"You are being very rude to the Empress! She is not just a lady anymore. You should address her properly." Kathleen demanded, her words were daggers of anger and insult. But, Alexis did not flinch.
"She's from the House of Arquilie; An Empress is more dignified than that who would cower and throw insincere apologies..." she fired back.
Emerald held Kathleen's hand tighter, halting her from scorning back. "Please help the Marquis's daughter to change her ruined dress."
Lucia approached the maiden as she managed her resentment towards Alexis. She offered her hand to lead the young woman. But, Alexis refused in resistance.
"Please don't touch me. I don't think the Empress can replace a dress as precious as this," Alexis said, implying that she did not want a cheap dress to replace the expensive one she was wearing.
"What seemed to be the problem here, Lady Felon?"
A mysterious gentleman appeared, intervening right in between the brewing conflict. His charming attributes looked very artificial as the color of his red eyes and black hair did not seem to match his angelic features. Though it may sound unattractive, it is rather surprising that it made him captivating to the eyes.
"I have stains of red wine on my dress and my hair has become sticky now..." Alexis complained, seeming to be quite acquainted with the gentleman as she spoke with ease.
The man, who was wearing his black coat, seemed to just returned to the reception after coming out of the Palace. The shoulder of his coat was damped in water, suggesting that perhaps he has been standing outside the rain.
He held out his hands in the air for a few seconds. A blue light ignited in between his palms. It was magic. He cast a spell on himself and the coat effortlessly dried as if nothing had happened. As his performance continued, everyone fell silent as amazement in their eyes filled their hearts. He directed the light to Alexis' stained dress. The stains slowly vanished completely.
Emerald's eyes fell into the blue light and it was like instant attraction as her stares became fixated on them. It was quite amusing as she could not look away.
"Radia."
She heard the voice again as if she was being hypnotized.
"Excuse me... Empress?" His voice broke the hypnosis.
"I'm Nibir, your Majesty." He smiled politely as he introduced himself.
"Nibir..." Emerald repeated his name under her breath to remember and look at the gentleman as he offered his power to her.
"May I clean your dress?" He asked.
Emerald nodded readily, wanting to witness the blue lightning that was igniting in between his hands once more. Just like what he did to Alexis, he placed his hand to her soaked shoulder. It felt cool to the skin as the magic slowly worked its purpose.
It was then as if Emerald had somehow become lost in thoughts. Unable to differentiate the current reality to her own silly imagination. The next thing she knew, she was already outside the premises of the party hall, following the man in his black coat as they walked under the rain.
Her action was senseless, but she continued to follow him in silence as if her fragile body was moving with its own mind. The rain poured down, splashing water onto her already dried sleeves.
The word "Radia" echoed in her thoughts, the voice becoming closer and closer.
Though she wanted to speak, it was as if there was a seal covering her mouth and preventing her from uttering a word. At that moment she realized that she was in danger. The hard rain, soaking her shoulder, regained her grasp of reality.
The hair on her back stood in terror.
Then, out of nowhere, big hands held her from behind, placing it on her small waist. His height towering over her.
"Where are you going?..." he asked in a low hostile tone.
Calester gripped on Emerald's waist firmly as he questioned who the man Emerald was following. Yet, with his simple question, Emerald did not respond nor look at him. Calester's face hardened.
"I saw you walking in the rain. Are you insane?!" He growled lowly, pressing for an answer. Yet again, he was given no response. He breathed in to try calming his nerves.
"Stop playing around, Empress..." he sighed in disbelief as he turned her body around forcefully to make her look at him. He wanted her to look at him; and when their eyes met, tears fell slowly from her eyes as it pleaded to take her away from there.
Emerald felt paralyzed.
Calester clenched his jaw and swiped Emerald's legs, lifting her off the ground and into his arms.
"Why are you scared...?" He asked in a soft whisper, leaning his forehead onto hers.
The man in the black coat did not move an inch as the scene unfolds. Soon, he decided to reach his hands out. He started casting a spell as the blue light ignited in his palms.
As soon as Calester saw this, he brought out his sword and brought Emerald down to the ground.
"They say that the gods bless the Emperor when it rains... Do you really want to try your luck?"
Nibir ceased the power in his hands and sighed, scratching his head. It was a bothersome ordeal that he did not want to be involved in.
"What did you do to my wife?..." Calester asked calmly, trying to restrain the anger that was building inside of him as he pointed the sharp pointed sword, accusing the mystery man that he had something to do with it.
Surprisingly, he raised his hands almost immediately as if to say that he did not want to fight. But, fear was absent in his eyes.
"Your Majesty, I just helped your wife. I don't know why she would follow me in the rain."
Calester brows furrowed in hesitation. But, as much as he would not like to admit, he doesn't know the current Emerald as well as when she was younger. He can not tell how she is now. He put down his sword as he tried to relax his nerves. But as soon as he did, Nibir saw it as an opportunity to escape. In an instant, he disappeared out of their sight like a wind just passing by.
The celebration for the new crowned Royalty ended rather quickly with a mysterious man disappearing in thin air. As this circumstance was identified as out of the ordinary, Calester sent out Leo to investigation on the incident.
"Your Majesty,... Nibir, right?" Leo asked.
As Emerald held her head high to look at Leo's eyes, she nodded in confirmation. The senses of her touch still felt numb as if she was submerged to ice cold water.
Calester quickly dismissed Leo after giving him the description of the man. He took off his coat and covered the trembling maiden. He then scooped Emerald up from the ground, her weight rested like a light feather on his arms.
"I don't know what happened. But, don't worry. We'll find him."
***
After the coronation day, Leo frantically searched for the mystery man that put a spell on Emerald. Emerald and Calester received the report that the person's name does not exist from the guests lists. It was conundrum of who he was.
Other witnesses that were present during the time before Emerald was taken under spell could not recall the man's face nor remember what had happened at that time. The only solid witnesses of his presence were both Calester and Emerald, but their memories have also become blurry. One of the magicians in the Palace has determined that both Calester and Emerald were, in fact, under a strong spell.
"What you see must have been altered as no man with red eyes and black hair was seen in the premises of the Palace," Leo clicked his tongue as he reported his findings to Calester and Emerald.
Since then, a few weeks have passed. Emerald's memories of the man were almost completely erased as she can not recall the color of his eyes anymore.
As soon as the Duke heard of this incident, he came flying to see the Empress after his ordeal in Goldivia's west territory.
"Were you hurt...?" His face conveyed calmness, but his voice revealed panic.
"No, Father. I am not hurt." Emerald calmly stated as she looked at the poor Duke's condition. Creases in eyes were deep, hinting of his wariness.
Without saying a word, the Duke approached his daughter and tightly embraced her, regretting not being able to be there for her when she needed him.
"You have to be even more careful now. You do not want the same thing to happen to you when you were younger..."
Guilt creeped into her heart as Emerald returned her father's embrace, burying herself into his arms in silence. The memories of Duchess Alina's death were so lucid that blood from the gruesome scene still lingers in the back of her mind.
Emerald closed her eyes tightly to prevent her remembering more details of her mother's death.
"I will have my knights--"
Before the Duke finished his sentence, Calester, who anticipated how the Duke would react, quickly intervened, "It's not necessary, Duke Liam. I'll have Leo here to be Emerald's personal guard. I trust him with my life… you can trust him with her's. If he fails to do it, I will make sure to give him the punishment he deserves."
Although hesitation was transparent in his face, Duke Liam bit his lips and nodded in acknowledgement, accepting the young Emperor's immediate offer.
Emerald gave his father a reassuring smile. After a few more exchanges between the two, the Duke had finally left the Palace for work.