Chapter 8
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"You don't have a family?"
"No, I'm from the Bill Hemington Orphanage. He found me alone during the war....... I'm sorry. Princess."
"Sorry for what?"
"For not being good enough. I didn't know I was going to serve a princess... I'm not good enough, but I'll do my best to make her......."
"It’s not your fault."
"What... what?"
"You were abandoned, the adults who abandoned you were at fault, and... you said you were a war orphan, maybe your parents didn't want to abandon you."
Charlotte's face flushed slightly as she stared into Rosette's beautiful face as she spoke, her words capturing the heart of a person.
She blushed a little, unable to believe that a princess, a foreign princess from another kingdom, had taken such an interest in her and spoken such comforting words to her, when all she had ever known was being looked down upon as an orphan.
"Yes... Princess."
"Good. Then let me ask you one more thing. What is His Majesty like?"
"I don't know... except that he's frightening... I've only been here a short time."
There was no way Charlotte, a mere maid, could know anything about the Emperor, and even after that, she continued to ask questions, but got very little information.
"...I'm sorry I can't help you, Princess."
"Again, again. Don't say sorry again."
But Rosette did learn one thing. Whereas honored guests, including envoys, and new imperials were usually assigned veteran servants from the nobility, the ones assigned to Charlotte were either children of no status or newcomers with little experience.
Theodore hadn't resolved his suspicions about the woman who, not so long ago, had been the princess of an enemy nation. A small chuckle escaped her, as if she could see what he thought of her.
"I see. It's better that way, because I'm more comfortable with you."
"What?"
"Yes. Let's go."
The women of noble birth were likely to ostracize her as a foreigner from a distant land, or they might wear her down with their attempts to correct Rosette's behavior. One less thing to bother her, which was not a bad thing.
So Rosette and Charlotte were having a meaningless conversation, walking slowly down the hallway , when they were suddenly stopped in their tracks.
"I'm sorry, Princess, but you're not allowed to go this way unless you have a special request."
Two soldiers crossed their spears and blocked her path.
"What? Why?"
"We are merely following orders. Please turn back."
Puzzled by the sudden appearance of the soldiers, she turned away, but they did the same in other places.
The only places she could go were the palace corridors and the dining room with its parlor. After wandering from place to place and being stopped by all of them, Rosette, who had a faintly toothy smile, turned to the last soldier she encountered and asked.
"Why, are you trying to tell me not to go here too?"
"What? I'm sorry, but... yes, Princess."
Rosette threw up her hands in disbelief.
"Isn't this like... imprisonment?"
"We... do as we are told."
"You wouldn't even keep an animal like this."
"We have no authority, I beg your pardon, Princess."
She was told to speak to a higher power because they had no power. It was no different than talking to a wall, she knew that all too well, but she couldn't contain her anger for the moment.
"Princess, I think it's time you went back......."
Charlotte interrupted from the side, but Rosette didn't stop talking to them.
"Then tell me where I can go to exercise, since His Majesty didn't actually order me to be locked up, right now."
"You can go out to the garden in the front."
There was indeed a garden in front of the palace where she was staying. It was a nameless garden with few trees and a modest size that could be seen from the window.
There was a small tea table in the center, but without a canopy, it was uncomfortable to drink tea there.
Heading straight for the said garden, Rosette wandered there all day. It was stuffy, and she had nowhere else to go, but the garden was the best place to get some fresh air.
She never thought she would miss freedom so much. She hoped she wouldn’t have to spend years locked up like this.
The thought of it gave her chills. She couldn't live like this forever, she had to do something about it. Many times she wandered around, unable to think of anything. It was nearly dusk when she returned to find an unexpected guest in her room.
Theodore Alexius. It was the man.
It was the first time she'd seen him since she'd fainted, a week in fact.
Sitting on the sofa with his long legs crossed, he had the look of a laid-back predator. Spotting Theodore, Rosette inclined her head sharply downward in acknowledgment.
"I see His Imperial Majesty."
"I didn't expect a princess with nowhere to go to be home this late."
It was Theodore himself who seemed to rebuke her for narrowing her radius of action. Rosette felt like a volcano erupting in her stomach at his nonchalance.
"I should be grateful to have somewhere to walk on my own two feet. I am at the mercy of the Empire's grace, Your Majesty."
The rebellion in Rosette's heart turned its head, for she had sarcastically labeled her imprisonment as imperial grace.
"The princess's behavior is beyond my expectations."
"What?"
"Because I can't get enough of watching you."
He smirked, one corner of his mouth twitching upward, and Rosette returned the favor.
"I'm glad I've been able to appease your liberality, and as I've told you before, I'd be a clown for you and the Empire if I had to......."
"Is that why you fainted?"
"What......?"
"Fainting on arrival at the palace for all to see, that's the kind of thing that gets you in the mouth of the pompous. A princess from a fragile small country, intimidated by a cruel and tyrannical emperor. Doesn't that intrigue you?"
"Well, that's......."
He was referring to the incident not long ago, when she had arrived at the palace and had fainted immediately after speaking with Theodore. She should explain, lest he misunderstand, or so she thought, but she couldn't think of anything to say to his sudden point.
"That was because I was really not feeling well......."
"Yes. Especially at that point."
"Well, I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I was trying to do what you asked me to do to the best of my ability, even though I was in a very poor state of health."
"You might have made a big deal out of it."
Theodore suspected she was putting on an act in front of everyone. Their relationship was far from trusting anyway, but it was awkward to be suspicious from the start.
But surely he knew, didn’the, that they had run into each other... somewhere... not so long ago?
Rosette, remembering him, spoke calmly.
"As you are well aware, Your Majesty... I nearly ran into quite a bit of trouble in an oasis while crossing the desert some time ago... unintentionally... I was in the cold water for too long, and I've been running a fever ever since."
Her second encounter with him was both erotic and intense. Rosette was recounting the story of the day she'd pushed into the corner because it made her blush just thinking about it.
Her ears flushed red as she recounted the events, and Theodore stared into her face.
"Well... well, you can find out about my condition at the time by asking any of the knights or other soldiers who escorted me at the time, and the doctor who had examined me, so please believe me when I tell you that I never intended to dishonor your reputation by acting falsely. Your Majesty."
She lifted her head, which had been drooping for a long time, and made eye contact with him, speaking from the heart.
The emperor before her was the man who would kill her in the future, and just looking into his red pupils sent chills down her spine.
After staring into Rosette's face for a long moment, Theodore rose from the sofa and walked slowly toward her.
"So... how are you feeling?"
"Better, thanks to you... a lot better."
"Thanks to me?"
"Yes."
"That's a nice little pun.”
"That's such a misunderstanding......."
"Oh, you forgot to mention one thing."
He interrupted Rosette, leaning in close to look down at her. Up close, she felt incredibly intimidated by him. She couldn't tell if it was his overwhelming height or his aura, but she shrank back, feeling small in his presence.
He opened his mouth slowly, his eyes studying her as he spoke.
"I enjoy the reputation of being cruel, because... it frightens people."
Rosette's mind went blank, as if it had been erased, and she could only shiver helplessly against the pressure that seemed to crush her whole body.
Then his large hand slowly approached, and Rosette squeezed her eyes shut in instinctive fear.
Theodore gently brushed a fallen leaf from her hair. Then his hand didn't stop, and he cupped Rosette's chin. Heat from his fingers. She'd felt it before, but he had a very high body temperature, and it only made her feel more afraid today.
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