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
“Your daughter left the capital despite the king pursuing her until at the very last gate. How will we gain control over the throne if our trump card is now gone?” one of the ministers asked. They were all in the royal court upon hearing the news about the queen. They were all anxious in their places as they waited for the king’s arrival. The prime minister glared at the minister beside him and it was enough for him to shut him up even without saying anything. “I already sent people to go after her. She will not be leaving without doing helpful at all,” Prime Minister Korun stated. When they saw the king by the entrance, they bowed their heads and greeted him as he went towards the throne. His expression was just as indifferent as it used to be but his aura said otherwise as it was cold and dangerous, making every minister in the room never dare speak a word. Finally seated on his throne, the king rested his chin on the back of his hand. “Bring the maidservant in,” he ordered. L
The king grabbed the handle and saw that it was a dagger exquisitely made. The tip of the handle was a mixture of silver and gold seemingly woven over each other. Between the handle and the blade was a dark grey gemstone shaped like a shield and its crossguard and quillon were shaped like that of a wave. Securing the dark grey gemstone, two silver and gold snakes crossed over each other with their tails ending at the edge of the crossguard. The blade itself was also carved with the gold and silver wave until it reached the tip. It was a dagger he had never seen before so he could not pinpoint the place where it could have been made. Staring at it lifted the curiosity of the king about the queen. With Prime Minister Korun not visiting her even once before their marriage, he suspected that there was something Emery was hiding from him as well as from her father. Keeping the dagger underneath the long sleeves of his clothes, he left the chambers of the queen and asked for the blacksmith
After their bath, the three assassins went to the dining hall where Jadeite was already gobbling up some food in her mouth. The long, wooden table was filled with different dishes as if they were celebrating the king’s birthday. Holding a chicken leg in one hand, she waved at them. “You are all taking too long to finish bathing so I went ahead and ate first. Help yourselves with the feast.” “Are we the only one summoned?” Emery asked as she sat just across Jadeite. Jadeite simply nodded in response. She cupped her bowl with both hands and sipped the soup, making a loud slurping sound and catching everyone’s attention in the room. When she was done, she just gave them a wink before turning her attention back to her chicken. “The others are too far away to be summoned and cannot leave their posts so only the four of us are available. But I wonder what it was all about,” Cataleena stated. “It’s all about the revolt of the people at the western border of Silex Kingdom. Perhaps, Her Hi
It was already night time but the grandest brothel house here in the Realgar Kingdom was very much alive like it was the peak of the day. Noblemen continued to enter with much anticipation but I cannot truly tell if it was because they were planning to rise against the king or if it was for the women who will soon serve them or probably both. It was a huge party to cover up the noblemen’s real purpose of gathering here in this pleasure house. Thus, it was also a chance for me to test my girls’ ability to gather intelligence without getting caught. Beneath the main brothel, I gathered the 10 ladies I had been training for four years now for their briefing before they would go out there and do their very first mission. “I am reminding you again that all you have to accomplish this night is to gather information regarding the supposed rebellion. Serve the guests with food, wine, sweet talks, lip service, and whatnot but never engage in sexual activities. I forbid you to be in that kind
Emery, then, turned on her heels and started to away. Taking only a few steps, the king finally spoke. “Your accusations against them will be considered treason. To add up to that, you are still the prime suspect in killing the royal concubine. If you turn your back now without proving your innocence, you won’t be able to leave this place alive.” The assassin did not bother listening to whatever he had to say and still continued to leave. With her position as queen taken away from her, she had to pretend to leave the kingdom. She also needed to speak with the Arcana Heads to ask what shall be her next move with all the situations going beyond her control. “Your stubbornness annoys the hell out of me.” King Lawson, whose patience just snapped a few moments ago, grabbed Emery by the arm and dragged her into the tent. He strictly instructed the royal soldiers to make sure that no one would ever dare step inside the tent until he says so. Upon entering, Emery was a bit taken aback when
After the sudden appearance of the queen and Lady Mica, they met with King Lawson inside the tent, and even though he never said a word, his icy gaze said it all. He was not at all pleased with their visit as if this was some kind of vacation trip. “Your Majesty, I apologize for not telling you ahead of time about our arrival. I was simply worried about what was going on in here so I came,” Queen Natalia stated. Clearing her throat, Lady Mica intercepted since she noticed that her son was not convinced of the queen’s reason. “Lawson, that is not the way to treat your new queen. The two of you just got married and did not even spend your honeymoon in peace. At least, appreciate her efforts.” Clicking his tongue, the king shifted his attention back to the reports and said, “Mother, would you step out for a while? I need to speak with Natalia alone.” Lady Mica was about to negate but the queen gave her a reassuring look that everything would be just fine. Thus, the king’s mother left
