A Broken Crown, A Rising Storm ⁠*⁠。

Throughout that breakfast, Celeste did not once lift her face to look at the man sitting at the far end of that long table.

The atmosphere of the dining hall that was usually filled with hollow compliments now felt suffocating. Caspian might have expected Celeste to cry or beg like always, but what he found was only a sharp silence... like a blade ready to pierce anyone who came near.

Then,

Clang..

The fork and spoon were placed on that clean plate. Celeste glanced toward Caspian who hadn't touched the food on the table at all. Without saying anything... she picked up the cloth beside her to wipe her lips.

After wiping, her chair was pushed back slowly until the sound of that chair scraping echoed through that dining room. All the maids present looked toward Celeste whose behaviour seemed to have changed so suddenly.

"I'll excuse myself..." she said quietly. Without expecting an answer she turned her head and stepped toward the entrance door. But just as her hand was about to reach that door knob, Caspian's voice was heard from behind.

"Celeste..." he said slightly loudly... still hesitating to call that name. She actually had no desire to deal with Caspian who had always looked at her as if she were small... like rubbish that when no longer needed was thrown away just like that. Celeste slowly turned her head back.

Caspian's slightly dark face stared sharply toward her.

"Yes?..." she said in a firm but calm tone. Caspian stood and approached her slowly but was stopped by Celeste.

"Don't come near me, Your Majesty.." she snapped while staring sharply toward Caspian. Caspian startled.

This was the first time Celeste had raised her voice at him. Somehow he felt something had changed about Celeste. Caspian gritted his teeth. "Celeste, do you realise who you are speaking to right now? I am the Emperor of this kingdom!"

Celeste smiled sarcastically, not the least bit shaken.

"And I am the Empress you neglected until I nearly died from the coldness of your own hands, Your Majesty. So save that status for your kept women. I... am done."

She answered without caring anymore about the people around her. She rolled her eyes and then stepped out of that room calmly.

"Celeste!!!..." That voice still echoed in the room she had just left. But it was ignored, in fact it gave her more energy to plan her escape from that cage.

The sound of her footsteps echoed all along that corridor. At the corner of her lips a smile formed, but deep in her heart she still felt pain every time that voice called her name.

Not worthy!!

She whispered then walked away to her room.

Back in that room, Caspian was still looking toward that wide open door. His hand that should have been pulling Celeste's hand was now holding nothing but empty air. He went quiet for a moment. He looked at that cold marble floor. His eyes were fixed on Celeste's plate that had been eaten clean.

This time she finished her food...

He whispered quietly while stepping toward his dining chair. He looked at his palm that had landed on his wife's small cheek. Then leaned his body against the chair. He let out a heavy breath. Then covered his face.

Why does that woman do this to me....

He said quietly while slowly closing his eyes. Silence.

But suddenly, a figure appeared at that door.

Celeste?

He whispered then quickly opened his eyelids. But when his eyes shifted toward the sound of those footsteps, the light in Caspian's eyes went out immediately upon seeing that figure. The hope that had just bloomed in his chest shattered, replaced by a nausea he had never felt before.

"Your Majesty.....I waited for you for a long time last night..." said that woman. The same woman Celeste had seen. For the first time, he felt disgusted looking at that woman.

"Get out!!..." he said loudly. But that woman paid no attention and instead moved even closer to Caspian. She walked then went behind Caspian while lightly patting his shoulder.

That woman, with the coy smile that usually managed to melt Caspian's heart, stepped in with a deliberately exaggerated sway.

She didn't realise that the aura inside that dining hall had already turned cold, colder than the snow outside the palace.

"Your Majesty....don't be angry please...I'm scared.." said that woman in a soft gentle tone as if performed. But that woman's hand was roughly brushed away by Caspian. Then,

"Get out!!" Caspian's voice was flat, but its tremor was enough to stop that woman's movement.

"Your Majesty... why? Has Empress Celeste said something that..."

BAM!

Caspian slammed his hand down on the table, causing the remaining plates and glasses to shake hard. He stood, his eyes cutting sharply toward the woman in front of him.

"I said... GET OUT!"

he snapped, this time with a voice that shook the entire room.

That woman startled, her face that had been covered in thick powder now went pale.

"B-but Your Majesty... last night you promised..."

"My promise is dead..... dead after seeing your face that gives me a headache,"

Caspian stepped toward that woman, every footstep feeling like a threat.

"I want you to leave this palace right now. Do not let me see your face again, or I myself will make sure you will not be able to see tomorrow's sunlight."

Without waiting even a moment, that woman turned and ran out in tears full of fear. Caspian drew in a long breath, trying to find the calm that had already gone. He turned back toward Celeste's empty chair.

"Celeste... what have I done?" he whispered to the passing wind.

The Butler who had witnessed everything drew in a long breath. Then stepped toward Caspian who looked troubled.

"Your Majesty....." he said quietly. A low voice but still carrying firmness in every word he put out. Caspian stared sharply.

"Forgive me Your Majesty, but forgiveness will not come to those who only wait at the dining table. If Your Majesty truly wishes to see Her Majesty's face again, perhaps Your Majesty needs to learn how to make amends."

"What if Your Majesty visited Her Majesty.." he said in a polite tone. Caspian narrowed his eyes looking at the Butler.

"Haih....how am I supposed to go..."

"If you look at her behaviour.....doesn't it mean she's starting to find me disgusting?.." said Caspian in a very low tone. That voice was mixed with sadness and disappointment. The Butler stepped two feet away from him. A sign of understanding the situation.

Whether it was love or missing Celeste's affection, he was disturbed by the emptiness in that woman's eyes. He was not used to being the one who was ignored.

"Why has she changed? Is this another tactic to get my attention, or is the Celeste I knew truly already dead?"

He whispered. He tilted his head to the side to look at that wide open window, but the window mirror reflecting his own face was stared at sharply.

He imagined every one of his actions toward his wife after they married. Those images kept circling in his mind. He looked at that face full of ego and womanising ways.

He went quiet for a moment....

Caspian was still sitting stiff in front of the mirror, staring at his own image full of ego.

" Maybe, if i show up she will happy..." He said. But, He had just been about to step out to find Celeste, but the dining hall door opened roughly.

The Butler entered with a face paler than usual. His hands trembled holding a letter with a very exclusive gold seal.

"Your Majesty... forgive me, but there is an official messenger at the front gate,"

the Butler reported in a halting tone. Caspian furrowed his brow. "Who dares disturb me at a time like this?"

"Prince Killian, Your Majesty. He states that he will not move until he sees Her Majesty, Celeste, with his own eyes."

Caspian snatched that letter and read it. The last line of the letter made his blood boil:

" I have heard that the 'jewel' you have been neglecting has started to crack. So I have come to make sure nobody will break it further including you, Caspian."

That sentence echoed in his mind. He crumpled that paper with one tight grip. Then stood and threw it toward the fire.

His eyes clearly showed jealousy rising but at the same time his ego remained high. He scoffed. Then stepped toward the wide window that could show the situation in front of the gate.

A figure could be seen standing, smiling sarcastically looking toward Caspian. Caspian's jawline tightened. His teeth were gritted hard.

Shit....

In her room, Celeste who was packing her things together with Kina stopped when she heard the sound of a royal trumpet blow from the direction of the front gate.

Celeste stopped her grip on the linen cloth she was about to put into the bag. Her heart beat slightly faster,... not out of fear, but because she recognised that trumpet sound.

She looked at Kina full of questions.

"Kina... it seems our plan has to be postponed. Something bigger has just arrived."

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