"Good afternoon, Sun of the Empire. You called for me?" the Empress said, bowing.
"How do you run the inner palace, Naika de Montclair?" the Emperor asked, looking down from his throne.
"What do you mean, Your Majesty?" the Empress asked, looking at the Emperor, confused.
"How can a consort leave the palace without your knowledge? Or you knew and perhaps wanted her gone?" Reign said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Your Highness, I have no idea," the Empress said, falling to her knees.
"Do you want me to run the inner palace, too?" he asked. "Hand over all the inner palace tasks until you learn how to manage them properly. Go," he added, dismissing her before the Empress got a word in.
Empress Naika rose, her knees buckling, and she wobbled, fainting perfectly into Dorothy's arms.
"Your Highness, wake up! Your Highness, what is wrong?" Dorothy cried.
"What are you standing here for?" the Emperor said to Mariam. "Get a maid to carry her. Go and call a physician," the Emperor said without standing up from his throne.
A maid carried the Empress, taking her to Phoenix Pavilion. After putting the Empress on the bed, the Empress opened her eyes, sitting on the bed.
"Your Highness, we can't use the pregnancy this time," Dorothy said
"Why can't we?" Naika shouted. "How can I face my family if I get the roles taken away?" she said, grinding her teeth.
"The Emperor will use how you fainted and taking care of the baby to take away the roles again. He is very angry; he won't care about the baby now. Let's wait after this situation passes, and then you can use the pregnancy for something bigger. And also, we need the Emperor overjoyed with the news. Now is not the time," Dorothy said.
The Empress sat on the bed quietly for a while. "Dorothy, write a letter and send it to my father. If I don't want her returning back to this palace," she said, her face morphing into a menacing grin. "Also, make sure Lady Isabella gets the news of how angry and sad the Emperor was with the disappearance of Lady Elara," she added.
Meanwhile, in the throne room, the butler, the matron, and the guard at the door knelt.
"When did Lady Elara leave?" the Emperor asked, looking down at them.
"This morning, Your Highness," the Matron said, her fat jiggling as she shook with fear.
"Who let her out?" the Emperor asked, his voice cold. Arthur, standing at the corner, shivered.
"I did, Your Highness," the matron said with a sob. "Her name was on the list of the maids that were to leave, shared by the butler," the matron said.
"Leave," the Emperor said, pointing to the matron and the guards. They stood up, sighing with relief. "Before you go, pass by the Ministry of Personnel, take your final pay, and leave," the Emperor dropped a bomb on them.
"Your Highness, please!" the matron and guard said in unison.
"Take them out," the Emperor told Arthur. "Also, all the guards at the gate will be leaving as well. Leave," he said, flicking his wrist and turning to the butler, who had his back drenched in sweat.
"You knew Lady Elara was promoted from a maid to a consort, right?" he asked, his voice chilly enough to send a cold down everybody's spine.
"Yes, Your Highne...ss," the butler stuttered.
"Yet her name was not removed from the list. Why?" he questioned.
"Apologies, Your Highness. We have been busy with the party; we forgot to remove Lady Elara's name," he said.
"Hand over your work to your successor and leave the palace by tomorrow morning. Now, get out of my sight," the Emperor said, and the butler walked out of the throne room with wobbly legs, threatening to collapse under him.
After everyone left, the Emperor was left alone on his throne.
"You pray to God I never catch you, Elara, because if I do, that is going to be the end of you," the Emperor said, massaging the throbbing veins in his forehead. This came to him as a shock; he never thought anyone would choose to flee instead of being his consort. "What am I missing?" he questioned himself, and then clapped his hand. All of a sudden, a shadow guard appeared out of nowhere.
"Yes, Your Highness," the guard said, bowing.
"Go and send an invitation to Archduke Eldric Blackmoor. Inform him it is urgent, and he should get here at the earliest he can," the Emperor said.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the guard bowed and left.
Once again, the Emperor was left alone, and he appeared regal and calm. The sound of his finger tapping the arm of the throne indicated otherwise.
"Arthur, did the royal boutique move away without my knowledge?" the Emperor said as soon as Arthur entered the throne room. "So Catherine wants to play hide and seek with me now," he said with a cold chuckle. "Tell her to go home, and she is banned from entering the palace until I say so."
"Okay, Your Highness, I will inform her," Arthur said. "And also, the party has been cancelled," he informed the Emperor.
"Okay," Reign said. "Make sure no word goes out; I don't need the nobles talking," he added."I also need you to take over managing the inner palace," the Emperor said. "Also, when the Archduke arrives, direct him to the throne. Go, I am tired now," Reign said wearily, throwing his head back and leaning against the headrest, closing his eyes.
Arthur stepped out, sighing with relief. Everyone in the palace was walking on eggshells. "Why, Lady Elara?" Arthur said as he exited the Supreme Pavilion and heard a hand-clicking sound. He looked back to see Cathy hiding behind the Silver Frost-Wolf statue.
She was holding her neck with both hands. "Lady Elara is not in the royal boutique. I looked for her everywhere and couldn't find her. Do you know where she is?" she asked, whispering.
"Why are you holding your neck like that?" Arthur asked curiously.
"Because the emperor said I can't bring Lady Elara....then kchew!" she said, slicing a hand across her neck.
Arthur's lip lifted. "Lady Elara escaped the palace," Arthur said.
"She what?!" Cathy asked, shouting as Arthur rushed to put a hand over her mouth.
"You really want to lose your head for good?" Arthur said. "And you have been banned from the palace," he added as Cathy's eyes grew wide.