Prince Cornelius remained quiet even after Emery’s greeting. He eyed her from head to toe as he stepped forward and looked at her closely. Circling her, he could sense that everyone was tensed as if afraid that he would cause any sort of trouble. However, the lady who just arrived and the very person whom he had heard to be the object of his brother’s affection seemed unaffected by his actions.
He must admit to himself that she was a beauty, but if he were to compare her to Lady Serena, Emery would surely lose. Either way, there was one thing he was sure of and that was not giving his approval to her.
Standing across from her, he grinned.
“You probably coaxed my brother into sending you here with the hope that I will grant you some special treatment,”
Before the guards would notice the presence of the assassin, Emery shoved him into her room. If only she did not act that fast, they could have seen him. Despite the questions swirling around her mind as to why Vasmir would be there, she still kept herself together and faced the guards that came with her.“We will be leaving at dawn tomorrow so take as much rest as you can,” she told them.She received a quick reply from them before they disappeared into their room. Heaving a sigh as she stepped into her room, she immediately locked it upon shutting it close. Her face grew grim as she turned on her heels to see Vasmir, who seemed to be still in a daze and disbelief that he stumbled upon her in that place.“What are you doing here?” she hissed.
“Colsier does not really contribute anything to the empire so spending money on it is useless,” the emperor replied.This reminded Emery that the emperor right in front of her was someone who conquered land out of boredom. She had heard it countless times during her stay in the palace, however, seeing it in person was totally different. Of course, a village as small as Colsier could not make any difference in the empire’s economy, however, the mere fact that he destroyed that village just to ignore it in the end was heartless in itself.“Is that so?” she barely muttered.The emperor nodded before changing the topic, telling her how much each of the dresses would cost as well as the jewelry sets so she would not sell them with a cheap price. Upon finishing explaining to her, he noticed that she was oddly staring at him with seemingly unfocused eyes.“Is everything okay?” he asked to which she simply answered with a small nod.Since she still had some time before the morning came, Emery
“Queen of the Damas Kingdom?” Emery repeated in her mind as she came to a halt. She was even more convinced that King Lawson was indeed planning to marry the queen since he even brought her with him to the empire. There was just no other explanation for it. But even with an aching heart, Emery turned on her heels and flashed Lady Emily a smile.“I do not mind at all,” she replied. “Wait, no. It is no longer my concern since His Majesty is nothing but an ex-husband. Either way, congratulations for your upcoming union. And if you don’t mind, I will personally attend the wedding.”After saying that, Emery turned her back as she clutched at the side of her dress and gritted her teeth. She kept telling herself that she should be happy for the king since he would be able to gain the support of the Damas Kingdom once he marries the queen and would be able to have an heir. But no matter how much she convinced herself, Emery hated that idea.As she spent her afternoon trying to forget about h
Only then, Prince Cornelius raised his hand. In a snap the soldiers spread out, surrounding Emery and the others with their swords drawn out and ready to attack with only one command from the prince. Before Emery could speak another word, several guards escorted Marianne out of the barracks. They pushed her on the ground right in front of Emery before throwing their bags on the side.“The barracks is not for playing house so you are not welcome here. Why not start living with the civilians and show them how much of a saint you are?” the prince mused.Fighting against him would be no good at all and worse, Emery might lose the materials she had brought from the capital. Hence, she did not show any resistance and just watched the gates of the barracks shut right before them.“Lady Emery, we should report his behavior to the emperor! W-We can’t have you live in the streets,” Marianne panicked, only to receive a small shake of the head from her lady.“There is no need to inform the empero
Gaius, the elderly man as well as the grandfather of Pearce, immediately stepped forward to stop what his grandson was doing. He did not like the way he was acting, especially raising a sword on a woman.“Do not be ridiculous!” Gaius yelled at him. “Put your sword back in its sheath and apologize to her.”Before Pearce could respond, Emery spoke.“Fine. I accept your challenge.”The crowd was surprised and a bit worried since they knew too well that Pearce was a great swordsman. Still, curiosity hung over them upon hearing from him that the woman right before them was no ordinary one.“Emery, putting your life
The following week, Emery spent her time overlooking everything to make sure that in each day that passed, progress was made and there would be little to no problem at all. During the first days, it was a rough start because they do not have enough people to work on the foundations of the two apartment buildings. And not to mention, food also became a problem that they needed to eat only twice in each day. But even then, it was not enough to stop Emery’s desire to finish everything.She and Pearce visited the barracks often to ask for Prince Cornelius’ help, however, the prince always refused with the reason that he would not benefit from it.“I will help you get back to the capital once the first stage of the competition is done,” Emery said, hoping that this time, she would be able to make him say yes.However, she received a glare from him.“You may be the favorite woman of the emperor, but you hold no power to meddle in the empire’s affairs. Don’t get ahead of yourself and just co
Emery’s immediate reaction was to grab her sword and get on her horse to head to the barracks. She could hear Vasmir calling out to her from behind but she just ignored him and whipped her horse. As she got closer, she could see the soldiers fighting against men whose faces were covered. Upon reaching the entrance that was blown up, she immediately dismounted and unsheathed her sword. She charged towards a man who was about to kill a soldier and with only one swing of her weapon, his sword along with his severed hand fell on the ground.“Where’s the prince?” she asked the soldier she just saved.“H-He’s in his quarters at the–”She did not let him finish and simply grabbed him on the collar, forcing him to stand.
When Emery and Vasmir returned to the town, it was no surprise that they were greeted by several other people who were awakened by the explosions at the barracks. Upon seeing Pearce, they were worried not only for his well-being but also of the outcome of what just happened.“W-What if the emperor would blame us?” one said, and just like a domino, her worries seemed to have passed along those around her.To control the situation, Emery called out their attention.“There is nothing to worry about,” she said. “I was at the scene when everything happened so I can stand as a witness to prove all your innocence. As for Pearce, I will look after him until he gets better.”She dismissed