“Emery.” The old man’s voice was hoarse and low as he lifted his gaze on Emery who walked up to him. A small smile slowly formed on his lips as he watched her remove the hood that hid her face. “You sure have grown up really fast. You were just a little kid when I was training you but now, you have become a fine, young lady. But are you not already the queen of the Silex Kingdom? How did you manage to come here?” “Sire, I accompanied His Majesty for the diplomatic matters with the Thorine Kingdom. And that is the reason why I came to you,” Emery replied. Looking around the place, she noticed that nothing much had changed. She stood from her seat and approached the smaller table near the wall. She poured some tea on both teacups and served it to her Sire—the name she used to address her master. He was the one who helped her with her combat skills as well as having missions when she was still a beginner. Thus, she respected him just as much as she respected the heads of the Arcana. “
After a long talk in the tavern, Emery decided to end her information gathering so she bid the men goodbye. While she was accompanying Sire back to the shop, a young man who was about her age approached her. “Young Miss, you dropped your hairpin,” he said as he handed her a jade hairpin. Emery took a closer at the hairpin and she was sure it was not hers. Not only that, she was a hundred percent sure that she left all her hairpins in the shop. “That is not mine,” she stated but before she could even follow Sire, the young man grabbed her arm. “It is a gift from me,” he said. “Why would a stranger give me a jade hairpin?” she asked in return. “Because I finally got to meet the woman whom master is so proud of.” Hearing his reply, Emery turned behind her and saw Sire smiling at the two of them. She only shook her head as she accepted the hair accessory so they could head back to the shop. While Emery was fixing her hair, she stared at the current student of Sire through the mirror
When their lips were only a few millimeters apart, Emery cupped the king’s cheek and sealed his lips with her thumb. Then, she looked right into his ever-alluring amber eyes as her thumb traced her lower lip. “Only say you are sorry if you really mean it. I do not like empty words,” she whispered. “I mean it,” he whispered back but the queen shook her head. “You simply said it because you want to kiss me, ain't it?” Emery could not help but smirk upon seeing the king’s ears turn red and he even looked away from her. She did not know if he was embarrassed because she knew that he wanted to kiss her or if it was because his words were indeed empty, or probably both. She could not truly tell. “Your Majesty, if you want to kiss me, then make sure that I have already forgiven you. I do not kiss people who owe me an apology and forgiveness.” Just then, King Lawson noticed something—the smell of booze coming from the queen. With a creased forehead, he asked, “Did you go drinking with t
Gritting her teeth out of frustration for letting the king get hurt right in front of her, Emery ran to his side and King Lawson immediately gripped her arm. She winced as his grasp tightened but chose not to make a big deal out of it. Even though the arrows stopped raining into their room, the queen could not relax just yet. Without saying anything, she grabbed her dagger and cut off a piece of cloth from her dress before tying it near the wound to lessen its bleeding. She could hear his short breaths, making her heartbeat double in pace. A little while later, she noticed that his clutch slowly weakened and his eyes were drooping. It was weird because only one arrow hit him yet he was acting like he was going to die in a matter of seconds. There seemed to be something she was failing to notice. “Your Majesty, do not doze off,” Emery told him as she lightly slapped his cheeks to make sure he won’t go to sleep. When she heard the door slam open, she got into a fighting stance to pre
4th Day of the Diplomatic Meeting… For almost two days straight, King Lawson never regained consciousness despite the assurance of the physician that he would be waking up anytime soon. Emery was not at all pleased as well on how the investigation was going through because there was no progress even a tiny bit. She could not even just decide to cut their trip short and head back to the Silex Kingdom because there could be an occurrence of a complication in the king’s situation while they’d be in travel. The meeting was again canceled due to the incident. Thus, Emery chose to tend to the king rather than leave him alone. As she finished changing the bandage of his wound, she could not help but doubt if the Vesnide antidote was genuine since he seemed to be in a coma. Clenching her fist, she gritted her teeth out of frustration for not being able to investigate the situation herself. If only Lila was with her, she could feel more assured that nothing would be covered up. She bit her l
Standing before him as she gazed down, Emery asked, “What now? Are you going to bring her back with us after the diplomatic talk?” King Lawson never said a thing as he clenched his fists, unable to answer her. He did not even dare stare back at her. And telling her about his deal with the princess was already out of the question. He did not want to tell her because he was just afraid of seeing her reaction… he was afraid of making her cry again like what he did back then. Plus, he could find a way to break it, thus, he thought that Emery was better off not knowing it. “Did you also promise her to become the next queen? And what? What will become of Royal Concubine Hazel? For your heart to waver easily over a woman, you are simply proving to me that a man like you is worse than a jerk. Should I also expect to be poisoned and disposed of just to let that woman who almost killed you sit on the throne beside you?” Some part of her wanted to stop speaking but her anger was simply taking
5th Day of the Diplomatic Talk… “Are you sure you do not want to cut our trip short?” Emery asked the king for the second time. “I already got some medicine just in case your wound gets worse along the way.” “We have to finish the meeting. Besides, their failed attempt to kill me is already a sign for them to not try another reckless move,” he stated. Though, he was sure that nothing will happen to them since he already agreed with the terms of the princess. After their trip, he would need to find a way to corner Princess Natalia and make her back out to whatever she was planning. Taking his seat at the edge of the bed, he removed the robes that covered his injured arm. He watched Emery occupy the space beside him with the tray of new bandages and some ointments. Even though he was urged to tell her the deal he made with the princess, he just did not have enough courage to do it. “I did not ask you yesterday but what favor did you ask that guy?” he asked. Cleaning his wound, Emery
“If I do not see Jadeite alive before you leave the palace, you won’t like what I will do. Perhaps, that is a deal, Princess Natalia?” Emery added. But instead of receiving a reply from her, all she got was a giggle. “Queen Emery, you are the one who is backed in a corner here so you do not get the chance to make a negotiation. Just agree with my terms and we will be fine.” This time, Emery snorted which immediately made the princess flinch in surprise. “Just because I am inside your territory, it means that you have complete control over me, princess. You do not know what I can do to you, I assure you that. I have already known that you are after my husband so it is no surprise why you want to sleep with him. And even before coming here, I already know that your kingdom’s economy is dropping and that your father’s situation is getting worse as the sun rises.” After saying all of those, Emery noticed that the princess was glaring at her as she was already killing her in her mind.