"Oh?" Hugh lifted a brow in feint amusement.

"The famous flower beauty knows me? I feel honored."

The surrounding knights and officials all spit blood at his remark. Who in the large Kingdom of Grethien didn't know about the unique characteristics of the two remaining kings of the werewolves?! Even those who believed werewolves to be only myths were still aware of Hugh's distinctive pitch black fur that came as a set with his pair of luminescent golden eyes and Valentine's shiny sheen of lustrous gray fur and matching pair of sterling silver eyes!

Furthermore, at this point, they had an inkling as to the identity of the lady assassin - who else but the Lavandula? Similar to the two werewolf kings, the Lavandula had been a prominent figure amongst the hunters, werewolves, and even in lore as of late! She was said to carry around a black sword that could easily slaughter werewolves who were known to be immune to everything aside from silver. The dark sword that was made from unknown material also had two striking gems embedded within the blade and the cross-shaped pommel that complimented her correspondingly colored lavender eyes.

With the observations of the Lavandula's recent violent actions, many could tell how deep the huntress's hatred for werewolves ran. To those who were aware of why Cecily hated the oversized dogs so much, they were even more clear about how much she despised the two werewolf kings, Hugh and Valentine. So how could it be possible for her to not recognize Hugh Noir when he was standing right in front of her?

"My name is Cecily Lavande. You killed my father. Prepare to die!"

Then Cecily quickly swooped in towards Hugh with her sword and slashed downwards diagonally from the tall and sturdy man's left shoulder to his waist. Unfortunately for her, the man foresaw her attack and caught it with a palm, his dark blood slid down his toned forearm almost alluringly. He paid no heed to his minor injury as his playful smile remained annoyingly pasted on his peerlessly handsome face. 

With the sword sitting cozily in his hand, he easily pulled Cecily into his embrace, "Baby, I missed you..."

He immediately dove in to kiss those enticing red lips of his wife, plundering the inside of her mouth ravenously and greedily as if he'd finally found an oasis in the middle of a desert.

Hahaha I'm kidding. Here's the real thing.

At the sight of one of the possible masterminds of her family's massacre two years ago, Cecily could hardly remain calm. Even though she knew from the information that Hugh had no part in their murder, the original was still unsure of the true culprit even until her last breath so her breathing started to become more chaotic along with her rising heartbeat. The grip on her sword tightened and her hand shook as she tried to stop herself from running to him to give him a good slash.

The fire in her eyes burned with a deeply rooted hatred that came from the gruesome memories of the scene left behind by the murderer of her family; each of their bodies were cruelly dismembered and sprawled carelessly throughout the burning mansion. She had just gotten home from a routine gathering of aristocratic young ladies, only to find that her most beloved family was no longer on the planet. 

Cecily shook the blood off of her sword as she glowered at the callously smiling man. The information was singing praises at him throughout its entirety about his righteousness or whatever, but from her two months in this world, Cecily could tell that he could care less about the lives of the werewolves, much less humans. He probably just didn't want to deal with a powered-up Valentine who would undoubtedly attempt to kill him so he decided to level their strength early on to lessen the hassle in the long run. 

Why not just get rid of Valentine? 

Of course, because the repercussions would also be too much of a hassle to deal with later on. What sane person would want to add on to their workload? Think about it. Currently, there were two kings; one governed the South while the other, North. If one died, the living king would be responsible for the entire underworld which screamed unlimited problems and headaches. Valentine was probably too greedy for power to care about that, and since he was known for his intellect and wits rather than his physical strength, being a ruler seemed a much more fitting job for him anyway. 

"What are you doing here, Southern King?" Cecily questioned, her smile was now suppressed into a tight frown as she wordlessly ignored the weird look he was giving her as he licked his captivating thin lips.

"I heard there was going to be a good show, so I came to watch and maybe even join in on the fun," Hugh shrugged and slowly started walking towards Cecily, his eyes were glued onto her figure.

"Too late. The king's dead, and they've already agreed to let me choose the next one," Cecily eyed each and every one of the officials coldly, threatening them to go back on their words.

They shivered and instantly nodded their heads in agreement, "Yes, as a fellow human you have every right to choose a new king!"

Their words not only implied that she could choose the next reigning king, but also banned Hugh from interfering because he had no right to in this case. Not only did he not have a hand in getting rid of the fatty, but he was also a werewolf - the detestable creatures that threw them in a precarious situation in the first place. 

