Sat upon the throne are the Emperor and a palace maid, the once holy throne now seems brittle and weak, showing signs of rust and decay, which seem to be slowly recovering as the Emperor's mental state slowly, but steadily, recovers.
The shadows in the confines of the large throne room lurk within the corners, almost as if ready to strike at the weakened symbol of the Empire and humanity's only beacon of hope.
The only thing within the room seemingly stopping such a sad and miserable fate is the maid on top of the Emperor, she is shielding the Emperor's broken mind from the horrors of the world, even if only for a temporary time.
The evils of the world held no more power over the Emperor's mind thanks to her interference, and the room only grew colder with malevolence as a result.
Neither of them noticed the throne beneath them breaking apart with the Emperor's mind, and recovering along with it, and neither did they notice the malevolence within the air that could make even the most battle-hardened veteran tremble with fear and despair.
Such things were deemed irrelevant by both of them now, they simply were no longer bothered by the real world, stuck in a dimension of their own making.
The amalgamation of presences within the air could only shake in rage as their attacks were completely nullified, by a complete coincidence they had no control over.
So, they rapidly disbanded, enraged that they would have to do things the hard way on the frontline.
The room brightened when the many presences left, the sun showering the room with its light.
Now that they have disappeared, the Emperor's mind seems to have fully recovered, and the throne once again glowed with power and vitality but still had a long way to go for a full recovery.
Now that their brains resumed full capability, as they subconsciously partially shut themselves down before as a protection mechanism, the maid's face went beet red while even the Emperor's face was now slightly redder.
Adam was no virgin in his previous life, so he could keep his composure, the maid on the other hand, was either extremely shy, or a virgin, or both.
"O-Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry your majesty!" The maid was clearly flustered, she had no idea what gave her the courage to do that, but she had to live with it now.
Now that she quickly climbed off, a name could be seen emblazoned into her uniform above her right breast which read out her name, Serenity.
It fits the current situation quite well.
"Y-You just seemed very sad s-so I..." Seeing her desperately trying to explain herself was just adorable in Adam's eyes, and he obviously has no intention to punish her.
Her voice was blurred out by a rapidly strengthening feeling in the back of his scalp, a feeling which spread into his brain and stuck for a good minute.
It was like a sixth sense informing him how dangerous the situation just now was.
He could instinctively tell, whatever that was, it wasn't normal.
If his mind slipped for a second there, he would be lost.
His soul devoured.
His mind assimilated.
His body processed.
His existence would be erased in a way so profound that the word "Death" wouldn't do it justice.
The back of his scalp tingled, almost as if agreeing with the assessment done by Adam, making him feel quite freaked out by this whole ordeal.
Nonetheless, the danger has passed, and he is still in one piece thanks to the charming woman in front of him.
The beauty which saved his life was now pale and was slightly shaking from clear fear and trepidation.
Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, and she mistook her Emperor's silence as rage or something of the like, hence her fearful reaction.
Adam couldn't help but sigh, honestly, he wished people would fear him less and just act normally, but he knows all too well how ridiculous such a wish is.
He slowly rose from the throne and took a step towards the maid, she stood perfectly still, knowing that she has nowhere to run.
However, contrary to her expectations, she was not punished or given simple words of gratitude and thanks, both of which she was prepared for, instead, she saw a sight that even the most powerful people within the Empire never had the privilege of seeing.
The almighty Emperor, Adam Valencia the I, kneeled on one knee in front of her and slowly reached out his hand to hold hers.
She couldn't react to such a stunning scene, so she absentmindedly let her hand get taken by the Emperor, which was then kissed by him and tenderly held.
"I am eternally grateful for having you by my side during... my time of weakness, and I truly appreciate your kind soul which helped me when I needed it most."
"I and the entire Empire are truly grateful to you, you have done me a great service. Do not worry, I am not enraged in the slightest. Name anything you want and if it is within my reach, I shall grant your wish to the best of my ability."
"..." The maid simply stood completely frozen, she, a village girl, made the Emperor kneel for something as simple as showing a, in her eyes, completely normal level of empathy.
Although the sitting part was a bit of a stretch... Still, in her eyes, she didn't do anything deserving such praise and honor.
The Emperor is the brain of an Empire, every important decision has to go through him, so the Emperor kneeling was the equivalent of the entire Empire kneeling.
She quickly woke up from her stupor when she and the Emperor made eye contact, his eyes radiating complete sincerity, a kind smile spread across his face seeing her complete shock.
"I don't deserve anything! More importantly please stand up! I didn't do anything great I only wished to help you and did so! That's just basic human decency."
