"I'm going to see him. Are you sure you want to stop me?" asked Harper bluntly.
"I'll lead the way for you, Your Highness," said Fernando hesitantly.
He then took Harper to the Imperial Study. As he was about to inform Rolando of their arrival, Harper stopped him. Sean, the eunuch was also going to tell Rolando that they have arrived, but Harper shook her head and signaled him to leave. He hesitated for a second but he quietly left.
Rolando was reading over the files carefully when he saw something that made his blood boil. His hand instinctively went for his teacup, as drinking tea had always made him calm, but to his frustration, the cup was empty. He took in a deep breath to center himself and decided to ask Sean to fetch another one. When he raised his head, however, he found that instead of Sean, Harper was standing in front of him.
"Harper, why are you here?" Surprise and confusion colored Rolando's face. "What's happening? Are the servants not serving you well?"
"Lilian was poisoned. Miguel just came to the Harmony Palace and begged me for help," Harper said, looking Rolando in the eyes.
Rolando nodded, replying, "I see. Whether to save her or not, it's up to you. Don't feel obligated to it, however."
"Rolando, is Lilian really your consort?" Harper asked seriously. If Lilian was indeed Rolando's consort and was pregnant with his child, Rolando wouldn't have reacted in such a calm manner. However, he did, and it seemed like Lilian was an irrelevant person to him. Lilian was poisoned, and aside from not showing any kind of worry on his face, he even asked Harper to make the choice herself and not to feel obligated!
"What do you think?" Rolando didn't reply but asked her the question.
Harper wanted to ask if the child inside Lilian's womb was his. Because if so, she found his lack of concern disturbing. A few seconds of silence followed that, and during that time, Harper realized that she had no say in the matter and asking about it would be basically invading Rolando and Lilian's privacy. Upon the thought, she turned her back to him to leave.
"Harper!" Rolando called out as he tried to stop Harper from leaving. "Will you attend the empress coronation ceremony?"
Harper turned around to look at Rolando and replied, "I came here as a representative of the Bright Dynasty to celebrate the coronation. Of course I would come."
A light flickered in Rolando's eyes. The coronation was still a go, but the candidate for his empress needed changing. To be honest, Lilian was never meant to be the woman to sit beside him on the throne—she was just a disguise. He asked for Harper's opinion just to see how she would react.
The light in Harper's eyes, however, darkened as she once again headed for the door. Rolando had just asked her whether she would take part in the coronation, which confused her. 'He is the emperor of this kingdom. He should have known what I came here for,' she thought.
When Harper returned to the Harmony Palace, she found that Patrick had already come back. It stood at the table, holding the fruit in its hand and biting it. The moment its eyes laid on her, it immediately threw the fruit away and ran to her. It excitedly pointed at the stuff on the table. It was as if it was presenting Harper a treasure.
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