Evelyn had a terrible time trying to convince Jinx that she wasn't being taken advantage of. Even when she explained that he had actually helped her instead, the young maidservant was still on guard.
She stood directly in front of Evelyn, glaring chilly daggers at the tall handsome knight.
The knight sheepishly rubbed his head, probably a bit put off by being treated as a pervert. It looked as if the young girl was ready to pounce on him and attack as if she didn't notice the obvious definition of his arms and the clear aura of a powerful knight.
What could she possibly do to him even if he were insane and attempted something dirty against the Empress?
"I have already apologized to both you and Her Majesty. What more could you possibly wish from me?"
"Your apology means nothing to me, you perverted old man," Jinx bit back with a harsh sneer on her lips, "Keep those filthy hands of yours away from Her Majesty before you lose them."
The maidservant may have been young and a bit on the smaller side but she was full of fierceness and venom, her words had a certain edge to them and her glare was heavy and sharp. If it weren't for her immature stature she wouldn't have seemed like a child at all.
Evelyn didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The girl had only undergone barely half a day of training and she already wanted to challenge this knight who had undoubtedly undergone years of harsh training? It took half an hour just to teach her how to hold a sword right!
At the same time, it made her heart warm. Yesterday, Jinx hated her to the core even if she had never been allowed to show it. Today, she was ready to attack someone clearly above her level on her behalf. Part of her knew it was due to the fact that she desperately wanted to live and be free but she still couldn't help smiling in her heart.
The knight didn't even bother to respond. He was a grown man already, what use did it have to argue with a child who wasn't even of age?
Instead, he looked to the Empress again. Her eyes weren't even on him, she was seriously comforting the young maid in an effort to soothe her woes about him. He smiled lightly.
He know how tough of a situation she was in and it was comforting to know that she had at least one person by her side that would protect her. He was barely holding himself back from just grabbing her and running off but he knew better than anyone that it would cause more harm than good.
Not only that but it seemed she no longer remembered him at all. Although he expected it, a tiny piece of him clung to the hope that she would find some sort of familiarity in his presence. Something, anything that still linked her to him.
Evelyn yawned. It was late now and she had a very exhausting day. For now, all she wanted to do was to take a nice warm bath and fall face-first into her cozy bed. Anything else she could simply deal with tomorrow.
She thought for a moment and then said, "The dummies, I'll compensate for it." She had nearly forgotten that she had internally promised herself she would compensate the knights for destroying their property.
"There's no need to compensate us, Your Majesty. In fact, I would rather you never mention the issue of destroying the dummies to anyone else if possible."
Evelyn frowned. "Are you sure? It really isn't a hassle-"
"I'm positive, Your Majesty. Really, they're worthless anyhow. It would just give me a lot of trouble explaining how they ended up in that state by way of Her Majesty's hands."
Her cheeks tinted red. She also didn't want to be known as the unruly woman going around and destroying other's property so she quickly nodded in agreement.
"Thank you, Sir Knight, you really didn't-"
"Apollo," He interrupted, "Call me Apollo."
Evelyn realized that she hadn't asked his name all this name. "Thank you, Apollo." She repeated, this time emphasizing his name with a slight smile. "It's late so we'll be taking our leave first."
The three of them exchanged their goodbyes with Jinx's parting gift being an inappropriate middle finger gesture when her master wasn't looking. The two women soon disappeared down the winding halls inside the palace.
As soon as they were gone, a figure dressed in stealth black appeared in a kneeling position at the knight's feet. His expression was no longer teasing and easygoing and was instead replaced by a rather grim look.
"Draco greets Master." The clothed figure said. He didn't even dare to raise his head in front of this man whose aura was so oppressive that it barely gave him room to breathe properly.
Apollo glanced down at him indifferently, "You wouldn't needlessly bother me unless you had an adequate reason. What is it?"
Draco didn't dare to delay in giving his report, "We've confirmed their movements. They plan to make a move at the annual hunting festival next month. We weren't able to confirm their exact targets but it seems like they intend to create mass hysteria among the common folk."
"Anything else?"
In a possible attempt to get on his master's good side, he also added, "Though we weren't exactly able to pinpoint who their target is, we can for certain rule out the mistress being their target."
Apollo's brow quirked. "What did you just call her?"
Draco feared he had made some sort of mistake. His voice trembled as he repeated it again and he braced himself, expecting the worst. Instead, all he heard was an extremely hearty laugh.
Apollo laughed out loud and smacked his subordinate's back. He looked smug as if Evelyn being his was already a sure thing, "Good job. Continue to address her as such in the future." He nodded again in satisfaction.
Draco was shocked. Was this really their cold-blooded master? He only made an empty guess and it worked in his favor.
With a wave of his hand, a sleek envelope appeared and he handed it over to Draco. "Relay my orders to the rest. A month is more than enough time for the rest of you to prepare, make sure this doesn't delay our previous plans." He paused and thought for a bit, "And for earlier - reward yourself however you see fit."
Without another word, he instantly vanished into thin air.
Draco remained glued to the spot.
There was no way his stingy master was actually generous enough to let him choose any reward he wanted just because of a woman, right?
Someone, anyone, tell him this was a joke!
While Draco's mind was in turmoil, on the other side of the palace in the Grand Empress' receiving room, a very unsightly scene was taking place.
The fine china and expensive porcelain antiques that made the room seem exquisite before were all smashed to the ground without a care.
In the middle of this obscene mess stood the ruler of Tor, Emperor Markos. The only light in the room came from several dimly lit candles which only illuminated one side of his face, making him appear even more vicious. Even his breath reeked of alcohol.
"How could you," he breathed out, panting heavily from his previous temper tantrum. His eyes were soaked with immense hatred as if the woman in his view wasn't his own birth mother. "You selfish bitch!"
Calandra was seated elegantly on the plush green single-seater couch. She lightly sipped her tea as if all of this chaos around her had nothing to do with her. It was as if her own son's utter hatred towards her didn't exist.
When Markos saw she didn't even bother to respond to him, it set him off even more. He paced back and forth in large, angry strides, glancing at her every so often.
"You want me to be miserable? Is that what you want? You can't stand the idea of anyone else being happy because you could never be anything but a vile, vindictive, and pathetic excuse for a human being. So much so that you're so set on ruining your own son's happiness. Is that it?"
He spewed hate-filled words after hate-filled words. It was like he was finally getting everything he has ever wanted to say to his mother over the years out. He thought saying all of this would make him feel better but his mother continued to sit there, sipping her tea leisurely and ignoring his presence.
"Answer me!" He demanded. "You have the audacity to ruin my life over and over again and yet you still won't answer me? I demand you to answer me, dammit!"
Yet again, there was no answer. In fact, she didn't look at him and that was what he hated the most.
"Don't ignore me!" Markos stormed over to where she was sitting and, without notice, yanked her up from her seat.
PA!
The sound of a sharp, stinging slap echoed throughout the receiving room.