Garments that glistened

Rosenbloom- that's the name of one of the strongest allies of the Emperor's faction. For generations, it was this family that had sired the many Empresses who ruled the country over many centuries. Since the Rosenbloom Duchy had a large family tree, it was not frequent for a generation to be skipped from being selected as the next Empress. Thus, there was no issue with direct relatives intermarrying each other.

Money and power; those are what many noble families have in common. However, what makes the Rosenbloom Duchy different from most is that many of the women in the family were blessed with the wisdom and foresight to rule the kingdom. In all historical records, the kingdom had always been peaceful and prosperous whenever the Rosenbloom women were Empresses.

Isabella Rosenbloom, the current Empress and third removed cousin of the previous Empress, was trained from a delicate age; about the etiquette and mannerism of a royal. Akin to the Empress candidates before her, Isabella was taught at a much younger age compared to her peers of the same age. Many knew that Isabella was undoubtedly going to be the next Empress. The Empress candidate selection was just a formality and was mainly to select the other Queens and ladies-in-waiting for the Empress.

It was a responsibility and burden that was entrusted to Isabella since birth. Thus, she was taught to always remain composed and to never reveal her emotions to others no matter the circumstance. And so, despite being 21 years of age, nothing startled Isabelle nor caused her to express excitement. She was in every way, the perfect monarch who was devoid of all emotions and that was why she was able to rule the nation smoothly when the Emperor had withdrawn himself upon the death of his beloved concubine. Even if an Empress ruling instead of the Emperor was unprecedented, none of the officials and ministers opposed because they knew just how mature and insightful she was.

***

[Present time]

BANG!

The door was forcefully pushed open as Sir Ethan and Lucy rushed in.

"Your Majesty, you need to read this letter! Things are much more dire than we had first thought!" Lucy, the lady-in-waiting half yelled.

It was viewed as disrespectful to yell at a monarch and was punishable by death but there was panic in the young lady's eyes which stopped the butler from reprimanding her. The butler glanced at the Empress. From the looks of it, the Empress was anxious as well. It was rare to see Her Majesty express any emotion and that alone told him that the contents of the letter were far more important than the proper etiquette of the lady-in-waiting.

Wordlessly, the Empress accepted the letter and read the contents quickly. The letter was fairly short but the Empress kept rereading and her expression got darker and darker- as if the news that the letter held was really upsetting. After a minute or so, the Empress looked at the butler. There was a sense of urgency when she spoke.

"There has been an outbreak in the Western territory. It is reported that some of the monsters are beginning to attack during the day as well-- though it is usually when the sky is dark or cloudy. Moreover, it has also been observed that it is now only taking about half an hour for victims to turn into monsters. Locals have taken to the solution of killing whoever that is deemed infected and to immediately burn the bodies. However, as the duration of the attacks are increasing, there is hardly time to dispose of the bodies. As a result, more monsters are being created by the hour."

"Oh my" Lucy gasped as the butler just stared in silent horror.

Sir Ethan cussed. "So, we are doomed. The rate of infection has shortened from half a day to half an hour and the monsters are no longer weak to sunlight."

"Yes and from the looks of things, the plague will reach the capital city within the next day or so. Where is His Majesty now?" the Empress turned to ask Sir Ethan. As a member of the palace's elite royal knights, Sir Ethan was one of the few who patrolled between both the main palace and Empress' palace. Thus, the chances of him knowing the whereabouts of His Majesty was fairly high.

Sir Ethan hesitated before replying, "I last saw His Majesty heading towards the Camellia Palace the previous night. He has not returned to the main palace since."

"How could His Majesty still--" Lucy started but could not bring herself to continue.

The butler's face darkened. Camellia Palace is an annex building which was built solely for His Majesty's beloved concubine to live in. It was not like the actual building for all of the Emperor's harem was filled. There were no women other than Her Majesty and that concubine in the palace to begin with. Not even a Queen for the ruling Emperor. From the very start, His Majesty only had eyes for that concubine.

Thus, to express his love, he built a palace and named it 'Camellia'; the flower of love and devotion. Similar to the golden statue in the courtyard, the Camellia Palace was just another way of His Majesty to hurt Her Majesty. Even so, the palace was situated closer to the Western gate. It was quite a distance away from the main palace and the Empress' palace but one could guess that His Majesty did not want his concubine to potentially be bullied in case Her Majesty had a fit upon bumping into her. 'Not that Her Majesty would ever do that', the butler thought to himself and frowned.

Although that concubine had passed away about three years ago, His Majesty has been constantly visiting the Camellia Palace like a distraught lover. It is strange considering there is a rumour that there was an underground tunnel that connected both the main and annex palaces. 'If that was true, it would only mean that His Majesty is trying to show to the whole world how much he loved that concubine... As if wearing black mourning clothes since that concubine's passing wasn't enough', the butler concluded with a sigh.

"Does Your Majesty wish to see the Emperor?" Sir Ethan asked.

"No, leave him be. I have to see Blaise now. We must prepare for the worst" the Empress calmly replied and started walking towards the entrance of the room.

The butler bowed and reached for the door to open it for Her Majesty but before he could do so, there was a resounding shrieking. Although it sounded distant, it was loud enough for anyone to discern the fear in the voice. For a brief moment, no one in the room knew what to expect and looked at each other.

The Empress was the first to take action. Moving past the butler; Her Majesty opened the door to determine where the scream had originated from. Looking down the corridor, there was a small figure on the floor. The Empress started to move closer but Sir Ethan and the butler blocked Her Majesty from doing so. Under normal circumstances, the Empress would have just left it to the men to keep her safe and inspect whatever it was that was laid on the floor.

However, Her Majesty had a nagging feeling that there was something outside the room and that it was for her and extremely urgent. This only caused Her Majesty's heart to beat more frantically. Taking a deep breath, Her Majesty attempted to calm herself down before asking the men to stand back.

"But Your Majesty—"

"It's okay. I need to do this", the Empress simply said and approached the figure. As she got closer, it became clearer that the figure was a petite girl who was dressed in bright red garments. She was breathing raggedly as if struggling to breathe. She was on the floor but upon hearing approaching steps, she was trying to get up.

As the Empress approached and continued to observe, it looked as if the girl's garments were glistening. When they were finally within touching distance, there was an iron-like scent in the air.

Sir Ethan inhaled sharply and ushered the Empress to stand behind him. Sensing that the situation could be potentially dangerous, the butler and maid followed suit and stood behind the knight. Then, Sir Ethan placed his hand on the sword he carried- ready in case he had to protect Her Majesty.

The girl was bleeding. Her garments were drenched in blood and glistened under the sunlight that filtered through the windows in the corridor. Then the girl raised up her head and with great effort said, "Y-Your… Majesty…"

Recognising the girl, the Empress rushed to the girl's side to hold her, "Blaise! What happened?!"

With much effort, the girl gave the Empress a crumpled piece of parchment. It was slightly stained from her bloodied hand, "I'm… sorry that… it took so long. This is the best… we can do…"

"What happened? Where are your sisters?" the Empress asked. There was a dreadful feeling that hung over them.

"They… they are dead… The monster…"

"The monster what?!" Sir Ethan almost yelled.

"The monster is… here… The… main p… palace…"

Lucy gasped and Sir Ethan cussed.

Blaise tried to reach out to the Empress who immediately clasped onto the trembling hand, "It is… our last chance… It's… it's too late… I'm sor—"

The bloodied hand fell to the floor and the girl exhaled her last breath. Only then did they all notice the large claw marks across the girl's chest.