“That’s enough, Your Royal Highness,” Emperor Claus intervened as it was unbearable for him to see Emery being bullied.
Without saying anything else, he tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her away. However, even before they could leave, Lady Cressida still spoke.
“If you do not banish her from the palace, then I will make the necessary arrangements to have her executed. You know me, Your Imperial Highness. I do not act on things that I am not sure of so decide before the wedding.”
When the two of them entered the emperor’s room, he immediately apologized for the accusation that his grandmother threw at her. Seeing how quiet she was, Emperor Claus thought that it was probably out of shock so he held both of her shou
“Anything, Lady Emery… I’ll do anything… Just please, do not hide yourself in a place I cannot find you,” Castor replied, kissing her hand that had gone cold.He received a small smile and nod from her. With curiosity, he waited for her to speak with the hope that she would not utter a single word of death.“Sir Castor, as usual, I will speak of the truth to you. His Imperial Highness refused to listen to me, but if I ever get executed tomorrow, I want someone out here to know the truth.”Emery just did not want to repeat the mistake she did when she was with King Lawson. She may have had a reason as to why she had been secretive, however, things could have been different between them if she spoke of the truth before. Hence, she wa
Emery woke up rather late the next morning. It was not like she was thrilled to face whatever play that Lady Cressida and Lady Serena prepared for her. As the sun continued to shine in its peak as if it was also celebrating the union of the emperor with the daughter of the duke, Emery sat across the large mirror, staring back at herself as she wore the black dress.Disappointment was clearly plastered on her face since she had been expecting to at least be visited by Emperor Claus. However, she was not able to see him or even his shadow.“You were just a replacement,” she told herself. “His feelings were never genuine. In the end, you are the one who was fooled… Such a pathetic woman you are.”When she was all done fixing herself, s
All eyes were on the emperor as he looked down on the sorry state of Emery. With his expression still stern and showed no sympathy at all, he stood from his seat and ran his gaze to the guests.“Earlier, I received a report from the western border and it seemed like the barbarians continued to siege villages after villages. If this continues, it won’t be long before they could become a real threat to the empire. Hence, as punishment, I am sending Emery Trigon to the western borders. Whether she lives or dies afterwards, it is up to her skills,” he announced.It received a rather negative reaction from the audience, most especially to his grandmother, Lady Cressida. Seeing that the emperor still planned to let Emery live, she just could not stand there and do nothing.
Upon their arrival at the west border, Emery immediately met the general and was given the gist of the situation. She came to know that the villages cannot be taken down in a rush because the civilians were under the mercy of the barbarians. Any wrong decision would result in a mass massacre and that was something the military wanted to avoid at all cost.Emery was in no condition to help in the headquarters, hence, she simply volunteered to fight head-on at the battlefield front. It was the only way she thought of that would somehow help her vent out all the pain and anger built up within her. Moreover, it would also serve as a distraction for her. With Erebus guarding her back, she was free to be reckless and paid little attention in defending herself.With every swing of her sword and with every life she took, Emery wa
Trigger Warning: Self-harmEveryone was startled with the sudden visit of the emperor since they were not expecting him to come himself. Emery balled her fists and clenched her teeth to control herself. She was afraid that if she loses control, she might just draw out her sword and attack him. Her breathing became a bit shallow and rushed, but still, she stood from her seat and tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword.Leaving the assembly house, they all lined up and greeted the emperor upon his entrance in the village. Along with him were half of his knights including Castor and Evander—all of them clad in their full battle armor. As much as they were relieved to see Emery still alive, there was an aura around her that seemed different.When the empero
With the emperor leading the soldiers towards the city of Asterion, Emery and Erebus were behind the march alongside the other archers with the latter briefing her about the plan. She did not really pay much attention to the details since she was stationed as an archer and all she understood was for several soldiers to sneak into the city first before they would launch a full attack.Lost in her thoughts, Emery was still a bit puzzled as to why the emperor had to come right at that moment just to steal the spotlight. Moreover, she did not like his presence all in all, most especially that they could handle the situation without him.“I understand your anger towards the emperor for what happened months ago, but seriously, don’t you dare defy him,” Erebus reminded her since he noticed how Emery was glaring at the empe
She earned another compliment from him before he urged the other girls to play some music just for her. Emery obliged and took the floor right across from him. She stood in a relaxed posture first, her feet shoulder-width apart and her knees slightly bent. As the music began, she started swaying her hips from left to right, and then, circling them in a smooth and fluid motion. As she made a slow turn, her hands traced patterns in the air and went along with the beat and rhythm of the music.With every movement she made, the leader of the barbarians licked his lower lips. The perverted look on his face and the bulge between his pants clearly showed that he had already stripped Emery off of her clothes in his mind. When the dance slowly reached its peak with the music getting more and more intense and Emery’s movements going faster yet controlled and still graceful, the door of the room g
Even after saying that, Emery remained quiet as if she heard nothing. And this cold treatment she was giving the emperor was so close to driving him crazy. Even though he was relieved to see her physically well, he was still beyond worried after witnessing her demanding to be killed. He thought that what Castor said was simply an exaggerated statement but seeing the desperation in her eyes convinced him that he had to look after her even closer or else, he might lose her for good without even making amends with her.Looking at her wrist, there were indeed lines of scars that marked it. Though they had already healed, it was more than clear that the cuts were deeper than he expected. This had also convinced him that the remaining family she had been referring to before were the ones who were killed on the day of his wedding.&ld
