The Solitude of an Emperor [TO BE UNPUBLISHED]

73: Perception

Crown Prince Reginald was grinning ear to ear upon hearing the Emperor’s summon. No wonder he was feeling good this day, it was because his beloved Emperor would call for his presence. He was walking confidently in the hallway. The brightness of his face lit it up. The maids are starting to believe that they might have been seeing an actual angel. This was their first time to see Crown Prince Reginald this enthusiastic.

“My Sage,” as soon as the Emperor appeared in his eyes, his feet immediately moved faster as he approached her from the back. So then, he wrapped his arms around the Emperor from the back as he kissed her head.

“I have been missing your touch, Your Majesty.” He started rubbing his face to her cheeks, cuddling like a child. “Your smell… your lips…” he was about to kiss her lips but she was able to divert it.

“Please have a seat, your highness.”

Reginald flinched as he lost his interest. He stood up properly and sat opposite her. Now, he had his usual business smile. 

“I wonder why my Sage summoned me as of the moment. Have you missed me as well?”

Darya did not react to his question and just took a sip of her tea. “I would like to have a formal conversation with you about some issues.”

Reginald’s smile twitched because of the downright rejection but he managed to still act natural. “It would be an honor to have a discussion with you, my Sage.” He took a cup of tea and sipped it.

“This is about the number of immigrants from the Corstan Kingdom.”

Reginald was silenced as Darya continued, “I have no concern with foreigners coming to my Empire and becoming one of my people. What gives me turmoil is the reason as to why Corstan people, specifically people coming from a neighbouring country, decided to live their lives in a neighbouring country that is just the same as their homeland.” Emperor Darya purposely stirred her tea, acting as if she was telling a story. Reginald could only look at the movements of her hands as well.

“I would have accepted it if they were coming from a faraway continent but isn’t this…” Darya paused for a while as she raised her head to meet his eyes. “…suspicious?” She continued, not leaving bits of sight of Reginald’s expression.

To not make it more suspicious, Reginald remained relaxed as his lips crept up to show a reassuring innocent smile. He would never worry about showing his real expression, since he was a child, maintaining posture and expression had been taught to him. 

“How could I let my people raise suspicion to my Sage,” he beamed. “I have no idea that this situation could make my wife pay attention to my kingdom. This is a great development of our connection, my Sage. Isn’t this a sign that I have built a stronger connection to Your Majesty now that you have shown concern about us?”

Reginald might have succeeded in diverting the main topic but he knows very well that he was caught and that he needs to be more careful as he should start thinking about more plans if ever one plan might not succeed. Now, he feels like he is sitting in a weak chair above a thousand thorns and that one wrong move, one of its foundations could break— leading him to fall into the trap.

 Darya did not show any abnormal reaction. She nodded and just got along with him. 

“I apologize for expressing my suspicion, your highness. I believe that I have taken unnecessary emotion due to the workload of the ruler of the Empire. In fact, I do not want us to misunderstand each other as I want to stay in peace with your country.”

“I would like to apologize as well for raising suspicion to you, Your Majesty. I would also like to have more time with you as my wife and as a ruler of my kingdom’s neighbouring country.” Reginald was still smiling but he knows well that this is the end of their conversation. He knows that the purpose of the “summon” is to “inform” him or simply “warn” him about Emperor Darya’s rising suspicion of him.