CH 127

“It’s a pegasus!” The surprised cry of one of the onlookers scrutinizing the steed rang out in the lobby.

“What?”

“W-what are you on about! You’re talking about a phantom beast!”

Those standing in the back attempted to stand on their tip-toes to catch a glimpse of this so-called pegasus. And what exactly was a pegasus? It was a fabled winged horse of legends. Nowadays, phantom beats in the form of winged horses took on the moniker. It was known that a pegasus resided within the imperial palace, but it submitted only to Estian. Yet, here was the empress parading it about and it was obediently drawing the coach as any normal white horse would do.

Had the pegasus understood the people’s surprise? It let out a loud whinny and spread out its enormous white wings, unleashing a blast of wind at the crowd.

“Yikes!”

“The wind!”

With its wings unfurled, the presence of one phantom beast was enough to overshadow them all. Many shrunk back from the pressure, and the hotel staff, barely regaining their wits, hurriedly rushed to open the door of the coach.

The first to alight were the attendants. A familiar face soon appeared and murmurs of “Lady Irene” could be heard throughout the crowd. Surprisingly, next to her was another face. It was an unfamiliar but handsome young lad, who after a quick bow began surveying the surroundings.

The owner of the Ailsa Hotel rushed to the front and lowered his head in greetings. “I sincerely welcome your visit, Your Majesty. I humbly ask for the honor of escorting you.”

“Permission granted,” a clear voice rang out from within the coach.

Many nervously gulped and held their breaths. This was the empress that had captivated the stony emperor. They had expected a coquettish voice that oozed like honey, but unlike what they’d imagined, her voice was clear and filled with power. A long, slender hand extended from the coach, and accepting the hotel owner’s hand, the figure of the empress slowly emerged.

“By God!”

“Th-tha-that’s…”

The crowd had thought the sight of the pegasus would be the main surprise of the day, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Many rubbed their eyes in disbelief at the item held in the empress’s other hand. It was a long golden staff, about the height of a child. There was no doubt as to what it represented—regalia.

“The emperor’s scepter!” Gasps rippled through the crowd.

Regalia represented the power and authority of the emperor. There were four emblems in the empire: the crown, the sword, the scepter, and the orb. Each represented a different facet, but the commonality was that only the emperor could wield the regalia. For the empress to appear with the scepter in hand could only mean one of two things. Either she was brazenly wielding it in his absence, or… the emperor bestowed the scepter on the empress!

This was a truly unprecedented incident.

* * *

‘It… it’s so heavy,’ Cecile thought, glancing at the scepter in her left hand. The fist-sized diamond embedded at the top added to the hefty weight of the solid gold rod, so it was unsurprising that her arm was beginning to shake. Still, she struggled to keep her arm steady and not let her fatigue show. ‘It’s good that he left this to me, but…’

On the morning of his departure, Estian had presented Cecile with a box after escorting her back to her palace.

“What’s this?” Cecile asked curiously.

“Ah. It’s something I’m supposed to bring along when I travel, but it’s too much of a bother. I don’t think it’ll see much use, so I thought it’d be good for you to hold on to. I’ll leave it here.”

Estian’s attitude was so nonchalant as he slid the box under her bed that Cecile had all but forgotten about it. That is, until that night following her enthusiastic meeting with Irene. That day, Cecile had returned to her room in a huff, yelling “Down with Yuliana!” Still, inwardly she was worried. Irene had advised that, more than anything, it was imperative for Cecile to portray the dignity of the empress. However, she understood that dignity was not constructed overnight.

As she brooded and rolled around on her bed, she absentmindedly rolled too far and tumbled off the bed, landing on her shoulder. “Owwie…” Cecile remarked, rubbing the sore spot. It was then that she spotted the box under her bed. “Oh right, I forgot to check and see what was inside.”

When Cecile moved to pull out the box, she was surprised by its unexpected heaviness. What could it possibly contain? “It must be some metal of sorts—” Cecile muttered as she flipped open the lid. “Ack! My eyes!” She hastily covered her eyes as a blinding and dazzling light emitted from within. When her eyes had adjusted and she was able to peer inside, her jaw dropped open. “Wha-what in the…?”

Inside the box was a long rod wrapped in a soft cloth—at the top sat a huge diamond, and its body was made of solid gold. It was obviously no ordinary item. At the very least, it wasn’t an item to be handled casually! To think that he’d carelessly kicked the box and told her to ‘hold on to it for a bit’ before leaving!

Cecile rushed to her bookshelf. An item of this grandeur must be recorded in a book somewhere. She hastily flipped through the pages of one of the books that elaborated on the jewelry of the empire. As expected, it didn’t take long for her to find the entry on the very object nestled away in the box. As her eyes scanned the book, Cecile’s expression twisted and she covered her mouth in shock.

“An imperial treasure again…” Cecile groaned. “Your Majesty, you m-m-m…” Fortunately, she was able to hold back from crying out ‘madman.’ The golden rod that had been sitting under her bed was none other than one of the emperor’s regalia. More specifically, it was his scepter. By entrusting it to Cecile, Estian had handed over all the powers of the emperor to Cecile before his departure. In other words, while Estian was away, she was the emperor.