Evil Duke, Please Be Gentle!

"For the peace and unity of the empire, we often change our decisions if we find a better idea. An emperor should be flexible enough to accept his mistakes and correct them." The way the emperor interpreted was enough to give a boost to the smirk of Adelaide. Her face was still soft, yet her eyes were full of pride and confidence.

He was clearly telling that he had changed Eli and accepted Adelaide as the future empress because she was much better than Eli and Eli was nothing but a mistake! He smirked when he saw the expressionless face of Eli and then shook his head as if he was disappointed 

"Just look at her, she did not even care about it. She is so cold hearted that not even once had I seen her expressions changing. How could she be empathetic enough towards the subjects of the empire!" The words were not less than knives that were stabbed in the heart of Eli. but if she would cry and beg then they would succeed in pumping their pride! She could never let that happen! She would never let them know that they have the capacity to hurt her!

Eli smiled brightly, her face was dazzling enough to even blind all the chancellor and servants in the room. There was no sense of pain or grief on her face or tone as if she did not care about the marriage and the position of the empress at all. Her face was devoid of any negative feelings and her eyes were clear.

"I understand that, your majesty. And I am happy that you have finally found a woman that suits up to your taste for your dreamt empress! But I fail to understand how we are entangled in it.

If you have changed the bride of the crown prince. I wanted to nullify the marriage completely. So that i could look for a groom for my daughter too.'' The tone duke Thawyne used was not a request. Though he was calm, the pressure he had used in the voice showed the urgency of the matter.

The faces of the emperor and the princess turned cold when they heard him. As if duke Thawyne had touched the sore spot.

"I have called you to talk about that only, why don't you come in and sit so that we can discuss it." an amiable smile formed on the face of the emperor when he welcomed both of them in, but his eyes were still cold and blank.

Both bowed their hands and entered in. Duke Thawne sat on the seat of the advisers of the royal court while Eli walked towards the seat tended for visitors and sat beside Adelaide. The girl passed a sweet smile to Eli but Eli ignored it completely. She looked in front of her with a blank face as if she was sitting alone and could not feel the presence of another girl.

Adelaide passed a smile to Eli, but looking at her blank face, her smile turned stiff. She bowed her head and sighed. The emperor who was noticing everything frowned. He wanted to say something, but when his eyes met Adelaide's, she shook her head and bit her lips. Her eyes were turning moisten so she looked away as if afraid that the other person would see her vulnerability.

The emperor's eyes turned cold. When he looked back at duke Thawne, there was no warmth in his eyes. 

"So, you want me to annul the proposal of marriage?" asked the emperor in his frosty voice.

"Yes, your majesty." Though the aura of the emperor was pressurizing, duke Thawyne continued to sit there regally. 

"I agree. But there is one condition…" said the man as he leaned back on his chair and folded his one leg over another. A shrewd smile formed on his lips  and duke Thawyne's eyes narrowed.

But then a smile formed on his lips, "of course, i will ag.." 

"His highness, the star of the empire is entering the hall." The sudden announcement overlapped his agreement to any condition. 

Soon the hasty footsteps filled the room, and Andrew entered in. Although his face was blank and he did not say a word, his forehead had a layer of sweat and his breathing was a bit uneven. As if he had run a long distance to reach here.

"Your majesty."

"Duke Thawne" he wished both of them with a nod. The smirk and laid back attitude of his majesty changed the moment when Andrew entered. He glared at his son. His eyes were filled with blazing fire, as if he would burn him alive.

"I did not know that you were coming here too." asked the emperor with a raised brow. His face was back to calm and composed one, "ah! Do not tell me that you can not stay without your fiance even for an hour!" with that he chuckled, and then shook his head.

"What can I say, Duke Thawyne! Even when Adelaide was staying in the palace only, Andrew did no leave her alone even for an hour.'' His tone was soft. Even though he was complaining, his voice was soft and full of pampering.

Duke Thawyne looked at Eli with worried eyes. His face filled with concern but when he looked at Eli, he frowned! Her eyes were looking straight at Andrew. She did not even notice that he was looking at her, though her senses are sharp normally!

His eyes followed the gaze of his daughter back to Andrew, when his frown changed into surprise. Even he was looking at Eli without taking his gaze away. No matter what his majesty had said, Andrew's expressions were screaming for whom he was here!

He looked back at the girl in question and saw her frowning. Adelaide had held her dress so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. She was looking embarrassed and full of rage. He raised a brow at the turn of events. Didn't the whole empire have only one topic to talk about these days!

The love story of the crown prince, Andrew and the fallen princess, Adelaide. It was love at first sight and they could not keep their gaze from each other. A match made in heaven! Then why was he looking at his daughter with that gaze. It was the same gaze he used to have with his wife.

But he was not the only one who was noticing the kids. Even the emperor had his gaze on his son all the time. His face turned sour and wrinkled with all the rage, when he noticed how his son was proving him a liar without even saying a thing! He could not accept the way Andrew was looking towards Eli.

"Andrew, we are talking about an important matter. If you want to talk to Adelaide, take her out with you." only the name of matter was able to bring Andrew back to his senses. He reluctantly looked away from Eli, back to his father.

"I am here to discuss an important matter with his majesty too." His voice was grim and his face was strained as if he was suffering a lot.

"Well! Even if that is the case, duke Thawyne had covered a far distance to meet us. We should not keep him waiting. You and I can talk anytime." came his voice coldly as he waved his hand for him to leave. But he did not move. He continued to stand there while looking down. His face was unreadable, yet I was irking the emperor to no end.

"Andrew! Is there a problem?" asked the emperor as he tilted his head and looked back at Andrew. His whole body was oozing a cold aura that the servants shivered from away.

The whole atmosphere turned somber.

Andrew stayed silent. He did not say a word, and continued to stand there as if he was a frozen statue in time. His blue eyes had turned dim and his fair skin was looking pale under the chandelier.

But he was not at all affected by the cold voice of his father.

"Father, you should not be angry. You will get sick that way!" came the sweet voice of Adelaide breaking the silence and awkward atmosphere. 

"Would you bring a glass of juice for his majesty? And tea for the guests too." She stood up and walked towards Andrew and stood beside him and instructed the maid standing nearby who bowed her head further when noticed her presence.

The maid bowed her head and left the room. She was relieved that she was able to leave the suffocating room. Back in the room Adel turned to Andrew with the same sweet smile and soft face.

"I understand that your matter might be urgent. But his majesty was already talking to duke Thawyne when you entered.. You did not want to interfere when two elders were talking. Do you?"