The Requiem Of An Empress

Duke Claudas was the first one to snap out of his anxiety-filled trance. He forthwith surveyed the faces of each of his comrades, satisfied at the disparity that he was expecting to see. Zelel cleared his throat to break the uncomfortable quietude, supervening it up with an announcement.

"Everyone, I came here to communicate a message from the Emperor. He has locked himself up in his office and refuses to come out unless necessary. His Majesty is currently sorting out all the doc.u.ments that must be sanctioned, or not, within the mensith."

"Is he not meeting Baron Istani for the details regarding the recent screw-up of Geraint and Lemorak?", Israfel asked, taking the chance to drag his comrades" name for a good teasing.

"Sadly, he"s inclined to refuse any audience requests yet again."

"For how long is he going to persist with his temperamental decisions?"

"The last occasion took a couple of mensiths. Let"s hope that he will give us less trouble this time around."

"Well, His Majesty went beyond the hours he"s willing to work. I thought for a moment that he was an impostor."

They sighed, deep enough to ensure that their exasperation exits their body along with their breaths. Simply envisaging their imminent encounters with the n.o.bles, who have a particular fondness of fawning over the Emperor, devitalized the Rounds of their motivation to work.

"His Majesty mentioned that you are all on stand by until your presence is requested. For the meantime, you are given the liberty to execute your duties. Then, you"re all dismissed." the Minister delivered his final message prior to starting to ambulate his way out of the place.

The six Rounds who elected to keep themselves reticent proceeded to trail Zelel"s path. Their footsteps were leisurely, devoid of worries or the sort. In contrast to that are to the ones left behind who were fretting. Despite wanting to quell their curiosities, they were afraid of being ostracized by the higher seated knights if they let out a reaction similar to Lauviah"s.

Meanwhile, the shame stricken Countess Lukan shirked in her spot, still terrified of the explicit threat that she earned from their commander.

********************************************

Mikhail arrived right outside the door to the Emperor"s study situated in the Frumier Palace. There were no sentries or knights stationed across the corridor for the reason that they"d serve no purpose.

"Your Majesty, I"ll be intruding.", he said as he knocked twice to announce his appearance.

In order to not cause a ruckus, Percival applied the most minimum of force to push the door open. He was welcomed with the towering stacks of doc.u.mentation on top of the Emperor"s enormous, U-shaped executive desk. Mikhail halted his advance, half the distance from the entrance to the table.

"I"ve come per your request, Your Majesty.", latterly declaring his greeting, he bided for the Emperor to acknowledge his existence.

Momentarily, the Monarch spoke, though with his eyes focused on the parchment he was reading.

"You"re here. Is something the matter?"

The knight deliberated on whether he should mention the altercation that happened anteriorly. Ultimately, he judged that it was too trivial of an issue and set it aside.

"There is none, Your Majesty."

Solely the smooth sound of a quill pen gliding athwart the wooden surface preceded Mikhail"s response. The two men retained their easeful lull, lingering appositely.

Once the Emperor was done writing, he placed the quill back to its metal holder and shifted his stare towards his visitor.

"It"s simply a matter of time before the Estrama Empire bites our bait. Ergo, waging war with their nation will be viable soon. I"ll entrust this operation to you, Mikhail Percival. Seize Seraphiel"s pioneer anchorage territory in the west. Begin the preparations in a mensith. "

"I"ve received your decrees.", the retainer bent his torso forward, bowing to accept the responsibility that was given to him, as he responded.

"Very well. Moving on, you attempted to pursue the sender of the arcane scroll, right? What came of it?"

Mikhail straightened his body and looked at the Emperor with an annoyed gaze.

"Yes, we did, Your Majesty. A mana string materialized from the parchment, so I went with Jibrail Sagramore to trace it. We landed at the Vroten Mountain Ranges. However, the endpoint of the trail brought us to a lion"s carca.s.s where the string was pinned. There was nothing further that we could do."

The Emperor leaned on the cushion of his seat, ruminating on their predicament.

"Cautious, aren"t they? How vexing."

"I share your sentiments, Your Majesty."

"Then, we ought to abandon the option of tracking using the scroll. Commission Marquess Vera Morholt, and the tower magicians, to a.n.a.lyze the history of mana movement in Ikdes and coordinate with Iophiel to enshroud their departure. I do not want to amuse the inquiries of some nosy individuals."

"Affirmative, Your Majesty."

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Thirty-two diers have pa.s.sed ever since the Emperor reprobated any audience requests, and it sounds like that there are no signs of the mandate changing in the near future.

The maids, Tara and Sura, were in a bind of searching a way for them to have a talk with His Majesty.

"I am worried. What do we do?"

"I am too. Can we barge in the Frumier Palace?"

"I don"t think so. We do not have permission to do that."

"So what do we do? We need to hurry!"

The twins gawked at each other, their fists clenched and raised in front of their chests.

"We have no choice! We should bomb the palace!"

"No! What are you saying?! One of us will drop-in the Emperor"s residence."

"One of us? I"ll go."

"Don"t forget to inform them of the matter properly."

"Alright!"

********************************************

A sentinel did not resist his body"s desire to yawn. It was only the second hour of his uneventful warding ch.o.r.e, but he"s jaded.

"The castle is as peaceful as always. What is our function even? I doubt that we could protect His Majesty in case of an attack. Instead, we"re going to be the ones receiving protection.", he thought, a.s.sured of his inference.

Unbeknownst to him, a person that will make his dier a tad different is nighing.

