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It has been a long time since Xander pulled out his sword and pointed the blade to another. Although he was not a heroic figure to swing a sword, he never parted from his weapon.
An emperor is not immortal, after all.
"Speak."
With the back against him, the person in question was frozen. Although the emblem of the Levich empire was sewed on the cloak, the stranger's silence was suspicious.
From the stranger's build, it must be the female, and probably the envoy whose face was never seen by outsiders. Ana. That was her name. Short and ordinary. But anyone from Levich was such a mystery of exoticism and magic surrounding them.
Xander, who was finally finished with his documents, met a few vassals in the Gold Palace, roamed, and found himself in the garden. Even if he was free and laid in his bed earlier, he could not sleep.
If he does, nightmares will haunt him back to consciousness. And so, he was brought there, following the glow of red butterflies he had seen from the window.
From the nape of the stranger's hood, Xander slid his sword to the woman's shoulder, an inch away from her neck.
"What are you doing here at this hour?" he repeated. The maritime treaty hasn't been signed, and both empires are wary of each other. Yet, the envoy, aside from roaming this late, was also defenseless, as if she was asking to be killed in a foreign land.
It was not just Gran Dacchia she must worry about. There were others opposing the treaty between the two empires and would come up with ways to end it before it even began. Some would gladly slice her neck as Levich's envoy for the sake of conflict. A few slow-witted were even caught and now interrogated at the dungeons, and some were being buried. A few of these unnamed enemies are probably still roaming the capital and the imperial grounds.
But the woman was still frozen and silent. One could even mistake her for a clothed stone. With only her cloaked back, he wondered what face would she be making.
Terrified? Angry? Cautious?
After all, he, a famed tyrant, might point his sights towards Levich soon. With his reputation, he couldn't blame her.
He has the intention. To rule the world as he promised, Levich is not an exception. But that would be for later.
"Lady Ana?"
A voice interrupted the silence. The man was Fedimon, Lady Ana's assistant, and has done the early socializing for Levich Empire.
Xander quickly withdrew. A sword pointed to an envoy is as good as pointing to the entirety of Levich, but he does not like to explain himself. And so, a few seconds past, he waited for the cloaked woman to explain to her assistant what has transpired.
But she never spoke a word, nor she moved.
Fedimon opened his mouth and closed it. With the seemingly endless stare at him and back to the other, he said nervously. "Your Imperial Majesty... you thought Lady Ana is an intruder and threatened her, y-yes?"
Xander nodded, somehow appreciated Fedimon's quick wit.
The assistant apologized on Lady Ana's behalf and explained that she was for the Levichian tradition of not showing her face until her official introduction at the Welcome ball.
It was a lie. Not because Xander was knowledgeable of Levichian Tradition, but because Fedimon, no matter how quick-witted he was, could almost not look at him in the eye and fiddled with his hands.
Or maybe because it was fear.
No matter what it was, Xander left first with nothing but a short, "Then I shall officially meet you tomorrow, Ana of Levich."
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Usually, a king's coronation is celebrated annually. However, Xander crowned himself in the day he killed the royal family. The celebration would last a week. The supposed to be a day grand celebration on his coronation has slowly become longer each year for different reasons-
finally purging all the corrupt nobles in the public square, defending the kingdom from outside forces who saw the opportunity, and conquering the same kingdom.
Nobody mourns the death of the royal family. It was as if even after death, they were schemed again as to no one would even remember it was the same day they died.
And here it is, right to the words, the first ball of the week has begun. Xander, who used to be the one entering last, reversed the tradition. Instead, he was on his throne, and the envoys will be welcomed instead.
By common traditions around the world, nobles of highest to lowest would greet the ruling monarch. But the current Gran Dacchia abolished the rules. Aristocracy survived in the empire, but posts were granted through meritocracy. Thus, both classes work harder. Commoners wear their official positions with pride. Nobles also aim for such posts with pride as an aristocrat who, in the first place, was viewed to be already in the upper echelon of society.
This, among other changes, was evident even in how envoys were arranged to have an audience with the emperor. Alphabetical in order, Diana could not ask for bias and place Levich last to greet the king.
As much as possible, she wanted to extend not meeting Xander again, or even not meeting him at all. But she has a duty to perform.
