Chapter twenty one

Cielo woke up to see Yuki sitting drink tea and eating food at his little table.

"Why are you eating so early in the morning?" I asked while half asleep.

"Hmm? Your servant didn't wake you up so I had to wait." He replied.

"I told him not to wake me till 9 I didn't think you would come at 5 in the morning," I replied.

"Come over here and have some food that'll wake you up, also there's something off with the tea." He replied.

"Of course there's something wrong, your drinking cherry leaf tea in early spring the leaves aren't ripe yet leaving a taste in your mouth." I replied, "While I drink my normal cherry blood tea."

"Cherry blood tea? Might I ask what is that?" He asked.

"Cherry blood tea is made from..well Cherry blood blossoms mixed with a hint of sugar and herbs," I replied.

Cielo was sipping the tea till he collapses, Yuki swiftly gets over and catches him before he fell to the ground.

"Get the imperial physician! Now!" He shouted.

The important physician enters and checks on Cielo's pulse.

"Your majesty, the consort seems to have white sliver leaf in his system and with the illness he just had he seems to have been collapsed, although he should have been fine I had three people prepare it, my most useful students and had a servant guard it all night while the consort slept. Unless that servant was not doing its job, it should have been fine." He replied (doctor)

"Bring the servant here!" He commanded.

"Your majesty, I have been framed. I would never hurt the consort." The servant spoke.

"What's the big fuss? Is my food cold?" I asked.

"My consort, you were poisoned with that leaf you told me about yesterday." He replied, "try to rest and not worry about this."

"Alright? I'll finish my book since I didn't get to last night." I replied.

Yuki looked at the servant with his cold blue eyes and spoke: "You plead that you've been framed, now dare I may ask you who want to frame a mere servant for poisoning, the consort?"

"Your majesty, I'll tell you everything I know please spare me!" The servant shouted.

"Speak." He replied.

"The consort mentioned a poison leaf to the NC Suchi, I was her maid she told me that she had my little brother hostage and if I didn't do it then she would have his hands chopped off, my little brother worked in a blacksmith shop making the finest weapons for the generals themselves, so I did it and my brother was spared." She explained.

"Your cute, you wanna serve in my palace and your little brother would be great friends with my sister. She needs friends and she doesn't like cocky black Smith's your brother sounds kind if he lets you off you can come to serve me and I'll give you nice new clothes and I braid your hair." I replied.

"My lord, please don't disrupt his majesty when he's deciding someone's life of living or not." Tsu scolded.

"Eh? Why can't he spare her? Isn't it that lady's fault we got a confession now she can get lien demoted a rank or a...grounded or something like that, not like she had a choice her brother's hands were gonna get chopped off, we can have the brother confess as well." I replied.

"My consort, we have to have her side of there story first." He replied.

"We have to have 'her side of the story' my ass, she's probably put some fancy words in her alibi and then pay someone to be her witness to this 'alibi' I know how it goes." I replied "The servant always gets sentenced and the evil two-faced lady always wins the first battle. Snowflake told me that some women can be scarier than two sides fighting a war."

"Your majesty please spare me." She spoke.

"Fine, I'll spare you, for now, you will serve under my consorts palace. I expect you will behave." He replied.

"I will, Your majesty." She spoke.

(I'll only let her off cause of him, he's to nice to everyone.)

"My consort, you know you could as a maid to grab the stuff not do it your self." He replied.

"I know but I feel bad they do all of this for what not even good wage, I mean I getting paid for sitting around and not causing trouble." I replied, "What's crazy is..I hear all the servants gossiping saying I'm 'the favored consort' I don't even know what that means when I try to ask they always say 'I would dare not or whatever else crap'."

"My consort, you mustn't be so..angry. Being favored means that I like you the most right now." He replied.

"Eh? You don't do it with the other women as well?" I asked.

"My lord, his majesty doesn't visit any other chamber or palace. Just yours and his." Tsu whispered.

"Okay, But I think I should have a sword made, like a katana. I think that would work." I replied.

"My consort why would you need such a thing?" He asked.

"Well...sister says if I'm gonna be married to the same guy as fifteen other women I need something to protect me when someone hires a servant to kill me, so I figured a sword would do best since she's trained from a young age," I replied.

"Your sister trained you? She sounds really scary." He replied.

