Chapter 7

***

It was not fear. It was an unknown dizzy spell. She couldn’t believe she was being eaten by a predator. Was she an M-phobe? Rosaline was worried about her identity. However, the time to focus on herself was as short as a moment. She was getting closer to Cahir. The human body is mysterious that it kept getting closer even though there was no room for even a piece of paper. She wanted to get out of this situation as soon as possible. Rosaline gently pushed his chest. Underneath his jacket, Rosaline felt a hard, resilient touch that made her pull back. But because of Cahir’s arm gripping her waist, she could not pull away.

“Well, I look forward to your kind cooperation.”

Rosaline bowed in Cahir’s arms, and a clear smile fell on top of her head.

“Oh, Rosaline. You deserve to be punished….”

The word “punishment” echoed. The arm around Rosaline’s waist tightened. She took a step backwards and the distance between them narrowed vainly. He must have been trying to kill her by squeezing her this tight.

“Rosaline, go and write. I want you to write about my achievements in the Sino-Japanese War. If it’s not good enough, I’ll add it up to a punishment you’ll never forget.”

The sound of Cahir’s voice in her ears was like magic torture. She flinched every time his breath was as low as cotton wool.

“All right, all right! So please…”

“Please?”

“Out and away, Your Majesty!”

Rosaline pushed hard on Cahir’s chest. But he didn’t move a muscle.

****

“I think there’s a spark. Is it just me, Derek?”

In the distance, there was a conversation between Derek and Hui. Derek wrapped his hand around Hui’s waist in a disheveled outfit. It has been five years since Rosaline became Cahir’s secretary.

“His Majesty and the secretary’s flame have transferred to us.”

Derek cleared Hui’s black hair sideways and kissed her exposed neck.

“Don’t do this, Derek. You’ve already done it once. Rosaline has not been in a relationship for five years and has been working, and I’m the only one doing this….,” Hui blurted out.

Many things have happened in five years. The war broke out twice. There was also a conspiracy of rebellion by aristocrats who disapproved of the young emperor. Cahir went wild, and it was all up to Rosaline and Derek to sort things out. Derek was exhausted. From some point on, Rosaline took over for him. This gave Derek time to relax and he even fell in love with Hui.

“Both of us don’t like work very much.”

“Derrick! That’s because Rosaline hasn’t done other things yet!”

“Other things? What do you mean?”

Derek grinned and swept Hui’s thighs. Hui put the teacup on the window frame and hit him on the back of her hand.

“This is how Rosaline will forever be single and die! All work! Do you know what people call Rosaline?”

“What do they call her?”

Derek never cared for Rosaline. He was grateful to her for putting him at ease… It was strange when she sometimes acted like Cahir, but that was as far as it went.

“His Majesty’s tranquilizer! A workaholic without blood or tears! His Majesty’s Shadow! A doll without desire! That’s what they call her!”

Hui painted as if she were in deep sorrow. People don’t know. How cute and lovely Rosaline is. If it weren’t for her by Cahir’s side, there wouldn’t be a day for the Empire to stop the bloodshed.

“If Rosaline didn’t take care of His Majesty…” It was terrible to imagine. Hui shuddered. Whether she wanted or not, Derek’s hands dug into Hui’s coat without hesitation.

****

In the year 359 of the Etheus calendar, Rosaline, Hui’s biggest worry and bane, was lying in bed. She stared at the book in a brown velvet cover. Five years, a lot has changed. In the end, Rosaline survived. Rosaline’s brother Roy married and had a child. The Viscount Berit’s “gold mine” case was neatly solved and the couple lived in peace. They moved to the capital to see Rosaline, who could not come down to the estate as often as she would have liked because she was near Cahir. Everything was peaceful. Complaints about the tyrant Cahir had died down. There was talk of what a tyrant was, and whether he was no longer a saint. The qualifier “bad character” was added, but only Rosaline considered it a problem. ‘Why hasn’t the heroine showed up? She lay in bed, looking at every inch of the haunting novel and biting off her thumbnail.

If the original story had been true, Cahir would have fallen madly in love with Ella, the female protagonist, by now. But now, let alone love, they haven’t even met. After a year at the time they met, she wanted to know if the heroine lived in this world. In the novel, the heroine’s name was Ella. She was said to be destined for the name of Cahir, and she had to appear at his birthday banquet a year ago. A dumb nobleman, Yongsik, spilled wine on Cahir and stained his white clothes. Ella saw this and painted a beautiful flower on his clothes, therefore, Yongsik‘s life was spared, and Ella and Cahir fell in love, a cliche but fateful development awaited.

“What’s the problem? Why aren’t you showing up?”

But nothing happened at the birthday party. Rosaline’s life would not be reversed without Ella, and she was nervous that the original story and development kept changing. There was a big storm coming into Rosaline’s life.

“What is it? Where did it start?”

She wondered how different it was from the original. She slipped out of her soft bed and sat down at her desk.

