8 Bird Cage

Nina almost cursed out loud after hearing that from the Emperor's mouth. 'Come back to him?! And die?'

"I believe you're quite rude towards the Fairy Queen, your majesty." Titania looked at the Archduke with an eyebrow raised. The Emperor was rude towards the Archduke, but he still defended Titania, and that confuses her.

"And why would you say that?"

Titania's brow snapped together after hearing the shameless remarks of the Emperor. She was about to cross her arms, but Sylvester held her to make her stand still and stop her from making a scene they would deeply regret. 

As the Archduke looked up to the Emperor, Titania noticed how dark the atmosphere surrounding the man beside her was.

"You're trampling on her feelings, your majesty."

Titania gave Sylvester a doubtful look. 'Why did he suddenly care about me?' she thought as she tried to pull her arm away from the Archduke's grasp, but it was useless.

"I can't seem to see how the two of you ended up having feelings for each other." The Emperor said as he smiled at Titania. "I wouldn't feel satisfied unless I know what's the reason, Titania."

Titania flinched after the Emperor emphasized her name. She looked up to Lennox and was about to start talking, but the Archduke's grip on her arm tightened.

Titania looked at the Archduke and saw him force a smile. "I thought you will grant any wish of mine as long as I win the war?"

The Emperor's chuckle filled the throne room. "Who said I wouldn't?"

Titania mumbled, "Ouch," as she felt the Archduke's grip kept on tightening, making her feel pain.

"Then what's with the questions?" Sylvester's tone was changing. They could feel that he's becoming more pissed with the way Emperor treats them.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt Titania to tell me her reason. Wouldn't it?"

They both looked at Titania, who was wincing in pain because of the Archduke's grip. When Sylvester saw it, he immediately let go of her arm. 

Lennox felt weird as he was about to stand up and walk towards Titania, but she quickly stopped him.

Titania flashed both of her palms to the Emperor in panic. "I'll say it!" She gasps. "So please don't get off of the throne." She took a deep breath as she tried to look into the Emperor's eyes. 

Titania saw Lennox blushing and made her feel weird since this was not the time for him to blush, wasn't it?

"I loved him ever since we were children." She said, 'Might as well use Titania's memories,' is what she thought. The two men looked at her both with confusion on their faces. Titania tried her best not to sound fake to make the Emperor believe everything.

"But, he was mean to you when we were still children," Lennox exclaimed. "He even pushed you to the lake and made you drown." Titania looked at the Emperor with a confused expression. 

'I don't remember seeing him in that scene, so how come he knows that?' is what she thought as she remembers seeing only the Archduke and another unknown kid, but it was a girl.

Titania stared at the staircase, trying to remember what exactly happened in that part of her memories. That was an accident, and no one pushed anyone, that's what she remembers. So how did the Emperor assume that the Archduke pushed her?

"He saved me when that war happened." Her gaze went back to the Emperor. "And saved me again from the monster that almost killed me." She said with pure determination. Since she's telling the truth, she feels great. Even though it was a half-truth.

"I love him not because of his status, but because of who he is." Titania deliberately looks at the Archduke in the eye as she smiles. 'I am so good at acting that even I could believe that I really love this man,' is what she thought as she giggled inside of her head.

"He's been kind towards me, and I felt that he is indeed in love with me." Titania almost pukes after saying that, but she did a great job holding it in.

The Emperor stood up with a shocked face. "T-That's not possible. I told him not to." Lennox immediately covered his mouth upon seeing the confused expression on Titania's face. 

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. 'How much of an obsessed person is this guy?' is what she thought as she scoffs inside her mind.

Titania showed them her acting face and even got ready to cry in front of the Emperor, but she noticed how the Archduke looked at her, so she didn't exaggerate it. 

"I am sorry if I did hurt you, your majesty. But no matter what anyone says, I will still choose to be with Sylvester." Titania said she thought that mentioning the Archduke's name would impact what she said, not knowing that it made the Archduke take aback.

