The Mind-Reading Mate: Why Is the Lycan King So Obsessed With Me?!-Chapter 500: Can We Build a Snowman? (II)
"Does anyone here know how to make a snowman?"
Some of the children nodded, while the others were too afraid to move their heads.
[Is she one of the nobles?]
The children’s thoughts began entering Primrose’s mind one by one, causing her to stop moving for a moment.
[I heard the old man is a Duke... and the handsome one is the King. Is he really the King of this kingdom? Isn’t that bad for us?]
[Is he the same King Master always talked about?]
[Maybe... maybe I shouldn’t have stepped out of the cage. The King will punish us. He always does that to other children.]
[Timothy said a noble’s wife once watched while her husband whipped children. What if this woman likes that too?]
[MAMA! MAMA! I WANT TO SEE MY MAMA AGAIN!]
[Mother, I’m scared! I’m scared! I promise I won’t go outside after dark anymore! Mother, please come pick me up!]
Primrose held onto the window frame as the flood of the children’s thoughts filled her head. Their minds were consumed by despair, fear, and suspicion, to the point that Primrose could not find a single positive thought among them.
The older ones blamed themselves for stepping out of the cage, while the younger ones could not stop crying for their mothers. Aside from that, it seemed they had only just realized who Edmund was... and worse, they believed he was the King of Azmeria.
Hadn’t they heard the soldiers call him "His Majesty"? Or Salem addressing him with respect? But then again... how could they notice something like that after everything they had been through?
"My wife... are you alright?" Edmund’s voice broke through the children’s minds. He and Lazarus hurried to her side when she swayed ever so slightly, looking like she might collapse.
Primrose lifted her hand, signaling for them not to worry too much about her.
She took a deep breath before straightening her back. She tried her best to smile as warmly as she could.
The smile was meant to be warm, gentle, and reassure them that she was not a dangerous person.
But even as she did, she felt her heart ache because the children had seen that kind of smile before. It was worn by monsters who spoke softly and pretended to be kind.
Monsters who sounded like angels but acted worse than demons.
In the end, the children struggled to tell who truly had good intentions and who was genuinely cruel because of those fake smiles.
"How rude of me for not introducing myself first," Primrose said with a smile. Slowly, she stepped closer to the children, but not too close so as not to frighten them.
"There is a saying that if people don’t know each other, they can’t truly care for each other." Primrose softened her gaze and placed her hands in front of her chest. "Since I want to truly care for you, how about we introduce ourselves to one another?"
The children did not respond. However, their eyes kept shifting between Primrose, Edmund, and Lazarus. They looked at the three of them as if trying to decide who would punish them the most harshly.
"I’m Primrose." She gently pushed aside the storm of their fearful thoughts so she could focus on the children standing before her.
"My name is Primrose," she repeated softly. "And I’m not here to hurt you."
The children remained silent. Some lowered their heads. Others stared at her with wide, guarded eyes. Their small bodies were stiff, as if ready to flinch at any sudden movement.
Primrose’s heart tightened, but she kept her expression calm. "You don’t have to be afraid of me," she continued. "Or of them."
She glanced briefly at Edmund and Lazarus, who stood a few steps behind her, careful not to appear threatening.
"No one is going to punish you," Primrose said again, her voice as gentle as before. But the moment the words left her lips, the children’s thoughts swirled with doubt.
[That’s what they always say...]
[Adults always lie.]
[The King is cruel.]
[Nobles always enjoy being cruel.]
[The man who spoke to us earlier never came back. What if he’s one of the monsters? Damn it... I shouldn’t have trusted him so easily.]
Primrose knew that the person they were talking about had to be Salem. Edmund had asked him to stay with the children for a while, but it seemed Salem needed time to rest as well. And now that the one familiar face was gone, it was only natural that the children felt uneasy again.
For a moment, Primrose felt frustrated because she had tried so hard to appear kind... yet she still couldn’t break through the wall of fear surrounding them.
Still, she understood that trust was never built in a single moment, especially not for children who had lived through pain.
Should she use her mind-control ability to gain their trust? No, forget that.
If she used magic, she would never gain the children’s trust completely.
She had wanted to invite them to play in the snow outside, but they would probably think she was trying to punish them by making them stand in the freezing winter for hours.
Primrose sighed, then looked out at the wide stretch of snow beyond the window. A moment later, an idea came to her, a way to let the children have fun without forcing them to go outside.
She hurried toward Edmund. "Husband, husband, can you do me a favor?"
Edmund looked at her and nodded without hesitation. "Of course. What do you need?"
Primrose rose onto her tiptoes and whispered her plan into his ear. At first, Edmund frowned, clearly surprised, but after a second, he gave a small nod. "It may take some time," he said.
Primrose pulled back and smiled. "That’s fine. We’re not in a hurry."
===
Moments later, confusion rippled through the room.
[What’s going on?!]
[Why are the soldiers bringing snow inside?!]
[Are they going to punish us?]
[Are they going to make us eat the snow because we didn’t answer them?!]
Primrose frowned when the children thought she would force them to eat the snow. As confusing as it was, what she felt most was sadness.
For the children to think of something that terrible, they must have endured punishments far worse than being made to eat snow until their stomachs were full.
Before their thoughts could wander any further, Primrose clapped her hands once and spoke with a bright smile. "Since the temperature outside is very cold right now, I thought... maybe we could build a snowman indoors!"
Primrose stepped back toward the entrance, where the soldiers were pouring down the snow they had gathered from outside. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
"The snow has been enveloped by magic, so it will not melt, at least for a day." Primrose smiled. "That’s why we can use it to play with snow indoors without having to face the cold weather outside."
