The Cursed King

It was a miracle for Loriel that he and Elise were still able to attend the wedding of Rose Goodwin without any trouble. Perhaps, Elise managed to restrain herself from being too emotional and perform the duties as a queen.

However, this was just the start of the several more episodes that she'd be having in their recent times as husband and wife.

Before Loriel knew it, those days of peaceful living with Elise that were filled with a lot of romantic walks, lovemaking, and mindblowing sex would change and he would begin to miss it.

Their relationship entered into a new phase that was enough to make him unhappy. It would soon turn into a more stressful and tiring relationship and Loriel now felt like he was the one putting more work into the relationship unlike before. 

At first, it was Elise who was always gentle, kind, and understanding towards Loriel but now it changed in the last month. Elise experienced countless meltdowns and outbursts that somehow annoyed Loriel to see.

He tried his best to be understanding, but for someone like him who didn't get along with women besides his mother… It was difficult. 

Loriel's patience was running thin and when another war brewed up with two brothers-in-law rebelling together, he found himself with a massive headache.

Elise's mood swings were not helpful at all.

"Could you stop berating me for a moment?" Loriel snapped at Elise as he was in his study trying to do his work and managing the state affairs. It was about time for him to leave again, but if he could help it, he'd prefer to oversee the war from afar.

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"I'm not!" Elise huffed at him. "I'm just asking you questions about the incoming battles and you're not actually interested in listening to what I have to say. You used to listen to my suggestions but now… I'm not actually pleasant to be around with you now, huh?"

"You don't know war like I do," Loriel glared at her and massaged his forehead. "At best, you only know how to pick fights with me."

"You're the one who's getting annoyed," Elise glowered back at him. "But wait, I thought you liked women who were able to speak their mind like… Emmelyn?"

"Don't bring her up." Loriel frowned.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Elise crossed her arms and looked away. "When she's being outspoken and confident about her decisions, you fall for her… but now that I'm not being silent, you think I'm horrible. I am just never good enough for you."

"Elise…" Loriel sighed and dropped his quill for a moment. "It's not about her at all. You're being awfully upset and it's not like you at all. I'm trying to be patient and understanding but I'm not a saint who'll always be patient."

"Well, what if I was always like this?" Elise asked. "Would you leave me? Will you abandon me for another woman?"

Loriel narrowed his gaze at Elise and he wanted to say that he would. What would she do if he did that?

He'd love to snap back at Elise, but he held back his tongue. Even he knew that such words would hurt Elise… and he was worried.

Even if Loriel and Elise were married now… what if the protection spell that Catalina Leoralei cast before took effect if Loriel broke Elise's heart during their marriage? 

Wouldn't that spell horrible things for Emmelyn? 

Loriel groaned and slammed his head on the table. Not only was he worrying about Summeria, war with other kingdoms, he needed to think about his first love and good friend while also keeping his wife happy.

It was a hard task for him and the burden was now stressing him out that he wanted to flip the table.

Elise watched her husband slam his head on the table… and the anger around her dispelled a little. She was annoyed that he was hurting himself like this, but he wasn't answering her questions at all.

She was afraid that she was right. So.. would he really abandon her?

"Loriel…" she bit down on her lip.

The man refused to lift his head at all or even make a response.

Elise was afraid that everything she was doing would create a self-fulfilling prophecy about Loriel leaving her and yet she found herself unable to restrain her emotions. She looked at him still resting his head on the table and she was afraid to approach him.

Loriel might slap her hand away and refuse her attempts to show him that she cared again. 

Elise took a deep breath and then glanced at the door. "I'll… I'll ask Horatio to get you some tea right now so you can relax for a little bit. I'm going back to my chambers."

Before Loriel knew it, Elise was gone and the two of them were now back in this silent treatment kind of situation. He hated that things had gone this way for them after three years of marriage… but he promised himself that he'd do better.

Loriel could do a lot better than this.

"After the war is over again, I'll just have to try and do better as a husband again," Loriel mumbled to himself as he picked up his quill to back over to the mission reports from the war.

Loriel sighed aloud and pinched the bridge of his nose.

He couldn't believe that he was actually putting in the work to make sure that his wife was happy. It didn't use to be this way at all and before, because it was Loriel who had the upper hand in their relationship because of Elise's affections for him.

"Why am I the one who's always trying to reach out to her this time?" Loriel grumbled to himself. "Did she finally get tired of being with me and start to regret our marriage? Why is she always bringing up other women now?"

Loriel pondered about the situation and realized that even though Elise kept asking and pushing his buttons about looking for another woman… Loriel didn't want to imagine her doing it.

A divorce between him and Elise was the last thing that Loriel ever wanted.