CH 107

Richard’s words from earlier in the day haunted him. Estian recalled how he failed to refute the mage lord when he was asked whether he truly believed Cecile had become his empress through mere coincidence. If it wasn’t serendipitous, then for what purpose had Cecile been sent to his side?

The common desire of his enemies would be his demise, but if the objective was Estian’s death then Cecile would’ve already succeeded. While a weapon clad in Celsita’s silver wasn’t capable of killing him, it could still inflict a significant wound. Yet despite the countless opportunities, Cecile made no attempts to attack him. The thought of her attacking was rather laughable, considering how she begged him every night to stop and spare her.

Estian had taken her to bed almost nightly, and despite her grumblings of exhaustion, not once had she expressed a dislike of their nightly escapades. Memories of their shared pleasures flitted through his mind; there were the times where she wriggled beneath his embrace, and others where she mounted him from above. Despite panting from fatigue, she would inevitably fall asleep clinging tightly to him, as if telling him to never release her. Cecile would never understand the depths of satisfaction he felt from her actions.

On nights where Estian judged his wife’s stamina was lacking and in need of recuperation, he would quietly drift into slumber with her secured in his embrace, lulled to sleep by her soothing chatter. Had it been anyone else, Estian would’ve ordered them to cease nattering after three words. Yet Cecile’s chattering that continued until he succumbed to drowsiness was always pleasing to his ear, to the point that Estian felt discontented on nights where she fell asleep before he joined her in bed.

No, if his death wasn’t the objective, then there must be something they sought from him. If he had to hazard a guess, that something must be the blood of Eugendiph. There were two possible ways to obtain it: make him act according to their ways through any means necessary, or…

“Blast it,” Estian spit out, as he gnashed his teeth audibly. He cleared his mind and went back to calculating the days until he’d set out towards Etia. Closing his eyes, Estian made a silent vow to not return to the empress’s palace before the day of his departure.

* * *

The attendants of the main palace adjusted their postures at the first sounds of heavy footsteps, and lowering their heads in greeting. Seconds later Estian appeared in view, but his pace didn’t slow down as he made a beeline for his chambers. It was only after the doors of the inner chamber closed shut that they collectively let out a sigh of relief.

“I’ll seriously die from fright. It feels like we’ve returned to the past,” one attendant choked out a whisper, as the others were wiping off the cold sweat that drenched their napes. There were many nods of agreement. The atmosphere had returned to the days before the empress’s arrival. A few turned their heads to glance out the window in the direction of the empress’s palace.

“Why do you reckon they fought?” An attendant asked in hushed undertones.

“Who knows? I asked the girls at the empress’s palace, and they are just as clueless. But it’s not like he’d act like this for no reason,” another replied.

Four days had passed since Estian stopped frequenting the Summer Palace. Rumors had quickly swirled and spread throughout the palace walls and beyond. The emperor who had visited his empress every day since their marriage had abruptly stopped! Whispers of the empress being chased out of the palace had already begun circulating. As it was unclear why the empress had suddenly lost the emperor’s favor, no one dared act carelessly. Without knowing the reason, no one knew what were the landmines to avoid, which is why all eyes and ears were turned towards the imperial palace.

“Well, let’s just do our jobs,” one attendant said wearily. Wrapping up their conversation, the attendants turned to disperse to their tasks, when they all froze in shock at the sight of the person standing before them. The faces of the attendants paled, as they stared at the interloper who was not supposed to be there.

* * *

Estian collapsed onto his bed without undressing. He hadn’t had a decent night of sleep in the last four days. Each night he was plagued by that accursed voice echoing in his ears, thwarting all attempts for rest. He thought the accumulated exhaustion might finally allow him to sleep tonight.

Apart from his fatigue, Estian also had Kane on his case about properly eating his meals. His knight commander had desperately cried out after him when he left his office to “Please eat your meals!” When was the last time he ate? Did it even matter? It wasn’t a problem for Estian if he didn’t eat.

Estian tossed and turned irritably as he counted the days until he would depart for Etia. Grand Duke Farus of the Etia dukedom was his next target. He clenched his teeth, convincing himself that the upcoming slaughter would be justified. Violent impulses were surfacing in his mind, urging him to dismember the duke’s corpse and bleed the body dry. While his mind was clouded by thoughts of butchering the duke, something resembling black fog emanated from his hands.

‘Yes, we have the right to kill him.’

Estian raised himself up. The voice had returned, encouraging his bloodthirst. Was there a need for him to wait until the departure date? Nothing was preventing him from setting off alone to kill the duke. He could leave immediately. Just as he reached over to pick up his black steel sword, he was interrupted by a loud bang! It was the sound of someone slamming against the door of his chamber.