Traces of drowsiness were still present in her eyes as Emerald woke up from a long nap. It felt that she had passed the time sleeping almost the whole day.
"Your Majesty, are you not feeling well today?" Lucia came up to her after waking up, surprising Emerald as she did not expect that someone would be there.
"I-I'm alright... it's just-- my body is still adjusting to the Palace." Emerald explained shyly.
It has been a few days ever since Emerald moved into the West Pavilion. She was granted residence to the Jewel's Palace, an official recognition as the Empress of the East.
"Would you like to eat, your Majesty?" Kathleen asked as she approached Emerald in her bed.
Emerald shook her head as she had little to no appetite for the past few days. "Let's go for a walk instead," Emerald suggested.
The sun was already setting as the colors of the sky were slowly turning pink and orange over the horizon. It was a peaceful afternoon to take advantage of in Emerald's busy schedule.
"You must like the garden so much, your Majesty." Lucia quickly noticed as she observed the young Empress that kept getting distracted from looking at the vivid flowers that were surrounding them.
"My mother loves flowers..." Emerald explained as a pick up a flower from the ground that had fallen from its stem, observing it passively. "We have a small garden in the mansion of Arquilie but it is not as grand as this one," she continued and turned around to face the two ladies behind her, creating a bubble underneath her dress as the wind scooped inside her dress.
"You can get lost in this garden if you don't pay attention." Emerald giggled excitedly as she recalled a happy memory of her mother.
Lucia smiled gently, her heart fluttered as she saw Emerald enjoying herself being surrounded by flowers and fresh air. She understood it was hard for Emerald to adjust in the Palace life, but she has made great progress since, with all the busy work, Emerald can finally have some relaxing time.
"Do you know the story of the Garden of Eve?" Emerald asked curiously, her voice rose a little higher as excitement filled her heart, spinning the white lily in her hands as her eyes brim with curiosity.
Emerald switched glances from Lucia to Kathleen as she waited for a response. The two ladies seemed skeptical to what the young Empress was referring to.
"I heard this garden used to be just plain green and yellow..." Emerald persisted, her voice held a little hesitation as she became a little discourage from the lack of response.
"I heard a great love story that happened in this garden," Emerald finally looked away, turning her heels around to continue on walking and decided to drop the conversation.
She recalled the memory of her childhood when she was seven years old as she walked along the random path in silence, forgetting the existence of those around her.
Emerald recalled her younger self walking into a room and seeing her mother and Doris, their head maid, chatting along happily with each other.
"It was like a fairy-tale, My Lady! Everyone in town was talking about it, remember?"
"Was that when I was carrying Emerald in my belly, Doris?"
"No, My Lady... you got it wrong. " Doris said, waving her hands towards the duchess.
Alina wrinkled her brows in confusion, trying to recall from memories.
"It was 4 years before you got pregnant since the Crown Prince was 3 years old when Emerald was born," Doris informed.
Alina quickly recalled, excitement recognized in her tone as she nodded readily and said, "Oh yes!... The Empress thought she would never get pregnant." She carefully said.
Doris smiled and responded, "but she did after a year of trying... thank goodness."
"I heard the Emperor proposed to her as soon as their first meeting?" Alina asked in excitement.
Doris blushed in delight as she heard of the story, nodding her head in confirmation.
Emerald was very young when she heard the story. The details were a little blurry, but her heart craved for the same love story.
Emerald's fascination towards the Garden of Eve was probably due to her deeply grounded cravings for such love. It was probably part of the reason why she felt somewhat attached to it, secretly hoping that someday she would be wanted and loved for who she is.
The arranged marriage was no place for such love. The moment she knew she was betrothed to Calisto, she had given her heart away, promising that her heart would only belong to one man.
At least for her, Calisto was easy to love. His generous kindness and gentleness were enough for Emerald to be satisfied with the arranged marriage.
Although her desire to be the Empress at the beginning was never existent, it slowly grew as time passed as she slowly fell for such charms.
No. It was a lie. She never wanted to be Empress. All she wanted was a simple acceptance.
"Your Majesty... I heard that the former Emperor and his Empress first met here."
The glass of her thoughts shattered by the voice behind her.
Emerald have forgotten their existence and strayed from the initial topic. She jilted from surprise as she heard Kathleen approached her closer, finally speaking her mind.
