When their lips were only a few millimeters apart, Emery cupped the king’s cheek and sealed his lips with her thumb. Then, she looked right into his ever-alluring amber eyes as her thumb traced her lower lip. “Only say you are sorry if you really mean it. I do not like empty words,” she whispered. “I mean it,” he whispered back but the queen shook her head. “You simply said it because you want to kiss me, ain't it?” Emery could not help but smirk upon seeing the king’s ears turn red and he even looked away from her. She did not know if he was embarrassed because she knew that he wanted to kiss her or if it was because his words were indeed empty, or probably both. She could not truly tell. “Your Majesty, if you want to kiss me, then make sure that I have already forgiven you. I do not kiss people who owe me an apology and forgiveness.” Just then, King Lawson noticed something—the smell of booze coming from the queen. With a creased forehead, he asked, “Did you go drinking with t

4th Day of the Diplomatic Meeting… For almost two days straight, King Lawson never regained consciousness despite the assurance of the physician that he would be waking up anytime soon. Emery was not at all pleased as well on how the investigation was going through because there was no progress even a tiny bit. She could not even just decide to cut their trip short and head back to the Silex Kingdom because there could be an occurrence of a complication in the king’s situation while they’d be in travel. The meeting was again canceled due to the incident. Thus, Emery chose to tend to the king rather than leave him alone. As she finished changing the bandage of his wound, she could not help but doubt if the Vesnide antidote was genuine since he seemed to be in a coma. Clenching her fist, she gritted her teeth out of frustration for not being able to investigate the situation herself. If only Lila was with her, she could feel more assured that nothing would be covered up. She bit her l

5th Day of the Diplomatic Talk… “Are you sure you do not want to cut our trip short?” Emery asked the king for the second time. “I already got some medicine just in case your wound gets worse along the way.” “We have to finish the meeting. Besides, their failed attempt to kill me is already a sign for them to not try another reckless move,” he stated. Though, he was sure that nothing will happen to them since he already agreed with the terms of the princess. After their trip, he would need to find a way to corner Princess Natalia and make her back out to whatever she was planning. Taking his seat at the edge of the bed, he removed the robes that covered his injured arm. He watched Emery occupy the space beside him with the tray of new bandages and some ointments. Even though he was urged to tell her the deal he made with the princess, he just did not have enough courage to do it. “I did not ask you yesterday but what favor did you ask that guy?” he asked. Cleaning his wound, Emery

King Lawson entered the shop without taking his eyes off of Sire. He guessed that he was probably the master that Emery was talking about. Looking around the shop, there was nothing suspicious at all because it looked like some old shop that had been forgotten a long time ago. When he returned his gaze to Emery, his eyes settled on the table where he saw the three vials which he presumed as the medicines that the queen once mentioned. “What kind of medicine is that?” he asked. A sharp whistle of metal leaving its sheath cut through the air when the king drew out his sword and threatened Sire on the throat to make him speak. In his peripheral view, he saw Emery shoot up from her seat. “Answer me,” he added. “Your Majesty, keep your sword back. Don’t you disrespect my master,” Emery snarled. But King Lawson did not listen to her at all. He was just suspicious of her action because she would not be in a rush to leave the palace for a simple medicine that seemed to not be even for him

6th Day of the Diplomatic Talk… Emery woke up even before the sun rises that day and when what happened the other night dawned on her, her face turned beet red as her eyes were wide open. She gulped as she turned her attention from the ceiling to the man still sleeping beside her whose torso was not covered. Her attention slowly moved to the kiss marks around the king’s shoulders and chest that reminded her of what she did. She felt more than embarrassed and there was no single courage left in her to face King Lawson. Thus, she grabbed her robes that were lying on the floor and immediately went to the bathroom. She made sure not to make any noises that could awake the king while she prepared to leave their room. When she finally shut the door behind her, she managed to breathe with relief and hurried to the kitchen to help with the preparation of food. It was the only way she thought that could help her bury the event that happened to her and the king in the back of her mind. Until