(From Blue''s Perspective)


    "And then there''s this unsettling sensation of being watched," I sighed. "Really? I can''t even enjoy my life now."


    "Blue," Luc said. "I know it''s difficult to hear, but have you ever lived a life where you didn''t have to worry about anything, where you weren''t treated unfairly, and where you were truly free?"


    "Not worry about anything... not being treated harshly... and be free...," I mumbled.


    The answer was clear. When I used to live with my parents and brothers, I was not treated with love. It had been like this for seventeen years and three hundred and sixty-three days. After I got married, everything changed. My husband showered me with love with only one condition- no matter what, I must never leave him.


    My life was no longer as it had been. I was not beaten up and no one said anything harsh to me. But I was forbidden from growing my wings. So, freedom was not something I could ever get. But I liked the cage.


    At least, that''s what I used to think. But every now and then, I wondered what true freedom would feel like.


    "You don''t have to answer," Luc said. "I understand. But what are you saying about being watched?"


    "I''m not sure, it just feels like it," I exined. "It''s as if someone is watching my every step. It''s a little creepy, you know."


    "It might be your father. Remember when you heard that voice?"


    "On the balcony? Yeah... He was calling me his daughter," I said.


    "That''s why I''m saying it might be him. Or who would be anyway?"


    Luc and I could not talk much about it there since anyone could hear us. It would be a tremendous problem if anyone discovered I was a dark mage.


    "Why does your husband have to leave during the banquet? I mean, he could talk to them another time," Luc grumbled.


    "Was there anything else you needed to do?" I inquired.


    "Well, if he could stay by your side now, I would not have toe and could sleep," he said.


    "Haha, you know you can''t stay in your tower forever. You should get out more," I said. "And Dem, well, he wants to return to Querencia as soon as possible." He intended to return as soon as the banquet concluded. I told him it would be impolite and that we should wait until the next morning. That''s why he rmended holding the meeting during the banquet.


    No one could refuse because he was prepared with some reasons."


    "It''s no surprise he''d been running around. It''s difficult to be king, haa. It''s not like my work is any less. But at least, I can sit my ass down in my tower all the time while working."


    "Yeah, he works really hard," I chuckled.


    Since our marriage, I hardly saw him resting. He was always working. When I would tell him to rest, he would just smile at me and cuddle with me. But he never truly rested. I was worried about him. I wished he would at least take a short break.


    "I couldn''t ask you previously since you were sick, but how is your marriage going now? I mean, after King Ford dropped the bomb..."


    "... It''s the same."


    "The same?"


    "Hm, nothing has changed. None of us mentioned it. I actually don''t want to talk to him about it until I know the whole thing. Evan, I mean, King Ford said that he will keep everything a secret just like he did all those years. We are behaving as usual. At least, until we know the whole thing, we won''t talk about it.


    It''s our unspoken agreement. So, you better not mention it when Dem and I are together. It''s fine to talk about it when we are not together though."


    "Alright, I''ll keep that in mind," he said, nodding. "... It appears that married life is more difficult than I imagined."


    "Marriage life, you say? It seems you are thinking about it these days," I grinned. "Do you have someone in mind?"


    "Heh, it''s not like that. But you see, I think I have found my mate."


    "... It''s Ruby, isn''t it?"


    "... How do you know that?"


    "I just do."


    "Were you spying on me?"


    "You are asking that to someone who has to rest in bed almost all the time?" I jeered. "And besides, how will I spy on you?"


    "Then are you a psychic?"


    "Just say that I am right," I shrugged.


    "You are not wrong."


    ''Yes! I knew it! Ruby would not like him out of nowhere for no reason!''


    "So, what are you nning now? Have you talked to her?" I asked.


    "No... But I am nning on talking to her soon."


    Except for Alphas, werewolves normally found their mates after they reached the age of eighteen. Alphas had the ability to pick their own mates. However, even after they turned eighteen, some werewolves could not find their mates. It was possible to not find a mate at all in a lifetime.


    And now, Luc found his mate when he was twenty-four. Dem never had a fated mate because he was an Alpha. Rather, he chose me to be his fate. It meant, our love was never fated. It was more of a coincidence that I became his wife, as we married as a result of others'' conspiracies. But our love was real.


    "Was that why you were so interested in our marriage?" I asked. "I had my suspicions as well. But I didn''t think you truly have found your mate."


    Dem had the ability to read his mind. He had to have known all along. But, because Dem was indifferent to practically everything except me, he probably did not think I would be excited to know this. That should be the reason that he did not tell me before.


    "Are you nning to get married then?"


    "You look surprised," he said.


    "No matter how I look at you, you don''t seem to be the type of person to get married. And it''s not like you have feelings for Ruby, right?"


    "I don''t," he confessed. "But, you see, most werewolves, especially female werewolves, fantasize about finding mates. They fantasize about a lovely wedded life. I never intended to marry since it seemed like a burden to me, and I always thought that having a wife would interfere with my work. In other words, my mindset makes me unfit to be someone''s mate.


    But I don''t want my mate to suffer because of me. I may not be the most loving spouse, but I will make every effort to make her happy and to be a devoted husband."


    ''Wow, as expected of Luc... He is really mature and thinks rationally. Though I am not sure if he will ever fall in love with Ruby, I at least know that he will make her happy and respect her. Luc won''t betray her as well.''


    "Then you should talk to her about it as soon as possible. How do you exactly know that she is your mate?"


    "It''s an unnecessarily strange feeling. What I mean is, you feel like you are drowning, yes, that''s how I felt," he said. "You will feel it the first time you meet your mate."


    "Then did you know it since the beginning? But you didn''t say anything..."


    "I saw her for the first time after I went to the pce to look for the dark mage. But that time, I didn''t know I would feel like I am underwater and suffocating when I will find my mate. And besides, she was always ring at me. I thought I felt like that because of her behavior. Then that feeling was unreasonably increasing, so I studied a bit about the whole thing and asked others.


    That''s when I found out about it."


    "I see... Ruby must know this too then, right?"


    "Of course, if she is not like me who does not have much knowledge about things like this. I only havemon sense and knowledge about magic."


    Should I ask Ruby about it? No, perhaps I should not meddle. These two were adults. They would figure everything out just fine. But I was going to support them as much as possible.


    It would be fantastic if Luc too fell for Ruby. Ruby was an amazing person. Anyone would be blessed to have someone like her as his mate. And Luc was not a bad person either. Even though he was not romantic, he was considerate and understanding. They would make an excellent couple.


    I had not told anyone this, but I was secretly nning on making Luc my child''s godfather. I had a feeling that he would be the best person for it.