A/N: I suddenly realized that Tian Xi and Gu Yuan never really had a "serious" conversation nor did they ever take the time to stop and think about their connection/relationship with each other, but then again in their situation where they prioritize their own gains and they always viewed each other as passersby's, they probably never felt the need to have a talk. So here we go~ a minor development haha. This story is tagged slow romance, so there's that.
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Arc 3.6 Ruler of the Night
"Th-Third Prince!" The ministers who were just about to lash out at the audacious intruder immediately fell to their poor bruised knees again, sweat dripping down their foreheads profusely.
Cecily raised a brow inquisitively at Hugh, who smirked and gestured his left hand towards Prince Russel, "All hail the new King of Grethien."
Cecily's face darkened immediately as she glared daggers into Hugh, whose skin was so thick he didn't even feel anything at all. This fucker! He just took my job! That was 1500 points! 1500 points ah! I demand a redo!!
Just because he didn't feel anything didn't mean he'd ignore her. Giving her a side glance with his upturned lips, Hugh initiated a telepathic conversation that they somehow developed through their first two worlds together. You killed the king. I appointed the new one. It's pretty fair, so what exactly is the problem?
She felt her lips and eyes twitching and her perfect expression cracking, Fair my ass! Killing the king only gave me 500 points!
Hugh looked helplessly at Cecily as he shrugged his shoulders, It's not like I told you to kill the king. You already finished the job before I got here, I had no choice in this matter. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Unable to continue the pointless conversation that only those two could understand, Cecily flashed him her glorious middle finger - no, both of her middle fingers - and turned her head away from him as she let off some steam.
Hugh just chuckled in response.
" "A-All hail...the new king..." " These old folks really wanted to cry but had no tears as their eyes swept from the murderous Cecily and the sly Hugh before kowtowing hastily towards their newly appointed king.
And who was the Third Prince of Grethien? It was Russel Jaune de Grethien ah! The eccentric good-for-nothing prince who lazed and played around all day! As opposed to his eldest brother, the First Prince who was great at anything physical from martial arts to warfare strategies, Russel was a disappointing dandy who couldn't handle a single speck of dirt to land on his fabulous clothing. His second brother, the Second Prince, was an intellectual renown amongst all in the Kingdom of Grethien for graduating from the collegiate academy at age twelve and at the top of his class. To this day his papers were being passed around amongst the scholars and even the officials in the throne room currently!
Sure, Russel was the perfect candidate in that he was the only son of the deceased Queen Emilia Jaune de Grethien, but his concubine-born brothers were even more so based on their abilities and accomplishments!
Knowing their complaints that could not be said aloud, Hugh frowned, "Russel is perfect for the job. Easy to control, a beautiful face, great sense of style; most importantly, he is easy to control. The perfect figurehead, wouldn't you say, baby?"
Of course, Cecily was still angry that he robbed her of 1500 points, so she ignored his last question that was directed at her.
Russel cleared his throat awkwardly, "Uh, Hugh. That isn't something you should say in front of the person himself."
Hugh's reply was a small and innocent smile as if what he said wasn't the least bit offensive, "It's the truth."
Suddenly, Russel ran up to Hugh and threw his arms around the taller and buffer man's shoulders in a friendly manner, rendering the ministers speechless.
"Bro, it's really you! I haven't seen you for months! I was starting to get scared that we would never meet in this world!"
By this time, the conservative old fogies' jaws had all fallen to the floor as they wondered what kind of...er...relationship the two men shared. Just as one of them was about to question the conspiracy at hand, their new eccentric king whipped his head towards Cecily.
"Is that sis-in-law?! God, she's a cutie this time! I mean, she was always pretty up there in terms of looks but those clothes are," He gave her a thumbs up and winked playfully.
Unable to remain silent anymore, someone finally spoke up, "Um, Your Majesty. What exactly is your relationship with the Southern Faction of the werewolves? And how long?"
This was a serious problem in that they no longer wanted to remain tied to any of the werewolves after the death of their corrupt officials and the former king.
"We are sworn brothers, ah! Known each other for years, now~"
Russel's casual reply immediately threw every human aside from Cecily into a huge misunderstanding. They came to the conclusion that King Russel had been putting up a useless front the entire time and was always maintaining friendly relations with Hugh in order to one day overthrow his imperial father who sided with Valentine Argent of the North.
But then they remembered what Hugh had told them about how easy Russel was to control and their faces paled. Didn't that mean that their King Russel was going to be the figurehead king while Hugh would become the true king in the shadows?!
They all turned to look pleadingly at Cecily, hoping she could do something about their perilous situation and completely forgetting that she was the culprit to the murder of their former king and also seemed to be a little more than just enemies with Hugh. Furthermore, they totally disregarded the fact that she was just addressed a few seconds ago as his "sworn brother's" wife; his "sis-in-law."
Cecily seemed to have understood what went through their minds as she exasperatedly rolled her beautiful lavender eyes, "He meant that Russel is the perfect figurehead for us humans. This unruly black dog won't be partaking in any large matters related to the Kingdom of Grethien's humans unless it involves his own kin. Have fun with your new king and remember well that everything was a part Valentine Argent's evil plot."
Without waiting for her words to register in their heads or for their response, she walked out through the large golden doors that never got the chance to close even once after the knights first debut two chapters ago.
Hugh signaled with his eyes for Russel to remain in the castle as the king and to behave before following his wife outside to catch up on things with an anticipating smile.
Outside in the castle's garden, Cecily didn't stop her slow gait through the paved passage as she asked, "I doubt this can be considered a coincidence anymore?"
Hugh was silently following her a few paces behind, "En."
Cecily, "Does this have to do with your wish?"
Lifting a brow in pleasant amusement, the corner of Hugh's lips curled upward as a low and seductive chuckle sounded throughout the expansive garden full of exotic flowers, "My baby is very perceptive. Take a wild guess."
She turned around to face him in all seriousness, "I say that you are still unsure even now. But it should be a part of the reason. Otherwise things like this couldn't happen."
Neither affirming nor rejecting her words, Hugh couldn't resist asking out of curiosity, "So, what will you do now?"
As long as he followed her into her mission worlds and insisted on completing his own missions, she would never have a smooth ride to the top. He was unconsciously anxious to hear her answer, almost as if scared of the possibility of her bailing out on him.
She snickered derisively as she turned back around to the front, her dark hair flowing behind her as she did so and her sweet smell wafted towards him by the wind, "What difference does it make whether you are there or not? My goal is still the same. I will win."
Hugh let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding. With her answer and his unconscious reaction, he suddenly became minutely aware of the rising importance of the girl in front of him and narrowed his eyes in thought. At this moment, he wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing. Also, from her answer she didn't seem to place as much importance on himself as he did her. There was a faint feeling of disappointment, but he threw that to the back of his mind.
"What will you ask for when you reach the top?" Hugh had ended up asked before thinking, and he cursed inwardly at the newfound impulsive side to himself.
Cecily laughed once before looking upwards at the darkening sky as if seeing something that wasn't quite there, "Actually, I don't know."
Although almost imperceptive, there was a slight melancholy in her tone. But before he could properly assess it, Cecily suddenly glanced back towards Hugh and nothing seemed out of place anymore as she asked, "What were you thinking when you made your wish?"
Hugh paused for less than a second then slightly smirked arrogantly, "Isn't it obvious? 'How boring.'"