CHAPTER 201: HOW NOT TO TALK TO A KING

Before one of them actually hit the other, Primrose quickly stepped in. "Are you two ... close friends?"

Edmund and Leofric turned their heads toward Primrose at the exact same time, making her jump a little from how perfectly in sync they were.

"We’re not that close," Edmund said plainly.

Leofric clicked his tongue and smacked Edmund’s shoulder so hard that Primrose briefly worried he might’ve accidentally dislocated something.

"What do you mean we’re not close?!" Leofric narrowed his eyes on him. "Edmund, that’s just rude! I’m offended!"

Edmund calmly brushed his shoulder, as if wiping away invisible dust. He glanced at Leofric from the corner of his eye and said, "Don’t say my name." Then added, "Besides, we barely see each other. How can we be considered close?"

Primrose and Leofric were both stunned by his deadpan response.

She could even hear Leofric mentally insulting her husband. [He’s been king for so long, yet somehow he’s still just as dumb as he used to be.]

Primrose furrowed her brows slightly, clearly offended. Her husband was not dumb! He was just a bit dense, that was all!

"I’m joking," Edmund said in the flattest tone and even his expression was as cold as ever. Then he looked at Primrose and explained, "If being close friends means knowing each other well, then yes, Sir Leofric is my close friend."

[That was a joke?!] Leofric hissed inwardly.

[How the hell is anyone supposed to know he’s joking when he doesn’t even smile?]

[This lycan ... I swear, one day I’m going to stitch the corners of his lips upward so he can finally learn how to smile.]

Primrose couldn’t help but be confused. Solene had told her that Leofric was supposedly worse than Edmund when it came to communication and expression.

But from what she could see, he was practically bursting with emotion inside and out.

Still, none of that mattered as much as the one question nagging at her.

"Why didn’t you ever tell me you had a friend?" she asked, crossing her arms. "I even learned his name from Lady Solene, not from you."

[Is she upset with me?] Edmund wondered silently. [But why? What did I do wrong? I thought it’d be more thoughtful to introduce them in person ...]

Primrose had genuinely thought her mission to fix Edmund’s poor communication skills was almost complete. But clearly, it was still going to be a long journey.

"I just wanted you to meet him in person," Edmund said in a low voice. "And tell you his name once you see him."

"But Edmund ..." Primrose lowered her voice so only her husband could hear, though that effort was likely pointless, since a beast like Leofric could probably still hear every word. "I always tell you about my friends. Don’t you think it’s a little unfair if I don’t know anything about yours?"

Once Edmund realized his mistake, he lowered his head slightly and murmured, "I’m sorry. I was wrong, my wife. From now on, I’ll tell you more about the people I know."

Primrose smiled softly and gave a small nod. "Thank you for understanding, Edmund."

The two of them stared at each other for a moment in silence, saying nothing, but exchanging a thousand words through their eyes.

Unfortunately for Leofric, the air between them had gotten way too romantic. He even had to fight the urge to burn the entire greenhouse to the ground.

He let out a loud sigh and muttered, "I’m still here, in case you’ve forgotten ... Edmund."

Edmund let out a deep breath. "I’ll say this one more time, stop saying my name."

Leofric frowned. "She calls you by your name."

"She’s my wife."

"I can be your second wife."

For the first time ever, Primrose saw her husband make a face that could only be described as pure disgust, like he was about to vomit everything he’d eaten that day.

He locked his eyes on Leofric and said in a low, cold voice. "Go to hell."

Primrose let out a long sigh and gently patted her husband’s arm to calm him down. "Alright, enough of that," she said. "Why don’t we focus on what really matters?"

She glanced at both men. "I know you’re both busy, so let’s not waste too much time."

Neither Edmund nor Leofric argued. They all took their seats around the table in the middle of the greenhouse.

Now that the sun had fully set, the maids had lit several lanterns around the greenhouse, casting a soft, warm light that made the greenhouse feel calm and peaceful.

[I honestly thought he was just joking when he said he wanted to build a greenhouse in his palace for his future wife,] Leofric thought to himself. [But then again, he’s never been the kind of man to break a promise.]

[Still, I have to admit, I’m kind of surprised his marriage is going so well.]

[I really thought he’d mess it up somehow ... that his wife would end up running away. Or worse, dying of stress.]

Well ... he wasn’t entirely wrong. She had died in her first life.

Now that she thought about it, a lot of people had doubted their relationship from the beginning. And honestly, she didn’t blame them. She and Edmund probably didn’t look like a good match from the outside.

The only reason their marriage worked now was because she could read his mind. Without that ... well, she already knew how badly things had gone the first time.

"Let’s talk about Thevan," Primrose said, shaking off her thoughts and getting back to the real issue.

She took a deep breath and clenched her fists under the table. "I heard from my husband that you examined Thevan’s body and found traces of magic in his brain. Is that true, Sir Leofric?"

Leofric narrowed his eyes, clearly surprised by the shift in her tone. She was no longer the soft-spoken queen who’d smiled politely earlier, now she was sharp and composed, every word deliberate.

"That’s correct, Your Majesty," he said. He sat up straighter, his voice turning more formal to match hers. "The magic residue was incredibly faint. Most people wouldn’t even notice it."

"But in case His Majesty didn’t mention it," Leofric added, "I’m a magic expert. I lived in the Holy Temple for over thirty years. So yes, I can sense things most others can’t."

Primrose raised her brows in surprise. "Thirty years?" She hadn’t meant to blurt it out, but it slipped before she could stop herself. "You look so young. I actually thought you were younger than my husband."

Leofric chuckled. "That’s kind of you to say, Your Majesty. But maybe... you’re forgetting something important."

He gave her a small, amused smile. "I’m a beast, Your Majesty. It takes more than two hundred years for us to even start looking mature and probably over five hundred to finally look like some old man who’s five steps away from the grave."

"Ah, you’re right." Primrose nodded softly. "I’m sorry. Sometimes I forget little things like that."

The truth was, age wasn’t a small or trivial thing at all. It was a topic that Primrose had purposely chosen to ignore.

Because thinking about it only reminded her that one day, she would grow old much faster than her husband. One day, she’d look older. One day, she’d leave him behind.

That thought terrified her.

That’s why she had pushed that thought to the back of her mind, pretending that maybe ... just maybe ... Edmund would grow old with her.

"Let’s get back to that bastard," Edmund suddenly said, gently breaking the silence. It seemed he had noticed the shift in her mood, the subtle discomfort when the topic of age came up. "Based on the magic residue, can you tell what kind of magic it was?"

Leofric nodded. "Now this ... is where it gets interesting, Your Majesty."

He offered a small smile, but his eyes soon turned serious as he looked directly at Primrose. "This magic ... doesn’t require a spell or even a ritual. It comes from talent, something only granted to those born with it."

Primrose swallowed hard. "What do you mean?"

Leofric didn’t answer right away. Instead, something strange began to happen. A red mist rose from the floor, curling and creeping across the ground like smoke with a will of its own.

It slithered toward the glass walls and doors of the greenhouse, wrapping around them and blurring everything outside.

She heard the faint sound of the doors locking. Within seconds, the outside world was completely shut out. No one could see in, and they couldn’t see out.

Her pupils darted left and right. She felt confused and a little panicked because she had no idea what was happening.

But all that panic vanished the moment Edmund gently took her hand. "Don’t panic," he said softly. "Sir Leofric is just putting up a barrier around the room, so no one can hear our conversation."

Primrose stammered, "W-why?"

"Because ..." Leofric lowered his voice. "The information we’re about to discuss is extremely dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands. More importantly ... it would be dangerous for you, Your Majesty."

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