"I see. I guess there's no way to persuade you now." The Emperor smiled at Titania, 'Was it successful?' she thought as she felt excited. 

"You can explore the Palace grounds now. Let me just talk to my cousin for a bit." The door opened, and there's a knight that came in. The knight kneeled in front of the Emperor, greeting him.

"Faith, please accompany Titania."

The knight named Faith was about to walk towards Titania, but the Archduke blocked her. "I brought one of my knights."

"But your knight might not be familiar with the whole palace, cousin. Let my personal guard do it. She'll treat her well." The Emperor smiled as Titania made eye contact with the Duke, telling him that it was alright.

The two left the throne room in complete silence. As soon as Titania got out, she gasped and continued catching her breath. "That was intense." She mumbled to herself.

"I'll show you the way to the garden milady." Titania nodded and silently followed the knight. Her head is in the clouds after that intense meeting with the Emperor; she still couldn't believe how the Emperor acted in front of the Archduke.

"Oh my, look who's here." Titania's peace of mind was immediately disrupted by that voice. She wasn't expecting anyone, but she got totally caught by this person.

It was Vivica; she tried to hide her disappointment as hard as she could. She didn't want to meet this bully again, but here they are. Vivica and her friends are hanging around near the fountain in the middle of the palace garden.

"It's the Fairy Queen!" One of the girls said in amusement after seeing Titania. "Well yeah, obviously." Vivica rolled her eyes as she gave Titania a death glare.

Titania was about to bid them goodbye, but Vivica didn't let her escape that easily.

"Why don't you sit with us?" Vivica said as she tapped the chair beside her. They're having a little tea party, but they're not even royalties. Titania reluctantly sat down. She didn't want to do that because Vivica was obviously wary of her presence.

"It's been so long since the last time we saw you. Where did you go?" The same girl asked as she happily looked at Titania's face. The girl has short brown hair reaching her shoulders and round hazelnut eyes. 'Her looks scream extra character,' Titania thought.

"I've been travelling." She faked a laugh as she kept on playing with her fingers under the table. She's not comfortable with this kind of gathering, less with people she doesn't know. 

"But, I can't seem to remember you. What's your name?" Titania said without sounding rude, but it still made the girl flustered.

"M-My name is Laria Venas." She shyly introduced herself while blushing like a red tomato. Titania smiled and was about to say something, but Vivica cut her off.

"So, what brought you here?" Vivica asked as she kept on playing with the cup of tea in her hand.

Titania doesn't like Vivica's tone, but she bears up with it and continues to smile like nothing is wrong. 

"The Emperor called me and wanted to talk." She said as elegant as possible. But Vivica didn't let that pass. She chuckled as she placed the cup she was holding back on the table.

"Right. The Emperor has been obsessing with you since you were a child." Titania's smile slowly faded away as she could feel Vivica mocking her. 

She knew that the real Titania had been enduring all of the hate criticism on her because of the Emperor's affection, but Nina doesn't know if she could do the same.

The atmosphere turned sour after Vivica said that. Laria has been frantically looking back and forth to Titania and Vivica, trying to assess the situation. But Titania didn't want to stay there to deal with such bull. She knew she didn't deserve it after seeing all Titania's memories. None of it is what Titania truly deserves.

"Stop it, Vivica. You're scaring her." One of Vivica's friends said. "I'm Clara Croifort, sorry for that. Vivica is not in a good mood right now." Titania cracked a nervous smile. 'Why would she call me here? To pour out her anger at me?'

"I'll just go," said Titania as she stood up and was about to walk away, but what Vivica said made her stop.

"You think you own everything just because the Emperor likes you?"

As if her line of reason snapped, Titania was about to burst out in anger, but Faith, the knight, called out to her before she could even say anything.

"I am sorry to disturb you, but the Archduke said to accompany you back."

"Then, excuse me," Titania said out of respect as she followed Faith.

"Damn that girl." She mumbled as she sighed in relief. Longer than that, and she would definitely pull that girl's hair off.

