"Now that I think about it, it's going to take a while for the blade to be made," he said while thinking about something.
"Hey, you're getting too worked up on this all of a sudden. You can take it slow...," I patted on his arm.
"No, I should have thought about this sooner. You actually need to protect yourself. I mean, I was planning on teaching you combat, but I thought we could start after a year or two. But it was a stupid thought. Dangers won't stay still till a year or two," he said. "When I'm not near, you need to at least manage to escape."
"... Perhaps..."
"Alright, you better keep this in the meantime," he said and tucked a dagger on my hands. I had seen the dagger before. He always had it with himself.
"What's this?"
"A dagger."
"I have eyes. I mean, why are you..."
"So you'll be able to save yourself," he said. "Now listen carefully, my wife. If anyone annoys you, no matter who they are, just stab them in the heart and twist it to the left. The blade is that way. If they are wearing armor or something like that, I mean just in case, you better stab them in an eye. It's better, right?"
"... Are you trying to raise a murderer or something like that?"
"No, I'm just telling my wife some necessary things," he shrugged.
'This man... Sometimes it's hard to understand that he is usually like this since he is always so gentle with me. And there is no denial that he means it.'
"Huh, whatever you say. Now, will you practice any longer?"
"No. It's enough for today," he said. "You better return to our room. I will come back in a moment."
"Alright," I said.
It was a great problem. If I was not careful enough, I might even get a nose bleed every time I see Dem topless, especially when he was practicing. Yet I went to watch him practice with his blade every evening. He looked so hot that I barely managed to keep my eyes to myself. But every time he would catch me staring, it would be embarrassing.
I made my way to our room. These days he always tried to get his way into coaxing me into doing it with him any time. Thankfully, I did not agree all the time, or I would have to go to the physician several times already.
"Well, well, isn't that my beautiful sister-in-law?"
I jerked my head back. The mischievous grin and eyes full of schemes, it was Isaac, Demetrius's cousin. Since the first day, I did not like him. I had not seen him since our wedding. I did not care where he was, so I never asked anyone about him. For some reason, I did not want to get near him. A sense of danger always followed when he was near.
"Greetings, Lord Isaac. But where are your manners?"
"Oh, my manners... I forgot to use that in front of a mere human," he sneered.
"Lord Isaac, do I have to remind you again that I am the queen of Querencia? If you cannot mind your manners in front of me, I might have to look the other way of making someone obey," I said sternly.
Isaac looked uncomfortable and surprised at the same time. I felt pride inside for putting him back in his position. Dem had been teaching me how to threaten a lot. I thought he was just going overboard again, but he was very serious about it. Now I could see why he did so.
"Sister-in-law, you seem..."
"Before your sister-in-law, I'm the Queen. Watch your manners," I interrupted.
"What? Do you want me to call you 'Your Highness'?"
"It's what is expected."
"Who will call you that? You're just a human...," he shrugged.
I chuckled. "I lost my patience. Why don't I throw you in the dungeon? How many times should you be whipped? A hundred or two hundred? Or what about I lock you in your room for a month?"
"Says who? I am the Queen and I can do anything I want to. Tell me who will stop me."
"You..."
"Say one more word, you'll lose your tongue." The atmosphere suddenly turned colder. How could it not? The cold yet threatening voice of the king always had this effect.
I was so engrossed in threatening Isaac that I did not notice Dem coming. He was standing beside me and by the look on his face, it was clear that he was truly angry. He looked scary. It felt like if he could, he would rip Isaac in two.
"You talked rudely to the Queen. Don't you know how to show respect?"
"Oh, Your Highness. I was just messing with sister in law."
"She is not someone you can mess with and moreover, show her respect. Perhaps you won't understand just with this," Dem said.
I had no idea what was happening. In a moment, five knights came out of nowhere. Perhaps Dem had summoned them with his mind. He told me that werewolves of the same pack could communicate through their minds. I was so envious of them. If I was a werewolf, I would be able to talk to Dem through my mind as well. How unfortunate!
But it was not the time to think about that. "Take him to the dungeon and lock him in a cell for two days. Don't give him any food."
"What are you saying? How can you do that?" Isaac yelled.
Suddenly Demetrius grabbed him by the collar and pulled him. "How can I do that you say?" he said threateningly. "You talk to my wife in that lowly manner and you aren't even grateful that your tongue is still in your mouth. It's just a simple punishment, but if I see you disrespect her again, I will show you hell."
Isaac's face turned pale. The knights dragged him to the dungeon ignoring his yelling. Demetrius was still angry. He did not move from his place or look at me. He seemed to be boiling.
"Um, Dem... Are you alright?" I asked shakily.
He was very scary when he was angry. Was he angry with me too? Did I do something wrong?
"... Ha! ha! ha! ha!"
I did not expect it at all. The way he was laughing... to be honest, I had never seen him laughing so hard. Yes, he looked freaking handsome and it was not good for my eyes, but still, I was confused.
Had he gone mad or something? Did being angry make him mad? Was the condition serious? I heard if the spouse was angry, a kiss always helped. Should I just kiss him?
"Ha! Ha! Ha... that was the best!"
"What?"
"I didn't know you could threaten so well," he said and patted me on the head.
"Eh? I just said what you told me earlier. I mean, you said that I should threaten by asking questions like- 'Should I throw you in boiling water so your skin falls off your bones?' or 'What about your fingers? They seem so long. Should I cut them in half?'"
"Wha... Hahaha... Where did you learn the finger one?" he laughed. "I didn't tell you that one."
"I made that up," I muttered. "... I thought you were angry. But you seem to be in a good mood."
"Well, that bastard surely ruined my mood, but you made me happy and proud just now. That is just how my wife is supposed to be," he said and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "I will teach you some more effective ways of threatening. After we mate tonight..."
"Can you not talk like that?"
"What? Don't tell me you won't let me make love to you tonight. I'll die. Do you want your husband to die?"
"It's not like that... I didn't say I won't let you," I mumbled. "I mean, anyone can hear us if you talk like that in public."
"No one is here, my wife. And besides, everyone knows how much I want to make love to my wife. So they will understand," he smiled.
"..."
"Anyway, after we make love at least five times tonight, or until you're tired, I will teach you the ways to threaten properly. I will give you the basic knowledge, you can spice it up as you want just like today."
When he was like this, he was nothing like a husband. He was like a friend, no, a best friend. But it would never take him long to change from best friend to husband. I chuckled. No matter which world it was, in both humans and werewolves, it was very rare to find someone like him who could be anything his wife needed- a friend, a husband, a supporter.. He could be everything. Just what did I do to be so fortunate to have someone like him in my life?