King Lawson ordered his men to secure the vicinity, strictly reminding them that if another assassin ever steps into the palace, it would be them who should face death. Facing the remaining three alive assassins who were now captured, he told them to prepare themselves for later because he shall be interrogating them himself. The other royal soldiers immediately split up to do their task before the king turned his attention to his royal concubine. “Are you hurt?” he asked. Lady Hazel shook her head and burrowed her face onto his chest. She felt his warmth around her when the king embraced her as if saying that everything was already okay. “I’m okay, Your Majesty,” she mumbled. “Thank you for saving me.” Kissing her on the forehead, he said, “Go to the Eastern Palace for now. Have your rest and I will visit you there after I take care of everything.” He told the maidservants to accompany Lady Hazel to the Eastern Palace for a while since the Inner Palace was not safe at the moment
King Lawson’s words played inside Lady Hazel’s mind like a broken film being repeated. Her eyes widened in shock and her body just froze. It was simply for the reason that they agreed before Emery was crowned queen that the matter regarding the queen position was not to be mentioned in their conversation. It was rather a sensitive topic between the two of them, especially, since it would take a lot of effort and a long time before Lady Hazel would be able to take the seat of the queen. She gulped. “Y-Your Majesty, H-Her Highness is still…” She could not bring herself to finish her statement because she felt like her tongue had been paralyzed in its place. Despite just finishing her tea, her throat felt dry and the words she wanted to say just would not come out. Of course, she was happy because it seemed that there was still a ray of hope for her to leave the spot of being simply his royal concubine. However, would she really be able to change her title? That question remained in her
Emery was about to throw a tantrum and was planning to attack him if only she was not injured and in pain because without her permission, the king touched her while she was unconscious. No one in their right minds would let that slide. Who knows? He might have done something she was not aware of, at least, that was what she had in mind. However, the king seemed to have seen through her and said, “Don’t try to talk me out of this, Emery. Have your rest and gather your thoughts. When the sun rises, you will have to tell me everything.” After saying that, he got out of the cell and locked her up again before going through the documents laid at the long table. He wanted to rush the queen’s confession but he knew that she needed more rest. At least, he would like to give that to her before breaking the news that he had come to a decision of removing her from her current position. It was barely even a month after their wedding but if Lady Hazel could convince Emery to willingly step down,
After Emery finished dressing up, the king allowed her to leave the underground prison. She was never told the real reason why the king wanted her presence in the interrogation but she saw this as an opportunity to know these assassins. As they took their exit from the West Palace, they bumped into Royal Concubine Hazel who had just come from the palace garden. Lady Hazel was surprised to see the queen whom she thought to be still in Mikros Province. Nevertheless, she curtsied before them before the king held her hand and kissed the back of it. “I’ll have lunch with you at the palace garden,” he told her. “I will wait–” Royal Concubine Hazel did not finish her statement when she saw Emery leaving them behind as if they never existed in her world. Her forehead creased, thinking that she might have angered the queen even before she gets to speak with her regarding the matter of her stepping down from the throne. She turned to the king and said, “Your Majesty, you should finish your
That was one of the things that Emery feared the most—being framed. A lot of things swirled in her mind but the one that weighed the most was the thought that King Lawson would not give her the benefit of the doubt. That was something she thought was likely to happen so he could remove her title just like what he told her that very morning. She stared at his back until he turned in her direction and their gazes locked. Still wearing an indifferent expression, he asked her, “What do you say for yourself, Emery?” Feeling a huge lump in her throat and her numbing tongue, Emery could not even say a word to deny the accusation or even defend herself. “Your Highness, I think this is the best time for you to speak up,” General Kyan stated. However, when he looked at her, he was quite shocked to see her still puffy and red eyes that reflected her terrified reaction. His attention shifted to the slender fingers of the queen and saw that she was shaking. It was his first time to witness the
Emery could not make out whose voices she was hearing but as she waited, she did not expect to see the royal concubine with her maidservants. Raising an eyebrow at her, she tried to ponder the reason why she was visiting her. “Your Highness,” Royal Concubine Hazel greeted as she curtsied at the queen. “It may not be much but I brought some warm clothes for you to wear. After saving me in the lake, I came to repay the kindness you have given me. I shall speak to His Majesty and–” However, even before she could finish what she had to say, Emery cut her off. “Do not speak me out of this, Lady Hazel. The reason why I am in this situation is that His Majesty believes I am behind the incident of your almost abduction the other day. I would be more grateful if you stay out of this until he finds out the truth himself.” Emery felt a bit sorry upon seeing the dejected expression of the royal concubine. But her pride just could not let her accept the help she was offering because it seemed l
With the queen’s stubbornness still on his way, King Lawson could only try to lengthen his patience as much as he could to wrench every information he wanted from her. And to prepare himself, he thought that it could take a month for him to have Emery confess. For sure, it would be another torturing experience for him. Sighing, he said, “Keep in mind that before you lose your head, you would have to stay in this place and starve for a week or probably more than that. I won’t let you off the hook so easily, especially since there are several other assassins you are working with.” Emery giggled. “Do what you want, Your Majesty, and prove that you are becoming a tyrant just because of your affection for a woman.” “This is not about Lady Hazel but it’s about your actions that are a threat–” “A threat?” Emery scoffed. She looked at him with her glaring eyes and shouted, “I could have killed you and that woman a long time ago if I wanted to! But instead of doing that, I exposed that rott
After a few days since his last visit to the dungeon where Emery was, His Majesty was still annoyed at her words so he never went back. And he was indeed true to his words, no food was given to her with only the exception of the herbal tea and water. But aside from dealing with her, the king was yet to resolve a problem that involved the ministers. Inside the Court Palace, His Majesty and the ministers were once again gathered to discuss the matters that were halted the other day. However, this time, the tension within the hall was doubled compared to the time that the king got mad. To break the silence, Prime Minister Korun stepped up with his head lowered. “Your Majesty, we have heard that you held the queen captive with the accusation that she planned to harm the royal concubine,” he stated with his usual calm voice. Before he could speak for the next second, the king intervened. “What do you have to say, Prime Minister Korun? Do you think that my judgment is simply ridiculous?”