In her room, Reina had no clue that the King had heard her loud heartbeats which revealed her anxiety even when she had not uttered a single word.
Thankfully, he had misunderstood the cause of this panic attack which helped her keep her secret for a little longer.
Now that she had succeeded in calming her troubled heart with the help of the breathing exercises her therapist had taught her in the past, Reina began to think of what she could do to save her identity from getting exposed.
Within a month's time, her Krev cycle would begin and she needed to be as far away from the King and the men around him as possible.
She could not take the risk of letting them get a whiff of the pheromones she was letting out during that time.
For doing so might only work as a public declaration that she was a female, one who was old enough to ovulate and give birth to the next generation.
More than being affected by her pheromones, she was troubled that this realization might cause her to lose her life entirely.
Being reminded of this sorry fate that might await her in the future if she slipped up was only causing her breathing to hike once again.
However, she chided her anxious mind in the next second and clenched her fists, chanting in her mind that everything would be alright.
Doing so for the next few seconds succeeded in calming Reina's mind which allowed her to begin formulating a plan on how to keep her secret safe during her Krev cycle.
'Why do I even have to think so much about it!?' She groaned when another realization struck her.
Her predecessor had been working beside the King for a little less than eight years now and had not yet been caught.
This only meant that Rein had managed to stay away from the King during her Krev cycle to protect her identity from being exposed.
Since Reina had now received all the memories associated with the Krev cycle, she was positive that this was the only way for her to save herself.
Therefore, all she had to do was to follow in the footsteps of the one who had lived this life before her.
'I already know that it is a tried and tested method.' She added that the memories which had been triggered revealed Rein's life during her Krev Cycle.
She had not yet figured out the reason but was sure that Rein was permitted to leave the Palace premises.
This was how she had been able to leave before her ovulation period began and the deserted part of the town corner that her predecessor had visited was also for this purpose.
The secret pathway which she had seen and also the 'cottage' in the middle of nowhere had been prepared by Rein for this special reason.
Ever since she had started serving the King, a week before her Krev cycle began, Rein would leave the Palace and seek refuge in that cottage in the woods.
She needed to safeguard herself from any potential male vampire who might catch a sniff of her pheromones.
Therefore, her predecessor had built that cottage in the woods where there were no living creatures around for numerous miles.
She had been diligent in her efforts and had found a place at a distance away from the Capital of Valanthur where no one lived and had created the magic portal which would lead her to that secluded area.
There a cottage was built and Rein would visit it whenever she needed to protect both herself and her identity during her Krev Cycle.
Now that Reina possessed the details of the secret trip her predecessor had made every year in her memories, she decided to follow the same plan.
The memories of how to reach that abandoned house and also how to activate the portal which would lead her to that secluded woods were already etched in her mind.
Using these, she could easily reach that cottage and spend the days of her Krev cycle in peace there.
Once she had experienced her very first Krev cycle in this world, she could return to the Palace only after she was feeling better.
'Should I return?' Reina pondered on what the best choice would be for her future.
Rein had always come back after her Krev cycle had ended but would Reina also make the same choice?
After all, unlike Rein, she found no compelling reason to return to the Palace where no one even looked at her eye to eye.
This was also the same place where her predecessor had been poisoned to death on the whim of some powerful lady.
Neither did Reina wish to wait around for the fateful day when the King would figure out her secret and sentence her to death for the crime of tricking the great Vampire King of this Kingdom.
Therefore, right at this moment, Reina was leaning towards the prospects of finding a new place to stay once she left the Palace.
She needed to escape someday so why not use this opportunity that had presented itself before her on a silver platter?
All she had to do was figure out the excuse her predecessor used in order to exit the Palace premises.
Once she was outside the gates of the Palace, she could use the same portal to head to that cottage in the woods, and as soon as she was done with her Krev cycle, she could choose a different path for the life she had ahead of herself.
There was no need for her to return to the Palace where she would have to fear for her life being endangered at any given instant.
Instead of living in fear, she could just leave the Palace and find someplace else to call home.
'But will it work?' Just as much as she was eager to leave, Reina was also doubtful of the plans she was making in haste.
There was a lot that needed to be taken into consideration if she was about to abide by this plan.
The first step would be to figure out the reason why Rein had gained permission to leave the Palace.
'Money and a place to stay are the next factors on the list.' She added as nothing in this world was for free.
If she wished to escape from the Palace and live somewhere else then money was the first thing she needed.
The next was a place she could seek shelter in after her Krev cycle came to an end.
'I cannot keep living in that cottage in the middle of the woods.' She decided that Rein's refuge for her ovulation period was not a suitable option for a permanent residence.
Therefore, while Reina was adamant about leaving the Palace and this job soon, she was still being reasonable about it and not being too bullish about escaping right away.
A lot needed to be done before she could implement her plan.
How she prepared for this mission in the coming month would be its crucial deciding factor, whether her plan would be a success or blow up right in her face.