Chapter 471: Weird Feelings

“Alright,” Primrose said. “Let her in.”

Nina stepped into the bedroom even before Callen could formally invite her inside. She looked extremely anxious, as if she would collapse at any moment if she didn’t immediately see the thing she wanted so badly: the music box.

“Your Majesty,” she greeted. “I’m sorry if I seem rude, but I just want to ask about your promise.”

Primrose sighed softly, then smiled kindly at her. “It’s alright, Lady Nina. A promise is a promise, and I intend to keep it.”

She turned to Solene. “Can you get the music box for me? It’s in my wardrobe.”

Solene nodded once and, without wasting time, retrieved the music box from the cupboard. Just as Primrose had always thought, the music box didn’t look special at all.

“Here is the music box, Lady Nina.” Primrose gestured for Solene to place it on the table in front of them. “As you can see, the music box is very old, but surprisingly, the music can still be heard.”

Primrose used the key to wind the music box, but for some reason, no sound came out, and the mechanism inside didn’t seem to move anymore. “That’s strange,” she muttered with a frown. “I’m sure it worked after my husband bought it at the auction.”

But now, no matter how many times Primrose turned the key, the music box refused to play.

“There’s a legend about this music box.” Nina gently stopped Primrose’s hand from twisting the key again. “Some people say that this music box was a gift from a man to a priestess. Music was forbidden inside the temple, so the priestess could only play it whenever her lover came to visit.”

Primrose fell silent after hearing that kind of legend. The priestess and her lover… could they be the same pair mentioned in the legend of the weeping statue? The one she found inside the Moon Goddess Temple?

It seemed like they had left many traces behind, scattered everywhere.

It was strange, honestly, because most people knew nothing about the full story. Every legend sounded like fragments of old memories, and it was impossible to piece them all together when she couldn’t even see the bigger picture.

“Why?” Primrose finally asked.

“Because the priestess’s lover cast a spell on the music box,” Nina replied. “It will only play music when it’s wound by two people who truly love each other.”

[I’m not completely sure,] Nina thought. [At first, I believed only the priestess and her lover could hear it. But if Her Majesty and His Majesty can also hear it, that must mean any couple who truly loves each other can hear it, right?]

[I actually want to test that theory with other couples… but truthfully, I just want to destroy this music box right now.]

Nina narrowed her eyes as she stared at the music box in front of her. [Even though this object was created because of love, it ended up becoming cursed, tied to the Dead God’s soul.]

[Of all objects, why this one? It doesn’t even make sense, but since when has a God ever done anything that makes sense?] Nina clicked her tongue inwardly. [Now, how should I destroy it?]

From Nina’s thoughts, Primrose could already guess that the music box contained something dangerous. The Dead God had probably left fragments of his soul inside many different objects.

In other words, Primrose should allow Nina to destroy it. But at the same time… she didn’t want to see this precious thing shattered.

Wait, did she just call it “precious”?

She didn’t even have any special attachment to the music box, so why did she suddenly feel that it was so valuable?

She only bought it so she could stay close to Nina.

This was truly strange. Maybe… it really did need to be destroyed.

“Your Majesty, may I take a closer look at it?” Nina asked calmly. She sounded curious, but Primrose knew she was already thinking of ways to break it.

“Yes,” Primrose said. “Just be careful.”

Nina stepped closer to the table and slowly reached for the music box. Her expression looked calm and curious, but inside, she had already made up her mind.

“This really is an interesting object…” she said softly.

She lifted it in her hands, pretending to examine the carvings on its surface. Then, in the next second, the music box slipped from her fingers and it hit the floor with a sharp sound.

Primrose’s eyes widened. “Nina!”

Nina gasped and covered her mouth, acting shocked. “I—I’m so sorry! My hand slipped!”

But in truth, it hadn’t slipped at all because she had let it fall on purpose.

Pieces of the outer shell cracked, and the music box looked even older and more damaged than before. For a moment, the room fell completely silent, because the feeling inside Primrose’s chest was so strange.

She felt suffocated, as if something were squeezing her heart. And for some reason, the moment the music box shattered, Primrose also felt as though something inside her had shattered along with it.

It didn’t make any sense at all.

Her breathing grew shallow, her vision slowly blurred, then she felt something warm slide beneath her nose.

She touched it without thinking, and when she pulled her fingers back, they were stained red.

Blood.

Solene reacted at once. “Your Majesty!” she rushed toward her in shock. “You’re bleeding!”

Primrose looked down at the blood on her hand, dazed. “I… I’m fine,” she whispered, though she clearly wasn’t. Her head felt heavy, like it was being pulled downward, and her chest still ached in that strange, painful way.

Why did it hurt so much?

When she turned her gaze to Nina, Nina was just as shocked as Solene. She even started to panic inside her mind.

What the hell is happening here?! Why is Her Majesty suddenly having a nosebleed?! She doesn’t even have any connection with this music box!

Meanwhile, Solene ran toward the door and shouted to Callen, “Call the doctors! Her Majesty needs their assistance immediately!”

===

“Son, why do you look a little pale?” Lazarus frowned the moment he noticed Edmund sitting across from him in the carriage, looking as if all the color had drained from his face. “What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

Sick?

The mighty Lycan King having a fever? That was complete nonsense to Lazarus.

Edmund didn’t answer right away. His brows were slightly furrowed, and his gaze seemed distant, as if he were listening to something far away, something only he could sense.

But it sounded like a mumble, so he decided to just ignore it. But then, his heart suddenly tightened in his chest.

It wasn’t physical pain, but it was something else. Something emotional, like… sorrow?

What the hell was this?

“Edmund, are you alright?!” Lazarus straightened his back when Edmund looked even paler and still didn’t answer his questions.

“I’m fine,” Edmund finally replied after shaking his head a few times. “I just feel a little dizzy, that’s all.”

But still, it didn’t make any sense, because Edmund hadn’t overworked himself and had been resting comfortably during his stay in Illvaris.

“Something happened to our wife,” Edmund’s wolf suddenly spoke inside his mind.

Those words immediately made Edmund sit up straight, his expression turning dark. His reaction shocked Lazarus as well.

“What’s wrong? You’re scaring me!” Lazarus said.

Edmund ignored his father-in-law for a moment and focused only on his wolf.

’What happened to my wife?!’ he asked inwardly.

His wolf growled softly inside his mind. “I don’t know the details,” the wolf replied. “But I can feel it. She’s in pain. Her heart… it hurts.”

At that moment, Edmund felt torn between returning to the manor or continuing on to Veloria County. They had already traveled halfway there, but the moment he heard that something bad had happened to his wife, it suddenly became impossible for him to think clearly.

“Father, I think I have to go back to the manor,” Edmund said seriously.

“What? What on earth is happening to you?” Lazarus frowned. “We’ve already traveled halfway, so why would we turn back now?”

Edmund was about to explain, but then he realized that Lazarus would only panic if he openly said that Primrose had suddenly fallen ill.

“I just forgot something,” Edmund said instead. “Don’t worry. I can catch up with you in Veloria County in about an hour and a half.”

He added, “But if I don’t make it in time, then just follow the plan. Get angry according to our plan, and Sir Vesper will try to search for the hidden passage. For now, just focus on that. I’ll break into the passage later if I really can’t arrive on time.”

“What? Sir Vesper? Since when did he come with us?!” Lazarus asked in confusion.

Edmund simply knocked on the back wall of the carriage. “He’s been here from the beginning.”

At first, Edmund had actually wanted to send him away, but he decided to let him stay, thinking that maybe Salem might be useful.

It turned out he had made the right decision.

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