So, the rumours cycling among the palace maids turn out to be true after all. It was all about Ephraim not in the palace but has been visiting the count's mansion for days now. Some say he is waiting for Lady Maia to get her coming of age ceremony party in a year before proposing her be his bride. Is this what a woman really worth even in this era? What significant meaning behind those marriage rituals to these people?
"Did you hear about the news?" Elan, the young maid, comes in hurriedly and begins whispering to her friend. I saw them confide with each other through the reflection of the huge mirror in Lotus Room - my common room for guests.
"This is not becoming of your staff, Lasima. Get the maid out of here and punish her severely." Lady Mari, the lady in waiting from one of the noble families selected to be my companion, snapped at the rude young maid.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness." Lasima, the head maid, retrieved the nervous young maid by the arm and left the bedchamber with the door closed with a bang.
The whole space turned into deafening silence. Nobody dared to say anything at all. I don't have anything to say about the rumours. After all these years of hard work to study to be a famous psychologist, I get to be the associate professor of Shanghai University in just four years. With an ongoing PHD paper, I have been studying human behaviour far more advanced than other scholars and look at me right now, looking pathetic and helpless.
I have excelled in every subject since high school. All the lecturers and professors proudly acknowledge my theory on human emotional behaviour like in my palm. While looking at the real situation at hand, I fall flat from the high. I'm too green to know what the hell happened.
At a time like this, Kirai will know what to do. But, after the marriage ritual ended that day, she was requested by the priestess to return immediately. High Priest Romou also disappears without a trace.
It felt empty. Nothing here is familiar to me. Except for this man. Ephraim Le Dunct. The crown prince of this empire, Thyshiere. I stare at his familiar figures. Trying to take in as much as I can before he disappears again to see that woman. He seemed not been bothered with the whole drama.
I glared at him, disbelieving at his clumsy explanation. I sip the lukewarm tea slowly. Still waiting for his reason.
"If you don't want to believe it, fine. I will go away and never turn back to visit you ever again."
I was on my second sip, and I paused at his threatening tones. It begins to get under my nerves to strangle this man alive any second now. But despite his threatening words, he doesn't dare to get up and leave immediately. As if he was waiting for something to happen.
I reached for my reading book. The earliest history of the empire. It fascinates me to know how this era has a system of telling the story of their history. They made it into storytelling like a children's bedtime story.
A chuckle derived from the man as he saw the title of the book.
"What's so funny?" I frown at him with distaste. I begin to loathe this man more than the person in the dream that I call my man. I inwardly let out a sigh.
"Nothing. Why do you read such a boring subject?"
I turned slightly to the lady-in-waiting behind me. She was instructed by the emperor Aleq to foresee all my education going smoothly, including knowing all the history of the empire.
"It was not. It is a rather interesting subject than all the palace rules of what can and what's not. Don't you think, Your Highness?" I replied drily.
"I see. I don't know if you'd rather love the old story." I dropped the book that I have been reading since yesterday to the side table. My mood is not into it anymore.
A knock on the door and a maid appeared with a tray of food and sweet drink. The smell of the drink alone gave him a sudden gulp of saliva. I smiled at his expected reaction.
I stand and personally serve the food before Lady Mari starts to retort. "Allow me to serve you, your highness."
He looks perturbed at the sight of the food served on the table. "How did you…?" he stopped at some point and looked away.
"Please finish your sentence, your highness. Don't say half hanging like that."
"No. I was surprised that you serve this kind of food to a prince."
"Well, it's just-food. It doesn't represent anything at all. From where I grew up, food is a universe item that unites our tastebud into one voice. Comfort."
He just stared at it, trembling hand. He reached for the spoon beside the bowl. Glutinous yam ball. Beside it was a huge size of cooked whole corn with butter melted on it. It was inexpensive food, but it was the food that I once served to him while I was with him in the dream. I know because he once told me how his royal mother and he got separated from the rest of the travelling group visiting with the late Emperor to the nearby Kingdom when the Knud Tribe ambushed them. For months without food, only dirt, roots and fruits, they finally get their way to a tiny hut who lived an old woman, alone. She appeared to recognise who they were, and she offered her last food to them—a bowl of glutinous yam ball soup, with a lot of sweet soup.
But instead of eating the soup, he put down his spoon and was about to grab the corn when he changed his mind, stood up and without saying anything, he left.
What the hell was that about?
Since we were married, I have been preparing his favourite food, hoping that he will someday remember me as his lover in our dream and walk into my palace as he did today. I was glad to see him walk into the Yellow Room. It was surreal to see him that he really appeared now standing there looking at me handsomely; a familiar emotion rose to me that I nearly run to him for a hug like I always did. He will hug me tightly in his arm for a while like we haven't met for so long, and sometimes we'll stay like that until we fell asleep on the bed, the couch or sometimes on the ground field of an abundance of blue-purplish crocus flowers.
"Well, throw all of it." I was disappointed with his unexpected reaction.
I was aware of the instruction given by himself the day after we were married. They did have a separate palace to live in. Even true to his words, he never came to visit her palace even once. Only the emperor, Aleq, was compassionate enough to visit her.
My life at the palace was not fun at all. As the crown princess of the empire, I must fulfil my duty when the time comes. So to say, the empress to be training is now in full swing.
The next day, I found out the reason he made that sudden visit. I let out a sigh.
"Your highness, you're not allowed to sigh like that. Straighten your back and do breathing techniques that we learned yesterday whenever you feel tired." The lady in waiting, Lady Lando, her husband is one of the ministers of the high palace, stands among the high ministry of the emperor, Aleq. She was the one in charge of my ethical behavioural lesson. Lady Mari is not on duty today, and she requested to return home.
I ignored her and took my shoes off. 'Ah, that was so good.' The cooling sensation of the wind blows into the open field of the garden, behind the Yellow Palace where I recently reside. Lady Lando approached me. I am very much fortunate to have her as my lady in waiting. Whatever that is. She was like a friend to me, although not really a friend if she always scolded me every chance she had. I can't really blame her for that. I am like a blank white paper in this era. She might know my situation since she was one of that lady- Coraine's childhood friends. Even her husband is brother Jacobs' friend.
I am still not sure nor understand why they have to get the crown prince married to Lady Coriane is so important that I have to replace her. Even the High Priest Romou was aware of the situation.