10 CHAPTER IX

"All hail, His Majesty, the Emperor!"

The loud shout, informing the sudden appearance of the Emperor, echoed all throughout the room, making all of the people inside stand frigidly, gasping in shock.

They did not know what to do, as per the current situation.

Even Celestine did not know what she was supposed to do. Was she supposed to stop, now that the highest being on their land has appeared before them?

But then, Celestine thought, both the Emperor and this Governor are officials, they most probably are of the same kind.

The Emperor will be stopping her and will ultimately save this damned old man. She is, after all, just a lowly being in their eyes. She did not matter.

With these thoughts in her mind, she could only grip her sword and Ronald tightly. She refuses to let him go, not after all that has happened. She will not let her hard work go to waste.

Suddenly, the guards that are blocking the room parted in half. In the middle emerged a group of men, all of them wearing finely crafted and embroidered robes.

However, among all of them, one person stood out the most.

That person was wearing a red-colored robe that was embroidered by golden-colored threads, his clothing perfectly showcasing who he was due to the large yet exquisite design of a dragon in the garment, that for who knows was made of what high-quality material, gently fluttering due to the blowing breeze from the window.

But it was not just his clothing that made people look at him in awe. The person himself was breathtaking. His face was one that was seemingly crafted by the most talented sculptors in the world. He had such fine sword-shaped eyebrows, his eyes sharp yet limpid like the autumn water. His nose, perfectly complimenting his face, high and mighty, while his lips were thin but plump.

One look at him and you'll know that he was the one that was setting off a celestial presence among all of his comrades.

Seemingly not aware of all the attention of the innumerable gazes that was pouring on him, his eyes were focused on the only woman in the room, his eyes as if binding her, who could only look at him with a foolish gaze, standing upright due to shock.

Ronald was the first one to break through the silent admiration of the people. "Your-Your Majesty! Please help me!" He shouted with pleading eyes towards the Emperor whose face has not changed one bit despite seeing his pitiful yet embarrassing appearance.

However, for Ronald, it seems like once again, the heavens have listened to his requests. He knew that with the Emperor's presence, he would be saved from the madwoman that was holding him hostage.

After hearing his shout, she was quick to shut him up, whispering by his ears. "Talk once more and I will cut your throat." She threatened.

In alarm, Ronald could only reply with a slight groan.

Once again, the room fell into a deafening silence. The world seemed centered at the two celestial beings who could only gaze at each other's eyes. It was the first time that they saw each other and yet, they were magnetized. It felt like somehow, both of them had known each other.

But that feeling was shaken off by Celestine, this time was not the time to be swayed by her feelings, and she knew that this was indeed the first time that has seen the face of the exquisite man who was just away from her by a few meters.

Yes, she has seen him during his victorious return through the long procession but that was the only time, and she failed to see his face for he passed by with a blur, only his powerful and extravagant aura being left behind.

And yet, what was this feeling of familiarity that was flowing through her veins as she gazed upon him?

"Greetings, Your Majesty. I apologize to welcome you with this unsightly scene." Roux who was trying to maintain his composure said. Even he, who was a man, was greatly taken aback by the unearthly features that the Emperor possessed, this was the first time that he has seen him.

Unlike the rumors, he was actually one that was gifted by the heavens with such wonderful facial features. Though this rumor was only circulated by the Emperor's royal brothers, who failed to get the throne. Taking advantage of the Emperor's disposition, of not showing his face during public gatherings, they were finally able to put a smear on the Emperor's name.

The taut, emotionless face of the Emperor soon turned into a frown.

Taking off her eyes from the lady, he finally noticed the man who was stark naked as he was threatened by a sword to his throat by the beautiful woman. These people clearly had no manners, greeting him with such an unsightly view.

Raising his hand, one of his servants came up to him, "Explain the current situation." He said through his gritted teeth.

His servant, however, could only stay quiet, for he too, did not know of the current happenings.

Seeing that the Emperor is now curious about the event, Roux was the one to talk. Without any more time to waste, he quickly narrated his story, "Your Majesty, that woman, as you can see, is holding my father hostage. She is my fiancée, yet, for some reason, she is conducting such misbehavior towards the head of our family." He said, immediately trying to put the blame on Celestine.

Hearing his narration, Celestine cannot help but interrupt in rage. "I am not your fiancée! And what misbehavior are you talking about?! This?!" She said, once again attempting to cut through Ronald's throat, in which the old man could only groan about.

"You and your father are the ones who are showing such misbehavior, hell, you can't even accept the fact that both of you have done something wrong-and not just towards me, but also my friend, and that most probably will not end just by the two of us!" She shouted, breathing heavily as she eyed Roux.

Anxiously, both Ronald and Roux looked at the Emperor, their mannerisms seem to perfectly imitate each other, which Celestine could only scoff at.