"Faith, The Emperor called you. I'll take care of the lady." Another knight came. Faith excused herself and went back to the throne room.

"This way, milady." The other knight said, and Titania followed him without thinking. As they continued to walk the long hallway, she couldn't help but think that they're getting deeper inside the palace. She thought that shouldn't be heading to the exit?

"Uhm, where are we going?"

There's no response from the knight, and that makes Titania feel uncertain about this. 'No way. He wouldn't abduct Titania in the presence of the Archduke, wouldn't he?' is what she thought as she felt anxiety all over her body.

The silence didn't help her to calm down. She's not familiar with the palace's structure, and she doesn't know where to escape. All she hopes is that the Archduke is searching for her. But that seems unlikely.

"I… I'll go to the bathroom real quick." As she tried to walk away, the knight covered her mouth and nose with a cloth and made her lose consciousness. The knight lifted her up and hurriedly went into the most enormous room. It was the Emperor's chamber.

"I am sorry." The knight said as he placed Titania back into the massive birdcage near the Emperor's bed. Inside the birdcage was a bed. The unknown knight didn't actually want to do this task, but Lennox would kill him if he didn't follow his commands.

The knight left the room and locked the door from outside so that no one could enter except for the Emperor himself. Inside that chamber, Titania was left unconscious and all alone. That same room was where the nightmares of the real Titania began. 

The Emperor stole Titania's freedom; that's how it's depicted in the book, and Nina couldn't possibly bear with that.

On the other hand, the Archduke and the Emperor's talk has been filled with silence. The Emperor didn't know how to act after all that he said in front of the Archduke. He was led by his own desires.

"Perhaps, you still remember Bleue?"

The Archduke's gaze shifted from the ground to the Emperor's face. "Yes. I do remember him."

"You loved him. He was your best friend." The Emperor said. "But you gave him to me." The Archduke's palm turned into a fist as he clenched them hard.

"And he died in your hands."

Sylvester's eyes glowed as he looked into the Emperor. He could feel all his frustrations coming back into his body.

"Just kill him."

He tried his best not to succumb to the bloodthirst he heard inside his mind. He didn't want to listen to the voices that screamed at him.

"It wasn't my fault he died." The Emperor said, which made the Archduke look at him with coldness in his eyes. He didn't want to listen to any of it anymore.

Bleue was a bluebird that became Sylvester's treasure when he was a kid. It was a gift from his dad when he reached the age of 9. 

Since he's not good at socializing and has been above his peers, he couldn't make any friends. And so, that bird made him happy all the time just by staying by his side. Up until Lennox had his eyes on him.

"I loved him too," Lennox said.

'But your love was painful for him,' is what Sylvester thought. Sylvester couldn't believe he surrendered his only happiness to his younger cousin just because he's older and that he should know better. He regretted it. Giving Bleue to Lennox was one of his biggest regrets.

"Maybe, you could give Titania to me too. I promise I'll treasure her and wouldn't let her feel lonely."

The Archduke sighed. "She's not a toy." He said.

"I know! I'm not treating her like some cheap toy. I'm telling you, I love her too much."

Lennox's voice echoed through the whole room. He was already pleading to his cousin.

"I'm sorry, but I wouldn't hand her to you. Not this time." His menacing aura rendered Lennox speechless.

"I'll excuse myself. Blessings and Glory upon the Emperor of the Great Alynthian Empire."

The Archduke turned his back at the Emperor and steadily made his way to the door. "I won't stop here!"

"Suits yourself."

Blaze greeted him as he went out of the throne room.

"Where is she?"

"One of the Coventry's Knight brought her to the Emperor's chamber." Sylvester gritted his teeth after hearing that. He couldn't believe that his cousin ended up being like this just because of his obsession. But he expected he would play dirty.

"Tell Astra to bring her. I'll go back first." Blaze nodded as he watched the Archduke stagger. He must be going through those headaches that keep on damaging his body and mind. Since the first time he experienced killing people, his suffering began.

