Chapter 10

   "Milady, my apologies for being late, are you okay? " I looked at the girl entering my chambers... It was Anna... She looks so tired and so am I... 

    After reflecting, I immediately turned forward to meet her when she suddenly kneeled before me, to match my size. "Did you perhaps have a bad dream? " Did she notice my eyes are swollen even though I didn't cry? Or because I feel so weak that my body looks so tired? 

    "No, I slept well, it's just migration, because of yesterday's investigation. '' I said in a calm voice, this way she will feel relieved and not to worry, Anna usually worries about everything I do and I'm worried that she'll report to my father what I'm up to for the last couple of days. 

    Unfortunately, she seemed to have believed in me, when she nodded and she smiled. "About the task, you asked me, milady, " my eyes turned to her and I suddenly held her hands. 

    "Do you have the information I need? " I asked straight forward, she then looked at me for a couple of seconds and she was silent until she nodded, maybe worried that I'll throw a tantrum if I discover something.

    "What is it? Don't be afraid..." I persuaded her more until she sighs in disbelief and she nodded. 

    "The rumor was true, milady, while doing the task, I meet the crown prince former servant that he kicked due to a personal matter, the servant said that he was framed because the head chef slapped the crown prince personal maid, he told me about the crown prince favoring that maid and always caring for her, he always witness various meeting that both had taken place at the garden and the prince quarters, " she remains still before I went back to sit on the chair, she then took a comb off the counter and brushes my hair.

    "The maid names 'Lucia' a daughter of a baron, she had been the crown prince's childhood sweetheart but nobody knew about it, the informants said that she was a hidden lover that the crown prince had, so when she applied as a personal maid for the crown prince, he approved without a doubt, and most of the information that I found is them meeting in secret and so on. "

    I see, so she's been his secret lover since they were kids. So the rumor about him refusing me, maybe that's the truth... No... It might have happened so why did I come out happy? Because I got rejected? Who will be happy about that? 

    However, this is fine, with this information I can turn the table in my favor. It might anger the emperor but this will be a great opportunity to get him back to what he did. I'm not someone to be used as a scapegoat.

    "Anna, you can withdraw from your duty for a couple of days, come back when you feel like it, and don't say a word about the task I give you. " Anna will be a good informant, I think better than a maid's role, so I was thinking of using her talents instead of wasting it with nonsense.

--+-•-+--

    Today is afternoon and because it was afternoon, I was told that a visitor arrived and he was waiting in the adjoining room, one of the rooms stated for guests. We don't use personal and different rooms for guests, we use the adjoining room. 

    The east was different, the palace must be huge but not enough to fit separate rooms for everything. The throne room is usually used when meeting the emperor and normal events in the east. While visiting one of the imperial concubines, they don't use separate rooms for visitors, they use the concubine's room for visiting.

    In the imperial harem, only the concubine and the maids can live inside the palace but the concubine's room will depend on their rankings in the imperial harem, to which the lowest rank will live in a small house with fewer servants.

    The empress can have the concubine as her lady-in-wait, however, it is different from the highest-ranking such as a queen, they have the most luxurious home 2nd from the empress palace, while the queen ranks only by a few, the emperor is the only one who can decide for that. 

    I always thought that the imperial palace is filled with nothing but a woman in name to participate in marriage ━ no, to participate in becoming a mistress, I did not atone to like the system of the east nor I am willing to be the prince concubine.

    I had known for too long about the emperor's plan. Besides beating off the bush, he wants to chain me up as the queen lower than the empress, the title is irritating and I did not want anything to do with it. So I give Iris her time to snitch her man, and I want her to become a good empress not only for becoming the mother of the nation but for those who know that the system of reproduction of heirs is only messed up in the imperial palace.

    Jeez. 

    I tilt my head in reassurance before I nod. The thoughts about the east had slowly disappeared from my mind, it was not a pleasant memory, to begin with. 

    The adjoining room is located at the east of the Crambell Residence, on the 1st floor, the design of the Marquis castle is very diligent and extravagant, it was neither bad nor good, it is too large and spacious and well decorative with Ivy violet around and with marble crystals of the wall and another calla marble shining through the floor, it has a red flatten carpet beneath the floor and few extra white designs and lines. 

    I once passed through lots of paintings and vases, from the color of red roses, flowers and floral lavender, until it ended with doors that are the same as the white wooden doors. Guards had guarded a few of the restricted places and I could see outside by the clear windows beside me. 

    I clearly looked ahead of the door with the same style as the one I passed and quickly held the silver handle, the touch of the cold handle gave me a chill for some second.

    Then I quickly open the door, when I walked in, I saw the prince ━ he has such unique beauty I can say, he was an inch taller than me, with his collar bone barely being seen from his (formal) yet messy attire, there was no sort of weapon on his body and I can sense the feeling informality in the way he seat. 

    His hair is blonde, most of all, blonde is the royal family's main trait of royalty, and besides the blonde is their unique eyes formed in the morning sunlight (lemon) in particular, because the traits of the royal family are more different from the mere traits a common person may acquire.

    I read from the book that blonde means, not just royalty but also it means (purification) and the lemon eye means (nobility and justification), if the eye color is lighter, and not darker, it is not a royal trait, if the hair has no white highlights in each of the hair, it is not a royalty. 

    It has a different persona than normal blonde hair or lemon eyes, it has to be perfect in traits. 

    I lift my dress and immediately bow before the crown prince. "Welcome to our humble abode, the sun of the empire, your highness the crown prince. " I greeted as humble as I can, it's been a while since I met people who're more superior than me. 

    The crown prince is... 

    Formality must be kept entirely prioritized, Anna told me that before coming here, I had to practice everything in an hour to perfect proper etiquette, cause Anna always brags to me about how I change so much and all, to be honest, I'm just tired of her bragging everything I do and so I'm doing this. 

    "I don't need formalities, I'm here to pro--- "

    "I know why you are here, " I tried avoiding him saying the word 'proposal' because I had to keep this a little longer for him to admit that he didn't want this marriage.

    Before that, I sat in front of him, feeling the cotton couch below me.

    "So you've heard... Is this perhaps your plan? It was ridiculously working, Lady Seira... " I look at him confused, what the hell did he mean? I was about to ring the bell of the servants but ended up not touching even a single print.

    "My apologies, why would I do that? " 

    "Isn't that what you said? Or perhaps you are pretending you did not know anything, being obsessed is understandable but to kill yourself? " I clicked my tongue because I heard such ridiculousness, I think I have done wrong looking at him, he seems upset about it. 

    "Your highness, forgive my bluntness, just tell me if you don't want this marriage, I can understand it, but I did not try to kill myself for you, don't be so ridiculous to say such a thing. "

    "Stop--- "

    "I'm not pretending, ah, I should be the one upset over this nonsense! Your father ━ the emperor is trying to make me a scapegoat, I do not want to become his highness's wife! " It is very weird considering my age but I did not care, he is not reading the mood at all, he's like a caveman without even realizing the atmosphere.

    Did he think I am excited about this!? I have decided to live freely and to become a tool again, I will rather destroy this world than become one. 

    "I rejected you, and you're still pretending to be innocent about it!? You did this so father would use this as a reason to erase that rumor! " I can't believe this, he's still arguing back, I bite my tongue in irritation while I cross my hands against me.

    "I do not love his highness, and you know, you feel the same way about this marriage."

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***