CHAPTER 69: TWO RULERS OF THE NORTH

Luke finally managed to convey to Zoey the thought that had been gnawing at his mind throughout the ball:

"You know I don’t like my uncle, don’t you?" Luke asked calmly.

Although the smile on Zoey’s face remained, the young woman replied gently and thoughtfully, in a way that wouldn’t upset Luke, "I’m aware of that."

"He didn’t take his eyes off me the entire ball... It wasn’t just my uncle... Many of the older members of the Moneta family looked at me with those eyes... Still, my uncle was a bit different." Luke said.

"What are you trying to say?" Zoey asked with great curiosity, sitting up from where she was lying and sitting on the bed.

Luke also sat up in the same position.

Even though nothing had happened to Luke, Zoey felt cold, and of course, they hadn’t put anything on after that fiery, passionate night.

Just as Zoey got out of bed and put on a bathrobe, Luke suddenly started talking:

"I’ve seen my uncle many times... I’ve seen him look at me with eyes full of happiness many times. The Monetas value me more than the emperor they worship, and you know that too."

"Still, this time it was different. I could see the pride and joy on his face. Yet the happiness I had seen in my uncle Shen’s eyes since I was a child seemed to have been replaced by deep sadness."

After putting on her robe, Zoey sat down on a chair in the room and asked, "I don’t want to say it because it’s a sad topic for you, but... Everyone in the empire knows how your uncle Shen behaved when your mother passed away... Is there something wrong with Lily’s mother?"

Luke took a deep breath and then said, "I was thinking the same thing... I guess I need to ask my uncle what happened..."

Zoey smiled and then said, "The emperor fell in love with two empresses with the same name, and one of them, your mother, passed away. I don’t want to say this, but... I would have preferred your mother, Lily."

Zoey was a woman who had grown up with the cold mind of the north, and naturally, she was a young woman who did not hesitate to say what was on her mind.

Even though what she said could be considered a national crime, the young woman did not even think about being afraid.

Lily from the Moneta family and Lily from the Freley family.

"You shouldn’t say that... I never knew my biological mother, and even though I value her, my emotional connection is limited to that... I’m willing to give my life for the five mothers who are with me, the five women who treat me like their own child," Luke said gently but seriously.

"Puff..." Zoey exhaled deeply upon hearing his words.

"I understand, I just really wanted to see the woman known as the Flower of the Empire with my own eyes... I apologise for my words," the young woman added.

"I know you didn’t mean it in a bad way, just be careful... Each empress sees you as their own child," Luke said, then got out of bed and tried to help Zoey up from her chair. "We need to take a bath; we have a lot to do."

Zoey smiled and stood up from her chair, saying, "We’ve been married for maybe a day or two, but you’re already trying to go back to work... You know you’re the owner of a large principality, don’t you? We might even call it a HUGE kingdom. You deserve a little rest."

Luke gently tugged at Zoey and replied, "I don’t know how to rest my love," as they walked to the bathroom in the huge room.

After a long bath that lasted almost an hour, the two of them came out of their rooms dressed in their finest clothes.

There were two people standing guard outside the room.

One of them was none other than Elsa, the leader of the Dark Elves. The other was none other than the young elf boy Cain.

Luke first looked at Elsa, then at Cain.

"I understand why Elsa is on guard duty; she may be the strongest warrior after Callum, but Cain... what are you doing here?" Luke asked suddenly.

When Cain heard this question, he smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you asked me to be at your service at all times!"

When Luke heard this answer, he narrowed his eyes for a moment and then asked, "While you are in my service?"

At that moment, Zoey took his hand and said, "I told you, you’re a workaholic. No sane person would chase after work just after their wedding day," and began to pull Luke along.

Zoey’s joyful laughter echoed through the palace corridors. Luke was being pulled along by the young woman, Elsa was smiling proudly as she served a Hiera, and Cain was trying to keep up with the trio’s seemingly endless run.

It would not be wrong to say that the servants and knights who saw the couple were already filled with the joy of the day.

Zoey sparkled like a jewel, and her brightness almost blinded Luke’s eyes.

The couple had left the palace in a short time.

They wandered aimlessly in the palace’s vast courtyard, continuing to move forward under the conversations of the ’lower-ranking’ nobles still present in the palace.

"Come on, come on! Call Shenhal, let’s fly away, just for a while my love!" Zoey suddenly exclaimed.

Luke had never felt this way before. His love for Zoey was incredible.

There would be many wars in the future; it was inevitable. No matter how much Luke tried to avoid it, fate had already planted several seeds in this land, and in the future, there would be countless monster invasions.

The pressure from the East would grow even more immense, and even if no harm came to the Hieras, a massive war would break out.

Still, at least for now, at least at this time of year, immediately after such a huge happiness as marriage, Luke had perhaps managed for the first time to stop thinking about work and pay attention to the woman in front of him.

’Shenhal! Come, take us!’ Luke shouted suddenly.

Among the nobles were people from the Wirgo and Moneta families.

Even Shen Moneta’s own nephew could be seen looking at Luke.

Still, at that moment, for Luke and Zoey, there was only each other in the world.

When the sound of Shenhal’s massive wings rose and Luke jumped directly onto the back of the Ancient Dragon with his wife Zoey, the two of them flew for hours in the sky, beyond the Tholien Mountains, to the borders of Wirgo, and even around the northern sea.

For today and for the hope that lies ahead.

The North had two new leaders. A King and a Queen...