You represent Levich. Don't embarrass us, or else I'll kill you.
Their ruler, Sid, commanded. As short as the young Levichian emperor's name, it was the same with temper.
Diana ignored the stolen glances her way. Each envoy from other places linked arms with a woman. Instead of the list of officials, it looked like a parade of beauty instead. Some cried and seemed to be forced in attendance while more were eager.
It was an open secret that the citizens and mostly the Gran Dacchian officials are desperate for the emperor's marriage. Thus the letter sent out to kingdoms and empires extended to a woman companion aside from officers.
Amidst it all, the representative from Levich was different. Diana, as Lady Anna, was the official envoy while Fedimon was her assistant. She was the only one with a veiled face to cover her appearance, as commanded by Sid as well.
Surprise them. We Levichians are not boring.
And so, she willingly obliged.
As the line shortened and Diana and Fedimon took another step closer to the entrance, a movement caught her eye. A castle maid was approaching the line but was unusually focused on Diana, with hands inside her apron.
Then there was a dagger being raised in the air, but before it could pierce through Diana, Fedimon tripped the woman. In the process, the castle maid fell, pulling Diana's veil while the other hand with a dagger ripped a part of her red gown.
There was a commotion as the maid, who had become a nervous wreck of screams and apologies, were apprehended face down on the floor. Diana was not a bit surprised. She was already aware that some extremists from Levich are against the reopening of ship routes. Killing the envoy is the best way not just to ignite conflict but to put off negotiations to never. She won't be surprised as well if there are other parties involved.
"Lady Anna, are you alright?" Fedimon asked.
"Are you alright?" she asked him back. Probably the only man in an island continent who hated sailing and had a lost list of fears, he was pale and trembling.
He nodded. "Arash. (Yes.)"
And then there was silence.
With the veil gone, everyone could see her face, who was once just paintings and drawing of scrolls sent out for the search of the emperor's ex-fiancee believed to be swallowed by the sea.
Now, she was in the flesh, telling the knights and officials that the investigation for her life's attempt will have to wait.
Good for you, Sid, she thought Surprise them indeed.
"My turn," she told the imperial crier who was gaping at her, like the others.
Only then the man closed her eyes and took a deep breath to claim back his calm and dignity. The imperial crier opened the door to announce her entrance.
"L-Lady Ana of Levich!" His voice cracked.
With the torn gown, like a high slit, Diana stepped into the room.
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9th Year of Alexander's Reign
19th day of the 5th Month
7th hour of the Twin Moons
It is believed that once a person dies, the God of Death Erythros will take the soul to the Sea of No End in the realm of gods. There, the soul's sins are judged and cleansed, memories erased, and be reborn.
That is, if a person died.
But the woman thought to have been dead for almost a decade, was now walking towards the throne, and very much alive.
The nobles excluded from the emperor's purging years ago, whispered among themselves, but the shocked expressions were like screams echoing in the grand hall.
Almost ten years since then, but no one could forget the face of the emperor's ex-fiancee. The face who was painted and spread far and wide in the emperor's search earlier in his reign, the face rumored to fill the treasure room with her paintings, she was known as the heart of the tyrant monarch.
Was. Because she was believed to have died.
And now, the once dead Diana of Alcotta is marching, her steps buried in the soft red carpet. She was not swallowed by the sea along with Hudithe II as the people believed. The woman led a line of servants, silk, pearls, and jewels, as gifts from the Empire of Levich.
The whore became the right hand of the Levichian emperor. The ex-fiancee became a potential enemy of war.
Her red gown dragged behind her, like shedding petals of roses, yet as flowy as water. Her face was as peaceful as the calm before the storm.
She stopped, a few feet from the stairs leading to the throne.
Only then, she looked up to the man who seemed to never age, except the fierce glint in his eyes, sharper and colder than she had seen him. And then shock. Disbelief. Fear. Longing.
As Xander slowly rose from his throne with all the emotions on his face, she curtsied as elegantly as any princess, yet, her back was straight and proud as any king. Slowly, she bent her knee as the rest of her followers did.
"Greetings to the Sky of Gran Dacchia, Emperor Alexander."
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HAPPY NEW YEAR! 😊
-Ellena Odde ❤