As soon as Duke Silas entered the room, he felt strange heat floating in the air. It was subtle. No ordinary man would be able to miss it, but it did not miss Duke Silas notice.
Was it an illusion?
Meanwhile, Aran kept her eyes down.
Greetings, Your Majesty, Duke Silas said.
Yes, whats the matter? the empress asked away.
The empress looked several times more precarious than when he saw her at the meeting a few days ago. He doubted whether shed been slapped in the face for a moment, but upon a closer look, her white face was smooth and without a small blemish.
First of all, I apologize for the sudden request to meet you.
Its fine. Im sorry, but Im very tired today, so lets hurry and get down to business.
The empress waved her hand weakly. She had picked the wrong day. It was unpleasant to see a new face and to suddenly drown in piles of work.
Yes.
What a terribly, horrid day.
Its about the tax agenda you spoke of at the last meeting, DukeSilarsaid.
Hasnt that agenda already been decided? Aran cocked an eyebrow.
Yes but theres strong backlash amongst the older members. Several of them have expressed their intention of not attending the next meeting. Well need to discuss the matter of reconsideration, Your Majesty.
The empress gave a slight sigh, her long and thick eyelashes blinking. The duke realized that her eyelashes were wet and moist. And when he looked closely, her eyes were red and there were marks on her lips.
Was she crying?
I see.Sotheyve probably chosen you as their mediator.
Y-yes. The duke laid down the documents he brought. This is the renegotiation they asked for.
The empress looked over it with tired eyes. She, who had always maintained a perfect persona even if it was all a mere lie, did not care to hide her tiredness today.
The duke, staring at her figure, hurriedly bowed as his eyes met with hers.
What do you think? he asked.
Yes?
Arent you unhappy with the decision? Its not sincere.
Perhaps because of what he had seen, the duke looked at her lips closely. He felt his heart-stirring. He had almost forgotten what he came here for. His gaze turned away from her, a sense of dizziness flooding his mind.
Then, he saw a cold cup of tea.
It had been spilled earlier
The duke blinked.
What do you think, Your Majesty?
..
I dont mean to blame you. Tax evasion is a custom that is prevalent and age-old amongst the aristocratic nobility, Your Majesty.
The duke could not concentrate. His thoughts were on other things. He wondered why the crumpled documents laid on the empress desk, and theliquid soakedsleeves of the Grand Duke
The empress read the proposal while leaning on the chair in a drowsy manner disturbed Duke Silas concentration. He looked at her beautiful face before looking down at her white wrist for a moment. The hem of her sleeve was dripping wet.
You must know that its felony to look at the face of the empress without permission, the empress said without taking her eyes off the document.
I apologize.
I dont want to hear your apology. Leave, now, her voice was sharper than usual.
Duke Silas bowed his head deeper.
After leaving the empress, office, the dukes wild thoughts continued. He couldnt remember their conversation. Only the afterimage of her light-green eyes, white wrists, and the crumpled documents remained in his mind.
He had never thought of the empress as a woman. She tried to play the part of an emperor, not a woman, in front of the nobility, but today, she showed him something that shook his wild heart.
It was obvious the Grand Duke did not want him inside her office. Perhaps he, too, found the empress a little too strange today and did not want others to see her woman-like appearance.
The two were once engaged. It was a well-known fact that she, a princess at the time, chased after the Grand Dukes love persistently.
Maybe
The duke shook his head with a bitter laugh at his sudden thought of nonsense.
What crazy thing was he imagining now?
Whatever their relationship was in the past, the moment the Grand Duke killed off her bloodline and family members, the two then had an irrevocable relationship that could never be amended. No matter how loyal the Grand Duke may be, one could clearly see the great hatred in the empress eyes.
The duke looked back at the palace before mounting his horse.
He had a hunch that he would never forget the face of the empress he saw today, and perhaps for a very long time.