'Like father, like son.' She thought, shaking her head.

Hearing the stories of both parties, the Emperor, seemingly understanding the situation, slightly nodded his head.

It seems like both of these gentlemen have made wrongdoings, making the girl explode in rage, thus, resulting in the current situation.

He smirked. He understood where the girl was coming from, hearing her words, it seems like apart from the forced engagement that was being shoved into her, there were other problems that they have caused, therefore causing her extreme anger.

Raising his voice, the Emperor's authoritative tone filled up the room. "Bring all of these people to the Judicial Prison to be interrogated!"

In alarm, Celestine interrupted, "I did nothing wrong! Why must I be convicted?!" She shouted. Scrambling through her mind, she found fault towards the Emperor's words, "Apologies, Your Majesty," She began, with a smirk, "but the Judicial Prison hold no rights to convict the Maynard Family. I have already tried to do so, but only failed miserably." She said, informing the Emperor of the power that Ronald had within the prison.

Adrenaline immediately flowed through Ronald's veins upon hearing Celestine's words. With all his power and strength, he used his elbow to hit Celestine by her stomach, causing her to gasp from the sudden extreme pain that made her body pulse. Because of her fragile condition, Ronald was able to escape from her grasp and was able to steal her sword, now in his hand.

Laughing, he pointed the sword towards Celestine who was crouching on the bed holding her stomach. She looked at him with a clear look of disdain in her eyes.

"You are such a daredevil!" Ronald shouted, the sword that was earlier pointing at his throat now positioned at hers. "Looks like you haven't been disciplined enough, acting all high and mighty despite being a mere prostitute!" He screamed at her, inching the blade towards her neck, causing a slight gush of blood to flow, blending in as it mixed together with her nightwear.

Celestine, however, did all her best to avoid showing him that she was hurting. She hid her pain by tightly gritting her teeth, looking at him with sharp eyes.

"Your Majesty, do not listen to this dirty woman, for she knows nothing but to spout lies." Ronald said, facing the Emperor.

The Emperor, however, only raised his eyebrows, with a slight smirk showing on his lips. He was, quite honestly, amused.

'Lies? You're the one whose spitting lies.' He thought as he looked at the disgusting figure of the old man in front of him.

"Don't believe this madwoman, Your Majesty, for she has caused our family nothing but shame." Ronald continued, smirking as he looked at the woman that was now at his feet.

Oh, how the heavens have granted him with such luck. Despite getting slightly hurt, now, the woman who has pushed her luck is once again under his power.

All he had to do is convince the Emperor that he was the victim.

He threw a look to his son, who nodded as he understood his signal.

With a slight hint of hesitation, he added to his father's claims. "That-That's right, Your Majesty. This woman is one that I have taken in from her work as a prostitute. Despite giving her all the luxury that she could ever have in her life, she has tried to cause harm to my Father," He said, switching his sight between the Emperor and Celestine.

Celestine, in extreme frustration, screamed. "Don't twist the damned story! It wasn't my-" Her words were cut short by Ronald who slightly shoved the blade once more towards her neck.

"Talk once more and I will cut your throat." He said, smirking as he imitated her tone earlier as she was threatening him.

This threat made Celestine quiet. Instead of further blabbering her mouth, she looked at Ronald, her eyes seemingly throwing daggers at him, and if it were true, surely he'd stumble dead by now, but knowing that it is not, Celestine could only curse the man inside her head.

She should have taken the chance to kill him hen she had.

Seeing that the events were getting quite out of hand, once again, the Emperor talked. His voice, though not screaming, was loud enough to make it resonate throughout the whole palace.

"Bring all of these people in the Judicial Prison to be interrogated." He repeated, and with that, apart from his servants who scrambled to the side, Imperial Soldiers came into the room, following his bidding.

"No, Your Majesty! Please listen-" The father and son duo, who was screaming, was stopped short as he waved his hand, giving permission to the armed soldiers to bring the two outside.

Ronald was being dragged out of the room, naked, as he demanded clothing, his son, Roux, has been shouting something in regards to Celestine.

Ignoring the two who desperately tried to resist their captors, he turned his head to give his order, "Conrad, be quick to know the truth about this incident." He said towards the Commander of his army.

"Order received, Your Majesty." The man said, bowing his head with his right hand in his chest before leaving to proceed as the Emperor ordered.

The Emperor walked towards Celestine, immediately bringing out his handkerchief, applying it as a first-aid towards the woman's bleeding neck.

Celestine accepted his kind actions, only slightly hissing as the cloth made contact with her wound.

"Fighting a government official is an unforgivable crime." He said, looking at her intently.

Upon hearing this, Celestine slapped his hand away, the bloody cloth falling into the bed.

She scoffed. She knew that he would never side with a lowly girl such as her, and yet, for a split second, his kindness has gotten into her. She was immediately reminded by the man himself of her standing, her hopes immediately being crushed.

