CHAPTER 415: THE QUEEN HAS FINALLY RETURNED HOME (I)

"Why are you hiding like that?" Primrose asked once their carriage started moving again. The crowd had already backed away after realizing the beasts were inside.

"Because they’re afraid of me," Edmund replied without looking at her. "And I didn’t want to ruin your moment."

Primrose clenched her hands on her lap and lowered her head, saying nothing for a while.

She knew it would take time—maybe years—to convince humans that beasts weren’t monsters to be feared. Those beliefs had been drilled into them for generations, so it wouldn’t be easy to change that.

She understood all of it. She had even talked about it with her husband a few times since they entered the Vellmoria Empire.

But God... it still hurts.

She wasn’t the one being insulted, nor the one being hated, but how could she possibly stay calm when people kept insulting the person she cherished?

Coming back to Illvaris was supposed to be something joyful, something memorable. But now, Primrose started to wonder if maybe she had made a mistake by coming here.

She bit her lower lip as the sadness in her heart made her eyes well up with tears. Maybe it was just her pregnancy hormones making her overly emotional, but honestly, she had always been a bit of a crybaby, even before that.

It would be terrible to let Edmund see her crying just because of people’s perception of him, so she tried her best to hold back her tears.

Her effort worked for a while until Edmund suddenly reached for her and held her hand. Without lifting her head, she heard him say, "When you first came to Noctvaris, there were many beasts who didn’t like you either."

Primrose tightened her grip as his fingers slipped between hers. "That’s different," she said softly. "The beasts thought I was too weak to be their queen, and they were right. But the humans here hate you because of rumors that aren’t even true."

"Whether it’s based on truth or lies, hatred is still hatred," Edmund said softly. "But once they began to see something beyond your race, they started to like you little by little. And now..." He paused, his lips curving into a faint smile. "I think the beasts love you more than they love me."

Primrose finally turned to face Edmund but quickly looked away. "It’s because of you too," she said softly. "If you hadn’t helped me, they would probably still hate me."

"I did control them so they wouldn’t hurt you," he said, "but do you really think that alone was enough to make them like you? No, it wasn’t, my wife. The only reason they care for you now is because of you."

Edmund would certainly punish anyone who spoke ill of his wife, in this life or the previous one. However, both lives revealed the same truth: how drastically people’s attitudes toward her changed once she became more proactive.

In her first life, Edmund had protected her silently, but since she never tried to win the beasts’ hearts, the outcome had been disastrous.

In this lifetime, though, she had done many things—some intentional, some not—that made people grow fond of her.

"That’s why, my wife..." Edmund paused for a moment, his voice softening. "...this time, let me be the one to win your people’s hearts."

Primrose blinked in surprise. All this time, she had only focused on how to make people see that Edmund wasn’t a monster.

She always thought it was her job to change everyone’s minds, and somehow forgot that Edmund also had the right to fight for his own place in their hearts.

"But... but it’ll be hard!" she blurted out. "What if they throw rotten apples at you when you try to talk to them?"

That, perhaps, was one of the reasons why she never thought of letting Edmund face the humans alone. She was afraid they’d be cruel to him, so cruel that it would crush his self-esteem completely.

"It’s just rotten apples," Edmund said, smiling faintly. "I won’t die from a little fruit."

Maybe he wouldn’t die, but the humiliation alone would surely hurt, wouldn’t it?

"You need to trust me a little," Edmund continued. "My communication skills have... improved quite a lot lately, thanks to you."

His social skills had improved so much that Primrose sometimes wondered if he was even the same man she married.

"Then... let me be your guide," Primrose said at last. "I can give you some advice on how to talk to people more easily."

"I’d love that." Edmund gently wiped her teary eyes. "Don’t cry. If your father sees your swollen eyes, he’ll think I did something terrible to you in the carriage."

"What are you talking about?" Primrose frowned quickly. "I’m not crying! It’s just dust! Yes, dust got into my eyes!"

"Is that so?" Edmund teased softly. "Then I suppose you don’t need a hug."

"I still want a hug!" Primrose protested, immediately throwing herself into his arms, making the carriage sway a little. "But I didn’t cry at all!"

Edmund chuckled softly as he wrapped his arms around her, the warmth between them drowning out the cold world outside.

"Alright, alright, you’re not crying," he said with a gentle laugh, patting the back of her head.

The trip from the market district to the Duke’s manor didn’t take long, only about fifteen minutes by carriage. So without her realizing it, the ride had already come to an end. The carriage slowed down before coming to a stop right in front of the Duke’s manor gates.

Within seconds, the gates swung wide open, and the guards rolled out a red carpet in front of the carriage as it came to a stop in the manor courtyard.

"Lady Primrose, welcome home!" The guards and maids greeted her in unison, standing neatly along both sides of the carpet.

Primrose froze for a moment, completely taken aback. She had never been welcomed like this before.

Who in the world decided to roll out a red carpet for her?!