Queensmen

Chapter 87

~Bloodlines~

Walking behind Hermes made Oris flashback to when he had led her through the secret tunnels that ran beneath the royal estate. She thought of how he had looked then—stiff and on guard—and compared it to how he looked now, a handful of hours later.

She glanced down at his hands and found them bare. Only the jade ring on his thumb remained, which she supposed was a good thing.

His movements were more fluid that when she had last seen him. His gait was looser too.

She wondered if that meant that his injuries were fully healed but knew better than to ask. "Sire, I do not understand why you are telling me this."

The path they walked down, she didn't recognize—not that she had expected to. It seemed more remote compared to everywhere else she had been to in the palace. There were hardly any servants or guards in the area, which was strange because it was common knowledge that the Emperor was always to be accompanied.

"This will likely be the last test," Hermes turned around to say this but other than that their was no difference in how he said it.

Oris managed not to crash into him. She averted her eyes when their gazes met. "I do not understand."

According to Andrea, there were still a couple more remaining. If this was the last test, she would only get to compete twice in the entire Selection. There would be no opportunity to increase her ranking significantly enough to be among the top scorers.

"Is that true?" He closed the gap between them. "If you did not understand, you would not have been so eager to distance yourself from me in the library."

Oris clasped her hands together, her mind whirling. She tried to avoid him in order to avoid making unnecessary enemies. But what does that have to do with... "Your Majesty, are you in danger?"

With the firelight from the lantern in Andrea's hand reflecting on his face, she watched his eyes darken. "When am I never in danger?"

He turned around and continued walking.

Oris followed but this time Andrea rushed to occupy the space in front of her. As relieved as she was to have someone in between her and Hermes, she also realized that the girl had done so, so that she could see the road better.

How can you be so attentive when you were born royal? Oris couldn't make sense of it. Servants had to be trained from a young age to learn to put their Master before themselves. Submission wasn't something that came easily to most people.

"I never intended to crown my Empress during the Selection. It ending early is to my benefit," Hermes said after a while, "even if there is an element of danger involved."

"The Empress Dowager..." Oris lowered her voice to a whisper. Even if she couldn't see the servants, that didn't mean that they weren't there. "She won't be pleased."

"It is precisely because of her that this is happening. I have no hand in it," he said. "She already has an image of who my Empress should be and the tests are skewed to justify it."

"But will she agree?"

"She has no choice but to agree. I will choose my Empress based on my criteria, after she has entered the harem."

He turned around again, this time sporting a wild grin she had not seen before. "Today, I let the ministers see us being intimate. Of course, that will get you some enemies. But it will also earn you allies. So what you should do now is—"

"—act like I have your backing." She finally understood what he meant. Act, act and act until the act becomes real.

"Yes," he murmured and took another step forward.