"To fight those scoundrels, Ronald and Roux, was my idea, and I am not regretting it for one bit!" She shouted at him, her rudeness making the Emperor's servants gasp.

"Alright." The Emperor said, calmly, which surprised his servants who were watching the scene, they have thought for sure that the woman who has rudely answered His Majesty will be ending up dead and yet...

"Are you satisfied now?" The Emperor asked her, looking at her eyes.

Rolling her eyes and scoffing, Celestine answered, "Of course not. Not until I'm sure that the both of them have been convicted to pay the price for their wrongdoings, I will never be satisfied." She said, looking straight at his eyes but then later looked down, clenching her fists, "But then again, it's not like you'll be siding with me." She mumbled. "I should have killed him. I had my chance." She whispered, looking at her hands as she formed them into fists.

However, the Emperor, in all of her surprise, chuckled. Looking up, once again, her eyes met with his. "Don't worry, I'll be siding with you." He said with a smile flowing through his lips.

His sudden announcement made Celestine gasp. Her face making an expression of disbelief.

"However, do you really think that what you did earlier was the right thing to do?" The Emperor asked her, making knots to form on her forehead.

"Of course. That scumbag deserves to die. In fact, for all the things that he has done, I believe that death is not enough." She answered through her gritted teeth, once again remembering his sins towards her and Meira.

The Emperor nodded in understanding, "But hasn't it crossed your mind, that you will be committing the same thing, if not, more than as he did if you succeeded in your attempt to kill him?" He asked her, his tone gentle and sincere.

That question made Celestine stop.

She looked at him, realizing that he was right.

Swallowing, once again, she looked down at her hands.

Earlier, she was holding her sword against someone's throat, threatening and attempting to kill him because of his sins, not even realizing that she would be making the same mistake as the one that she hates.

She breathed heavily, tears forming in her eyes.

She knew that she was out of options, resulting in her rash decision. However, she should have at least tried a little harder to find a way to solve the problem correctly.

Meira even tried to stop her, and yet, she locked her up in her room.

That's right! Meira!

Suddenly, it was as if she was thrown into iced water. Her whole body felt cold. She involuntarily shivered, disgusted with herself.

"I-I'm sorry..." She apologized, stuttering. Celestine clutched her chest, feeling it tighten, conflicted.

She knew that what she did was wrong, yet, her heart seemed to disagree. Because despite her feeling apologetic, she cannot help but feel happy.

Ronald deserved it, and so does Roux.

She breathed heavily, trying to come to terms with her own feelings, her clashing thoughts made her frustrated.

The Emperor, with a gentle hand, raised her chin, making her look at him, "It's alright, don't cry." He said, lightly damping his fingers towards her tear-stained cheeks.

His calming words, however, only made Celestine cry even more.

Once again, she has failed to implement freedom's real meaning. She had tried to assess the meaning of her beliefs by doing something that is morally incorrect.

She hasn't learned anything at all.

Seeing that the girl is not calming down, the Emperor ordered his servants quietly, "Immediately fetch a physician to properly tend for her wounds." He ordered as he picked up the bloody handkerchief in the bed, carefully placing it against the wounded neck of the lady.

After a few minutes of crying, Celestine has come to a sudden realization.

She has been crying in front of the Emperor, and apart from that, has talked rudely against him earlier.

Images of her death flashed through her mind, making her shiver involuntarily.

Far from her earlier fierce demeanor, she sheepishly looked up towards the Emperor who has been tending towards her.

"I deeply apologize, Your Majesty. your lowly subject deserves to die." She said, before looking down again. Her hand at her chest as a sign of respect.

Seeing the immediate change in her attitude, the Emperor laughed aloud, shocking Celestine who only peeked up through her eyes as she was still looking down.

"Don't worry, I understand." He replied, smiling at her.

"Apologies, Your Majesty." She once again said, apologizing. Her face, showing pure confusion, for she cannot understand why the Emperor has been kind to her... Too kind, in fact.

She was grateful that the Emperor has been kind towards her, however, she did not want to act more familiar with him for now that she is already in her calm state, she has realized all the things that she has done and doesn't want any more things to add up to the guilt that she is currently feeling, thus resulting in her awfully formal tone despite the curiosity and confusion.

Smiling towards her confused face, the Emperor shook his head, "For now, may I ask your name?" He asked.

Nodding her head, she answered, "My name is Celestine Schleifer, Your Majesty." She said with a small smile.

Seeing the nodding head of the Emperor, Celestine tried her best to keep her mouth shut.

"Well then, Celestine. As you know, 'I' am the Emperor of the Aurelia Empire." He began, emphasizing his position.

His words made her nod as she swallowed anxiously.

Smiling, he gazed deep into Celestine's eyes.

"You can call me Desidevious."