FLBE Chapter 9 Part 1

As Liena entered the imperial palace, she rushed to her room with urgency, throwing the door open and calling out a long-missed name.

 

 

 

“Emma!”

 

 

 

But as always, the room was neatly organized and empty. Thinking Emma might be in the kitchen, Liena started to leave but then decided to stay in the room. She didn’t want to miss her by wandering around.

 

 

 

Her room, which she hadn’t seen for days, looked the same. Still clean, yet…

 

 

 

“It feels strange. It’s only been a few days at the temple, and it already feels unfamiliar?”

 

 

 

Well, had it ever felt comfortable? Without Emma, there wouldn’t have been any attachment to this place. In that short time, she had grown quite fond of Emma.

 

 

 

With a bitter expression, Liena ran her palm over the furniture and dining table, wandering aimlessly around the room. Thinking of Emma, who would have cleaned so meticulously that not a speck of dust remained, made her miss her even more.

 

 

 

To Liena, Emma had become like a mother.

 

 

 

“You’ve returned.”

 

 

 

“…!”

 

 

 

At the sudden cold voice, Liena’s shoulders flinched. The voice she hadn’t heard in days seemed even harsher. She feared Rhetrik might be angry for her impulsive trip to the temple. Surely, he knew what she had been doing there.

 

 

 

“Y-Your Majesty, have you been well?”

 

 

 

Liena turned and greeted him, her voice trembling. She forced a smile, but it quickly froze. Rhetrik’s face, seen after so long, had grown even colder and sharper than before.

 

 

 

He looks a bit thinner. Did something happen?

 

 

 

“What have you been doing?”

 

 

 

“Huh?”

 

 

 

The man standing at the door asked with a puzzled expression. Only then did Liena realize she had been absentmindedly wiping the furniture.

 

 

 

“Oh, it’s just that the room is so clean. Haha, Emma is really meticulous.”

 

 

 

She quickly lowered her hand and awkwardly fiddled with her fingers, trying to cover her embarrassment.

 

 

 

“So, you weren’t waiting for me?”

 

 

 

“What…?”

 

 

 

“Were you waiting for Emma?”

 

 

 

“Oh, no. I mean, just…”

 

 

 

She thought their relationship had improved before she left for the temple, but now it felt like they were back to square one. Fearful of the man in front of her, Liena’s fingertips trembled.

 

 

 

“Enter.”

 

 

 

“…?”

 

 

 

Liena’s eyes widened at his sudden command. Soon, a maid entered, bowing deeply before Rhetrik.

 

 

 

“She will be your new maid from today.”

 

 

 

“…What? But I already have Emma…”

 

 

 

“You won’t be seeing Emma anymore.”

 

 

 

A foreboding feeling crept up her spine. She felt like something was terribly wrong.

 

 

 

“Why, why…?”

 

 

 

“Because Emma has been demoted from head maid to servant for failing to protect you.”

 

 

 

“What?!”

 

 

 

“Anyone who fails to protect their master and disobeys my orders cannot live in the palace. In fact, execution would be the appropriate punishment. However, considering her past loyalty, I showed mercy and demoted her to a servant instead. Isn’t that generous of me?”

 

 

 

It was the first time he had smiled since entering the room. But his smile was so chilling that Liena froze in place.

 

 

 

Emma was demoted because of me, because of my actions?

 

 

 

She never imagined this would happen. Despite Emma’s warnings, her reckless actions had nearly cost Emma her life.

 

 

 

All her hopeful expectations were shattered. She had thought Emma would be the first to welcome her back to the palace, to scold her for taking so long, to tell her how worried she had been, and then to embrace her warmly.

 

 

 

Because of her careless actions, Emma had been endangered and lost her precious routine. Her stubbornness had put Emma in danger.

 

 

 

Oh, what have I done? While Emma was suffering, what was I doing?

 

 

 

Liena felt suffocated, her chest tightening with guilt.

 

 

 

At the end of her aimless gaze, she noticed his shoes approaching. As she looked up blankly, she saw his lips curl into a satisfied smile, a smug expression that seemed to say, ‘This is what happens when you defy me.’

 

 

 

“You look like you’ve lost some weight.”

 

 

 

“……”

 

 

 

“Didn’t they feed you at the temple? Or did that bastard torment you that much?”

 

 

 

Liena looked up at the man standing in front of her with a blank expression. His lips were smiling, but his dark eyes were filled with a frightening intensity. Her body kept trembling, her mind in such disarray that she couldn’t tell if it was because she feared him or worried about Emma.

 

 

 

“Y-Your Majesty.”

 

 

 

“Speak.”

 

 

 

“Please let me see Emma. I-I have something to tell her.”

 

 

 

“Tell me. I’ll pass on the message.”

 

 

 

“Ahh… I-I need to tell her myself.”

 

 

 

Her voice caught in her throat, and she stammered more with each word. She didn’t know if it was her increasingly trembling body or the rising sobs that caused it.

 

 

 

“I told you, you’ll never see her again. I can’t let my precious Omega be with a criminal—”

 

 

 

“No, it’s not like that!”

 

 

 

Rhetrik’s eyebrows twitched at Liena’s sudden outburst. His eyes, as black as the deep sea, raged like a storm. But Liena saw nothing. A criminal? Who was he calling a criminal?

 

 

 

“We haven’t seen each other in so long, and this is how you behave.”

 

 

 

“E-Emma! Emma is not a criminal. She tried to stop me that day. It was my stubbornness that led me there! So if anyone should be punished, it should be me! Emma did nothing wrong!”

 

 

 

“Regardless, she failed to protect you, didn’t she? Because she couldn’t protect you, you went to the temple, and thus, my possession was defiled by another man. Do you know how ridiculous that makes me look? I even considered sending her severed head to the temple. Maybe then you would have come crawling back.”

 

 

 

“You’re insane.”

 

 

 

“You drove me insane. How dare you defy my orders and go there?”

 

 

 

“I’m a Saintess! Is it wrong for a Saintess to be at the temple? And Roan is like a mentor to me! If my mentor is ill, shouldn’t I, as his disciple, visit him? Is that so wrong?”