The king did not say anything but simply stared at Emery with his poker face and an icy gaze. He was just not in the mood to take her jokes lightly. Plus, letting her get on his nerves would only worsen his day after what happened back in the Court Palace. “You are indeed jealous,” Emery still teased. “But anyway, if you promise me to believe the words I say, I am willing to answer any of your inquiries. Is that a deal?” “It is a deal.” Clasping her hands together on her lap, she stared at him in the eyes to prove that the words she would be saying were true. She needed to convince him this time since she failed to hide the fact that she was an assassin. Thus, she had to make sure that his knowledge of her remained shallow, or else, she would be doomed. “I do not know if Lady Mica mentioned this to you before but she is a friend of my mother. She helped her in many ways but my mother was unable to repay her since she left the capital upon knowing that she was seriously ill. It’s th
King Lawson did not like the tone of Emery’s voice when she asked that question. He felt like she was telling him that he actually needed her to settle some serious matters. And such a feeling was something he wished to disappear. “It seems like you do not need it at all,” Emery added as if tempting him to say the words she wanted to hear—the words of begging for help coming from his very mouth. Meanwhile, Emery was getting more and more hyped up as she watched him look away from her. It was a sign she thought that showed how the situation was starting to be humiliating for the person whose pride was as high as the mountains. A grin was still plastered on her lips, waiting for the king to actually ask for her help. And as every second passed, she could see his agitation grow. A great sight for her indeed. “You should just show up in front of your people and announce that you are not following your father’s steps. It is easy that way,” she teased. “But then, it would be hard to make
Three days passed by in a swift and Emery was ever ready to do her part in catching the culprit. She prepared herself for two days to once again face her father and pretend to take his side before her supposed-to-be death sentence. Though, it was still unclear to her what was yet to happen since the king did not discuss their plan in exact detail. As she waited in her cell, she could not help but shiver because of the thin cloth of her ragged dress that day. Her hair was a bit messy and she made sure that her lips looked paler as if she was drained of blood. She also purposely starved herself for two days to make her acting more believable and convincing. All she was waiting for was the arrival of the prime minister. Not long after, she heard some footsteps so she took some deep breaths before lying down on the cold floor looking like a mistreated mistress. “Look at how pathetic you are right now.” Emery did not like those words especially since it was coming from a person who neve
When Emery returned to the West Palace, she was immediately greeted by Lila who apologized countless times for not being able to help her. It was not much big of a deal since she did not want her to get involved too much that others would also target her. To have a private conversation with her, the two of them went into the king’s exclusive bathroom for Emery to be able to wash up. “I really am sorry, Your Highness. I was locked up just until a moment ago so I was not able to visit you or even bring you out of prison,” Lila stated as she knelt on both knees across Emery. “Stand,” she replied. “It is not your fault since that king prevented you from seeing me. But is it really true that he made an investigation regarding the royal seal incident?” Lila nodded. “It seemed like Vasmir did almost all of the work for His Majesty. But the real culprit who sent the assassins to abduct the royal concubine still remains a mystery.” Emery simply nodded. She was thinking that she could proba
After Vasmir reported to the king, King Lawson headed to the Eastern Palace to make sure that the royal concubine was not hurt in any way. Upon his entrance, Royal Concubine Hazel curtsied before him. “Your Majesty, I am not informed ahead that you will be spending the night here so I am not able to prepare any food,” she stated. “Do not bother yourself with such trivial matter. You are not hurt, aren’t you?” “I am doing perfectly fine, Your Majesty. Is Queen Emery alright? She seems to be seriously ill when I saw her.” Flashing an assuring smile at her, King Lawson kissed the back of her hand and replied, “She is faring well.” “Your Majesty, I am simply worried. Will she hate me if she comes to know that I interfered this morning in order to get her cooperation?” That question reminded the king of what he already told Royal Concubine Hazel regarding the position of queen. Tightening her hold on her hand, he looked her in the eyes. “I think not. Just show her who you really are
The king never replied anymore because if he did, their conversation would drag on until dawn. Thinking that Emery was already back to sleep, he put his arm on her shoulder. However, only a few seconds later, he felt a sharp slap on his arm. Still, he placed his arm around the queen again but this time, he pulled her close to his chest—his arm snaked around her back. “Just so you know, doing this won’t make me forget what you did this morning. I am not so forgiving to pardon you after you instructed Lady Hazel to come and beg for my life without even telling me ahead of time,” Emery mumbled. Hearing those words coming right out of the queen’s mouth made the king open his eyes. Not only her words were striking but the tone of her voice sounded like a mixture of disappointment, anger, and sulkiness. Then, a realization hit him. “Is that the reason why you have been so grumpy lately?” he snickered since it was his first time to actually witness her being like that. It was rather surpr
Emery simply shook away her worries and thought that her gut feeling was probably wrong that time. She handed the scroll back to the king and did not show any complaints since she would be able to accompany him outside the kingdom without having to hide. That being said, she could perform her mission easier than before. “By the way, your daggers…” The king paused as he took one of the daggers out from his sleeve. “You can have them back.” Emery waited for King Lawson to hand it over to her but he did not so she open her palm towards him. But when their gazes locked, she saw the glimpse of hesitation in his eyes. “Hand it over, Your Majesty,” she stated. “Are you not going to tell me who made this?” he asked. Emery rolled her eyes. “Your Majesty, I have been telling you that I do not know. And even if I do know, what will you do if you know the blacksmith?” “I will ask him to make more.” “Ha! Then, it is such a good thing that I do not know or else, these precious daggers will be
The very next day, Emery stood in front of the palace gates with her eyes reflecting the disappointed look on Lila’s face. She did not actually want to let her leave because she would be all alone in the palace but she was given no choice. And since it involved the previous queen, she also wanted to know what the Arcana was speculating against her. Lila curtsied. “Thank you, Your Highness, for seeing me off. If you shall permit it, I will gladly send you a letter if I wish to provide my service again in the future.” Emery simply nodded but did not say a word, giving Lila the thought that she was being a bit rebellious against Arcana’s decision. She could only give her an encouraging smile before turning her back on her and just left. The queen just stood on the same spot with her hands clasped together and her eyes still focused on the back of her colleague leaving her. She wanted to make sure that Lila would leave the palace unscathed so she could only watch her back. Meanwhile, t