" Can you come and meet His Majesty with me?" , Violet asked Daniel.
She did not want to meet the Emperor alone when he would obviously be furious.
She couldn't take the risk.
Though the Emperor would not physically abuse her , he would throw items on the floor in a fit of rage.
" Sure. I can be a witness for you."
" No. You don't have to say anything .
But I hope you will come with me."
" Alright."
'That easy? He did not even ask why.'
" You won't ask why?"
Violet looked at the man who readily agreed to meet the Emperor with her without knowing whether she might have ill intentions for bringing him.
'He is too trusting .'
" Will you tell me?"
" The Emperor tends to be irrational and violent when it comes to matters regarding Lady Olivia.
But he would not dare to act out too much if General Castillo was there.
And I need moral support."
Violet was startled as Daniel suddenly grabbed her shoulders and looked at her.
" Did he ever physically abuse you?
That jerk!"
Violet held Daniel's cheeks with both her palms and spoke as she stared into his bluish grey eyes.
" Daniel, relax. You're hurting me."
Violet felt Daniel's tight hold on her loosen and she sighed in relief.
" I'm sorry. I hurt you."
" You're shaking."
' Is it from being tensed? Or rage?'
Violet hugged Daniel to let him know that she was okay.
He seemed to be shocked at first but he gradually relaxed and hugged her back.
" Have you calmed down?" , Violet asked after sometime.
"Hmm."
Violet let go of Daniel.
"Shall we go ?"
Violet and Daniel met Marco and Robert on the way to the Emperor's office.
"Greetings , Your Majesty the Empress. Greetings His Royal Highness General Castillo."
Violet and Daniel nodded as an acknowledgement.
" Is Sir Marco and Sir Robert on their way to His Majesty's office?"
" Yes , Your Majesty." , Marco replied.
" Let's go together then."
Violet and Marco continued to engage in trivial conversations on the way to the Emperor's office with Robert adding his opinions once in a while whereas Daniel kept quiet the entire time.
Violet felt that Daniel seemed to be troubled and was thinking deeply.
Violet would glance at him once in awhile and he would simply smile as if to say that he was alright.
As they reached near the door to the Emperor's office , Violet heard lewd noise accompanied with moans and grunts.
Suddenly , she felt someone covering both her ears .
Violet looked up to see Daniel looked at her with worried eyes.
" Yo..Your Majesty " , the two guards at the door stuttered.
Violet removed Daniel's hands from her ears and smiled at him.
She patted his shoulder to tell him that it was okay.
" Announce my arrival."
The guards seemed reluctant at first but seeing the Empress' cold stare,
they immediately compiled.
Violet immediately entered the room with Daniel after they announced her arrival without waiting for the Emperor's permission.
Yes, it was rude.
'But who cares if it was a little rude?
There's no reason for me to be considerate of their feelings.'
Marco and Robert stood outside the door trying to minimise their presence as much as possible.
Violet saw the pair in a compromising situation as soon as she entered.
Violet did not know what overcame her but she immediately held her hands over Daniel's eyes to shield him from the sight that beheld them.
" Please dress up immediately.
I have important matters to discuss."
" Empress! How dare you! "
" Oh I am sorry to have disturbed the both of you when you were in the heat , but it's an important matter that concerns the prestige of the Royal family.
Thus I had no choice but to barge in.
Lady Olivia should quickly gather her wits and tidy herself up as we have a guest with us ."
" Your Majesty , how can you just barge in?" . Violet felt a headache as Lady Olivia shrieked.
Violet let go of her hands that covered Daniel's eyes after Lady Olivia managed to tidy herself up.
' Can't she stop shrieking every single time?'
" Empress! How impolite can you get?"
" Doesn't Your Majesty and Lady Olivia know that it is dangerous to engage in strenuous physical activities during the first three months of pregnancy?
Act decently at least during this time and stop giving in to your primal desires like animals."
" Empress!" , The Emperor roared as he threw whatever items he could find on the desk in rage.
" Please keep your temper in check , Your Majesty. We have a guest with us."
Violet and Daniel then went to a couch and sat, waiting for the Emperor to sit as well.
"Lady Olivia may join the conversation with us as this involves her as well."
"Empress , you're getting bold .
How dare you slap my beloved in the face in front of so many people?
And what is the General doing here?"
Violet was already tired of this discussion before it even started.
" I simply did what was right. As for the General..."
Violet really did not want to bring the General in this mess.
She meant it when she said she needed Daniel for moral support.
" I am here as a witness to support the Empress' claims."
" So the Empress think that the right thing to do was to slap her?"
" Yes , Your Majesty. Did Lady Olivia not tell you why she was slapped?
If she was not pregnant , her punishment would have been heavier."
Violet felt ridiculous watching the pair.
She did not know what the Emperor saw in Lady Olivia.
It was not like she cared.
And she wondered how the usually capable Emperor becomes so retarded when it came to Lady Olivia.
" Is that important?" , Lady Olivia butted in.
'Stupid woman.'
Violet did not even bother to reply to her.
" Lady Amelia and Lady Olivia trampled on the prestige of the Royal family by slapping the Princess and calling her illegitimate in front of a crowd.
Your Majesty, even if you do not care for the welfare of the Princess because she was born a female , bullying and mocking the Royal Princess is one and the same as tarnishing the Royal Crown and mocking Your Majesty.
Is it not your blood that flows in her veins?
To think that the person who gave birth
to the Princess would mock her for the blood that flows in her?
How ridiculous!
Your Majesty should instead be grateful that I took such an action."
Violet did not say anything more and waited for the Emperor to say something.
" So , what do you want to do , Empress?"
" Considering the fact that Lady Amelia insulted the Royal family, the entire family deserves to be beheaded.
But considering what Count Murphy has done for the Empire , Count Murphy should be demoted to a Baron with 20,000 acres of their farmlands and fifty percent of all profits from all their businesses and mines for 10 years should be offered as a compensation to Princess Margaret.
Or , is it too lenient?
Should we just throw them all in prison?
As for Lady Olivia, I won't even bother to do anything as Your Majesty's heart wouldn't be able to bear to inflict any punishment on her."
Violet finished with a sarcastic tone.
Violet wanted to bestow a greater punishment on the Count's family.
But she couldn't push her luck as she knew that the Emperor favoured them.
The Count was a fervent supporter of the Emperor so she knew that the Emperor would never allow death as a punishment for them.
"Alright. We will as the Empress says."
Violet did not forget to replace the maids who served the Princess and sent letter of warning to Count Murphy demanding an apology and compensation that very evening.
The letter was sealed with both the Emperor and the Empress' Royal insignia.