Chapter 5: The Royal Way
"Your highness, your highness! You must rise now!"
Hera heard hurried steps making their way to her. She turned around and put her pillow over her head, but it was immediately taken away from her. The drapes had been opened as well, blinding her with the light.
"Five more minutes…" she groggily muttered, turning her back away from the window.
But Miseok was persistent. She put the princess' hand away from her face and sat her up. "I'm afraid this cannot wait five more minutes. You must open this now, your highness!"
She groaned, opening her eyes to an envelope secured with a dragon golden seal at the center. Miseok was shoving it to her face, so she grabbed it from her.
"What is this?" She sloppily tried to pry it open, but she was too slow for her nanny, so the old woman tore it open for her.
"This was from his majesty, the emperor." She gave the envelope back to Hera.
"Yeah, from his majesty the emperor—" it hit her. "FROM HIS MAJESTY, THE EMPEROR?!"
Miseok nodded vigorously. "Yes! That's why I told you to make haste!"
All of the sleepiness from her body dissipated from the mere mention of her useless father. Even though his role in Hera's life was trivial, this was still the first time he sent a letter to her.
Eager, she skimmed through the paper passionately. But it wasn't that difficult because it only contained one sentence.
"He's inviting me to the palace," she told Miseok the content of the letter. "That was it."
Miseok sat beside her on the bed, her voice suddenly laced with worry. "Are you certain that nothing else happened last night at the Founding Ceremony Ball?"
Hera shook her head. "He just stood and left."
The old woman looked at the distance as if she was in deep thought. "Then, what could he want?"
Hera stared at the half-hearted letter on her hands and felt a surge of anger. She suddenly wanted to burn it to ashes in fury.
"I guess," she tossed the letter to the floor, suddenly upset, "we're just going to have to find out."
Hera was certain that the king had no other expression on his face but downright disapproval or severe constipation. His frown lines ran deeper than the Red Trench of the North, and it was the deepest trench there was. She was also convinced that the corners of his lips could not rise and form even a shadow of a smile as if it had been frozen with a frown.
It had been ten minutes since she arrived, and not a word had passed from his lips. Not even when she greeted him. It is mandatory in the kingdom to only raise your head once your greeting has been acknowledged by the person you greeted. She waited for three seconds, and he didn't peep a word, so she just rose on her own. After all, she already did it once and she's still alive. Maybe the emperor wasn't bothered by it at all.
If anyone was bothered in this "conversation," it was Hera because the moment she entered, the emperor had only stared at her with the same disapproving and constipated look.
"Your majesty, have you been having trouble releasing in the loo?" she asked him in a hushed tone.
Look like you're constipated, be treated like you're constipated, she recited in her head proudly but…
Nothing. The emperor didn't even flinch.
Maybe he's mute and deaf? she began to ask herself, that or he's on the final stage of the Assholery Disease and can no longer be treated.
Finally tired of his mind games, Hera sighed and muttered, "What a load of bullshit." She didn't know if the kingdom had the same swear words as the world she came from, but she decided to take her chances.
She turned her back against the emperor to leave the royal drawing room. The doors opened on their own before her, making her momentarily think the knights behind knew she was done with the emperor's nonsense. But it was when she saw a man walking towards her that she realized it was for him not for her.
The knight quickly walked past her, but she could recognize that chiseled jaw anywhere now.
"I greet the bright sun of the empire, your imperial majesty." Simon kneeled on one knee and put his right fist on his chest. He also bowed his head as a form of respect.
"You may rise," the emperor acknowledged his greeting.
"Are you kidding me?!" she muttered as she shot daggers at the emperor with her eyes. He acknowledges a knight over his own flesh and blood?! And he's not a mute; he's just an asshole!
As much as she wanted to get him back for that, Hera had totally lost interest in what was about to transpire, so she turned around and continued to leave.
"I am most honored to be invited by your majesty today," Simon continued to talk.
"You should be," the emperor answered with pride, "because I hereby appoint you as the princess' loyal knight and sword."
Hera was one foot out the door when she suddenly heard the emperor. She turned around and retraced her steps quicker than light while yelling, "Pardon?!"
"As fulfillment of your duty—" the emperor continued without even paying her a glance.
"Wait! I refuse!" she interjected, raising her voice.
"—you shall refrain from leaving the princess' side even—"
"I believe I have the right to—"
"—in the face of war or personal gain and safety."
"—say no to this absurd, plain stupid—"
"Should the princess of this beloved kingdom sustain any injury of any kind—"
"—decision and bullcrap of yours, your majesty!"
"—you shall receive the punishment of death and dissolution of—"
"What?! That is not fair! I cannot possibily say yes to—"
"—your ducal house' assets and properties for as long as you live."
"—this incriminating foolishness!"
Hera was red and out of breath when she finished shouting her refusal at the top of her lungs. However, the same couldn't be said to the emperor.
His face has never looked any calmer throughout their whole encounter. The corner of his lips seemed to also rise ever so slightly in an amused grin.
"I trust that you understood, Sir Simon Claude?"
The princess turned frantically to face the knight. "You cannot say yes—"
"Yes, your majesty, I understand." Simon bowed his head once again.
"As the great Commander of the Royal Knights and this kingdom's loyal sword, do you accept my humble royal order that you shall perform perfectly indefinitely?"
