(2) Living as the Villainess Queen

Chapter 194

A straight pathway was laid out extensively outside the Royal Palace, stretching all the way to the stone gates of the outer castle. Any sort of transportation was strictly prohibited, the clearance exclusively provided for the royal carriages’ use alone.

Dozens of wagons streamed out of the palace, settling on their respective places as they formed a neat line along the road. The king himself preceded the procession, along with his warriors on horsebacks situated to both his sides. A chariot carrying the Queen followed close by, with her own set of warriors escorting the chariot she was riding on.

Officials and attendants are also present in this ritual, also riding on their personal wagons, with the caravan carrying various items and necessities for the five-day event trailing right behind them.

Seated inside her carriage, Eugene heard a shout coming from the outside. She shifted close to the window beside her, lifting the curtain just slightly as she took a peek outside. She saw the crowd gathering up in huge numbers, filling the road steadily as they scrambled to their places, all of them eager to see the parade before them. The king’s march was indeed a spectacle worth seeing.

However, the sight of the king mounted on the back of his Hwansu was something that the people have already seen numerous times, so it was not the reason why people flocked the space so vigorously. What the crowd wanted to see now was Eugene, not letting the chance go to waste as they craned their necks to catch a glimpse of their queen.

Eugene didn’t expect that people would come because of her. She thought that the tale of the Lark Tree had dissipated, and she assumed that the area near the stone gate would come up empty.

The trip didn’t take too long. The carriage came to a full stop as they reached their destination. The warrior escorting the queen knocked on the metal door. “My Queen, we have arrived at the stone gate.”

Eugene was informed in advance about the procedure when going out to the desert. After leaving the palace seated inside the carriage, Eugene has to transfer to the palanquin prepared for her when they reach the outer wall of the stone gate—which led straight to the desert.

The carriage door swung open. Eugene smiled upon making eye contact with Kasser. She grabbed the hand reaching for her, grasping his hand tightly with hers as she scooted forward. As soon as Eugene had her body out of the carriage, a shout was instantly heard outside, the crowd squirming in anticipation.

The sea of people behind the barricade the soldiers formed seemed endless, the horde stretching in all directions, crammed like sardines as they shout incoherent noises of praise towards the King and Queen.

Before the door was opened, Eugene only heard minimal sounds from where she sat, so she was astounded to see the large number of people before her. The clamor startled her, making her miss a step going down as her body fell straight into Kasser’s arms, her face flushed against his chest.

The unexpected display of closeness caused a wild uproar among the crowd, their screams going up two octaves higher as they cheered relentlessly for the royals. Eugene’s cheeks heated up instantly, feeling embarrassed of being seen in such a predicament. Kasser snickered down at her, laughing softly at Eugene’s abashed appearance.

With Eugene still tucked into his chest, Kasser leaned his mouth closer to ear, and whispered teasingly, “Do you want me to pick you up bridal style, and carry you there?”