133: Find Opportunities to be around him.

Find Opportunities to be around him.

Ember's last words continued to ring in Morpheus's mind...0

…we are mates as well, right?

…mates as well, right?

…right?

Morpheus had not expected Ember to draw such a conclusion. 

'My mate?' 

Morpheus did not say a single lie in his explanation towards Ember. Everything he told her was true, albeit hiding one important fact—that for his kind, a mate bond is like marriage. All he was intending to do was not tell her the intimacy part directly as he didn't know how to explain to this naive girl all that. 

He was just trying to get her to become closer to her mate, wanting their relationship to improve, giving her ideas so that the stubborn dragon would let her in the walls he built around himself. He wanted Draven to give up his reservations and mate with her but… 

'What did she just say?'

Morpheus felt something within him stirring. After vowing to avenge his fallen family, he had never thought about having a mate and he was far from considering these things. He merely wanted to bring trouble to that Dragon using his mate…that was the reason why he had come…and yet…

He shook his head to get back his composure and then put that usual lopsided smirk on his lips. "You are so naive, little female."

She only looked at him in confusion. "Does that mean 'no'?"

Morpheus wanted to agree and say that was the case, but he couldn't say those words out loud. He chose to ignore her question.

"You want to show the King gratitude for everything he's given you, right? Then you must work hard to at least make him feel you are worth making his mate," he said.

"I understand." She nodded. "What do I do?" 

"What do family do? What do friends do?" he asked back.

"They show each other they care and give each other things…?" Ember fiddled with the sleeves of her dress. "But…I do not know how to show him care and I do not have anything I can give him. Isn't he the most powerful person in this kingdom? He already has people serving him and he is lacking nothing—"

"You are wrong with that," Morpheus corrected her. "There are many things you can do. For example, when a friend is sad or in trouble, what can you do?"

"I can…comfort them? Listen to their problems? Like how you are with me…" she answered as the realization came to her. 

He smirked lightly as he could not help but adore her naiveness. "So smart, little female."

She smiled and heard him continue, "So the King is lonely for so long but finally he has you. Let's do this step by step. You can start off by becoming a good friend to him. You need to be around him always and let him feel there is no need for him to feel lonely at all. You need to comfort him when he looks sad, calm him when he looks angry, and always show him you care for his well-being."

"Is that so…?" she asked. She remembered the young silver-haired elf who always followed around Draven. Wasn't Erlos always caring for the King's well-being? 

Morpheus gave her an encouraging smile. "Isn't it so simple?"

She wanted to say 'no', but instead nodded since she felt like Erlos couldn't also be a mate. His relationship with the King was master and servant. As she thought of the King, she remembered some embarrassing memories. "But it seems like the King doesn't like me to be around him." 

"And why do you think so?" Morpheus asked. 

She paused for a moment and touched her cheeks, hoping she wasn't blushing out of shame as she answered, "You know how His Majesty has a cold, expressionless face in front of everyone?  He looks annoyed whenever he sees me in front of him. His red eyes turn sharp, like he wants to avoid looking at me, as if he finds me ugly and disgusting. Well, I guess it's expected. Everyone working in the palace is beautiful. Especially Mister Erlos, his stunning face outshines even the other elves. Well, even you, Morpheus. You are good-looking as well." 

She covered her face as she groaned. 

"Maybe that's the problem? Maybe the King does not like having me around because a human like me doesn't fit the standards of your people?"

Morpheus burst into laughter as he knew that Draven must have acted like this. That dimwit probably didn't realize his behaviour was causing anxiety to his poor mate, hurting her self-esteem. 

'This little female is truly a funny human,' he could not help but think. 'You should be glad that he has such strong self-control or that Dragon would have eaten you by now. You have no idea how much he desires you, yet here you are, questioning your worth.' 

"...Morpheus? Do you think that's the case?" she asked, seeing him lost in his thoughts. 

"Ah, it's nothing, and no, it's not what you are thinking. He is not so shallow as to judge you by appearance, and you really shouldn't concern yourself over that. It's just that he has a nasty personality that makes others easily misunderstand him. Since the King doesn't allow anyone to get close to him, he's good at pushing people away.

"In short, he doesn't know how to deal with people. That is where you come in. You can get close to him and teach him, and then he would stop looking so scary. As his mate, you have to help him be a better person."

"Umm…I will try?" she said hesitantly. Morpheus seemed to have big expectations for her, but she herself wasn't good at interacting with people as well. Before coming to Agartha, the only person she had interacted with was Gaia. The things she knows about people all came from storybooks and her nanny's stories. She asked, "What and how exactly should I do it?"

"Once again, a good question. I wonder why there are no other smart humans like you," he commented, smiling lightly.

She noticed that smile. "Are you teasing me?"

He was taken aback and then said, "I mean it."

"Really?"

"Really."

"If you say so." She let it go. "Then tell me, what shall I do?" 

Morpheus had an evil grin on his lips, "It's simple. Find opportunities to be around him all the time."

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