13. Of Face and Chase

Myriem was not expecting to meet the princess face to face, and was momentarily taken aback. Upon seeing her state of dress, he quickly lowered his eyes.

There was nothing explicitly scandalous about her attire, but in the Country of Lee, it was indecent to meet an unmarried woman in a common sleeping gown. Though she had an embroidered silky cloak overtop, it was in the style of a noble lady's top overcoat here in the Country of Lee, and barely hung down to the stomach.

It was only a minor and understandable error in dressing - the lady's top overcoat served as decoration over the overcloak and was not a suitable and modest coverup on its own - but with a slit that went all the way up to her thigh, the sleeping gown still displayed a pair of milky, hairless, and shapely legs more than was considered decent. Myriem kept his eyes firmly glued to the floor in respect.

If it was a man, he would have no problem with staring and appreciating such a tempting sight.

But this was not a man, it was his future bride. Myriem cleared his throat and hurriedly took charge before he could be invited inside, aware of the eyes in the hall.

"My sincerest apologies for disturbing your rest at this hour, I was not considerate that you are still in the process of adjusting your sleeping schedule," he held out the bouquet of flowers, "I express my deepest apologies for the meddlesome nuisance that my mother has made of herself. I hope the Princess feels no upset and can find it in her heart to be patient with a mother who is simply fretting about her first child's marriage," he recited.

Julie Anne was silent for a moment before glancing at the servant. The servant came forward and accepted the large bouquet, bringing it over to the princess. Julie Anne accepted the bouquet and looked at it for a long moment.

Myriem saw Julie Anne lean closer in to the servant in his peripherals, waiting patiently. The servant stepped forward a few moments later.

"Our Third Highness Julie Anne of Aselan would like to thank you for your kindness and diligence and assure you that Her Royal Majesty Queen Karin of Lee is treating the Third Highness very well," the servant bowed lightly. "The Third Highness wishes to express gratitude and be a good host, but does not wish to take time out of your day, and wishes you a very good night- day," she looked unsure due to the vampire's nocturnal schedule. Did the vampires consider 'day' to be when it was dark out and they could roam freely?

Myriem was partly surprised by how he was dismissed. Wouldn't his bride want to take more of his time, gain influence through Myriem's affection? There was no way she did not realize how insulting the queen's actions were, why was she not using this opportunity to complain?

He lifted his head in surprise, but he couldn't see Julie Anne's face, shadowed under the cloak and then hidden behind the bouquet.

He did, however, notice that she was definitely staring at him.

Myriem gave a polite bow and excused himself. The servant closed the door, but the entire while, Julie Anne was staring at him.

There was a moment of hesitation where Myriem stared at the door. Was he imagining it, or was there something...? He shook his head before walking away.

Myriem wasn't into woman, but it wasn't weird that he found something alluring about a siren woman. He didn't know what exactly caused their seductive capabilities, but it was separate from genuine attraction.

It wasn't like he was attracted to Julie Anne, anyways. All he had truly seen of her at this point was her legs... Myriem felt his ears burn with part shame, part guilt at the realization that he hadn't even seen her face, but knew the colour of the inside of her thigh. Wasn't he being indecent?

But it was also proof that he truly did not have any attraction - what had drawn him was likely just her siren capabilities.

Myriem hid a sigh. It was to be expected that that woman would employ siren wiles to capture his attention. The Aselans weren't substandard rulers, and it was to be expected that the siren princess wasn't incapable at gaining favour with men.

But that was likely the extent of her capabilities. He couldn't have the intelligent male partner he wanted, so the best was a woman who was ditzy enough to be controlled. He half-believed, half-hoped that she could do little more than flash her chest to gain his attention.

Ultimately, Myriem would have strong resilience to that. He was confident that Julie Anne would not be able to seduce him.