When the sun had set, Emery was still in a sour mood because of what Jadeite did. She could ignore that because the words she stated were nothing but empty ones, however, she was dealing with the prime minister. Carelessly promising to him would be like making a pact with the demon. Biting on her nails, Emery was cracking her head on how to reason out with the prime minister. Blaming the king would cause her to self-destruct because her lack of charm and seduction would be blamed instead. She could not even bring herself to drag Royal Concubine Hazel in her problem. She did nothing wrong to her so she should also do the same. She turned and lay down on her back. With her eyes intently staring at the ceiling as her mind drifted to the clouds, she did not notice the king entering her chambers. He was surprised. It was because Emery did not yell at him or even look at him after their sarcastic argument a while back so he was expecting that she will bark at him the moment they see each o
Lying down on his chest, Emery could hear the rhythmic beating of His Majesty's heart. It was not too slow or too fast so she thought that he was indeed feeling comfortable with their current position. However, she was making this pissed-off facial expression because as far as she could remember, it was never her duty to be the king's relaxant. Though, that was the original duty of a queen. But then again, she reminded herself that she did not sign up to be all lovey-dovey with the kingdom’s ruler, she was supposed to protect him at all cost. "Aren't you afraid that I might stab you when you fall asleep?" she suddenly asked. Well, it was awkward for her to keep the silence going so initiating a conversation would drive her embarrassment away... probably. "If you truly mean that, then you could have stabbed me the night we first slept together," the king replied. It was as if he trusted her enough that she would not take advantage of him even if he was in his most vulnerable state.
Looking at the golden hairpin with the shape of a flying blue phoenix at its end, Emery found no words to say. In the belief of the Silex people, a blue phoenix signifies tranquility and passion. For her, such a gift was not suited for someone like her who was lying to the king about her real identity and it was a treasure she thought she did not deserve. Princess Garnet left Emery without any more words. She believed that she had conveyed what her mother wanted to say to the current queen. And now, it was up to Emery how to meet the expectation of the king's mother and she needed time to think about such things. Emery gripped the hairpin and mumbled, "Did she not know of the existence of her son's true love?" For her, Royal Concubine Hazel was qualified to be the queen and her only flaw was not being of the same rank or higher than her. And such a flaw was not something she could control. And with the current actions of the king, Emery feared that his feelings would take a sudden
Princess Garnet and Royal Concubine Hazel were on a walk in the palace's garden when they noticed about a dozen soldiers marching towards the Inner Palace. "My, did something happen?" Princess Garnet asked one of the maidservants passing by. "His Majesty had forbidden Her Highness to leave her chambers after they argued when the queen insisted to void their marriage," the maidservant replied. This piqued the interest of the two ladies. They looked at each other with curiosity sparking between them. Wanting to know the details of their argument, Princess Garnet took hold of the concubine's hand and they rushed to the king's office court. She was quite worried that Emery chose to leave her current position despite the support that the former queen was giving. She needed to know if her younger brother had forced her to quit. Without their knowledge, the rumor of the queen's wish to separate from the king had spread in the palace like a wildfire. It became the topic of gossip between t
When Emery finally calmed down, the king asked her, "What are you up to? Wearing combat clothes is not fit for a queen. I do not mind if you break one or two royal protocols but breaking almost all of them is deemed not fit." Emery got up from her bed and glared at him. She was just reminded of her time back at the Arcana headquarters when she was younger. They told her a lot of things about what to do and what not to do, making it annoying for her to always follow their demands. She thought she got away from the irritating sermon, but it seemed like she would also have to deal with the king about it. "The way I dress has nothing to do with you, Your Majesty. And for how long do you plan on staying here? If you won't leave, then I will. We will only be arguing if we stay together." “You should have already expected the rules when you are told about becoming the kingdom’s queen. If you continue to act like this, it won’t be a surprise if the officials suddenly come up to me and ask y
Standing side by side, King Lawson and Emery both stared at the head eunuch to explain what was happening all of a sudden. It even seemed urgent, making them curious. The head eunuch, thus, held his hand over the other and bowed. “We have heard of the news that Her Highness is pregnant. It is best to let the royal physician check her to make sure that she is well. Also, a prescription is needed for Her Highness to have a healthy baby.” Upon saying those words, everyone got on their knees and laid their foreheads on the ground, and in synch, they said, “The gods have blessed us with an heir!” Emery immediately caught a glimpse of Royal Concubine Hazel who seemed to have heard the announcement as well. She was standing beside Princess Garnet but she turned and ran away, probably hurt by the sudden news. Instead of being frozen in place, the queen jabbed King Lawson on the side. She cannot believe he had the guts to just stand in place when they both saw Lady Hazel misunderstanding th
Emery tried to shake off the hold of the guards as they descended the staircase leading to the dungeon. Thankfully, it did not smell of rotting rats but still, it was darker than Emery expected. Only a few candles were the source of light, and inside her cell, a small window was open for a few rays of the sun to enter. As the metals clanged while the guards locked her up, the queen did not dare look away from His Majesty. “You two.” He turned his attention toward the guards. “Leave us alone.” When the guards were out of sight, the king spoke while wearing his usual indifferent expression. He just felt like Emery was up to something as to why she seemed desperate to leave the palace. And until he finds out what she was hiding, he will not let her leave the cell. “You will stay here until the time comes when you get to know your role as this kingdom’s queen. I have tolerated your rebellious actions before but this time, you have to learn what it means to be the queen.” Emery took a f
Seeing that she had no time to stall, Emery grabbed the reins of the black horse and immediately got on it. She ignored the owner calling out to her because her main priority was to get away from the eyes of the royal guards. With her horse galloping away from the capital, the guards spotted her and got on their horses as well. Before she could totally leave the city, she had to pass through two more gates and she needed to hurry as fast as she could. It was for this reason that the royal guards could give the gatekeepers guarding the center and outside gates the signal to shut the gates. If that happened, she will surely not be able to step out of the palace once more. Behind her, a man wearing a mask was riding on a white horse and overtook the royal guards. On his back was a quiver filled with arrows and on his shoulder was a bow. His amber eyes were locked onto the back of the queen running away. “Send a signal to the other gatekeepers to shut every entrance and exit of the city