The Crown's Seduction

Chapter 32: Kind of Cultivation

Mineah woke up a bit late that morning, and to her disappointment, the bed was already empty. Nikolai was already gone from her side.

"Where did he go this time?" she pouted as she got up from the bed. Usually, Nikolai would at least bid her farewell before leaving. In the end, however, she just shrugged and moved on. She could only assume that he probably didn't wake her up to let her sleep more.

Yawning, she was still in the process of shaking off the drowsiness she was feeling from staying up late with Nikolai when she heard someone knocking on her door.

"Your Majesty," a familiar voice called out. "We're here."

Mineah hummed. Recognizing Dani's voice, she replied, "Come in." 

Without another word, Dani and the rest of her shadow maidens came in as she prepared herself for her morning routine. The three of them rushed to do their usual tasks, complete with the briefing that came from their hopefully fruitful information gathering.

"Marlo said that His Majesty will be away for some time, but will be back as soon as he can," Zaila briefed while brushing Mineah's hair. "While he is away, he wants you to resume your studies and training in preparation for both your Coupling Rites and for facing Valcrez as their new Queen."

Mineah subconsciously smiled at what she just heard. The thought of Nikolai leaving words for her felt touching somehow. 

She could only expect her husband would just appear before her once he was done with whatever it was that he was busy with at the time.

"You're glowing, milady," Zaila teased as she and Dani arranged the table for her late-morning breakfast. "Thinking about something?"

Mineah shook her head, both to deny Zaila's words and to compose herself. She then deliberately said, "These men… Taro, Marlo, and that other one…"

"Luis, milady. They were His Majesty's Shadow Knights," Zaila curiously remarked. "I honestly find it amusing since you also have us as your Shadow Maidens. Looks like you two really are a match."

Mineah crinkled her brows. "And how many Shadow Knights does Nikolai have?"

"Taro didn't disclose those details, milady," Dani was the one who answered. "All he told us is that Marlo and Luis are also part of the Corvus Shadow Knights of His Majesty…"

"And this Taro is the right-hand man of Nikolai, right?" Mineah confirmed as she positioned herself on the floor where Krisha had laid out a blanket for her. "Now I'm getting curious about just how many Scions Nikolai had produced."

"Oh, Taro emphasized that all of them weren't forced to do anything," Zaila quickly added. "They only became His Majesty's Scions own their own accord and by accident somehow."

"But enough about that for now. We still have to check on your energy reserves," Dani commented with a frown as she positioned herself in front of Mineah. "It's so unlike you to just pass out from a day's journey like that."

She could only shrug at Dani's comment. As much as she wanted her Shadow Maidens to know about her abilities, she simply couldn't do it because Dani and the rest had no complete immunity to hypnosis or compulsion. 

It would be disadvantageous for her if they knew of the complicated secrets she was trying to hide along with her curses.

"Don't worry. I'm feeling much better now, my energy reserves have been steadily increasing," Mineah reassured them with a pout. It was true as well. She already had enough energy in her that she could almost chant a spell against Nikolai when she thought he would bite and ravish her last night.

"This won't take long, Your Highness," Dani insisted. "We just need to check and cultivate your inner energy more to prevent another incident like this." 

Mineah could only shrug in defeat as she let Dani do her thing. She knew that her loyal maiden would refuse to budge on this no matter how hard she insisted that she was fine.

Along this activity, Krisha positioned herself on her other side. Soon, the four of them had started their meditation. 

Mineah concentrated as she borrowed energy from her Shadow Maidens before then using it to gather energy from the environment and the elements within her reach. She would usually do this kind of cultivation once a week with whoever Shadow Maidens were present around her, and she'd get at least another burst of energy to last her for a good while. 

As soon as she felt that there was enough energy in her reserves coming from her three Shadow Maidens, Mineah began cultivating her inner energy by absorbing as much of it from the elements of air, sea, and sun. Then, once she had enough of what her body could handle, she immediately released and returned the energies she received to her Shadow Maidens.

Opening her eyes, she let out a sigh before stating, "I'm starving. Come, you three. Join me in eating." 

Their activities done, Mineah quickly got up and went to the table to have breakfast. Alongside her Shadow Maidens, the three of them were still in the middle of eating when another knock came to her door.

"Your Majesty, it is I, Gregory."

Nodding to Dani, her shadow maiden quickly opened the door for the man in question to enter with a curt bow. Following behind him were three female Curbs, all of them armed with what looked to be measuring equipment. 

"They will be the ones to get your measurements for your dresses," Gregory announced as he introduced the Curbs. "Also, we'll be needing your approval for the designs, especially for the gowns for the Coupling Rites."

"Just a moment please, Gregory," Mineah hummed. "I'm almost finished with my meal…"

Seeing her liege's request, Zaila walked up towards Gregory and politely whispered, "You see, you can always disturb her Highness anytime with anything. Just don't do it while she's eating."

"Should I just come back once Her Highness is done then?" Gregory whispered back.

Zaila nodded with her sweetest smile and said, "I will call for you."

Although Mineah was busy eating, the corner of her eyes didn't escape the interaction Zaila had with Gregory. And judging from the looks of her other Shadow Maidens, it seemed like she wasn't the only one who witnessed something peculiar. 

"It looks like Zaila got herself a lover last night," Krisha teased as soon as Gregory and the rest left. Mineah chuckled seeing how red Zaila's face suddenly got.

"What are you saying? Dani instructed me to mingle with others in the feast last night and…"

"And?" Dani snorted.

Fidgeting, Zaila murmured, "Well, Sir Gregory was kind enough to keep me company…" 

"Well, it seems like His Highness was being extra protective for a reason," Dani pointed out, suddenly speaking the language only Mineah and her Shadow Maidens knew of.

"Are you saying His Highness instructed Sir Gregory to accompany me?" Zaila scoffed in the same language.

"There's a possibility," Dani postulated. "I remember Taro clearly mentioning to me how His Majesty instructed his Shadow Knights to look after Her Highness in the shadows including the people around her that she cared for… That's the three of us."

Her forehead furrowing, Mineah questioned, "What do you mean? Are we being guarded without us knowing? Do we have no privacy?" 

"I'm still unsure, milady, but for some reason, I feel like more of the King's Shadow Knights of are always around, particularly, around you," Dani answered. "Their presence has the same vibe as Taro's but I can't confirm it just yet."

"Have you tried asking Taro directly?" Mineah asked.

Dani shook her head. "I plan to, but I can't find him since this morning," she sighed. "There's no way for me to contact him unless he showed himself before me."@@novelbin@@

"I guess they're called Shadow Knights for a reason," Zaila snorted. 

Frowning, Mineah fell into a deep thought with that new information in mind. After a while, she felt something. 

"Dani, can you sense it?" Mineah swiftly asked.

"Not completely, milady," Dani dutifully replied. "I can pinpoint it if I'm at least about seven paces away, however. Please give me permission to engage and find out more."

Shaking her head, Mineah replied, "No, don't make a move just yet. Pretend that you all never even noticed. I want to see what happens for now."