A Man So Stale

In the end, Selestia was compelled to become man and wife with the Emperor of Thuhelda. The kingdom heard of the news and everyone congratulated Selestia and her engagement with the Emperor. Everyone started to prepare, but unlike them, Selestia did not feel glad to be congratulated at all.

"I'm only obliged to walk down the aisle with him. I do not feel any contentment with this arrangement, but if Celeste's future relies on this then I'll take it on, regardless of what I face."

"Selfless, are you not?" Grandel teased.

She glared at him, and yet, he only shrugged.

"Have you heard? The Emperor you're marrying, the ruler of the Thuheldian conglomerates, was said to be driven with great blood thirst and was impeccably frigid to his subjects. I believe that if I were you, I wouldn't be existing after a couple of days."

"That Emperor. Who was he?" She said as she glanced at herself in the glass mirror.

Grandel took a bite of the fruit he held in his hand, he was squatting on the window of Selestia's room that he sneaked into.

"Hm…well, I was eavesdropping in my father's dwelling a while ago. I heard the Prime Minister with my father was conversing. The Duchess, Freiya, was there too."

"What are they talking about?" Selestia curiously inquired.

"They were talking about the King's ensuing conference with the Emperor's minister and the Grand Duke Floryen. Though the Emperor will not be attending, his Prime Minister will be attending in his stead."

Selestia nodded again, indifferently, she spoke, "That didn't respond to my question, Grandel."

"Well, I was getting to it." he shrugged. "After they left, I sneaked into my father's study, and from the piece of paper, I learned the Emperor's name. It was an interesting one, I must say."

Selestia looked at him with her forehead creased, causing him to cut to the chase.

"It's Venemiah LeThuhelda. The Emperor."

"Venemiah…" she mumbled.

The name was not familiar, if he was really the ruler of the great conglomerate, Thuhelda, why was he not known in this region? Was Celeste that secluded from the other nations to be not hearing such news? Or was it because she did not bother hearing any of the information that didn't involve the nation she settled in?

"From what I heard, Venemiah was a name of a dragon in history."

"You believe dragons exist?" she scoffed as if she was mocking his belief. "The history books of Uryasha were filled with numerous lies, they were disguised in many words that are even hard to figure where."

"There was fossil evidence that they existed…" Grandel pressed.

"They might just be some carcass of a dead animal. People nowadays believe that whatever cadaver they saw, they assume it's of a dragon." she shook her head with disappointment.

Grandel looked at her blankly.

'Venemiah LeThuhelda… I have no details about this person, yet I am bound to tie the knot with him in a month. Definitely, just like any other sovereigns and princes that asked my hand for marriage, he'd look so stale and old. I have to bear with an old man's stench then. Being married, my duty doesn't end there, I have to copulate with him to consummate our marriage and worst of yet, be an Empress to an empire I knew not of.'

She heavily sighed. Then, she looked at Grandel who seemed like he was enjoying the fruit he stole from the royal garden. 'Well, why don't we use this fool, then? He's competent for bringing me news and gossip inside the Palace or even outside. Certainly, for a person like him, he wouldn't find it that hard to sneak inside Thuhelda to check it out for me.'

"Hey, Duke Grandel of the Valley…" Selestia called.

"You need something, do you? There's no way you'd call my name, captured with its title, without any reason."

Grandel was far too used to her around, his mind had already remembered how she behaves every time she requires something from him. Due to this, Grandel was able to tell whether Selestia was out of her mood or if she was at her brightest.

"I want you to gather information for me…"

Grandel's eyes lit with interest. "Who's the house? And what information do you need?"

"It's not the matter of 'whose house?'', it's about whose empire…" her eyes gave a sinister look and she grinned widely. It was ominous, as if within her lived the great devil.

"Hey, what are you planning to do?!" Grandel's eyes shook, his mind was in a panic. He can't seem to grasp her mind, what was she thinking? She's going to send her to an empire?

"I want you to embark on a journey to Thuhelda and gather all the information I needed." she sternly spoke.

"No way am I going there! Have you heard of Thuhelda's security? They execute you if they find you suspicious, for sure I'd perish and die there before I could even gather information for you!"

"Are you saying no?" Her eyes glanced toward him, her apertures lit darker.

'This devil! I knew she was such a demon! How can I ever say no when she scares me like this?!'

"I am a Duke, milady! A duke!" He emphasized.

"So? One of your duties is to support the royal throne, you're vying to fulfill an act of treason if you will disobey me. Do you think you'll live peacefully here if you differ from what I told you to do? No, you wouldn't. Not in the slightest, more importantly, that I'm around." She threatened.

She chuckled menacingly, her sinister smile started to grow wider and wider. He shivered and shook greatly.

'Just a while ago we were talking about dragons, how did it come to this?!' Nervously, Grandel thought.

"If you agree, you'd perish in a different nation, if you disagree, you will die by my very hands. You'll end with the same fate, so what do you want?"

Grandel had no choice. If he died, it would be better if he would not die in Selestia's hands. He knew he'd simply not die, but he'll be tormented. He had no choice but to choose the other.

"I'll embark on the journey, milady." He tried to hide his cowardice under his serious facade.

"I thought so…" she smirked.