novelraw Chapter 507: The Master of Pretending
Chapter 507: The Master of Pretending
"What a surprise to see you here so soon, Your Majesty." Averon walked into the parlor with Bianca by his side.
He smiled at them, but Primrose could hear that his thoughts were the complete opposite of his bright expression.
[Primrose looks too plain today.]
[How can she look that plain when she’s coming to see me? She should dress more beautifully when meeting the King of Azmeria.]
[Isn’t that basic courtesy?]
Primrose’s eye twitched slightly. Was he thinking that because he believed she was being disrespectful? Or because he wanted her to look at him the way a woman looks at her crush?
They had not even been in the same room for five minutes, and she already felt tired of seeing his face. If she could throw the teacup in front of her straight at his head, she would have done it without hesitation.
"It’s an urgent matter," Edmund said in a cold voice. "And I believe you should know about it immediately."
"What is it?" Averon narrowed his eyes as he sat across from Edmund and Bianca quietly took the seat in front of Primrose.
Bianca had not said a single word since earlier, probably because the noblemen of Azmeria did not like it when their wives spoke while they were discussing serious matters. Or to put it simply... they only liked their wives to be decorative flowers.
"Just yesterday, someone came to my father-in-law’s house and pretended to be you, Your Majesty," Edmund said. "I know it wasn’t you, but since he wore your face, I think you deserve to know about this matter. After all, he almost touched something that belongs to me."
He lowered his voice and said something that made the air turn colder. "You know... our reputation would be ruined if our wives were touched by another man." He added, "They would become dirty. And I am not the kind of man who keeps things that are already tainted."
[NO! NO! NO! THAT WASN’T ME!] Edmund screamed in his mind.
[I would never throw my wife away! She will never be dirty! Why did I say it like that?!]
[My wife, my love... please don’t hate me. I deserve a slap, but please don’t hate me!]
On the outside, Edmund looked completely composed, as if he were a mountain that could never be moved. But inside, he was in chaos, afraid that he had hurt his wife or made her feel scared.
Meanwhile, Primrose was not offended at all by his remark. After all, she knew better than anyone that her husband was only pretending. Once they returned home, he would probably shower her with kisses and hugs.
"Oh, I see..." Averon slowly smiled after hearing Edmund’s words. "I also don’t like keeping things that are dirty... or broken. That is why my wife must take very good care of herself."
His meaning was clear. He wanted Bianca to stay beautiful. And if one day she lost that beauty, he would not hesitate to discard her.
Averon himself was not even that handsome. Compared to the King of Elandria or even Edmund, he was nothing more than a rat-looking man.
[I didn’t expect the Lycan King to say something like that.]
Averon smiled inwardly, feeling strangely pleased. In his mind, he thought he had just found someone similar to himself.
[So the sweet attitude he showed at the banquet was just an act?]
[Ha! Just as I thought. There’s no way he truly pampers his human wife that much. Primrose isn’t even that useful... and she’s not that beautiful either.]
Primrose hissed inwardly. Averon’s attitude clearly showed the traits of a man with fragile masculinity.
He had tried to win her heart for years, and when she didn’t choose him, he turned to belittling her instead.
Oh, typical.
[No wonder the soldiers said the Lycan King behaves differently from how he acted at the banquet,] Averon continued thinking. [They even told me he pushed Primrose behind him when she tried to walk beside him.]
[Tch... tch... this man is truly talented at pretending.]
Primrose almost laughed. If only Averon knew the truth. Yes, Edmund was good at acting, so good that Averon truly believed he was cruel and cold.
"About the earlier matter..." Edmund cleared his throat for a moment to calm the fear inside his mind. "I mean, about the mysterious man. What do you plan to do, Your Majesty? He didn’t just insult me. He also tried to use you as a scapegoat."
Averon’s expression finally turned serious. "You’re right. That person cannot be allowed to walk freely," he said. Then he narrowed his eyes. "But Your Majesty, are you certain he used my face?"
"I didn’t see it myself," Edmund admitted calmly. "He came to the manor and met my wife while I wasn’t there."
"Oh, your wife?" Averon turned his gaze toward Primrose, observing her from the top of her head down to her chest, which slightly revealed her cleavage. "Are you sure her words can be trusted?" he asked.
"She won’t lie," Edmund answered firmly. "Because I will punish her if she dares to lie to me."
Inside, Edmund was screaming. [I would never punish you! Even if you burned down my palace, I would still protect you!]
[My love, please don’t misunderstand me!]
Primrose, however, wasn’t upset. She knew he was pretending. What bothered her was Averon’s gaze, and his dirty thoughts.
[I don’t remember her breasts being that full before,] Averon thought. [And that dress? Did she wear that dress on purpose? Is she trying to attract me?]
What a narcissistic man!
She swore to every God in this world that she had no bad intention in wearing this dress.
The reason her cleavage looked more noticeable was because she had gained a few pounds after becoming pregnant—or even before that—so her old dresses had become slightly tighter, and her chest had grown a little.
Previously, she had been wearing a winter coat, so she had not worried too much about the dress. But since she removed the coat when she entered the parlor, she realized she should not have chosen this one.
She quickly sat up straighter and loosened her bun, letting her hair fall over her shoulders to cover her chest. But that simple action only made things worse.
[Why did she suddenly let her hair down when my husband was staring at her?!] Bianca shouted angrily in her mind. [Not only is she deliberately showing her chest like that, now she’s even fixing her appearance openly in front of my husband!]
[Shameless!] Bianca thought bitterly. [She has always done this. Every time I talk to a man I like, she acts innocent, and somehow they end up liking her instead!]
Primrose was completely speechless. So that was the reason Bianca had always held a hidden grudge against her.
To make things clear—no, Primrose had never flirted with the men Bianca liked.
In fact, Primrose had always supported her. She even helped her choose pretty dresses whenever Bianca wanted to meet a man.
But for heaven’s sake, those men were truly the embodiment of trash.
Most of them only approached Bianca because they wanted her to introduce them to Primrose. Even when Bianca invited Primrose to come along, those men would only try to talk to Primrose instead of the woman who had asked them out.
And what did Primrose usually do?
She would simply respond with a polite smile, and if they became bolder and rude, she would decide to go home early.
She genuinely felt guilty every time those men ended up liking her. But in truth... it wasn’t even her fault.
She could understand Bianca’s frustration. But she couldn’t exactly stop people from being drawn to her face.
Maybe that was why Bianca had felt so proud when she managed to marry Averon, while Primrose had to suffer in the beastland.
Even so... in the end, their fates were reversed.
Bianca became the one who suffered in Azmeria, trapped in a palace that looked grand on the outside but felt cold and lonely inside. Meanwhile, Primrose was the one thriving in Noctvaris, a land many once believed to be cruel and savage.
At least in this life.
"If that’s the case, can you tell me what kind of things you did with that man while your husband was away?" Averon asked Primrose with a gaze full of suspicion, as if he truly believed she would commit adultery with someone who wore his face.
Not only him, even Bianca was thinking the same thing. [Why would she meet another man while her husband was away?! If she can openly flirt with my husband in front of others, isn’t it possible that she would take off her dress if she were alone with him?]
Alright, stop. Just stop it.
At this point, Primrose felt like throwing up. The thoughts in Averon’s and Bianca’s minds were equally disgusting.
They had come here to investigate the children who were being enslaved, yet Averon was verbally violating her instead.
"They only talked," Edmund finally said. Quietly, he placed his hand on Primrose’s thigh, gently patting it to give her enough strength to keep sitting there. "I know that because I always have people watching her movements whenever I’m away."