Drakkon

Chapter Twenty-Six

I sat in the bath, my head tilted up at the ceiling and my thoughts all over the place. Why had Meilin been reserved last night? Why had he seemed colder towards me than usual? He had left me without much to say and he hadn't even seemed like he wanted to talk to me. Although I should've known that he would treat me coldly, I couldn't, for some reason, help but feel hurt by his rejection.

I sighed and skimmed my hand over the surface of the warm water, looking around the empty room with a small smile. This was the place that I had accidentally stumbled upon Meilin. Though I hadn't seen much of his body save for his bare chest, I had been mortified and blushing like mad at being caught in such a compromising situation, with the emperor no less!

Although Meilin was known for being a formidable man with blood and terror staining his reign, he also had sides to him that nobody spoke about. He garnered respect from dozens of people, and he was an honorable person, one who wouldn't force someone against their will to do something they truly didn't desire. He didn't force the Peccata to follow his every wishes and he had even given me the option of opting out of this marriage.

I was so conflicted with him and it was more apparent since our wedding was drawing near.

Just as I was thinking that, the door to the bathing room flung open, jumbling all my thoughts as Meilin waltzed in casually, lost in thought. I yelped and immediately covered my chest with my hands, my eyes wide and my lips parted as I stared at him. His steps faltered when his eyes landed on me and he halted in his steps, his dark eyes flicking from me to my barely covered body.

"Y-Your Majesty," I stammered, thankful that my waist was covered by the water. Still, he could probably see the distorted image of me through the almost clear water.

"Daiyu," he said slowly, not taking his eyes off me. "I didn't think you would be here."

"Please look away," I said quickly, my face burning with different shades of embarrassment. The roles were reversed from our first meeting to now. Back then, however, Meilin hadn't been embarrassed and didn't care if I saw his body, while I had the opposite reaction.

He blinked back before averting his gaze and opting to stare up at the ceiling. He looked amused, much to my discontent.

"Please don't look," I said as I stepped out of the bath and quickly dried myself, keeping my eyes on him and making sure he didn't look at me. As quick as I could, I pulled my hanfu on with much difficulty, my hands shaking and slipping.

"The roles are reversed this time," he said with a chuckle. "Bohai lied to me."

"Commander Bohai?" My eyes widened and I gasped, thinking back to how I had bumped into him before entering the bath. I had told him that I wanted to bathe and he had told me that this was the only bath that was only accessible to Meilin and that Meilin rarely visited it.

"He told me no one was in here," he said with a shrug. "I mean, it's my personal bathing room."

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, pulling back my wet hair.

"Don't apologize."

"You didn't see anything, did you?" I asked him cautiously.

"Only your shoulders and your navel."

My cheeks burned with color.

"Don't be embarrassed," he said when he looked over his shoulder at me. "I'm going to be your husband, remember?"