When the knights tried to force Alarice to go home to the palace, the rebels came ambushing them with the mercenaries that they hired. This made the knights become busy subjugating them.
For the next months, Alarice was still helping on treating patients. She helped Mael formulate ideas on how to prolong the war without causing much damage so they can still have reason to stay there.
She also did receive tons of letter from the Emperor urging her to go back but he never went there himself so she never did bother replying to any of his letter.
If he really did care, he will come here against all odds. That's what she thought.
And as expected, during the course of her pregnancy, many attempted to kill the unborn child.
On her 7th month one knight named Mikhail secretly pour an aborticide on her food but got caught in doing so. When tortured, he confessed his relationship with concubine Elisha.
Little by little, Mael was getting more information about this whole fiasco. They were getting much closer to who's the real traitor in the Empire.
In one of the battles, pregnant woman asked for their help as she was left by her husband to die in the middle of the firings. They did tried to save her and her child but they were too late. Alarice was very busy that time treating the injured knights that she failed to cater the pregnant woman right away.
The woman and her child died. When she saw the baby with her pale blonde hair. She thought that she was perfect for their plan.
It was a great disrespect for the dead but she needed the body of the child.
Mael agreed to use the child as the body of her "dead daughter" to be presented to the Emperor.
I'm sorry for using your corpse this way. But I promise you'll have the grandest funeral as the first princess of the Philleon Empire and I'll let you be buried beside your mother.
She silently told the child. This time, the plan was now in motion. She pretended to drink the aborticide Elisha sent and contracted the doctor to make it seem like she had a miscarriage.
And months later, she did give birth to the lives that must be kept in the dark.
Emerion and Ember. The hidden prince and princess.
--
The receiving room was huge and in the top middle of it are two extravagant chair to be occupied by the Emperor and Empress regnant.
It was a room designed to receive honorable guests or special people by the Emperor. It is usually filled with other nobles for a warm welcome.
But that day was different. Alarice sent a letter for the first time in almost a year stating that she only wants the emperor and his aide on the receiving room.
The emperor who was deprived of news from her excitedly complied. Even though he didn't receive any letter. A doctor constantly reported her condition.
And even though she doesn't know the child's gender, he eagerly asked the maids to prepare two rooms for the child. One room is designed for a male child and the other is for a female child. Both was decorated lavishly.
He ordered scholars to find him books to give him idea on what name shall he give their first child.
He was just that excited.
But all of those excitement vanished into thin air when Alarice walked through the receiving room holding a black fabric.
She then kneel Infront of him.
"Greetings to the sun of the empire. We've come with a glorious win against the rebels." She started
"Please get up My empress. You must not have recovered from giving birth recently. The doctor who was reporting to me suddenly stopped giving news about you but you must've given birth right?" He asked with a little tremble in his voice as he come closer to her.
Alarice shut her eyes tightly and sighed. She needs to suppress the lump on his throat in order to say the news clearly. She got up and hand over the dead child to the emperor.
"I ... I present you our first child your Majesty. She was a beautiful princess. The first princess of the Philleon Empire." She said.
She looked at his face intently as horror slowly drew on his face. His trembling hand hold the cold corpse of a baby girl. Tears fell from his face has he was looking at the baby he's holding.
"No... No... Tell me she's just sleeping please." He pleaded with cracked voice
Alarice tears also fell from her eyes.
"I apologize for not being able to protect our child your majesty. I accidentally ingest am aborticide on my sixth month. I am careless. Please punish me." She said looking down
Then there was a deafening silence.
"Who?" An almost whisper voice came from Nicholas
"A knight named Mikhail was caught puting the aborticide on my food." She said
That was when Mael came with a tied up knight.
"He was the one responsible for killing the princess." Mael stated
The emperor's eyes grew colder as he drew his sword while still holding the baby.
Alarice got scared. She didn't expect that he will react this way.
"Wait. Your majesty. We can't kill him yet. We still have to-" but her plead fall on a deaf ears.
Her eyes widened as she witnessed Nicholas mercilessly stab the knight everywhere his sword fell on its body like a mad man. But Nicholas made sure that he didn't stab a critical area which made the knight just bled but didn't die immediately.
The room was filled with the knight's agonizing groans.
"Is it painful? But that's not enough for the crime you committed!" He shouted as he was stabbing the man continuously.
That was when Alarice can no longer take it and bravely stop Nicholas by hugging him from behind.
"Our child will be stained with more blood." She said
That's when Nicholas stopped. He then let go of his sword besides an unrecognizable corpse.
"Oh.. I'm sorry my child. Did you get scared?" He talked to the child like it's alive.
"We need to ready a funeral for her." Alarice said
Nicholas looked at her. His face filled with blood and tears. She didn't even know if it was blood or tears that came out of his eyes.
"I'm sorry. If only I came to get you. I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry ... I'm sorry. " His painful apology and cries echoed inside the room.
It was said that the Emperor became crazy that he refused to perform a funeral for the First princess. The maids witnessed how he hush the baby to sleep as if it was alive while crying and apologizing to the dead child.
Not even Alarice's plead goes through the grieving Emperor.
--
Since the plot is a little bit heavy now, let's go back a little bit to why Alarice chose Nicholas as his bride.
Although, the Philleon Empire's slums are the waking call of Alarice to pursue power she really didn't have to marry the Emperor.
I mean she can just negotiate as a princess of the Las Islas or be a wife of another high ranking noble of the Philleon Empire, like the single duke of the north but she stupidly go through a lot of trouble and create a lot of excuses to marry the emperor.
Why?
Because among the groom candidate from Philleon Empire that Yuwei prepared for her years ago, he was the most handsome. So yeah... Alarice marry Nicholas because of his face.
She didn't necessarily love him, as she never really go after him but for her, just looking at his face made her day.
So yeah, this whole fiasco happened because of the beautiful face of Nicholas.
--
Surprise!! Hihi. Here's another chapter for yaaah!!
Also, I will say this again and again haha. Thank you so so so much for you all. I hope you bear with me until the story of Alarice and Nicholas ends.
-Love author â£ï¸