It was a desk of the finest marble, which Cahir had turned into a glorious achievement in the trade negotiations a week before. A lion pattern was delicately carved into the spacious marble, with gold filling in the spaces between. A lion occupied the centre of the desk. The lion’s eyes were inlaid with precious stones, just like Cahir’s scarlet eyes.

“Oh my gosh!”

She was surprised because every time she went to her desk, she felt as if Cahir was looking at her. Rosaline covered the lion’s eyes with white paper and shouted. With the two sheets of paper side by side, she held a pen with a blue quill. This was also given casually by Cahir, but the feathers on the pen holder were unusual. It was the feather of a giant blue bird that lived only in the depths of a forest crawling with monsters. It was a precious commodity that commoners would never see. She was used to it by now, but every time Cahir threw it without a care in the world, her heart hurt again and again. She inked the paper just enough to keep it in place. On one side she wrote the original story and on the other side she wrote something different.

“First of all, I took Roy’s place as secretary…”

There were many things written underneath, mostly people’s names. Rosaline, who had been writing about the changes from the original, filled up a sheet of paper and put down her pen.

“My God!”

The changes were dizzying. And all because of her. She brought back to life the people who had died in the original stories over the past five years, out of a delicate mixture of pity because she didn’t want to see blood, and she thought they also wanted to live just like her. Above all, it was something that she could do.

To save them, Rosaline was hurried with activities. She would meet them before Cahir ordered an investigation. They lied in the Queen’s name and collected more taxes. They would have to see Rosaline tomorrow and tell her the truth. The Queen Mother received money and goods once a month, and she would have to explain to His Majesty what they were for. At first, the nobles let the secretary’s words and others fall on deaf ears, but after a while they changed their attitudes as if they were turning hands. It was only after they had seen the heads of noblemen who had made the same mistake hanging on the gates of the castle many times. They were grateful for Rosaline, and listened to her. When they made mistakes, she stood up for them and paved the way for their survival. The dust settled on the penitentiary and the torture chamber of the Imperial Palace. Now people were now more eager to see Rosaline before seeing Cahir. Rosaline interrupted him, but it was a last minute appointment. (*T/L: This part is a little confusing but I tried my best. Sorry.*)

“Rosaline, I think you’re even busier than I am these days.” Cahir said this as a joke, but it was true.

They’re worse supporting actors than passing ants anyway, so there’s no problem. It was Rosaline’s judgment. But was it a wrong decision?

“Sigh, I did it, but this is too much.”

Rosaline slumped down and put her chin on the desk. She held the paper in front of her and shook it lightly. There was another change. It was a banquet. There was no banquet held at the palace a year ago after Cahir’s birthday party. Having missed the first opportunity, they had to make room for a second and a third until Ella appeared, but Cahir was not in the mood. Even if the female protagonist did appear at the palace, it was no use. But only if the female protagonist showed up, would she be able to hand over her role and disappear. In the original story, it was Ella who made the appropriate adjustments to prevent Cahir from running off. She knew she had to take steps so that Ella and Cahir could meet. She clenched her fist and stood up. Suddenly her heart ached. Was it because she was tired? Rosaline began to make plans for a long recuperation after Ella and Cahir had successfully fallen in love.

Rosaline’s plan to find the female lead was simple, she’d throw a party, even if Cahir hated it very much. She would have to quickly find the heroine and visit her first and go to Cahir’s bedroom, picturing a pink future where the heroine would take him over.

It was early in the morning and Cahir had already woken up, washed and even changed his clothes. Rosaline’s first task as a secretary was to put a crown on his head.

“Good morning, Your Majesty. How are you today?”

“Not good. Not good at all.”

Cahir’s tired hand rested on her shoulder as he received Rosaline’s morning greeting.

“Your Majesty, I’m thinking of adding a spa bath to this afternoon’s itinerary. What do you think?”

Cahir’s mouth relaxed gently. In the morning, there was a meeting with the nobility. Cahir’s anger gauge was set to soar, so the afternoon schedule was a no-man’s land. Her plan was to get Cahir to take a dip in the hot springs and ask his permission to have a banquet when he was in the mood.

“Not bad!” She thought.

Rosaline didn’t continue what she said, went back behind him, and leaned back against the chair.

In the mirror, Rosaline and Cahir were both reflected. The servants who stood in the back swallowed their breath.

“When I see them, I don’t want to live in the world. No matter how much it is, it’s too much.”

“But aren’t the two fascinated? How can you not feel anything when you look at such a handsome and pretty face every day?”

“What’s the feeling?”

“It’s amazing that they don’t die of a heart attack.”

Hui stepped on the feet of the maidservants, who were chatting quietly. Surprised, they immediately went into silence and scattered away quickly.

“Hold still, Your Majesty. Do I really have to use this?” Rosaline complained.

Looking at Rosaline and Cahir, who showed no spark of the past. Hui sighed as she wondered where on earth all the flames have gone.