So now that Adira didn't need to hurry home, Anastasius invited the Sylveris father & daughter over for a meal. Silfor, who didn't let go of Heise, made the child sit on his shoulders and quite easily agreed to the King's invitations.
Although this was unusual to everyone, since Silfor loved to contradict the king at everything, Adira knew it was because of Heise and his new found love for his grandchild.
She couldn't help but giggle as she watched the relief on Casimir's face that was so stiff, cold and empty a while ago.
Dear baby, you just saved your daddy's soul. Good job.
...
While Heise was preoccupied with the King and the Duke's attention and love poured all over him and Adira busying herself watching over the elders not to stress Heise out too much, Casimir took the chance to slip out for a while to get something.
Adira noticed him leave from the corner of her eye and placed her tea cup down. They transferred to the garden to have tea after they finished their meal—which honestly took so much time due to the elders fussing over what and how much Heise should eat.
She also slipped away surreptitiously and followed Casimir. As much as Casimir wanted to have her for himself, she does too. It wasn't only him that wanted to monopolize the other. She always wanted Casimir's time to be hers and hers only.
After we confessed to each other, I got greedier, huh?
Adira smiled warmly. Her greed didn't necessarily mean it was a bad thing, right? She just loves him that much.
She saw Casimir enter his study and followed after him when she briefly paused after hearing a girl's voice come from inside. It was the same voice that haunted her everyday from her past life and also even now.
"Your highness, I'm sorry for being here even though you don't want the Lady to see me—"
Adira didn't need her to finish her sentence when she burst in and grabbed the woman's face. She was heating up and she was ready to explode marvelously in this leech's face.
She didn't know why but seeing this kind of scene in front of her—with this woman looking lost and pitiful and innocent like that—she couldn't help but be reminded of those times she used the same trick on her past fiancee, Triton, and even those when she tried to seduce Casimir.
"A-Adira! What are you going to do to me?!"
"What else can you do but burn?"
A fiery dangerous glint in her ashen eyes frightened Iris so much as she felt Adira's hands gradually warming up that it eventually felt searing.
"Sto-Stop!!! What are you doing?! Help!"
Adira felt all of her pent up frustrations bubbling up from the deepest pits of her core and slowly felt herself losing control. It was then that she felt strong and warm arms snake around her torso and lovingly pulled her closer to him before she felt him kiss her cheeks.
"That's enough, my wife."
But when she heard that, she thought that her man was defending his mistress.
"Let go of me! I told you you're not allowed to cheat on me cause I will not hesitate to burn you and your woman!"
"No can do. My woman cannot be burned. Fire doesn't work on her."
"We'll see about that! Let go of me, Casimir!"
"I can't. Cause then, you'll dirty your lovely hands."
He said and slid his fingers on the spaces between hers and lifted it up to place a kiss on them. Instantaneously cooling down the raging volcano inside his wife—but really, he was also using a spell to cool her down.
He loved to see her jealous, but he didn't want to see her regret something from an impulse or from losing control of herself.
"My wife doesn't even need to lift her hands to deal against commoners."
"Commoner?"
"I stripped her father of his title when the results of the investigation came in. She was also the one who used Leon to drug you."
"So you figured it out."
Adira whispered softly and finally calmed down. Since Casimir had dished out his punishment and stripped her of her title, any more would be her bullying the weak, right?
"I'm sorry." She apologized to Casimir and hung her head in shame. She just went ballistic a while ago and showed him an ugly side to her.
"Not at all. I'm very happy, my wife." Casimir comforted Adira and kissed her head with gentle happiness.
It was the truth though? To see his wife attack a woman out of jealousy kind of made him happy—even though it wasn't at all appropriate. He was finally seeing the results of his schemes.
What the hell?! Happy?! I almost got burned and you say you're happy?!
Iris thought incredulously as she listened to Casimir pacifying the enraged Lady and telling her that he didn't mind it! Worst, he even told the damned woman not to dirty her hands!
Do you mean to slap it to my face that I am dirty and am not worthy to be held?!
"I am the fated maiden! I am the destined Queen! I am the woman heaven has sent to aid you in your conquest! Why can't you see that?!" Unable to hold herself back, Iris indignantly cried to Casimir.
"Miss Latifolia, I care not if you're who you say you are. I've never believed in heaven anyway, so why should I now? I only need my family by my side. They are the only people that I need to pursue my conquest."
And Adira's heart thumped loudly at Casimir's words. Right in front of him was absolute power and by his side was his kingdom's harbinger of destruction, yet he still chose her regardless.
Then, I will give you everything that your heart desires. Be it this land or the whole world.
Adira promised in her heart and held Casimir's hands—interlinking their fingers that fit snuggly. Warming the cold iceberg almost instantly.
"Iris, I know you never really liked me and I never did like you as well. I also know about how you try to seduce Casimir every chance you get.
I did think, even for a slight moment, that you really did hold love for him inside your jealous heart but I guess you don't. You want him because you hate me and that's not love."
Iris was surprised with Adira's frank words that hit her straight to her core and was about to deny things when Adira continued,
"You may be the maiden of light but I am his princess, who will eventually become his Queen, and that is not something absolute power can replace. Only I can stand by Casimir's side."
She proudly exclaimed and stood tall against Iris' cowering form. She had planned to ignore her all the way but things have changed. She wasn't gonna let her worm her way in and take Casimir away from her—the same way she did with Triton.
She had allowed her to do so with Triton's case, but that was because she could see that Triton really did love her. But now that Casimir had proved to her that there can be no one else but her, Adira wasn't gonna sit idly on the sidelines anymore.
Villainess, she may be but that's okay. She was not gonna be a passive villainess anymore.
Notes:
Hi! Thank you so much for all your fun comments and the new influx of votes and followers! Soooo thankful for you guys!
Let's keep this up, okay? Banzaaai🎉