Lady Emily received nothing but silence as a response from the king. Watching him staring at the flowers with longing in his eyes, she simply heaved a sigh as she stood right next to him. Even though he would not say it out loud, it was already obvious that King Lawson was indeed jealous.  “Everyone in the palace said that she lost her memories but it does not look like she did,” Lady Emily commented. “She is probably acting that way because she wanted to get back at you.” The king shook his head. “She is not that type of person. If she dislikes me, she would say it right in front of me without hesitation.” King Lawson did not say those words to negate the assumption of the q

When Castor was dismissed, the emperor was about to leave the library as well, however, he heard the door opening and shutting once more. He thought that Castor probably had forgotten something, but then, Emery came into view. He immediately sat back down, grabbed a book out of instinct, and pretended he was reading. “Your Imperial Highness.” She curtsied before approaching him. “May I have a bit of your time?” Emperor Claus did not reply since he was more than sure she would tell him nothing but excuses of how the king ended up carrying her as if they just got married. He did not want to admit it, however, he was once again starting to have doubts. A lingering feeling of being cheated on once again surrounded him and knowing that Emery was a woman who hides a lot of things from him, there was a possibility th

After that night, Emery acted as if it never happened and she felt a bit relieved since the king no longer tried to bother her. Either way, since she needed an alternative course of action in order to be in the competition once more now that the first stage was coming to a close. Hence, she went to see the prime minister. “We are still deciding whether or not you will be automatically advanced to the second stage. There will be a meeting about that matter this afternoon so wait for a while. As of the moment, you should help the emperor,” the prime minister said before handing her a pile of documents that needed to be addressed. “What are these?” Emery asked. “Reports and appeals. Since you will all be leaving for a short trip, I might as well drown the emperor with work first. His audacity to even think of taking a break amidst the busy season just amazes me.” “A trip?” The prime minister waved his hand, not wanting to answer her question and dismissing her already since he still

After that short conversation, Emery felt like Castor was avoiding her. He simply spoke to her if he needed her help with something, but other than that, he paid her no attention. She thought that it probably had to do something with the mark on his neck and with the way he told her before that it does not look fine, she must have crossed a line without even noticing. Hence, when the two of them stood at the entrance of the Whitmore Mansion to wait and welcome the participants, she cleared her throat. “Sir Castor, I’m sorry for what I said a while ago,” she said. “It’s okay. It’s not really that much of a big deal.” With her mouth slightly pouting, Emery stared at the empty

After five minutes upon leaving the villa, they slowed down and eventually stopped when they came upon a lake. However, it was no ordinary lake like Emery had seen before because this one was frozen solid yet majestic in sight. As she dismounted from the horse while holding on Castor’s hand, they slowly approached the lake. “H-How is this possible?” she asked, her breath turning into plumes of mist that lingered for a moment before dissipating in the chilly air. “Even I do not know,” Castor chuckled. “That’s why this is considered as one of the mysteries in the empire since even the scholars cannot fully explain how this lake remains frozen almost all throughout the year.”