The Archduke got inside the carriage while struggling to keep his composure. He couldn't even think about Titania right now because of the intense pain he was feeling. He's glad that he made Astra do that errand before coming to the imperial palace. At least there wouldn't be too much trouble.

"Shall we wait for them?" Blaze asked as he opened the door of the carriage.

"No. Tell Astra to teleport back to the Mansion."

Blaze nodded as he closed the door. The carriage made its way out of the Imperial Grounds while Blaze opened a magic portal to the Magic Tower. Those portals were exclusively made for the Archduke and his knights by Astra himself.

"Oh? Blaze, you're early." Astra said as he cleaned up the clatter inside his room, but Blaze didn't hesitate to pull him away. "Okay, fine! I'll go." Astra said, and then he opened a new portal to the Emperor's chamber.

"Do it well."

Astra looked at Blaze in disbelief. "You rarely talk, but when you do, it hurts my feelings." Blaze ignored what Astra said and pushed him into the portal.

Astra is the youngest but most powerful magician in the whole Tharain. He could get a status of a God if he wanted to, but Astra said that being a God would be boring, and he doesn't want to have too many responsibilities. He's like the cheat code on a game.

"That Emperor is really out of his mind."

Astra shook his head as he saw Titania inside the giant birdcage, unconscious. There's a bed inside where she is lying. Astra, who's been on good terms (?) with Titania, felt terrible for her, and it made him realize how she must have felt when she escaped from that place.

He walked towards the birdcage, and when he tried to touch it, he felt electricity from it. 'Damn prick,' is what he thought as he disables the magic placed on the birdcage. No wonder Titania couldn't escape from it. It was a high-level spell that only high-level magicians could imbue.

The Archduke's errand told Astra the day before was to check if the birdcage was still inside the Emperor's chamber. They know that going inside the Emperor's chamber without prior notice or permission is as bad as treason. But there's no way they would risk losing Titania, their new companion to the Emperor once again.

Astra opened the gate and quickly tried to wake Titania up, but it wasn't effective. He sighed as he opened the portal inside Titania's closet.

"Sometimes, I wonder if my wage is worth it for all of these troubles." He talked to himself as he placed back the spell on the birdcage to make it looks like nothing changed. 

They don't want to let the Emperor know that they're aware of what he tried to do. He carried Titania bridal style as he closed the portal right after entering it. They arrived in Titania's room, and he placed her on the bed while checking what was wrong with her body and why she was still unconscious.

"What an arse." He said to himself after realizing that they drugged Titania. She inhaled a Vapor, which was a drug used for slaves before to make them go into a deep sleep so that they couldn't resist being sold to people. They said that this drug is now illegal, and people who still buy and sell these are penalized.

Astra, who's been skilful in everything that includes magic, took all of that Titania inhaled out of her body, making her wake up and start coughing. Astra quickly gave her something to drink since that drug would make someone who inhaled it parched. Titania chugs the water all at once, which makes her cough once again.

"Calm down. No one will take your drink from you." Astra said as he patted Titania's back, but it made Titania burst out crying.

"W-What?" Astra panicked, seeing the girl cry in front of him. "What's wrong with you?" He gave Titania tissues to wipe her tears, but she couldn't answer his question because she was too busy crying.

Minutes passed by, and all Astra did was listen to Titania's sobs.

"Are you done now?" He asked as he scratched his cheek. He wants to go back to the Magic Tower to continue his research, but because Titania was gripping his cloak, he couldn't even make a single step away from the canopy bed.

"I was so scared."

Titania sniffled as she wiped her tears from her cheeks while still holding onto Astra's cloak. "Why would you feel scared? You know Sylvester wouldn't let anything happen to you, right?" Astra didn't know how to comfort another person, so he just tried to smile at her.

"I don't trust him. He left me there." Astra couldn't retort since the Archduke did leave her behind. "But there's a good reason for that," Astra said as he was about to pat Titania's head, but another person went inside the room and interrupted them.

"Master Astra, the Archduke needs you in his room."