Chapter 16

The maid adjusted the ribbon at Emma’s waist again, and the loosened dress shamelessly revealed the striking curves of her body.

Emma lifted her chin with a satisfied expression.

It was painful to watch.

Especially because, to me, she still looked like nothing more than a teenage girl.

“Bring me some wine.”

Things were getting worse.

Emma drank some wine and lightly patted her cheeks.

It seemed she was deliberately trying to make her face flush.

At last, she stepped away from the mirror.

As if waiting for that moment, a maid picked me up and placed me in Emma’s arms.

The strong scent of rose water from her body was unbearable.

So every night she brings me, she plans to seduce the Emperor like this?

Oh my god…

How old is Klaus?

Twenty? Twenty one?

He can’t be older than that.

How long can he endure this torture?

The fact that I’m helping make it happen made me feel miserable.

Before leaving the room, the maids draped a coat over Emma.

It was a long red coat with a hood, very eye catching.

If Emma went to the Emperor’s residence like this, she wouldn’t look like the caretaker of a sacred creature but more like a concubine.

A woman who knocks on the door of the Emperor’s private residence late at night, wearing sleepwear under her coat.

Despite such bold behavior, the girl holding me had a heart pounding wildly.

She must be scared. Terrified.

After all, she was facing Klaus the First, known as the Blood Emperor.

That made her boldness up close even more chilling.

What if Klaus suddenly created a new crime for indecency.

Emma walked quietly down the long corridor and arrived at the audience chamber.

“I have brought the sacred creature.”

Even though she was trembling, her voice echoed through the hall, calm and composed.

The guards opened the doors with a heavy clang.

Only minimal lamps were lit in the Emperor’s space.

We passed through the audience chamber and then the vast residence beyond.

Emma knocked on the door of the Emperor’s quarters.

Knock knock.

A door that no one except the bedroom attendants could enter.

The girl standing before it had eyes that shone brighter than the oil lamps.

“I have brought the sacred creature, Your Majesty.”

“Enter.”

A brief reply came, and Emma opened the door with trembling hands.

I hoped Klaus would immediately order her to put me down, but he remained buried in documents, silent.

Emma swallowed and took a step forward.

One step, two steps. There was no way Klaus didn’t notice her approaching.

Yet despite all the effort she had put into her appearance, Klaus didn’t look up at her even once.

At last, Emma placed me on the Emperor’s desk.

“Good work.”

Even as he said that, he only glanced at me briefly and kept his focus on the documents.

Emma showed no sign of disappointment.

She simply bowed politely, maintaining her composure.

At this point, I wasn’t sure whether to pity her or find her annoying.

Either way, I was finally back with the Emperor.

The safest place.

* * *

A few days passed, more than enough for me to grow to dislike Emma.

One morning, she went out for a walk in the still cold garden with her friends and servants.

I had only been dozing in a basket, but before I knew it, I was being taken along.

One of the servants had picked up the basket with me inside.

Even with the custom cloak Michaela had made for me, it was freezing outside.

No one had ever made me endure winter outings like this before, yet Emma was such a terrible caretaker.

After more than an hour of shivering in the cold, I was completely awake.

On the way back to the palace, I spotted Lydia beneath the stairs.

She was holding a bucket bigger than her body, and her red cheeks looked like they might freeze.

Even though she was working outside, her clothes were no different from usual, which made me feel ridiculous for having shivered earlier.

When Lydia saw the nobles approaching, she hurriedly tried to lower her head, but when she noticed me in the basket, she lifted her gaze for just a moment.

It was truly just a moment.

But unfortunately, Emma seemed to catch that brief glance.

She stopped walking.

“A kitchen servant?”

At Emma’s sharp tone, Lydia shrank back.

She stood awkwardly, still holding the heavy bucket of fish.

“I-I am merely a servant girl running errands, my lady…”

Looking closer, even her thin clothes were heavily stained.

Emma stepped toward Lydia.

“And yet you dared to meet the eyes of the sacred creature, who is above you.”

What are you even saying?

You never treated me like someone above you, so why say something like that?

Startled, Lydia finally set the bucket down.

Her worn knees dropped onto the frozen ground.

“I’m sorry. The sacred creature was so beautiful that I…”

I couldn’t hold back anymore.

I leaped out of the basket and ran to Lydia.

“Nya-ong.”

I placed my paw on her forehead and cried.

It was the only way I could stand up for her, and it made me feel helpless.

Pressing her lips close to the ground, Lydia whispered softly.

