02 The New World

  "Three weeks?!" Ha-ra gasped. She tried calming herself down, "Then- What was my husband's name?"

"Emperor Alexander Cassius Barlowe Caddel."

'Eek! Such long name!' She yelped internally. "Then... What about..." She pointed to her face, "Me?..."

The old woman stared at the woman for a minute, "Empress Elena Eleanor Caddel," she said, "The mother of eight children."

She raised one finger, "Plus one."

"One?" I asked. The old lady pointed her finger towards my stomach as she looked at it. I lower my head and looked at my bumpy stomach, 'Jeez...'

'How did this Alexander lure this 'Elena'?' She questioned as she looked beside her upwards. She rolled her eyes, 'I bet he's ugly and just have a big cock. Ugh.'

"Is the Emperor handsome?" She asked,

"Of course! He's a god that has descended from heaven! Wait!-" She paused and looked at me suspiciously, "Did you lose your memory?"

I nod my head childishly. She sighed and tapped my shoulder, "Let's get you to your castle."

"Castle?"

"That's where you live, Her Majesty." The old man bowed and walked outside with the lady.

The carriage began moving, the horse neighed and began walking.

Ha-ra—Elena sat on the carriage chair and placed her elbow on the window, and rested her right cheek on her palms. She began thinking, 'Elena, huh?'

'Weren't I inside the coffin a few minutes ago? How did I transfer here? And—An Empress? Have my dreams gone wild? The last time, Ye-joon proposed to Li-a in front of me! What would the Emperor's face be like? And, eight—NINE KIDS?!' She looked at her stomach. 'If I think about it, I think this woman has been pregnant for Seven-and-a-half or so...'

She rubbed her palm against her face as she began stressing out.

"Whatever." She groaned.

* * *

A few hours have passed and finally, they have arrived.

The old lady hopped from the horse and opened the door, she did the curtsy bow before speaking to her, "Her Majesty, we have arrived."

Ha-ra slowly stood up and walked outside. As she took the final step, tons of girls and boys ran to her and hugged her.

"Mother!" Charlotte shouted as she hugged her mom. She was the eldest daughter of Alexander and Elena.

"Oh, hey?"

Another girl hugged her tightly, "Mother, we missed your daily embrace!"

"Isabella, don't hug her too tight! Mom is still pregnant!" The young boy rushed over to push Isabella away from the tight hug. It was a handsome young boy, a little bit taller than her. He walked to her and kisses the back of her hand, "Welcome back, Mother."

The woman brought her hand up and placed it on the boy's head, patting it, "Yes." She smiled.

As the people inside the castle were noisy from the arrival of the Empress, the Emperor, who was cold and quiet, stared at the woman from his window with a glass of wine.

He tucked his other hand inside his pocket. He had light blue hair, the little side of his bangs was slicked back, while the large part of bangs was combed perfectly.

His fierce ocean deep blue eyes, strong dominant aura, and that broad shoulder of his were perfect. He was tall, his head almost reached his door frame. He wore the perfect white suit with yellow tassels on both of his shoulders and a red sash.

His young butler knocked and opened the door, "His Majesty, Her Majesty has arrived."

Alexander tilted his head to the side a little and nodded, "I know. Tell me, why does Her Majesty act differently?"

The butler bowed and stood straight, "According to the old couple who found The Empress, Her Majesty got into a car accident and lost her memories."

"Her memories?"

"Yes, that's what they said."

"Investigate who was in the scene and why she got into a car accident."

"Yes." He bowed and closed the door as he walked away.

Alexander moved the glass in a circular motion before he drank it, 'How did you lose your memories?'

* * *

As they went inside the castle, Elena's daughters and sons stuck beside her, entertaining their mother about what happened while she was away.

Charlotte laughed with the others as she walked to the front. Her eyes noticed the big painting in the frame, "Hahaha, Oh!—" She grabbed Elena's arm gently and ran to the painting, "Look, Mother, I painted this art while you were away."

Elena looked at Charlotte, "Why?"

Her face suddenly turned depressing, "I missed how you would wake us up even though we are not kids anymore," They chuckled, "I missed how you defend us from Father,-"

Elise stepped forward, "We miss how you would cook for us so early in the morning, not letting the chefs cook our meals because they always finish late."

Elena and the others chuckled. Their youngest son, Adrien, pinched his mother's big skirt and tugged the cloth slowly. He wanted attention, and so she looked at him and bent her one knee to reach the child's head.

She patted his head slowly, "Hello."

The boy's eye suddenly turned teary as he missed his mother's voice. "Mama!" He cried and spread his arms for her to carry him.

She let out an 'awe' expression before carrying him. The child stopped crying and wiped his tears before hugging and kissing his mother's cheeks.

"I mwissed ywo swo mwuch, Mama! (I missed you so much, Mama!)" He nudged his cheeks on his mother's chest. She gently patted his back as she gave a motherly smile.

'These children are too good than my past children.'

Elena and her eight children gathered together and had a family hug, but she felt that something was missing. Elena frowned her brows thinking that their 'Family hug' missed one person, and here he is-

"Are you guys gonna hug without me?" Alexander asked behind them. The family members turned around and laughed. Elise walked to his father, Alexander, and wrapped her arms around his, guiding him to them.

"Father, Mother has returned." She smiled. Alexander and Elena looked at each other. She gave him a sheepish smile as a silent message that she wanted to get away from the hug. Alexander got the silent message and nodded.

The children walked backward Alexander walked towards the Empress. He bent his one knee, holding her hand and kissing the back of her hand. He stood up straight. The children placed their leg behind the other and bent, giving a curtsy bow to the Empress as they greeted her in unison, including the Emperor.

"Welcome back, Her Majesty."