The Crown's Seduction-Chapter 56: First Love

"How did-"

"Like you, I have my ways, Lai," Mineah murmured, copying the same answer Nikolai would usually throw at her whenever he didn't want to give out a specific answer.

She wasn't really sleeping when Nikolai left. Instead, she simply kept her eyes closed and relaxed her body while letting herself go into deep thought. Soon enough, she felt Nikolai's presence come near her, and she was glad that she came to a conclusion just in time for his return.

There was silence, and Mineah honestly expected that Nikolai wouldn't ponder more on where exactly she learned about Dahlia. In the same that she wouldn't insist whenever he would give her that same answer, she at least hoped that he would reciprocate the gesture.

"What have you learned about her?" Nikolai seriously asked.

Mineah gulped. Carefully, she answered, "That you two are lovers… and how she died…"

"And you're still offering me your blood despite being well aware of how I drained her of her blood and killed her?" he questioned.

"I… don't want you feeding on Rosela," she reasoned.

"If you want me to feed on you, then you have to be turned, Mine," Nikolai firmly stated. "Like I said, I will not make the same mistake again. Dahlia died, and I don't want the same thing to happen to you."

Mineah bit her lower lip. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out despite her intentions.

'Is it alright to tell him that I'm not purely human?' she inwardly agonized.

It was possible that not being fully human would help, but she wasn't even sure if the revelation of her mixed heritage would make a difference. And besides, she knew that she had to keep the existence of their kind hidden. Her mother had strictly prohibited her and her siblings from disclosing the secret of their family to others for a reason, after all.

Through the extended silence, she heard Nikolai loudly sigh, and she was sure that he had already come to a conclusion.

"Mine, you know I won't force you to convert. I deeply respect how you want to remain as a human, so please also respect my decision to not put you in danger like this as well," Nikolai lengthily began.

"Rosela was a Scion of my father who shared the same blood as Dahlia. She's able to satiate my hunger every full moon without fail, and she's also a vampire which means I have no problems feeding on her. Even if I drained her of her blood, she won't die and can easily replenish herself by consuming blood from others."

Mineah kept her silence as she listened. At the very least, she now knew that Nikolai was only thinking about her safety, so she supposed that it was a good thing that she opened up this topic to him like this. And yet despite that small win, the thought of him feeding on Rosela still felt off to her. She hated it…

'But there's a lot to consider,' she inwardly thought to herself, particularly about disclosing their family secret to Nikolai. 'I'll need to discuss this with my parents first.'

Also, even though she was willing to be converted into a vampire, there could still be consequences for such actions considering how she was a cursed child.

Mineah felt like her head was spinning around.

"Rest now, Mine," Nikolai encouraged as he gently pulled her closer to him, squeezing her shoulder in a relaxing manner.

Mineah closed her eyes, but deep inside, her mind was still working as she balanced and weighed her options. She contemplated on whether or not she should tell Nikolai what was going on inside her head right now, but the risks of doing so made her hesitate despite her wishes.

In the end, however, she cleared her throat and chose to speak.

"It looks like I will need to work hard to make you fall in love with me, Lai. Your heart is still owned by Dahlia, so it's no wonder then that you told me you didn't have a beating heart," she began.

"Some vampires literally don't have a beating heart, and I don't know if you have one or not. However,, your kind is still very capable of love. You… You simply chose to close the door to your heart since Dahlia is still there."

There was only silence as her words lingered. Seeing his lack of reaction, she continued. "I don't intend to kick her out of your heart, Lai. She's already an important part of your life," she reassured him. "But still, I will do my best so that I can fit myself in your heart somehow…"

"Mine… I honestly don't know what to say…" Nikolai murmured.

"Well, you don't need to say anything, but you can at least try to open up your heart so that I can slowly make my way inside," she chuckled.

She then turned back to her bed as she stated, "I'll be going to sleep now, Lai. And about your problems with the full moon… I will definitely find you a solution for it soon. I can't tell you the full details right now, but once the time comes, I won't let you feed on Rosela no matter what. That's for sure…"

Nikolai blinked at her words. He didn't know how to respond, but eventually, he mulled over his thoughts as he came up with a reply.

"Mine… I'm not the type who likes to promise anything, but I will do my best to cater to your request," he sincerely nodded.

"Also, I want to help you lift your curse. Although, in all honesty, I really don't think that whatever's affecting you will even affect me. But if it's to ease your mind from guilt and worry as I had vowed, I won't force you into consummating our marriage. At least, not until you surrender it to me willingly."

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

It was Mineah's turn to be speechless. And seeing her stunned response, Nikolai smiled as he tucked her into the bed. "Come on now," he whispered. "You need to rest."

"I can't," she snorted. "I feel restless now. I'll need some time to get tired again."

"Pardon me for waking you up then," he apologetically whispered as he gently stroked her hair.

Mineah sighed contently into his actions. Despite this, she still wanted to know more about Dahlia from Lai's perspective…

"How about you tell me more about Dahlia, Lai?" she suggested, unsure if she was doing the right thing. "I know it might be hard, but I believe sharing more about her will help us both in making our relationship work. It's a pity I can't be your first love, but we can at least try to get to know each other more.…"