Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

The royal carriage reached the Obsidian Palace in no time. Behind the huge gate made of wood as dark as charcoal, there was a picturesque residence that looked straight out of a painting. It was smaller than the King's palace, but it had a more quiet artistic style that blended the style of Megaris' architecture with a more ancient design. She saw the servants assigned to Obsidian Palace working on the gardens, and they seem unusually focused on their jobs. They worked quietly, which was a stark comparison to Seren's own female servants and ladies-in-waiting. 

Seren and Drayce stepped down the carriage and they were welcomed by a middle-aged man who seemed to be King Theron's personal attendant, accompanied by two more servants. 

"Greetings, Your Majesty King Drayce and Queen Seren. Welcome to Obsidian Palace."

Drayce responded with a light nod and the servant led their way inside the residence. Seren felt the massive difference between this place and the other palaces she had visited so far. Despite the servants busying about, it was really quiet, the kind of quiet a library normally has. She could guess that Former King Theron enjoyed tranquility and solitude. From that, she had a guess about his personality.

They entered the grand drawing room of the residence where one middle-aged man was sitting in a high backrest armchair made of dark mahogany wood. The white-washed room was large, larger than any of the drawing rooms Seren had seen, as if several rooms were joined together for it, and it was lit with natural lighting coming from the floor to ceiling windows with a view of the garden. Opposite the man, a familiar silver-haired woman was sitting in another high backrest armchair— Great Lady Theodora Ivanov. 

Seeing Drayce and Seren, the old lady smiled pleasantly while the man next to her did not bat an eye. According to etiquette, it was normal to only receive a single guest at a time, unless there was a tea party where acquaintances representing different families enjoy their leisure time together. That was the reason why among the aristocracy, it was considered rude to simply drop by someone else's place without informing them beforehand, either by letter or by sending an attendant.

The Great Lady's appearance in the Obsidian Palace at the same time as Drayce and Seren's visit was no coincidence. She was there because she knew she had to be present to make it possible for this estranged pair of father and son to meet. She was the only person these two always listened to, and they followed her wishes to at least sound civil to each other.

"Greetings, Grandmother," Drayce said before looking at the other. "Greetings, Royal Father." 

Drayce bowed to them and Seren followed the same. 

Seren dared not look the man straight in the eyes.  King Theron Ivanov had the appearance of a handsome middle-aged aristocrat with long wavy dark brown hair and equally dark eyes. His presence was neither domineering nor large, and if Seren was not expecting to see him, she wouldn't even notice him sitting in the drawing-room because anyone's gaze would turn towards Great Lady Theodora, whose beauty did not fade with age. 

However, the moment the man turned towards Seren's direction, it felt like his gaze was a sharp blade pressed against her neck. Though the old king was neither smiling or frowning, that unusual sharp coldness surrounding him was intimidating, and it reminded her to be more careful not to make any mistakes. 

'Now I know why Dray is like this, cold and sometimes scary,' she concluded as she took a peek at the elderly man, only to meet with his eyesight. Seren immediately averted her sight. 

'He is really scary. But… he does not look like Dray at all. Rather, he looks exactly like an older version of Prince Keiren. Seems like Dray took after his mother.'

Jasper also entered the drawing-room together with another servant with a tray in hand. He greeted  King Theron as well, "Greetings, Your Excellency." When King Theron looked at him, Jasper continued, "King Drayce and Queen Seren have prepared a gift for their first visit." 

The servant came forward and Jasper lifted the red silk covering the round wooden tray. On it was a rectangular box that looked like a case. "This is a hardwood tobacco pipe imported from Abetha, and it is one of its kind as it is finely carved by a grandmaster artisan from the central region." 

Upon the old king's approving nod, his servant came forward and accepted the gift on his master's behalf. Bowing again, Jasper left with the servant.

Drayce did not react to the exchange as he was not the one to prepare this gift; he was sure Lady Tyra was the one to arrange it and send it through Jasper. 

"Have a seat, Dray and Seren," the Great Lady instructed.

The two sat on the same couch next to each other. Silence enveloped the room afterwards. Seren did not know where to look, and thus, she kept her eyes on the floor like a meek little girl waiting for interrogation.

"Seren," the Great Lady called out to her. 

She raised her eyes. "Yes, Grandmother?" 

"Be comfortable here. This place doesn't belong to a stranger but your father-in-law."

