When the maids realized it was their princess who was rolling on the floor in pain, they quickly crowded over to help her. "Oh my gosh! Princess Viviana! Quick! Call the doctor!"
Vernon who watched the commotion happen simply looked down at his daughter who was already sitting on the floor. Her forehead has a red bump, and tears at the corner of her eyes. No voice of complaints or wail of pain sounded as she suppressed herself to not cause any more worry to her maids.
Ling Mei felt that stare and looked up. When she saw Vernon together with Theo outside her room, her eyes went wide. She blinked and rubbed her eyes causing it to turn red. 'Who is that? Am I dreaming?.... No, my forehead hurts, this must be reality….however---'
Vernon couldn't look at his daughter acting so dumb anymore so he cut the eye contact.
'How foolish.' Vernon doesn't know if he was pertaining to his daughter…. Or himself. His brows crunched together and he decided to go back to his palace. Theo who noticed his emperor turning back was about to call Vernon but stopped when his twin brother arrived at the end of the hall.
Leo was panting so hard as he run, his clothes looked slightly messy, and he was holding the pale pink flowers in his embrace.
"Your Majesty! Here are the flowers!" His run turned into a quick walk as he neared his emperor.
Vernon stopped and looked at the pale pink flowers for a while, contemplating as he did so.
"Theo, bring Physician Grim here." He ordered.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Theo can't help but be delighted, his majesty is starting to show care for their princess!
Vernon who still stood there staring at the flowers reached out his forefinger and brushed it lightly to one of its bloom.
"You really know your timing." A soft mumble that only he can hear left his mouth. His voice that was tinged with sadness which couldn't be traced unless people are paying attention and perceptive enough.
"Go ask a maid for a jar to put these flowers."
"Yes, I understand."
When Leo went to a maid, Vernon was left alone standing there. He sighed slightly and afterwards, a faint smile appeared on his face as if he's enduring something painful. A blurred silhouette of a woman appeared in his mind. 'I thought I've already erased you, but you still haunt me like this…. Your daughter…is it not enough yet to remind me of you?'
Minutes later, like it was nothing, Vernon walked back and entered Viviana's room. He saw her lying on her bed, a wet towel on her forehead.
Ling Mei saw him walked in, this time she knows he's real. She was about to sit up to greet him formally when Vernon raised a hand to stop her. He wordlessly walked to one of the 1-seater couch and sat on it.
No one talked, not her, not Vernon, nor the maids. It was unbearably awkward, it made the maids uncomfortable. The silence continued on for almost half an hour when Theo walked in together with and old man, Physician Grim.
"Princess Viviana has no problem. Just a swell on the forehead, I'll prescribe a cooling cream." Physician Grim concluded as he started writing the prescription on a paper and gave it to Tiffany. After that, he saluted to Theo and Vernon, and went on his way.
The awkward silence went back again.
It was Tiffany who broke it. "e-erm… I'm going to get the cooling cream. Please excuse me your majesty, Sir Ravien." She curtsied and dashed out.
"….."
"*cough* How are you feeling Princess Viviana?" Theo asked.
"o-ohhh... I'm fine. Thanks for your worry Sir Almitheo."
"That's great."
"….." 'Sir, how do you expect me to reply to that?! The conversation got cut!!'
"May I ask why you suddenly visited my palace?" she asked Theo but also glancing at that one guy sitting gracefully inside her room like he owned this place. 'ahhh.. but technically it is his.'
"We heard that you are still sick so Your Majesty thought of visiting you." Theo beamed, feeling proud of his emperor. 'See princess? Your majesty also cares for you.hehe'
"Really?" Doubt evident on her voice. Vernon looked at her when he heard her tone which made Ling Mei flinch.
"Yes. When his majesty heard you were still sick, he immediately ran here. His Majesty was so worried about you. *sighs*"
Vernon directed his gaze on Theo wanting to ask when did he ran? Why was he not informed of being worried about this fool? But his face remained cold and no such words escaped his mouth.
A maid knocked on the door and shortly after she entered with a warm egg soup. She curtsied both to Vernon and Leo, and carefully treaded towards Ling Mei's side. She set the tray on the bedside table and picked up the bowl of warm soup and spoon. She was about to blow a scoop of the soup when….
"Stop." Vernon's low lazy voice resounded inside the room. He walked towards the maid and said. "I'll do it. You're dismissed." And picked up the bowl and spoon. This made everyone gasp, especially Ling Mei and the maid who brought the food which became an ice block for a moment.
Ling Mei: 'excuse me?! Did I heard it wrong?!'
Vernon casually sat on the side of Ling Mei's bed, scooped the soup, and raised it infront of her mouth. When Ling Mei's mouth doesn't open as she had turned into an ice, Vernon's eyebrows slightly crunched, well just a little, due to impatience.
He put down the bowl and used his free hand to grab her chin, yanked it down, forcefully put the spoon inside her mouth, and closed it again.
Ling Mei turned normal when she felt her tongue burn. After realizing what happened, she looked incredulously at Vernon who was already scooping another soup. 'This guy didn't even cool it down! The soup is hot you know!'
