The Emperor's First Love (Re-edit)

Chapter 2: Preparation for the Heart

Her anxious heart sang out of beat as her eyes swung to the window. Moist had started forming on her hands as they approached the gates of the Central Palace. When the wheel finally stopped, she licked her dry lips in an effort to calm down, realizing her throat had suddenly run dry. The door of the carriage opened and Leo peaked his head inside the carriage.

Suddenly, he looked uncertain with his furrowed brows, hesitant to ask, "...did I not give you enough time?"

With her pale face, she threw a confused look and asked, "what?"

The man guided her down the carriage to walk the rest of the path towards the Central Palace. As the two of them walked down the path, Radia could not help but notice something unusual about the place. The usual busy sight of the Central Palace, where there were always some form of social gatherings was nowhere to be seen. Unexpectedly, even guards and maids that should be walking around the area during these hours were not present.

Why is that? She furrowed her brows in wonder as they continued to walk along, Leo was leading the way while she followed behind.

"What's going on?" Emerald asked.

From her curiosity, the man looked back at her as if he had already expected such a reaction from her. Then, only turned back around without saying anything. It was a disappointing response— she thought he would, atleast, answer her.

"Not that way, my lady. Please follow me."

The man did not give her even the slightest time to hesitate. She had followed him without second thoughts, cutting corners and turning right. The path led to the East garden, the secluded part of the Palace.

"You okay?"

The man called her for attention and she nodded in response. He appeared to be aware of the complicated thoughts that occupied her mind as they walked further into the garden. The outer part of the garden had fresh green bushes that were like walls cutted and trimmed into rectangular shapes, creating a clear path to where the inner garden would be.

"Are you going to tell me what's happening?"

The man gave her another quick glance. But, soon directed his attention elsewhere. His eyes zoom around the area as if looking for someone and she mirrored his gestures. Who is it that they were looking for?

Caught off guard, she found herself more steps behind him because she was too busy looking at what he was trying to find. Leo was tall and his long stride was not making it easier for her to match his speedy phase. With her long dress dragging to the ground, she pursued to follow him as best she could, trying not to fall. Then, as if she knew already that it was going to happen, the hem of her skirt caught her heels. Leo did not notice because he was too occupied with something. As she secretly kicked the skirt to steady her feet, her failed attempt made her body tilted and leaned forward against her will.

I'm going to fall...

Her eyes widened and her back turned cold. Anxious, her body followed the ground's gravitational pull even if she willed resistance. Unexpectedly, a strong arm wrapped around her waist from behind. The warmth invaded her cold back. The careless touch of another person against an unmarried woman like her felt strange and completely surprising. Her face instantly turned pale in dread.

"Hey."

A languid laugh came forward. The familiar voice sounded gentle in her ears. It was like instinct dictated her to look back and see who it was, though she already knew who the person was.