After a few days of travel along with a few royal soldiers, King Lawson was able to reach the western border. Just like what Vasmir reported, the planes that used to be ablaze were now only covered with the remnants of the war. He could see some of the soldiers cleaning up and gathering the dead bodies but before he could go and see what was going on beyond the borders, he headed to the campsite of the general. Seeing the king wearing his armor, all the royal soldiers got on their knees and lowered their heads. King Lawson simply passed them by and came face to face with General Kyan. Getting off his horse, he entered the tent and the general followed. “I have always regarded you as one of the greatest soldiers that the kingdom could offer. But hearing that you forbid the soldiers to fight alongside the people of the Thorine Kingdom changed my mind. You are nothing but a coward,” the king commented as he took his seat and his chin leaning on the back of his hand. Instead of getting
Emery did not want to force General Kyan into her plan but she had no plans of staying put either. Stepping out of the tent, she walked towards the battlefield but when she felt that the soldiers whom she just led a few hours ago, she stopped in her tracks and faced them. “Our mission is considered as a failure and I apologize for dragging you into a decision I made for myself. But I won’t be apologizing for the decision I made. Our mission has ended, thus, I am no longer your leader so wait for the general’s further instructions.” After saying that, she turned on her heels and scanned the vicinity, hoping to locate where the general of the Damas Kingdom was. It was not hard to spot him despite the wide horizon as her eyes reflected their group backing away with their weapons raised above their heads. The royal soldiers, however, were a bit puzzled at the sudden change of mind of their enemies. And for the ceasefire to be led by the well-known undefeatable general, they found it rat
Emery still did not budge and was on the verge of shooting the arrow right in the face of the general. However, she clicked her tongue when he managed to push away the royal soldiers surrounding him. With a thunderous roar, he claimed, “You will never win this war! The soldiers of the Thorine Kingdom shall back us up and your kingdom shall be eaten by fire!” Emery cocked her head and slowly dropped her weapon. She, then, walked towards the general with a crease on her forehead. “With what you said, am I right if I say that you are associated with the Thorine Kingdom? But how could that be possible now that Princess Natalia just became the queen of our kingdom?” Instead of getting a decent answer from him, Emery twitched as the laughter of the general rang in her ears. It was a burst of laughter to mock her as if she was the craziest woman in front of him. “She married him to kill your king and conquer Silex with our help!” This time, it was the general and the soldiers’ turn to l
When the night embraced the land, Emery briefed the soldiers first on what they should do upon arriving at the site of their ambush. Though, she started to feel a bit uncomfortable as she felt their stares at her as if they were becoming more and more suspicious of who she was. Her heart almost skipped a beat when one of them took the courage to ask about her identity since it seemed like it was their first time to see her. And to avoid that topic, she simply stated that it was not the right time to know her since they were about to do something important that could either give their side an advantage or not. She even almost got busted when a few of them claimed that she looked familiar. If she were to be too defensive, it would make them more suspicious. “Captain, the general of the enemies had arrived in their camp,” the scout came to report, helping Emery get out of the tight situation. She stood from her seat and grabbed her spear. “Everyone, in your positions. At exact midnight
Emery stared at the royal physician who was on his knees right in front of her. She did not know what it was all about but since he dragged her into an empty room, she thought that there was something going on. However, she never dared speak up and ask about it as she still felt a bit discouraged to do anything after witnessing the king getting married to another woman. “Your Highness, please forgive me. I… I know what I did is something unforgivable and I deserve to lose my head for lying but… Your Highness, I beg for your mercy,” he pleaded. He bowed to her until his forehead touched the cold floor. His lips quivered as he anticipated the reply of the queen who still remained quiet after a few minutes of silence. “I am no longer the queen of this kingdom so do not act so formal. But that aside, what lie are you saying?” The royal physician gulped. He could feel the tips of his fingers growing cold but this could only be the last chance he had to redeem himself so he had to speak
Not wanting to be recognized, Emery immediately turned away, swinging her sword towards an enemy. She did not dare look back because she just saw a glint of shock in the general’s eyes despite the few seconds of looking into his very eyes. With a grunt escaping her mouth, she lunged towards another enemy and swung her weapon down to injure his leg. Her enemy fell to his knees, giving Emery the chance to slit his throat and end his life. She kept chanting in her mind not to pay much attention to what she just saw but her anxious heart was unsettled. The thought of her getting arrested at that very moment was not just the best idea. Just then, she felt someone behind her but before she could turn on her heels to see who it was, the general spoke. “What did you come here for?” he asked just loud enough for her to hear. Emery was able to feel a bit relieved when she heard his voice without even a hint of threat. She simply hoped that he would not turn her into the king, at least, not f