"What did you say?" He asked.
He felt like his veins will burst from the anger that was arising within him. How could the duke do that without consulting him?!
"The Duke made the right choice. It's already over Your Majesty." She said
Nicholas' head was filled with murderous thoughts. He wanted to release this anger. Everything's not going according to his plans.
He's about to lose her. A voice inside his head keeps saying that he's going to loose her forever. His head is full of those thoughts. And he's scared. He's scared to death. It feels like someone was squeezing his heart making him unable to breathe. If it's going to be like that then, might as well die with her.
He moves closer to her bedroom. His body feels like it has its own mind. Just a simple touch of her, he'll get infected by the disease.
Alarice looked at him with horror. She slowly shakes her head while looking at his dead cold eyes. She doesn't know why but the Emperor was acting strange. She doesn't know what he's thinking but she knows it is not good.
"Stay away from me Nicholas." She firmly ordered.
Tears suddenly fell from his dead cold eyes.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" she shouted. The Emperor just continued walking slowly towards her.
She tries to move away from him.
"CONSTANCE! GET THE EMPEROR AWAY FROM ME! HURRY!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.
The knights outside her room barge in and hold the Emperor.
"No! No! Why are you stopping me?!" He shouted like a mad man.
"Empress' order. Do not let him near my palace unless I say so." She said
"But Your Majesty he is our Empe-"
She cut off Constance.
"He gave me the sole sovereignty of my servants in my palace. I am your master! He might be the Emperor but you, the servants of the Moon Palace is under my direct authority." She said
They drag the Emperor towards his quarters and the doctors inject him drugs so he can calm down and sleep. Alarice sighed.
She looked at her hands with the purple rashes.
"I'm going to die, aren't I?" She mumbled .
"Please don't say that. We'll do our best to cure you Your Majesty." Constance said with worried expression
"It's funny how I can cure the others while I cannot cure myself. The spirits must still be angry at me for marrying to another country despite their protests. But what can I do? I fell in love with the country and I found my purpose in life when I saw those poor people."
And he was also here... She almost blurted out but keep the last one to herself.
She smiled bitterly. I guess this is the end. I just feel bad that my parents are not beside me.
Alarice already died once. She may have died once but strangely she feel scared. She's really really scared.
"Please leave me alone. I want to rest." She said.
Nicholas frequently visited the Alarice but she never once let him in. She even sealed her windows so he can't go inside.
He feels like he's going to loose his mind.
"Your Majesty? Aren't you going to eat?" Qashanna asked as she held his hand on the table gently. They were having a little celebration from hee recovery.
She looked at her. It's been a week since she drank the cure and she's looking healthy now. He's glad.
He's relieved that she and their child was healthy. But at what cost? He doesn't know what to feel. He knows it was not Qashanna's fault and Alarice is right, she needed the medicine more than her.
The thing that he can't accept is that she was always willing to sacrifice herself but never thought of what the people around her might feel.
"You cannot and don't have the rights to say those words to me. Whatever you call that feelings I won't accept it. We're going to part ways in a year so whatever it is you're going to say is useless."
He suddenly remembered her words. He clenched his jaws. What she said was right. Everything that she said was right. After the things that he does on their first year of marriage, his feelings are useless. He knows it that's why he gave it his all during the recent years.
And he knows it was not enough.
But what can he do when she just left like that? What can he do when she was resigned to leave him?
He just can't accept it. He stood at his seat. He's going to pester Alarice again until she doesn't have a choice but to let her see him.
But when he was about to leave, Qashanna grabbed his hand.
"Please Your Majesty, my friends are here to congratulate me. Please at least don't leave me alone." She said
He looked at her intently. How can the Empress Consort host a small party when the Empress Regnant is fighting for her life saving her.
"The Empress is sick. She needs someone on her side." He said coldly
"But I just recovered. Can't you stay and at least look happy for me?" She said
"I already dine with you. I just need to visit her and I'll-"
"She doesn't need you Your Majesty! I'm the one who needs you! She's strong and pretty and smart. She can do everything on her own! You also know that there's nothing you can do to cure her. My father's already making a cure. Why can't you be beside me and be happy that I am fine?! Or what? Do you prefer it that me and our child dies instead of her?!" She shouted
Some guests looked at the two of them. He motioned the servants to let the guests out so they can have privacy.
"That's not it. I am happy that-"
"Really? Is that really the truth?! Ever since that she came our life was an utter chaos. You were mine! You're supposed to only be mine! I'm so relieved that the first concubine died when you gave her your affections but then you shifted your attention to her! I hate it when I have to share you! You're all I have. Please, please don't leave me behind. Please just let her die so we can be together again. " She said desperately
Nicholas was dumbfounded. She was saying that she was happy that someone died. And she was saying that Alarice must die so they can be together once again.
She's looking at a broken woman. It is him who pushed her to become like this. But where did it go wrong? Everything in the past that he did is for her. He desperately tried to gain power for her. He married those women so he can protect her. He made contract with Alarice so he can still protect her and her position.
Alarice never covet her position. He always assured her that she will still protect her. But... What goes wrong?
He did everything for her. Why did she still wanted the life of a woman precious to him? Didn't he gave it his all to her?
"What exactly do you want from me Qashanna?" He asked softly.
"I want the past us. I want the you who only looked at me. I want the you who only spends time with me. And now your time was divided in three women, you even spend more time working with that woman and spends some to your other son! Why can't it be just us Nicholas?"
He looked at her puzzled. "How can I do that?"
She was silent.
"You.." she gulped. "You can hand over the throne to my father as he was the next line in the throne without considering your heirs. Then we can live in the country side together with our sons. Then they can inherit the throne after. That's what my father said when he visited me and he notices that you rarely spend time with me. And he suggested that. We can live quietly in there and have this child inherit the throne after. Mmhh?" She said
Ahh. Is this really the woman that he loved? Is she really saying all of that?
"Qashanna-"
"Your Majesty! It's an urgent news! A maid from the Moon palace just came and said that the Empress Reganant died!" Pierre said after barging in the room.
Nicholas' blood runs cold.
--
Hi! Apologize for the long wait.
As a token of apology, I'll upload another chapter tomrrow.
Thank you!
By the way I wanna hear your opinion badly. Do you think our ML Nicholas is a red flag of nah?
Just needed your opinion so I can know what course should I take haha.
I actually has 2 endings prepared so please please tell me if you think he's a redflag. Thank you!
- author <3