“Please pretend you don’t know me, sacred creature. I beg you.”

She was right.

We had only met because of a secret at dawn, and no one should know about it.

Even so, I turned around boldly, raising my tail as if to protect her.

The noble girls burst into laughter.

“The little sacred creature is so compassionate.”

“Look at that elegant posture. It’s like the goddess of the earth resides within her.”

As the mood lightened with laughter and praise, Emma also turned away.

“Next time, I will not forgive so easily.”

After speaking about ranks and such, Emma walked past me without even sparing a glance at me standing on the cold ground.

Then after just one step, she turned back.

“But what is that foul smell? Do fish frozen in ice smell like that?”

I froze in disbelief as someone let out a small laugh.

The immature ladies all burst into laughter as if it were a signal, while poor Lydia remained collapsed like a tiny dot on the ground.

It would soon be time for a meal.

These girls would mock a child who handled fish with bare hands in this cold, then eat without a second thought.

Standing in front of her, my body trembled.

I couldn’t tell if it was from the cold or anger.

Soon, the maids came and picked me up, placing me back into the basket.

I couldn’t even exchange a glance with Lydia, who remained stuck to the ground.

By now, I was completely sick of Emma’s two faced nature.

The image of Emma acting like a gentle girl beside Michaela kept flashing in my mind.

Michaela was young, but she was righteous.

Even with absolute power, the only time she ever raised her voice was in front of her brother.

I still couldn’t forget how she was willing to imprison herself for a temple attendant.

If she saw this side of her friend, she would surely be disappointed.

Even that thought hurt.

In the end, I decided to stop cooperating with Emma’s little doll act for the sake of peace.

Whatever happens, happens.

Even the youngest, least educated servant in this palace would be kinder than Emma.

* * *

Clatter clatter, the sound of hooves echoed outside the window.

Emma lazily reached out toward me as I sat by the fireplace.

It was obvious what Emma Schmidt was trying to do, but now I had made up my mind.

I would ruin every one of her plans.

For once, I fluffed up my tail and hissed.

Everyone around was startled, but Emma only frowned slightly and tried to soothe me.

“Sacred creature, it is time to greet His Majesty.”

I don’t need you to hold me to greet him.

I hissed even louder, almost like a scream.

The chamberlain had already entered the audience chamber and clicked his tongue.

Thinking about it, the Schmidt family seemed particularly lacking in faith compared to others, almost on the same level as Klaus.

Everyone in Herera Palace except the imperial family and the Prime Minister spoke to me with respect, but not the chamberlain.

Emma only used polite words, yet treated me entirely like an object.

The sound of hooves outside multiplied and then came to a stop.

After that, multiple footsteps echoed as they entered the palace.

Emma seemed to grow impatient and dared to reach for the hissing cat.

I let out a sharp cry and swung my paw.

“Hiss!”

I only meant to scare her.

I didn’t intend to hurt her, but…

My claws must have brushed her dress, because the pearls decorating it came loose all at once.

The scattered pearls bounced across the floor noisily.

I froze in shock just as Klaus entered.

At the same time, Emma screamed.

“Aah!”

Wasn’t that a bit late for a scream?

Emma Schmidt covered her chest with both hands as if I had torn it open, her face flushed.

One of the nobles who had gone hunting with the Emperor asked with concern.

“Are you alright, my lady?”

Emma cunningly filled her eyes with tears, and the chamberlain, as if she had suffered something terrible, removed his cloak and draped it over her shoulders.

“The sacred creature has been quite aggressive these past few days.”

Then he whispered to her in a voice loud enough for others to hear.

“Your dress is ruined. Go change.”

Emma hurried out of the audience chamber.

I had become a vicious cat who ruined the dress of the greatest noble lady in the land.

Had I committed a serious mistake worthy of punishment?

Maybe I had.

They called me a sacred creature and treated me well most of the time, but sometimes they still called me a beast.

With the Prime Minister absent, there was no one in the audience chamber who would dare take my side.

As I hesitated near the fireplace, Klaus cast a brief glance at me.

Maybe it was just my guilt, but it felt like there was blame in his gaze.

I looked away, and Klaus spoke to the chamberlain.

“The sacred creature ruined your niece’s dress. I will compensate. Call a tailor and have a new one made.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The chamberlain barely managed to suppress his rising smile.

Since Klaus didn’t blame me, I didn’t fully realize at the time what mistake I had made.

That I had placed a debt upon the Emperor, a man who never owed anything to anyone in the entire Empire.