Chapter 4

When Emery and Lila arrived at the Inner Palace and were alone inside the queen's room, Lila knelt on the ground.

"Thank you for saving my life," she cried. She thought that she wouldn't be able to see the next sunrise because the king seemed to have seen through her despite her cries. Her hands were still trembling with the shock of her near-death just a few minutes ago.

Emery held both of her shoulders and helped her stand on both feet. She wiped off the tears from her cheeks and hugged her in return, a hug that told her she would never perish as long as she was with her.

"I'm sorry you have to go through that," she apologized. Lila shook her head and told her that it was her responsibility to help her in her missions. And she knew that being discovered was something she must prepare herself for because it was a situation that she was not fully sure she could avoid for the rest of her life.

"We only have each other inside the walls of this palace. We'll guard each other's backs," Emery stated, giving Lila the assurance that even if something bad was to happen, they will be able to get through it together.

However, King Lawson was not truly convinced that Lila had nothing to do with the incident. Calling it coincidence was something he could not settle with. But then again, without solid evidence, he could not just accuse a mere maidservant just for the sake of satisfying his suspicion. Thus, he needed to investigate Lila without the queen's knowledge so she would not get in the way.

"Keep an eye on the queen's head maidservant. If she does something suspicious, do not call her attention yet. Let her be caught red-handed," he instructed his men.

As for Minister Han, King Lawson stripped him of his position and wealth and was sent outside the capital together with the other people involved in his scheme. The weapons he had collected were almost unusable due to the damages caused by the fire.

"I have heard of the queen's action this morning. It seems that she indeed treasures her maidservant," Royal Concubine Hazel stated.

She was together with the king in the East Palace where she was staying. The king could not disagree with her words because he, too, did not expect that Emery would plead for the life of Lila. He expected that she would give no care at all since she exuded the aura like that of a proud and arrogant queen but it seemed that Emery was not someone he thought her to be.

"That seems to be the case," the king agreed, "but that aside, I will be assigning a guard to look after you."

With the spy still not caught, he was worried that she might become a target, thus, a guard would secure her safety at all times. The royal concubine smiled at the king as she held his hand. As she was pulled closer to him, she said, "I do not want to be always protected. I, too, want to be of help to you, my king."

King Lawson, however, did not quite like that kind of idea. He did not welcome her inside the palace to get in trouble because of the issues going on. Thus, it was his duty to keep her from any trouble and only had to enjoy the luxury that the palace could offer.

He kissed her on top of her head and responded, "Your presence is enough for me. I don't want you to get in trouble."

However, their moment together was cut short when Prime Minister Korun appeared before them and immediately bowed before stating the reason for his interruption.

"I apologize for interrupting, Your Majesty, but something urgent is needed to be addressed," the prime minister stated.

King Lawson kissed his royal concubine's forehead before taking his leave with the prime minister telling him of the emergency. The two of them headed to the Royal Court where the other ministers were already waiting for the presence of the king. Upon their arrival, the king sat on his throne and overlooked the ministers whose heads were lowered at his presence. He gave Prime Minister Korun permission to let the ministers report the situation to him.

"There was an uprising at the western borders, Your Majesty. The rebels were armed as they tried to enter the inner gates," one of the ministers reported.

"The Minister of War headed to the border just a moment ago to stabilize the situation," Prime Minister Korun added.

The king stared at the Minister of Finance who was quietly standing on his post with his head hanging low as if he knew that something was up but the ministers were just keeping it from him.

"What are their reasons for revolting?" the king asked without looking away from the minister.

This was noticed by Prime Minister Korun but he still wore his usual inexpressive face. He faced the king and replied, "They are complaining about their labor. They think that the kingdom is asking them too much."

King Lawson grinned upon hearing such an answer. He knew that Prime Minister Korun's response was not at all the whole truth. Thus, he stood from his throne and walked to the center aisle, heading to the exit.

"Minister Han had left the capital penniless," he said. "And I won't hesitate to send out more ministers to suffer outside the capital if each one of you fails to accomplish the tasks assigned in your post."

Since he was of the same level as them, he tried to look each of them straight in the eyes but aside from Prime Minister Korun, no one was brave enough to meet his gaze that seemed to have the ability to see through them. Since no one of them was speaking, he came to know that none of them was willing to suggest what to do aside from sending the Minister of War to the place where the revolt was happening. Turning his back on them, he left the Royal Court.

Leaving his warning, the king headed to the Soldiers' Hall to instruct a team compromising of five members to go to the western borders and investigate the situation. He did not trust the ministers who thought of nothing but their good. Even though he wanted to go himself, he could not leave the palace just after the incident that happened with Minister Han. The spy was not yet caught and there was a possibility that another attack would happen in his absence. Thus, his last resort was to send his trusted soldiers.

Meanwhile, Emery was inside her quarters feeling restless. After the huge incident, she was to lie low for a while, especially since the king had tightened the security even more around the palace. If she acted now, there was a possibility that she'd be caught in no time. But lying low was just not her thing. She clicked her tongue, annoyed at the king whose bad timing in visiting her the other day forced her to light up the storage house. If only he did not show up, everything would have been resolved peacefully.