In the original timeline, Hugh was able to appoint the next ruler because he had personally revealed the fat king's corruption and killed him. However, because of Cecily's interference this time around, he really couldn't make a move unless Cecily herself allowed him to. 

Hugh stood directly in front of Cecily, less than a foot away as his tall figure completely overshadowed her petite one. Cecily had to crane her neck upwards in order to meet his fiery gaze, and when she did she immediately felt familiar with the emotions and intent that he was emitting.

It can't be...

However, it was just a slight feeling so she inwardly shook her head and continued glaring up at him. 

The original Cecily hated all werewolves; especially Hugh and Valentine. She knew that Valentine was simply using the original, but how did Hugh view the original Cecily? There wasn't much to go by until the moment of her sneak attack before her death where it seemed as if he saw her as an annoyance. But then again, she harmed him just as he'd immobilized Valentine and anyone else in his shoes would also be pissed. 

As for before the original finally made her move against him, she had killed wolves from both factions indiscriminately so Hugh definitely would not have had a very favorable impression if he truly valued the lives of his brethren. Then again, it was his fault for never clarifying to her that he really didn't have anything to do with the deaths of her family. 

Cecily's actions slightly differed from the original in that she had inadvertently avoided harming Hugh's faction because they, for one, weren't on the pathway to the capital anyway and two, they ran off when she neared them as if avoiding the plague. The strange thing was that they were clearly seething with hatred for her due to the two years of indiscriminate slaughter, but they still left even if their eyes told her they were clearly unwilling.

Now that their king was standing in front of her in such close proximity, she could tell he must have had something to do with it. Also, he was supposed to be talking to her grandfather. Did their conversation end so soon? Or did Jeoffrey interrupt them, causing Hugh to immediately head over to the castle to confirm the validity of her message?

"That's too bad," his hot breath caressed her ears, "I had originally planned to get rid of him, but you beat me to it, my pretty little flower."

He raised his right hand to gently tuck her loose hair behind her ear, "Won't you let me help you choose the next king, at least? I know the perfect guy for the job."

Hugh's gaze was earnest, scaring the shit out of the ministers and knights who just wanted to leave the room but felt that they had to witness the crowning of the new king. They all wondered what the hell was the actual relationship between the two.

"...off me."

"Hm?" Hugh raised a brow inquisitively with his trademark mischievous grin, "What did you say?"

Cecily's face was getting darker and darker as she swung her sword at his audacious right hand, "I said get your filthy paws off me!"

He promptly jumped backward out of the range of her sword landing sexily with his hands lightly touching the ground before it could graze him, "Oh, fiesty. I like this part of you, too, baby."  

The ministers were worried about the possibility of the Lavandula murdering the werewolf king on their territory. They started to get jittery and were just about to speak up when Cecily had already sheathed her sword into its back holster. 

Cecily's face was expressionless as she stared at Hugh's impeccably smiling one in tacit understanding. She was officially 100% sure she knew who he was, "Bring him here. Everyone here will be the witnesses to the assassination of the previous king and the crowning of the new. The assassin escaped, but the clues hint to the culprit being Valentine Argent of the North. Any complaints?" 

All of the gathered knights and ministers shook their heads like rattle drums, "None! It was all Valentine's evil scheming and plotting that led to the death of our king and fellow officials! All hail the new king!" 

They all dropped down to the ground, kowtowing before the new king was even appointed. Heck, he wasn't even in the room yet. 

Cecily rolled her eyes at their reaction to the entire situation. It just showed how oppressed these sane ministers were while the fatty was in power. Look, they didn't even care that he died so violently. Same with those corrupt officials she offed impulsively. 

And now that Hugh was that man, she felt that the side mission would be harder to complete but it'd definitely be more worth it and fun for both parties. As for the real reason he was here, it was probably to appoint a specific person as the next king as one of his missions or tasks and Cecily could care less about who was the next king as long as she was the one appointing him.

"Yo, everybody!" The large golden doors to the throne room were never closed after the knights first entered, but if they were one could imagine them swinging open with a loud Boom! as a man with long, shimmering straight blonde hair braided to the side hanging off his right shoulder and blue eyes as bright as the sky suddenly came waltzing in with much gusto. 

His satiny red coronation robe was embroidered with a large golden fleur de lys on the back and two golden tassels hanging down the center from beneath the white fur lapel as the robe trailed behind him with each step he took. A large golden crown in the form of a circlet surmounted by ornaments and eight arches rested leisurely on his head. A globe surmounted by a cross rested on the top of the crown.

It was the third prince of the Kingdom of Grethien, Prince Russel Jaune de Grethien.