The Cold Emperor

Chapter 4

"You are my bodyguard; you should always stay as close to me as possible," he said as if he was inviting you for tea. Your breathing hitched from nervousness; what was this questions supposed to mean? Hesitantly, you took a few steps forward, but the emperor waved you to come even closer. Your hands started to become clammy now; you were supposed to be his bodyguard not his concubine. "You can sit on this chair while you guard tonight," he said, making you let out a breath you didn't know you were holding in. "What's wrong?" he asked with narrowed eyes as he must have noticed your relief. "Nothing!" You answered quickly and sat down on the chair. The chair was placed next to the headboard of his bed, making you look straight at him. As your shift was going to be around 8 hours long, you had expected him to talk to you or do something to entertain himself. Instead, he turned his back to you and fell asleep within a few minutes.

As the hours passed, you grew increasingly bored and tired. To get some energy in your system, you jumped up and started to walk around the room. Despite the fact that the palace was decorated with gold, gems and riches from all over the empire, his room was surprisingly bare. On the right side of the bed, behind your chair, was a large sword displayed and on the opposite side was a desk and a large cabinet with scrolls. It seems like he prefers things more simplistic, you mused to yourself. After another few hours, you had remembered every crack on the wall and had counted all the wooden panels on the floor. There was one thing in the room that you hadn't studied yet: him. You tiptoed closer, until you were slightly bending over his sleeping figure. His silky blond hair cascaded down his pillow; it took a great amount of effort for you not to run your fingers through it.

When he laid on his side, his usual cold frown had melted away and was replaced by slightly puffy cheeks. You were mesmerized by the sight; his pink glossy lips were slightly parted and made your insides tingle. You bent a little closer to look at his scar, when suddenly his body shot up. Within a second, his arms had wrapped around you body and had you pinned under him. One hand held your wrists locked above your head, whereas the other had a dagger pressed against your throat. "It's me, it's me!" You kept chanting breathlessly, as your heart almost burst out of your chest. The emperor's eyes widened with recognition when he snarled; "What were you doing so close to me? Do you have a death wish?!" Blood started to rush to your cheeks when your realized that he was literally straddling, you while throwing your own words back at you.

To make things even better; a knock on the door made you guiltily jump away from each other. "I am here to take over your shift," a guard announced as he walked inside and a gave a deep bow. You scurried out of the bed and rushed past him, not even looking back once. On your first shift as guard, you had already made it look like you were a concubine. "Just great Y/N!" You cursed to yourself. When you rushed to your room, there were only a few hours left for you to sleep before Minji came to wake you up. As you rolled out of bed, it felt like your entire body was on fire. Every muscle in your body was sore and aching with fatigue. You almost limped your way to Master Hobi and he couldn't help but let out an amused chuckle when seeing you. "Honestly Lady Y/N, I have seen far greater warriors in a worse shape than you after my lessons, you have my respect," he grinned.

"As a warrior, it is not only important to know how to use weapons, you also need to have the endurance and stamina to keep fighting in a battle," Master Hoseok explained with a serious expression. "Today you will run 50 times around the palace while holding this bag of rice," he said as he pointed against a large and heavy bag. You clenched your fists in despair; this was going to be the death of you. Not wanting to seem weak in front of your Master, you picked up the bag and started running. Agonizing waves of pain were radiating though your body, but you refused to stop. No matter how bad it would be, you would pull through, not matter what. After 20 rounds you were not aware of your body anymore; your body was moving without your brain processing it. There was no pain, no thought in your body; only the action of running. You only realized that you were done with your rounds when Master Hoseok physically made you stop.

"Well done Y/N! Go shower and rest; your guarding duties start in an hour," he said warmly as he walked off. From that day onwards, your days consisted of training, guarding and little sleep. For some reason you were not allowed to guard the emperor anymore; you stomach turned when you heard to news. You felt so annoyed by what had happened at your first guarding duty; as it had ruined you image in front of the emperor. Ironically, you didn't have time to sulk about it for a long time, as you were far too busy to do so. As much as you hated Master Hoseok for drilling you so much, you were improving at a rapid rate. Your soft limbs became stronger with tight muscles and your stamina had tripled. You felt proud of the warrior you had become; the version of yourself that you previously only dreamed about. One day, you were sparring with Master Hoseok when a messenger interrupted you. "Lady Y/N, His Highness has immediately requested our presence in the war room." You looked up at Master Hoseok in surprise, but he shrugged his shoulders in ignorance.

After months you would see the emperor again and you felt your stomach flutter in anticipation. He hadn't bothered to call for you even once after all this time and now suddenly he wanted to see you. You didn't know what to think or how to feel about this situation. With a confusing mixture of dread and curiosity, you walked inside the war room. Once you rose from your bow, your eyes instantly locked with the emperor. Chills ran down your back; his gaze was even colder then you remembered. "Your Highness, what can I do for you?" You asked formally. "From today on, you will prepare for our undercover mission, which will start in two day," he answered curtly, not even looking at you. Your eyes widened in surprise; this was the last thing you were expecting to hear. "With all due respect Your Highness; why not choose someone with more experience?" You asked confused. The emperor folded his arms in front of him when he finally looked at you; "You are the only suitable option,"

"As we will have to pretend to be husband and wife"