How To Tame An Empress (BOOK I)

Chapter 11- Rotten Jealousy

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I sat with crossed legs on my throne, elbow resting on the armrest with my cheek on my palm as I stared at the man that stood in front of me, no longer in a gladiators uniform but a palace soldiers instead.

"So, what was your name again?" I finally decided to speak.

He was a tall man, rivalling my own height but instead of my light brown hair and grey eyes, he had dark black hair, reaching his shoulders and half of it tied up into a bun with lifeless brown eyes.

"Claudius Benedictus, your majesty," He spoke clearly, not daring to raise his head to meet my gaze. Right, this annoying guy that chopped off the other gladiator's head in front of my wife.

"How long were you a gladiator for?" I asked.

"Not long. Last week was my first match," He didn't miss a beat to answer and I hummed, moving to sit up straight as I crossed my arms and narrowed my gaze towards him.

"That fight was one-sided, you didn't break a sweat against such a large opponent and the match was completed in less than five minutes. What monster trained you so well?" I leaned forward this time, my heart thumping in slight excitement for his answer.

"You seem like you could put up a fight against Julius or Tiberius, two of my best men," I nudged my head to the said men who were standing on the side as they watched the scene and I waited for Claudius to reply, smirking at him.

"Maybe even me," I mumbled and finally succeeded in getting a reaction out of him.

"I would never dare to do something like that, your imperial majesty," I chuckled, hiding the fact that I didn't believe a single word in that sentence.

Claudius Benedictus. I didn't trust this man one bit.

But that was all the more reason for me to keep him close, that way I can deal with him if he is to ever go against me.

"So..." I started once more. "Who taught you to fight so well?" I went back to the curious topic at hand, sitting back up and biting my lip to hold back a yawn.

Right now, I want Ria.

"A few of the other gladiators showed me the basics. After that, I was self-taught," He explained as confidently as he could. Lies... But whatever, this was nothing new.

Standing up, I walked down the steps until I was stood directly in front of him, his eyes level with my own until they cast themselves down and almost in a mocking way, I raised a hand, placing it on his shoulders in a way that friends did.

"You are now a soldier for the Roman army. Impress me with your skills and you will rise in ranks, maybe one day you can even join the elite guards, like them-" I nudged my head to the two men in the back, one of them my brother-in-law and the leader of the Plebeian guards while the other an emotionless general.

"I hope you enjoy your new life. I look forward to hearing about your accomplishments in the future, but for now... I have a mischievous wife that I want to go see. Julius, have someone show Claud around the palace," I said on my way out.

"Um, it is actually Claudius..." I heard the man mumble until his voice was drowned out by Julius who shouted; "Yes, Your imperial majesty," So I pretended not to have heard his words. I can call him whatever I want, whether it's Cladius, Claud or even Brat, it's my choice.

Humming to myself, I strolled along the porch and towards the garden in hopes of coming across my wife who spent nearly all her time here. That's the biggest reason why I had the garden improved to suit her tastes.

I almost walked passed the blur of her light brown hair but caught it just in time and smirked to myself as I watched her smiling.

"Darling-" I cut myself off, almost stumbling over my feet when I caught her reaching her arm out towards someone that wasn't me, the smile on her face turning into a grin as she laughed out loud, using her free hand to cover her mouth.

Unknowingly, my hands clenched themselves into tight fists as I glared towards the place in which she stood and when my eyes trailed over to the man she was laughing with, my once clear vision was blurred with red rage. Linus...

This mischievous woman!

No way am I going to let her go unscathed right after she so deliberately dared to touch another man while wearing a ring on her finger that was put there by none other than me; Her husband and Emperor.

Storming towards her with the rage of an angry predator, I growled. "Ria," I seethed once close enough and watched as she turned her gaze away from Linus to me, her smile glowing and eyes glittering under the suns light.

"Stacius! Are you finished with your-" She cut herself off as I jumped forward, grabbing her wrist and pulling her towards me. She stumbled, her head colliding with my chest as I grabbed her waist, pulling her closer to me.

"Stacius?" She mumbled, confused. Her hands raised to rest against my chest, she leaned back to look up at me and just as she did that as I had expected her to, I leaned down, holding her face in my hands and landing my lips on hers.

Moulding my lips against hers, pressing her small body to mine, I kissed her fiercely and made sure that Linus could see.

Opening my eyes, I bit down on her lower lip, holding back a smirk at her eyes which were squeezed shut, her hands clenching onto the material of my clothes nervously.

And holding her by the back of her head, my eyes shifted to look at a blushing Linus that was awkwardly staring at the ground, itching the back of his neck as I kissed my wife in front of him, telling him to keep his filthy hands away from her because she was mine. Only mine.

Finally, I pulled away from the kiss and moved to hug Ria as she breathed heavily, shyly hiding her face in the crook of my neck, her face probably burning with the intensity of her blush.

"What was that for?" She whispered.

"...I missed you," I told the truth, or at least some of it.

"But..." She awkwardly mumbled, turning to look at Linus and I narrowed my gaze towards her. What? Did she not like my show of affection? Or... Did she not like that it was him that was watching?

"What is it?... Did you not miss me?" I masked a fake saddened look onto my face and she jumped, urgently shaking her head before jumping forward to wrap her arms around my waist, hiding her face in my neck.

"It's nothing," She mumbled, sounding guilty.

Perfect.

Smirking down at her, I raised a hand and stroked the back of her head, leaning down to kiss the top of her head as I too moved to hug her tightly.

It's okay. Sometimes, she may forget that she belongs to me and only me but it's fine because I'll always be here to remind her, using whatever means necessary. And one day, eventually, it'll be carved into her mind that she is mine.

And I cannot wait for that day to come.

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