"Your Highness, His Majesty is here," Lila announced on the other side of the door.

Before Emery could even give them permission to let the king in, the doors slid open. She stood on her feet, fixed her veil, and curtsied before the king.

"May I ask why His Majesty visited?" she asked.

The king made himself comfortable and sat across from the queen. He could not really tell what Emery was thinking since he could not see her facial expression. Despite the rising urge of wanting to lift the veil that hindered him from seeing the queen's face, King Lawson still managed to control himself. And because of that urge, he wanted to stay away from her as far as possible but if he would not solve the matter about her isolating herself from the outside world, the ministers would come barking at him endlessly. So before such an annoying scenario would come, he decided to fix things as soon as possible.

"I have heard that you were locking up yourself because I give too little attention to you. Do let me know, Emery, are you trying to earn the sympathy of the ministers just so they could force me to sleep with you?" he asked.

He was so sure of that and he was simply trying to test the queen if she'd be honest or would feign ignorance and act like the kindest woman.  

Emery, on the other hand, was out of words to say at the king's audacity. She did not expect that he would think that far just by her wanting to stay inside her quarters. As she stared into his eyes, she could tell that he came for another reason and not because of the news that she was lacking in his attention.

"I wish that that is the case, however, I was simply driven by my emotions the other day that I claimed to lock myself. Worry not, Your Majesty, for I have no desire to share the same bed with you," she replied.

That was not supposed to be said out loud but Emery just could not bear the illusion of the king about her being desperate for him. And in return, she also wanted to step on his ego so he would stop thinking that she married him out of the benefits she would reap as the kingdom’s queen.

And that being said, King Lawson did not know how to react. He was puzzled—thinking if he should be happy to hear such words directly from the queen or be offended that his wife had rejected him in such a way.

"Your Majesty, do you still have something to discuss with me?" she asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I'd be staying here for the night.”

"No," Emery disagreed with a firm voice. This time, the king raised his eyebrow because he thought that something felt off with her.

"Are you probably hiding something from me?"

"No, Your Majesty, that is not my concern. As you decided to never lift this veil of mine, it would be hard for me to sleep while wearing it. I'm afraid that I'd suffocate to death. So it is only possible for you to sleep with me if you finally come to a decision to lift my veil. Please, do understand, Your Majesty."

King Lawson shook his head to think straight since their conversation was deviating from the subject he wanted to talk about.

"That aside, I'd like to make a deal with you, Emery. Tell me anything that the prime minister is planning and in return, I'll grant anything you wish."

"I would tell you if he told me something, however, as of the moment, there is nothing to be said."

That being said, the king did not say anything else and left the room as he felt like the queen was lying. Talking with her who had no intention of cooperating with him would just waste his time. And another thing, he felt a bit embarrassed to be rejected not only once but twice in a row and it was done by one woman. As a man, it somehow damaged his pride, however, he won't go as far as lifting the veil because it would hurt the feelings of Royal Concubine Hazel as it symbolized him accepting Emery as his queen.

Upon his arrival at the East Palace where Royal Concubine Hazel was eagerly waiting for him, he wondered why his concubine had some of her clothes being packed up.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

Royal Concubine Hazel came to greet him with a hug and kiss on the cheek before answering his question. Her eyes were gleaming with excitement as she spoke.

"Your schedule the day after tomorrow is not as packed as the other days. My king, it is not good for your health if you continue to overwork yourself. Thus, I want us to go to the Royal Villa of Hot Springs. You needed to recuperate.”

After the ceremonial wedding was the incident about Mr. Han, and Lady Hazel barely saw the king take some rest just to resolve all the issues inside the palace. And so, the only thing she thought for him to have even a small break was to bring him to the hot springs.  

The king found it to be unnecessary but if he rejected her kind offer, it would make his concubine feel bad. He didn't want that.

"I guess I could take a break once in a while," he responded and it delighted Royal Concubine Hazel.

The news of their plan to leave the capital for a while spread like a wildfire and it even ignited some rumors within the palace. And of course, the news reached the ears of the queen not long after.

"Guh, they're such a handful," she commented because it meant more work for her to do.

Though she wanted to go with them in secret to guard the king, Emery could not just leave the palace. If the king was absent, then his enemies will surely strike the moment he leaves the premises. Such a scenario was likely to happen, especially if his enemies were keeping a close eye on him.

Emery, then, started to write a letter informing the Arcana about the king's travel to the Royal Villa of Hot Springs. She wanted them to be the ones to keep an eye on the king as he leaves the capital so she could be the one to take care of the matters within the palace. It was the only way she thought of in order not to leave one unattended.

Later that midnight, Lila, who was clad in her dark combat apparel, appeared at the queen's chambers just like what she was told to do. And for her not to catch anyone’s attention, especially the guard patrols, she snuck through the open window.

"Give this to the Arcana. Be careful not to get hurt and caught. Give the letter and immediately return," Emery instructed before Lila vanished into the dark.