#Chapter 33 A Rise In Strength

Eloise’s POV

“Interesting seeing you here so early, Liam.” Xavier’s tone was flat. “I wasn’t expecting you here until the day after tomorrow.”

Xavier walked over at me as his eyes stared down at Liam.

Liam looked like a little child with his hand caught in the cookie jar.

“I haven’t seen the rose garden in so long, so I came early to pay my respects.” Liam slowly let go of my hand as he answered Xavier.

I covered my hand and looked up at the two men in front of me. The atmosphere around them always felt so strange but I could never explain why. It was so awkward but tense.

“Next time you shift your schedule, have someone report it to me. Anyway, go back and get some rest. We still have some preparations for the Luna Festival we need to finish tomorrow.”

“Will do. Goodbye, my Lord.” Liam fisted his hand over his chest and bowed slightly before leaving.

After Liam took his leave, Xavier took away the handkerchief and held up my hand to his face. “You’re injured again?”

‘It’s nothing but a small scratch from the thorn of one of the roses.”

“You know we have servants for a reason, right? There’s no reason for you to do anything when you can just ask someone else to.”

“There’s no fun in that!” I smiled.

“Well,” Xavier sighed. “I suppose you’re right. But next time, try and remember to ask me to go with you.”

“I will.” I smiled. “Don’t these look good?” I held up the flower basket as my smile widened.

“Not as good as you.” Xavier picked me up and started to kiss me.

“Your charming words always make me so shy!” I blushed. I avoided his kisses and covered his mouth with my hand.

Xavier then shifted his face to the side and placed my index in his mouth. His tongue swirled around my wound.

“W-what are you doing?”

“Just sterilizing your wound.” He winked at me with my finger in his mouth.

I sighed and watched him as he continued to lick at my finger. Heat began to flood my cheeks the more I looked at him.

As he lowered his head, his wet tongue swirled around my finger and it started to rouse something inside of me. Gradually, his behavior became more provocative as he raised my hand and started kissing my palm.

I accepted his silent invitation.

My body started to get hot. I leaned into Xavier and whispered in his ear. “You know… both of my hands are completely healed.”

He shifted himself lower, our bodies barely brushed up against each other. He laced his fingers with my right hand and gave it a light squeeze.

I squeezed his hand back.

“Oh, are they now? I may have to put that to the test myself.” Xavier leaned down and kissed me. He then bit down on my bottom lip softly.

I let out a small gasp. “You’ll see that I’ll pass your tests easily.”

––––––––

Today was the day of the Luna Festival and Nora was helping me with getting dressed. I remembered Liam’s words from the other day and made sure that Nora went out to go find makeup that was made from plants and herbs.

“This lipstick is such a beautiful shade of red! I never knew that roses had other uses than just being beautiful flowers. You’re so creative, Lady Eloise!”

I didn’t want to tell her that it was Liam who gave me the idea. I didn’t want her to think that anything else was going on between us aside from basic kindness. “Thank you, Nora.”

I could hear the lively chatter and laughter from all of the people in attendance. It was going to be my first time participating in another culture’s holiday but I was happy that Xavier entrusted me with such a precious role.

The Moon Goddess is such an important figure to all of us supernatural people–werewolves and witches especially. I knew that I needed to do more than my best–I had to be perfect.

I promise that I won’t let you down, my Lord.

Nora zipped up the beautiful silver-white dress that Xavier had specially tailored for me to wear for the festival. It stretched to the floor and the sleeves were short/ The neck of the dress also sparkled in the light like little stars.

There was a knock at our door.

Xavier peeked his head inside. Though he was about to say something, he stopped and walked into the room.

Nora smiled at his expression and stepped away from me so he could get a better view of me.

Xavier held out his hands and I took them as I stepped off the dressing stool carefully. He smiled at me. “You are absolutely beautiful, Eloise. You fit the role of a goddess perfectly.”

I blushed at his comment. “Thank you, Xavier. I only hope that your family and the citizens of Noah are as accepting as you.”

Once Nora was finished, I walked with Xavier to the festival to start the opening ceremony. Luckily, she didn’t have to do much else as my silver hair was like looking at a full moon.

When we arrived at Noah’s Coliseum, we saw that every single chair was filled. Dark blue and gold ornaments and ribbons decorated the place. They made it look like we were under the nighty sky even though it was still daylight outside.

Xavier escorted me to the center of the stage where an unlit bonfire sat on the altar. I looked out to the crowd and saw their expressions were less than excited.

“Where’s Lady Belinda? She’s the one who always plays the goddess for our festival!”

“Is that Lady Eloise? Even if she’s married to Lord Xavier, she’s still a Wisdom! She shouldn’t be here to play a goddess!”

“What happened to Lady Belinda? Is she sick?”

“Why is there someone else playing the role of the goddess?”

I took in a deep breath and gracefully walked across the stage. A sudden burst of cheers erupted from the audience and I turned my head to see where it was coming from.

To my surprise, it was the group of students I gave the lecture to from the medical school. They all looked at me with wide grins and waved at me like they were my own children. Their reactions gave me confidence as I waved back and smiled with gratefulness.

I got to the center of the stage and took the large torch into my hands. I lowered it and lit the bonfire and spoke loudly. I was surprised at how much my voice carried around the coliseum.

“Citizens of Noah! This year’s Luna Festival begins now as we celebrate the birthday of the Moon Goddess! Blessed be and let the games begin!”

To my surprise, the audience cheered at my announcement. It gave me a sense of confidence.

The long day of group battles was about to begin, and all of the werewolves who were participating stepped forward into the arena. Many of them looked strong and well-prepared. I knew it was going to be a sight to see.

“Look at Liam! He looks so handsome this year!”

“He’s never participated in any of the competitions before, so it’s a really nice surprise to see him now!”

“I wonder if he has a girl that he wants to impress with his strength?”

“Um, obviously! It’s me! He literally just looked at me?”

“Ha! Don’t kid yourself! He was clearly looking at me!”

After I heard the girls’ conversation, I curiously looked out into the sea of young men and saw that Liam was among them. Our eyes met each other as we held each other’s gaze.

Liam smiled at me happily. Out of courtesy, I politely smiled back.

When I took my seat next to Xavier at the top of the altar, I noticed that his expression had gone sour. His features appeared tenser and his eyebrows were slightly knitted together.

I saw that Xavier whispered something to Adrian but I couldn’t quite make out what it was. I understood as soon as I saw Adrian approach the girls that were talking about Liam and how they instantly became quiet.

Is someone jealous? I giggled to myself in my head.

I watched in awe as Liam defeated his opponents one by one. It was like none of the other werewolves stood a chance against him. Some even tried to battle him as a duo but they still lost.

Liam’s strength was truly exceptional.

I watched as Liam walked to the center of the arena with his hands outstretched. “Will no one else challenge me?”

The crowd cheered and chanted his name. Driven by the atmosphere, I also clapped with them.

If no one answered Liam’s challenges, he would be crowned as the strongest werewolf this year. That would mean I would crown him with a beautiful wreath that was meant to symbolize the blessing of the Moon Goddess.

Suddenly, I felt Xavier’s hand squeeze mine. He lifted my hand to his lips before he stood up and started walking towards the ring.

I looked at Liam who stared back at Xavier with nervousness.

“I’ll take on your challenge!” Xavier proclaimed loudly into the crowd.