Kael had no idea how to fix his mistake, so all he could do was stay silent while staring at Sisi as she tried to wipe her tears.
"Just... just promise that you’ll be by Jojo’s side. You are his father, you are supposed to be his guardian," Sisi said.
"I promise," Kael said firmly. Though it sounded light, he put a lot of weight on that promise.
It was his habit to leave Jojo in a safe cave before going on a hunt. Usually, Jojo would spend his ti sleeping or playing with whatever interesting rocks he could find inside the cave while waiting for his father to return with his prey.
But their situation had changed. They weren’t alone now, and there would be a lot of beastn who wanted Jojo dead, since he was the sole heir to the Beast Kingdom and couldn’t protect himself—at least until he was old enough to control his Dawn Star curse.
Sisi finally stopped crying after a while. It was extrely rare for her to cry, but thinking of Jojo’s suffering made her upset and frustrated to no end.
"Sorry for slapping you just now. I just wanted to give you a wake-up call," Sisi apologized after her outburst. "I picked Leah to be my personal attendant because I noticed her ambition from the beginning. I was surprised by how lenient you are in managing your inner palace, to the point that there’s not even a screening process for maids."
"All I wanted was to teach you a lesson about taking care of your inner palace, but I think I went too far and hurt Jojo instead..."
"You were unconscious before. Please don’t bla yourself, Sisi," Kael said softly—the softest he had ever been in front of a woman. "It’s also my fault for being negligent. But Vestor told that the inner palace is managed by the queen. So I thought... I just had to wait until you accepted the crown."
"What are you talking about?"
"I... I haven’t backed down from my offer, Sisi," Kael said truthfully. "The position of Beast Queen is still yours, whether you are in love with or not. Because you’re the only one who deserves that spot."
If it had been the sa Kael from yesterday, Sisi would have brushed it off as him losing control and offering her the throne impulsively.
But since he wasn’t muddleheaded anymore, this offer ant he was serious.
Sisi was about to refuse, but she paused when Kael said the position was still hers, whether she loved him or not.
As if he could read her mind, Kael suddenly added, "Being a queen is not only about serving the king. You have your own authority, so you can manage this inner palace and watch over it whenever I leave for sothing."
"In the end, we’re going to leave this kingdom to Jojo. So why don’t we work together to make sure his ascension is guaranteed, and teach him together so he will beco a good king once he takes the crown?"
"Surely, you want to watch him grow properly, right?"
"Okay, okay, I get it," Sisi finally interrupted. She didn’t expect Kael to be so chatty, but what he said carried weight.
Yes, she wanted to protect Jojo and raise him properly, and becoming queen was the best way to do that.
She stared at Kael for a while and asked, "Once Jojo takes the crown, I’ll leave the kingdom imdiately."
"And I will allow you to do so—" Kael said, then added silently in his heart, ’—with by your side, of course. We can travel far together, even to Jing Forest or the Arctic.’
Kael was not without his own sche. As selfless as he sounded, his beastly nature still held the sa possessiveness toward Sisi.
Binding Sisi as his queen was the best way to make sure she wouldn’t just leave out of the blue.
There was still a lot of ti before Jojo beca an adult, so Kael could slowly warm her up. Maybe one day she would finally accept him.
"I... I will think about it," Sisi muttered. "Becoming a queen is a big deal for , but if it’s for Jojo, then I might have to."
If a woman like Leah could harm Jojo to that extent as a maid, that ant another woman might do the sa in the future, especially since Jojo was still too young to protect himself.
If Kael decided to make another woman his queen, Jojo would definitely beco a target, since those won would want their own children to take the crown instead.
So the best way to protect Jojo was to officially beco his mother.
"I can give you ti, of course. Just make sure to think about it, Sisi," Kael said. "I can wait, but I don’t think Jojo can."
"We—we can talk about that later. We have a more pressing matter to discuss right now," Sisi glanced at the pavilion, where Jojo was still sitting and sulking.
His golden eyes were very eye-catching. They were beautiful and majestic, but also scary at the sa ti.
Those golden eyes gave off a suppressive aura, just like Kael’s. She noticed that staring at them for too long planted a seed of fear in her heart, even though she knew Jojo loved her deeply.
But in the end, no matter how beautiful and majestic they were, if Jojo couldn’t see anything, then there was no reason to keep them.
"Jojo got his golden eyes because of a curse, right?" Sisi asked.
"Yes. Did that bastard tiger tell you sothing about his curse?"
"He never told the details, but I know both you and Jojo were cursed. That’s why he planned to kill you before," Sisi replied. "Since you bear the sa curse as him, why don’t you tell the dicine to cure his blindness?"
Kael stared at Sisi, who looked serious as she asked the question, and sighed defeatedly.
"There is no dicine."
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