Chapter 12

“I’m fine. I turned down the offer of Her Highness, and I’m actually grateful for being alive.”

“May I know what the offer was about?”

If she answered him, it would lead to a family dispute. However, even if she tried to console him, there would be no reason to keep him quiet since this family was already in a state of trouble.

“She asked me to become her servant in return for my…..freedom.”

The red eyes of his narrowed.

“So?”

“I told her it would be difficult for me.”

“Why?”

“Uh…that…”

She hesitated. She couldn’t just say that she liked treating the Emperor nor could she say that the Empress was trying to find his weaknesses.

His eyes narrowed more sharply.

“Is it a habit of yours to not answer my questions?”

“Is there anything else I didn’t answer?”

Then, there was a knock on the door. It was polite, but she could feel a sense of urgency.

He rose to his feet without any delay.

“I know you’re smart, so think about yourself. Come to my room at night later.”

“Is it hurting again, Your Majesty?”

“I have something to say today and it’s going to be quite long.”

“Okay, Your Majesty.”

He opened the door himself, and outside the door stood the Minister of the Palace, nervously staring at the Emperor.

She bowed and raised her head only after he disappeared from her sight. Suddenly, she realized that it was the first time that she was called not for his treatment, but to talk about something else.

She felt refreshed. Suddenly, her energy seems to have surged up.

‘Now, let’s cheer up and get back to work.’

She washed her face, took off her wine-stained clothes, and put on clean clothes. It was fortunate that it was nothing else other than two slaps on her cheek.

As she went back to the banquet hall, the other maids greeted her with a surprised look, as if they thought she would never return for the day.

The hall was still filled with soft music and beautiful lights, with the perfect supervision of the head of the town.

The maid beside her informed her that the atmosphere of the hall dropped down to temperature zero when the Emperor and the Empress Dowager were engaged in a war of words. But after His Highness’ sudden disappearance, the mood had eased to a certain extent, and now, it’s all good.

‘Haha….so, His Majesty….left the banquet hall to ask me if I was fine? Why didn’t he attend to other businesses?’

The more she thought about it, the more it tickled her stomach.

Some people would notice her. They might think that her job was not important, but she wanted to give her best because she thought she was good at it. As she pushed the cart with a smile on her face again, the eyes that followed her soon dispersed. The maids seemed to have found some composure.

By the time it was night, her cart passed by the Empress Dowager. She smiled at Her Highness so sweetly that it seemed ridiculous to her.

‘Ha! I’m not going to run away like a coward with a tail between my legs.’

The Emperor’s brother looked busy, but as he was passing by her, their eyes met again. She thought she’d be in trouble again. But as he passed by busily, she offered him a drink without saying a word.

Every maid she met was worried about her. But she was never depressed for she was already preoccupied with other thoughts.

‘Did I not answer any of His Majesty’s questions before?’

She rolled up her left sleeve after organizing the cart. She caught a glimpse of a new pair of pitted magical engraving on her forearm.

The banquet was not in a mood to end until night fell. It wasn’t until midnight that the maids went to rest in their respective rooms for her to be able to make her way to His Majesty’s room.

She was tired. Worried that she might be late again, she changed her clothes quickly and went to the Emperor’s room.

As she reached his room, she saw him talking to someone. It was the first time that she was called when he had a guest. She was surprised.

The Emperor said to his guest, glancing at her.

“Now get out of here.”

She was startled at those harsh words that even she had never heard of, but the guest smiled and stood up as if he was used to this.

“Anyway, there can be a variety of ways to raise one’s status. So, I’ll talk to you again. You can trust me as your cupid.”

The Emperor gnarled, glaring at him.

“When would you stop talking nonsense?”

“All right, I’ll be off then.”

‘What kind of conversation is this?’

The man winked at her as he passed by her.

She didn’t miss giving a look at his badge, which indicated his identity. He was the Duke of Thiaheb. Apparently, in her session with Luana, she was told that he was a friend of the Emperor.

