Published at 23rd of November 2020 02:07:20 PM
Chapter 12
“I’m fine . I turned down the offer of Her Highness, and I’m actually grateful for being alive . ”
“May I know what the offer was about?”
If she answered him, it would lead to a family dispute . However, even if she tried to console him, there would be no reason to keep him quiet since this family was already in a state of trouble .
“She asked me to become her servant in return for my… . . freedom . ”
The red eyes of his narrowed .
“So?”
“I told her it would be difficult for me . ”
“Why?”
“Uh…that…”
She hesitated . She couldn’t just say that she liked treating the Emperor nor could she say that the Empress was trying to find his weaknesses .
His eyes narrowed more sharply .
“Is it a habit of yours to not answer my questions?”
“Is there anything else I didn’t answer?”
Then, there was a knock on the door . It was polite, but she could feel a sense of urgency .
He rose to his feet without any delay .
“I know you’re smart, so think about yourself . Come to my room at night later . ”
“Is it hurting again, Your Majesty?”
“I have something to say today and it’s going to be quite long . ”
“Okay, Your Majesty . ”
He opened the door himself, and outside the door stood the Minister of the Palace, nervously staring at the Emperor .
She bowed and raised her head only after he disappeared from her sight . Suddenly, she realized that it was the first time that she was called not for his treatment, but to talk about something else .
She felt refreshed . Suddenly, her energy seems to have surged up .
‘Now, let’s cheer up and get back to work . ’
She washed her face, took off her wine-stained clothes, and put on clean clothes . It was fortunate that it was nothing else other than two slaps on her cheek .
As she went back to the banquet hall, the other maids greeted her with a surprised look, as if they thought she would never return for the day .
The hall was still filled with soft music and beautiful lights, with the perfect supervision of the head of the town .
The maid beside her informed her that the atmosphere of the hall dropped down to temperature zero when the Emperor and the Empress Dowager were engaged in a war of words . But after His Highness’ sudden disappearance, the mood had eased to a certain extent, and now, it’s all good .
‘Haha… . so, His Majesty… . left the banquet hall to ask me if I was fine? Why didn’t he attend to other businesses?’
The more she thought about it, the more it tickled her stomach .
Some people would notice her . They might think that her job was not important, but she wanted to give her best because she thought she was good at it . As she pushed the cart with a smile on her face again, the eyes that followed her soon dispersed . The maids seemed to have found some composure .
By the time it was night, her cart passed by the Empress Dowager . She smiled at Her Highness so sweetly that it seemed ridiculous to her .
‘Ha! I’m not going to run away like a coward with a tail between my legs . ’
The Emperor’s brother looked busy, but as he was passing by her, their eyes met again . She thought she’d be in trouble again . But as he passed by busily, she offered him a drink without saying a word .
Every maid she met was worried about her . But she was never depressed for she was already preoccupied with other thoughts .
‘Did I not answer any of His Majesty’s questions before?’
She rolled up her left sleeve after organizing the cart . She caught a glimpse of a new pair of pitted magical engraving on her forearm .
The banquet was not in a mood to end until night fell . It wasn’t until midnight that the maids went to rest in their respective rooms for her to be able to make her way to His Majesty’s room .
She was tired . Worried that she might be late again, she changed her clothes quickly and went to the Emperor’s room .
As she reached his room, she saw him talking to someone . It was the first time that she was called when he had a guest . She was surprised .
The Emperor said to his guest, glancing at her .
“Now get out of here . ”
She was startled at those harsh words that even she had never heard of, but the guest smiled and stood up as if he was used to this .
“Anyway, there can be a variety of ways to raise one’s status . So, I’ll talk to you again . You can trust me as your cupid . ”
The Emperor gnarled, glaring at him .
“When would you stop talking nonsense?”
“All right, I’ll be off then . ”
‘What kind of conversation is this?’
The man winked at her as he passed by her .
She didn’t miss giving a look at his badge, which indicated his identity . He was the Duke of Thiaheb . Apparently, in her session with Luana, she was told that he was a friend of the Emperor .
