“What brings you here at this late hour?” she asked, peering through the door she’d cracked slightly. That way it kept the rest of the room from the maid’s view.
The maid bowed and said, “The master has returned, and I have come to inform you of his return. I’m sorry it’s so late at night.”
“What?!” Elizabeth cried. Tiberio was supposed to be away on a business trip until tomorrow. She bit her lower lip and wondered at the terrible timing. She quickly put on a jacket and headed to the front entryway. She hurried down the spiral staircase, looking for Tiberio.
When he returned home, he was always greeted by a number of servants, who took his jacket and hat and reported on their work for the day. But it seemed he had already completed that routine tonight.
“A lady doesn’t go down the stairs making that much noise, Elizabeth.”
“Father!” Elizabeth whirled around to see her father behind her on the staircase. She placed a hand on her chest, where her heart was beating erratically. “I didn’t expect you back tonight,” she said, trying to feign nonchalance. “Welcome home.”
“Heh, since you came all the way to the mansion, I wanted to see your face,” Tiberio replied.
“Well...”
As the two candidates for empress, Westalia and Elizabeth had been given extravagant residences in Le Chantier Palace. Elizabeth had made that her main base of operations and didn’t return to her family’s residence very often, largely because she didn’t want to face her father.
Don’t tell me he suspects something! Elizabeth thought. She felt as if he could see through her every thought, and when a bead of sweat trickled down her cheek, he relaxed his expression.
“You look pale. What’s the matter?”
“N-Nothing! Would you like to have some tea in the living room? I have some imported tea in my room; I’ll go get it right now!”
Paige and Dion were in the office. They’d promised they’d finish their search and be gone in two hours, but there was still an hour left to go. Elizabeth had to make sure Tiberio didn’t get close to his office.
“Well then, let’s have it in your room instead. It will be easier that way, won’t it?” Tiberio asked.
“Oh! Well...” If she were Westalia she would better be able to deceive him.
“You aren’t very good at keeping secrets or lying, are you? I can’t believe you’re my daughter. If you can’t even deceive others, how do you intend to survive in the palace of power and intrigue as empress? I believe the foreigner is better suited to the job than you are,” Tiberio said with a gentle smile.
Elizabeth clamped her lips shut. He was referring to Westalia when he said ‘the foreigner,’ of course. Westalia had stood her ground in the face of the power of the Kingdom of Lhumzia and won the battle against the former queen.
You don’t need to tell me about Westalia’s qualifications. I already know... Elizabeth thought. She herself was just a normal person who was supported by her family’s wealth and power. In addition, she was a coward and wasn’t suited for either the throne or Leonardo.
Tiberio turned and started to climb the stairs. His destination, of course, was Elizabeth’s room. She grabbed his arm to stop him, but he easily shook her off.
He found the knights collapsed in her room but didn’t react. He merely squatted down and observed their faces calmly. “These must be my office guards,” he said. “They seem to have been put to sleep with a very strong drug. Poor things. Why are they in your room?”
Elizabeth remained silent. She felt like if she said anything at all Tiberio would see right through her. Tiberio stood quickly and lifted his chin up so she looked at him.
“Why are you silent?”
Still she said nothing.
“Did you have some kind of a feud with these two knights? No, I don’t think so. Then, are they harassing you in some way? No, that’s not it either. Or is it that you let someone into that room?” He probed into Elizabeth’s mind through the subtle changes in her expression and came up with the answer without Elizabeth uttering a single word.
“I see. How strange. I’m supposed to have the only key,” Tiberio continued, chuckling as he rested his hand against his pants pocket, where he kept the key. His slippery smile sent a chill down her spine. “I thought it was odd that you would suddenly come back to the mansion after having been chastised so severely. You wouldn’t truly want to be here, would you?”
Tiberio turned on his heel and walked out of the room, deliberately bumping into Elizabeth’s shoulder on his way out. Elizabeth stood stupefied, the blood drained from her face.
I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed... How was she so incompetent that she couldn’t even buy an hour’s worth of time? She was reeling from her inability to accomplish even a single request and could barely stand. She then came to her senses, clenched her fists, and ran after Tiberio.
“There’s nothing going on in your office,” Elizabeth said as she caught up with him. Tiberio looked back at her and their eyes met. No matter how hard she tried to remain calm, she couldn’t stop her eyes from darting wildly. She had a bad habit of showing more emotion on her face when she was in a hurry or in trouble.
“That’s the face of a liar. That just proves there’s something going on in my office,” Tiberio said. Elizabeth’s mind went completely blank at the conviction in her father’s voice. Her throat went dry and she couldn’t get any other words out, only a pathetic squeak.
“Please don’t go there...” Elizabeth said. Her thoughts were spiraling and her initially earnest persuasion had now devolved into little more than desperate pleas. No matter how hard she pleaded, however, she knew it would not make a bit of difference. For as long as Elizabeth could remember, this man had always been a power-hungry maniac, with not a shred of affection in his heart.
“I hate children who don’t know when to give up. But you’ve been a disappointment for a very long time,” Tiberio said, pushing Elizabeth roughly to the ground. She screamed.