𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙴𝚖𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜' 𝚂𝚘𝚗

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

___

Breathe in, breathe out. There we go, all good.

Instead of panicking and screeching with bloody murder, I chose to remain calm and composed. If I were to cry out about the missing book, the Empress might get suspicious and inquire about the book that I'm talking about.

Besides, I can always ask Eldest for help later.

I also made sure to double-check the filter in my thoughts. I've been too comfortable the last times, who knows whether the Empress was able to read my mind or not. Raising my guard up won't harm me anyway.

The Empress seems oblivious to my mental debation and panic attack. I stood still, hands clasped behind my back. Am I just going to stand here while she seems to be busy with paperworks?

Aureus looks calm for an Empress who almost lost a heir to the throne. She did seem worried earlier and asked where I went, but her mood instantly reverted back to her usual poker face the moment I replied back.

They said I was gone for 3 days, and I thought she would scold me more about my sudden dissappearance. She doesn't seem too concerned to know where exactly I was nor what really happened. Or maybe she was? Her expressions are quite hard to analyze.

And who knows whether I got hostaged or something? Would the Empress still have this same reaction?

I guess it's because she still have Klydeur?

The thought made me feel...I don't know. Sad? Dissappointed? Or insecure? I may not be the real son, but imagine the original Clydeur be treated this way?

It's way worse than I expected.

For such a child to be given the pressure of a future heir, losing their chance to have a proper childhood, only to be discarded and watch as your brother takes everything you worked hard from you. Bonus, he doesn't have any idea why everyone hates him, nor why his own mother killed him!

Haaa, what do I do? The suffocating silence is killing me. Should I act all fluffy and child-like and become the most try-hard mama's boy this year?

Before I can even try to speak about anything, I saw the Empress staring at me. My shoulderblades shook as I flinched from her gaze, blinking my silver orbs curiously. How long was she staring at me like that? I patiently waited if she have anything to say to me.

"..."

"..."

"Mama?"

"..."

Silence.

The staredown between us was just so intense. I think I understand the nobles who gets stared down by Aureus now. But hey, who am I to back down? I stared back just as intensely as she did!

Is she trying to read my thoughts? Well, too bad, I filtered it up with a lot of fake thoughts. Althou it embarasses me since she would only see me thinking about childish thoughts a 10 year old kid like me would think about.

Seconds passed, until almost a minute. I maintained eye contact, noticing none of us ever blinked our eyes. I'm trying hard not to blink, and this caused her to sneer.