip from a glass of wine.

Giselle never stopped boring me with her eyes, blinking her fluffy eyelashes and modestly pursing her lips in a smile when she met my gaze. But I was not fooled by this modesty.

The atmosphere at the table has clearly become softer, more lively and chatty, the initial tension has disappeared. At least among the female part of those present. Jorel was still sceptically frowning and his whole appearance did not express confidence and approval of this union. He also did not touch the food, only stabbed a piece of meat to death with a fork. It’s funny if instead of this piece of meat, he was now representing me, because that’s what I was doing with my piece.

The advisor of King Christopher gained fame in high circles. He was not magically gifted, in battle he could not stand against the enemy for even a minute, but what should be attributed to him is his brilliant brain.

This man was a very sensitive strategist and foresaw many actions in advance, due to which, the king of Adaman was able to rise so high and earn authority among neighboring kingdoms. Joral was guided not by emotions, but by a calculated approach. Even in battles against magical creatures, Adaman’s army could survive and return with minimal losses, only thanks to the correct assessment and actions of this smart adviser.

But this was only because Adman had never come into open conflict with Abion. They wouldn’t have a chance here, even if there were five hundred such advisers in their kingdom. I was in Abion and that was enough to wipe out their entire miserable existence.

- Your Majesty, King Raphael, I will take the liberty to ask why your proposal of marriage to our princess was so spontaneous? – Jorel put down the cutlery, and asked dryly and matter-of-factly.

- Well, why spontaneous? It’s no secret that our sympathy with Princess Giselle is mutual. Right? - I shifted my gaze to the last one.

Giselle choked on her salad from such a sharp transition to her personality. But recovering quickly, she wiped the corners of her mouth with a napkin and smiled brilliantly.

- That’s right, Your Majesty. Duke Jorel is simply not part of my entourage to know what is going on in my heart. I was looking forward to this event with such impatience, but I also knew that no one else would suit you better than me. Our alliance will be able to strengthen and unite the two kingdoms. Moreover, this union is based on sympathy. - she spoke so fast, apparently from excitement.

- I’ve watched you grow up Lady Giselle. You can say that I raised you for myself. Of course, the foundation of this marriage will be based on love, but with a nice addition. It is a great honor for me to see my future spouse in you. – flattery flowed from my mouth like a river, delighting the ears of the Adamanian princess.

- Then I would like to take over all the preparations for the upcoming wedding, King Raphael. If you’ll let me? - Giselle’s mother intervened.

- Your right, Serena. Admittedly, doing this organization is not what I passionately desire. - I grinned and the others supported me in this, with the exception of the tense adviser.

- You offer our kingdom protection, but we don’t need it. If it weren’t for Princess Giselle’s fierce desire to marry you, what else could you offer us? – the adviser pounced like a vulture, interrupting the previous conversation.

- And who said that you don’t need protection? – crossing my arms and leaning forward a little, I leaned on the edge of the table to stare at Jorel with undisguised mockery in my voice.

- Our kingdom is self-sufficient and strong, we can stand up for ourselves and have proven this more than once on the battlefield. But here you are... we don’t hear much about you, who did you fight with, what successes did you achieve? Why should we take your word for it? – the aggressive pressure seeped in more and more.

At this angry tirade, I just burst out laughing and completely relaxed, leaned back in my chair. I liked to keep him in a nervous state, to make him feel that he was treading on the wrong path.

- That doesn’t mean there isn’t something you haven’t heard of, Duke. Don’t you think so? And in answer to your question, from whom do you defend yourself – from me. Your best solution is to marry the princess to me, otherwise, you will learn about Abion’s merits on your own skin. - my voice was calm and soft, but there was a very clear, undisguised threat behind it.

Conversations at the table instantly subsided and even Giselle excitedly looked back at her mother. Adaman had just finished a long-term war with another kingdom, and despite his victories, he was mentally and physically exhausted.

For new exploits, a break was needed to restore strength and morale, so the war with Abion did not play into their hands in any way. The duke could brag as much as he liked and beat his chest, but a pragmatic mind prevailed and this topic did not come up further.

And all this was only in words. The marriage has already been approved by the king Pegins, he could never refuse the whims of his beloved daughter. Although I doubt that he has not thought out how he will use his future son-in-law and his influence, he is too calculating. Like all of us.