The Mind-Reading Mate: Why Is the Lycan King So Obsessed With Me?!-Chapter 428: Auction House (I)

When they arrived at the auction house, Primrose noticed how crowded it was. Nobles from all over had gathered, some from the Vellmoria Empire, and others who had traveled from neighboring kingdoms just to attend.

Since coming to the auction was Salem’s main goal today, he had actually dressed like a proper gentleman for once. He wore no bright colors or glittering accessories, nothing that would make the guards instantly recognize him as "that flashy beast."

It seemed he used to come here often in the past, so the guards could recognize him easily if he wore that flashy attire.

"Your Majesty!" Aster called out, waving excitedly the moment she spotted Primrose in the crowd. Of course, she didn’t call her by name; they were in public, and it would’ve been inappropriate to address the Queen of Noctvaris too casually in front of others.

Even though neither Primrose nor her friends liked using formal titles with each other, there were times when it simply couldn’t be avoided.

"I thought you’d come with His Grace," Aster said, slightly out of breath when she finally reached Primrose.

"He’ll come later," Primrose replied with a smile. "He still has a few things to take care of." She looked around the hall, her gaze searching. "Where are Lady Cassandra and Lady Ilyana?"

Aster sighed softly. "Ah, unfortunately, they couldn’t make it today. Lady Ilyana’s son came down with a fever last night, so she’s staying home to take care of him."

"And Lady Cassandra said she wanted to spend the whole day with her husband, since he unexpectedly came home early yesterday after working out of town with some merchants."

Primrose let out a light sigh. "Well, I guess it’s just you and me today, and my husband, of course," she said with a gentle smile, slipping her hand into Edmund’s.

"Ah, but I probably won’t be sitting with you today, Your Majesty." Aster smiled apologetically. "I came with my father, so I’ll be sitting with him." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

[If Cassandra or Ilyana were here, I’d definitely choose to sit with Primrose. But... if it’s just me, I don’t think I can handle watching her being all lovey-dovey with her husband the whole time.]

[It’s just... not good for my single heart.]

In the eyes of outsiders—especially those who knew them personally—Primrose and Edmund looked like the kind of couple that made everyone else feel like background characters in a love story.

That was exactly why Aster preferred not to spend the entire day with them; otherwise, she might end up proposing to the first man she saw on the street out of sheer frustration.

"Alright..." Primrose couldn’t help but laugh a little, amused by her friend’s reasoning for not wanting to sit with her simply because she was "too single." "We can meet again after the auction."

They waved as Aster returned to her father’s side—the royal court mage—who rarely ever left the library.

Since they had arrived thirty minutes early, Primrose and Edmund still had time to look around while searching for Nina Vallerian, Primrose’s lady-in-waiting, who had promised to meet her at the auction house that day.

"This place is a lot bigger than I remember," said Edmund as they walked through the corridors, admiring the ancient paintings displayed along the walls.

"Of course it’s changed a lot," Primrose chuckled. "The last time you came here was years ago."

At that time, Primrose hadn’t even made her debut yet. Though the auction house still looked quite similar to how she remembered it, she herself hadn’t stepped foot here in more than three years.

Because of that, she behaved almost like a curious tourist, fascinated by every detail around her. While they continued examining the paintings, she faintly caught the whispers of people nearby.

"Is that the Beast King?" someone murmured, but her voice echoed through the corridor, making it easy for Primrose to hear. "I thought his face would look terrifying."

"But he looks kind of... handsome?"

"Kind of? Dear heavens, his handsomeness can’t even be described as kind of anymore!"

Primrose tried to stifle a laugh, glancing sideways at Edmund. He, of course, looked completely unbothered, as if he didn’t notice the whispers at all. Or maybe he just didn’t care.

His calm expression only made the women nearby whisper even more. Some of them were clearly trying to act subtle, pretending to admire the art while their eyes were obviously fixed on him.

"Husband, I think people here like you instead of hating you," Primrose said, nudging his arm gently to get his attention. "Aren’t you happy? There are so many women saying you’re handsome. Some of them even think you should’ve chosen them instead of me."

Primrose felt a little annoyed by their shameless thoughts, but at the same time, she was glad that people were finally starting to admire him rather than hate his beastly side.

"Ignore them," Edmund said calmly. "I would always choose you as my wife."

Primrose’s expression softened at his words, the corners of her lips curving into a tender smile. "Of course you have to," she murmured.

At least, even though many people admired him, not a single woman was bold enough to approach the King of Beasts. At that moment, Primrose thought she was truly winning at life.

Her husband was handsome, but also intimidating enough to scare away most of the butterflies fluttering around him.

As they walked further, Primrose finally spotted a familiar face in the distance. Her blonde hair, with a faint pinkish hue, was far too easy to recognize, and even though Primrose had never seen her in person before, she immediately knew who she was.

She was Lady Nina Varellian, her lady-in-waiting, who had some sort of addiction to attending auctions.

After trying so hard for so long to get her to come to the palace, Primrose was finally able to meet her in person.

"Lady Nina!" Primrose released Edmund’s hand and rushed toward Nina, afraid that if she didn’t hurry, the woman might disappear into the crowd again.