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Chapter 7 The Varmore Empire

  • When the ship finally docked, Emery got off the ship and stood at the side for quite some time. It was simply hard to process and overwhelming that she had finally arrived at the land of the known tyrant conqueror, Varmore Empire. As her eyes wandered, the first thing she immediately noticed was the clothing of the people. It was totally different. Back in Silex Kingdom where she grew up, even in Realgar, women wore dresses with long sleeves but in this empire, women showed off their bare arms.
  • It was a shock for her even though she already expected differences. But what was even harder to look at were the several couples openly showing intimacy in public but the others seemed to show no care at all as if it was a normal occurrence.
  • “A busy day here, aye,” the owner of the ship commented upon spotting Emery on the side. “Anyway, ya said that ya would be heading to the Elescaster City, ya should go with my sister. She knows the city quite well.”
  • And with that being said, Emery got herself some company on her way to the capital city.
  • “Is it your first time here?” Helen asked to ward off the awkwardness between them.
  • “Ever since I left for years… yes, this is my first return,” she replied with a small smile even though she was sure that Helen couldn’t have noticed it.
  • “I see. If you haven’t been here for the past ten years, then I assure you that a lot has already changed.” She paused for a while before seeing Emery in the eyes. “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you covering half of your face?”
  • “I actually grew up in a place where it is a tradition for a married woman to cover her face.”
  • Helen’s eyes widened and to the “o” shape of her mouth told Emery that her words sounded more than ridiculous. But she really had no other choice but to say it in order to keep her from removing it.
  • “T-That’s a bit insane. Anyway, why didn’t you come with your husband?”
  • “He has work that he could not leave behind. Besides, I will be staying here for quite some time so it would not be a good idea to bring him here just yet.”
  • For the next three days, Emery built up her backstory to make her new persona more believable and natural. She even came up with a new name-Sapphire.
  • Upon their arrival in Elescaster City, Helen shook Emery’s shoulder.
  • “Sapphire, wake up. We’re here.”
  • And when Emery got to fully wake up, she looked out of the carriage window and once again rendered speechless at how different the city was compared to the capital city of Silex. The buildings were not only made of solid bricks but some were even marbles-a rock that was considered rare in Sislex Kingdom so it was not used in any building construction.
  • When they stepped out of the carriage, Emery could not help herself but be mesmerized by the new environment right before her.
  • “Do you have a place to stay?” Helen asked since she remembered that Emery once told her that she no longer had any relatives left in the empire.
  • Emery shook her head and replied, “I’ll look for a temporary place I could stay in for a while until I get to find a job and a good place.”
  • Helen smiled and since she was alone in her place, an idea popped in her mind.
  • “Our house has a spare bedroom and I am away most of the time so why don’t you stay with me?”
  • Her offer was more than generous and it was something Emery felt more than grateful for so she stuck with her character and held Helen’s hands.
  • “You are a god-given angel, Helen. Is it truly okay for me to stay with you?”
  • Helen chuckled as she nodded. Hence, the two of them walked their way to Helen’s house and much to her surprise, it was a two-storey building. The first floor was a restaurant and the second floor was the one Helen was occupying.
  • “I forgot to tell you but we also own a small restaurant,” Helen said as she left Emery on the second floor.
  • “Are you in need of a helper? I can work in your restaurant to serve as my rent.”
  • “I’ll see if there is still a vacant position available. But if there’s none, you can always join me in the palace as one of the maidservants.”
  • Emery halted at the door upon hearing those words. She couldn't help but think that she must have gotten too lucky to even get involved with someone who works in the palace. This was a good opportunity for her to get to know more about the so-called protectors of the empire with the panther symbol.
  • “Thank you, Helen. You’re a real lifesaver. By the way, I was wondering if-”
  • Emery stopped mid sentence as she realized that it seemed a bit risky to ask Helen if she knew something about the button.
  • “If?”
  • “What about dinner? I can cook for the two of us.”
  • “That sounds good. Anything you need is in the kitchen but for now, go and fix your things.”
  • Emery headed to her assigned room and was able to breathe with relief. It was a good thing she managed to stop from almost exposing herself, especially that there’s a chance of her making Helen suspicious. The next day, Emery overslept due to the fatigue accumulated after her long trip. When she woke up, Helen was no longer in the house but she left a note, stating that the restaurant just below them was looking for a helper and Emery already got the job.
  • Thus, after she was done washing up, she went down and immediately approached the man behind the counter.
  • “Are you the new helper?” he asked with his eyebrows knitted.
  • “Y-Yes. I am sorry for being late.”
  • “I will let you off the hook for now since Helen said that you just came from a long trip across the ocean yesterday.” The manager, who introduced himself as Basil, briefed Emery of what she should do around the restaurant. It was quite simple since she only had to take orders, serve them, and clean up the mess. Emery also sees this as an opportunity to listen to the gossip that the customers might bring with them.
  • “It’s almost lunchtime so get ready since the restaurant will be packed within minutes.”
  • Basil was not even exaggerating because after 10 minutes, a lot of people started coming in, flooding the restaurant in no time.
  • “A-Aren’t you going to help taking their orders?” Emery asked with a pleading look but she only received a small shrug from Basil.
  • She was given no choice but to run here and there to get orders and bring them to the counter, whilst also serving the food.
  • “You slowpoke! Give us our food already!” one of the customers yelled.
  • “Just a second!” Emery yelled back across the room since she was just serving a tray of food to the other customers.
  • “What’s taking the food so long?”
  • The next minutes were as hellish as her training before with Emery hearing loud complaints from customers and yet Basil just stood behind the counter watching her suffer. He was even wearing a grin that Emery could not even vent out her frustration, especially that it was just her first day of work.
  • But even then, she managed to opt to get everything done until the restaurant was almost empty.
  • “You’re good, I must say,” Basil commented, but with the tone of his voice, it did not sound like a compliment at all. It was more like he was disappointed that Emery did not suffer enough.
  • But then, his smug look was quickly wiped off from his face and was changed into a look of worry and urgency.
  • “Go take those men’s orders and I will be the one to take over the cook,” he said as he made Emery face the door.
  • Several men in white and gold uniform came in and occupied the longest table. Judging from their looks, Emery thought that they were noblemen attending a prestigious academy nearby.
  • “Who are they?” she finally asked.
  • “You better be on your best behavior and do not even dare stain the restaurant’s reputation. And for your information, those respectable men are the members of the emperor’s royal knights. Don’t keep them waiting. Hurry and get their orders!”
  • Emery could only nod and walk towards them. Only then, she spotted two men who looked familiar. They seemed to be the ones whom she once bumped into back at the ship the other day.
  • “I’ll be taking your order,” she said with the softest voice she could manage.
  • “Oh… if it isn’t the masked girl again,” Evander commented after recognizing Emery and he even elbowed Castor. “Do you remember us? We rode the same ship yester-”
  • Castor hit him at the back of his neck to make him shut his mouth before turning his attention to Emery.
  • “Wait for a bit. We’re still deciding,” he said, thus Emery stood on the side and waited for them to call her.”
  • “How long does His Imperial Highness want to look for that woman, Emery Trigon?” one of the knights asked. it was obvious in his voice that he was growing tired.
  • “Who knows?” Castor responded. “He seemed eager to find her so it will probably take a while.”
  • “For him to seek the ex-wife of a king… don’t you think he is being a bit weird?” Evander commented.
  • Castor chuckled. “Well, who wouldn’t want to see a queen who wields a sword and fights for her own kingdom?”
  • They may be trying to be discreet, however, Emery heard them loud and clear, leaving her dumbfounded.