I did not expect how relieved I would feel once I saw Elio because seeing him again proved that what I had felt had been successfully locked in the recesses of my consciousness. Dinner was utterly dull and annoying. Ever since the marquess arrived he has been pestering me with his sly flirtation. If there wasn’t a possibility that it would cause friction between nations, I would have sent him away hours ago. 

While I am exasperated with the marquess there were more pressing matters at hand and that is why I told him to meet me in my office. When I told Elio that we needed to talk I saw color drain from his face and I can’t help but wonder what he thought of the frightened him so.

“I have laid out all the information I have gathered about Lady Olivia’s life since you separated as well as doctor’s diagnosis. Do not ask me how I obtained any of these because I will not provide you with an answer. While I do want to give you the choice of whether or not to read the information, I’m afraid I can’t because I need you to make a decision while knowing all of the details,” I tell him.

I watch him open one of the packets and silently read everything that has been gathered and observed by my people in the last week. One of the things that I pride my people in is their penchant and efficiency in researching information. There was never a time when they came back to me empty handed.

After he has read through everything, I see his mind trying to process what he had just read because Olivia is not pregnant. I asked my people to take an ample amount of blood as well as urine without her realizing and made the doctor screen it for any sign of pregnancy a number of times but the result were always the same.

The intel also showed how she met with an unknown person ever week a month before she left for Tiarhan. The evidence couldn’t be clearer, someone hired her to stage her pregnancy and from what I heard around the palace, it seems as if her goal was to demand money and leave. She would then let another person impregnate her then claim that it was Elio’s child.

By doing so, the person behind her could then argue that the child has a right to the throne. What they don’t know about is the contract that Elio had signed before we had gotten married however, if they release the information in the Ocelon Kingdom, their citizens and nobles might be swayed enough to put pressure on Elio and make him claim the child as his own.

Even if they did, what they fail to comprehend is just how far I am willing to go to ensure the line of succession especially since they didn’t come into the agreement blind. They sent Elio as their nation’s representative and everything he signed is legally binding. They will have no grounds when I don’t bend to their will.

“How do I know that you and you’re people didn’t tamper with this evidence,” Elio suddenly speaks up.

I expected for him to be hurt and shocked but I never expected him to doubt what I show and tell him to this degree.          I grit my teeth and straighten myself more.

“It is your choice whether to believe what I showed you or not but you have no right to question the integrity of the work my people has done. I trust that you can show yourself to the door,” I say, signalling Tia to escort him out.

When Tia returns he places a hand on my shoulder, a reminder that I am not alone and that he would always be there if I needed him.

“If someone told me that you had betrayed me, I wouldn’t want to believe them too,” I say.

“I know, but the difference is you would at least look into the accusation before deciding anything,” he tells me.

“Let’s just give him time,” I say, believing that it was what Elio needed before he sees and understands what is happening.

I spend the rest of the night burning the midnight oil, it was all I could do to stop myself from worrying about the possible decisions Elio could make as well as the repercussions of each decision. I at least needed to be able to trust him.

At around dawn I decided that I should at least have a nap so I could function properly and while I made my way to my chambers I stop in front of the courtyard. Everything was silent, there were few to none that littered the halls and the gentle wind caressed my face. I close my eyes, cherishing the rare moment of peace then I continue on to my chambers.

Tia has been silent the whole way through and I was grateful. He of all people knew that I almost never find myself alone. There were always people who needed me to make a ruling, people who try to curry favor, people convincing me of agreeing to legislations, or simple people who were tasked to aid and protect me but in the past ten years I was never really truly alone.

It made me smile just thinking about my childhood when I was still able to sneak away from my nannies and guards just to spend the day hiding in small spaces, observing everyone around me when they thought no one saw them or the moments I spent the day collecting various knick knacks from the forgotten remnants in the numerous rooms in the palace.

I lay down the bed and try to sleep but it evades me. Instead my mind is once again visited by Elio. I found it comical how only a week ago I had thought our marriage was thriving. I believed that even though our union isn’t yet founded in love, it is at least founded in trust and goodwill. I never thought such a small matter would completely shatter that illusion.

I don’t know when sleep claimed me but I do know that thoughts of annulment and searching for another spouse were in my mind when it finally did. I wake with a headache and while I wished for even a minute more of rest I knew that I couldn’t because I see Ethan sitting on the couch waiting for me.

 “Does no one have a modicum of courtesy in this place anymore?” I complain, getting up and trudging to the bathroom so I could get ready for the day. Then I join Ethan on the couch.

“Who allowed you in?” I ask him.

“Does it matter? You know I won’t visit if it wasn’t urgent,” he answers.

“If it was urgent why didn’t you wake me?” I ask.

“There are still lines even I would not cross, and waking a woman I have no relations with is one of them. I had requested for your maid to wake you but it seems I am quite lucky because you woke on your own,” he says, handing me a folder.

“I had no idea you saw me as a woman. If you smiled more, you would just be to my liking,” I joke, smiling when I see the disgust on his face but my jesting mood dissipates when I read what was on the folder.

The Kalem and Ziroch districts are located in the southwest of the empire and shares a border with the Cyete district, the district that provides the empire with the most grain. Unrest in the districts are common, especially in the newly added districts such as Kalen and Ziroch but what I found unusual was the sudden improvement in the artillery and supplies of both the districts.

