The Emperor's Concubine

Chapter Seventy

A week passes since the encounter with Lance.
Luna locking herself in her room, only watches the rain continue to pour outside.

"Lady Luna... Will you please have some lunch?" Magnolia calls out.
"I'm not hungry... Please let me be alone." Luna exhaustedly speaks, her gaze remaining outside.

Unable to say another word, Magnolia nods, glancing at Luna with a concerned expression before quietly leaving the room.
As the rain clouds continue to growing, Luna's eyes well with tears.
Ruminating on Lance's words, she questions if his feelings were true. In a confused and dazed state, she can only speculate why the emperor died to save her.
An exhausted sigh exits her lips. Shaking her head to end her spiral of thoughts, she looks around with a weak gaze.

Leaving her room, she languidly walks through the palace. Wearing her cloak with the hood up, she ignores the whispers of the servants who see her.

Walking outside, she mindlessly takes each step—her eyes focused on the gardens being pummeled by rain as she wears a numbed expression.

"Your highness, will you escort me to the spring ball?"

Startled by hearing 'your highness', Luna cautiously glances around the corner—hugging the wall to remain unseen.
The emperor stands by a pillar as a four ladies hover close to him. Princess Levita leans her head against his arm as she gives a sharp look to another lady.

"Mind your manners. One shouldn't ask the emperor for such a demand, right?" Princess Levita speaks, glancing up to Emperor Cabel.
The emperor remains silent, his solemn expression remains as he turns to face away from the ladies that try to speak to him.
"But we're going to be candidates, can't we ask since one of us might marry his highness?" The other princess purrs as she tries to stand closer to him.
"Have patience. He shouldn't ignore his future fiancée so he should carefully decide who to invite." Princess Levita calmly states.

Resting her eyes on the emperor surrounded by candidates, Luna sullenly tiptoes away, turning back to where she came.

Turning a corner as her thoughts trail off, she bumps into a man.
Stumbling slightly, he quickly catches her.

"Goodness, are you alright?"
The man asks.

Luna freezes.
Slowly straightening her posture, she removes her hood to see Duke Oslo. Tears drip down her cheeks as her eyes fall on a familiar face.
He looks back at her with widened eyes—taken aback by the tortured expression she wears.

"Your grace..." Luna stammers, attempting to hold back her sobs.
"You're crying again?" Duke Oslo whispers, his eyes concerned and frustrated at the sight.
Cautiously reaching his gloved hand out, he gently wipes her tears.
"Your grace... Please help me."
Torn by her pleading, Duke Oslo clenches his hand into a fist as he realizes he's being swayed by the sight of her pained expression.
"Lady Luna... I told you it'd be difficult to leave-"
"Please!" Luna pleads, sobbing as she holds onto his jacket sleeve, "I-I don't know what to believe anymore! I don't want to believe his love for me was a lie... I want to believe everything he did for me was genuine... But I'm afraid if I've only been lying to myself... I don't want to know the know what the truth is, because I'm never going to be strong enough to watch the man I love, marry another lady."
Sobbing as she admits the thoughts that left her mind in turmoil. Crying into his chest as he hesitates to comfort her, Duke Oslo can only hover his hand above her back.

"I'm not strong enough to survive this..." Luna whispers, her eyes beginning to close as she submits to her exhaustion, "Why do I have to live if it's only torture?"
Mumbling her ominous words, she collapses in his arms.

Her words seeming to echo through the corridor as the duke gently holds her against his body. Acknowledging her words, he freezes as a cold expression appears on his face.
Waiting for her despairing words to finally stop echoing, he slowly glances down at her. His impassive gaze focused on her swollen red eyes still wet with tears, her complexion pale with heavy bags under her eyes—he tilts his head as he gazes at her for a moment.
Closing his eyes for a moment, he focuses on her exhausted face as he lets out a soft scoff.

"I gave you the chance... Tell me, what do I do when you rely on me like this?" Duke Oslo whispers, his tone sly—yet wearing a subtly pleased expression.

Her body increasingly thinner than the last time he saw her, he furrows his brows.
Gingerly picking her up, her adjusts the hood of her cloak to hide her face. His lip curled into a subtle amused smile—holding her closer to his body as he walks towards the doors.

"I'll help you, but only rely on me." Duke Oslo whispers, a cunning grin on his lips as he enters the palace.

Duke Oslo sits in Emperor Cabel's office, presenting him documents.
"With all the evidence here, I believe we need to act quickly and design new sewage systems."
"Hm, what design do you suggest?" Emperor Cabel stares at the documents.
Duke Oslo places a blueprint down.
"This system will ensure sewage waste will be separated from drains meant for rain water. The materials and structure will ensure there will be no leaks or breakage, and will be easy to access if there is a break."
"I see... Have you approved this design?"
"Yes. Many certified engineers worked on this. I believe it's exceptional, and will ensure the health of the people will be safe."
"I approve this project. I'll get in touch with construction workers to quickly replace the old systems when the rain lets up. Notify all doctors in the empire, and ensure they know of this disease." Emperor Cabel stamps the document, placing the papers into an envelope before handing it back to the duke.
Duke Oslo takes the envelope, staring at it in his hands for a moment.

"Is there anything else you with to discuss?" Emperor Cabel raises his eyebrow.
"Actually, yes... It's regarding Lady Luna." Duke Oslo continues.
Emperor Cabel looks at him confused.

A continuous knocking on her door, causes Luna's eyes to flinch before opening. Waking up, she holds her head as she tries to get ahold of herself.
Sitting up in bed, she looks around—confused as how she got to her room. Noticing a letter on her dresser, she stands to read it—

'Wait for me. -V.O'

"V.O?" She whispers as she reads the note.

The door knocks again, and she quickly slides the card into her drawer.
Approaching the door, her eyes widen as she opens it to see Emperor Cabel.

"Your highness..." Luna whispers with a confused tone.
"We need to talk." Emperor Cabel looks at her sternly.
Anxiously, she steps aside to let him enter.

They sit at the table in silence.
Fiddling her fingers, Luna questions the reason for his visit.
Emperor Cabel's eyes gaze outside as he watches the rain fall with a sullen expression. Taking a deep breath, he wears an unexpressive expression as he turns to look at Luna.

"After today, you will no longer be my concubine." Emperor Cabel breaks the silence.
Luna's eyes widen.
"Your highness?" She whispers, meeting his eyes as her body runs cold at his words.
"You aren't useful to me. Even if you became a queen, it's clear there'd still be an uproar. So, I'm taking your concubine title away, and returning the title of the Avris princess."
Luna's eyes widen, confused.