Way to border II

'It's okay; it will end soon,' Erin thought to herself.

Yesterday's sneaking was being caught red-handed by Edward; she was now being punished for that crime. Erin was told to keep her hands up; meanwhile, those maids spanked her feet.

It was fully bruised; her feet had no strength left, but if she faltered even a little, her punishment would be doubled. She pursed her lips, controlling the urge to shout. Tears were rolling down her red cheeks.

"Stop doing all this drama; it's not your first time getting punishment," Irena commented while eating grapes. She was sitting on a sofa in front of that gruesome punishment sight, devouring sweet fruits.

'Be quiet, be quiet.' Erin controlled herself. She wanted to slap that little girl till she bled, but for the sake of Diana, she stopped herself from doing the deed.

"Why did you sneak out again?" Irena asked her without expecting a reply.

"It's done, my lady." A maid said,"

Soon the spanking stopped, and Erin knelt on the ground. Her feet were bleeding; she had no strength to even walk for a bit. Pursing her lips tightly, she controlled her anger.

When she was younger, she cried while receiving this torture. But it was anger; every time they did something like this, Erin had to swallow all the resentment in order to control herself from burning them.

"Well, sister. You didn't cry today?" Irena stood up from the chair. Tilting Erin's head up by her shoes, Irena glanced at her disgusted.

"You know what, I really hate doing this stuff." She ironically commented. "But what can I do if you act like that?"

"Act like a loyal dog." She smirked, "This will save both of us from trouble." She patted her head and continued, "You see, you can't blame me for this. It's your father's fault."

"If you have any problems, go ask your Daddy, like I do."

Irena ruffled Erin's hair, leaning towards her face. "Oh wait," she grinned, "Now that I remember, you don't have one."

Erin clutched her fist tighter; she wanted to burn this bitch alive. Her anger was on the verge of exploitation.

"That's sad. Just go and tell your mother, I mean that maid who plays house with you." Irena continued after a pause, "Now that I remember, I should sell that ser-"

Even before she completes it, Erin bursts out in anger. Flames emerging from her blasted her hands.

"AAAHHH," Irena screamed. All maids rushed to help her; guards came from behind and dragged Erin to an underground prison.

It was difficult to see Irena's reaction, but she felt as if she smirked.

**

Cian opened his eyes. He was lying on the bed; beside him, Erin was sleeping peacefully. They had shared a bed many times but had never crossed the line; that much conscience he still had.

Slowly he remembered what had happened last night, Erin hugging her to carry her to the bed.

A tingling sensation appeared in his heart just after thinking about this. He wanted to embrace her so tightly so that she would never leave his side.

"Thinking about it, we are supposed to go there." He mumbled. No matter how many times he stops Erin, knowing her, she will drag her there. He was just trying to delay this thing as far as possible; the western border was a place where he almost lost her once.

And he can't afford to lose her again.

Nevermind, this time he will protect her. But before going to the border, he had some unfinished work to do.

**

"Are you saying we have to go to the palace?" I asked Cian while eating breakfast. There were quite a few servants.

Cian nodded. Just now he had asked me this, the talk about the palace. He was delaying it for a long time, and now he finally mentioned it.

"Now that Elmar is stabilized, we can quickly take a look at the palace and come back." Cian announced while eating," He was right in saying that even some of my works in capital were unfinished.

"And Darcy will look after her here, in your stake." Cian added. If it's Darcy, I can leave the dukedom without any worry; maybe I can even let him do some work in my stake. HEHE

"Alright, I'm up for it." I replied with a grin. Taking the glass of water, I asked, "When are we going?"

"Maybe, after two days." Cian said," It was really rare to see him serious and working properly. He picked up the glass of water and poured that water on the ground.

"Ah, are the preparations done?" I asked him while pouring the water out. Signalling the guards to drag the cook and maids down.

"Yes," he leaned towards me and rubbed my mouth.

**

"Finally," I descended from the carriage; it was such a long journey. My back was sore from sitting for almost a week. Cian came down after me; for now we will be staying at Alfredo's villa in the capital.

Thinking about it, the situation here was much better than in Elmar; people were laughing. Capital was well developed and advanced.

That maniac really handled my territory well.

I sighed and went inside the villa.

**

"Are you sure the news is true?" A lady asked. She was looking the same as Cian, but with more refined elegance and beauty. Just looking at her was enough to understand that she belonged to a high-class noble family.

"Yes, Mother." A person next to her replied. He had some silver hairs and golden eyes. Nonetheless, this guy was supposed to be the crown prince of Vallansia.

"When he comes here." Her tone was cold and scary enough to make one's skin crawl, "Make sure to bring him to me."

**

"I greet the sun of the empire, your Majesty." I started with the greetings.

Queen and King were seating next to each other on the throne. His majesty was supposed to be kind one, but for some reason both were glaring at me as if I stole their precious treasure?

Um...

It's difficult to continue in this posture...

"Mom, Dad... If this is enough, can we leave?" Cian grumpily asked,"

Even if you're their beloved son, I don't think you should talk to them like that...

From the time we entered, they were giving some strange vibes. From what I had heard, they were supposed to be a good family.

"Where are your manners, Cian?" Queen asked him in anger. Uhh... This was getting more dangerous.

"Did I even have one?" He questioned them with the same enthusiasm. I think I'm going to tangle up in some family drama...

"Sigh, this kid." Her Majesty admitted her defeat before something gross could happen. "Can we borrow our soon-to-be daughter-in-law??" She asked him.

Aren't you supposed to be queen here?

Wait... More importantly, the person you're talking about is ME??

A sudden realization struck me.

When did you guys even decide this????

Cian grunted. He didn't speak anything after that, and I followed her Majesty.