The Cursed King

Elise couldn't believe her own eyes. Wasn't her husband an antisocial man? He didn't really have friends and didn't like interacting with other people.

However, the way that he and Hilde were sitting beside each other and talking with one another looked really natural.

It was as if the two of them were on the same level.

Elise blinked and shook her head. "I need to snap out of this."

This kind of nervousness and thoughts were something that Elise didn't want to deal with. She walked forward, approached the two who both seemed to be currently in a conversation, and then tapped her husband's shoulder. She gave him a sweet smile. 

"Loriel, I'm back.." Her voice was calm and sweet, even though her heart was in a mess.

Loriel quickly turned away from Hilde and looked up at Elise. There was a relieved look on his face as he held her hand. "It's good to see you back, honey. You were gone for a little while. Did you have trouble finding the bathroom?"

Hilde pursed her lips at the sudden change of Loriel's attention and she cleared her throat. "Loriel?"

"Miss Hilde, may I ask you to vacate my wife's seat?" Loriel didn't even bother to look at Hilde when he asked her to leave.

The expression on Hilde's face suddenly went slack and even gray, before she smiled again. 

"Married? That's quite strange hearing that from you, Loriel. You never accepted any woman's advances before." Hilde leaned forward and stared at Loriel. Her cat eyes narrowed as she gave him a playful gaze.

"It's different." Loriel looked away from Hilde. 

"What changed? I'm hurt that you didn't let me know." Hilde asked. She put a clearly fake expression of being hurt.

"Elise is the love of my life," Loriel finally turned to look at Hilde and spoke coldly.

Even though Loriel's words were a reaffirmation of his love and devotion to Elise… Elise was still a little uncomfortable by the sudden interaction between the two of them and how Elise seemed like an outsider.

Hilde wasn't even talking or paying attention to Elise. The woman acted like Elise wasn't even around at all. 

A wave of uncertainty once again flooded Elise's chest and she wondered if this celebrity didn't think that Elise was worth talking to… and Elise knew she needed to stand up for herself.

However, before Elise returned from talking to Alexei… Loriel didn't exactly recoil from this woman or acted annoyed. Instead, Loriel was actually polite and respectful as he conversed with Hilde.

He only treated Hilde coldly after Elise arrived.

That meant that this woman… Hilde wasn't someone Loriel disliked.

So even if Hilde ignored Elise and was being immensely rude, Elise didn't want to make a scene at this place. She didn't want to be bothersome to anyone else who was close to them… and instead, she awkwardly looked around. 

"Um, Loriel… shall I leave the two of you to catch up with one another?" Elise found herself saying.

It was the only words of Elise that garnered a lit-up expression from Hilde, although Hilde still kept her gaze on Loriel and pretended not to see her. That blatant ignoring of Elise was going on for far too long.

"That's unnecessary, stay with me, Elise." Loriel squeezed Elise's hand and pulled her to his lap. 

"Loriel!" Elise blushed and tried to get up. "I can find a chair of my own."

"I don't want you out of my sight." Loriel was completely unfazed and brazen enough to do it in a public setting as other people's opinions didn't mean anything to him. 

Loriel knew he needed to do something like this to also get his message across to Hilde.

A small huff finally left Hilde's lips as she stood up and then walked over to the other side of Loriel. There was currently a man seated and watching the fashion show, but Hilde looked at the man and smiled.

"Would you mind if I took your seat and you sat elsewhere?" Hilde asked.

The man nodded without missing a beat and vacated his seat. Loriel on the other hand, finally let Elise sit back down on her chair and inwardly sighed. 

He was thinking of how he was going to get Hilde away from them without seeming too rude… 

Hmm…

That wasn't Loriel's only problem though.

He glanced at Elise and searched for any uneasy expression on her face. He didn't want to hurt Elise anymore as he once did before, so he really disliked being around any other woman. 

Except, Hilde was no ordinary woman.

Finally, he cleared his throat and made a decision.

"Elise, honey, I may have forgotten to introduce you to an old friend of mine. Hilde, this is Elise," Loriel said and introduced them. This time, there was a look on his face and tone that made even Hilde frown.

"Oh my, how rude of me." Hilde clasped a hand on her chest but then turned to Loriel with a fake smile. "Or was it rude of you to not introduce me immediately? I couldn't just talk to your wife without you doing that first, right?"

Even though this beautiful woman was proving herself to be a little less favorable with the way that she was acting, Elise wanted to keep the peace and try not to have any arguments break out or have anything become uncomfortable.

"I'm Elise. I didn't know my husband would have a renowned celebrity as a friend." Elise said and tried to compliment Hilde. 

Maybe the two of them started off on the wrong foot? Hilde did say that Loriel didn't immediately introduce Elise and asked Hilde to leave her seat.

"Oh yes, Loriel and I go way back…" Hilde answered in such a tone that was rather sultry as she gave Loriel a small smirk. "I taught him everything he knows."

The smile on Elise's face twitched slightly. "Taught him everything? So you must be his mentor?"

"Mentor…" Hilde pursed her lips and then brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "It's a little more intimate than that."