If he was with his friend, he should have told her not to disturb them . Then, she would have waited outside the room for a little longer . She felt uncomfortable as his friend was driven out like this in front of a mere servant .
The Emperor sat down on a chair, his eyes resting on her . Celestia just stood beside the table confused because she had always met him in his bedroom .
“Come and sit down . ”
“How can I… . ”
“Did you not hear me? Sit down . ”
‘Even if you want me to sit down, I don’t have the strength . ’
It was quite burdensome to sit on a chair opposite to the Emperor . But unable to go against his orders, she sat down uncomfortably . Even if it might look exactly like sitting next to the bed facing the Emperor .
He was as handsome as always, but he was dressed up today . He stared at her with a tired face .
Perhaps it was because of his power that he had the habit of staring at people . She once heard that predators enjoyed hunting the most when their prey avoided their eyes .
It felt like he was looking at her neck . She placed her arm over her scarf, thinking that she had washed it .
‘What? Does it look weird?’
He spoke soon .
“You’ve already seen what kind of woman is the Empress . ”
‘Wow, you can swear so carelessly just because you’re the Emperor . But I can’t, no matter how angry I am . ’
“Haha… . . I see . ”
“It is because of her and her mad son that I’m trying to hide my disease, and it will not change even if I enter my grave . ”
‘Why are you telling me all these things?’
She nodded and he sighed .
“Well, it’s no use in explaining these things . You’re from a different country after all . ”
‘That’s ridiculous . . ’
“Don’t say it like that . I can understand how hard it must have been for you, Your Majesty . ”
The Emperor was so receptive to her grumbling that he didn’t realize what she said . As his eyes were still at her neck, she touched her neck again . He tilted his head in thought .
“Yeah, maybe . But if a spy knows too much of my secrets, I’ll have to kill him . Well, It’s hard to detect them and everything takes time . But it wouldn’t take too much time to take his head . ”
She didn’t know what he was talking about, so she stared at him blankly .
“Anyway, I think I’ve been thinking wrongly . Maybe the Empress Dowager was right . It was my mistake to think that you would be delighted just because I gave you the opportunity to work for me . Honestly, I didn’t know you would draw attention this quickly . ”
“… . . Pardon?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to go to the academy?”
“What?”
“I’ll allow you to go . You don’t need to work as a servant anymore . You’re free . ”
‘I’m free?’
Well, no word, said by the Emperor himself, could go meaningless .
‘But I don’t feel happy . Why?’
The Emperor added .
“Instead, if you run away recklessly, you’ll get rid of your unimaginable debt . ”
“No, it’s all so sudden… . . ”
“You don’t need to refuse in some ridiculous modest manner . I’m sick of it . Instead, I want you to learn as much as you can so that you can live respectfully . ”
It seemed like he really wanted her to go to the academy as a free citizen because servants were not allowed there .
“But why?”
“It’s convenient for you . ”
“Pardon?”
“It’s annoying to hide things from the people who serve me . Hurry up and graduate so that you can work as a secretary of mine . I’ll give you a salary . You don’t have to be disappointed anymore . ”
‘A secretary… . . ?’
She heard that each Emperor of the Burg Empire always needed a secretary, but this system was not in Goldina . Count Zach, the current secretary, was too old to know when he would retire .
Unlike the Minister of the Palace, who was in charge of the affairs of the court, the Emperor was the only person who helped the individuals in the royal court .
He always wore a long-sleeved shirt to hide his wounds . But she didn’t know that he wouldn’t have told Count Zach .
‘Was I wrong to think the Emperor’s position in the palace was firm? How could he manage so many things? Compared to my life, his life is much more difficult and tiring . ’
‘But how can I be the secretary of an Emperor? I can understand that he feels a bit comfortable around me, but…’
“Don’t you like it?”
She shook her head carefully .
‘It’s not that I hate it, but… . ’
There was a big difference between what the Empress had offered and what His Majesty had said . Celestia was already thrilled to accept what she had proposed, which was absolutely better, but she was reluctant to do it .
“I’ll adjust your status gradually . You don’t need to expect too much . ”
“Is it really okay for me? People’s viewpoints… . . can’t be changed… . . let alone my status . ”