After dressing up her wounds, Emilia rested in her room for a while and fell asleep. When she opened her eyes again, it was already late in the night and she had missed her duty.
She stood up, managing to dress up despite the pain in her hand, and made her way to Lucas's chambers.
Emilia saw Lucas sitting at his desk, with his back stiff and his eyes brooding like he was deep in thoughts.
She exhaled quietly, before knocking gently on the door.
"Enter," Lucas called, his voice low and sharp, like the snap of cold steel.
The door creaked open, and Emilia stepped in.
She walked slowly, her right hand hidden behind her, and her head lowered in greetings.
Emilia could feel the cold air around him, and it even made her shudder a little.
Yes, she was late, but how could he be angry about it without finding out why?
"Your Majesty, please pardon me for arriving later than usual." she apologized, but received no response from him and waited with her head still bowed.
"If you are still angry, then how about I get someone else to attend to you?" she asked, hoping he would let her off easily, but Lucas raised his head, visibly displeased with her suggestion.
"Grind some ink for me," he finally said, and Emilia sighed disappointed.
"Yes, Your Majesty," she mumbled, and moved toward the cabinet where the ink supplies were usually kept quietly.
She opened the drawers one by one, searching for the ink stone, and her brows knitted as each came up empty.
Emilia turned towards the other side, and continued to search, hoping to find it on her own and not having to ask Lucas, but accidentally scratched her right hand and let out a yelp.
Lucas turned slowly towards her, distracted and curious.
"What is it?" he asked.
Emilia straightened, lifting her eyes slightly but not enough to meet his.
"I can't find the ink stone, Your Majesty," she answered, adding her hand behind her again.
Lucas lifted his hand and gestured toward the side table near him.
"It's over here."
Emilia bit her lips, fuming and annoyed that the ink stone had been beside him all this while, and approached the table again slowly.
She picked up the ink stone but couldn't use her right hand, which was injured, so she had to use her left hand, and she struggled to get it done, almost spilling the ink on her body.
Lucas watched her struggle for a few seconds and cleared his throat.
"You aren't you using your other hand?" he asked,
Emilia raised her head, surprised he noticed and shook her head.
"No reason, I was just trying to see if I could grind well with this hand as well," she said, flashing a forced smile at him.
Lucas stared at her with a grim face, clearly not taken in by her explanation. He sighed, trying to hold himself back, but then suddenly grabbed her right arm, exposing it.
Emilia glared at him, startled and tried to retract her hand, but he was stronger.
"Are you a fool?"
"Do you think you can hide this from me?" Lucas asked, his face etched with anger.
Emilia swallowed, a bit fazed before responding to him.
"I am fine," she told him, and tried to retract her hand again.
"What happened?" Lucas questioned, letting go of her hand and she placed a distance between them quickly.
Emilia sighed, seeing that he wouldn't let go unless she answered him and decided to give him a different explanation instead of the truth.
"I was careless while I was working and injured myself," she told him.
"What work?" Lucas questioned, still not convinced and Emilia sighed, thinking hard of something he would believe.
"I was trying to pick some fruits in the garden," she lied, lowering her head.
"There are no fruits planted in the garden," Lucas pointed out, exposing her lies and Emilia immediately tried to rectify her mistake, but he cut her off.
"Catherine told me what happened," he said.
"What?" Emilia mouthed, surprised and pissed at Catherine for being a scatter box. She should have known not to trust her.
"Why?"
"Do you really think you can hide it from me?" Lucas asked with a piercing stare.
But Emilia remained silent, lowering her gaze again.
"Do you think you have two lives?" he snapped at her.
Emilia stared confusedly at him, and wondered why he was angry. It couldn't be because Catherine was involved in her injury.
"If you are concerned that I will blame Catherine, then you don't have to be," she told him, but Lucas got even more upset.
He sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead as frustration simmered beneath his skin, then he gestured at her.
"Come here," he ordered, but Emilia refused to move.
Lucas's expression darkened at her disobedience, and he warned.
"Do you want me to come over instead?"
The threat in his voice was enough to let her know he wasn't playing.
Reluctantly, Emilia stepped forward, stopping at the table's edge which stood as the only thing separating them and her heart pounded like a war drum.
"What did the letter say?" Lucas demanded, his eyes fixed on her.
Emilia's lips part slowly.
"It was nothing."
"Nothing?" Lucas repeated, fuming.
"Is that why you asked Catherine to keep it from me?" he questioned.
Emilia pursed her lips with reluctance, unwilling to tell him that it was because she didn't trust him but shrugged and answered.
"It was just a vain threat," she replied nonchalantly.
"I didn't need to trouble you with it. I can handle it on my own."
Lucas rose in one fluid motion, anger flickering across his face.
"Handle it?" he snapped.
Emilia shifted away, feeling a bit intimidated.
"Then why did you want to hide it from me?"
"I didn't hide it," she answered, her eyes faltering under his intense stare.
"I simply didn't think it was necessary to trouble you with such a trivial matter," she said, puzzled by his concern.
"I am the one to decide that!" Lucas yelled, and seized her wrist in one swift motion. His grip was stronger than before and his finger pressed into her skin with restrained force.
Emilia saw fear in his eyes, but it disappeared before she could make something of it.
"This is my palace," he growled.
"Everything within it is mine to protect, including you."
Emilia scoffed bitterly, furious at his words and wrenched free from his grip.
"Then why didn't you protect any of the queens before me?" she snapped, her eyes filled with accusation.
The words struck deep at Lucas, and his hand dropped as though burned, but the fire in his eyes blazed hotter. His breath deepened and his jaw clenched.
"Get out," he ordered, his voice low and dangerous.