With the queen’s attention fully occupied by the food in front of her, the king turned his sight towards the maidservant still unconscious on the bed. He initially planned to interrogate Lila while the queen was gone but for some reason, he could not do it. Not because he was worried about how the queen would react but because the maidservant chose to be quiet despite the fact that he threatened her multiple times. And not to mention, she was oddly unconscious most of the time Whatever her real relationship with the queen, it was something that the king would not be able to severe easily. A little while after, Emery finished her food and noticed that the king’s eyes were focused on the maidservant she was looking after. She raised an eyebrow and simply stared at him without saying a word. “I am truly curious why you are so invested towards that sole maidservant,” the king commented. He, then, looked back at the queen. “That is why I had her background checked but I only found out th
The next morning, Emery woke up when she heard Lila’s voice just outside her chambers. The sun was already out outside the window, so she got out of bed and let Lila enter. However, her forehead creased when she saw the other maidservants holding some dresses as if she was about to get married again. When she asked what was going on, Lila replied, “Princess Garnet has invited you to attend the Flower Banquet held at the nearby lake.” Cocking her head to the side, Emery wondered what the Flower Banquet was. But then again, she heaved a sigh since she would not fully understand the different occasions or banquets held by the nobles. May it be out of a whim or not, banquets were the least favorite of the queen. “Can I not go? I am a bit tired of yesterday’s travel,” she tried to reason out. “Your Highness, the princess said that you are needed for the banquet. Royal Concubine Hazel is now waiting for you by the gates.” Saying that, Lila pushed Emery towards the bathing ward so she co
When Emery finally reached the pavilion, she curtsied at the princess who was wearing her usual smile that hid some unpredictable sinister. The queen felt a bit relieved when Princess Garnet asked the other ladies to leave them alone for a while. “Thank you for inviting me to this banquet.” Those were the first words of the queen. She first thought that the princess had already gone home to the Vesuvia Kingdom when she left the palace but she was wrong. She wanted to ask why she stayed longer in the kingdom but that would sound like she did not like her presence so she chose to just keep it to herself. Pouring herself some tea, Princess Garnet smiled. “I have heard that you got in an argument with the king the moment you returned. But what really worries me is that he let you come here without him despite the attempted assassination.” “His Majesty needed to attend important meetings today so he needed not to accompany me to attend the banquet. Besides, he is already investigating th
Emery was still speaking with Lady Ruby when everyone got on their knees and lowered their heads. “Your Majesty, please spare our lives!” they begged. Looking behind her, the queen locked gaze with the king who was coming in their direction exuding some deadly aura. She turned on her heels to face him and asked if the royal concubine was doing fine. The king did not reply and was about to walk past her, however, Emery stepped to her right and blocked his way. She received his infamous icy and striking glare but it did not stop Emery from stepping to her left when the king attempted to get past her for the second time. “Step aside.” His command was absolute and full of authority but the queen knew that if she did let him be, he would scare the shit out of the already frightened ladies behind her. “If Lady Hazel is doing fine, there is no need for you to be merciless towards these young ladies. Other than that, did she tell you who pushed her?” “She is not saying anything so I woul
Submerging herself deeper until only her head was above water, Emery raised her eyebrow. “Are you not ashamed of getting inside the bathroom while a woman is bathing?” As usual, the king did what he was good at-ignoring the queen. He walked towards the corner where he could take off his clothes, making Emery scoff in disbelief. “Are you out of your mind? Can you simply wait for me to finish?” she yelled. “What are you embarrassed about? I am your husband so it is no big deal if we are to bath at the same time and at the same place.” “That only works if we both hold mutual feelings but that is not the case at all!” “Your Highness, is everything okay?” Emery felt a bit relieved when she heard Lila’s voice coming from the outside. She asked her to bring her some clothes since she was almost finished with her bath. Turning her back towards the king, she covered her face with both of her hands to make sure that she would see nothing until she left the bathroom. However, a few moments
Emery moved when she felt a bit ticklish behind her ear. She was about to simply brush it off but when she raised her hand a bit to hold her ear and drive away whatever was causing it to tickle, she felt someone’s hand that drove her away from sleepiness. Out of instinct, she opened her eyes in no time and saw a masked person right in front of her, with only his remarkable blue eyes could be seen. She immediately grabbed her dagger hidden beneath her pillow and did not hesitate to attack, slashing the intruder with no hesitation. However, the masked person immediately stepped back and dodged the dagger. It was just the other day that her first assassination attempt happened so she expected that the security around the palace became tighter but it seemed like she was wrong. And for another attempt to happen so early, Emery was just as surprised. However, when she immediately stood to make a lunge, she felt lightheaded all of a sudden and her vision started to blur, making her dizzy and
Lady Ruby’s eyes widened as she lowered her head. “I dare not try to take His Majesty’s time from you, Your Highness.” Despite her reply, Emery simply smiled and said, “It is okay to tell me how you really feel. Besides, it is common for every noblewoman to dream and becoming one of His Majesty’s concubines. And even though you get my approval, the final decision still lies with His Majesty.” The lady could not fully understand the queen. If she was in her position, she would allow no concubine at all to enter the palace as it would only reduce the chance of her bearing the king’s child. However, from the words of Emery, Lady Ruby could find no hint of a lie behind them. Seeing that she seemed like the lady who was not hot-tempered and heartless like what she heard from the rumors, Lady Ruby took the courage to speak about the incident just a while back. Clasping her hands together and staring at her cup of tea that had gone cold, she took a deep breath. “It is true that I am jealou
For a while, Emery stared at the king with her eyes wide and a crease on her forehead. After a couple of minutes, when his words finally registered in her mind, she made a nasty expression, showing a mixture of disbelief and disgust. “Did you just address me as my Queen?” She shivered as she hugged herself. “You better not say that again or I might find myself puking out my stomach.” The king simply gazed back at her, ignoring her remarks, and responded, “Even if you try to change the topic at hand, I won’t be swayed. Now, tell me, what is it that you are hiding?” Emery sighed. With the stubbornness of His Majesty, it was unlikely of her to avoid him, especially that both of them reside in the palace and even share a room. Running away from him was not just the right way to make him stop asking questions. Thus, he straightened her back and clasped her hands together ready to execute her second option of getting away. “The prime minister wants me to keep an eye on you,” she confesse
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