Emery simply shook away her worries and thought that her gut feeling was probably wrong that time. She handed the scroll back to the king and did not show any complaints since she would be able to accompany him outside the kingdom without having to hide. That being said, she could perform her mission easier than before. “By the way, your daggers…” The king paused as he took one of the daggers out from his sleeve. “You can have them back.” Emery waited for King Lawson to hand it over to her but he did not so she open her palm towards him. But when their gazes locked, she saw the glimpse of hesitation in his eyes. “Hand it over, Your Majesty,” she stated. “Are you not going to tell me who made this?” he asked. Emery rolled her eyes. “Your Majesty, I have been telling you that I do not know. And even if I do know, what will you do if you know the blacksmith?” “I will ask him to make more.” “Ha! Then, it is such a good thing that I do not know or else, these precious daggers will be

Emery clenched her fists, giving her the strength to speak before anything else awkward could happen. “Y-Your Majesty,” she stuttered in a low tone of voice, “we should c-continue with the inspection.” Seeing her burning red cheeks was rather satisfying for the king so he stopped and flashed a smile. He thought that she was a person who could not react like a normal lady in situations like that but he was glad he was wrong. “Yes, we should.” Saying that, he retreated and turned his back on her while wearing a victorious grin. At that moment, he thought that he succeeded in making the queen show him another side of her. On the other hand, Emery managed to catch her breath which she thought was running away from her. She lightly banged her chest with her fist as if it was some sort of ritual that would bring back the old her. What she did not like was the fact that she almost let herself be in a too vulnerable state in front of him. That was a total embarrassment! That was what she

It, then, dawned on Emery. The royal concubine’s words made her realize that this was staged by Lady Hazel herself. She purposely did all of these for the king to get mad at her. She scoffed because it was only then that she finally came to see the real intention of the royal concubine. The queen, then, started to question all her previous actions of showing mercy toward her were just in vain. Had she been played by the royal concubine ever since then? What a fool she was. Nevertheless, she was being cornered, making her feel that there was no single person in that place who would take her side, especially since Lila left the palace. Should she just scare them away? But doing such would mean breaking one of the rules of the Arcana—using one’s skills against people of no ability to fight back is prohibited unless it threatens one’s life. If she ever breaks one rule, the Arcana would cut her off from the organization and that was something Emery never considered doing. She thought that

Hearing the familiar voice of the king, Emery opened her eyes and shifted in her position only to meet his usual serious gaze. She sneered. “Why? Will you be happy if I say yes? Oh, wait. That is not even a question. And what are you even doing here? Seeing your face just infuriates me so give us both a favor and leave the room.” After saying that, Emery grabbed the blanket and covered herself with her back facing the king. Seeing that she had no plans to continue talking to him, King Lawson stood from his seat and walked toward her. He put his hands on her both sides and kissed her on the head. “Have some good sleep.” Leaning away from her since he was not getting any kind of response, he headed to the door. “Next time, come to me with an apology,” Emery claimed. After that night, the two never spoke another single word to each other until they reached the capital of the Thorine Kingdom. Emery had once been here for her training missions and as she looked at the crowded and b

Despite Lady Joi telling Emery to slow down because she might get hurt, the queen paid no attention to her. In each rushed step she made, the thoughts of His Majesty being in grave danger started to weigh on her shoulders. “I should not have left so early. I should have endured a little more just to make sure that he is safe right before my eyes! What if he is poisoned? What if he is deeply injured? Would I be able to forgive myself if he is hurt in any way?” Those thoughts swirled in Emery’s mind like a hurricane out of control. She saw Princess Natalia whose shocked expression was obvious as their gazes met. But there was just no time to tell her anything so she ran past her and took a sharp turn just as how she remembered the way to their quarters. Reaching the door, she immediately slid it open and scanned the room. She saw no one, making her gulp even more in anxiousness. “Your Majesty!” she called out while trying to catch her breath. But upon entering the bedroom, she saw