Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

Lady Tyra turned towards Seren. "Your Majesty, those carriages belong to the First and Second Concubines of the old king."

They did not wait long before the carriages stopped in front of them. The woman who seemed to be a lady-in-waiting stepped out of the first carriage and helped an older dignified woman to step out of it.

With long flowing dark hair and eyes the shade of blue, the woman who seemed to be younger than her true age emerged from the carriage and offered Seren a sweet smile. Dressed in an impressive red robe, the woman looked so elegant and charismatic that it reminded Seren of a less attractive Queen Niobe. Though Seren didn't like Queen Niobe, she could not deny the fact that she was a figure of beauty, grace, and elegance, although she was a cold woman who never allowed herself to show her emotions in front of people.

From the other carriage, two more women stepped out who also wore extravagant clothes as well. They reminded Seren of her wedding day where she was decked by countless accessories from head to toe, and she was forced to wear a heavy voluminous gown that made her weak in the knees. 

'I know Queen Niobe likes jewels as well, but even she never wore that much on normal days….'

From the appearances of the three women, they looked to have the same status as the first woman, but from the way they moved, the first one looked like she held more power. Of course, Seren didn't notice this and merely curiously observed them.

The first woman's light blue eyes gazed at the much younger woman wearing a simple pink attire with an overcoat, as if she was not used to the cold, and a veil covering the lower half of her face. She did not even bother to look at Lady Tyra.

Lady Tyra stepped forward and made a curtsy towards the first woman. "Greetings, Lady Clarisa!" She then turned towards the other two ladies and greeted them as well. "Greetings, Lady Saira and Lady Yavia. Fancy seeing you outside on such a rare good day."

Lady Clarisa did not even bother to return the greeting as she continued to size up the quiet lady behind Lady Tyra. "If I am not wrong, this is the Third Princess from Abetha, our new Queen."

Her words seemed to hold no respect for the Queen of Megaris. Lady Tyra immediately frowned. She was someone who served three generations of the royal family. Even though she was a servant and was usually mild-tempered, she was someone not a mere concubine who could afford to anger, no matter how favored she was by her man.

"Did staying in the harem make you lose your knowledge of basic etiquette?" Lady Tyra could not help but scold. "Why are you still not paying respects to our Queen?"

According to royal etiquette, those of lower-ranked must always be the first to introduce themselves. This was something all kingdoms in the continent practice, and failure to do so was a blatant act of disrespect. Although Seren did not mind, Lady Tyra would not budge on this.

Seeing the three concubines perform their curtsies, Lady Tyra looked at Seren and decided to do their introductions for them. "Your Majesty, this is Lady Clarisa,  King Theron's first concubine." She then signaled towards the two ladies standing on either side of Lady Clarisa. "This is the second concubine, Lady Saira, and the third one, Lady Yavia."

Seren looked at them and merely gave them a light nod, not speaking a word. She didn't know what more she should do.

"Very well," Lady Clarisa commented as she observed Seren who looked back at her in silence.

Clarisa came here upon hearing that the new queen was touring the palace, and from what she had heard from her sources, the new queen was a quiet young lady, not even eighteen of age. As the acting head of the royal harem, Lady Clarisa knew she had to act to help this little girl and open her eyes to what it meant to wield the power of the harem.

"I didn't expect us to meet like this, but I am glad we did," Clarisa said, and Seren again didn't know what to reply and merely responded with a light nod.

Lady Tyra could not help but intervene again. "Lady Clarisa, please speak formally."

The First Concubine threw a sweet smile her way, though her words irritated the old lady's ears. "What for? We are family. I am the wife of His Majesty King Theron, so accordingly, is it not normal for a mother to talk casually to her daughter-in-law?"

Now, even Seren, who was slow to catch up regarding hidden meanings behind honeyed words, was starting to feel uncomfortable. 'I don't even know her. How can she act as if I should have been the one waiting to meet her? Not like I even want to know her. She acts worse than the Queen of Abetha.'

To Seren, the lady in front of her was nothing but an annoyance, but she was used to keeping her calm in front of such people. 

Getting no response from the young queen, Lady Clarisa frowned inwardly, thinking, 'This little girl is treating me as if I'm nobody.' 

Lady Clarisa's eyes didn't fail to notice the scales on Seren's body, as she softened her expression like a teacher gently reminding her student to put in more work. "Perhaps we should accompany you while you tour the palace. That way, we can help introduce this place to you, and we can also get to know each other more. You must not refuse us if we invite you over for tea this afternoon."

She then made an exaggerated motion as she covered. "Oh, my. It must be uncomfortable to drink tea without removing your veil. But rest assured! We are now family, and since you are already an Ivanov, we will accept no matter how ugly, disgusting and hideous you look." 

Seren still did not react, while Lady Tyra didn't find the concubine's choice of words appropriate. "Lady Clarisa!"

"Lady Tyra, the Queen is not even saying anything," Lady Clarisa interrupted her, giving her a narrow-eyed look. "You are merely respected due to your old age, but do not forget you are a mere servant. Do not interrupt a conversation between your masters!"

Lady Tyra wanted to talk further, but then her expression changed as she noticed something and said politely, "As you wish, Lady Clarisa."

Lady Clarisa looked back at Seren and added, "Are we not benevolent? We welcome even the ugliest creatures in our kingdom, so there is no need for anyone to hide their appearance. Even if you do not cover your face, we will welcome you in our hearts—"

"My Queen doesn't like to be welcomed in dark and rotten places."

A cold voice interrupted them, and they all turned to look at the person striding towards them.

"Y-Your Majesty?!"

Everyone bowed to him while Seren quietly stood in her place.