Holly hasn't reacted yet. She got a personal bodyguard? Did Felix just want to keep an eye on her?
Gilbert smiled wider.
[Good grief! He's so cute!] Holly screamed in her heart. Please don't blame her. She just reacts like an normal woman who sees a man as handsome as Gilbert.
"Where are you going, Your Highness? Let me take you."
Holly was puzzled for a moment. "Oh, I just wanted to take a little walk."
Gilbert actually accompanied her. He even guarded Holly at the stairs, just in case if she fell.
Holly stopped at the last step. She was flabbergasted to see several people in maid uniforms passing by, looking busy with some things. Wasn't this castle usually deserted? Where did these people come from?
"Since His Majesty is awake, we have to revive this castle. The servants are starting to work to serve His Majesty." Gilbert explained before Holly asked.
Holly nodded, and she continued on her way out. Whenever the maids passed her, they would definitely stop and bow to her. It must be because Felix called her the Queen.
This atmosphere reminded Holly of her old home. Long before a catastrophe changed her life.
"Would you like to visit the village?" Gilbert asked.
"I can't do that, Mr Helsin. They will kill me."
"Not your village, Your Highness. But our village. Aren't you curious about our world?"
Holly was sure that Gilbert meant 'we' were werewolves. People like Felix and Adda.
"Are you...." Holly hanged her words. Not sure if what she asked will sound rude.
"Yes. All people here are werewolves."
How come? Holly was increasingly convinced that Felix was the only terrible werewolf. Just look at Gilbert and Adda, they seem very friendly. Their presence never intimidated her.
"Then Cass and Hugo too? Are they-"
"Yes. Everyone. We are called werewolves, half-human, half-wolf. Some people called us lycans. The others called us myth."
Holly looked around her. All the maids passing by were werewolves. But all of them looked normal.
"From a long time ago, no human could work in the palace, Your Highness. They would not be strong with His Majesty's presence."
"What does it means?" Holly didn't understand at all. Gilbert's explanation didn't sound like an explanation for her.
"Ordinary humans can't stand being around His Majesty. As our King and an Alpha, he has an aura that automatically makes people fall to their knees in front of him. Even for werewolves like us, he is still intimidating."
Holly nodded in agreement. No wonder Felix's presence made her uncomfortable. Oh no, but Holly is human. Is that okay?
"You're an exception, of course. I don't know if it has anything to do with the curse, but you can handle His Majesty much better than our kind." Gilbert seemed to know what was going on in Holly's mind. He laughed so hard that his eyes formed like crescent moons.
Gilbert escorted her out of the castle gates. They walked towards the Dark Forest, which wasn't dark anymore. The light was able to enter through the gaps in the leaves. This forest looks fresh and bright, surrounded by trees and some flower plants around it. Completely different from the last time Holly passed through it.
Holly was speechless as Gilbert escorted her to a village. The Village in the Dark Forest! Not just one or two houses, but the village was quite large and crowded.
People were busy selling wood, cleaning the yard, children happily running here and there. This village was no different from where Holly had lived before.
But one thing was for sure. Holly had been watching for a long time, both the maids in the palace and the villagers. They have these characteristics of a sharp jaw, glaring eyes and a beautiful face.
"I didn't think there was a village here," Holly mumbled. When people said that the Dark Forest is full of mysteries, Holly thought there were a lot of monsters here. It turns out that there was even a hidden village.
Some people who saw them immediately stopped their activity and saluted. But Holly still couldn't like the stare of those people's eyes. Their gaze reminded her of the villagers who nearly killed her.
"Too long sleep made our King lose his mind. How can he make a human as our Queen."
"Keep your voice down. They can hear you."
"Let it be. Let him hear how disgusting that human is."
"He's a useless king who made us end up with a curse. Now he marrying a human."
There was no way Holly hadn't heard them. People's whispers sounded loud in her ears. But likely, she was not the only one that being hated here.
"They hate me."
Gilbert was still smiling. But he must have heard what they were saying.
"They hate humans. Humans used to live as slaves. After the rebellion, humans captured our people and tortured them. The torment never stops because they can't die." Gilbert explained very calmly.
"An immortal curse makes us unable to have children. Children remain young, and elders remain old. No fetus develops. Our number is constant while humans are increasing. We lost in the rebellion because we were few in number."
Holly was at a loss for words. She thought they were immortal and just couldn't die. It turned out that the immortal curse was worse than she had expected. But Gilbert's explanation made more sense to her.
"Everything happened because Justin disappeared. We thought he was arrested and tortured. Until one hundreds years ago, Reloux's descendants were appointed to be a Duke. But no one knows where Justin is now."
Holly nodded her head. As she remembered, she never really knew how her family's history. Holly only knew that her father and her grandfather were dukes.
"But you say you can't have children? How can Justin have them?"
"Marry a human. We can have a child if our male werewolf marry a female human. But their child will be human, not a werewolf. Some of us even pretended to be human and returned to the kingdom, but the others chose to stay hidden in this forest."