If he was with his friend, he should have told her not to disturb them. Then, she would have waited outside the room for a little longer. She felt uncomfortable as his friend was driven out like this in front of a mere servant.

The Emperor sat down on a chair, his eyes resting on her. Celestia just stood beside the table confused because she had always met him in his bedroom.

“Come and sit down.”

“How can I….”

“Did you not hear me? Sit down.”

‘Even if you want me to sit down, I don’t have the strength.’

It was quite burdensome to sit on a chair opposite to the Emperor. But unable to go against his orders, she sat down uncomfortably. Even if it might look exactly like sitting next to the bed facing the Emperor.

He was as handsome as always, but he was dressed up today. He stared at her with a tired face.

Perhaps it was because of his power that he had the habit of staring at people. She once heard that predators enjoyed hunting the most when their prey avoided their eyes.

It felt like he was looking at her neck. She placed her arm over her scarf, thinking that she had washed it.

‘What? Does it look weird?’

He spoke soon.

“You’ve already seen what kind of woman is the Empress.”

‘Wow, you can swear so carelessly just because you’re the Emperor. But I can’t, no matter how angry I am.’

“Haha…..I see.”

“It is because of her and her mad son that I’m trying to hide my disease, and it will not change even if I enter my grave.”

‘Why are you telling me all these things?’

She nodded and he sighed.

“Well, it’s no use in explaining these things. You’re from a different country after all.”

‘That’s ridiculous..’

“Don’t say it like that. I can understand how hard it must have been for you, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor was so receptive to her grumbling that he didn’t realize what she said. As his eyes were still at her neck, she touched her neck again. He tilted his head in thought.

“Yeah, maybe. But if a spy knows too much of my secrets, I’ll have to kill him. Well, It’s hard to detect them and everything takes time. But it wouldn’t take too much time to take his head.”

She didn’t know what he was talking about, so she stared at him blankly.

“Anyway, I think I’ve been thinking wrongly. Maybe the Empress Dowager was right. It was my mistake to think that you would be delighted just because I gave you the opportunity to work for me. Honestly, I didn’t know you would draw attention this quickly.”

“…..Pardon?”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to go to the academy?”

“What?”

“I’ll allow you to go. You don’t need to work as a servant anymore. You’re free.”

‘I’m free?’

Well, no word, said by the Emperor himself, could go meaningless.

‘But I don’t feel happy. Why?’

The Emperor added.

“Instead, if you run away recklessly, you’ll get rid of your unimaginable debt.”

“No, it’s all so sudden…..”

“You don’t need to refuse in some ridiculous modest manner. I’m sick of it. Instead, I want you to learn as much as you can so that you can live respectfully.”

It seemed like he really wanted her to go to the academy as a free citizen because servants were not allowed there.

“But why?”

“It’s convenient for you.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s annoying to hide things from the people who serve me. Hurry up and graduate so that you can work as a secretary of mine. I’ll give you a salary. You don’t have to be disappointed anymore.”

‘A secretary…..?’

She heard that each Emperor of the Burg Empire always needed a secretary, but this system was not in Goldina. Count Zach, the current secretary, was too old to know when he would retire.

Unlike the Minister of the Palace, who was in charge of the affairs of the court, the Emperor was the only person who helped the individuals in the royal court.

He always wore a long-sleeved shirt to hide his wounds. But she didn’t know that he wouldn’t have told Count Zach.

‘Was I wrong to think the Emperor’s position in the palace was firm? How could he manage so many things? Compared to my life, his life is much more difficult and tiring.’

‘But how can I be the secretary of an Emperor? I can understand that he feels a bit comfortable around me, but…’

“Don’t you like it?”

She shook her head carefully.

‘It’s not that I hate it, but….’

There was a big difference between what the Empress had offered and what His Majesty had said. Celestia was already thrilled to accept what she had proposed, which was absolutely better, but she was reluctant to do it.

“I’ll adjust your status gradually. You don’t need to expect too much.”

“Is it really okay for me? People’s viewpoints…..can’t be changed…..let alone my status.”