In a grandly decorated bedroom, a flying vase shattered on the wall, missing a maid's face by a few inches. "He took her in!" Isabella said, her face full of tears smudged with makeup. "He made that decision to spite me! I am going to kill that bitch!" she shouted, her voice raspy. "I am going to kill her and then kill myself!" Isabella said, her face contorted with a crazed look, as all the maids, now kneeling, huddled in the corner, trying to make themselves as small as possible. "He can marry anyone but her! Why her?" Isabella cried. "I am going to ask him!" she said, darting across the room.
"Your Highness, no!" Lady Hannah, her lady-in-waiting, said. "My lady, please calm down, Hannah," she added. "The last time the maid was given fifty lashes, the Emperor warned you not to make any other trouble again or you would be punished. But you insisted on calling her yesterday. Please, calm down first. We are going to deal with this with a calm mind," Hannah pleaded, trying to restrain Isabella.
"I am going to kill her, I am going to kill her," Isabella repeated again and again, sitting on the floor and tugging her hair. She sat there for a long while; the room was pin-drop silent. The only thing heard was Isabella murmuring and then her quiet sobs.
"You can all leave, and there will be no word of this outside," Hannah said, glaring at the maids while still seated on the floor, hugging Isabella, who was now drifting to sleep.
Meanwhile, in the Phoenix Pavilion, a woman wearing a red gown with red lipstick sat on a big throne. Her strawberry blond hair was tied in a bun and topped with a big crown inlaid with stones of all colours. She sat sipping a cup of tea, listening to another lady's report.
"He took in the maid who was punished. Hmmm, interesting," she said with a big smile. "How is Isabella reacting?" she asked.
"Your Royal Highness, a maid came to report earlier today that she was having a meltdown and was breaking all the vases in the room," the lady replied.
"Hahahaha!" The woman held her stomach as she laughed till tears formed at the sides of her eyes. "This is going to be interesting. Mariam, get me all the information on my new 'sister,'" she said, her laughter stopping abruptly. "I need all details," she added. "Also, send her a gift to welcome her. We can't have her thinking the royal family is stingy, do we?"
"Also, talk with Arthur about her welcome party and introduction to the high society, and once it is ready, send her an invitation," she said, pinching her forehead. Yes, your highness, Mariam, the empress's lady in waiting, replied, "Okay, you can leave now." The empress dismissed her and sighed, leaning back into her throne. "Another one again," she said, closing her eyes.
"Your Royal Highness, forgive me for asking, but why did you take in Lady Elara? I have heard of no interaction that I remember, except for the day she was punished for bumping into Lady Isabella," Arthur said.
"Oh, she was the maid that was punished,?" Reign replied with a question, which confused Arthur. "I didn't know, but I warned Lady Isabella not to cause trouble. If she did, she would be punished for it. But despite my warnings, she does not pay heed. So, for every maid she punishes, I am going to take them in and give them a rank similar to hers until she stops causing me trouble. I have pampered her enough that she has now grown horns," the Emperor said, leaving Arthur speechless.
"Poor Lady Elara," Arthur said. "So she was recognised just to punish your beloved?" he asked.
"How is she poor? Isn't being the Emperor's woman a thousand times better than being a maid?" Reign deadpanned. "Who cares how you got there as long as you are there now? She should be thankful Isabella punished her, if it wasn't for that, she would have never been part of the royal family anyway. I trust you to handle everything regarding the Lady of the Moonlight Pavilion. But I have a more important task: look into who was assigned to the old library these past days, and also find out why she wasn't there yesterday. I need all the information. Make sure she is reassigned to the library again."
"Are you planning to make another addition to the harem, Your Royal Highness?" Arthur asked. With how much time the Emperor was spending in the old library, he knew something was up.
"If she accepts my proposal, that is", the Emperor replied with a smile, making Arthur speechless for the second time. Since when did the Emperor take permission from women, especially from a maid? If he wanted anyone, all he had to do was say it, and it would happen.
"But, your royal highness, the nobles are going to talk if you take in two maids in a row, with the way they are parading their daughters during the balls," Arthur said.
"Let them parade them, Arthur. I will be paying extra attention to them, as you know, it is time for you to get married. We are the same age, and you have none while I already have three. It is time to have a look around during the upcoming ball," the Emperor said.
Arthur dropped to one knee in surprise. "Apologies, Your Royal Highness. I did not mean to talk too much. I will go and bring you the information you need before the end of the day, but please, let's not talk about my marriage," he begged, making the Emperor smile.
As Arthur ran for the door, the Emperor called, "Arthur!" stopping him in his tracks. "Send a physician to Isabella," he said. "With her miscarriage last week and yesterday's event, she will be affected," he said, his voice softening.