Vampire's Veil Of Obsession-Chapter 159: One More Time

Rose nodded as Zethan’s expression returned to normal.

How had this happened so fast? How had she managed to nod and agree to that? Not to mention the fact that Zethan had actually said that to her. But why... did he care?

’Don’t think so far, Rose, her inner thoughts warned. He only said that to protect his image. What would happen if rumors spread that you and the king’s cousin were together? What would happen if...’

That thought shattered all the others she had been trying to hold on to. Yet, for some unknown reason, those words leaving his lips made her heart skip a beat. It thudded loudly in her chest, and she was scared someone would notice.

They both walked silently toward the large door just as it opened. She and Zethan stepped into the dining hall. Her lips parted slightly—only because one of her weaknesses was food—but she managed to keep her behavior composed. She knew full well she was now queen, and she needed to act like one.

Though she kept her emotions under control, the mouth-watering scent was almost too much to handle—not to mention, back in the village, chicken was only prepared on Sundays, as it signified a good week. But here... it was seen all day. Zethan’s lips curled into a faint smile as he noticed her expression. Rose’s face flushed deeply as Zethan moved to pull a chair out for her.

She curtsied gently before sitting down and mouthed a soft, "Thank you."

Zethan gave a curt nod before taking his seat as well.

They began to eat in silence. The only sound in the room was the clinking of cutlery. Rose, Zethan, and Zack sat quietly until Zack finally broke the stillness with a soft voice.

"My King..." he said.

Zethan slowly raised his head, his eyes sharp.

"Quit the act."

Rose looked up as well, slightly startled.

"Zethan... your wife is interested in sparring," Zack continued with a grin. "We could both spar today."

Zethan’s previously expressionless face darkened. Rose bit her lip gently, reaching for her napkin to dab at her mouth, trying to appear composed. She had always wondered—or rather, she just began to wonder, having met him only a few minutes ago—why Zethan’s cousin called him Your Highness in front of her. But now, she realized Zack had only been teasing.

Then came the sound of her name.

"Rose..."

Her entire body froze. The way her name rolled off his tongue—so smooth, like honey—sent a chill down her spine.

She slowly lifted her head.

"Yes, Your Highness," she replied, doing her best to ignore the loud thudding of her heart. That particular thud always happened when he called or looked at her.

Why...?

’Calm down, Rose. He just called your name. That’s all.’ She tried to reason with herself, but it didn’t help.

"Do you want to see me spar?" Zethan asked, his eyes fixed on hers.

Rose nodded.

"I would really love to," she said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

A slow curve formed on Zethan’s lips.

"Very well then. As you wish, we will have a sparring match in three hours."

Rose nodded again, and Zack chuckled.

"You’ve never said that to me before. I usually have to beg you to show up for sparring practice, yet she asks once, and you just agree."

To their surprise, Rose let out a soft giggle, her smile widening with amusement.

"That’s because I’m married to him—and he’s my husband," she said playfully.

The room stilled. Zethan’s eyes widened slightly in surprise—not just at her words, but at how naturally they had come from her lips. Rose froze too, caught off guard by her own sudden boldness.

"Is that so..." Zack said.

Rose quietly nodded, her eyes widening slightly when Zethan dropped a piece of meat onto her plate.

"You don’t have—" she began, but Zethan interrupted smoothly.

"Do you want me to feed it to you instead?" he asked.

Why was this man so shameless?

Rose’s cheeks flushed deeply in disbelief.

"You don’t have to worry, I can feed myself," she replied calmly. Yet, despite the confidence in her tone, she fought hard not to lower her gaze. She straightened her back and lifted her chin gently.

’You are a queen now. Act like one,’ she repeated those words in her head like a boring chant.

"It’s been heard that you got the title of ’Best Library Reader’ last month. How did that happen, considering the number of people who attended the library was more than average?" Zack suddenly asked, breaking the silence once more.

Rose’s gaze flicked to Zethan, whose expression remained unreadable—as always. Why couldn’t she ever tell what he was thinking? She couldn’t even make a guess.

"About that," she began, "I was working on a project. Normally, I’d borrow two books and read maybe three at the library. But for this project, I started borrowing and reading four books a day."

"What project?" Zack asked as Zethan lifted his gaze from the food to her. Their eyes locked. Rose’s heart skipped as she stared into his, her cheeks turning slightly pink under the intensity of his dark eyes. She immediately shifted her gaze as he continued his meal, so unbothered. Why did she only feel this way around him? And yet he remained calm. Why did it feel like these new emotions inside her... he was the only one who could unlock them?

