The Mind-Reading Mate: Why Is the Lycan King So Obsessed With Me?!-Chapter 97: Vile Rumors

"Greetings, Your Majesty." The Marchioness of Moonshadow offered a graceful curtsy to the Queen of Noctvaris. As she lowered her head, strands of her ebony-black hair fell forward, framing her pale face.

Primrose knew her as the noblewoman who murdered the Marquess. But long before that crime, Raven was already known for her eccentric and strange personality.

She always wore dark colors, whether it was her dress or accessories.

Sometimes she chose deep shades of gray, but most of the time, she wore black, as if cursing herself to live like a widow long before she ever became one.

"Lady Raven." A sweet smile bloomed on Primrose’s lips. "It’s such a pleasure to finally meet you."

Raven lifted her gaze. Her cold, dark gray eyes locked onto Primrose’s, sending a faint shiver down the queen’s spine.

"I should be the one saying that." The Marchioness’s voice was cool and emotionless, but it didn’t frighten Primrose. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty."

People used to call her the embodiment of evil, a woman sent from hell to wreak havoc on the world.

Even before the scandal of her husband’s death, Raven Fenmarch had already become the center of endless rumors.

They said she bought slaves—humans and beastkin alike—from both legal and illegal markets.

There were whispers that she used them for dark experiments, trying to create an elixir of youth.

Some even claimed she bathed in the blood of beautiful young women to keep her skin flawless and glowing.

Primrose had to admit the Marchioness was indeed as beautiful as the rumors said. But the idea of her bathing in blood? That felt like a cruel story made to dehumanize her.

Still, because of all these vile rumors, the moment Raven killed her husband, people wasted no time in branding her a monster, a demon, a dark witch.

The gossip spread like wildfire. For months, her name dominated the headlines. Some claimed she murdered her husband to seize his wealth. Others said she wanted to run away with her secret lover.

The worse the stories got, the more they sold. freēwēbnovel.com

And, of course, many unscrupulous publishers joined in, creating false stories just to keep the frenzy alive.

But among all that noise, Primrose once stumbled upon a different kind of article, one buried in a lesser-known newspaper with a journalist’s name she didn’t recognize.

She only got to read it because the palace librarian had a habit of buying newspapers from everywhere, giving her the chance to read them all when she was bored.

In the public story section, a man claimed to have once been a slave in a small kingdom.

His master used to beat him so badly, he thought he would die.

But then, one day, a woman dressed in black came out of nowhere. She threw gold coins at his master’s feet and told her guards to take the boy with them.

He had been terrified, thinking she’d just bought him to continue the abuse. But instead, she gave him a warm bed, clean clothes, and food that actually filled his stomach.

The same Marchioness who was accused of buying slaves to torture and kill them had only wanted to give them freedom that they couldn’t achieve by themselves.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t the kind of woman who liked talking about her personal life, so she let her name be tainted by countless rumors.

At this moment, Primrose finally realized something, Raven and Edmund had something in common.

Both of them were too lazy to defend themselves, letting people hate them for the images others had created.

Why would they be fine with being hated and misunderstood?

Did they secretly like being hate or what?!

"I thought I’d be the last person to arrive," the Marchioness said as she sat down across from Primrose after Marielle politely pulled out her chair. "But ... it seems I was wrong."

Primrose let out an awkward chuckle. Deep down, she felt a little disappointed.

Edmund had gone through so much trouble to give her a wedding ring and make her happy. If Raven was the only one who showed up, then Primrose couldn’t show off her beautiful wedding ring to others.

The problem was, Raven wasn’t the kind of woman who liked to gossip.

She hadn’t said anything about Primrose’s outfit or her jewelry. In fact, she hadn’t even looked at her properly since she walked in.

"I think the other ladies are too busy to attend my tea party," Primrose said with a soft smile. "But ... I’m glad you were able to come."

[If only she knew the truth ... I only decided to come an hour ago.]

[I don’t know about the other ladies, but Fanny mentioned that many beasts still don’t accept the new queen.]

[She’s a human, after all. It’s hard to convince them she can stand next to His Majesty on the throne.] Raven sighed inwardly. [Poor girl. Good thing I came, or she would’ve been all alone and heartbroken.]

Primrose’s smile stiffened. She blinked a few times, finally believing that the person who had written that article about Raven might not have been lying after all.

The Marchioness really did have a kind heart behind her cold and intimidating face.

"Maybe the others are just running late," Raven said in her usual cool tone, but Primrose could tell she was trying to comfort her. "The capital is quite far from other cities. I’m just lucky because my husband and I were visiting family nearby."

Something about the way Raven mentioned her husband felt off.

Primrose couldn’t forget what would happen in the future, how Raven would end up stabbing her husband seventy times.

That’s right. Seventy.

And according to the most disturbing rumors, before killing him, the Marchioness had cut off his manhood and forced him to eat it.

Primrose furrowed her brows slightly at the memory of that horrifying detail.

"I hope you’re right, Lady Raven." Primrose touched her cheek and sighed softly. "I prepared enough food for six people. It would be such a waste if it’s just the two of us."

She shook her head gently. "No, actually ... it’s fine," she said, smiling a little wider, maybe to reassure Raven, or maybe to convince herself. "I can share the food with the palace maids if no one else shows up."

Just as her shoulders started to slump, Raven suddenly said, "I’ll eat all the food."

Primrose blinked in surprise, thinking she must’ve misheard. "Y-You don’t have to do that," she said, quickly crossing her arms. "There’s way too much. I don’t think you can possibly finish it all."

"I can," Raven said, completely serious. "I can eat a lot."

[Her Majesty will probably feel sad if she sees so much food left over when the party ends.]

[I don’t usually eat a lot, but since I’ve been starving for days, maybe I can finish everything.]

Starving?

Why on earth would the Marchioness be starving for days? Someone of her status should be able to eat whatever she wanted.

No, Primrose thought she already knew the answer to that question.

Her eyes moved toward Raven’s sleeve, which had slipped up slightly. There was a faint bruise, not very visible unless someone was really paying attention.

Months after she killed her husband, the court actually declared that she did it because she had been abused for years. Unfortunately, that official statement was drowned out by all the fake rumors.

That’s why Primrose had never seen the woman in front of her as a cruel criminal.

Her victim, her husband, had been a terrible man. So honestly, who cared about him?

"Let’s ... let’s wait a bit longer for the other ladies," Primrose said, gently pushing a jar of cookies across the table toward Raven. "You can have a snack first if—"

She hadn’t even finished her sentence when Raven had already popped the lid off the jar and grabbed a handful of cookies.

[Oh heavens, these are amazing!] Raven munched like a starving traveler who finally found an oasis.

Beasts rarely ate sweet pastries, and most of them didn’t even like sugar. But Raven wasn’t a beast.

Like Primrose, she was human.

The only difference between them was that Primrose had no magic power, while Raven was a witch.

Many people said she was a seer who could read someone’s life line in the past or future with perfect accuracy.

But if she could really see people’s fates, why would she marry a man who would hurt her? Shouldn’t she have known?

Primrose wanted to dwell on that thought a little longer, but a soldier suddenly shouted from outside. "Duchess Arabella of Cindralis has arrived!"

"Baroness Brielle of Viremonth has arrived!"

Primrose couldn’t help but smile wider than before. She hadn’t expected two more ladies to actually come.

Three was better than nothing!

But then, unexpectedly, the soldier called out again, "Lady Mirelle Barberini has arrived!"

Primrose nearly jumped out of her seat. At last, her tea party wouldn’t be so quiet and boring after all.