Hera stood right in front of the knight, begging him to look at her. "Please, don't! This will cost you everything! That man isn't worth it!"
But his gaze remained on the king.
"It shall be my honor and greatest pleasure to serve your majesty and her highness to the best of my abilities." He kneeled on one knee once again right in front of Hera as if she wasn't even there. Increasingly frustrated, she balled her fists until her knuckles turned white and her nails dug through her flesh.
Tears started pooling at the corners of her eyes, but the knight had already made up his mind. She knew she wouldn't get through him, so she faced the other way, unfastened one of her heels, and raised it to throw at her father's smug, constipated face.
She was a second away from getting her petty revenge, when Simon, who was just kneeling behind her a momemt ago, had already grabbed her wrist and stopped her.
"Unhand me!" She tried to escape from his clutches, but he was far stronger. And his gaze was fixated on her bleeding hands.
"I apologize your majesty." He ignored her once again. "I seem to have already failed at my duty," he said through gritted teeth.
She looked at him incredulously. She wanted to thrash and throw a fit of rage, but she was suddenly speechless.
"Ahh," the emperor replied casually, almost disappointed that the game he set up had ended so quickly. "How unfortunate... Knights!"
In a blink of an eye, the knights in their metal armor swarmed around them like bees. He let her go and was taken hostage by two faceless knights in a metal helmet.
"As agreed on, the punishment is death."
Hera looked up at the king in horror as the knights forced Simon to his knees. They bared his neck as one of them unsheathed his sword. He raised it in the air to slash.
"Stop!"
They didn't stop.
Hera's heart raced in her chest. Her throat felt like it was closing in on her and she couldn't breathe. But she had to stop it. She had to say something! Anything!
The knight started to move towards his neck.
"FATHER!" Hera yelled at the top of her lungs. And for the first time, he acknowledged her.
He waved his hands to signal the knights to halt. They immediately obliged just when Simon's skin had met the sword's blade and a drip of blood fell down.
Hera closed her eyes and breathed to try to compose herself. When she opened her eyes, they were glossy from unshed tears.
"W-Why did you call me here?" her voice quivered. She bit the inside of her lips to stop it from shaking because she must not show any weakness in front of this man.
"I am lifting my royal decree to not let you leave the princess' manor," the emperor said through a smirk. "Your previous… impertinence shall also be overlooked, and your royal title shall remain untouched. However, in return, my loyal sword shall accompany you everywhere you go, be it during your sleep or wake. The royal butler shall also administer and manage your manor along with your maids and servants. And since I have shown you kindness, I shall expect nothing but perfection befitting your title as a royal."
Hera remained quiet.
"But, of course, my dear daughter…" He stood up from his throne and descended the stairs to meet her in the eye. "The choice is yours. Should you accept my conditions and obey willingly, none would be happier! Should you refuse, however…" He waved his hand to the knights again and all of them unsheathed their swords. "You're accepting your punishment for defying an imperial order and shall meet your end with my servants' blades. Don't fret though, my darling, for your knight shall go with you. If you refuse, I have no use of him anyway."
His father smiled at her for the first time. He caressed her cheeks and wiped away her tears for the first time. She felt his warmth for the first time. But she felt so sick in the stomach; so appalled and disgusted that all the hair in her body stood up when she felt their skin touch. It was a first time she wished never transpired.
"Why are you crying, my dear?" he taunted. "This is just the Royalty's way of doing things. You have proclaimed yourself as one; therefore, you shall be treated as one. Simple, right?"
Hera jerked her face away from his touch, making him scoff.
He turned his heel on her and started ascending the stairs to return to his throne. Hera took that time to breathe a few more breaths and calm herself. She gritted her teeth and clenched her jaw, but she lifted her head nevertheless and looked at the emperor in the eye.
"I will make you proud, father." She bowed her head low as she curtsied like Royalty.
The emperor smirked as his eyes lit up with mirth for the first time in over a decade. He stared at her graceful form and dignified posture, eagerly looking for any imperfection. He did not respond, and she stayed perfectly still. He let her continue doing so for three whole minutes.
Satisfied, he said, "Rise."
Hera obliged, her face more resolute than ever. She was in pain and unbelievably sore, but she only had one thought in mind: to make him stand up from his throne and never sit back down.
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Shock was an understatement to what Miseok felt when Hera came home with the Commander of the Royal Knights in a royal carriage.
The king had never sent anything to the young princess, but today, he sent a knight—his loyal sword and a swordmaster at that—and a royal carriage? It was either acceptance or exile. Miseok couldn't figure out which it was.
The old woman wanted to ask what happened at the castle that made her princess look so distraught, but she couldn't find the time to ask when she had called for her without any preamble, looking bothered but trying to hide it.
"I will get changed. Stay right there," she told the knight before she stepped into her chambers. Miseok and the knight diligently followed her. His bleeding neck also didn't escape Miseok's eyes.
The princess stayed near the door. When Miseok was inside, she locked it before facing her nanny.
When they met eyes, tears immediately fell on her cheeks. Miseok's heart leaped at the sight of her princess in tears. The pain ultimately made her tuck away the half-burnt letter of the emperor in her pockets and run to her in a tight embrace.