"As you wish... may I address you by your name miss?" As Adam stood, he towered over the poor girl who was "only" 175 centimeters tall
"Of course! You don't need my permission, your majesty."
"Then Serenity... No, that's long, may I call you Serena?"
"Ah... Yes, you may, your majesty."
"Also drop the honorifics while we are alone, you genuinely saved me, there is no need to be formal, right?" Adam had a little grin while saying this since he knew there would be no way Serena would deny him.
"Well... it should be fine while we are alone... um... Adam..."
'Oh, my god. that's just way too fucking adorable.'
'Judging from her behavior it is likely she is my fan, or at least she deeply respects me to the point of limited affection, since normally a person wouldn't be so shy.'
'But, to be fair, I am the Emperor of humanity, I can't exactly judge things accurately based on that.'
"So, tell me, Serena, how has your life in the palace been so far?"
"Eh? Well... it's been fairly normal, nothing interesting I assure you."
"I am quite interested in anything regarding you though, please tell me, how long have you lived here?"
"Well only a few years, I am still only twenty after all..."
So, for the first time in years, Adam had a normal conversation with another human.
No politics or important talk, no problems, just two people enjoying each other's company.
A pressure in Adam's mind eased at this, and Adam felt more alive than ever.
The two chatted for who knows how long, maybe a few minutes, or hours, time flies by when you are enjoying yourself.
At first, Serena was very rigid and still occasionally referred to Adam as "His Majesty" but he made sure to remind her what she was supposed to call him, earning a slight blush each time.
Slowly but surely, she relaxed and even started laughing along with Adam, making the conversation a lot less one-sided and more enjoyable.
Adam spoke of the funny things he witnessed in the castle, such as the time he saw a noble get angry, stomp off and immediately slip in front of him face first.
Back then, he wanted to laugh his ass off, so it felt good to do so now with someone else.
The two laughed together for quite a while until eventually Adam realized that he should probably go do his duty as the Emperor.
He could feel every fiber of his being refusing, but he had no choice.
So, as the two slowly walked towards the door to the throne room, the last few rays of sunlight reflected off the throne behind them, which now seemed more beautiful than even when it was at its peak during Adam's rein.
Each jewel shone brightly, the cushions on it depend in shade and color, and the whole room seemed brighter and more comfortable.
Truly, a projection of the Emperor's mind.
"Well, I apologize for keeping you so long Serena."
"No, no! I enjoyed myself, Adam, it was fun talking to you."
"The pleasure is all mine. Now, let's go, the other maids are probably looking for you, if they complain say the Emperor needed your assistance and leave it at that."
"Yes, thank you."
"I did nothing to deserve such words."
"And neither did I do anything grandiose enough for you to kneel!"
"... Let's debate about that next time. If you wish for there to be a next time?"
"Sure! I would be honored."
"It is settled then, let's have nice talks like this as often as possible, god knows I'm sick of those grumpy old men and women."
"I can tell!" She giggled a little.
As the two walked out into the corridor, they said their goodbyes and went in opposite directions, not before exchanging their contact information of course.
Adam's heart felt fulfilled, and he was more determined to protect the Empire than ever.
If not for him and the people, then for her.
"Haah... Now, back to work."
-x-x-x-
Serenity walked back to her room with a jump in her steps.
She is absolutely elated.
Her idol, the Emperor, talked with her! How awesome is that!?
Not only that! She even befriended him!
Not to mention he was as amazing as she expected! He was confident, charming, kind, determined and funny! Literally the most amazing individual she's ever met.
'It's very sad that someone as impressive as he stands alone in this world, but it's inevitable considering how awesome he is...'
Her mood dampened a bit when she thought about how lonely the Empe- no. How lonely Adam must be.
'Well, I will gladly talk to him whenever he wants! He seemed happy with me, so I will do whatever I can!'
Her bubbly mood seemed infectious, as the staff she walked past also smiled a little seeing her so happy, one of them even asked her.
"Her Serenity! what happened to make you so happy?" a normal butler asked.
"That's a secret!" she put her finger over her mouth with a happy grin and kept moving forwards.
She hummed a song as she walked on, thinking about all the things she could tell his majesty the next time they meet.
She entered her room, which is surprisingly large for a mere maid, but still not necessarily big.
It is a nice comfortable home for her to live in.
She jumped in her bed and hugged her pillow tightly, excited beyond measure.
If they scanned her, her excitement would be over nine thousand!
"EEE! I can't wait to see him again!"
And so the day passed, as the maid dreamt of the Emperor, little did she know she wasn't the only one dreaming about a person, as the Emperor found himself in paradise with her.