"Princess, I think you should be more careful with Lady Jade," Long Xiurong warned during their late noon tea time. "I’ve heard the gossip that Lady Jade and His Majesty were arguing in the throne room yesterday and heard about their quarrel again just now. I don’t know what she is planning next."
"Lady Jade has been going in and out of the throne room? I thought she was already unneeded after I’ve set up a good system for Gale to continue governing even without me by his side since I cannot survive autumn and winter in that cold room," Swan said. "Where do you get this information, Lady Long?"
"From my attendant. She is a bunny beastman called Alice. She’s quite gossipy, but the information I get from her can be useful," Long Xiurong wanted to continue her sentence by saying that she had caught various rumors, including Swan being a witch, from that bunny maid.
But then again, she didn’t want to anger Princess Swan, nor did she want that bunny maid to get punished for gossiping.
To have ears around the castle was very important for her, so she wouldn’t be disadvantaged by letting Alice get punished.
"I see..." Swan’s mind instantly recalled the night before, when Gale suddenly asked her whether she remembered anything about what happened when Rock attacked her. He even asked if she had manifested into an unknown magic power. ’So, it’s Lady Jade who has been poisoning Gale’s mind.’
"Thank you for telling me this. We didn’t fight, but he had a few rather strange questions last night," Swan replied. "But it’s fine, everything has been sorted out. You should also be more careful, Lady Long. Jade is not your ally. She’s nobody’s ally, honestly."
Long Xiurong nodded as she knew it wasn’t wise to be too close to anyone in this castle.
"Oh, Princess, I’ve always been told by my attendant that the coldest night of this year would arrive in less than a week. She told me that His Majesty would get into a dangerous situation once a year because of his rut," Long Xiurong informed, unsure if Princess Swan already knew about this or not. "Have you already prepared for it?"
The teacup on Swan’s hand shook a little and a few drops spilled from the edge. She got nervous instantly, "Y-yes, I have been informed by my attendants that the coldest night would come soon, but I’m also waiting for Gale to come and talk to me about it."
"Huh? Strange. I’ve been told that a werewolf would spend the whole night with his mate during his worst rut. Shouldn’t His Majesty inform you first, since you’re his mate? Unless..." Long Xiurong immediately stopped talking when she saw Princess Swan’s gaze dimmed a bit. "N-nevermind, Princess. I’m sure His Majesty would come and talk about it today. It’s a once-in-a-year situation, after all."
Swan smiled bitterly and replied, "You should prepare yourself as well, Lady Long."
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