Classified (HIATUS)

File 2, Part 10 - Her Imperial Majesty

I was supposed to resume my investigation after leaving my older sister's chambers with my bodyguard. However, as we headed toward the basement, I noticed groups of servants clustered together, whispering. Sensing trouble, I pulled my bodyguard aside and hid behind a wall to eavesdrop.

"...Is it true? One of the guards said he heard noises coming from the head gardener's room hours before his final scream."

The words sent a chill down my spine, and I froze momentarily. Composing myself, I strained to catch more.

How much do they know? Hopefully, not too much.

"Yes! The guard said he heard a man's and a woman's moans, gasps, and some... smacking sounds. It seems the head gardener spent the night with someone! And wasn't he found naked in his room, with scratches and nail marks on his back?"

"My, my!" one servant stifled a giggle. "I never imagined him to be so scandalous! Imagine getting intimate with someone in Her Imperial Majesty's palace! He always had such an innocent face-so kind, obedient, soft-spoken, and respectful. I had no idea he even had a lover. He always seemed so lonely."

"Indeed, but the guard's account says otherwise. Honestly, I always found him too perfect-constantly bowing, apologizing at every turn, and helping anyone who asked him to. When he ate with us, he only nodded, smiled, and laughed, barely speaking, gossiping, or getting into disputes. Please, nobody is that modest!"

"Exactly! And if he had a lover, he clearly kept it a secret. But the guard said something else...I cannot believe it."

"Do tell!"

"But...!"

"Get straight to the point!"

The said servant sighed reluctantly, her arms trembling ever so slightly. She clenched her forearms, as if willing herself to steady them, though the unease in her eyes remained.

"The guard, he said..." she began, her voice faltering. "I'm sorry, but..."

She hesitated, swallowing hard, as though uncertain whether to speak further. But the sea of probing eyes pressed upon her, demanding she continue.

"When she spoke, when she asked the gardener to cuddle her, that she loved being coddled by him, that she would not marry any of her suitors..."

Her breath hitched.

"I don't know, but her voice...it sounded like Her Imperial Majesty's."

A stunned silence fell over the group. Faces paled, and eyes darted nervously. It was a thought so outrageous, so unthinkable, that for a moment, no one dared to breathe it aloud.

Oh no. This doesn't look good.

"She WHAT-?!"

"If that was not enough, he indulged her. He told her he loved her, shared ghost stories with her, and wished her lots of luck and energy for her royal duties the next day...!"

"Oh, please, stop now, stop it!" one of them scoffed, almost cackling. "That's not true! That's absurd, not to mention damning! Surely the guard's imagination got the better of him. Surely he misheard."

"No!" Another servant began aggressively pointing fingers at his companions. "That's impossible! Her Imperial Majesty, the most beautiful, powerful, and skilled combatant in the empire? The monarch adored by all, who's so selective with suitors and distant with men? Why would she take a servant as a lover? And why would she sneak into his room instead of summoning him to hers? Preposterous!"

"Let us not forget-she grew up despising romance novels, preferring mysteries instead. Her life has revolved entirely around her royal duties since childhood. Even the late Emperor allowed himself more leisure, whether drinking himself into a stupor or playing the piano for hours after sunset. In contrast, I only ever saw the Empress indulge herself once every few weeks."