Chapter 118: The Punishment For The King

She used to share all of her feelings with her close friends.

But here in the palace, she didn’t have anyone she trusted enough.

Not even Solene or Marielle, she was too afraid that her problems would become gossip if she confided in the wrong person.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to trust anyone.

It was just that … she hadn’t found anyone she could fully rely on yet.

But now, standing here, seeing Edmund so earnest and worried over her, she suddenly realized, wasn’t he the perfect person to turn to when she needed someone to listen to her true feelings?

He had learned about all her worries through the doll, and yet, he had never told a single soul about them.

Instead of turning her struggles into gossip, Edmund had quietly tried to make everything better for her.

She often felt hungry at night, so he asked the maids to make sure there was always food in her room.

She missed her father, so he had gone all the way to Illvaris and brought the Duke back to her.

She felt lonely, so he made sure to eat meals with her whenever he was home at the palace.

“Primrose …” Edmund finally spoke, lifting his gaze to her when she stayed silent for too long.

“Can … can I earn your forgiveness for what I’ve done?”

Primrose let out a soft sigh.

The way he sounded, you would think he had committed some horrible crime, like he had wiped out her whole family, but he hadn’t done anything cruel.

He had simply crossed a line without meaning to.

“I got mad because you did it without telling me,” Primrose said, letting out another deep breath as she sat down on the couch, her eyes drifting toward the bookshelf she had once accidentally knocked over.

“It feels … creepy when someone watches and listens to me secretly. How would you feel if someone else did that to me?”

[I would kill them immediately.]

Primrose didn’t even blink at his fierce thought.

She knew Edmund could be terrifying when it came to protecting her.

Of course, he softened his words when he spoke out loud. “I would be mad,” he said after a short pause. “And … I’d punish them.”

“Exactly,” Primrose said calmly.

“It feels wrong when anyone does that to me, even you. Just because you’re my husband, it doesn’t mean you can do anything without consequences. You should’ve asked for my permission first.”

Even if Edmund hadn’t used the doll for anything bad, the way he had gone behind her back still left a sour feeling.

[My wife is right. I crossed the line. I deserve to be punished for making her uncomfortable.]

“I was wrong,” Edmund said again, bowing his head even lower. “You can punish me however you want.”

Punish the King?

How exactly was she supposed to do that?

Whip him? Lock him in the dungeon for a week?

No, that would be way too extreme and the court would probably burst into chaos if they heard the King was sleeping in the dungeon.

She needed something lighter.

Something that would still teach him a lesson, but not humiliate him or draw attention.

After all, even though he had done something wrong, he had done it because he cared about her.

“Alright then,” Primrose said, her lips curling into a small smile.

[Is my wife going to whip me a hundred times with a thorn whip?]

What in the world was he thinking?!

She didn’t even know there was such a thing as a thorn whip!

Sometimes Primrose seriously wondered how her husband’s imagination could be so dark and dramatic.

Primrose cleared her throat and said, “You can’t touch me and you have to stay at least three meters away from me for an entire week.”

Edmund’s eyes widened so much that Primrose almost worried they might pop out of their sockets.

He stood frozen for a long moment, not even breathing, until Primrose started to wonder if he might actually faint standing up.

[THAT’S WORSE THAN DEATH!]

“I … I can’t even touch your hair?” he asked, his voice trembling as if he was on the verge of breaking apart.

Primrose shook her head.

“No, you can’t, Your Majesty.”

When Edmund tried to step closer to her, Primrose immediately raised her hand to stop him. “Three meters. Remember? If you come any closer, I’ll make it five.”

Edmund froze, then quickly stepped backward, panic flashing across his face.

There was no way he would risk her increasing the distance.

Even three meters already felt like pure torture to him!

[But … but I haven’t touched my wife in days …]

“Can you shorten the punishment?” he asked hopefully, almost like a child begging for mercy.

Primrose narrowed her eyes. “I can add more days if you want.”

“No!” he blurted out. “O-One! One week is enough for me.”

Primrose gave him a small nod, promising it would only last a week.

Then she pointed at the chair near his desk, which was far enough from the couch. “Good. Now sit over there. I’m not done talking to you.”

And so, the mighty Lycan King, feared as a ruthless warrior by many, obeyed his wife without question, even though she had never so much as killed a chicken in her life.

Once Edmund sat down stiffly at the desk, Primrose leaned back slightly and said, “Now tell me. How exactly did you use the doll to spy on me?”

Edmund didn’t even try to lie. “I used magic. I put my blood inside the doll. That’s all.”

Primrose blinked, momentarily at a loss for words.

It sounded simple, but it wasn’t.

Even though Primrose hadn’t studied magic deeply, she understood enough to know that only someone with an enormous amount of magic energy could use their blood to create a tool like that, without even needing a ritual.

“If I hadn’t figured it out, were you planning to keep spying on me?” Primrose asked, narrowing her eyes.

Edmund felt like he was digging his own grave. All he could say was, “Wife, I’m sorry. I made a mistake, and I won’t do it again. I’ll … I’ll burn the doll.”

Burn Bunnie?

For some reason, Primrose had grown strangely attached to that doll after spending days with it.

She hadn’t understood why at the time, but now she knew.

It was because it wasn’t just a doll. It had been Edmund, watching, listening, quietly staying by her side.

To burn it now would feel almost like burning a piece of him.

“You don’t have to burn it,” Primrose murmured, turning her gaze away. “Maybe … you can just sever the connection.”

“I can’t,” Edmund said honestly. “Once something is stained with my blood, it’s tied to me forever.”

Primrose frowned. “But didn’t you say you only meant to watch me for a few days and then stop? Husband, your words don’t match your actions.”

In other words, the only way for him to stop was by sheer will.

But clearly, the Lycan King’s desire to see his wife was stronger than his will to step away.

Edmund looked away, clicking his tongue quietly, annoyed at himself.

[I should’ve chosen my words more carefully. My wife is too sharp.]

Primrose’s lips twitched slightly.

She had to hold herself back from walking over and grabbing him by the collar.

“I’m sorry, wife,” Edmund finally said, looking back at her sincerely. “I swear I’ll never do this again.”

“Enough with the apologies,” Primrose sighed, leaning back into the couch and resting her shoulders. “I wouldn’t have been this mad … if you had just told me from the beginning.”

To be honest, Primrose found the doll … kind of practical.

Since they didn’t share a bedroom, Edmund would always need time to react if something bad happened to her.

There was always a guard outside her door, sure, but what if someone broke in through the window again, like last time?

But if Edmund could see her through the doll’s eyes, then he would know immediately if something went wrong.

That’s right, she would actually be much safer that way!

“You … you really don’t mind if I see and hear you through the doll?” Edmund asked nervously.

He even gave his cheeks a few light slaps, just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

Primrose nodded.

“As long as you tell me about it first, I won’t be scared.”

To be honest, aside from the fact that the doll made her feel safer, Primrose had also noticed that she slept better with Bunnie beside her.

Maybe not as comfortably as when she was sleeping next to Edmund, but still, it was good enough.

And considering it wasn’t possible to sleep beside the King every night, the doll was the best option for now.

“I promise I won’t do anything bad with the doll!” Edmund stood up suddenly, looking flustered. He continued, “And … and I’ll close my eyes when you’re changing clothes!”

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