Honey : The Empire's Treasure

Nervous at how she could convince him to spend the night at her home, Delju took extra hour to work up the nerves to go see him.

In his office, Mano was looking over doc.u.ments concerning the clan when knocking was heard at the door.

"Come in."

Delju shyly poked her head in the office before walking fully into the room.

Examining Mano"s face she saw that he wasn"t an angry or foul mood this morning, thankful, she quickly hurried over to get the task over with.

Remembering the last time she saw him was when Prince Ailwin was breaking her fingers, she discreetly hid them away from his sight. She was afraid that he might remember her and Sienna"s scheme if he saw them again, which wouldn"t help with her plan.

Though they are in better shape than they were weeks ago, they still hurt when doing simple ch.o.r.es and were unsightly. 

Mano waited for she to say why she came, but when she continued to stand there, he finally prompted her to speak.

"What is it, Delju?"

"Oh, I can wait until you"re finish…"

Mano gave her a stern look.

"Speak."

Delju could see things were heading in the wrong direction. Quickly using her head, she looked at Mano coquettishly and soften her voice.

"Mano~ We haven"t spend anytime together recently…" She swayed over to his desk looking hurt, "I want to make up, can we?"

Mano stopped working and glanced over at Lade Delju, "Make up?"

"En."

"Were we fighting…?" He lean back in his chair.

"N-No."

"Then why do we need to make up?"

Realizing he wasn"t going to give in, she threw caution to the wind.

"Sienna is gone, and I have paid my price for what I have done." Holding up her fingers, "Do you need to continue being so mean to me!?" Delju broken down crying with fake tears in her eyes.

Mano sighed before pulling her into his arms, "Do you think I wanted to punish you and Sienna that way?"

She shook her head no.

"However, I had to and will do so again, if you don"t stop with your schemes." He told her harshly.

"I know, I know...I won"t do it again." She pleaded, "Let show you I have changed by making you dinner tonight."

When Mano didn"t immediately agree, she begged, "Mano, please... I"m trying." 

Tears gather in her eyes once more as her nose and the tips of her pointed ears turn red. 

Mano gave in and nodded before warning her, "This is your last chance, Delju. Don"t disappoint me."

Sniffling, She wiped her face and she nodded her head then walked out of his office. 

The minute she was far enough away that she knew he couldn"t see her, she began laughing, "Tsk! This will be your last time, Mano."

 Later that night Mano walked towards Delju residence and entered her common room.

"Delju…?"

"Here." She came out dressed in a gown Cohnal recently bought for her. It accented all her curves while also being very modest. Suiting the "changed her ways" mood she was trying to present to him.

Mano examined her from head to toes before looking at the table, "What are we having to eat?"

"I had the kitchens make all your favorites...sit, let"s eat." She said gesturing to a chair.

"En." 

Looking at the appetizing food in front of him, Mano couldn"t wait to dig in. It"s has been along day and he hasn"t eaten since morning meal.

Delju quickly started spooning food onto both their plates. With the delicious meal being eaten, the atmosphere in the room started to relax. 

This is what Delju was hoping for. 

Looking around the table, she jumped up in surprised, "Oh! I forgot the wine…" Swiftly leaving the table before Mano could stop her, Delju went into her kitchenette to grab the bottle of wine she left on the counter.

Popping the cork, she pulled the vial from her pocket. Holding the small bottle in her hand, she froze debating whether she should actually go through with it. However, upon remembering her and Cohnal"s time together, she unscrewed the top and poured the contents into the waiting wine.

Gently shaking the bottle, she mixed the components together until she could no longer see the poison inside.

Satisfied with her work, she turned around to serve Mano his last drink.

"Is that wine also especially prepared for me?"

Mano"s voice surprised Delju that the bottle slipped from her hands, leaking its contents on the floor.

Mano had left his seat soon after Delju rushed from the room and silently followed her to see what she was up to. When he saw her pour something into the wine bottle on the counter, his heart grew cold.

Standing in the doorway he waited for her to turn around so he could confront his would-be murderer.

Delju was scared, she didn"t know if he saw what she did to the wine, or if she just overacted to his presence at the doorway.

"M-Mano…"

"Is that the wine also prepared for me?" He asked again.

Looking down at the semi spilled wine on the floor, she bent down to pick up the bottle.

"Y-Yes, I...I got it especially for our dinner together…" She turned around to pour out the rest of the wine out and to get away from Mano"s piercing stare.

d.a.m.n, I"ll have to tell Cohnal I failed. 

"Wait…!" Mano had walked up behind her to grabbed the bottle from her hands and pour himself a gla.s.s.

When she realized what he was doing, Delju"s face lit up with delight. She fail to keep her emotions off her face, so Mano read them loud and clear.

Yes! He is going to drink it!

The empty wine bottle was left on the countertop as Delju waited for Mano to take his first sip.

"Here, I"ll let you drink first." Mano held out the gla.s.s to her.