Chapter 7 Sneak In

• Before the sun would rise at the east, the king, his royal concubine, and the queen departed from the palace to head to the Royal Villa of Hot Springs. They were accompanied by a platoon of soldiers to ensure the royalties' safety and it would take half a day for them to reach the said villa.
• Inside the carriage that was pulled by four black horses, there was an awkward silence. Emery was sitting across the king and Royal Concubine Hazel, wearing her dark green robes, and just, as usual, her veil covered the entirety of her face.
• The king had his eyes closed while Royal Concubine Hazel was looking out the window, probably wanting to avoid getting involved with Emery who was staring at the two with an eyebrow raised.
• "Be not reserved to show affection with each other. I may be the queen but I won't pay much attention to it," Emery spoke to break the silence. Besides, she, too, started to be burdened by the heavy awkwardness.
• She did not also like to share the same carriage with the two lovers but for security purposes, they were told to be in one carriage. Thus, she had no choice but to breathe the same air in the same space with the two.
• "I wouldn't dare be affectionate with the king in your presence, Your Highness," the royal concubine responded. She was trying to be polite as much as possible as to not ensue a heated argument with the queen.
• Emery, however, clicked her tongue which made the king open his eyes and look in her direction. First and foremost, a noble lady must not do something as vulgar as clicking her tongue, especially when faced with the king.
• "After sleeping with him for several nights and him doting on you, you need not be so embarrassed," the queen insisted as if she wanted to start a fire.
• "Emery, your words—"
• The queen shifted her attention towards the king and did not let him finish what to say. She had enough being the one to receive commands from them, especially when they are making things hard for her work.
• Glaring at him, she hissed, "I have not asked for your opinion, Your Majesty."
• Emery was reminded of the rumors going on within the palace and if they were not taken care of, it might go out of control. And it would create unnecessary situations that would hinder her movements in the future. Thus, she continued to speak.
• "As we are all gathered here, I would like to speak what I have in mind."
• She turned her attention towards the royal concubine and spoke, "It looks like you meant well in suddenly asking to travel to the royal villa. However, before asking for a request that requires the king to leave the palace, you should reconsider the situation. The incident with Mr. Han just happened recently and I have heard of an uprising at the western borders so leaving the palace should have not been an option. With the king's absence, there is a risk of an attack and another incident to happen again."
• As her words struck the feelings of the royal concubine that made her keep quiet out of guilt, King Lawson interrupted. He did not like his lover to be looked down upon when all she did was think of his welfare.
• "Emery, I demand that you keep quiet." His voice was firm and his piercing amber eyes looked at the queen with a warning. Still, it did not stop Emery from speaking.
• "And you, Your Majesty, though the people see you fit as their ruler, do not be too indulged with the whims of your concubine—"
• "Stop the carriage!"
• One of the things that King Lawson despised was being told to do something by a person who barely knew him. He opened the door of the carriage and demanded the queen to return to the palace. He did not want to bring her with their small break because it might only turn into something more of a headache instead of recuperation.
• "Never leave the palace until I say so," he commanded before shutting the door right in front of the queen when she stepped out of their carriage.
• Though it turned out like that, Emery was able to lift off some burdens that she longed to bring out. With the other carriage, she was sent back to the palace which made Lila panic upon hearing the news. And not only that, the queen had other plans.
• In the Inner Palace, Lila started to feel more and more worried at the sudden change of situations and with the queen wanting to do everything on her own. Plus, without her on her side, she was afraid that Emery would be consumed again by her impatience.
• "Worry not. Your part will not change and this is far better for my case so I could move freely. I'll be heading to the royal villa and tell everyone to never enter my quarters so they won’t know of my absence. Tell them that I wanted to be alone until the king returns," Emery explained while changing into her combat apparel.
• However, Emery had this bad feeling that such an excuse would not be enough to keep anyone from knowing about her absence. She was most worried about the prime minister that he might just storm inside her chambers.
• "To actually see the Emery of Madness be under pressure is a thrilling sight indeed."
• Emery immediately unsheathed her dagger, turned behind her, and threw the weapon at the intruder who managed to enter through the window of her room. The intruder, who was wearing dark combat apparel that was of the same color as Emery's, blocked the attack with her own dagger.
