Classified (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

File 2, Part 9 - Her Imperial Majesty

When my older sister's bodyguard and I reached the balcony, I carefully shut the glass doors behind us to avoid waking up my older sister. Then, I leaned on the rail, gazed down, and beheld the expanses of my garden, lined with neatly-trimmed and colorful trees, shrubs, herbs, and flowers. At the center of it was a large, clear pool.

This is a delight to watch, considering the gruesome scenes I encountered earlier.

While I relaxed and gazed at the garden below, I questioned my older sister's bodyguard. "What do you want to say to me?"

She inched closer to me while fixing her eyes on the floor. "I know something that may help you with your investigation," she whispered.

As if on reflex, I stepped back.

Why...why is the bodyguard whispering and moving nearer? Aren't the closed doors behind us enough?

I faced her and realized that she was only an arm's length, making me inhale sharply. "What-?!"

"I apologize for this uncomfortable distance I am maintaining, Your Highness," she murmured, her lips hesitating. "However, I am about to disclose something we should carry to our graves."

The air filled with a disconcerting silence. I gripped the rails and gasped to steady my breath. "What...what is it?"

If she sees the need to invade my personal space just to disclose her secret, it must be something serious and significant.

"Actually," she continued, gripping her hands and leaning slightly closer, "I am aware that Her Imperial Majesty has been secretly escaping on her own to meet the gardener in the late hours of the night."

I blinked.

W...what? The bodyguard knows as well?

"If that is the case," I hissed, "Then why didn't you watch-?!"

"I did, but secretly." She stared hard at the ground. "I did it to fulfill my duty as her bodyguard."

Ah, I see. That is understandable.

"I saw many things," she went on. "However, since I said I would keep this short, I would only share what I saw hours before the gardener died."

Where is this going? Does this mean my older sister...?

"They were together in his room for at least eight hours," she whispered. "They..." She pursed her lips.

My eyes widened. My blood froze. "They...?"

Please do not let it be what I think it is. Wasn't what happened earlier enough? Wasn't their love affair sufficient to vex my nerves? My older sister would do no such action, right? Pursuing a romance was one thing, but engaging in sexual relations is as stupid as it can get for many reasons. In addition, she has always been particular about her image. Why would she risk it just like that?

The bodyguard did not beat around the bush.

"They were intimate, Your Highness. I witnessed it with my own eyes. They first consummated their union a long time ago, and had done so whenever they had the chance. I did not talk about it because I did not know how to process the fact that a servant dared to ruin Her Imperial Majesty and treat her like his harlot. It was also difficult because she found leaving him impossible; he lavished her with love, affection, and passion—things rare and, for a woman of her station, objectionable."

I clutched my head.

Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God...

Oh, my God. How could I have been so stupid? So naive? I'd seen them together three times, with no chaperone, and never once...never once had it crossed my mind.