Three days.
That's how long it had been since the council meeting in the Throne Hall of the Gilded Beasts. Three days of learning the layout of the palace, the faces of my staff, and the endless ceremonies that came with wearing the crown.
Serenya had been my one constant through it all. She stayed close, not as a shadow but as an anchor — always there with a quiet word, a knowing glance, or a touch on my arm when my temper threatened to boil over.
Nights were… different.
The first night after the council, she didn't just hold me — she lay with me, close enough that I could feel the warmth of her skin through the thin silks we wore to bed. Her hair spilled across my chest, and she whispered small, meaningless things just to keep me in the present.By the second night, I found myself seeking her out, drawn to that same quiet steadiness.
The third night, I kissed her. It wasn't planned. We were sitting in the private garden beneath the moonlight, the fountain murmuring nearby, and she was laughing — really laughing, not the polite smile she gave the servants. I leaned in before I thought about it.
She didn't pull away.
The kiss was slow, unhurried, but it hit me harder than any gunshot I'd taken in my past life. When we finally broke apart, she stayed with her forehead resting against mine, her breathing soft but steady.
The System chimed:
[leyla Veyra's Loyalty: 68 → 81.][Bond Deepened: Physical Affection Achieved.]
On the morning of the fourth day, I was summoned to my private audience chamber — not by the council, but by High Queen Maerath herself.
She stood there in robes of black and silver, her crown casting shadows across her face."You've been King for less than a week, Caelan," she said without preamble. "Already there are whispers."
I kept my voice even. "Whispers about what?"
Her gaze was razor-sharp. "That you have no heir. That you have no queen. That your only consort is… unwed, and from no powerful house."
I felt my jaw tighten. "Is that a problem for the realm, or for you?"
"It is a problem for your throne," she replied, stepping closer. "Every day you sit childless, Valric's claim grows stronger. Some on the council already suggest that you are… incapable. If not in politics, then in other matters."
The System's cold voice followed hers:
[New Main Quest: Secure an Heir.][Requirement: Produce a child within 12 months to cement legitimacy.][Failure: Increased risk of deposition or forced abdication.]
Maerath watched my expression carefully. "A king without an heir is a storm without rain — all noise, no substance. You would do well to prove the contrary… soon."
That night, leyla found me in my chambers engrossed with a book. She didn't ask about Maerath's visit, but she could read it in my face.
"You're tense, Your majesty" she murmured, sitting beside me on the bed. Her fingers found my hand, lacing through it.
"It's nothing,leya, how have you been?" I lied.
Her brow furrowed. "Same as always, but Then why do you look like a man about to march into battle?"
I thought about telling her the truth, about the whispers, the heir, the political pressure wrapped around our relationship like chains. But in the end, I just pulled her closer, burying my face in the curve of her neck, because at the end of the day, all i cared about was resting in the warm embrace of this woman for the night.
Her arms wrapped around me again, warm and steady. I could feel the steady thrum of her heartbeat, and for a while, I let that be enough.
The System didn't chime. It didn't have to. I already knew the stakes were rising.