Emperor Damien Augustus’s cold, distant grey eyes stared at Duke Karl Carina and Marquess Ermis Marcellus, who sat in their respective seats, cigars in hand, and furrowed brows. They had just completed discussing the new sanctions against the Delphina’s Daia mines in the North, and now the topic had suddenly switched over to the discussion about the royal engagement. 

The emperor tapped his finger against the table, and sighed as the thought of the crown prince’s delayed engagement crossed his mind. He continued to stare at the marquess – the loyal vassal that has been defiantly disobeying his imperial order. He could tell the marquess truly cared for his daughter and wanted to prolong the announcement and engagement ceremony with the crown prince. 

And shockingly, this made the emperor angry. He was not satisfied with this decision.

“H-How about we schedule the official engagement after Aria’s coming-of-age ceremony?” Duke Karl happily suggested.

“As I said before, I want to ensure Aria is satisfied with the crown prince, before I agree to any official engagement, and eventual marriage,” the marquess repeated. “Your majesty, please allow this one request.”

The emperor rolled his eyes, his voice cold and tired. “If we don’t officially announce their engagement with a date scheduled, then the Delphina house will not believe the allegiance between the Marcellus and Carina houses. Anything could happen from now, until then. We cannot waste time on petty things like developing feelings…” he sneered.

The marquess clenched his hands. If he could, he would have slammed his hand hard on the table to express his anger from the emperor’s disrespect, but he held back. No matter how arrogant the emperor can be, he had to remain calm and composed. That was his only pride as a member of the Marcellus house.

“Your majesty, officially announcing their engagement, is the same as publicly announcing a target on my daughter’s head,” the marquess responded, and bow his head to the emperor. He could feel sweat forming on the sides of his face.

“I want to at least give my daughter the chance to truly fall in love on her own free will, and then, if she wishes, she can choose to risk her life for the crown prince and empire.”

Aria was the marquess’s only daughter, so even if he could not fully protect her from this political game, he still wanted to be a father when it came to his daughter’s marriage. But that fact alone was not enough reason to convince the emperor.

“That is quite insulting Marquess Ermis,” the emperor said, and glared at him intently. 

“To say your daughter will become a target right after announcing her affiliations with the royal family,” the emperor said and then let out a light laughed. “You act as though my palace is a wild hunting ground – do not worry, your daughter will be protected by my imperial red knights.”

“I don’t doubt the protection, nor the power of your imperial knights your majesty,” the marquess responded. 

“Then what is it?” the emperor said in a low and intimidating tone. 

“I am concern about…the Delphina’s,” the marquess’s voice quivered slightly.

“You mean, Sylvia Delphina?” the emperor answered indifferently. 

         There was a long silence. 

“It became your daughter’s duty the moment she was born as a Marcellus, to risk her life for her future husband and the empire,” the emperor said again. “She will be protected regardless. And I promise no harm will be done to her.”

“Your majesty, I agree with the marquess,” the duke interrupted. “We should let the children take their time and get to know each other. Even without the official announcement, the Delphina’s knows the unilateral trust between the Carina and the Marcellus houses. Our families have had strong alliances dating back hundreds of years. I doubt anything can break that trust.” 

Marquess Ermis’s eyes widen, surprised at the duke’s agreement with him. Duke Karl was like an older brother to the emperor and has always provided guidance and support – but never opposition.

The emperor slammed his hand. “We cannot wait any longer!” he shouted. His glowing fiery red hair only added to the tension in the air.

“The late empress married you not just because it was her duty as the daughter of the Carina house, but she…truly loved you, Damien.” The duke’s voice shook, holding back the memories of his dear younger sister Catherine Carina.

“If Catherine was alive, I believe she would’ve wanted the crown prince to also get a chance to develop feelings for the woman he will soon engage and marry.” 

The emperor’s eyes shook at the mere mention of Catherine’s name. The pain, and agony he felt the night she died after the giving birth to their second child would remain a deep scar in his heart. Until the very end of her life, Catherine really did complete her duty as empress, and protected crown prince, and him – the one regret he will forever remember until the day he dies.

After a long moment of silence, the emperor finally said something.

“I will postpone this meeting for next time,” the emperor continued. “You both can leave now.”

***

Marquess Ermis shook hands with the duke and expressed his sincere appreciations for convincing the emperor to not move forward with announcing the planned engagement. The emperor has lived most of his life on the battlefield, so his way of thinking allowed little room for compromise. With the duke there, it helped the emperor remain some sense of emotional reasoning when it came to his son, and the marquess’s daughter. He was truly thankful.

As marquess turned the corner to return to the drawing room where Cedric and Aria were waiting, an arm stopped him.

“Marquess Ermis...” a soft, and modulated voice echoed behind him.

“Your royal highness!” the Marquese’s said in surprised, his eyes widen. The crown prince stood there, silent, cold, and unhuman.

“I heard you have not been feeling well. Are you all better now?” he asked, concerned about the dark circles under the crown prince’s eyes. 

“I am getting better. A few weeks of rest can undoubtably help a poor souls body,” he chuckled, although the Marquess did not find it funny. 

“You are the crown prince of the empire, please take care of your health. It worries me that you’re wondering around the palace, looking like this,” the marquess expressed his concerns again. “I will send some fresh tea leaves and herbs to your palace tomorrow to help with the dark circles, your highness.”

“I am truly thankful for your concern,” he smiled. There was a light pause, as he hesitated to ask. “I saw you exit my father’s office with the duke. Was everything okay?”

