Styles rested in the bath, shutting his eyes to enjoy the burn coating his skin. His head was thrown backward as the steam enveloped the room, making it difficult to spot anything. He needed this after the three days tarry by his wife's side. Ragi had to force him out because it was unbefitting of an Emperor to skip his bath for three consecutive days. Styles couldn't argue. The man had a point. So he let his wife under the care of the security and went to have his bath. “This feels so good,” he mumbled, sinking deeper into the water. Usually, the maids were supposed to help him bathe but Styles had them dismissed since he got married. He didn't want any other woman touching him except his wife. Ivory had gone a thousand shades of red then and he found it absolutely adorable. Sometimes, it surprised him how easily the woman was occupying his heart. If only he met her before he got entangled with Mona. Now, he was going to do his best to protect her from his enemies. He was goin
Cedric and Mona froze at the sight of Ragi. Mona was visibly consumed by fear. Was he here to arrest them? Cedric quickly regained his composure. Ragi was the last person they needed to mess with at this point.“Did you want something?” Cedric asked. “Want something? No, nothing at all,” Ragi shrugged. “Then why are you here?” Cedric asked him. “To inform you that the assassin has been caught and your presence is required at the council meeting,” Ragi answered in a monotone, betraying nothing of his thoughts.Mona swallowed thickly, forcing herself to remain calm. The situation couldn't be as bad as Ragi was making it seem. The man was probably trying to scare them.“And why did they send you to deliver this message? They usually don't care if I attend a meeting or not,” Cedric’s suspicion echoed in his voice but Ragi didn't seem bothered by it at all.“Because you must attend this meeting. They sent me to drag you to the palace if I have to, which is why I am here.”Cedric and Mo
“I just knew it! Tacki couldn't have resurfaced from the blues after attempting to kill your father years ago,” Ragi exasperated.“You need to calm down, Ragi. You might be overthinking things,” Styles tried to tone down the situation. He knew how Ragi could get when he was infuriated. “What are you trying to say, your highness? That I don't know what I'm talking about. Your uncle is doing his best to frustrate you out of the throne or kill you on it and you tag it overthinking?” Ragi growled. Styles moved back a bit. Ragi had never spoken to him in that matter. “Do you have any idea what his next course of action would be? This is his attempt at assassinating you and it failed! What other proof are you looking for!” “Ragi!” Styles snapped and the man blinked. “Please calm down.” An apologetic look morphed on his face. He didn't mean to disrespect the Emperor. The recent happenings stressed him out and he was worried the Emperor would get badly hurt or worse, killed. “I'm sorry,
Ragi stared at the girl in disbelief. His piercing gaze made her uncomfortable. She was accusing him of rape when she was the one who tried to jump him in his sleep. “Did you say I tried to rape you?” His tone was so harsh that even the soldiers flinched. “Yes,” the girl avoided his eyes. “I came to serve you fruits and you grabbed me. You ripped my clothes too!” The scene was too ridiculous for imagination. Who could have tasked a mere servant with such a stupid task? To think she had the audacity to carry it out. The soldiers stared helplessly at him, uncertain of what to do. “Are you sure it was Ragi?” Styles spoke for the first since he arrived. He knew Ragi like the back of his palm. The man is too principled to lay a woman against her wish. There had to be some sort of misunderstanding.“I am certain, Your Highness. He grabbed me and ripped my clothes because I wouldn't take them off willingly. I tried to explain to him that I have a partner but he wouldn't listen,” she sn
Three days later, Ivory was discharged and taken to her room. Ragi on the other hand was still under house arrest, awaiting trial. Styles was up and doing his best to prove Ragi's Innocence. The guards were ready to testify on his character and moral standards but this was a case of rape and they were going to need a lot more than words. The maid was cross-examined on several occasions but she still stood her ground that Ragi was a rapist. Ragi on the other hand denied knowing her. He could have easily swept the case under the rug because no evidence was presented but he worried about what his people would think of him for dismissing something so serious.It will eventually boil down to the fact that he was being partial because she was merely a servant.And he didn't want that. He wanted to handle the case in a way that would raise no questions.Ivory, although under bed rest, couldn't help but worry. She could see how drained her husband was.A knock came on the door and a set o
Liah sat in her quarters thinking about the Queen's words. She'd known Eina for a long time and just like her, Eina’s parents were also criminals. The girl would do anything to keep her parents' heads. The only one who would want General Ragi out of the way was Lord Cedric. This Lord Cedric was the one who let Eina's parents get away with her crimes.With the two pieces coming together, she realized that Eina was working under Lord Cedric just like her. She knew this before her talk with the queen.The leaf the Queen wanted used to be one of their most cherished plants. Although it was almost extinct because men like Lord Cedric knew the effects it would have on their activities so they had the plants destroyed. She wasn't lying when she told the Empress the plant was not in the black Empire. She only lied about knowing its existence. She wasn't friends with Eina but Liah knew what Lord Cedric was capable of. The man was one of the cruelest men to ever exist and if this was his as
Four days went by and Ragi was set up for trial. Eina stood proudly, confident that she would win the case effortlessly. The Emperor and his Empress sat at the highest point of the table, followed by the council Lords and lastly, the judges. Small murmurings were going around as the people discussed and argued about the case. Once the hammer hit the table, everyone fell silent waiting for the procession. “I know you all are aware of the reasons you are gathered here today but there would be a slight change in today’s session…” Murmurings arose once again and the hammer hit the table once again to get them silent. “We plan to get this over with as quickly as possible which is why we will be introducing a long-age tradition instead of the customary swearing”. Lord Cedric shifted uneasily in his seat. What was this new twist they were introducing? He was certain that the Emperor had something to do with the new development. his eyes flickered to Styles’ who remained sitting on his se
“We need more forces!”Cedric said suddenly. Mona stared at him as though he had gone mad. “Why are you giving me that look? You should know that the two of us cannot do this alone. We lost Tacki and now, Eina is gone too, thankfully before she exposed us. We need more forces.” “More forces? This looks like a lost cause to me. Can you not see how tragically our plans fail when we are so close to executing them?” Mona asked him. Cedric’s displeasure was evident on her face. He couldn’t blame the brat for whining. If she had been with him in the beginning, she would have seen bigger plans with no loopholes crash. He couldn’t bother explaining to her either. All the girl wanted was to be Queen. She didn’t know the hard work that came with the position. “If you are no longer interested in working with him, feel free to leave. I will not force you to work with me to the top. It is solely your decision!” he stated. Although he sounded calm, Mona could see the fury in his eyes, He di