She picked up the exact piece of meat he had placed on her plate, brought it to her lips, and ate it softly. Zethan’s eyes moved finally to her lips, following their motion in slow focus. She paused, then picked up a napkin and dabbed her lips delicately—as though savoring the moment.

Not to mention, the brief flicker of shock on Zack’s face didn’t go unnoticed. He was probably surprised that his impatient cousin was actually waiting for someone—his wife—to finish eating the piece. Silently.

Now Zack was curious.

She continued, "It involved a lady who was beaten by her husband."

The moment those words left her lips, Zethan’s face darkened. That reaction alone told her what she needed to know—he did not support such behavior. She knew it was nearly impossible to guess what her husband was thinking, but in this moment, his stance was clear.

"A lady in our neighborhood had sold a piece of land beside her compound to provide for her children. The land was hers. That night, when her drunk husband came home and asked about it, her explanation led to him beating her. The matter was brought before the chief, but it seemed neither side was treated fairly. I volunteered to support the lady, even though I knew little about the situation. That’s why I went to the library to research related books." she pushed d before adding slowly "Overall, that was how I came to become the best library reader." freёwebnoѵel.com

Then, to their surprise, Zethan—who had been silent—finally turned to Rose and asked, "What was your conclusion about the case?" She was caught off guard by the question. Was he actually interested? He had seemed indifferent toward her, which was explained by his focus on the food, but it now seemed he had been listening after all.

Rose spoke quietly, "I simply said that his drunkenness could affect the children as well—not just the lady—because it might trigger problems in them too. He might move from beating her to beating the little ones as well. So, the overall conclusion was that either he quits drinking and smoking, or nights he drinks or smokes, the next day he must clean the entire hut, prepare meals for the children, handle the wifely duties, and pay a particular generous amount to his wife as an apology."

Then Rose continued, her expression serious as ever. "Inequality won’t be tolerated. And a man laying his hands on a woman is absolutely unacceptable."

A heavy silence followed. She immediately realized she’d gone off-topic again—into her usual "over-serious mode." She bit her lip, her eyes dropping as if she regretted speaking too much, just like her father always said.

He often told her she talked more than other girls, always questioning why she wasn’t interested in the things other girls liked. Why was she drawn to matters of the chiefs—matters that only involved men? Why wasn’t she more like the others, more feminine, more... quiet?

She bit her lip again.

Then Zethan’s lips curled into a slow smile.

He had noticed. He finally spoke.

"Stop biting your lips bunny...I can see why you and the local chicken became friends."

Rose’s eyes widened—and then, she burst into laughter.

She laughed openly, freely, while Zethan stayed silent. Silent not only because he was being laughed at with amusement, but also because of how breathtaking she looked at that moment—actually laughing. Was she really laughing? It made her beauty shine twice as bright. The soft, melodic sound of her laughter echoing in the hallway was enough to calm something in him completely.

Zack seemed equally surprised.

Even though she was laughing at Zethan—and he didn’t even know why—just hearing her laugh brought him peace.

Then she teased, "Who would’ve thought King Zethan could even call a chicken?"

She laughed harder, as if it was the funniest thing in the world.

And honestly, it was.

Then she said, "Say it one more time, please."

Zethan just stared at her. Was she seriously begging him to say the chicken word? If something that simple could make her laugh like that... fine.

He spoke again, "A local chicken."

And Rose burst into laughter once more.

In fact, what made her laugh even harder was the thought of an annual village event—one where everyone came dressed in their favorite animal costume and tried to cosplay. The best performance would win prizes, usually foodstuff and other useful goods.

For some ridiculous reason, she imagined Zethan—King Zethan himself—dressed in a full chicken outfit, flapping his arms and trying to act like a chicken just to win some yams or bags of rice. The image alone was enough to send her into another round of laughter.

But then, a mischievous thought crept into her mind: why did she suddenly feel like she could make this a request at the palace?

Rose had completely forgotten that all this while, Zack had been sitting there too.

Then Zethan spoke softly, a calmness in his voice. "I wonder what is making this wife of mine smile this much."

"I didn’t say much," he added quietly, a serious grin slowly creeping across his face.

Rose raised her head, her voice barely above a whisper as a slow tear fell from her eyes from the laughter which she slowly wiped away.

"You... You’re the one who made me smile, Your Majesty," she spoke sincerely.

Zethan’s grin widened at her words. Not minding someone was there, he spoke with a devilish smirk:

"I can make you do more than that, my queen."