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The soldiers and guards who were scouting the area while the King was hunting also regrouped at the camp.

“Ugh! Now I need to take a bath again!” Vincent sighed while looking at his blood-laced hands. He sounded very exhausted. After all, he had expended this much energy after a long time.

He sat down at the table that was laid for them earlier and then mumbled to his friends, “I think my bones are getting old and rusty. Why the hell am I this tired after hunting down a few animals?” He shook his head and said with determination, “This won’t do it. I need to start training my body again. I have to get my stamina back. At this rate, I will die if I get into a fight.”

Caspian kneed Vincent on the thigh and scolded him while breathing raggedly, “Don’t say that when we are heading to the enemy territory. You are tired because we ran around too much. We reached the foot of Scarlet Hills in search of those damned tigers.”

“Right! It might be because of that as well.” Vincent nodded his head while catching his breath.

But then his eyes fell on Hamilton who was sitting down in front of him. He wasn’t breaking a single sweat and was calmly sipping on the blood that the maids served them. Surprised, he asked, “Why are you looking like you just came from a light stroll in the garden? We are feeling like our lungs will explode over here.”

Hamilton swirled the cup that he was holding and simply replied, “I like to exercise daily, which the two of you clearly don’t like.” He then gave a sarcastic smirk and added, “Also, I am a bit younger than both of you. So, I guess, that’s another perk.”

Caspian scoffed and then said, “Being young doesn’t have anything to do with your stamina. Don’t you remember how Percival used to beat us at everything even when he was a lot older than us?”

.....

Hamilton smiled after recalling the fond memories of their childhood. “Yes, but he was at the peak of his youth. We were just children in his comparison.”

Caspian’s smile turned sad when he realized that he had unintentionally mentioned his brother’s name.

Vincent noticed how quickly the smile on his friend’s face was dying down. So, before his elevated mood turned sour, he made Caspian hold the cup of blood and asked, “Why don’t you have your dinner? The Queen might be waiting for your return. You also need to clean yourself.”

Caspian smiled again after recalling that he had someone waiting for him. “Yes. Sometimes she likes to keep on waiting for me no matter how late it is. I better head inside soon.” He then began to take sips from his cup.

Hamilton was watching the interaction between his cousin and Vincent. He could see why Caspian kept him around. He could see that Vincent was someone who kept Caspian grounded.

He took a deep breath and thought while taking smaller sips of blood, ‘I shouldn’t have shut him off. Mother was right. I never tried to understand him. I was so busy denying Percival’s death that I pushed Caspian away.’

Caspian met Hamilton’s eyes and flicked his brows because he had been staring.

Hamilton smiled and shook his head. But he thought to himself, ‘I hope that we will close this huge gap between us. Caspian is also making a conscious effort to mend our estranged relationship.’

He then wondered if Anastasia was actively involved in making Caspian take the initiative to invite him on the journey.

He gulped down the contents of his cup and then thought, ‘Whether she was involved or not, I can tell that Caspian is slowly changing for the better. She definitely has a positive impact on his life.’

After catching their breaths and drinking to their fill, the three of them parted for the night.

Caspian’s servants had already prepared the bath for him. They helped Caspian to get rid of the blood and the smell from the hunt. And after getting dressed in a clean and aromatic night robe, Caspian headed towards the bedroom to catch some sleep.

He was glad when he saw his wife sound asleep on the bed. He would have felt guilty if he was out there enjoying the hunt, while his wife was restlessly waiting for him.

He blew the lantern and then climbed on his side of the bed. He wriggled close to his wife’s warm body and hugged her. Then he closed his eyes. It didn’t even take a minute for him to fall asleep.

—

The next morning, Caspian opened his eyes to see his wife hovering above him. She gave a wide smile the moment he opened his eyes.

He smiled back and whispered in his hoarse morning voice, “Anna. You’re already awake?”

“Yes.” She leaned down and planted a kiss on his forehead. “Did you get enough sleep? I think you came back late yesterday.”

Caspian held his wife’s hand and yawned. “Mhmm... I went for a hunt with the boys. And before I knew it, it was already past midnight. But I feel like I slept enough. We both slept in the carriage during the day.”

Anastasia’s eyes twinkled when he mentioned the hunt. She asked eagerly, “You went for a hunt? What did you catch?”

She was expecting to hear things like a rabbit or a deer. However, she was surprised when Caspian took the names of dangerous animals.

“We hunt down a red stag, three tigers, two wild boars, a leopard, a couple of bison, elks, and a few wolves.”

Anastasia kept on staring at her husband, trying to wrap around the fact that her husband was not someone ordinary but a deadly vampire.

“Are you scared? Should I not have said that?” Caspian asked Anastasia while feeling a bit worried that his wife would think of him as a monster. He sat up on the bed and gently shook his wife’s hand. “I won’t go hunting again if you don’t like it.”

Anastasia, however, gave a short smile and shook her head. “No, that was not it. I was just amazed to hear how you casually mentioned that you took down tigers and leopards.”

“Ah!” Caspian sighed in relief after hearing that.

Anastasia then casually cuddled with Caspian and proudly said, “I am lucky to be your wife. I don’t have to fear a thing in the world. I feel really safe with you.”

Caspian’s lips curved up on their own. He caressed his wife’s hair and hoped that he would always be able to make her feel that way.

‘I hope the werewolves won’t cause any problem. I don’t want any fights, at least not today. I just want her to meet her brother and return right away.’