The Solitude of an Emperor [TO BE UNPUBLISHED]

25 : The Proposal

As Esteban put his hand to her slender waist, he pulled her closer to his chest as he started leading the dance. His heart was melting by just thinking about dancing with the Princess in front of Captain Theobarlt. It felt so good that he does not want to stop dancing with her while they are being watched by everybody as they are seen to be perfect for each other.

When he started turning and moving to another place, Esteban's eyes met Captain Theobarlt who's standing beside the Princess' seat. He could not hide the triumph on his face while seeing the sourness in Captain Theobarlt's face. He pulled Princess Darya closer as he smelled her beautiful fragrant hair. He cannot get enough. He wants to cage her in his arms and keep her by himself.

He was about to lean closer to her to kiss her lips but she looked away, making him kiss her cheek instead. "How does it feel to become a Duke, Esteban?" Princess Darya started to ask, to divert Esteban's attention and stop clinging unto her.

"I am overjoyed, Your Highness, especially that I can now stand closer to your side."

"I am afraid that I would kill that over enjoyment, Duke Esteban."

"May I ask why?" Esteban lost the smile on his face as he noticed that the Princess does not look happy for him. "Have you lost your love for me, Your Highness? I am a second away from proposing marriage to-

"I am sad to say that I have never mentioned having loved you, Duke Esteban."

Esteban stood petrified after hearing what she said. He cannot continue to dance anymore as his limbs start weakening with the picture of their happy marriage fading in his mind.

"W-What?"

With the silent reply of Princess Darya, he did not know but he started feeling hot all over his head and he clenched his fist to stop his raging heart.

"Have you perhaps fallen out of love and found yourself admiring that man?" His eyes turned to Captain Theobarlt for a second before he looked at her again.

Princess Darya already noticed the rage swirling on Esteban. She does not plan on making a commotion in an event she organized so she reached for Esteban's cheek to calm him down.

She had a question in her mind that kept pestering her. 'Why did he change?' This is not the Esteban she knew in her past life. Perhaps... is it because she has changed the sequence of her first life that everyone is changing too? Yes, of course, how could she deny that many things changed as soon as she came back in time? It is just like how she got close to Captain Theobarlt when she had never met him in her first life.

However, Esteban is still the Esteban in her first life. He will betray her in the future, no, he already betrayed her by just hiding the whole truth about his son and Kathika. From the first place, Esteban is not on her side.

"You should rest for a while, Duke Esteban. You seem to have been exhausted after the hunting competition." She showed a reassuring smile to calm him down. There Esteban breathed in and out before he kissed her palm.

"I would like to talk to you about this matter, Your Highness. I will be sending you a letter." He demanded before stepping back to bow his head and leave.

Princess Darya watched Esteban leave before she came out to the balcony to take some fresh air. However, no matter how she wants to empty her mind, she could not help but think about how she would reject Esteban's proposal once he sent a formal letter about marriage to the Emperor. Now that he had become the Duke, the Emperor cannot reject such a proposal from the Dukedom.

This is another trump card of the anti-imperial faction. It is just like what happened in her first life but it took earlier than expected. Is it because of the rumour about her and Captain Theobarlt that pushed them to make Esteban the Duke so she could marry her?

Their first goal is to make Esteban become her consort. Their second goal is to kill her to make Esteban the Emperor. Now that she thinks of it, it was a very ambitious goal. They took advantage of her feelings towards Esteban to take over the Largoth Empire. But no, she does not want the Largoth Empire to suffer from the hands of the Garrett family in the future.

This is for the future of the Largoth Empire.

"Your Highness," Captain Theobarlt comes in to check on her. "Are you alright?"

She sighs before asking. "Can you come closer?"

Captain Theobarlt immediately walked closer to her. Later, he felt the removal of his blindfold as he opened his eyes and met Princess Darya's morganite eyes. Princess Darya raised her hand to touch his cheek as she stared at his red eyes, feeling solitude from it. Why does it feel like he is home?

"Your eyes are really charming, Captain Theo."

She cannot get enough of his eyes. Since the time she looked at it, she can never ignore it again. And she knows that she will keep looking for it when she does not feel alright with herself.

"Yours as well, Your Highness." Captain Theobarlt looked at her morganite eyes that resembled the beauty of the sky he once saw in his younger years.

It was a beautiful scenery that he would never forget as it gave him hope to go on living in his hellish life. Her eyes are like the broken pieces of his heart that become in hers. When he looks at it, strangely it makes him linger to something he longed to feel all this time.

In the middle of his daydream, he came back to senses when Princess Darya chuckled, "You are so handsome, Captain Theo." His vision went dark. "...so put your blindfold back before anyone sees it." Princess Darya finished tying the blindfold back.

"There, it is settled." She tapped his shoulder. "Take me back to rest." She pulled him out of the balcony but he turned his gaze towards the next balcony after feeling presence there.

Young Master Lorenzo was just at the next balcony, standing behind the curtains, witnessing everything. He was so mesmerized to see the First Princess that he followed her out of his will but he ended up seeing an unexpected scenario. When the two of them left the balcony, he finally let out the loud breath he held.

He cupped his beating chest as he felt the trembling of his legs because of what he saw. Red eyes... He clearly saw red eyes! Was he caught by that man earlier? But how did he know that he was there? Red eyes, he heard it from stories that beast and monsters have red eyes. So that means...

'T-That man is a monster...'

Should he tell this to his father? But what if that monster comes to kill him if he says something?! What should he do?

***
END OF CHAPTER 25
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