Chapter 514: The Forbidden Corridor (II)
[If only she knew that those locks were used by my husband for something bad... she would probably cry tears of blood.]
Primrose let out a long breath the moment she heard Bianca’s thoughts. At least now she knew that Aster had nothing to do with this whole scheme. And maybe... if Aster ever found out the truth, she might even try to help.
"That’s all I know," Bianca said. "I’ve only gone to the west wing twice, and I’ve never set foot there again."
[That place always gives me a bad feeling. I get chills every time I’m there,] Bianca thought. [Besides, I don’t want my husband to find out that I keep going there. He might punish me.]
"That’s alright," Primrose said with a smile. "That kind of information is enough for me. But... I think I need an excuse to stay in this place for a night."
Bianca frowned. "You—don’t tell me... you want to sneak into the west wing."
Primrose shrugged and raised a finger to her lips. "If you can’t keep your mouth shut, I’ll make sure you can’t speak for an entire day."
"That’s impossible!" Bianca said, her voice rising a little.
[What a joke. Just because she married the Lycan King doesn’t mean she suddenly has magic in her body,] Bianca thought. [She couldn’t even use magic back then. The only thing she was good at was asking her father for money.]
Primrose took a deep breath and repeatedly told herself to stay calm. Even though she knew Bianca had lived a difficult life, it didn’t mean Primrose would excuse every ugly thought inside her head.
The moment she sent Bianca somewhere else, she would probably never see her again.
"Do you want to try it?" Primrose asked calmly.
Bianca, who had been doubting her just a moment ago, suddenly froze when their eyes met. For some reason, those golden eyes felt like they were looking straight into her soul. For a few seconds, she couldn’t say anything.
"No," Bianca finally said. She looked away before continuing, "It’s getting late. I’m sure my husband will offer you a place to stay for the night. Besides, your husband seems to be getting along well with mine."
Primrose chuckled at the response because Edmund would probably choke if someone said that he and Averon had bonded so well, especially when they were currently discussing ways to make Lazarus go bankrupt and suffer.
"But you should be careful," Bianca said. She still had many bad thoughts about Primrose, but after being friends for so long, it felt natural for her to act like a good friend once in a while. "If you get caught, you’ll be on your own. I won’t defend you."
Primrose smiled faintly. At that moment, she finally realized that Bianca had never truly cared about her that much. Even now, Bianca still chose to think about herself first.
But what could Primrose say?
At the end of the day, everyone tries to save themselves, and Primrose was not free from that kind of behavior either.
"Of course," Primrose said. Her golden eyes locked onto Bianca’s as she added quietly, "Everything we talked about here is a secret. You won’t be able to tell anyone about this conversation. I command you."
Primrose knew Bianca was desperate. If Bianca wanted Primrose’s help, she would definitely keep her mouth shut.
However, Primrose also knew that her old friend could not be fully trusted. Because of that, it was safer to add another layer of protection by using her mind-control ability.
"I understand," Bianca said, her eyes looking strangely blank.
After a few seconds, she shook her head and frowned, clearly confused.
[What just happened to me?] Bianca wondered. [Did Primrose just force me to do something? Or maybe I’m just imagining it.]
After all, people who were affected by Primrose’s mind control usually felt as if they were simply having a normal conversation. Nothing seemed strange to them. Because of that, Bianca quickly convinced herself that she was probably just overthinking.
Knock. Knock.
Bianca fully came back to her senses when someone knocked on the balcony door.
From outside, a maid spoke politely. "Your Majesty, His Majesty has informed me that your guest will stay in the palace tonight. He asked me to guide Queen Primrose to her room."
Primrose blinked in surprise. She hadn’t even said anything to Averon yet, but she had already been allowed to stay in the palace. It seemed that her husband was the one who made the request, which made everything go smoothly.
"Do you want to go now?" Bianca asked.
Primrose smiled gently. "Yes. It was nice talking with you, Bianca, but I think I should get some rest after such a long journey."
Or more precisely, Primrose could no longer endure the cold air on the balcony, or Bianca’s inner thoughts, which were sometimes filled with poison.
"Then... I suppose we will meet again in the morning," Bianca said.
The later it became, the more likely Averon would forbid people from moving around the palace. Since Primrose was only a guest, she wasn’t sure if she would be allowed to wander around the palace freely, even if it wasn’t midnight yet.
"Yes. See you in the morning, Bianca," Primrose said before standing up from her chair.
She let out a sigh of relief as soon as she stepped away from the balcony. Without anyone noticing, she clasped her hands together and rubbed them slowly to warm them.
Meanwhile, Bianca stayed behind on the balcony, probably enjoying the quiet moment alone.
"Where is my husband?" Primrose asked the maid as she followed her. Calen and Solene walked right behind her, making sure that the maid truly had no bad intentions toward their queen.
The maid bowed slightly. "His Majesty the Lycan King is still with King Averon. He asked you to wait for him in your room."
[How shameless. Why does the Lycan King want to do something improper in someone else’s house?] the maid thought. [Who knows what he will do to his wife inside the bedroom? His mood even looked terrible when I saw him in the parlor earlier.]
[His wife must have done something wrong, so he wants to punish her.]
Primrose’s eye twitched slightly. Because the last thing Edmund would ever do... was get angry at her.