Fate just had its way of playing with the lives of people, especially Emery who seemed to be its favorite to play with. Emery gave birth to twins, one boy and one girl. She thought that having them would finally mend her relationship with King Lawson that was on the verge of being broken once more, however, she was wrong. Rather than having a stable relationship, it became more chaotic when King Lawson came back from a three-week trip to another kingdom for a diplomatic meeting. Her heart broke as she watched him return with another woman. It was not just an ordinary woman, but the younger sister and seemingly exact replica of Royal Concubine Hazel. She received the king’s utmost attention with the reason that King Lawson felt guilty of letting Lady Hazel be killed. Hence, his only way to redeem himself was to treat her younger sister better. Emery let it slide, thinking that her twins needed more attention from her since their father barely spent time with them. However, even in he
The people along the main street of Elescaster City halted whatever they were doing upon hearing clops of horses’ hooves getting louder and seeing a group of men passing by at a rather fast speed towards the direction of the palace. They had to clear the streets in order to avoid getting stomped. Several of the men were clearly foreign soldiers judging by the unfamiliar armor they wore. However, they only grew curious of the other two leading them since they wore a hooded cape that hid their faces from anyone. It took them several minutes to reach the main gates of the palace, halting their horses to get their identities checked. The two people at the front removed their hoods, revealing a young boy and an older woman. With only one look at the younger one, the guards could tell that it was none other than the twin of the empire’s Crown Prince. His hair was as dark as the night, which was contrary to his pair of eyes that resembled the golden sun. The guard bowed their heads in his
In the midst of the wide gladiator stadium filled with spectators both from the noble and ordinary families, two women faced off against each other, their swords at the ready. Right at the side where a large throne stood was Emperor Claus overlooking the open ground with Castor right next to him. The other knights stood at different posts around the stadium to make sure that no outsiders would dare interfere with the duel.The rows of seats right below him were occupied by the ministers, including the emperor’s three advisors—Sir Tarkin, Sir Vlachos, and Sir Louvel. As much as these three men were against the said duel as it could put the empire into a state of instability because of Emery’s non-Varmorian blood and lack of influence and wealth, this was also by far the safest option they have to keep the Hagans’ reputation unstained. They were already aware of th
On the day before the duel between Emery and the empress, the former just finished her daily training with Jadeite in the barracks of the knights. She did not want to exhaust herself too much so right after their morning drill, she decided to go back to Euthoria Mansion and have some rest. Jadeite, on the other hand, stayed behind and had sparrings against the other knights. Before she could leave the barracks, Castor walked up to her. “You still have some time to back out,” he said even though he already knew that Emery would do no such thing. “Backing out is not one of my options, Sir Castor,” she replied. Just as she was about to leave, she stopped for a moment and hesitantly asked, “H-His Imperial Highness… H-How is he? He never visited for the past few days so…” “If you are worried, then it is better to go and check up on him yourself,” the knight replied, giving her a pat on the shoulder before heading back inside the barracks. Emery let out a sigh. She did receive a report f
Upon Emery’s return to Euthoria Mansion, she clenched her fist in annoyance upon seeing that the emperor had returned first. He was waiting for her right at the entrance, but even after stepping out of the carriage, she still gave him the cold shoulders. However, even before she could take another step away from him, he held her wrist, stopping her from running away from him again.“Just five minutes of your time, please let me explain myself,” he pleaded.Emery took her hand away from him and the very next second, her hand landed on his cheek with a sharp slap. Those who witnessed it froze in place, not knowing what to do at all because intervening in such a heated yet cold war between the two seemed to be enough to make one pass out.“You shou
The consecutive clashing of blades filled the open ground of the knights’ barracks as Emery and Jadeite continued to fight each other. It had been more than five minutes already and yet the latter showed little sign of exhaustion despite the fact that she had been all over the place like an agile and skilled monkey. Meanwhile, Emery seemed to be so close to falling on her knees as beads of sweat ran down the side of her face. Her heavy breathing pretty much showed that her endurance was not that good.“You have gone rusted, Emery!” Jadeite claimed, wearing her infamous grin.She tightened her hold onto her pair of short swords and sprinted towards Emery. She had tired her out so a head-on and full attack would most likely end the first round of their sparring. Slashing diagonally with her right hand first, Eme
It was early in the morning when Emery finally regained consciousness. She slowly opened her eyes and the very first thing that came into sight was the familiar intricate drawings of her room’s high ceiling. The back of her neck still ached and the wound on her back that was still healing felt like several needles were piercing her skin all at the same time. Groaning, she shifted her gaze to the side and saw the emperor looking at her with a worried look.Only then, she was reminded of what had occurred even before she lost consciousness. That was enough to make her sit up and leave the bed.“Milady!” the emperor called out, rising from his seat and going after her.Emery opened the door of her twins’ room and rushed to the crib. She felt her he
“Different,” Jadeite hissed. “He is definitely different because he will hurt you in another way. First, he just watched his empress trample over you during their wedding reception. What’s next? Watch you die? Is that considered love, Emery? Is that how you define it?”Emery was unable to say a word, hence, Lila stepped between them and pushed Jadeite out of the room to help her cool down her head. Raphael, on the other hand, simply gave Emery a small pat on the shoulder.“Jadeite has a point,” he said. “However, if you truly want to stay here, then I support you for that. I know you are thinking about the kids’ future so you are not to be blamed.”She managed a small smile.
Emperor Claus strode towards her and dropped his sword before grabbing Emery behind the neck. He pulled her close and sealed her lips with his, making the knights turn their backs on them to give them privacy.His kisses were harsh, torrid, and rushed that Emery had a hard time keeping up with him. She had her hands lean against his chest to gain control, however, even if she tried to make him slow down, she failed to do so.His hand slipped around her waist as he deepened the kiss while hearing the almost inaudible moan of the woman he could not have enough of. After several more seconds, he seemed to have snapped back to his senses upon tasting something metallic—blood. He slowed down before breaking away, leaning his forehead against Emery’s and looking her directly in the eyes as they both tried to catch their breath.