This time, it was Duke Hagan who spoke for the others since they looked like cowards unable to stand for what they thought was right.“Your Imperial Highness,” he said, “the kingdom she ruled over a short period of time is completely different from our empire. Besides, as we are all informed about, queens in the eastern continent are not meant to take on political responsibilities. They are simply there to give birth to heirs. The empress in our empire, however, is not only for breeding.”Some of the ministers agreed while the others remained quiet as if they were still observing and weighing their options, whether to support the emperor or Duke Hagan.Sir Vlachos then added, “Plus, Emery Trigon is only known for her victory in the battlefield once. As we all are aware of the situation, Varmore does not need that kind of empress. We need someone who can fulfill her duties as a wife and as the mother of the empire.”Emperor Claus got their point and if he insisted on what he wanted, it

Hearing two distinct voices beside her, Emery slowly opened her eyes and saw the emperor speaking with the physician. Recalling what happened, she was in the library discussing the upcoming competition with the emperor, but she suddenly had a headache and that was it. She examined her surroundings and found herself lying on her bed. Since she felt a bit better, she sat up and caught the attention of the two.Emperor Claus approached her and squeezed her hand.“Are you alright? Are you in pain or anything?” he asked, obviously worried.“I’m fine, Your Imperial Highness. I think I just lack sleep that’s why I lost consciousness,” she replied with a reassuring smile.The emperor did not believe her since he got used to her white lies just for him not to get worried. He took the medicine left by the physician and handed it to her. This was the first time she had lost consciousness again after months of being stable and other than the fact that there could be an underlying complication wit

Staring into each other’s eyes for a few minutes, it was only that time did Emery realize something. “Sir Castor,” she said with a smile, “you’re beautiful, especially your chocolate brown eyes.” It took a few seconds for Castor to process the words he just heard and when it dawned on him, his cheeks burned red. Unable to bear her compliment, he held her on the shoulders and pushed her away, out of fear that he might just close the distance between them.  “A-Are you okay? Your ears are suddenly all red like tomatoes,” Emery commented and even held his ear. “Don’t!” Castor pleaded, taking her hand away from him. He stood and simply walked towards

Their time together was cut short when Castor came in a rush. Upon announcing his presence, his gaze settled on the emperor. “Your Imperial Highness, your advisers are waiting for you in the Levans Hall. Your presence is absolute or else, they will start the competition with the disqualification of Lady Emery,” he reported, making Emperor Claus stand from his seat in no time. He was indeed aware that his advisers were against his decision of postponing the competition once more because of the current condition of Emery. However, it seemed like the three advisers wanted to push through and take advantage of the situation to have Emery eliminated as soon as possible.  He kissed her on the forehead and said, “I want you to rest and wait for me. Don’

After an hour in the gazebo, Emery and Emperor Claus finally decided to head back inside since it was already past midnight. As the emperor followed the lead of Emery, he could not help but think of the scars he saw on her back when he zipped up her dress. As far as he knew, she had a hard time in the palace of the Silex Kingdom after she was crowned queen. He was also aware of the fact that Emery was ignored and treated unfairly because the king favored his concubine over her.  “Did she get those scars when she was the queen? Was the unfair treatment included physical torture or something?” he thought.  But then again, there was one thing he promised to himself that he will never do once he makes Emery the empress. And that would be having a concubine.