āWhy the surprise? Who could the invitation be fromā¦ā
āWho brought this?ā
āIt was just an ordinary servant. Whatās wrong, My Lady?ā
āā¦Nothing.ā
Elena folded the invitation again and placed it back the envelope. It was not wise to disclose the identity of the person who sent the invitation without confirming it first, and Elena saved her words from Michael.
āAnyway, thank you. Iāll see to the rest of the letters later, so place them on my desk.ā
āYes, My Lady.ā
Elena put on a composed expression and headed to her room. However, her mind was whirling storm beneath. She felt like she was becoming entangled little by little with the imperial family. As emperor of the Ruford Empire, Sullivan could have sent an official edict from the palace, or have a messenger deliver it directly to her. There must be a reason, however, for mailing out a common invitation.
Elenaās first thought was that he wanted to see her personally, like the way Carlisle visited Blaise mansion. If it wasnāt an official invitation, then perhaps he wanted to do it in secret? She knew that discussion about marriage would come up eventually, but she didnāt expect Sullivan to reach out to her first.
Elena opened the door to her room and entered.
āā¦Itās a pain.ā
Whatever Sullivanās intentions were, she intended to share her thoughts will Carlisle on this issue. Until now she was accustomed to acting on her own, but several of her experiences led her to conclude that it was better if the both of them solved problems together.
She made to tie a red handkerchief to the window out of habit, but then paused.
āAh, Sir Kasha is wounded now.ā
He was probably recovering somewhere, and summoning him would be useless. At the same time, she half expected him to show up too. She imagined that he would come in nonchalantly and ask, āWhat did you call me for?ā However, while the bodyguard Len knew he was injured, Lady Elena was supposed to be ignorant of his current condition. She wondered what would happen if she tied the handkerchief as if she didnāt know anything, but she soon closed her mind to it.
āJust let him rest.ā
If he really did show up injured, he would try to hide it. She placed the handkerchief back in the drawer, then walked to her desk and wrote a brief letter to Carlisle. Although there was little chance of the contents being read by anyone else, she kept the details vague just in case.
Seugeuā
She sealed the letter for Carlisle in an envelope, then looked over at the invitation sent by Sullivan.
For some reason her heart was restless.
*
*
*
The day after Elena sent the letter to Carlisle, a visitor arrived from the Crown Princeās palace early in the morning. When Elena heard the news, she hurried into the drawing room and saw Zenard waiting for her. He looked at her respectfully, very unlike when he was dealing with Len.
āW-welcome.ā
Elena pretended to greet him awkwardly, and Zenard replied with a bright expression.
āGood morning, My Lady. I apologize if Iāve arrived too early.ā
It varied, but some families often got up around lunchtime and started the day late. The nobles who did not have to worry about their livelihoods were not obliged to wake up diligently every morning.
Of course, that was completely irrelevant to Elena. She woke up earlier than her servants and exercised secretly every morning.
āNo, itās alright. I was also waiting for your call.ā
āAh, Iām glad to hear that. His Highness requested that you come visit him as soon as possible. What is your schedule like today?ā
āI can leave right away. Iāll be back when Iām ready, so please wait here.ā
āI understand.ā
Zenard gave a deep bow. It seemed an overly polite gesture coming from a close associate of Carlisle to Elena, but he might have already known that they were getting married soon. Of course, it didnāt matter to Elena since she had already told her family.
āIāll be back soon.ā
Elena hurried to her room. The date on Sullivanās invitation was not far away. The sooner she decided how to respond, the better.
After Elena finished preparing and came back to the drawing room, Zenard escorted her to a carriage for the Imperial Palace. The carriage went swiftly and arrived the palace quickly, and under the careful escort of Zenard, Elena set foot into the Crown Princeās palace.
āI think Iām getting used to this place.ā
The magnificence of the grounds had initially overwhelmed her, but she seemed to have adapted to it since her visit with Mirabelle. Elena was a little relieved, as she didnāt know how long she would come to live here.
Zenard found Carlisleās location from the other servants and guided Elena to a private training area. The path leading up to the training grounds were lined with a variety of large and small weapons, including spears, swords, daggers and axes. The weapons were not just decorations to look at either; all hand finger marks and signs of use. Elena looked at each one in detail and admired them.
Swig, swig, swiigā
There was a swishing sound in the air as they neared the training hall, and soon Elena spotted the source. Inside a spacious private training hall was Carlisle was training alone with a swordā¦shirtless. Judging by the amount of sweat dripping from his solid body, he must have been going for some time. Every time Carlisle swung his sword, there was the sound of his blade cutting sharp through the air.
When Elena saw him, she imagined herself competing against him. How she would stop him if he attacked that way, and how to break through if he defended.