Kalem and Ziroch are two of the most impoverished districts in the empire but not because we have decided to neglect them. It was because shortly after they were conquered they haphazardly built a quasi-government that spouted slander against the crown and they kept refusing every type of aid we offered. My father died trying to reach an understanding in these districts and now, they are being more aggressive.

“Have you tried initiating dialogue?” I ask Ethan, only to be looked upon with eyes of disappointment.

“I wouldn’t have come to you if we haven’t exhausted every possibility,” he answers and I release a heavy sigh.

Ethan is the only person still alive who can speak to me in such an uncouth manner and I let him, not only because I consider him my friend but also because I need his skills in diplomacy and administrative work. When I was left an orphan and was forced into battle, I appointed his father as the regent because I trusted that he would remain loyal as he did when he aided my parents and I wasn’t wrong.

Ethan’s father was not only responsible for holding the court of the empire together, he also helped me weed out the corrupt officials as well as the traitors who coveted the throne. On the other hand, the start of my relationship with Ethan wasn’t the smoothest.

Unlike his father, he was clear that is loyalty had to be earned. We met on the battlefield and while I was in-charge of the vanguard, he was in-charge of supplies and logistics. Until today, I’m still unsure about why he chose to pledge his loyalty to me but when the war ended, he himself approached me and asked to be appointed as my right-hand man and I did.

“Okay then, ready a conference room and ready equipment that would open all lines of communication. Start sending more men and provision to our encampment. Call for the council and send someone for me when everything is prepared,” I tell him, he bows and leaves.

When I ensure that I was alone, I call for Zeya, the leader of the shades. The ‘shades’ is an organization I founded when I ascended the throne. It is divided into two sections, Intelligence and assassinations. I only ever meet with its leaders; Zeya, the overall leader of the two divisions; Vito, the head of the assassins; and Yaz, the head of the intelligence division.  

I rarely order assassinations and most of them did covert missions, focused on gaining information be it beneficial or not.

“Zeya, I expect hourly reports on the situation in Kalem, Ziroch, and Cyete. Also give me at least three months of intel regarding those districts. Focus on habitual group gatherings, discrete meetings, as well as the movement of goods. Warn everyone to be on the lookout for possible signs war,” I tell her, she nods then leaves.

After which I make my way to the knight barracks and instruct the commander to place the palace on lockdown. I ask him to tighten security and provide me with a log of everyone who has entered and exited the palace for the three months then I make my way to the Michael’s office. I ask him to provide me with the recent employee records, as well as those who have either been missing or were dismissed.

Kalem and Ziroch have always been stubborn districts but I find it hard to believe that just as there was discord between Elio and I, they also coincidentally decided that it would be the best time to announce that they have better war supplies. I also find their sudden ability to buy new equipment suspicious, especially since from what the reports say these districts are experience famine and an increase in poverty.

This could only mean that someone is financing their effort while feeding them information about what is happening in the palace. I have been distracted dealing with the backlog because of the wedding, Elio, and the sudden visitors from the Ocelon kingdom that I neglected to inspect the events happening in the outlying districts until it was brought to my attention.

I spend the whole day in the conference room that Ethan had prepared, trying to find a way that would not lead to more violence but when the evening came along with the news that Kalem and Ziroch had joined hands then invaded Cyete, attacking the storage houses full of grain that are used to feed the people as well as turning the city full of civilians into a battlefield, I knew that I had no other choice but to declare war.

When the room is cleared, I stop Ethan because I needed to speak with him.

“I need to go,” I tell him and he nods.

“I know, while it isn’t technically a war because they are legally under your rule, it would be in our best interest to end this as soon as possible. The sudden increase in new war equipment also concerns me,” he says.

“I need you to deputize me,” I blurt out and I see his forehead scrunch.

“Tradition dictates that if the ruler is away then they will be deputized by their spouses, which in this context would be your husband,” he answers and I nod.

“I know but I cannot let him deputize me because he doesn’t see me and the people of my empire as his family. If a choice was to be made between my empire and Lady Olivia, I cannot say for certain that he will choose my empire,” I explain, knowing full well that he needed to understand before he agreed.

“Is this an order?” he asks and I nod. “Then, I abide by your order, your imperial majesty,” he says, bowing.

“Call an urgent meeting with the nobles and the commanders as well as with my husband, I need to inform them of what has been going on and thank you, truly,” I tell him.

I don’t know if it was good luck that most of the nobles as well as the commanders decided to stay close, in the hopes of hearing some ‘good news’ after the consummation but at least it would be easier to inform them. I hastily return to my chambers and instruct my maids to pack my necessities as well as my training gear. Then I make my way to the hidden gazebo and wish for a short and fast victory with minimal deaths.

It was in the early hours of the morning when everyone was assembled and since time was of the essence, I kept everything brief. Sticking to the facts of the matter as well as vaguely talking about our plan of attack ad by the end, I knew that they were for who would be deputizing me especially since anyone who has been in the palace for the past few days, would know that Elio and I had not been in the best of terms.

“While I am away, I will be deputized by Lord Ethan. You may relay any concerns while I am away with him. That is all,” I say, ending my address and leaving the room to avoid the unending questions that is sure to follow.