"Lady Edith did not speak to me much, either." Emperor Kruos leans back in the loveseat, putting the paper in his hands down on the coffee table.
After discussing plans for his private garden, we were supposed to discuss plans for the main palace garden, though the abrupt snowfall put a halt to those plans.
I bask in the warmth, holding my hands out as the wood crackles, small flickers of ember rising into the air.
"Who will the third lady be?" I questioned as he got up from his seat, grabbing the blanket from another empty seat.
After heading into his room before the white could pelted down on us, he began to speak of who he wished to eliminate. I was quite surprised. I figured that this was private affairs among himself and the council, so for him to speak so casually to me, a contestant, about who will be progressing, was a shock.
He wraps the blanket around my figure, his hands giving my shoulders a light squeeze before he takes a seat again, this time, much closer. Our thighs practically touched, though I didn't wish to point it out.
Was it because I didn't wish to make things awkward? Or was it because I didn't wish for him to move away?
I cleared my throat, clearing my mind of the thoughts in the process. "Thank you," I wrap the blanket closer.
Emperor Kruos smiles, before grabbing the stack of papers from the table. "I was thinking, perhaps Lady Carnelia? Lady Aria didn't speak to me much either, though I see...potential." He crosses his ankle over his leg, choosing his words carefully. His motions cause his knee to brush against my dress-clad thigh, though the motion doesn't fail to make goosebumps trail up my arms.
"What do you think?" He looks a bit smug as I snap my eyes off the area that his leg grazed. "R-right. Sounds good...I think Lady Carnelia didn't seem too interested in participating, though she offers a good alliance, especially in the spice trade. Regardless, it is not as valuable as what some of the other ladies may offer."
He nods his head at me, shuffling through the stack in his hands before grabbing another page. "Sounds good. Tomorrow, Lady Edith, Lady Charlotte, and Lady Carnelia will be eliminated." Lady Carnelia's face, plastered on the paper, joins the pile with the two other ladies.
Lady Aria was right. He did end up eliminating Lady Edith and Lady Charlotte, though she was wrong about being eliminated. In fact, the emperor even said he saw potential in her despite not conversing much with her. I was curious as to whether Lady Aria offered something that was valuable to his majesty.
As much as I wished to ask her, it would give away the fact that I knew his majesty didn't eliminate her prior to the announcement of who will be eliminated. Would talking to her constitute me committing treason?
"What are you thinking about?" Emperor Kruos scans my face, his finger smoothing the crease that unwillingly graced my forehead as I got lost in thought.
I quickly came up with a question that would clear my doubt without directly involving Lady Aria. "How come you decided to tell me all of this, your majesty?"
His bare finger halts in its movement, before his hand drops. "I trust you and I find value in your opinion. Out of all the ladies, you seem the least biased in decision making concerning royal affairs, given that you aren't very familiar with the empire nor regions around."
His answer surprised me. "But, I am sure there are other ladies that have an unbiased opinion, given that they didn't speak to you much, no?"
He laughs at my discerning. "You are not wrong, though I will not force them to give an opinion if they are already unwilling to speak to me. It would be like getting opinions from a dead corpse, barely responding."
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Destructive Enchantment
العاطفية[𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞!𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐱 𝐟!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫] The plan was simple. Don't make a fool of yourself, and don't draw any unnecessary attention to yourself. So, how did I manage to do both in front of the Emperor? (artwork is not mine, all credits...
