Chapter 338: The Queen’s Gentle Action (II)
Primrose pulled a chair closer and sat beside the bed. She placed the flowers into a vase that had been empty for far too long, then filled it carefully with fresh water.
"There," Primrose said with a gentle smile. "Doesn’t that look better? If you ever want more, just tell me! I’ll bring you as many flowers as you like."
Lorelle’s gaze lingered on the vase, the sight of it stirring something she hadn’t felt in a long while. After a pause, she whispered, "This ... is enough." Her voice softened even more as she added, "Thank you."
[I still can’t believe Edmund managed to pull off someone as beautiful and adorable as her.] Lorelle suddenly thought. [Did he use black magic to win her heart?]
Primrose nearly choked on air when she caught the thought. Really? Shouldn’t people be asking what kind of black magic she had used to capture Edmund’s heart?
Her husband was the perfect package, and Primrose doubted she would ever find another man as sweet as him.
"I think Ms. Susan baked these cookies for you before she left." Primrose lifted one from the basket and offered it to Lorelle with a gentle smile. "I made sure they’re soft enough for your teeth, so you won’t have trouble chewing."
Lorelle hesitated for a moment before taking the cookie from Primrose’s hand. She bit into it carefully, nibbling little by little.
Leofric had once told Primrose that Lorelle used to love sweets, often sneaking more than she should. But after her illness, she could no longer eat them the way she once did because her teeth had grown too fragile.
Primrose’s heart ached at the thought. If she had suffered the same fate, she was sure she would have cried every day.
"I heard you used to work at the Magic Tower," Primrose said lightly, easing into conversation so it wouldn’t feel like a burden.
"Yes," Lorelle replied with a small nod. "I believe Leofric or Edmund must have already mentioned it to you."
Primrose returned the nod. "They did. But ... neither of them ever told me about your life before you became a wizard of the Magic Tower."
Lorelle set the cookie down and let out a soft chuckle, though there was little humor in it. "There’s nothing interesting about my life before that. My parents died when I was young, and I was raised by my aunt on her farm. If I hadn’t been born with strong magical energy, I would have ended up as a farmer like her."
Her smile faded, and for a moment, her gaze dropped to her hands.
[But maybe that would have been better than becoming a living corpse like this,] Lorelle thought bitterly. [I should have listened to my aunt when she warned me that chasing this path would only destroy me.]
Primrose pressed her lips into a thin line. She hadn’t expected her simple question to touch an old wound in Lorelle’s heart. Realizing that, she chose to hold her tongue, searching for something lighter to say.
But before she could find the words, Lorelle broke the silence. "What is it you truly want to ask me, Rosie?" she asked, her voice calm but edged with suspicion. "You don’t have to pretend with me."
[She’s adorable, but I doubt she’s as innocent as she looks,] Lorelle thought inwardly. [After all, only a woman with a touch of madness could stay by Edmund’s side and accept him completely.]
It was a little cruel to think that way about her brother.
But ... perhaps there was some truth to it.
Edmund was such a sweet, gentle husband, but behind that warmth lay a far more complicated man. If Primrose hadn’t possessed her mind-reading ability and slowly taught him how to communicate better, perhaps their bond would never have grown this strong.
Even though she often felt her husband was as sweet and innocent as a puppy, someone who wanted nothing more than to love and protect her. But she also knew the truth: he was anything but innocent.
His hands carried blood, and he never wavered when it came to ending the lives of those who crossed the line or those who were beyond saving.
After all, if Primrose had been completely sane and her morals rested only on what was pure and good, she would never have belonged in Edmund’s world.
But did it really matter? If someone like him could truly love her and accept her as she was, why would she bother choosing someone more "innocent" than him? In the end, not all innocent people were kind, some of them only pretended to be.
"I heard from Sir Leofric that your sickness came from the wrong path you chose," Primrose said carefully. "But ... I don’t quite understand. Why immortality? Why choose that path?"
Lorelle’s eyes lingered on the vase of flowers, her fingers brushing lightly over the blanket as though lost in thought. For a while, she said nothing. When her voice finally came, it was so soft and fragile it almost broke the air between them.
"Do you realize, Rosie ... that your husband is a lycan? Someone who can live far longer than you, perhaps three hundred years, maybe more?"
Primrose’s throat tightened, and she forced down a hard swallow. "I know that," she whispered.
"And do you also know ... that when you’re gone, he’ll be left alone for a very, very long time?"
Primrose’s chest ached. She hated this conversation and hated every single word of it. The thought of Edmund wandering through centuries without her made her stomach twist, a pain she could hardly bear to imagine.
"I don’t think this is relevant, Lorelle," Primrose said at last.
"Oh, but it is, Rosie," Lorelle replied softly. She went on, "Because one day, when you truly realize someone you love will keep walking this world long after you’re gone, you’ll start to wonder. You’ll start to search for a way to stay by his side ... to live longer than you were ever meant to."
"I ...." Primrose opened her mouth, but no words came. Her throat felt tight, as if it refused to let her speak. After a long pause, she lowered her voice to a whisper. "Edmund forbade me from doing anything that might put me in danger."