Marquess Ermis smiled, “Yes, everything is fine.”

The marquess knew immediately that the crown prince did not stop him for no reason, and he continued. “There is something I would like to speak to you about. I’m sure you’ve had this conversation with the emperor already.”

The crown prince nodded.

“As you know, my daughter is being considered as a candidate for crown princess by the request of the emperor. I have requested that his majesty hold off from officially announcing this,” the Marquess continued. “I hope you do not take offense to this, but I would like for you and my daughter to become acquainted with each other before I agree to bless any engagement or marriage.”

The crown prince tilted his head slightly and bow to acknowledge the marquess’s request. 

“I am not offended, please understand that,” he reassured, and with a warm smile he shook hands with the marquess.

***

A few days has passed since Aria’s little adventure at the imperial palace. Fortunately, by the time Aria returned to the royal drawing room, her father had not returned yet, and Cedric promised to keep this a secret since he will also get punished if their father found out she snuck out. 

Aria explained that she got her scratches from trying to pluck roses in the main palace garden. Cedric did not question her any further; he was already extremely disappointed and could not bear to hear more of her foolish story. In order to hide her wounds, Cedric had Aria wear his outer coat until they got back to the Marcellus estate. 

Their father was never aware of what happened that day.

“You’re unofficially on probation,” Cedric said as he entered Aria’s room.

“Unofficially?” Aria questioned; her eyebrow raised. Cedric was never a strict brother, and Aria, almost always, got away with things because he covered for her. But it seemed like this time, he was not going to let it slide. Aria had already spent the past few days reflecting on her actions and was too embarrassed to meet Cedric to apologize and have been ignoring him. Him being here today was probably because he knew things had become awkward between them.

“I believe you being on probation is an adequate punishment for disobeying me that day at the imperial palace,” he said as he sat in the chair in front of her desk. “What you did was very dangerous. What if something –” Cedric stopped himself. 

“You’re right.” Aria said, her eyes trembled. 

“So something did happen...” Cedric grew frustrated. He still remembered how his heart dropped when he witnessed the bloody scars on his younger sister’s hands and arms. Ever since that day, Cedric’s unease and anxiety about Aria’s continued visits to the imperial palace only increased, but there was no way he could tell his father this.

 “I’m sorry, Cedric.” Aria finally apologized, “I shouldn’t have left like that, especially after you requested for me to stay in the drawing room. What I did was disrespectful.” Her eyes blurred as she reflected.

 “I knew it could be dangerous for me to wonder around like that, and yet I – ” she paused, her lower lip protruded. If she continued to talk, there was no doubt she was going to start sobbing – just remembering that night where she made a fool of herself in front of the imperial crown prince. Their interaction with each other was shameful to say the least. Would he even want her now? What if the engagement falls through, and the Marcellus house becomes ruined? 

Hiccup.

Cedric was surprised at the sight of his younger sister tearing up. Aria has always reflected on her actions if she was in the wrong, but she has never cried like this before. It may just be a Marcellus family distinct personality, but their pride was strong – and for some reason, these days, Aria has been more sensitive than normal. 

“I’m sorry too,” Cedric said. 

“I should have never left you,” he patted Aria’s head. “Was the garden at least beautiful?”

Aria nodded, and at that moment big tear drops slid down her pink cheeks. 

It was so beautiful. But…I might have ruined our family.

***

Julian Augustus stood outside his balcony. His green eyes stared into the dark night sky, as the cold autumn wind rustled his dark blonde hair. With only a white robe tied loosely around his waist, Julian was warm. He recently recovered from his long bedrest and was finally able to get out to feel the chilled air. 

For the past weeks, countless holy priests from all over the empire had secretly entered the palace to heal him, and quickly vanished when they completed their task. 

This was a usual routine the Augustus royal family have done in order to protect themselves. Any kind of weakness could be used against them. Even Julian’s overdue bedrest was a delight to hear, especially for the Delphina’s.

“Marquess Ermis has always been such a caring father,” he whispered under his breath.

Ever since he spoke to the marquess about Aria, he had been anxious to meet up with her. Was he afraid her might hurt her? Or that he could not love her? Regardless, the Emperor was expecting him to meet up with Aria as soon as possible, and as he commanded – make her fall in love with you and marry her.

Julian sighed. 

If only I can live as dead as my brother.

The Imperial Palace had numerous smaller palaces that different royal family members lived in. Based on their statuses and age, each royal member was assigned a specific palace. Since Julian was the heir, and Crown Prince, he was assigned the Red Rose Palace – surprisingly nothing about him resembled the red and fierce look of the palace. Instead of resembling his father, he resembled his meeker and more beautiful mother, Empress Catherine Carina. 

Julian looked over the balcony again, just beyond his gates, and beyond the deep, menacing forest, he wondered if he should visit his dead brothers’ palace again, the second prince who died during childbirth – the White Rose Palace. 

His mother, the Empress had named the palace after the white roses to indicate that the birth of the second prince will live as pure, innocent, and loyal to the Crown Prince, and Emperor. He will live just as a brother, with no role or responsibility – it was truly something she wished in her heart that he lived freely.

Julian laughed under his breath. 

That hope is nothing but a fleeting dream.

A couple of nights ago, right after Julian was able to start walking again, he decided to visit that place, that cursed land. Instead, what he witnessed was truly a sight to remember. 

A young lady with hair was white as white roses, and a man, with hair as red as fire – stood in the dark night – looking at each other.