Rebirth: The unfavored Princess is the Tyrant King's favorite-Chapter 65: Are you sure?

Luciana woke up and changed out of the elaborate attire she had worn earlier for the coronation and wore simple clothes. It was cold, so she covered herself with a cloak and walked out. Outside her pavilion were her eunuch and maids. They greeted her and began to follow her when they saw her leaving the premises.

"Don’t follow me," she commanded.

"Your Grace, it’s not advisable to go around the palace alone without us; please let us come with you," the eunuch said.

"I won’t repeat myself. I’ll go alone," she said and walked away.

The eunuch and the maids hesitated, but seeing how strict she was, they could only watch as she walked away.

Due to the Queen’s consciousness that was still present, she knew the direction to the king’s palace. A thought occurred to her to go straight to the concubine’s quarters, but she decided against it; it was still too early for him to be in the concubine’s chambers.

When Luciana arrived at the King’s chambers, the eunuch was about to announce her presence when she put a finger on her lips and gestured at him to be silent. The eunuch hesitated, but seeing her deathly glares similar to the ones of the king, he gulped and bowed respectfully without saying a word. The maids and everyone around followed suit.

Luciana gently pushed the door open, her heart thumping in fear. Now that she was here, she realized she didn’t even have a plan; what was she going to say when she saw him? This was too awkward; it was that damn cat’s fault for not making her think straight.

"My king, I hope I’m not overstepping my boundaries, but the queen looked so sad earlier. Don’t you think you should try spending some time with her at least?"

Luciana, who was standing in front of the door in a daze, heard these words and froze. She was sure it was James’ voice. It seems that due to the curse, they all end up being reincarnated together. But what did James mean by that?

"I spend time with her for one day, and what? What do I do if one day isn’t enough and she wants to be close to me every time? You know that’s impossible; I can’t be with her because I’m a monster. I deserve to be alone," Nicholas spat.

Luciana’s heart skipped a beat. ’Nicholas—a monster?’

"She loves you, Your Majesty; maybe she would understand, if not that, at least stop making her think you’re always with concubine Evelyn. Today, when you left me behind to see if she was alright, she looked so broken and sad. Please don’t regret your actions in the future because of your stubbornness," James persuaded.

"Do you think I don’t love her? I fell in love with her at first sight. I’m protecting her from me," he growled, his voice full of pain.

"You are protecting me from what? What are you hiding from me?" Luciana asked, pushing away the heavy curtain that had been blocking her from view, and nearly screamed, seeing the man who jumped out of the large tub at the sign of an intruder.

He looked like a monster; his usually hazel eyes looked as if there were burning blue flames swirling within them, and the area between his elbow and fingers on his left hand had scales forming on his skin. And it seemed as if he had been in the water for a long time because his skin looked pale like that of a water dragon.

"You—you what is wrong with you?" Luciana asked, stammering. She didn’t know what courage possessed her by the time she realized she was approaching him.

"Don’t come close to me, Luciana; stay where you are," he said, his voice fearful, as if he was afraid of losing control. In the next moment, the scales begin to spread above his elbow, climbing and reaching up to his shoulders.

"Your Grace, please, you should leave; the King is losing control of his emotions; it could become dangerous," James said, fearing for the Queen’s life.

"What is happening to him?" Luciana asked, not moving an inch from where she was standing. Truth be told, she was afraid; she was scared of what she was witnessing, but she tried to act brave. She didn’t want him to think she saw him as a monster.

If everything she had heard behind the curtains was true, it meant Nicholas had been avoiding her because of this. He had even said he was protecting her from himself.

"Nicholas, can you hear me? I’m not going anywhere; please calm down. Let’s talk," she coaxed, her voice gentle.

Nicholas’ eyes flashed briefly at her words. ’Wasn’t she scared of him? Even he was scared of himself.’

Even James looked surprised at her act of bravery. When he had first found out about the king’s "special condition," he was just a boy, and he had been mortified. To think this petite woman was still standing and not running away screaming bloody murder.

"Luciana, please listen; I don’t want to mistakenly hurt you; I’m a monster," he said.

"You will not hurt me; I believe in you; you are not a monster," she said, approaching him.

"Why are you so stubborn? I’m protecting you from me!!" He growled, his voice full of pain.

"It’s because I now know why you treat me this way; I know the reason why you keep me at arm’s length. You think you’re protecting me, but you are not. I love you! You keeping me away from you hurts more than any physical pain you think you can inflict on me," she choked, her voice sounding hoarse.

"I did it because I want to protect you; I didn’t think I could handle it if I mistakenly hurt you or killed you, perhaps," his voice sounded small and full of uncertainty.

"I’m scared because I don’t even know how to cure this thing; it always appears unannounced, and I can’t control myself. My strength is at its peak, my bloodlust is at its peak, my speed is at its peak, and it scares me," he admitted.

"Do you love me?" Luciana asked all of a sudden. He stared at her in confusion before saying,

"Does it matter?"

"It does, so please answer me: Do you love me?" She asked again, but he kept quiet, not answering her.

"Just tell me you do not love me, and I’ll leave this instant. I’ll continue living like I’ve been doing all this while and accept your indifference. I won’t bother you again, so tell me, what do you feel for me?"

"I love you! From the very first day, I saw you in your country; I loved you so much that it hurt when I made you choose me over your family and country. It hurt so much when I couldn’t hold you close and be with you like I wanted to," he confessed, his voice hoarse and hypnotic.

"Good, then I’m not leaving you. You are my husband, and we are going to fix everything together," she said and approached the bed and sat down, making herself comfortable.

James knew it was his cue to step out and walk away; a subtle smile could be seen on his face.

"Are you sure you are not going to regret this?" He asked, stepping out of the huge bathtub.

"I’m sure," she declared, her tone full of determination.