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2nd book- "The Devil\'s Cursed Witch"

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A delegation was dispatched to Hatha, carrying the official document bearing the seal of the King of Megaris, containing the decree saying that King Theron was accepting the daughter of Marquis Edin as his second concubine.

In exchange for that, the Marquis of Hatha would provide food supply to Megaris throughout the winter. Megaris also accepted the condition of a loan in exchange for providing military support to Hatha in the course of the war between Hatha and Thevailes.

With Thevailes failing to expand land on their eastern borders due to Megaris, they now aimed their swords towards the small kingdom that shared their border in the South, the Kingdom of Hatha. From the intelligence that spies gathered, it appeared that the Kingdoms of Abetha and Griven were already helping Hatha, and if they also get the support from Thevailes\'s strongest enemy, Hatha successfully defending their kingdom would not be an impossible feat.

The news that the King of Megaris was accepting another concubine spread all over the royal palace, and Esther was not an exception to it.

"Your Eminence, His Majesty agreed to the proposal from Hatha," Lady Tyra informed with a worried expression.

"I know," Esther, who was sitting in her chair calmly, replied. "It is a good decision as a king."

"Your Eminence…" Lady Tyra stopped her words, lowering her gaze as if trying to gather her thoughts.

Esther calmly looked at her. "Say it."

"Your Eminence, I-I am not sure if it\'s true or just what is recorded in books… but I remember the existence of long-eared beings that have the ability to help the land recover faster and even make plants bear yield overnight."

Lady Tyra lifted her gaze to check Esther\'s expression.

"From the records, wood elves can turn a barren land into a fertile one with their powers. Seeds could become saplings with a wave of their hands, and they could talk to trees and make them bear fruit overnight.."

"What are you implying, Tyra?"

"From what I heard, after that disaster centuries ago, many of the races had hidden themselves from the humans of the continent and their existence became simply characters from folklore. Nobody had seen them for a long time. But that isn\'t the case with Your Eminence. These beings were people who you have interacted with. I believe you are aware they still exist and where they are residing."

"Wood elves…" Esther murmured as she stared at empty space. "It had been a century since I last saw one. Everything you said is true. After the cruel massacre that proved it was impossible for those races to coexist with humans, the elves had retreated in seclusion under the protection of a supreme being."

"That supreme being…are you referring to the Black Dragon?"

"Hmm," Esther nodded, "and that black dragon is the one the Ivanovs worship."

Lady Tyra\'s eyes sparkled with expectation. "Then, Your Eminence, since the royal family worships him and the Wood Elves are under his protection, they will not reject us if we ask this favor from them.  It will help solve the scarcity of food Megaris is facing at the moment, and of course the kingdom will pay the debt of gratitude as soon as we recover enough to stand on our feet! Your Eminence, if you communicate with them, this will resolve the issue without His Majesty having to marry—"

The Queen raised a hand, interrupting Lady Tyra. She remained calm and composed, not being tempted by what the older woman said. "I understand what you are saying Tyra, but I cannot do it. In fact, I don\'t want to do it."

"Why, Your Eminence? His Majesty has to marry another—"

"What do you think will happen if I intervene in his duties again?"

Lady Tyra closed her mouth.

Esther let out a bitter smile. "If I tell Theron I have a way to resolve the food scarcity problem, but you don\'t need to do anything because the Black Dragon would not even give an audience to a human, much less negotiate with him even if he\'s an Ivanov.

"What do you think he will feel, Tyra?

"It hasn\'t been long since I made a decision for him, and now, I\'m tearing open the wound that hasn\'t healed yet and pouring salt by taking over his duties once more.

"Wouldn\'t that strengthen his belief that he\'s a good-for-nothing king?"

Lady Tyra was someone who treated King Theron as her own son. She watched him grow up and understood his temper very well. That was why she could not contradict the things that Esther was saying. She knew deep in her bones that the young king would truly feel that way.

Esther sighed, "I don\'t wish to hurt him again. I know it\'s not easy for him to marry some other woman even though we are not close like before. He is simply trying to fulfil his duty of protecting his kingdom using his own means.

"It is not a perfect solution but it is a human solution, and this time I don\'t want to be a hurdle to stop him."

"But Your Eminence—"

"Do you know, Tyra? If the punishment for taking the alternative route of the Devil\'s curse was merely death, I would have let Theron decide and accept his decision like a faithful wife. He\'s a human being and all I needed to do was wait for his soul to reincarnate and meet with him in his next life. But I had to intervene because I didn\'t want Theron to suffer eternal damnation, never to reincarnate, to forever wander in \'his\' realm.

"But this time, isn\'t it just marrying another woman? There is no threat to his life and no threat to his soul. It will be selfish for me to stop that. I don\'t want my selfishness to be a reason to stop him from fulfilling his duty."

Lady Tyra studied the calm expression of the Queen. "What if we do not tell His Majesty anything? What he does not know will not hurt him—"

"My husband is not stupid. He will know I have done something," Esther interrupted her, "because he knows who I really am."

Lady Tyra\'s eyes widened "His Majesty knows? Since when? Did you tell him, Your Eminence?"

Esther shook her head, a proud smile curving her lips. "My husband is a smart person. It\'s not easy to hide anything from him."

"W-What did he say?"

"Is there a need to say anything?. He simply loved me in his own way, accepting me unconditionally."

"So the King knows your identity, and Your Eminence knows that he knows, but neither of you talked about it?" Lady Tyra turned curious as she knew Esther was never careless. "It may sound strange, but you two really are a perfect pair for each other."

That statement made Esther chuckle. "I realized it one time when I caught him staring at the mark at the back of my neck, which was something only those with magic could sense. He thought he was discreet but whenever we were close, he used to touch that mark out of curiosity, thinking that I would not notice. I think after sharing my soul with him, he must have started sensing the power around me just like you."

Lady Tyra did not know what to say. After all, there had never been a record of such an occurrence in the history of their kind.

"I know what you are thinking, and to answer all your questions, didn\'t we live peacefully as husband and wife before the supernatural phenomena started and broke the harmonious life we\'re having? Theron, he loved me more than anything. What kind of wife am I to act on my own righteousness, causing him to be hurt again and again? Even if it\'s wrong, even if it\'s madness, I will wholeheartedly respect his decisions. Let him fulfil his responsibility."

"Then, we can inform him that such an option is available and let His Majesty decide if he wants to enlist the help of the Wood Elves," Lady Tyra said with a hopeful expression.

"Tyra, you know in the world of supernaturals, if someone helps you, there is always a price to pay, a price that is more often than not too much to ask of a weak mortal. I prefer Theron to solve this problem in a humane way. I cannot let him owe a debt to any supernaturals. It\'s enough. Let him stay as far away as possible from the rest of our kind and our part of the world. Having me alone by his side has caused him enough damage."

The Queen was right. Finding no fault with what Esther said, Lady Tyra could only quietly sigh.