The Devil's Cursed Witch

After leading the three women to a less crowded part of the plaza, Erlos turned towards Ember. “Miss, are you alright?”

Ember nodded. “Umm, but…I don’t see His Majesty anywhere. Has he returned to the palace?”

The young elf chuckled as if he had heard something funny. “Miss, how can SIre return to the palace, leaving his mate here? He is just–“

“His Majesty is here,” Clio cut into their conversation without warning as she saw the black-haired man coming towards them. However, her expression was strange. Rather than caution, her eyes showed she was shocked with something.

Out of reflex, the rest of the group also turned to look at the direction of her gaze, and their expressions all mirrored the female elf.

By then, Draven had already reached them carrying something in his hand. The three servants stepped aside so the two mates could have space.

Ember gaped at him, still unable to pull herself out of disbelief until she heard him speak in a low tone.

“This is for you.”

Gulping, Ember continued to stare at his hands–rather, at that beautiful flower bouquet in his hands.

“For me?” she mumbled, looking up at his face to check whether he was serious or not.

He let out a terse nod, his expression seemingly stiffer than usual, and waited for her to accept the carefully arranged set of flowers. As if her hands had a mind of their own, they reached out to receive them in her arms. Ember smiled sweetly.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The smile on her face had a hint of bashfulness and delight, as it reflected the butterflies dancing in her stomach. Draven had brought flowers for her– and not just any flower– but various wildflowers that gave off a refreshingly sweet scent, meticulously arranged into a beautiful bouquet wrapped with a green silk ribbon. A majority of them were flowers that reminded Ember of the colour of Draven’s eyes, and they were surrounded by dainty light yellow and white flowers that accentuated the beauty of the central pieces.

‘Clio said it is the local tradition of this city for a male to pluck the flowers from the flower valley of the White Tiger Clan…does this mean His Majesty disappeared because he went there and picked these flowers for me?’

An unknown emotion crept into her chest, but by the growing warmth that tingled her heart, the dominant part of that unknown emotion was happiness.

Draven didn’t fail to notice that his mate thoroughly liked his gift. It was as if her entire being brightened up.

He wanted to remain like this for a bit more, but there was a limit to his self-control and in the end, he had to take a step away in order to lessen the impact of her scent on her.

“Do you wish to continue watching the dance?” he asked.

When Ember shook her head, he then turned his gaze away. “Then, see the rest of the festival.”

After a nod of acknowledgement, Ember leisurely let her eyes roam, wondering where to head next.

“Miss, how about we go that way? We have yet to see that street,” Reya suggested and Ember walked with her servants, while Draven followed several steps behind with Erlos.

“Sire, Miss seems really happy to receive those flowers,” Erlos commented, putting his arms casually behind his head in a relaxed manner. “I didn’t know she liked flowers this much. I wonder if she has a favourite. Maybe if Sire gives her flowers more often then–“

Draven cut him off midway, knowing that his servant would probably keep on chattering nonstop. “Did something happen when I was gone?”

“Nothing much.” Erlos thought for a bit. “Oh. We came across Warrior Logan, and he talked to Miss.”

‘So that was Logan’s scent on her? No wonder it was familiar.’ Draven didn’t fail to notice another male’s scent of her when he offered her flowers but didn’t say anything.

“What happened?”

Erlos narrated everything to him and Draven simply hummed in response.

“Did you get everything she touched?”

Erlos tilted his head, as if in deep thought. “Ah, not everything.”

Draven frowned. Seeing his reaction, Erlos grinned.

“Well, Sire, forgive my incompetence, but I dare not pack Warrior Logan with my magic. If I could, then we would have one white tiger pet in our palace yard,” Erlos chucked at the thought. “I don’t think that ferocious guy can work in housekeeping though…so as a guard? But there is no need to hire a guard–“

Ember continued to walk ahead while looking around the city, but as she had been walking for a while now, her legs were getting tired. Not to mention, she had also ridden on horseback for the first time, thus her leg muscles were sore.

Her speed was slow, from time to time stopping to pretend to look around at things she wasn’t interested in. Her servants were elves, and obviously, their constitution was many times sturdier than hers. This level of physical activity didn’t affect them but they forgot one poor human was with them.

Draven noticed it though he was walking behind her. Before he could instruct Erlos with anything, the crowd parted as the elders of the White Tiger Clan passed through. At the head of the elder group was Etorn, and they approached the King.

After exchanging brief pleasantries, Etorn told him the reason why they came. “Your Majesty, remember that other concern I mentioned to you in the palace? If it is fine with you, can we invite you to our clan house to further explain the situation? I assure you, this won’t take long.”

“Lead the way.”

Though Draven had no such plan before, he agreed as he thought Ember could use this chance to rest.

The shapeshifter in front of him happily guided their way towards the clan house after Draven told Erlos to inform Ember about the situation.

The so-called clan house was the largest stone structure within the city, almost like a human fortress, and it was situated at the centermost part of Nimer, near the manor owned by Etorn. Once they entered the clan house, the other elders with their subordinates welcomed the King and his mate.

“The White Tiger Clan is honoured to be in the presence of His Majesty King Draven Aramis.”

Draven accepted with a nod while Ember stood quietly next to him, feeling slightly awed to see how subservient this group of high status people were acting towards her mate. It was even more overwhelming than the welcome their group received at the entrance of the city, perhaps because the atmosphere within the clan house was serious and dignified.

“Your Majesty, if you don’t mind, we can go to the rooftop. From there, you and your mate can see the city and events while enjoying the best refreshments our clan has to offer.”

Draven agreed and Erton led their way up the stone stairs.

Ember looked at the stairs. It was only one floor, but given the state of her muscles, those few steps looked too much to her. Not to forget, those steps were taller than normal as they were made by keeping in mind the height of tiger clan members whose frames were nothing but large.

The human girl let out a silent sigh and climbed the stairs with trembling legs, but before she could take the third step, she saw a glove-covered hand in front of her. She raised her head to look at Draven who looked down at her, wordlessly asking her to hold his hand.

Ember accepted his hand and climbed the steps with more ease, but still, it was comparably slow in contrast to others. Yet Draven didn’t hurry her and patiently walked with her pace. This made the White Tigers match their steps with their important guests as well.

Once they reached the rooftop, Ember saw a huge open space covered with shade and there were chairs arranged around the wooden tables. However, their group was not the only ones there. There seemed to be other invited guests of the White Tiger Clan who were also of some status.

Draven took her towards one of the empty tables. “You can rest here.”

Ember nodded and sat in the chair and her servants accompanied her. Everyone present there bowed to the King from a distance. Knowing the significance of his presence in this festival, these people were smart enough to understand that it was not the day they should disturb the King. His mate was with him so these people tactfully stayed away from them.

Ember saw a familiar scary person who was standing with another group. Upon Draven’s group’s arrival, they too were forced to pause chatting to pay homage to the King.

After Draven gestured for them to raise their heads, he then left Ember with her servants and instructed Erlos, “Stay with them.”

Erlos was happy to be with Ember as he knew where Draven was going. ‘I am not interested in meeting that tiger anyways.’