CHAPTER 204: THE QUEEN NEEDS A CLOSURE

Her fingers curled into small fists as her hands trembled slightly. "I want to meet the Marquess’ brother."

"You what?" Edmund asked, frowning as if making sure he hadn’t misheard her.

"You heard me right," Primrose said. "I want to see ... that man, the one you placed in the torture—"

"I know who you mean," Edmund cut her off. "But why? Why would you want to see him? Nothing good will come out of it."

[She literally just said she’s scared of what happened to her,] Edmund thought. [So why would she want to face that bastard? There’s no way I’m letting her near the man who made her cry.]

To be honest, Primrose didn’t really want to see Thevan either.

Just the thought of it made her chest tighten. But something inside her told her it had to be done.

If she kept running away from him, the nightmares that haunted her every night would never stop.

"I need closure," Primrose said quietly. "I need to see with my own eyes that he can no longer hurt me."

"He can’t," Edmund said as he gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "I’ve already made sure of that."

"I know. I trust you." Primrose took his hand and held it tightly. "But I still need to see it with my own eyes for the sake of my sanity. It’s been really hard for me to sleep these days, husband. You must’ve noticed that too, since you can see me through Bunnie, right?"

Before Edmund could say anything, Primrose continued, "I have nightmares every time I close my eyes and it’s always about him. That’s why I’ve been thinking that maybe, if I meet him and talk to him, even just a minute, without feeling threatened, I might finally stop seeing those nightmares."

Edmund stared at her in silence, replaying her words over and over in his mind.

Primrose could hear through his mind that he was completely against the idea because he didn’t want her to be anywhere near that man.

But deep down, he also didn’t want his wife to keep suffering from those nightmares.

"Alright," Edmund finally replied. "I’ll let you meet him, but no more than fifteen minutes. And if he messes with your emotions even a little, I’m taking you out of there immediately."

He looked her in the eye, deadly serious. "That’s my condition, and I won’t compromise on it."

Primrose nodded quickly. "I understand." Then, with a little hesitation, she added, "If you’re busy with something else ... maybe I can go with someo—"

"No." Edmund didn’t even let her finish. "You’re going with me and I’m not leaving you alone with him, even if you beg me to. Do you understand, Primrose?"

Honestly, it was the first time Edmund had ever spoken to her so intensely like that.

Well, maybe he did speak so intensely and coldly to her back then, but it was because he still struggled with basic communication.

But ever since he learned how to communicate better with his wife, Edmund had never tried to control her or speak in a way that left no room for her to respond. He always respected her thoughts and made her feel heard.

And yet, this time, he was different.

Strangely enough ... it made him even hotter than usual.

Primrose had never thought she’d fall for a man who could make her feel both empowered and completely safe at the same time.

Now she wasn’t sure whether she should head to the torture room ... or pull Edmund into her bedroom instead.

She blinked a few times, trying to hide how flustered she was. "A-Alright," she whispered. "I’ll go with you."

The torture room was located in a separate building, far from the main palace. When Primrose asked why it was placed so far away, Edmund simply replied, "It would ruin the view if it were built near the palace."

But Primrose had overheard a few maids saying that the torture room hadn’t always been this far.

Before she arrived at the palace, the cursed building used to be only about fifteen meters away, still hidden from most people, but not nearly as distant as it was now.

Besides, Edmund had never been the type to care about palace aesthetics, at least not before Primrose came into his life.

That’s why Primrose had a feeling he’d moved the entire building just so she wouldn’t ever have to see it, not even by accident.

"Wife, we can take a carriage," Edmund offered gently. "It’ll be faster. You don’t need to walk all that way."

Primrose shook her head with a soft smile. "It’s alright. I’ve been cooped up in my room for days, so I want to stretch my legs a little." She slipped her hand into the crook of his arm and added with a warm look, "It reminds me of when we walked together in Moonshadow City."

She had actually made a long list of beautiful places she wanted to visit with him in that city ... but the Marquess and his cursed tiger tribe had ruined everything.

"We can go there again someday," Edmund said, brushing his thumb gently along the back of her hand. "Or maybe ... we could visit another city. No business, no stress. Just the two of us. Just a vacation. Just our honeymoon."

Primrose giggled. "I don’t think it counts as a honeymoon anymore." Then with a teasing smile, she added, "We’re not newlyweds, remember?"

"You’re right." Edmund’s gaze softened as he looked at her. "We’re not newlyweds anymore."

[I still can’t believe she’s here after all these months,] he thought. [I honestly thought she would run away.]

Not that running away was even possible in the first place. The palace was surrounded by tall walls, with guards and maids keeping an eye on her every day.

Even if she had tried to escape, the chances of success were close to zero.

And even if she did get out ... life outside the palace was cruel. Without Edmund’s protection or the protection of his soldiers, Primrose would’ve been nothing more than fresh meat dropped in a den of beasts.

In the end, staying in the palace really was the best choice she could’ve made.

"This is it." Edmund finally stopped walking as they reached a somber-looking gray building. "This is where I keep prisoners who require ... special treatment."

[I asked the soldiers earlier to hide all the sharp tools and anything too disturbing,] Edmund thought. [But still, the building looks so damn gloomy.]

He clicked his tongue quietly. [If I’d known my wife would come here, I would’ve repainted this place something brighter, like yellow or blue.]

No. Please don’t.

Primrose would probably hate those colors if they were used in a place meant for torturing prisoners.

"We can still go back, you know ... if you’ve changed your mind," Edmund said.

Primrose shook her head. "I haven’t changed my mind." She stepped forward, slightly ahead of him. "It’s not like I’m going to throw up the moment I walk through the door."

Edmund quickly stepped forward and gently stopped her by holding her arm. "I told the soldiers to clean the place, but ... since you came here so suddenly, I’m not sure it’s clean enough for you."

Primrose smiled and gave his hand a light pat. "Don’t worry. I can handle a little blood."

If it was just dried blood, she was confident she could manage. After all, she had watched Edmund tear apart a group of tigers just a few days ago.

Edmund didn’t say another word. He simply gave the soldiers a nod to open the door for them.

To her surprise, the moment the door opened, a strong metallic scent of blood hit her in the face. Primrose instinctively covered her mouth with her sleeve, coughing hard as nausea churned in her stomach.

"We ... don’t clean this place often," Edmund said, quickly handing her a handkerchief. "So it’s a little messy. Are you sure you still want to go in?"

Rarely, he said. But from what Primrose could see, it looked like they had never cleaned it at all.

"I-it’s fine," Primrose replied through her coughing. "This is nothing."

[What? I told the soldiers not to clean it too well so she’d be too disgusted to come in ...]

[Is this too clean?]

He seriously tried that?

Alright, never mind.

He was just too worried that seeing Thevan would reopen her wounds, and deep down, he really didn’t want her stepping foot in that place at all.

But since he was right beside her, Primrose believed she’d be fine.

"How about this," Edmund suggested, his voice gentler now as her coughing continued. "I’ll bring him outside. You won’t have to set foot inside at all. Sounds better, doesn’t it?"

Oh ... that did sound better. Why hadn’t she thought of that earlier?

"Is it safe? I mean ... he won’t be able to escape, right?" Primrose asked hesitantly.

Edmund replied calmly, "He can try. But ... I don’t think he has the courage to do that."