"Emperor Callen and his w-wife... the E-empress met when they were in their 20's, Your Majesty." Katheleen continued, sounding uncertain, her voice was almost like a mumble.
"Really?! I did not know!" Emerald turned, taking Kathleen's hand in excitement as her eagerness to hear more details were clearly visible.
Lucia's eyes widened as she looked at Kathleen with accusing eyes, "Lady Kathleen..." she said calmly.
"Are you not aware of the Palace law?" Lucia asked, directing her question to Kathleen, who were smiling happily besides Emerald.
".. but her Majesty wanted to know, I did not do anything wrong!" She flatly protested.
"It would be your head, If someone had heard of you speaking about her..."
Emerald hearts stopped a little after hearing such threats. 'What palace rule?,' she thought. Was there such law that prohibits them from speaking about certain topics?
"Did we break a Palace law?" Emerald sprung a question.
Lucia looked at Emerald and quickly waved her hands, "oh n-no! Your Majesty..." she answered hesitantly. "I'm sure you did not know."
"About what?"
"We are not allowed to speak about the former Empress in all premises of the Palace. We will receive rightful punishment if we do." Kathleen responded, lowering her eyes to the ground as her voice shook.
As this unfolds, Emerald eyes caught Roy's grayish hair behind Lucia and Kathleen.
Roy, who was coming from the Calester chamber, spotted the Empress wandering around near the Emperor's chamber. As soon as his eyes met Emerald's gaze, he greeted her with a polite smile.
"Roy, is the Emperor in his chamber?" Emerald approached him as she asked.
Roy quickly responded, "Yes, Your Majesty."
Emerald laughed. It was the first time Roy had addressed her as Majesty. It felt like an outstanding compliment coming from such a father figure.
The two ladies-in-waiting greeted Roy with courtesy as they stayed behind the Empress' shadow, showing their respect to an elder.
Roy acknowledged the greeting with a nod.
"I like to ask you something. But, I might be stepping on a boundary..." Emerald initiated with a vaguely purpose.
Roy, who had lowered his gaze out of respect for the Empress, looked up to meet her eyes once again.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Please ask, I will answer you with the best of my knowledge."
Before asking the question, Emerald smiled hesitantly. She looked over her shoulder and saw that Lucia and Kathleen had already anticipated this from her. Both ladies were fidgeting, unable to hide their discomfort.
Emerald did not ask right away.
To release Lucia and Kathleen from the tension, she ordered the two ladies-in-waiting to prepare a dress for her.
"For what, Your Majesty?" Kathleen asked, finally raising her head once again.
"I'm having dinner with Calester later. So, please wait in my room to help me prepare."
The ladies looked at each other and both agreed to follow Emerald's requests. As soon as Emerald dismissed them to handle the preparation, the two ladies left the scene, leaving Emerald and Roy alone.
Emerald did not know how to start. So, Roy initiated the conversation by asking if there was something bothering the young Empress.
"It's about the previous Empress... Empress Celestine," she hesitantly picked out the words carefully.
Roy eyes widen by the unexpected mention of Empress Celestine.
The Empress had passed away before Emerald was able to meet her in person. So, the topic was out of nowhere. Roy schooled his expression to be calm and compose as he contemplated why the young Empress was suddenly interested in the former?
"Is this also an uncomfortable topic for you?" Emerald asked, breaking the awkward silence between them as she sensed the uncertainty in his eyes.
Roy gained his composure. It took a moment to collect his thoughts before he could answer.
"What would you like to know, Empress?"
"Is there a reason why people in the Palace evade this particular topic?"
"Your Majesty. Honestly speaking, all servants are banned from mentioning anything about the former Empress."
Emerald sensed the discomfort in the topic of Empress Celestine. She wanted to press harder to learn why. But, Roy's facial expression was noticeably forced. To lighten the mood, Emerald shifted the conversation to Calester.
"Is Calester sleeping? I saw you were coming out of his chamber."
"That's right, Your Majesty. Did you want me to relay a message for his Majesty?"
Emerald smiled, giving up on the topic of the former
Empress. Immediately, there was a change of demeanor in Roy's action that drew Emerald to make a mental note to ask Calester about it.
"I would like to have dinner with him. Would that be too much to ask?"