The Outsider (Outsider #1) ✔️

Chapter 74 : Dusk's Interrogation

Catherine gulped and ran out of the room. She watched as the attendant closed the door behind her, but she stayed in the corridor worried about her friend, 'Elder Sister Dusk'. She hoped the Emperor would not throw her into the Dungeons for fighting with Rosemary. It was fun to watch them (but scary, they may come on her all of a sudden).

The scarier part, from Catherine's point of view, was that Rosemary had been punished badly and she will want to take revenge on Dusk... She may bash up Dusk next time she finds her alone somewhere or even kill her. She was really strong! But she had Imperial Security, so they would not let Rosemary kill her. But what if the Emperor withdraws her security?

And of course, Catherine worried that Rosemary would ban her from speaking to Dusk again. But she hoped Julien will support Dusk.

Meanwhile, in the audience room, the only ones left in the room were Dusk Hale and the Emperor, William Lidwig.

Dusk fell to her knees, thoroughly ashamed and terrified. It was a huge breach of protocol and etiquette. It went against everything she had been taught since she was a child. To be disrespectful to an elder, to a colleague, to a benefactor who had helped her expecting little in return...To a member of the Royal Family? That also, in the Imperial Palace, the home of the Emperor!

She continued looking at the floor, not daring to look at the Emperor who had not said a word since the door had been closed. She felt tears rolling down her cheeks.

She did not know what had come over her. Perhaps she had spent too much time among the Royals, take in by their pretence that she was one of them. She had forgotten who she was in reality... An ordinary girl from a small village in a desert district of the Empire. Everything she had was gifted to her by the Emperor... Her education at Ci'gazze, the money, the fame, everything.

She heard the Emperor say, "Rise!"

But she continued to kneel, looking down at the floor.

"I asked you to rise, child. Surely you understand what is being told to you." He repeated.

"I am sorry, Your Majesty, I do not deserve to rise and stand before you." She said in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

"Really? That is not the impression I got from you when you were at the Ball 3 days ago."

She remained silent. The Ball was now just an unsubstantial memory to her. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up sharply, finding herself looking directly into the eyes of the Emperor.

The look was not of anger but of concern...

The hand reached down, gripped her upper arm and pulled her to her feet.

"I had expected a lot from you, Dusk Hale."

"I am so, so sorry, Your Majesty!" She replied softly, looking down again. "I just do not know what caused me to behave like the way I did. I am ready for whatever punishment you decide for me. There is no excuse for shouting like that to anyone, far less someone from your family... I deserve to be sent back to my home in disgrace."

"Really...So you think I am angry at you for standing up to someone who was bullying and abusing you? Really?" She thought she heard an element of amusement in his voice.

"Yes, Your Majesty... I had momentarily forgotten who I was. I have no excuse to offer, nor do I wish to offer any. I was momentarily seduced by the feeling of power and the arrogance from the praise everyone seems to be throwing at me... It was a lapse of judgement that clouded my behaviour. In fact, I realise now that my arguments of the morning were an extension of the same mistakes." Dusk said quietly, tears still rolling down her cheeks.