Rebirth Of The Moon Goddess

The Welcome Ball

Haily's eyes turned dark with anger. She knew Yusria was purposely provoking her into losing control of her emotions. She wanted her to erupt in anger and commit an act that would get her expelled from the Crescent Empire.

But she refused to fall into her trap. Even if it meant gritting her teeth and suppressing her rage, Haily vowed to never satisfy Yusria by doing what she desired. Because at the end of the day, she was a guard of the Crescent Palace and every action she took was under the scrutiny of the Senior Guards.

Yelling at a member of the Royal Kitchen without a reason or explanation would only get her in trouble.

Haily was fully convinced that Yusria hated her guts and wanted to get back at her for the days back in the training facility. As such, she put even more effort into foiling her plans by forcing a bright smile on her face and swinging the silver gate wide open.

"Of course, Kitchen Maid Yusria." But even when she lowered her head and amiably gestured for the she-wolves to enter, Haily didn't forget to deliver what she believed to be a fierce jab or two to the other's pride.

Yusria only raised a brow and didn't reply. She passed the she-wolf and made her way towards the inconspicuous path to the back of the palace.

Haily could think whatever she wanted. She didn't care.

For Yusria, being part of the Kitchen Staff was the most lucrative and laid-back job she could ever wish for. Before her escape, she had cooked for all the members of the Setting Dawn Pack without complaint or pay. Now that she was getting paid for doing the same thing, and that too, with extra helping hands to lessen the load, why would she feel ashamed or embarrassed?

As such, she carefully held the golden wares in her arms as she walked through the Royal Garden with her companions. But while Yusria was contentedly enjoying the glamorous sight of the blooming flowers and fluttering butterflies, her companions were enviously chatting about the upcoming ball.

"I overheard the kitchen staff whispering to each other. Did you know? In the Welcome Ball tonight, the Lykan Emperor will introduce his future empress."

"The future Empress? Do you mean Emperor Zeonen's future wife? He isn't married yet?"

"Apparently not. The rumor among the staff is that he was waiting for his fiancé to be ready."

"Ready? Is there a she-wolf who needs to be ready to marry the Emperor? I mean...that's the Emperor of the entire Eastern Empire! Who wouldn't be ready to marry him?"

"I know, right? But seeing how the Emperor of the Eastern Empire waited so long for her, the future Empress must not be ordinary. Sigh. Unfortunately, we'll be too busy in the kitchen cooking the feast of the evening to take part in the event."

Right at this moment, Yusria's heart violently thumped in her chest. Her steps faltered and she almost lost her footing. Fortunately, she was able to regain her composure before she made a fool of herself.

Yusria held her chest, her breaths coming out in shallow gasps, as her violet eyes flickered with confusion.

What was that? Was it just her...?

The stabbing pain she felt in her chest disappeared as suddenly and abruptly as it appeared.

For a split second, Yusria could have sworn she felt her heart pound in her chest as if it were about to burst apart.

But now...she only heard the rhythmic beating of her heart pounding in her ears, and nothing else, almost as if the earlier pain was a figment of her imagination.

"Do you know the name of the future Empress?"

"I heard she's from a prominent alpha family, but her name..."

Unaware of the strangeness of their companion, the she-wolves were still gossiping in animated tones. Without her conscious volition, Yusria's ears pricked up at the mention of the Empress's name. However, her eyes dimmed in disappointment as none of the she-wolves knew the name of the future empress.

'Must be another abnormality on top of the many so far...' She uncertainly thought to herself and resumed her walk.

With barely audible disgruntled sighs, the group of she-wolves streamed into the back palace through the back door of the Royal Kitchen.

The dimensional space of the Crescent Empire had no sun or moon. Aqua blue and violet sky, occasionally blanked by grey clouds and hazy mist, covered the land. As such, the passage of time was determined by how brightly the ancient carvings engraved on the silver palace walls glowed.

The brighter the carvings of the ancient celestial plants and beasts glowed, the closer the awaited evening drew.

By the time the last engraving, a star embraced by a crescent moon lit up, the ballroom of the Crescent Palace was filled with well-dressed figures of the empire's prominent families.

The energy buzzing in the air from the alphas and betas auras was so palpable that Zeonen found it hard to breathe.

"Da** it! Why the he** is my palace buzzing with so many bees? Every alpha in the empire already knows who I'm going to announce as my empress. Is it necessary for them to show so much enthusiasm for a mere formality?"

Zeonen had an ugly expression on his face. His mood had been excessively terrible this past few weeks. He felt restless and agitated as if something major that would affect the direction of his life was going to happen to him.

But for the love of the goddess, he couldn't figure out exactly what was going to happen.

And this both unsettled and unnerved him.

He had scanned through the profiles of the she-wolves from the various territories more than once already. In his opinion, there was only one matter that could affect the direction of his life, and that was his future empress.

If the type of empress he wanted was among the she-wolves that successfully cleared the combat evaluation, then he was more than happy to break the news to the supernatural world. But no matter how hard he shuffled through the stack of files, no she-wolf managed to draw his attention.

But if such was the case, then why was he so restless?

"Haha...Your Majesty, relax and smile. Your and miss Eradine's relationship will finally be made official today. There will be an empress next to you to share your burden and help you rule the Eastern Empire. On such a joyous occasion, why are you scowling?" Dion asked in dissatisfaction.

He had been looking forward to this day more arduously than even the Emperor himself. After all, his best friend was getting married to his lover, and the love triangle struggle he dreaded had puffed into smoke. If he wasn't afraid of getting fired from his position, Dion would have danced in joy from the smooth procession of things.

At the thought, a smile inadvertently spread across his face and Dion conspiratorially leaned over to whisper in Zeonen's ear. "Could it be...are you nervous, Your Majesty?"

"Nervous? Do I look nervous to you?" Zeonen narrowed his eyes and coldly sneered.

"No. You look pissed and out of your mind." Dion replied in amusement.

"If you know I'm out of my mind, then why are you stretching out your neck?"

"I have no choice. It's what friends do. So tell me. What's the problem here, Zeonen? As you were so blunt to point out before, as Lykan Emperor, you can have more than one wife. I know Miss Eradine isn't the empress you wanted. But making her your main wife, and the type of empress you want your second wife isn't a problem either. So why aren't you happy?"

Zeonen paused and frowned in confusion.

"I don't know, Dion. I don't know. But for some unknown reason, I feel uneasy. This is a feeling I have never felt before."

He didn't know why he was so against the idea of announcing Eradine as his empress even when they had been together for years. He didn't know why he felt uncomfortable and uncertain about the woman he loved now of all times.

Or why he was so obsessed with searching for an empress that couldn't possibly exist considering his ridiculously high requirements.

He had even gone so far as to train random she-wolves with the hope of finding his ideal empress. But even then, the result was the same.

And it was because he didn't know why he felt the way he felt that he found everything happening around him wrong and disturbing.