A few seconds later, as if on cue, the sentry sighted someone dashing en route to his position.

"Wh what the, who is that?! Did I just jinx our serenity?!", he was at his wit"s end, unnecessarily frenzied.

The person eventually elapsed their sprint, a meter away from the palace guard. It was a woman, approximately 170 centimetres tall, wearing the customary uniform for the maidservants of the royals. The entire outfit is modest; a black, long-sleeved maxi dress that reached the ankles; topped with a white ap.r.o.n that was decorated with frills on the shoulder part; a white shirt undergarment with solely the collars exposed; heeled brown boots as the footwear.

"A maid? Where is her badge?"

The uniform has to be accompanied with a badge, fastened on the left collar, bearing the emblem of the castle they"re employed under. Withal, this maid has none.

"Anyway, it is already the 1st Noven. They should be busy attending to their master"s needs this time of the dier. I must send her back.", the sentry considered his course of action, yet it was easier said than done.

The woman glared at him as if intending to drill a hole on his pitiful skull, unlearning to provide her greetings. The man felt miserable and was at a loss on how to deal with such a character. Moreover, he cannot show hostility to a person who"s not being contentious.

"E-excuse me, it might be better for you to return to your post. You might get a scolding from your steward."

The lady did not move as to a blink.

"H-h.e.l.lo? Are you listening?"

Unantic.i.p.atedly and much to the guard"s consolation, an ebony black carriage, with inlays adorned with 24k gold pieces, drawn by four heavy warmblood horses touched down in the vicinity. It was a carriage too extravagant for most aristocrats, but nothing short of simple at the same time. The embellished hallmark of the Ducal household of Claudas was plastered on the outer wall of the equipage.

"It"s the Prime Minister!", the sentry rejoiced in his head, glad that someone will partake the burden of awkwardness with him.

The coachman discontinued the onrush of the vehicle dead-centre of the enormous wrought iron gate. Three knights went out of the rig and stood on the side of its pa.s.sageway. Thereafter, Zelel stepped out of the carriage. The Duke immediately espied quite the peculiar scene at the palace entrance. Hence, he promptly approached the two people, allowing his servants to bailout with the chariot.

"What seems to be the problem, Mister Roshun?", was the minister"s foremost question, turning to look at the strange guest.

The guard gave a Roman salute ahead of answering the query.

"Volhnir Ahderia fin Sotus, Duke Claudas. The lady has not uttered a word. I don"t know the reason for her vi-."

"Duke Claudas? You mean Duke Zelel Claudas, the Prime Minister?!"- The maid interjected the sentry"s speech with her abrupt loud comment.

"Yes, that is my name.", Zelel wasn"t the least bit flabbergasted, but his curiosity was piqued.

The woman hurriedly lowered her head once she wised-up on the ident.i.ty of the man afore her.

"I apologize for my mindless decorum, Your Grace. I am Tara Kishnar, the Empress" head maid."

Now, that really caught the Duke"s interest. The Empress and her maids have not once interacted with anyone outside of the Sortis Palace. The surprising thing is that they have kept up with that kind of socialization for more than aethras.

Zelel had a lot of facts that he yearned to be acquainted on. Howbeit, he sensed that Tara came carrying a concern, regarding the Empress, requiring an urgent resolution.

"Please follow me. I will take you to the Emperor"s office."

"I am grateful for your understanding, Your Grace.", Tara fixed her posture upon saying her grat.i.tude. For his reply, Zelel just bobbed his head once then moved his gaze to Roshun.

"Let us in."

The guard quickly lifted his staff and pointed its magic crystal towards another crystal on the core pinnacle of the gate. Once the crystals glowed, Zelel began to make his way to the castle, his figure permeating the golden bars of the gate. Tara Kishnar did the same without complaint. Thankfully, Roshun felt alleviated of his stress when they left.

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Except for the sound of heels. .h.i.tting the marbled tiles, merely the silence escorted the two personages while they traversed the several concourses that will take them to the Emperor"s study.

Being deep in thought, Zelel only noticed that they have already arrived by the office when Tara spoke.

"Is this the room?"

"That"s right. Please stay here, Lady Kishnar. I"ll go ahead and inform the Emperor of your visit."

"Yes, Your Grace."

The Duke wordlessly entered the room, leaving Tara to hold on alone. She quietly awaited her opportunity.

"I might have to wait for longer than desired. I hope that the Emperor will agree to meet me."

Contrary to her expectations, Zelel peeked his head out of the crevice of the opening and called for her in an instant. Accordingly, she psyched herself up before setting foot in the room.

"For the Empress!"

Duke Claudas held the door open for the maid as she waltzed her path inside. Tara settled no more than two meters from the entryway.

"Go further.", the minister egged her to move forward, and she did as she was told.

The Emperor"s demeanour was his usual, scanning the myriad of doc.u.ments on his desk. Nevertheless, Tara guessed that she was permitted to initiate the conversation.

"I greet Your Majesty, the Emperor. I hail from the Soltis palace and serves as the Empress"s maidservant. I have come to seek for help concerning the Empress" condition.", she bowed her head as she articulated her intent.

"Help?"

At this point, Atticus turned his full attention to the maid. He became inquisitive when the woman said that it was related to the Empress. He nodded his head to urge the maid to talk. Tara grasped the cue and recited the lines that she has prepared.

"The Empress... The Empress has not awoken from her lengthy slumber, 24 diers to be precise. I beg of you, aid us in finding a method to cure her."