Holly looked around her. The Dark Forest, which has been a terror to humans all this time, turned out to be a place that saved many people.
Holly even marveled at the children here who could still laugh and play like normal children even though they had lived for six hundred years. Holly couldn't imagine what it would be like to live hundreds of years.
"But I hope this information doesn't affect your decision to become Queen." Felix looked worried. He was afraid that Holly would step down from the position of Queen because she was scared of his story.
But what happened was the opposite. Hearing Gilbert's story and seeing this village in person made Holly have a little more faith in Felix. After all, she had to break this curse to live a normal life.
"What are you going to do after this? The fog and dark clouds are gone. Humans might start to come here." Holly seemed curious and worried. If humans came here, not only them, but Holly would also be threatened.
Gilbert shrugged. "I don't know. It all depends on His Majesty's decision."
"I can't believe the lives of thousands people are in the hands of someone like him." Holly chuckled as she remembered his cold and arrogant face.
Gilbert laughed at Holly's annoyed face. Some people even noticed them because his laugh was quite loud. "Please forgive my younger brother, Your Highness. He might be annoying, but Felix is the one who cares the most about his people."
Holly was wide-eyed. "Younger brother?"
"He's my stepbrother. He always acted cruel and cold, but he is actually a very soft person."
Holly was too shocked. Gilbert did resemble Felix even though their eye colour was different. But not just eyes! Their character was quite the opposite. Gilbert was so friendly and always smiling. As for Felix... just remembering his face was enough to boil Holly's blood. Yes, even though Holly admitted, Felix was more handsome.
"I am really sorry, Your Grace. I don't know if you both are siblings." Holly immediately bowed to give honour to Gilbert. Even though she never did it in front of Felix.
"Don't call me like that. I'm not part of the Royal family." Gilbert told Holly to stand up again.
Gilbert didn't need to explain. Holly got it. Gilbert was definitely the illegitimate child of the late King. Holly had heard a lot of this sort thing in the royal family. Royal scandals were never different, no matter what creature they were.
"If you are his brother, why did he ask you to be my bodyguard?" Felix was the King, and the King's brother should have a higher position than being a bodyguard.
"Because I'm the only one he trusts. Besides Cass, of course."
Holly still wanted to ask a lot of things. Like why does Felix ask his right-hand person just to escort Holly? But Gilbert had said too much. Holly didn't want to sound like she was interrogating him.
Gilbert finally escorted Holly back to the castle as the sun was about to set. Holly was still amazed by how the sun suddenly shone beautifully on this hill.
Blaam!!
The sound of a door slamming was the first thing to welcome her home after Holly reached the third floor. Holly was stuck in the hallway.
Felix came out of Holly's room with an angry face. "Where have you been?"
"Relax, Your Majesty. We were just wandering around here." Gilbert immediately intervened before Felix was more furious.
It worked. Felix immediately sighed in relief after seeing Gilbert appear after Holly. He let Holly in and followed her. Felix signalled Gilbert to leave the two of them alone.
However, Holly still doesn't accept it. Felix had no reason to be angry that she was gone. Holly was not a prisoner here.
"Where do you think I can go, Your Majesty?" Holly said sarcastically. It was true, Holly had nowhere else to go.
[The villagers want to kill me, whereas the werewolves hate me. The only safe place is with him.] Holly sighed tiredly. She stuck with him. No matter how much she hated this creature, Holly couldn't deny she needed Felix.
"That's right!" Felix suddenly exclaimed. "My people hate you, and you can't just go back to your village. If you want to live, you need to stay by my side." Suddenly he looked satisfied even though his face was still as fierce as before.
Holly smiled stiffly even though, in her heart, she wanted to scream in anger. Felix had just confirmed Holly's thoughts. [No need to explain! I already know!]
Holly can't survive here as a human. Even though she couldn't die, there was no guarantee they won't torture her for eternity. After all, Holly still had to find a way to break the curse.
"So, do you want to be tortured or be my Queen?"
Holly squeezed her dress. [Smile, Holly. You should smile.] Holly said to herself in her mind.
"I've decided. I will be your Queen."
Felix's smile widened at that answer.
"But, in two conditions," Holly said firmly, made Felix's smile faded. "First, Your Majesty had to help me find the truth about Justin Reloux and whether my father was a traitor. Second, after the curse ends, I will step down as your Queen."
Felix thought for a moment. Holly's offer wasn't a problem for him. After all, he had to find out where Justin was, whether Holly told him to or not.
"Sure. deals."
Felix walked over to her. His sharp eyes stared straight at Holly while Holly was standing still. As usual, she didn't want to look intimidated by Felix. She had to show that she also could be in power and would not be trampled on here.
Felix stopped in front of Holly. Too close. Their bodies were only an inch apart. His smirk came again. "Shall we begin?"
Before Holly could answer, Felix suddenly pulled the sleeve of her dress to shreds. A second later, he bit Holly's shoulder.