The Werewolf King's Bride

(From Blue's Perspective)

After a few days, something happened. I started to get anonymous letters that were always in my office. No matter how many security guards I assigned, the letters could not be prevented. They were always in my office, one every single day.

The time has come ­- the first letter read.

Are you anxious? - the second letter read.

That way, there were seven letters in total. All of them contained odd sentences. There was only one sentence in each letter.

"What's the meaning of all these?" Luc grumbled, throwing the seventh letter on the table angrily.

"There is no way of figuring who has sent it," Abel said. "We have been looking for all sorts of clues."

"Well, it's not impossible to know who has sent it. We can always guess," I said. "This time, I don't think my speculation is wrong."

"You are wrong," Luc nodded. "I also think the same. How are you like this when you have such a piece of trash as your…?"

"Is that a compliment?"

"It is. I never thought I would have to say that it's a compliment after complimenting someone."

"It's because of the way you say it. Anyway, what to do about it? Where is Reece by the way? Someone call him," I said. "Wasn't he supposed to bring me the finance report?"

"I will call him," Calix said.

"When I came to Your Highness's office, he was not there," Abel added while Calix went to get Reece.

"He was not? But he comes very early saying he would rather work more than idle around," I muttered, surprised.

"He is a legend," Luc said in the most serious tone possible.

"He hasn't come. His office is locked, Your Highness," Calix announced.

"Is he sick?" I mumbled.

Reece never once skipped work. Even when he was sick, he still came to the palace. It was not because he liked work. Even though he said he liked work, I knew that was not the case, He just felt like he owed me something big for how much I helped his family.

I sent a letter to him. I got a response the next day. But it was not him who wrote it. Rather, it was his father.

To Your Majesty, the mother of the kingdom,

Hope Your Majesty is doing well. I and my family are doing great, thanks to Your Highness's grace and kindness.

More than half of the letter followed him praising me. I skipped those parts to read later because I needed to know if Reece was sick or not.

Yesterday, Your Majesty has sent a letter to my son Reece. But he is not at home. He did not return last night. I thought he was staying at the palace.

Reece is not the type of person to go anywhere without a word. Perhaps he has gone out for a brief period. But it was not right for him to leave without a word to Your Majesty. I will punish him for the mistake, Your Majesty. Please let us know if he comes to the palace first. I will also send a letter if he comes home.

It was clear that Reece was not at his place and not in the palace. I had not sent him out as well. Then where was he?

I had asked Ruby too. But she did not know anything. She had come with Luc to the palace for work-related matters. After our meeting was over, we went to the garden to have tea together.

"Reece never sends me any letter regarding where he is going or what he is doing which is obvious as we are not kids," Ruby said, taking a sip of her tea. I had to admit her movements had gotten more elegant. "He is an introvert. So, he likes to stay at home when he doesn't have work. So, there is no way he went to parties or any social gatherings.

Besides, he always lets Mother and Father know where he is going."

"I also figured that's the case. Reece only works when I give him a break," I said.

"He is a grown man. Maybe, he has found a lover or something. It's not like he has found his mate. Maybe he is hanging out with someone," Luc speculated.

"Brother is not like that. He is really shy," Ruby shook her head. "And he is not someone who will skip work for something so petty. I think something is wrong."

I also thought something was wrong. Did something happen to Reece? I did not have any idea where to look for him. There was no clue at all.

"Your Highness, please send people to look for him," Ruby said. "I believe this is a planned incident."

"Maybe the letters that were sent to Her Highness are related to the strange disappearance of Reece?" Abel suggested.

"That can happen," I said, nodding. "Can any of you give me any idea about where should I start looking for him first? If we point a type of location first, I believe it will be slightly easier to look for him."

"No idea," Luc said.

"Abel, sit down," I said quickly to Abel because he still felt awkward sitting at the same table as me. He sat down obediently this time.

"I don't have any idea as well. We have to follow the hard path, it seems," Ruby said. "Luc, what about we send some of the mages too? You said you have selected some of them as talented. Maybe they can help as well as the knights."

"I will send some of them," Luc said. "When should we start the search?"

"Starting now, obviously. It's been more than a day," I said. "Since he is not the type of person to disappear without a word, let's not delay any more. Abel, can I rely on you to choose the best knights to look for Reece?"

"Yes, Your Highness. I will prepare them immediately," Abel bowed.

Knights and mages started searching for Reece. Ruby was mentally stronger than I was. It looked like I was more anxious than her.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Reece was a very valuable person to me, not just because he was a good assistant, but also because he was a good friend. I did not want anything to happen to him.

I also wrote to Dem about Reece's disappearance and the odd letters. He also believed those two incidents were connected and warned me to be careful. Right now, someone was always by my side, guarding me. Abel and Calix were always with me. This morning, I sent Calix to search Reece's office for any clues. Other times, both Calix and Abel guarded me.

Abel left only after I would enter my bedroom and closed the door. Perita slept in my bedroom to make sure I was safe. She was a knight, so any noise would wake her up. Even when I took a bath, she was there on Dem's order.

In short, I was not alone at any time of the twenty-four hours.

I was being as careful as possible. There were guards right outside my bedroom and under my balcony. I was being protected as if I was a one and only gem.

'It's kind of strange, but expected, judging my position right now.'

A few days passed. But there was no word of Reece. The worry just increased. I started to fear the worst. The letters also stopped, so there was not a single clue.

His parents were informed of the situation. I did it myself even though Ruby wanted to do it at first. I believed I should as he was working for me when he disappeared suddenly.

"Your Highness, do not stress yourself. Lord Reece will be found," Perita said.

"I am really worried. What if something happened to him? And what if it's because of me?"

"Although Your Highness might be related to it, it's not like Your Highness did it yourself. You never wanted it. So, it's not Your Highness's fault," she said. "Don't blame yourself, Your Highness."

She was right. It was not my fault this happened. I did not do it. But I was related to it. And I still could not say I was not guilty at all.

***

I was going to meet Ava today. I heard she had a fever. Abel and Calix were going to accompany me.

It was evening, the perfect time for me to go. I avoided going during the daytime because it attracted unwanted attention.

I wore a suit as it was more comfortable to ride a horse wearing it. I did not want to take a carriage. Going by horse was easier. We could easily use the shortcut.

"Are you ready, Your Highness?" Calix asked.

"Yeah," I gave a nod as I hopped on the horse. After learning swordsmanship for more than one and a half years, I could do some things that I was not able to do before. I also learned how to ride horses and rode them a lot, so right now, I could ride them easily.