Female Novel
Chapter 859 He Loves Someone Else (Part One)
Toby was taken aback by how well Harper and Rolando worked together. Although his menoutnumbered them immensely, none of them were able to land significantly damaging attacks on eitherof them. Initially, he had thought that Rolando had lost his mind due to his adoration for Harper, evengoing as far as putting a death sentence on himself by leaving the palace and touring the lake withoutany guard and with only Harper by his side. Now, however, it seemed like he had underestimatedRolando's decisions—it was becoming clear that the reason why Rolando chose to go out with thiswoman all alone was because she was more ferocious and skilled than any of his secret guards.
"Master, let's retreat! It would be better if we leave right now because otherwise, we would be unable toescape once Rolando's reinforcements arrive!" one of Toby's secret guards suggested. They werestarting to become anxious because of how Harper and Rolando were easily decimating their numbers.The fear of having to deal with Rolando's full army of secret guards added to that, making theexecution of their attack plan sloppier, which led to more deaths of their members. If this continued,they would all die soon!
Toby was unwilling to give up, but he knew that fleeing was the wise choice to make right now.
"Retreat!" he bitterly ordered.
Soon enough, Rolando noticed that Toby and his men started retreating. A sneer crept on his lips, but itdisappeared in an instant. He and Harper took care of the remaining assassins, and once the last onewas slain, he exclaimed, "What a pity! Our lake tour turned out to be such a mess!"
"What? Are you still thinking of the tour? We were almost murdered by these lowlifes!" Harper replied.She put the Moonlight away and took a look around the boat, which was covered by arrows. It wasnotable how these arrows were so short—it meant that they were made to be sharper than a normalarrow, so that they could break through people's bones easily. It was a good thing that they were ableto hide themselves away before these rained down on them, because otherwise, they would be goners.
"But we're fine, aren't we? Do you want to continue enjoying the nice view of the lake?" asked Rolandowith a smile.
Harper's eyes narrowed. While she appreciated Rolando trying to make light of things, she knew theycouldn't afford to treat this ambush as an isolated event. "No, Rolando. I think it's better if we go back tothe palace right now. Don't forget that you're this country's emperor, and you are not allowed to get hurtin any way. If something bad happens to you..." As she spoke, Miguel came to her mind. "Your dearPrime Minister Miguel will not only be disappointed at me. I'm pretty sure he'll have my head cut off."
Upon hearing what Harper said, Rolando stopped trying to change her mind. Soon enough, the cityguards arrived and Rolando ordered them to dispose of the corpses currently littering the lake. Thecommander of the city guards turned pale with fear upon seeing the scene. It was obvious that it wasdue to his dereliction of his duty that so many assassins whose mission was to execute the emperorwere able to sneak into the capital.
"Your Majesty, do you have any idea as to who would orchestrate such an attack?"
"I don't think that matters for now. I just want you to clean up and take care of everything here rightnow," Rolando said lightly. "Let's go, Harper. Let's go back to the palace."
Harper nodded. They were transported to land with another boat, now heavily guarded though, toboard their carriage. Rolando stood waiting for Harper and then offered his hand to her when she wasabout to climb into their vehicle. Harper didn't think much of it, but the others were greatly shocked bywhat they saw. They all wondered who Harper was since the emperor seemed to be taking care of herand minding her greatly.
When they arrived at the palace, Rolando personally ordered some servants to accompany Harper toHarmony Palace. Forsythia breathed a sigh of relief the moment she saw Harper come through thedoors. She strode towards her and greeted her, "Your Highness, you're finally back."
"You got scared today, weren't you? Have a good rest. I'll go back to work," Rolando told Harper.
"Sure," Harper replied. After Rolando left, Harper's sight fell on the two words written on the plaquehanging at the top of the palace gate. They were written in such a dignified and elegant style that shecouldn't help but feel impressed. Soon, she realized that it was Rolando's handwriting.
"What's wrong, Your Highness?" Forsythia asked in confusion as she didn't know much aboutcalligraphy.
"Nothing. I just think Rolando's handwriting is very beautiful. Matthew's handwriting has always lookedrigid and forceful, like those beautiful iron and silver paintings. Rolando's handwriting, on the otherhand, looked majestic and elegant, just like himself."
"The handwriting of Emperor Rolando?" Forsythia clarified. "Did he write that? Well... it's not bad. Iwouldn't expect anything less since he is an emperor."
"You are right."
Harper didn't pay much attention to the details of the palace since she thought she would only staythere for a couple of days. As soon as Matthew arrived in the capital, she would leave, so she didn'tsee the point of knowing the decor of the palace.
"Your Highness, would you like to take a bath and change your clothes?" a maid asked Harper whenshe noticed that there were some blood stains on her clothes.novelbin
Upon realizing how soiled her clothes indeed were, Harper said, "Please fetch some hot water for meas well as clothes suitable for staying in. I don't like the ones that are too complicated to put on."
The maid seemed to be confused by Harper's request. Suddenly, she opened the closet and said, "ButYour Highness, His Majesty already had these clothes prepared in advance. Please have a look at
them. Is there any of them you like?"
When Harper saw the clothes in the closet, the corner of her mouth lifted into a soft smile because shethought that Rolando was so considerate and thoughtful. She had just arrived yesterday, but theseclothes seemed to have been ready days before. Moreover, upon close inspection, she was sure thatevery one of them was custom-made for her. She rummaged through everything for a while in searchof something that she wanted to wear but none of them were simple enough for her liking. Not wantingto ask for more, she just chose the one with the most muted color and the simplest construction.
After having a bath and changing her clothes, Harper saw Lilian sitting in the hall, somewhat absent-minded. "What happened? You seem to be deep in thought," she asked.
Regaining her composure, Lilian looked at Harper and asked, "Aunt, I heard that you went out of thepalace with His Majesty today and that you clashed with some dangerous assassins. Was it serious?"
"So you're just worried about Rolando and want to know whether he was injured or not," Harper teasedher with a smile. "If you're worried about him, just go to see him. You can ask him about his conditionyourself."