For a moment, there was silence. Not a word was uttered as amethyst and golden eyes never left each other even for a brief second. It was like a hidden war as though each pair of eyes were compelling each other to look away before the other.
The atmosphere seemed frozen and strange. The maid on the side gulped down the invisible lump in her throat. She too, also sensed the odd between the emperor and the empress. This was something that she had never witnessed between the imperial couple.
No…the imperial couple were hardly together in private, so this was the first time she would a witness to this tensed atmosphere between them.
''Heavens…'' Alas, Rose did not win the unspoken tug of war between her and the emperor. She was the first to break eye contact at the sound of another unfamiliar voice. Her gaze shifted over to the person slightly behind the emperor.
''Your majesty.'' Her eyes took in the brown-haired man who acknowledged her while shielding away his eyes with his gloved hands. Red hue silently appeared on his cheeks, which Rose was very sharp to notice.
All of a sudden, a built body blocked her view of the blushing man, and her amethyst eyes instinctively zoned on the visible abdominal muscles that were very well-developed.
Yes…Rose was looking at tanned abs that seemed hard like rock on sight.
'The tattoo…' She noticed some black patterns, but the call from the emperor interrupted her thoughts from wandering elsewhere.
''Empress….''
''You called, your majesty.'' Not feeling flustered, Rose trailed her eyes upward to the indifferent face of the emperor. Her words were uttered in a calm manner.
''May I ask why you are still dressed like this?''
''….Oh…'' Rose briefly glanced to the emperor's side where his built body blocked the blushing man from her sight. She now understood why that man was blushing in the first place.
'It seems I'll have to restrain myself….' Her gaze lowered to the night gown on her body. Around her shoulders were thin straps, and her chest was quite in a wonderful display for the opposite sex to ogle at. This body of hers definitely had a nice size for the chest area.
'Looks like a C or D?' Rose inwardly measured the chest that now belonged to her. As Rose Kingston, her chest was quite small…probably a B or so.
''Allow this empress to ask for forgiveness, your majesty.'' Rose apologized without giving an answer to the emperor. No….she didn't have an answer to give him.
What should she say?
That she hated those glamorous puffy gowns, corsets and crinoline that she as an Empress must wear? Even if she did nothing and was basically idle, the empress in her memories still had to wear them.
However, she was not the empress, and Rose disliked anything that would give her discomfort. But…she couldn't say that to the face of the emperor…could she now?
'This place is truly different…' Rose sighed to herself. This wasn't her actual world where dressing like this did not seem absurd and strange in the eyes of others. This night gown made out of quality silky could be deemed as an evening gown for a small party.
''Leanna.'' Rose called out for the maid that seemed to have been forgotten on the side.
''Y-Yes your majesty!''
''Come help this empress.''
''As your majesty wishes!'' As fast as lightning, the maid known as Leanna, appeared at Rose's side and carefully assisted the red-haired lady to be on her feet. Her toes curled at the ticklish sensation of the green grass underneath her feet.
''Your apology must be the same for your feet, empress.'' The emperor was not one miss the sight of the Rose's feet without slippers. His golden eyes lingered on her feet that had a light pinkish color around her toenails. Even her toes had the same flushed color, making her skin color appear fairer than normal.
''Your majesty is absolutely precise.'' Rose did not disagree to the emperor's words. The same for her dressing, she apologized for her feet that were without slippers. She had flung them somewhere around this garden, which she could not recall at the moment.
'I'll have Leanna look for them…' She came to that conclusion, not bothering to pay more attention to her feet. Just as she was about to raise her gaze, a shadow was suddenly casted over her and the maid holding her hand by the side.
Something soft was draped over her, and her gaze naturally lowered to her body. The red robe that was originally on the emperor's body was now on her, its ends visibly touching the ground. Her feet were even hidden from her sight. It was very obvious that her body was small for this robe.
'the smell of grass…' Rose perceived, eyeing the big robe on herself.
Despite the sudden kind gesture, there was no fluctuations in her thoughts and mind. However, that could not be said for this body that she was in. From the moment the emperor had appeared, her heart skipped a beat, thumping in fast rhythm against her chest. She could even hear the beating sound from her ears.
This was definitely not from her.
Was the empress still alive and somewhere within this body?
'I guess you're still here…' Her eyes wandered to her chest, where she imagined her thumping heart would be within her. 'Somewhere…' Inwardly sighing to herself, Rose used force to calm this body that reacted vividly. Though it wasn't easy with close proximity of the emperor.
''This---'' She wanted to appreciate the emperor for his thoughtfulness. However, she was interrupted by the same man who suddenly lifted her body and held her close to the chest that her gaze had lingered over earlier.
Her eyes widened for a fraction of moment, before they returned back to normal.
'Hard…' That was her first thought when she realized that she was in the emperor's arms. His body was just as she had imagined...hard and solid like rock.
'You must have worked hard…' Rose continued her thought, gradually trailing her gaze from tanned chest to the neck and finally to the face. Her eyes met golden ones that were already peering down on her.
''….this empress thanks your majesty.'' Rose repeated what she wanted to say earlier. Though, she suddenly found it hard to utter the words without a pause. Perhaps it was because of the gaze that still remained on hers.
The emperor's gaze was blank, indifferent, void of emotions that could have told her of his actual feelings. But…her body reacted to such gaze. The response was a shiver trickling down her back. Her entire body seemed to have heated up against such cold gaze.
'You must have really loved this man…' Averting her eyes elsewhere, Rose stamped her guess about the empress still somewhere within her. For this body to react in such way, the empress must have terribly loved this man…the emperor, and the male lead of the novel.
What a pitiful woman to end up as a side character, only worth to bring the main characters together back as a couple.
How did Rose know that reactions were because of the empress's love for the emperor?
Well…in the novel, it was written that the empress truly loved the emperor as her husband, unlike the emperor who had no feelings for her one bit. The novel did not center much about the empress. Only about her family background and little of herself with the emperor and the female lead.
Besides the novel, the memories in her head also told of the empress's feelings. A woman whose husband directly told her in the face that he only needed her for her family background. A woman who had never consummated marriage with her husband, yet hears from whispers how her husband often visited another woman's room.
A woman who had always spent her time doing nothing but dwelling in solitude. She had no friends or family by her side.
'You're just like me….' Tracing her smoking pipe still in grasp, rose suddenly realized how she and the empress shared some similarities with each other. The empress, just like herself, was also needed because of the things she had, not because of herself as a person.
She as Rose Kingston was needed for her talents and her fame by many as the Empress of the entertainment industry.
The empress was needed by the emperor because of her powerful family background as the Grand duke's daughter.
Both of them were never wanted for who they were as a person.
''What a sad life…'' Murmuring to herself, Rose closed her eyes for a brief moment to enjoy the cool breeze that swept over her face. In the moment of thoughts, the red-haired woman was unaware of the golden eyes that gave a fleeting glance.
>Enjoy!<