Beyond the Will of Transcendence

CHAPTER 12

By the time Kazim returned from the market, it was going to be noon in about an hour.

For the sake of his master's need, he had treated this errand with an attitude of urgency and left the palace even before daybreak when the servants usually started carrying out their assigned duties. The item he had gone to buy was a rare one and he intended to be among the first set of customers- if not the first- to grab it wherever it could be found.

However, on his way back to the First Prince's courtyard, while running past the entrance of the area used as the imperial harem, a group of maids perched furtively at the gate and peeping into the place caught his attention. Quietly, he snuck up behind them to see what they were spying on.

He furrowed his eyebrows and frowned in confusion at what he saw.

Was that...?

In broad daylight, his master's stepmother- the Emperor's wife and Regent Empress, Second Lady Ada, was on her knees, crawling along the main paved path. Practically, anyone who stayed in the imperial harem could see her in that undignified state!

As she moved in small, strenuous paces, every servant who passed by would attempt to greet her but immediately they saw the person walking right behind her, they would reconsider and go on their way.

It was the royal butler, Ali.

Kazim also noticed that whenever she stopped to rest or catch a break, the old steward would say something to her and she would resume her tedious movement. He was supervising her...

Hold on. Kazim tried to think about it. Was this some kind of punishment the Emperor had commanded for the Second Lady?

But to the best of his knowledge, there had not been any news or rumours about the Second Lady offending the Emperor recently, so why would he-

Oh no... Did this have something to do with that tavern incident from seven days ago? By Kazim's recollection, the Second Lady's male assistant, Kairo, was there and that implied her involvement in the matter. And his master...

He held his breath in fear. Bad! Did the Emperor also find out about what he and the First Prince had-?

"Hmmmm..." One of the maids suddenly murmured and straightened up, interrupting his train of thought. "What's that aroma?"

"What aroma?"

Her cohorts stood up as well to check and that was when they were taken aback by Kazim's presence.

"What are you doing sneaking up on us like that?!" Another one of them fiercely queried him.

"I should be asking you!" Kazim retorted. "Instead of you four getting busy with your jobs, you are lurking around here suspiciously. And if I remember correctly, none of you works in the imperial harem, so what are you doing?"

The four maids pulled back guiltily, neither one having any convincing excuse for their misconduct.

"Eh?" The first one spoke up again, going closer to Kazim. "The aroma... It's coming from you!"

"What are you talking about?" Kazim asked as he took two steps away from her.

"Hmm... It smells... sweet..." Another maid suggested as she savoured the scent.

"Yes..." The third maid voiced and joined the other two to crowd over Kazim.

"Kazim... Kazim... Since when did you start using perfumes, eh?" The first one teased.

"No. It can't be his perfume," the last maid said and came forward too. "It's a tangy, citrusy scent but it's also mild and fresh. If I'm not mistaken, it's made from lemon rye."