Female Novel
Chapter 611 I Could Eat Less (Part One)
That night with the emperor felt more affectionate than what the empress had experienced even in thefirst few months of their marriage. Now in her middle age, it was a rare chance for her to have such aromantic night. Thus, she was both delighted and satisfied.
After the emperor left, the empress took out the spell doll from under the bed and stared at it. She feltquite amazed. Was it really powerful enough to help her win the emperor's undivided love?novelbin
She put down the spell doll and asked, "Where is Cheryl?"
"She is still locked inside, Your Majesty." Nancy pressed her lips together and gestured in that direction.
"Bring her here." The empress picked up the tea and took a sip. "After all, she was my maidservant forsuch a long time. She must have something to say to me."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Cheryl had spent the whole night locked up in the Sleek Palace. At first, she was scared that theempress would not let her go. She waited but nothing happened. As the hours passed, it seemed to herthat the empress had no intention of punishing her. When dawn broke, she was no longer scared.Indeed, she felt rather safe and confident. After all, she was the emperor's favorite now. If she suddenlydisappeared or died, the emperor would demand to know what happened to her. With that consolation,she was felt immensely relieved and the clouds seemed to vanish.
"Your Majesty." Cheryl had spent so many years serving the empress and seen plenty of evidence ofthe empress's ruthlessness. Now she was at the empress's mercy, so even now that Cheryl had beenpromoted to the attendant, she dared not to show any sign of disrespect and had to address theempress exactly the same way when she had been a servant girl.
"Tell me what it is. If I find the slightest hint of dishonesty in you, you will pay for it. I believe you mustalready know that you will die if I hand this thing over to His Majesty." The empress's voice was gentlebut dignified.
Cheryl knelt on the floor and shivered with fear. She dared not look up, nor did she dare to answer thequestion. After all, she had used the voodoo doll to seduce the emperor. If she told the empress aboutit, the empress would hate her guts for stealing the emperor's love. In her jealousy and hatred, theempress would definitely have her killed as soon as possible. Furthermore, anything related to voodoowas a taboo and was banned in the Bright Dynasty, so she was doomed to die anyway after she hadbeen caught red-handed in possession of a voodoo doll. So she was in a dead end, and at a completeloss for words.
"What? It's a simple question. What makes it so hard for you to answer it? You know, with what wefound on you, I could have you and your family put to death without delay, and no one would blame mefor that." The empress snorted in disgust. "So think it over and answer my question."
Cheryl's mind was racing for an answer. She had to plead guilty, but then how could she persuade theempress to spare her life? Then she remembered that Felix was still confined to his mansion and hereyes lit up. It seemed like fate had given her one last chance to survive.
"Your Majesty, it is a spell doll, called Infatuation Spell. If the possessor prays sincerely every day whilethinking about the one she desires, she will obtain that person's infatuation." Cheryl took a deep breathand went on, "That's how I made His Majesty desire me."
"And having already won His Majesty's heart, why did you sneak into the Sleek Palace to find it?" Theempress was obviously skeptical about what Cheryl said. She thought that the spell doll must havesome other functions.
Cheryl gritted her teeth and said, "This spell doll must be kept near the possessor. Distance willweaken its power. Over time the effect might even wear off."
"How often do you have to pray?" the empress asked slowly.
"At least once every three days. That's why I came back to the Sleek Palace to take it." The truth wasthat the emperor didn't seem to have much interest in her after the first night. Cheryl had guessed itwas because the spell doll wasn't kept near her, so she had decided to sneak back to the SleekPalace.
"So, as long as you have this spell doll, His Majesty will never grow weary of you?" the empress askedslowly. Her tone was unchanged, but there was murder in her eyes.
"I dare not."
"Drop the act. We both know you are not a timid person, as your actions prove very well." The empresssnorted. "Who else knows about this spell doll?"
"Nobody. Only I know it. After all, the spell could cost me my life if anyone found out about it. How couldI dare tell anyone else about it?" Cheryl said carefully. In fact, Minna also knew about the spell doll, butCheryl decided to keep that a secret. Now that she certainly couldn't take the spell doll back, she wouldhave to ask Minna for a new one after she got out of there.
"How did you get your hands on this spell doll?"
"I went home a few days ago and came across a strange person. After I told him about my troubles, hegave me this. I didn't believe him at first, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. I didn't expect thatit would actually make me win His Majesty's favor," Cheryl answered after a brief hesitation.
"So, to seduce an emperor, just a little spell doll will do the trick." The empress picked up the spell dollon the table and toyed with it. After a while, she looked over at Nancy and hinted to her with her eyes.Nancy nodded, then took out her handkerchief and covered Cheryl's mouth. It all happened so fast thatCheryl blacked out instantly. Then Nancy took her out of the room and threw her into a deserted well inthe deserted Cold Palace.