The Cursed King

Loriel decided to visit Elise in her chamber. He asked the butler, Horatio, to bring a tray filled with food for his wife. He would make it his excuse to come to her.

"Elise." Loriel knocked on Elise's door. "Please open the door."

He waited for five minutes before the door was opened from the inside. There, he saw his wife stand by the doorway.

"Your Majesty." Elise curtseyed.

She was no longer crying. Loriel suspected that it took her a while to open the door because she was pulling herself together and removed the traces of tears from her face.

He decided not to discuss it, pretending that he didn't know. Didn't Zaff tell him not to make his wife stressed?

"Have you eaten?" Loriel asked her. His right hand signed Horatio to bring food inside.

Elise looked up and pursed her lips when she saw the butler enter her chamber with the tray.

"Your Majesty..." she said with a halting voice.

Loriel furrowed his brows when he heard her tone. "Yes?"

Elise turned to Horatio and pointed at the man. "Can't I have my privacy here that a butler can just enter my chamber without asking my permission?"

Loriel raised his hand and motioned Horatio to stop. The butler was frozen in place and looked at the king and queen alternately. He halted his movement so suddenly that it looked funny.

He was half walking when he stopped and one of his legs was only inches away from the floor. After Loriel motioned him to stop, he was standing in that funny position, not daring to move an inch.

"I was worried about you, so I asked Horatio to bring you food," Loriel explained. He was annoyed by the fact that Elise seemed to intentionally pick a fight with him by throwing back his words at him.

He was the one who 'accused' Elise of violating his privacy by entering his chamber without permission.

And just now, Loriel did exactly the same thing. He only knocked and, before Elise allowed him to come in, he told Horatio to enter with food.

Now that he was faced with the same situation, Loriel no longer felt his teasing her earlier was funny. Deep inside, he felt frustrated because he couldn't joke around with her. She was too uptight.

Was it her.. or was it her pregnancy hormones? Loriel didn't know. He had never had a pregnant wife before.

"I am sorry for being presumptuous." Finally, Loriel took the high way and apologized.

If it was other people, he would angrily tell them that as the sovereign of this empire, he had the right to enter anywhere he pleased, no need to ask for anyone's permission.

However, since this woman was his wife and she was currently pregnant with his child, Loriel decided to lower his pride and please her.

His change of attitude surely surprised Elise. It also made her confused. Why did a king apologize to her?

Did this mean, Elise was right?

"Thank you for the food," Elise said. "I am not hungry."

"But you have to eat," Loriel insisted. "Even if you are not hungry, you have to eat for the baby in your womb."

Elise pressed her lips when she heard Loriel's words. She had not told him about her pregnancy because...

Well... because he made her cry earlier.

But now he already knew? Who told him?

"Zaff told me," said Loriel, as if reading her mind. "Now, will you let me in to bring you food, or...?"

Elise was still dazed when she stepped back, giving a sign to Loriel to enter her chamber. Loriel gave Horatio a side-eye and the butler immediately stepped in with the tray of food.

He put the tray on the table in the middle of the chamber and stood by to wait for Loriel's next order.

"You can go," said Loriel. Horatio bowed down and took his leave, leaving the monarchs to enjoy their privacy.

After the door was closed, Loriel turned to Elise and asked her, "Don't you have anything to say to me?"

Elise shook her head. "There is nothing I have to say that you don't already know, Your Majesty."

Her calling him using honorific when they were in private like this, somehow, annoyed Loriel. He didn't know why.

Apparently, he was already used to hearing her sweet voice calling him by his name when there were just the two of them. 

His brows twitched.

"Don't you think I deserve to hear it from you personally?"

Elise bit her lip and she looked down. She did want to tell him personally, but what happened earlier today ruined everything. Secretly she blamed herself for being so uptight that she didn't get his joke.

Instead, she became a crybaby about it. She could see he was disappointed in her when he left her chamber and went to his place. Elise felt so bad that she no longer had the desire to do anything. She lost her appetite and didn't want to go down to eat.

She was sure Emmelyn must have got his joke and be cool about it. And this thought was killing her from the inside.

She thought Loriel and her already got something when he decided to consummate their marriage, and she felt so blessed when she became pregnant immediately.

But now, they were back to square one.

"Wifey, look... I am sorry for teasing you earlier today. I was not supposed to do it." Loriel spoke gently. He was older than her and must know better. "I don't mind you entering my chamber and going through my things. I did say I want my clothes here. So, you did the right thing."

He continued his words when he saw Elise's tears were slowly dripping down her cheeks.

"Thank you for taking the initiative and for paying attention to what I was saying, no matter how small."

Elise's body started to tremble.

Loriel stepped forward and touched the corner of her left eye to wipe the tear that was forming there. Then, he wiped the tear on her right eye.

This gesture only made Elise cry even harder.