The Mind-Reading Mate: Why Is the Lycan King So Obsessed With Me?!-Chapter 82: Mistakes, Mentors, and Mental Breakdowns

[The Queen carries herself well. Graceful, as expected from someone born into a noble family.]

[His Majesty should take notes from her. He’s far too harsh, and not graceful at all.]

They had just met, and yet he was already insulting his own king.

Now Primrose understood why Edmund often felt like he was lacking in noble manners compared to her.

Well ... he wasn’t entirely wrong. But when it came to so-called "noble manners," most nobles were simply good at wearing masks to hide their true feelings.

If those masks were removed from their faces, most of them would act like barbarians and talking down to others without a second thought.

Edmund, on the other hand, wasn’t good at wearing masks. He tried hard to fit into noble society, but since he wasn’t born into it, he never really cared that much about those formalities.

However, because of that, his behavior actually looked more natural and genuine.

"I doubt you’ve heard anything good about me," Sevrin said with a smile.

A smile? A real one?

His expression was so natural that Primrose found herself doubting whether he was even a beast.

But unlike Solene, who smiled with real warmth, Sevrin’s smile felt like a polite habit. Nothing more than a formality.

This man clearly cared a lot about appearances and manners. He even gave her a sharp, measuring look as she sat down, as if silently judging how graceful her posture was.

Primrose started to wonder if meeting with the royal advisor had been a mistake.

In her first life, she had rarely seen Sevrin. In fact, over the course of three years, they had probably only met three or four times.

And that was because she had nothing to do with him.

Back then, all she ever did in the palace was eat, sleep, and occasionally watch birds singing in the trees.

"On the contrary," Primrose said with a gentle smile, "people speak very highly of your dedication, Sir Dorne."

"That’s why I hope you’ll guide me, to help me become a great queen for this kingdom."

Even though he came off a bit stiff and strict, his work ethic was undeniably impressive.

People said he did everything quickly and precisely, never made mistakes, and always made sure the Lycan King finished all his tasks before they piled up into a mountain.

Based on that alone, Primrose was sure he could help her change her title from "The Sleeping Queen" to "The Hardworking Queen."

At least, that’s what she thought.

In reality, his stiffness and perfectionism were making Primrose’s head feel like it was about to explode.

"You’ve miscalculated again, Your Majesty," Sevrin said, tapping the paper on the desk, a little louder this time, as if to emphasize just how many mistakes she’d made.

"If you can’t calculate properly, how can you be sure there’s no embezzlement happening in the palace?" he said firmly.

He continued, "Even a single gold coin miscounted could lead to serious consequences."

Primrose knew that. She understood that.

But how was she supposed to concentrate on counting when Sevrin kept pacing around her, glancing at her with those sharp, hawk-like eyes?

She was terrible at working under pressure!

"I’m sorry," Primrose said, lowering her head and softening her voice, trying to look like a helpless, delicate lady.

"This is my first time doing something like this ... so I hope you can forgive my clumsiness."

Usually, whenever she used that voice, paired with her most pitiful expression, beastkin would instantly feel bad for her. Most of them wouldn’t even dare to raise their voice at her after that.

But Sevrin was ... different.

Instead of softening up, he scolded her even harder.

"Your Majesty, your clumsiness could lead this kingdom to collapse one day!" His voice echoed through the room, even making the librarian jolted in surprise.

That was too harsh!

She had just started learning this today. How could he say something so cruel to her already?

"I know this is your first time," Sevrin said again, before she could respond.

"But your people won’t care about that. All they’ll see ... is a queen who keeps making mistakes."

[The Queen is actually quite smart. She can understand the things I teach her in a short amount of time.]

[But her clumsiness might become a problem for her in the future.]

Despite Sevrin’s strict tone, Primrose slowly began to understand.

He wasn’t being harsh just to be mean.

He was doing it because he didn’t want her to make a mistake, one that could upset the people or damage their trust in her.

In his own way, he was protecting her.

He didn’t sugarcoat things, and he definitely didn’t pamper her like Edmund or the others often did.

But maybe ... that was exactly what she needed right now.

Someone who would treat her like a real queen.

Not a porcelain doll.

Primrose took a deep breath, letting his words sink in.

"Thank you, Sir Dorne," she said quietly, her voice steady despite the tightness in her chest. "I’ll try harder."

Sevrin gave her a small nod, silently offering her a second chance to fix her mistake.

"You may try again," he said calmly, though there was a sharpness in his eyes that made it clear, there wouldn’t be a third.

However, even though Primrose wanted to earn a perfect score from him, it was still too hard to get it right on her first try.

The numbers kept piling up, getting bigger and more complicated, making her head spin. At one point, she even felt like crying from the pressure.

Forget about being a hardworking queen, Primrose just wanted to go back to being the sleeping queen again!

The sun had already set by the time Sevrin finally released Primrose from that hellish practice session.

In all that time, she had gone through more than twenty palace financial reports and now felt like she wouldn’t be able to think straight for the next few hours.

"You’re still too slow, Your Majesty," Sevrin said.

"If it takes you this long to calculate, it might take forever just to finish a single day’s workload."