Chapter 24: Carry Her

"Y-you are not going to get in trouble?" Swan asked.

"Nope! It's fine! I'm sure His Majesty will be pleased to know that you made a friend here!" Rock assured. 

Swan was finally relieved, and so were the cat maids. The harmonious atmosphere around them returned, and they finished breakfast after a while.

Rock got up and stood behind the wheelchair while the cat maids helped Swan to sit on the wheelchair. 

Swan felt a little awkward as she was placed in such a luxurious wheelchair. She had only ever seen this thing once in Holy Achate when the old duke used it at a party.

"Uhm… are you sure I can use this?" Swan asked. "It feels too luxurious for me."

"It was a strange gift from a king of one kingdom that His Majesty conquered," Rock explained while pushing the wheelchair out of the room. The cat maids followed behind while carrying her crutches. "No beastman will ever use this, because we are a proud species, especially His Majesty. He is invincible."

Swan had heard from the cat maids, and even Gale himself, that he was untouchable, and it seemed to be true. But it also raised her concern, "Then, what would happen if he gets defeated?"

"He has never known defeat. If he ever does, he would probably kill himself out of dishonor," Rock said leisurely. His eyes were still at the front, pushing the wheelchair towards the staircase. "But you don't need to worry about him. He will be fine."

'Since everyone believes that he will not be defeated, then I guess I should trust their judgment,' Swan thought. She snapped out of her daze when the wheelchair stopped at the spiral staircase.

"Hold tight, Princess. I will lift the wheelchair," Rock stated before he lifted the wheelchair along with Swan on it effortlessly. Swan held onto the armrest tightly, feeling that she might fall anytime.

It took them a while until they reached the lower floor. 

Rock put the wheelchair down slowly, before checking on the Princess, "Are you okay, Princess? You look pale."

"I-I'm okay…" Swan nodded. Her palms were sweating because she almost slipped out of the cushion a few times while descending. 

"Are you sure? We still have one more floor until we can get out of the castle."

"She's clearly not fine, Rock."

Everyone turned their heads simultaneously towards a woman who stood not far from the staircase.

"G-Good morning, Milady…" Swan politely bowed at Lady Jade, but the latter only gave her a thin smile. 

"I saw her almost slipping a few times from that wheelchair. You should've carried her and let the maids carry the wheelchair down instead. I'm sure it won't be heavy… for us, at least," Jade suggested.

Swan's heart skipped a beat. The idea of being carried by another man other than her husband was normally unthinkable in Holy Achate, but she wasn't sure if it was the norm here.

Nevertheless, she had to refuse, because she had to adhere to Holy Achate's holy matrimony.

"L-Lady Jade, I d-don't think it's allowed for me to—"

"Oh? Really? Can I do that?" Rock ignored her and asked Lady Jade. The latter nodded.

"Of course! I told you that Gale wants her to make friends, right?" Jade replied. She looked at Swan with an amicable smile and added, "And it should be fine for you, Princess. Rock is very loyal to Gale, it would be bad if you refuse him."

Rock and Jade were looking at her expectantly. Swan was too scared to say no in front of the oppressive Lady Jade, so she nodded weakly, despite her reluctance.

"Alright, it should be safer like this," Rock said as he lifted her and carried her in bridal style. 

Swan swallowed her discomfort and joined her hands to cover her slightly exposed bosom while she was being carried by another man. She looked even paler than before, and Rock got worried.

"Princess, did I hurt you somehow? I thought I was being gentle enough," Rock asked innocently.

"Don't mind her. She's just a little shy. Now go, and carry her to the castle ground. She needs to understand our situation," Lady Jade said before turning around and leaving. 

Rock carried Swan down the spiral staircases and sensed that the Princess was trembling in his arm. He looked down, and he was immediately attacked by two things.

She had a strangely alluring, yet familiar scent that permeated from her body. It was faint, so Rock couldn't identify it before, but now that she was in his arms, he began to feel a little dizzy for an unknown reason. 

He also noticed that she wore a low-cut dress that showed her cleavage. Rock halted his step as his brain simply stopped functioning for a few seconds. 

He might be young for a werewolf, but he wasn't naive. He had seen a female human's naked body a few times, and some beastmen species didn't require them to wear any clothing.

But why did Princess Swan's body look very… attractive?

Swan had been closing her eyes the whole time, but when she felt Rock's arms tightening around her body, she finally opened her eyes to check.

"Rock?" Swan called out to him in a soft voice, looking at Rock who had been dazed for a few seconds. "I-is there something wrong?"

Rock snapped out of his daze. He looked at the innocent princess, took a deep breath to control himself, and smiled, "It's nothing, Princess. I guess eating too much for breakfast makes me a little stupid now, hahaha!"

Swan lowered her head, thinking that Rock was strange, but said nothing else. 

He carried her until they reached the palace ground where Swan met the eyes of many beastmen of various species. Most of them were probably guards or soldiers since they all looked robust. 

Apparently, she was right since they quickly rushed towards them and kneeled in front of Rock as their superior. 

"Young Master Rock, who is that female human in your arm? Is she your mate?"

"She looks beautiful! Should we throw a party, Young Master?"

"Oh, we should do that! Everyone has to know that Young Master Rock finally finds his mate!" 

Swan's eyes widened. She was about to clear up the misunderstanding, but Rock beat her to it, "You shouldn't say that again, or His Majesty will kill you on sight," Rock reprimanded them. He carefully put Swan in the wheelchair and then stood behind her. "This is Princess Swan, His Majesty's first mate, and she is heavily favored. Apologize to her before I report this to His Majesty."