āHeās more skilled than I thought.ā
Even if she gained back all her power, she couldnāt say for sure who would win. She already had a lifetime of experience and excelled for her age, but Carlisle had already attained a great level of ability as well. She wouldnāt have believed his skills if she hadnāt seen it for herself.
āIf heās growing at this rateā¦ā
Maybe Carlisle would later become a force beyond Paveluc. Elena looked on at Carlisle in pure admiration. She herself had been highly praised for her talent, but now that she saw Carlisle she was humbled. Carlisleās sword fighting skills were overwhelmingly strong, just as Morgan said. As she looked on enraptured by Carlisleās figure, Zenard bowed silently and left the training hall.
Eventually, Carlisle stopped practicing and wiped the sweat off his chin. Elenaās eyes were fixed on his wild appearance. The scene was so breathtakingly sexy that she thought it was almost too indecent to see.
Carlisle, already aware of Elenaās presence, turned his head towards her direction.
āYou were looking at me so hotly that you didnāt even notice the sword.ā
āWh-whatāā
Her face flushed, and Carlisle couldnāt help but burst into laughter. Only then did Elena realize that she was being teased. While she was determined not to be made a fool by him, she couldnāt help but be swayed by what he said.
āI was looking at you because I wanted to know what you were doing, and nothing else.ā
āReally?ā
The corners of his mouth were still lifted up, and he wiped the sweat of his torso with a towel. That look was deadly, so Elena turned away.
āIāll be waiting outside, so weāll meet after you get dressed.ā
āItās your husbandās body. You donāt have to come and go.ā
At Carlisleās grand words, Elena almost recited the contract reflexively.
2. Do not sleep together until after Elena becomes the empress.
After defeating Paveluc, she wasnāt sure what would happen between her and Carlisle, but she wouldnāt see his body until after he became emperor. She had no intention of being teased by him for some time, so Elena spoke in a firm voice.ā
āYou can say that after you take over the throne per the contract. I grew up in a family of knights, so Iām very familiar with this situation.ā
āThen thereās even less of a reason to avoid me.ā
Carlisleās eyes turned cool, but Elena didnāt have time to get distracted by this sideshow. She lifted her chin proudly and stared directly at Carlisle. There were large and small scars on his torso, but she couldnāt help but notice how muscled his body looked. Still, the shameful one was Carlisle who was exposing his upper body, and not Elena who was watching.
It was then that Carlisle wiped the sweat off his upper torso and moved as if he would take off his pants.
āā¦Ah!ā
Elena quickly turned around with a startled cry. This was too much. It was true that the knights would bare their chests around the training ground, but she had never seen them take off their pants. Moreover, this was the first time that she had seen someone as sexually appealing as Carlisle.
āWhat are you doing?ā
āYouāve never seen anything like this before, have you?ā
āā¦ā
Elena bit her lip without realizing it. It was unfair that he kept making fun of her, but Elena couldnāt find anything to counter back. When Elena didnāt speak, Carlisle continued in a sultry voice.
āIām drenched in sweat, so I need to take a shower. You want to see that too? I donāt mind. Thereās nothing to hide from my future wife.ā
āā¦Itās fine.ā
She hurried out of the hall. She tried to act as calmly as possible, but her steps were as quick as her pounding heart. She could hear Carlisle laughing in the distance, and her face burned more than ever.
Carlisle stared at the area where Elena disappeared, his shoulders shaking in mirth.
āā¦So cute.ā
It was even worse that Elena was not aware how cute she was. Although she was a woman who put on a tough appearance, she was also very lovely. He didnāt mean to tease her to this point, but he just couldnāt help it.
*
*
*
Thankfully, the next time Carlisle appeared before Elena he was fully dressed. Their meeting place was at his study, in the same area of the palace where she stayed with Mirabelle.
āSo what is it that you wanted to discuss with me? Youāve never come to me like this before. Yesterday I was seriously considering breaking into Blaise Mansion in the middle of the night to know what was going on.ā
He was saying very serious things that should not be considered. If that happened, there would be all sorts of speculation between the two in an already talkative society. Her simple goal was to have a normal wedding ceremony with no major incidents or accidents.
āThank you for your patience. This is my problem.ā
Elena presented the red invitation to Carlisle. He opened the envelope immediately to confirm the recipient of the invitation and frowned.
āHa, it must have been a long time since he sent something like this.ā
āDo you know why His Majesty sent it to me?ā
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āI can guess. He wants to see you without me there. If he sends a public royal letter or a messenger, I might be able to attend with you, so he did this little trick on purpose.ā
āā¦So Iāll have to meet with him alone?ā
āYes.ā
Elena started to feel concerned. She expected to meet with the Emperor secretly, but she didnāt know his purpose was specifically to avoid Carlisle. What would the Emperor want to say to her?
She was evaluating the situation when Carlisle spoke.