Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

In order to liven up the chilled atmosphere within the royal court, one of the more experienced ministers stood from his chair and bowed towards his king. "Your Majesty, we all would like to congratulate you on your marriage. Such a joyful occasion must be celebrated by the entire kingdom!"

The other ministers started smiling at each other as well.

"Indeed, indeed! Our kingdom seemed to have welcomed an amazing queen!"

"May the King and Queen of Megaris have a happy married life and bless this kingdom with the next generation of the Royal Family of Ivanov."

Drayce accepted their well wishes with a slight nod. He looked at the officials trying to flatter him, as well as those who remained silent, especially the older nobles who didn't approve of him going against the normal way of doing things, and thought that he needed to address some issues regarding his sudden marriage. Though he personally cared little about anyone's opinion, as a king, he had to show adequate respect to the leaders of powerful noble houses. Moreover, he would never let go of the chance to shut a few nasty mouths in the royal court.

"I hope you all have no objection over your king marrying a princess from a powerful kingdom like Abetha." Drayce looked at the left side of the hall that seemed to hold most of the ministers opposing this marriage. "I am sure, by now, you have calculated the kind of benefits this marriage will bring not only to our kingdom, but also to the businesses your families own."

The old minister who seemed to be the leader of the conservative faction stood up. "Your Majesty jests. Who dares oppose any of Your Majesty's decisions? We all know you consider the welfare of our kingdom the most, and you would not have made a move without considering all sides.  We agree this alliance will bring more benefits to our kingdom."

Drayce smirked lightly. "Good to know you all understand it very well. Anyway, this could also be considered good news for your lot. None of you would be forced to sacrifice the delicate daughters from your families to a devil-like me." He paused as if to appreciate the people's stern expressions, before continuing. "I am sure everyone remembers the incident that happened a year back when Lady Corline entered my chamber."

With this, a sudden silence took over the royal court. Their king still had the same cold arrogance on his face as he mentioned that incident that most people considered taboo, looking like he was even proud of the fact he killed the young lady who entered his chamber to get his favor. 

'Such a devil heartlessly killed the prettiest lady in this entire kingdom!' was what everyone could think. 

One of the dukes present was the father of the unfortunate lady, and he merely looked down to hide the anger and humiliation in his face. The other nobles whispered among themselves, as they shared knowing glances. Some approved of the punishment of death; after all, regardless of intent, the lady entered the dwelling of a royal without being granted permission.

However, most of those present in the royal court frowned upon the incident. If it was merely a mere maid, though most would talk behind the king's cruelty, it was somewhat acceptable. The thing was, not only was Lady Corline a young lady, but she was also of nobility. Such a foolish action of a woman should not have warranted death.

It was easy for Drayce to guess what those opposing ministers were thinking and he spoke again, "No matter her background, she plotted against her king, and thus committed a crime against the crown. Such a shameless and foolish woman, forget talking about whether she deserved to be my woman, does she even deserve to enter this palace? There is only one qualification to become the Queen of Megaris—she has to be the woman I chose." 

It was a tight slap for all the ministers to hear his cold words, but they could say nothing. The incident of Lady Corline getting killed inside King's chamber was still fresh in everyone's mind, and they would never want it to happen with the daughters from their families. Everyone had long accepted that their current king was a devil no one should cross; he could kill anyone if something didn't go as per his liking. He didn't even show the slightest amount of remorse after killing that lady.

Drayce continued, "And I, Drayce Ivanov, King of Megaris, choose to have only one wife for as long as I live."

With this declaration, the sudden uproar could be seen among the ministers who were discussing having concubines for their king because of the rumors about Third Princess Seren who was now their queen. Not just opposing ministers, but even those who normally sided with the king were shocked too.

Kings and their royal harems were part of the long tradition observed by all the kingdoms in the entire continent. There might be instances where a king would have only a single queen, but he would never have a single wife. Queens, consorts, concubines… there were many titles for the women of the king, each with their corresponding purposes and authority.

Since they now have a foreign princess as a queen, the royal court harbored intentions for the king to accept concubines from the noble families within the kingdom, providing them an opportunity to have a chance to aim for the throne if the concubines were to be have offspring first before the young queen. 

"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

"Your Majesty, you are young and healthy! Taking in a few more women would be beneficial for the kingdom!"

In the history of the continent-spanning thousands of years, the Ivanovs of Megaris had always had multiple wives. According to written records, there was even a king from a few generations ago who built a harem of three hundred women.

The cold voice of their king resounded inside the throne room again. "Despite what you've heard and thought about the Queen of Megaris, you all should bend your knees to respect her. Any offensive word or offensive action against her would be considered treason of the highest offense. Everyone here is aware that speaking ill about the royal family is a punishable offense, and perhaps I have been merciful as most of you keep doing it without fearing for your lives. Yet, regarding my Queen, I have no thoughts of exercising generosity nor patience, much less mercy. I hope there is no need for me to repeat my warning—indeed, this is a warning and a decree from your king. Pay heed to my words."

The attendees of the royal court could only lower their heads and frown inwardly over this blatant threat. No other king of Megaris had ever threatened his subjects like this, but Drayce was an exception. Even the previous king, King Theron, could never act like this, but ever since he was crowned, Drayce had always acted the way he wanted.

The reason was his power—his abilities that were beyond any human reasoning. They would not wish to be in conflict with the royal family unless they would benefit from it. After all, nobles were people who would neither submit nor fight unless they found their family interests, prestige, and inheritance encroached upon. Though they were unhappy with his show of force, Drayce had yet to reach their bottom line. They could only be glad that this devil's son didn't act inhumanly with them, knowing what he could do with the powers they had seen when Drayce was a kid. 

Him, being the owner of the powers of a devil made them wary of him, and the rumors about him being the devil's son got stronger along with it. It was like an open secret that he was a devil's son, but no one wished to talk about whether he truly had the royal bloodline or not. Only the previous King of Megaris knew what was the truth, but of course, nobles were smart enough to not get on the bad side of the previous king. The less they know, the safer their families were. 

Seeing the strange sullen atmosphere enveloping the entire royal court once more, Jasper could only shake his head. 'These old rags are only as meek as lambs when they're before Dray.' 

With a deliberate cough, he unrolled the scroll he was carrying which listed the items to be discussed in today's royal court session. "For today's discussion, the first item on our agenda….."

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One more chapter in the next half hour.