The Devil's Cursed Witch

When Ember read these lines, she found herself being intimidated by those words though she didn't know what the king in the story was referring to exactly. However, she felt her heart pounding in her chest.

'He sure is like His Majesty. So scary… Simply reading these lines makes my heart beat faster.'

In the story, the princess turned angry and turned to leave while cursing the king.

"Who does he think he is?"

The king replied coldly to her outburst, "The sovereign of this kingdom, your lord, and your husband."

The princess heard him clearly, but she didn't even turn to look at him.

Ember sighed as she turned to the next page. 'I don't understand if I should call this king insensitive or this princess stubborn. Both are impossible to talk with.'

As the story continued, their relationship deepened, showing how their bittersweet encounters caused their treatment of each other to change. The king no longer felt indifferent toward the princess, and the princess started to look forward to seeing her husband.

Whenever the king came in front of the princess, instead of pure hostility, the princess felt mixed emotions, sometimes even finding herself smiling as she stared at him, while at times her heart would beat fast and she would find herself flustered by his show of concern or goodwill. She would act, unlike her usual self. The way it was being explained, Ember could relate to the experience herself.

She remembered that the past few days, she herself was unable to keep her calm. Whenever she would lay eyes on Draven's dignified form, it was as if nothing around him existed and all she could see was the king. It was as if all the sounds in the world disappeared at the same time, leaving her to drown in her loud heartbeats.

'I have been acting the same way as this princess. Does that mean I have fallen for His Majesty, just like this princess to her husband?'

She kept her hand on her heart which was beating loudly at this realization. She could not understand why—was she bothered by her newfound discovery about her feelings, or was this simply because she was being affected by the romantic development of the couple in the book?

'But this king seems to have softened his character because he started to have feelings for his wife while His Majesty…" she sighed. 'I can't expect him to be soft towards me. Every time he sees me, all he does is glare at me with those scary red eyes.'

Ember discarded the thought of her falling for the king or vice-versa, and continued reading. She had yet to find out how married couples should treat each other, the main reason why she was reading a book about human couples in the first place.

'I don't think their unconventional relationship is something I should use as a reference. I should move on to another book…but the story is so good…'

Continuing to read that developing romance between the couple, Ember could not help but had a small expectation in her heart, wondering if she too would get to experience some of the things the princess experienced. After the princess opened up her heart to her husband, the king changed his ways and started to openly show affection to the princess. In return, she too changed from always bitter to being sweet and affectionate to him.

When she started getting worried upon realizing that there weren't a lot of pages left, Ember finally got to the part she's long been waiting for— the king and his wife were finally going to consummate their marriage.

'Oh, finally they have decided to….Now I will know what married couples do on their wedding night…'

Ember had already reached the part where the princess was being prepared by her maidservants for the night, and there was a lot of nervousness in the perspective of the princess as she entered her chamber that was prepared especially to welcome the king. The princess was looking forward to spending the night with her husband, and from her dialogues, her shyness and excitement were apparent.

The book being written in detail, Ember could picture everything in her mind well, and before she knew it, a part of her started to imagine herself being in that princess's place.

On the next page, there was an illustration of the princess sitting on her bed, waiting for the king to arrive in her chamber.

'Oh, her husband arrived… but why is she this nervous? Isn't her character very proud and dignified? Hmm? Biting…humans don't bite…He doesn't mark the woman. They had a wedding…but then why…'

Ember read the description of what happened next, trying her best to understand their actions. After whispering sweet words to his wife, the king kissed her before pushing her down on the bed.

For some odd reason, the more she read, the more Ember felt the temperature in her study getting warmer.

'The princess responds to her husband's kisses, and he seems to like it based on his reaction. I wonder if His Majesty likes it too when he kisses me…arghh, is it because of his scent? I get so distracted by His Majesty's scent that I didn't notice how he feels when we kiss. I wonder if His Majesty feels the same as this king…'

Ember tried to recall how Draven looked and behaved whenever they kissed. However, her mind would blank and only sensations of those moments would remain, as if each and every touch of his was engraved on her body. Shivers ran down her spine as she recalled the way his mouth dominated hers, how his hands wrapped around her to pull her close—.

'Ahh!' She shook her head and tried to calm her racing heart. 'Focus! I need to focus! I should focus on the book or else I won't understand anything. But at least now I know it starts with a kiss. Next time, I'll pay more attention when His Majesty and I kiss…'