Chapter 365: Quarrels in the Palace
"I truly apologize for the inconvenience, Lady Naveer." Primrose gave her an awkward smile. "But I hope you understand that it isn’t easy to make a decision based on the suggestion you’ve given."
Before Naveer could answer, Primrose flinched slightly when the noise from Lorelle’s room echoed even through the door. It sounded like Lorelle was throwing anything she could get her hands on at Leofric, and he wasn’t even bothering to dodge.
[They seem normal though,] Naveer thought to herself, staring at the closed door before her. [My parents used to quarrel like this too. Besides, what’s so wrong about throwing a few things? Beasts have good healing abilities, after all.]
Primrose pressed her lips together, thinking that it was far too extreme. Sure, she knew beasts wouldn’t die just because something heavy hit their heads, but that didn’t mean such behavior should ever be acceptable between a couple.
Still, what could she say? Maybe some husbands were simply too insufferable, to the point that words alone couldn’t make them understand.
"That’s alright, Your Majesty," Naveer replied calmly. "I understand the situation well, and besides, I would never force anyone to carry out a ritual as dangerous as this one."
[What matters most is that I’ve gathered more details about the immortality ritual from the magic residue in Lady Lorelle’s body,] she thought inwardly.
[I’ll probably need to examine her a few more times for accurate results.] Her thoughts darkened with frustration. [I only hope they decide to attempt the risky ritual. At least then, I’ll have a reason to study her body again.]
Primrose sighed quietly. Whether it was Naveer’s cold way of thinking or simply her obsession with Lorelle’s condition, there was nothing Primrose could do. As long as Naveer had no intention of harming Lorelle, the oath would not punish her.
Crash!
Another loud sound came from inside the room, a sign that their quarrel was nowhere near ending.
"Thank you for taking the time to come here, Lady Naveer." Primrose forced a polite smile. "But I don’t think you’ll get the chance to meet Lady Lorelle again today, because of ... her unstable behavior. I hope you understand."
Naveer sighed inwardly. [I’d hoped to study her more today since I had the time, but ... there’s nothing to be done.]
[Perhaps having a ’normal’ relationship like that isn’t as enjoyable as people think.]
The corner of Primrose’s eye twitched. From the very beginning, she had never believed that hurting each other was normal in any relationship.
But who was she to judge? She herself had once died simply because she and Edmund had been too stubborn to speak to each other.
"I understand, Your Majesty. You don’t need to worry about that." Naveer then slipped on her gloves. "I may remain in Noctvaris for a while, but I could also leave at any moment. That’s why I hope you can give me a clear answer on whether Lady Lorelle still wishes for my help or not."
Because in the end, Naveer couldn’t do much to keep Lorelle alive if she refused to undergo the soul transfer ritual into a new body.
However, if Lorelle truly didn’t want that, then at the very least, Naveer could try to mend her soul before it shattered completely.
"I will, Lady Naveer," Primrose said with a gentle smile. "I won’t keep you waiting too long."
After that, Primrose escorted Naveer to the front door of the palace. Since Naveer wasn’t the type to engage in easy conversation, they didn’t bother exchanging pleasantries and simply said their goodbyes.
When Naveer’s carriage slowly disappeared from sight, Primrose let out a sigh of relief. Though she usually enjoyed interacting with others, she always felt more drained than usual when dealing with completely new people, especially those who were difficult to talk to.
Besides, faking a smile was exhausting as well. This was, in truth, one of the reasons she had felt so depressed about leaving her homeland. She had worked so hard to choose the people she trusted, only to abandon them when she was forced to leave everything behind.
"Wife! Why are you out here?"
Primrose turned her head at the sound of Edmund’s voice. He had just returned from the training grounds, and by the look on his face, he was probably heading straight back to the palace just to deliver her his daily kiss.
The moment she saw his face up close, all the bitterness and weariness in her body vanished at once. Leaving her friends behind was heartbreaking, but at least now her husband filled the emptiness in her heart, so she no longer felt alone.
"I just escorted Lady Naveer out," Primrose said. "Do you want to hear what happened earlier? It’s really big news." She wrapped her arm around Edmund’s and looked up at him with hopeful eyes, wishing her husband would want to listen. "But ... if you’re busy, we can talk later."
"We can talk now." Edmund brushed her cheek with his free hand, his touch warm and gentle. "I’m on my midday break, and I can return to the training ground an hour later."
In truth, he had ordered his soldiers to stand under the scorching sun for an hour as punishment. Their archery skills were still poor, their arrows rarely striking the target as they should.
Letting them sweat under the heat was his way of toughening them up, and giving himself a moment of peace with his wife.
Even though Primrose accidentally heard that through his mind, she chose to ignore it. What mattered most was that she finally had her husband to herself for a whole hour in the middle of the day, not just at night.
"Shall we have lunch together then?" she asked hopefully.
Edmund smiled and nodded. "I’d love to." Then he added, "How about we invite Lady Lorelle and Sir Leofric to join us?"
Primrose quickly shook her head, rising on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear that the two of them were quarreling, and it would be best if Edmund stayed away for now.
He sighed. "Then perhaps I’ll speak with Leofric once he finally leaves her room."