A smirk carved on the man's face, the moment he saw her. He walked closer to despite her trembling, he lifted her chin with his cool fingers as he spoke.
"So you gaze at me like we're enemies?" He asked, his voice sounded dangerous again, chilly even.
"So if I tell you that I forgive you, and you don't need to pay with your life?
Corvina was surprised, but she was quick to understand that this was a 'What if scenario he was describing' could he be testing her resolve, she gazed into his eyes, trying to see if he was serious or just kidding, but she couldn't fathom anything from those eyes of his. It was just impossible to decipher his thoughts, and all she could rely on was her Instincts.
"If you forgive me, I'll really appreciate it" Corvina replied with a hint of ridicule which she did not bother to hide and this did not go unnoticed by the young man beside her.
The man was speechless for a while, to him the girl was intriguing. There were countless young maiden like her, but once he teased or threatened them once they would run away like rats that saw cats. They had always been afraid of him though they denied it, he could still sense the fear, as they always avoided his gaze, and yet this girl was… he wondered how long her fearlessness would last…
"Tell me little girl, do I know you? He asked, his eyes probing.
"Do you…?" The ridicule in her eyes intensified, as the smirk on his lips deepened.
'What's going on here, are they having a staring contest…?'
The shadowy figure, felt sorry for itself as it watched the two youngsters who just became of age, stared into each other's eyes, forgetting there was a third party among them.
"Pfft!... Nice comeback, Miss…?" He paused expecting her to respond, but she just dusted her dress in an indifferent manner as the man beside her grinned widely.
But they two were so focused on each other that they didn't seem to hear the voice of the third party, who was coughing his lungs out just to get their attention.
"I thank his Majesty for his timely rescue…" saying this, she bowed in a respectful manner, with her right hand on her chest and her left lightly lifting the side of her dress as a special greeting for the royals.
"Hmm…!" His only response, as hergraciously walking away from her, his temperment still cold.
"Master…!" The shadow went on his knees before him, as the both disappeared into thin air without a sound.
With a loud thud…!, Corvina collapsed on the ground as her legs when weak, and her heart pounding heavily in her chest. Followed with a nauseous feeling in her stomach, and the metallic taste of blood, as her eyes returned to its normal crimson red, which she tried to conceal as it was hereditary on the fallen royal family.
She limped back to her house in a sorry state as people kept giving her strange gaze unknown to her how pale she looked.
However, on reaching home, Corvina was unable to fall asleep that night, her mind was completely occupied by that man. The reason why she was able to hide the color of her eyes, was because, Corvina conceal its color with contact lenses. As she removed the lenses carefully putting them into a liquid glass as she closed the lid and locked it, staring at her crimson eyes in the mirror.
Knock…!, Knock…!
The noise distracted her from her daze as she turned around and ran to the bed, covering the blanket over herself and pretending to be asleep.
The door opened gently as soft footsteps approached her bed.
"Good night…!"
The person carefully tucked her in and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before blowing out the candle light, and slowly leaving the room.
Sigh…!
On the other side,
"What troubles his Majesty?" A light and gentle voice resounded in the room as the person on the bed directly came up to greet this person.
"Mother… what brings you here?" The voice sounded surprised.
"Are you saying I can't come and see my own son at will…?" The woman sounded slightly angry.
"Of course not Mother! You are always welcome to see this Emperor Anytime you want!" He assured her meaningfully.
She gracefully sat on the king-size bed in the room, watching her son as he personally light the candles, giving the room more color.
"When are you getting married?"
This question turned the room as quiet as a graveyard as both parties refused to speak and just quietly gazed around.
"Mother, I'm not really…!" He used the same excuse he always had but this time the woman seemed prepared, as she dropped a 2 cm thick book on the wooden table beside the bed with a loud thud…!
Surprising the other party in the room, leaving behind words that were not very pleasing to the ears.
"The court is already complaining, your cousin already has two children, but you two are the same age. In two days, you don't pick ten of those women, I will arrange for all of them to enter the palace to serve you"
With that, She shut the door as the room returned to the solitude it was.
Staring at the book in a daze, a smirk carved on the man's face, he couldn't help. but, remembering the girls from earlier, her palm-side face and her sapphire eyes has left a deep impression on him in an unforgettable way.
'Why is the Master smiling like a fool before the candle light, he looks really creepy...?' The shadowy figure that just appeared in the room silently observed its master from a distance.
Suddenly, his eyes shifted from the flames to the darkest corner of the room in a frightening way.
"Master this servant has returned" He immediately bowed his head with his knee to the ground.
"Have you found her…?"