The Crown's Seduction-Chapter 427: Under One Roof

In the end, Abel didn’t manage to convince Dani to travel in his mist form despite his best interests, so instead he just followed her by boarding Admiral Sixto’s ship. He had a lot of work waiting for him back home, so it would’ve been best for him to travel ahead, and yet he still chose not to.

Currently sitting on one of the many vacant benches on the deck, Abel let out a heavy sigh as he stared out at the ocean.

"Am I disturbing you?"

Looking up, he saw Admiral Sixto just as he sat next to him. He was a good friend to him and he was from Braun Clan who remained neutral in practically everything. They were very loyal and supportive to Nikolai’s father, the former King Arturo, and to Nikolai himself ever since they saw how well they were ruling their kingdom. Unlike the Rossi and Wagner Clans, they weren’t in the opposition, but they made sure they were heard on things they believed would negatively affect the kingdom and their people as a whole.

"Not at all," Abel replied.

"Looks like your trip to Ebodia and meeting Lady Dani’s family kept you in deep thought," Sixto remarked as he sat next to him. "Lady Zaila told me how strict Lady Dani’s family is and how they oppose other beings aside from their kind. But you’re once human, Abel, so perhaps that helped in your favor?"

"Well, I managed to handle Dani’s parents well, but her brother is quite different," Abel muttered. "He even called me a monster earlier."

To be honest, such words didn’t matter to him before. He didn’t care about being called a monster. But now, he felt a bit hurt hearing it from one of Dani’s family; someone whom Dani cared for.

"What?! Big brother called you that?!"

Abel perked up. It would seem that Dani wanted to join the conversation, prompting Sixto to suddenly get up from his seat

"I’ll go ahead and talk to the crew then," Sixto remarked, leaving Abel to deal with Dani.

With the seat next to Abel now open, he simply watched as Dani sat beside him.

"How come you didn’t tell me about that?" she complained with a frown. "That’s mean of him!"

Abel subconsciously smiled upon seeing how worked up Dani was about this matter.

"Didn’t you expect the worst from having me meet your family? You clearly informed me of their prejudice for our kind, so it’s fine," Abel stated with a smile. "Although, I won’t lie that I’m a bit affected since the one calling me a monster is your brother. It would be nice to give them a good impression... But I’m willing to work on it."

Dani simply stared at him with parted lips. She looked confused, it seemed like she wanted to say something only for her to pure her lips instead.

Seeing her reaction, Abel didn’t bother asking her about it. Instead, he thought about his current situation. It still appalled him how far he had come with his relationship with Dani, but he had no intentions of going back. He was quite interested in moving forward with her.

"Well, calling you a monster is still too much!" Dani grumbled, her lips twitching in annoyance. "Will he say the same with Princess Ezme?"

"Seems like you noticed it too," Abel chuckled. "Ezme already set her eyes on him, and I can only wonder how he will handle a monster like her. Will he eat his own words and fall for the same kind he hates?"

"Well, I just hope Princess Ezme will teach him some lessons about not judging so easily," Dani snorted. "But I guess he’s just sulking like that because he was broken hearted over losing Princess Xenia to King Darius who’s a werewolf. He’s been nursing his unrequited love for too long like you, you know."

Abel couldn’t help but softly smile, seeing how she made the same usual annoyed expressions of flaring her nose a bit while pouting with a twitch in her mouth.

"Unrequited love," he softly whispered.

He didn’t refute her about it as he shrugged. He didn’t even bother correcting her that it wasn’t love, but him simply being devoted to Rosela since she was his responsibility. He may have developed some feelings for her, but it wasn’t exactly love.

There was a bout of silence between them, but Dani broke it when she suddenly whispered to him. "I’m sorry."

Abel turned to her with a frown. Seeing her downcast like this didn’t sit well on him. And he already knew why she suddenly apologized. She was fierce and often had mood swings over him, but Abel knew that she was a good person, and hearing that her brother called him a monster must have taken a toll on her.

"I’m sorry for what my brother said. He shouldn’t have said that, and I’m sure he’ll realize his mistake soon enough," Dani calmly said. "I’m sure you two will get along well, especially once he sees that you’re not like those he thought of as monsters. You’re not a monster, Abel."

Abel smiled at those words as he turned to stare at the vast sea before them. Seeing Dani in a calm mode like this was refreshing. He was used to seeing her annoyed and talking to her like this was relaxing.

She then let out a heavy sigh and muttered, "I can only imagine the pile of work waiting for us once we arrive back in Valcrez."

"That’s true, but it’s fine. This trip is honestly worth it..." Abel hummed back as he closed his eyes and felt the sea breeze against his cheeks. He didn’t dare open his eyes despite feeling Dani’s intense gaze at him. He didn’t want to kill the moment, but he still couldn’t help but tease her. "Are you satisfied with your future husband’s face?" he asked with a mischievous grin.

"Hah! What are you saying?" Dani scoffed.

Abel opened his eyes and turned to her. She was now looking at the ocean with a deep frown, and his gaze on her didn’t waver as he said, "I’m satisfied with my future wife’s face."

Dani suddenly got up from her seat and sputtered, "I-I should take this opportunity to rest. I’ll go ahead and excuse myself to go back to my cabin."

"You’re free to take a rest in my cabin if you want," Abel further teased as he followed after her. "It’s always open for you." He then chuckled and mumbled, "Ah, I can’t wait to see how she’ll manage things once we live under one roof."