"Y-Yes, Grandmother. I am comfortable here," she replied hastily. 

"If Esther was here, it would have been more comfortable for you to meet your in-laws," the Great Lady commented. 

"I doubt." 

A deep yet apathetic male voice cut through the air like a blade, causing the Great Lady's smile to stiffen. The voice belonged to no other than her son, Theron.

"Oh, shush. We have just gained a lovely new addition to our family," the old woman chastised. She then sighed. "My age is catching up to me. Our family needs to have more chances like this. We should have your wives and Keiren join us as well next time. A family reunion sounds nice."

Drayce looked at the Great Lady. "Grandmother, having you and Seren is more than enough."

The Great Lady sighed at how these two could not stop acting stubborn. "I would like it if today you two show respect to my efforts."

Both the old king and the young one could only be quiet like obedient kids in front of the wise woman who they both loved. 

The Great Lady knew her son, Theron, and grandson, Drayce, would never meet each other on their own accord, thus she wished to create an opportunity for them to meet. It was not only for the sake of these two, but also for Seren, the daughter-in-law of the family and now the Queen of this kingdom. She should at least be given a chance to meet her father-in-law. If the Great Lady had left it on Drayce, she was sure Drayce would never bring Seren to meet Theron, so she had to plan for this meeting with the help of Lady Tyra.

The Great Lady looked at Theron's aide and the middle-aged man understood the meaning of it. He gestured for another servant to come forward, and he was holding a tray in his hand covered by silk cloth. 

Theron's aide explained, "As a gift upon first meeting, His Excellency had arranged this gift for Queen Seren." He lifted the silk cloth covering the tray. There was no lady-in-waiting accompanying Seren to accept it on her behalf, so the servant kept the tray on the center table in front of Seren so she could see it. 

There was a jewelry set studded with rare gems and looked exceptionally beautiful. 

The entire time, Theron remained expressionless, not even once looking at Drayce or Seren ever since they sat down. 

"Seren, I hope you like it," the Great Lady smiled. 

Seren nodded and gave thanks, while the cold man sitting next to her was the same as his father. These things didn't matter to him, but he could not tell Seren to not accept it as he was sure this gift was arranged by his grandmother. 

In a timely manner, the servants brought the snacks and the freshly brewed tea, causing the strained atmosphere within the drawing-room to somehow ease up. However, the situation remained stiff, as only the Great Lady was actively leading the conversation. 

After finishing her third cup of tea, the Great Lady could no longer bear it and asked Seren, "Which reminds me, I have brought seeds of rare flowers with me today. You ought to know, I help maintain Theron's garden. He loves watching flowers, but he's no good at taking care of them. Since the weather outside is good today, would you like to join me to do some gardening, my dear?"

"I would love to, Grandmother," Seren replied. 

"Very well then." The Great Lady stood up and looked at Drayce. "Accompany your father till we return."

Drayce could not say no to his grandmother and let his wife accompany his grandmother. 

"Come with me," the Great Lady said as she led Seren away. Her lady-in-waiting followed them carrying one wooden box in her hand. 

The two royal ladies soon reached the garden, and instead of going to the flowerbed, they went to the side where a few clay pots were arranged on the stands in rows. They were filled with fresh soil, obviously prepared beforehand. Great Lady Theodora stood in front of those pots as her lady-in-waiting opened the wooden box she's carrying. 

The old woman picked up a few seeds in her hands and looked at Seren. "Do you know what these seeds are?"

Seren stared at those small white seeds with faint black lines, but they were not something she could recognize. She shook her head. "No, Grandma."

"These are the seeds of flowers that Drayce's mother loved. After she left, I have tried to germinate these seeds so many times here but they never sprouted and my attempts failed every time." 

Seren didn't know what to say and heard the Great Lady continue speaking, "Will you try for my sake this time?"

Seren was taken aback a little, but she could not disobey grandmother's request. She nodded and put her hands forward to accept those seeds. After accepting a pair of gloves from a servant, Seren planted those seeds in all the clay pots. Once it was done, Great Lady Theodora spoke, "Thank you so much, Seren."

"It was nothing much, Grandmother," Seren replied. 

She didn't understand why the Great Lady had asked her to do so and took it as simply helping her grandmother. After all, raising a plant would depend on many factors, like the type of soil used, the amount of water the seeds needed, and favorable weather conditions, among many others.

The Great Lady smiled as she had her own reasons to ask Seren to do it.