It felt like a long dream, but upon waking up, Calester could not recall what the dream was about. As his pupil slowly adjusted to the darkness of the room, he laid in bed, gathering the senses of his arms and legs. A sudden knock on the door disturbed the silence that surrounded the dark room. A gentle voice sprung from the echoed noise.
"Your Majesty, Are you awake?"
"Yes, Roy."
"The Empress is waiting for you at the dining hall. It's time for dinner."
His body instinctively reacted to the word 'dinner' as if the growl of his stomach understood what the word meant. His body had been deprived of food for the whole day and was ready to engulf in something delicious.
Minutes had passed by, there were no other words exchanged between the two men.
Outside the door, Roy waited patiently for Calester to grant him access to his chamber. Calester soon stood up from the bed and opened the door to permit Roy inside his room. Roy, who was carrying pieces of clothing, handed the fabrics to Calester. Calester took the shirt and the pair of clean pants that Roy prepared for him and started dressing himself with it. His clothing appeared more casual than his work attire.
Roy did not move and stood at the door as his eyes fixed at the floor. He was contemplating on the last conversation he had with the Empress a few moments ago.
Moments later, Calester noticed Roy's strange behavior. Roy was oddly quiet and surprisingly distracted. As soon as Calester finished putting on his shirt, he approached Roy and asked him directly.
"What is it, Roy?"
"Your Majesty..."
The old man's wandering thoughts were abruptly interrupted. As soon as Roy heard Calester's voice, he came back to focus on an impulse. As Calester observed the man's facial expression, He could pick out the hesitation in Roy's voice.
Debating whether to tell Calester his encounter with Emerald, he quickly arrived at a conclusion; It was better for the Emperor to know about it than ignore the Empress's small curiosity.
Calester smiled obliviously and said, "go ahead, tell me."
"The Empress seems to be curious about your m-mother, your Majesty."
Roy's words struggled to come out at the end as he stuttered and mumbled the word 'mother'. He finally looked up to see the young Emperor's reaction and was surprised that there was no change in his oblivious smile. Maybe it was not an oblivious smile after all. When there was no change in Calester's expression, it was understood that the matter would be handled by the young Emperor personally.
"Inform her that I'll be there..."
Roy, who was still standing at the door, bowed to Calester's order and opened the door to let himself out. The door closed and once again, Calester was alone.
At the dining hall, Emerald sat at the end of the table as she waited for Calester. As the servants and maid continued preparing the food that would be served for dinner, Emerald spent her time alone, recalling back the awkward conversation she had with Lucia and Kathleen.
As the whole scenario replayed in her thoughts, she couldn't help but blushed at remembering what they had told her.
"Your, Majesty... is this it?! Are you finally going to share a bed with the Emperor?" Kathleen asked expectantly.
It was too bold of Kathleen to say that as it made Emerald's heart beated insanely loud and fast. Blood had already rushed to her face before she could even respond to Kathleen's provocative assumption. It was thanks for Lucia that Emerald was able to gain her composure back.
"Lady Kathleen! That is not what a lady should say, goodness!"
But as she said those words, she too had a flushed face. It was obvious that her two ladies-in-waiting have been waiting for such good news. Unconsciously, Emerald kept fixing herself. Somewhat, she had become self-conscious, a feeling that she felt was unfamiliar and strange.
The quiet dining hall was soon greeted with noise coming from the kitchen. The food was ready to serve. Roy, who came from the Ruby Palace, approached Emerald and greeted her for courtesy.
"The Emperor will be here shortly. I apologize that you had to wait."
Emerald smiled forcefully as she struggled to hide her embarrassing thoughts. It was as if she was caught thinking of such vulgar things in front of the elder man.
Roy did not say anything else and just nodded in acknowledgement. A few minutes later, a familiar frame emerged behind Roy. It was Calester's figure that caught Emerald's attention, walking towards the dining room.
It felt such a long time that the maiden was finally able to see the face of her husband as days in the Palace seemed to fly out the window without realization. She looked at Calester, studying his huge frame and tracing all the visible muscles of his bare skin. As soon as Emerald reached the lower part of his body, she shook her head violently.
'It's Kathleen's fault that I feel like this..." Emerald mumbled her thoughts to herself as she ignored Calester' being entirely, trying to control her thoughts that were evaded with indecency.
Calester, who just arrived at the scene, saw Emerald immediately. Her eyes were glued to the table where the food was served. His brows slightly furrowed as he felt ignored as soon as he arrived. He evaded the maiden and spoke with Roy, "I'll have dinner at my chamber next time."
With Calester's instruction, Roy quickly debated, "your Majesty... but this is the first time the Empress asked to have dinner with you. Are you not glad?"
Calester sighed and approached the table silently. Roy was right and Calester could not refute Roy's factual argument. He looked at the maiden that was sitting across from him, her pale skin was painted with pink as she blushed. As he observed, Calester's face remained unaffected by her as he pulled a chair quickly and sat down.
From the corner of her eyes, Emerald started studying Calester's behavior. She did not know how to approach him more casually as the Calester from her memories of when she was younger was much different from the Calester that was now sitting across from her. Emerald bit her lips from the bitter memory. They were childhood friends that did not share any bond as they grew up. The Calester that she once knew left no traces of him as the man in front of him has become mature and masculine.
Calester maintained his plain inexpressive face. He took the knife and the fork to his hands and started slicing the grilled meat in front of him, taking his first bite. As he silently feasted, indulging the appetizing smell of the roasted stake, he caught the young Empress stolen gazes from the other side of the table. His childhood friend seemed to be curious about something.
He quickly looked away, pretending that their accidental eye contact never happened and continued to chew on the meat in his mouth. He did not care about Emerald's curiosity; he was more concerned about hiding the loud beating of his heart. In the instant he thought that Emerald could see right through him, he broke off their connected eyes.
'This is normal... I need to get used to her being always around now.'