After the palace tour, a royal carriage ride was arranged for Oriana to visit the entire city. This allowed the people of Aurialor to see their princess and for Oriana to witness that her family was still rembered fondly.
Nurous knights, mounted on horses, accompanied the royal open carriage. The knights wore the uniforms originally donned by the Aurialor royal knights in the past. Everything was restored to its forr glory from her grandfather’s reign.
Arlan helped her sit in the open carriage but did not climb in himself. "Are you not coming?" she asked.
He shook his head. "It’s your day today. People are waiting for their princess, Oriana Laurien."
Oriana understood his intentions and agreed with his decision. During her carriage ride, people bowed to her and cheered her na, calling her Princess Oriana. They all looked overjoyed to have their princess back. After the long ride, Oriana returned to the palace, her heart overwheld with emotions. This place, this kingdom, was her ho.
Later, when everything had cald and Oriana found a chance to relax, they discussed how to take care of the kingdom. Oriana left the decision to Arlan.
"Oriana," Arlan began, "since you cannot always be here, we have decided that although Aurialor is now an independent kingdom, it will still be associated with garis. It will be a shared territory for both Griven and garis, allowing people from both kingdoms to co here without any trouble. Likewise, people from Aurialor will have easy access to Griven and garis."
Oriana nodded as Arlan continued, "In your absence, Duke Noel Alessin will continue to manage this territory as he has been doing. Nothing will change, and the kingdom will function as it has for the past two decades."
"I agree with this," she said. "While visiting the city, I could see that people were happy and the city looked prosperous." She turned to Noel. "Duke Alessin, thank you for taking care of everything, and I hope you will continue to do so."
Duke Noel bowed slightly. "It is my honor, Your Highness. I will continue to serve Aurialor and ensure its prosperity."
They all had dinner together, enjoying authentic Aurialor cuisine. Though it was her first ti trying the dishes, Oriana found she loved the taste.
"This food is so good," she comnted, making everyone happy to see her enjoying the al so heartily.
"Try this. I’m sure you’ll like it," Arlan said, placing a particular sweet on her plate.
Oriana tasted it and, being a foodie, couldn’t help but praise it. "It tastes heavenly."
"Your mother used to like it as well," Arlan said. "In the past, she would make it for . As a child, I was fond of the sweets your mother made."
"So fortunate of you."
"That I am."
They decided to spend the night in the palace. Oriana was given the best room, the one her grandfather had used when he was king. While everything inside the room had been replaced with new furnishings, the sa walls remained, holding traces of the past.
Lying on the bed in Arlan’s arms, she spoke softly, "I’m here for the first ti, but I can still feel connected to this place."
"It’s normal, as everything here was built by the hard work of your family."
She humd in agreent, her eyes growing heavy.
"You seem tired," he comnted.
"Seems like teleportation and the entire busy day have worn out," she replied.
Arlan held her hand and checked her wrist, realizing sothing important. It had been a while since he had offered his darkness to nourish her body, and without it, her demonic power would soon start to affect her again.
She pulled her hand away. "I’m not sick. You don’t have to be so serious about checking my pulse."
He made her look at him. "Your body is getting weaker."
"It’s just tiredness."
"No. If we don’t do sothing, you’ll have another attack soon," he said, his expression serious.
"We don’t have Snowflake here. Should we head back to Griven?" She was about to get up, but Arlan stopped her by pulling her back into his arms. "All you need is your husband, not Snowflake."
She struggled a little and glared at him. "You’re tricking into thinking I’m getting weak so you can have your way with , aren’t you?"
He turned in the bed, positioning himself over her and pressing her body under his so she won’t move. "No. My intentions are simply to help you. The pleasure that cos with it is a bonus for us."
"Pervert. I don’t need your help. You can’t trick this ti," she said, pressing her hands against his chest. "Try to force , and you’ll find yourself thrown back to Griven to sleep in your chamber alone."
Arlan felt like laughing at her remark but held back, speaking in a serious tone. "I’m not tricking you. Haven’t you ever wondered why, after so nights of supposed tornt, you wake up feeling rejuvenated instead of exhausted?"
Oriana thought about it. There were indeed a few tis she felt that way and had found it odd. Feeling conflicted, she asked, "What did you do on those nights?"
"I passed my darkness to you," he explained. "It’s the demons’ way of exchanging their essence with their weaker partner. You’re a demoness and needed my essence of darkness to strengthen you."
"And you’ve been doing this all the ti without telling ?" she asked.
"I had to, especially when you tried your best to hide from the first attack your body had back then."
"You knew?"
Arlan nodded.
"Why didn’t you say anything?"
"If you wanted to hide sothing, I didn’t want to expose you. All I could do was help you."
"Since when did this start?" she asked, piecing things together. "That night... the day you asked if we should consummate... did you ask because of it?"
"Don’t misunderstand. Rember what I told you that night. I said it was all out of my love for you and nothing else."
She rembered every detail from that night, every word he said and every action. It was all engraved in her mind.
"Yes, you did say that. Is this what you ant when you said it?" she asked.
Arlan nodded. "Everything I say or do is out of love for you; everything else is secondary. I was willing to wait longer, but your body’s condition made hurry."
She finally moved her hands from his chest and wrapped them around his neck, gazing at him with tenderness. "You’ve always cared for in your own way and never let know about it. Words aren’t enough to thank you for everything."
"Then use actions," he said with a playful smirk. "I would gladly welco whatever you want to do with ."
She chuckled softly. "Always a pervert," she said, pecking him on the lips. "But I love this pervert," she added, kissing him heartily to show her feelings.
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