When Vernon was about to feed her… "a-ah! Papa, let Vivi do it! Vivi can eat by helself! Vivi is a gwown up now!" as she tries to grab the spoon from Vernon.
Vernon just looked at her. One look and she shut up. "Open your mouth." He said. Ling Mei obeyed and endured another burn on her tongue.
On the fifth spoon, Vernon finally noticed his daughter is acting weird again. 'What is that dumb look for?'
"What is wrong?"
Ling Mei looked at him, wanting to cry. She looked like a helpless puppy. "Papa…. Soup is hot."
"And? Soup is supposed to be hot." Vernon stated as he didn't see anything wrong with it. 'is his daughter this dumb?'
Theo who heard it, wanted to facepalm. He was about to advise Vernon but Ling Mei beat him to it.
"can…can papa fuu fuu it?" Ling Mei nervously asked while making a blowing sound.
"Ah?" Vernon's right eyebrow rose. Ling Mei really wants to cry now. She was already resigning to her fate of eating with a burnt tongue.
But the next second made all of them shocked. Again. Vernon blew the soup on the spoon!
Ling Mei: 'Who are you?! Where is the devil?!! Don't tell me that this soup is actually poisoned!'
Vernon easily fed her as Ling Mei's mouth was agape. She almost choked when she swallowed the soup.
'What ghost possessed you?!'
The unbelievable scene continued. Vernon blowing the soup to cool it down was so unusual.
On the last spoon, she smiled sweetly to Vernon which earned, of course, a cold look from him.
When the feeding time ended, Ling Mei was so relieved. She didn't know that there would come a time where eating would be so painstaking. The joy of eating was gone. It felt like a punishment when Vernon fed her.
'Let's not do it again, okay?! Better yet don't come here again!'
Unknown to them the feeling of the room changed to slightly warm unlike the stagnant feeling at the beginning.
The maid cleaned up and a water basin was placed on the side table for Vernon to clean his hand.
'Shouldn't you have cleaned your hands before you fed me?'
Soon after, Leo came in with a Jar of flowers.
"Princess, look, look. His Majesty brought you flowers!" Leo enthusiastically boasted and set it on her bedside table.
'Really?' She sneakily looked at Vernon. 'Doubt that.' But still gave her gratitude. "Thank you." To whoever it is.
Ling Mei looked at it, and touched some of the flowers seemingly occupied by its beauty. A slight smile appeared on her face making her look at peace. A name popped in her head…
"Ahhhh…. It's Linnaea Twin flowers…"she haven't even completed her sentence when she felt the temperature of the room dropped by degrees.
She turned her head to Leo who looked like he ate dung. Ling Mei thought the atmosphere is wrong and was about to ask but the next second she felt suffocated.
"Your Majesty/Princess!!"
She looked straight and saw Vernon in front of her looking so murderous. His aura was so oppressing, and his eyes sharper and colder than that of an ice glacier.
Her eyes went wide and she realized she was pinned on her bed headboard, Vernon's right hand is on her neck grasping it, choking her.
'haah?what--'
"kkuhh! Ahck..ahhck.." She struggled as she looked at Vernon who doesn't seem to care. And that's when she got so terrified, 'He's going to kill me.'
Fear was written on her face as she gasped and tried to pry away Vernon's hand. She was waiting for help to come but who would stop the emperor? Who dares?
She was shaking in fear, her eyes with tears begging Vernon. "…ahck.. pa….pahh…"
"Who.did… What.did.you.just.say?" Vernon asked through gritted teeth, his voice bitingly cold. His grasp got stronger.
"ahhck!!" pain… so painful. She's confused. 'What is wrong? The flower.' Her tears flowed as she gasp and struggle. Her eyes show fear, confusion, pain, and anger. She slapped and scratched Vernon's hands just to let her go, even using her legs to kick him but to no avail.
'am I going to die now? Hahaha'
Ling Mei started looking pale, her lips started to lose its color, her blurred eyes turning upwards, and her strength is weakening as she slowly lose her breath.
The moment she thought it's the end, Vernon threw her aside and walked away from her room.
Leo and Theo hesitatingly followed Vernon while the maids approached Ling Mei.
When Vernon threw her aside it didn't register in her mind. She just lay on her bed as she gasped for air one hand on her neck and the other grasping hard the bedsheet. The next moment she burst and bawled. Crying and wailing her grievances.
"haa..haa… haa…haaahhh..huk..hukk.ahhhhhuhuhu.hik.ahhhhh."
"p-princess, are you okay?"
When the maids tried to touch her, Ling Mei's body flinched and body curled in a protective position as she cried and breathe at the same time which was hard.
The maids wanted to approach and touch Ling Mei but halted when they felt a chill.
Unknown to them, a devil is protectively hugging Ling Mei, his eyes shooting daggers at where Vernon left. He looked more terrifying and murderous than Vernon was, if he could he would have killed everyone inside the room the moment Vernon showed his killing intent on Ling Mei before.
If Ling Mei was shaking in fear for her life then Ferr is shaking in anger wanting to take Vernon's life for scarring Ling Mei's life.
When Ling Mei has stopped crying and fell asleep, the maids tried to approach her again but there seem like a barrier between them.
The next day, Vernon didn't invite her to his palace.