• "Jadeite, what business did you come here for?" she asked.
• Jadeite took off her mask and her naturally brown hair dropped to her shoulders. Just like Emery, she was also working under the Arcana. She picked up Emery's dagger before throwing it back to her.
• "I heard you're in need of help so I came to lend you a hand just after I finished my mission. Since following the king is too much of a hassle, I'll just stay here and be the kingdom's queen for a few days. Sounds fair?" she replied.
• "Fair enough," Emery responded.
• She was ready to leave the palace once more and before she could do that, she grabbed the royal robes and threw them right on the other assassin's face.
• "Don't talk back to the prime minister and pretend to be frail and weak yet determined to seduce the king. Lila will help you in a lot of ways," she reminded her.
• Jadeite kept nodding her head before shooing Emery away.
• Thus, the queen snuck out from the palace by passing through the entry gate where food for the royalties enters. Emery did not know what to feel actually of the fact that the guards were not able to detect her presence or even notice Jadeite when she snuck in. She could not tell if they were simply too good at hiding or if it was because the guards were too lax in doing their duties.
• Upon stepping out from the palace, she wrapped her hooded cloak around her shoulders and went to the stables to rent a horse.
• "I'll take this." / "This one, please."
• Emery chose the horse with the black mane, however, there was also another person who wanted it. They even spoke in synch. Judging from the voice, it was a man who also took a liking to the horse. She didn't want to catch any attention so she stepped back to choose another. However, when the man suddenly grabbed her hand, she immediately reacted and twisted his arm.
• "Hands off," she warned him before letting him go. The man could not see her face because of the hood but he could tell that she was not an ordinary woman.
• "You can have the horse, young lady," he stated, trying to ignore what just happened.
• Emery paid him no attention and chose the brown horse instead. After paying the owner, she got on and as she left, she saw a glimpse of the man's face. The first thing that caught her attention was the L scar on his cheek, plus his armor that was plated in gold.
• "General Kyan, you truly have a great eye in choosing the best horse," the owner of the stables stated.
• Emery heard it before she got to leave and take another route going to the villa. In her mind, she thought that the guy she bumped into was most likely the general of the king's army because of the plated gold armor he was wearing. It was a good thing that she did not show herself because there was a risk that they'd bump into each other in the palace. And if that happened, her cover will surely be blown.
• As Emery traveled alone, the king and his concubine finally reached the Royal Villa of Hot Springs. Though Royal Concubine Hazel was still bothered with what the queen had said, she set that aside for a while and focused on helping the king recuperate. Besides, it was rare of him to take breaks in his work so might as well grab this opportunity.
• "Was it really okay to send the queen like that? It seemed like she truly wanted to come here with us," she stated as they walked up the stairs leading to the villa.
• "Her manners were inappropriate so she need not come here," the king responded.
• Though he was feeling a bit regretful because he allowed his anger to control him, he thought that it was for the better.
• When the king was able to guide Royal Concubine Hazel in her assigned room, he met with the platoon's leader.
• "Your Majesty, you were right about us being tailed," the soldier reported.
• "Do not give away any clue that we know that fact. Let it swim freely for now," King Lawson instructed.
• He, then, gave the signal for the eunuchs to bring in the documents that needed to be taken care of. As he was doing his work in an isolated room, he could not help but remember the words that were stated by the queen. It bothered him because it did look like he was starting to get too indulged with his concubine. He shook his head to keep it out of his mind but it kept ringing in his ears like a broken record.
• "Your Majesty, do you need a break?" the eunuch asked upon noticing that the king was holding the scroll upside-down. "The sun had already set and Royal Concubine Hazel is looking for you."
• King Lawson heaved a sigh as he held the bridge of his nose. He stood from his seat and decided to go and see his concubine if she was enjoying her time at the villa. As he walked in the hallway, he noticed a silhouette at the roof just across from where he was. He pretended that he saw nothing and went on his way to where Lady Hazel was.
• Meanwhile, when Emery finally reached the villa, she snuck into the kitchen but the moment she stepped in, a maidservant also entered and saw her holding the lid of the pot where the food of the king and his concubine was cooked.