"You know for a fact if you weren't the emperor my sister would have killed you long ago, she said that no man or women have the grace to marry me, she says people will take advantage of me or try to get rid of me every chance they have " I replied.

"Your majesty the noble lady Aurora is here." An Attendant spoke.

A lady entered without shoes you could guess a..5'1 young lady but with the shoes, she looked to be about 5'4. She was wearing a beautiful black robe and had her long hair in a double bun.

"Greetings to your majesty, greeting to the consort kinagure." She spoke.

"Rise." He spoke.

She rose and took a seat and noticed that the consort didn't speak nor notice her, she noticed he was reading a book, she couldn't tell what the title was, so she decided to ask.

"Consort, may I ask what the book called there?" She asked.

"Hmm? Oh this, it's called the sky's lovely cloud. I found it lying around in my courtyard guess Hikaru left it for me." I replied.

"Hikaru? Who is that?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing big just..a the king of a kingdom down south from here. He comes every winter to come to visit he says that the snow here is pretty and they don't have it where he rules." I explained.

"My, My you made friends with such an important person in such little time." He spoke.

"Your majesty, we as harem members are not supposed to deal with political affairs." She spoke.

"Hey I didn't know, when I met him he was a merchant selling wine, the next time I met him he was a horse care person he said he needed the money, then after that, he was working an inn." I replied, "speaking of that I wanna make a cute little market place in the palace, that way there we each don't have to ask to get something we could have it in the palace."

"That's a good idea, Aki!" He commanded.

"Present," Aki replied.

"Imperial decree, I Yuki onigashi the emperor decree that there'd be a palace market place and formerly invite all who can attend it tomorrow afternoon." He recited.

"Yes, Your majesty," Aki replied.

Aki ran and all the ladies and All heard this and Two ladies planned to attend, besides NL, there was NC Suchi and the Consort Raven.

It was that early evening when a guest arrived and you would think it was one of the ladies but instead, a maid appeared.

"Um, why did you come? I thought maids were supposed to do there job? Well, you can come in if you like your probably cold?" I replied.

The maid ran in with a dagger in her hand and spoke with a cold tone in her voice "Sorry But I got a family and I can't have then died." The dagger slashed her face and cut her arm too, causing blood the bleed on his clothes. He shouted "Assassin! There's someone trying to kill me!!!" The Guards rushed as swift as the wind and pinned the maid down as the physician checked him.

"My lord, your face will be fine but I'm afraid you lose some blood but other than that you're fine." He spoke.

"Thank you," I replied.

He left and Cielo had fallen asleep and super happy for tomorrow afternoon.

It was morning and Cielo was changed into the clothes he spent many tires making. And rushed to the market to set up His stand and wait till they all came.

"Aki? Where my consort?" He asked.

"Your majesty, the consort said he had a surprise for us all and said to got to his stall when walking around the market. He's been here since this morning." Aki explained.

"This morning? He must have been very excited." He replied.

They walked along the market to see Cielo dressed in such fancy market clothes selling clothes.

"Hi everyone, so this is my stall. I sell clothes, here. I have made you guys some if you like I won't charge." I replied.

"Cielo-sama, Thank you, but I can't accept this," Aki replied.

"Ah shut up Aki, you always do the most troublesome things, look at your clothes. Take these please, you need them even if you say you can't I will make you. Okay?" I replied.

Yuki was amazed at what he watched, his consort so bold to gift something to Aki, though he does do the brutal tasks he never thought it that way.

"Okay bye-bye, I gotta run the wine stand now," I replied.

"Aki How many stands does my consort run?" He asked.

"The clothes, wine, jewelry, shoes, mending, herbs, tea, poison, love, marriage, swords, oh also he runs the food as well," Aki replied.

"Anything else he runs?" He asked.

"Oh and he runs the pit stop station over there for the carriages." Aki replied, "That's what he calls it at least."

"Your majesty, I could run a stall as well," Raven spoke.

"My lady, you have never worked a day in your life, I Excuse my self for the rude comment but I don't think you're qualified for this," Aki spoke.

Raven became so red to the cheeks you could imagine the tomatoes as her cheeks cause of how red she is.

"How dare a mere attendant to say that to me!" She shouted.

Raven was about to slap Aki but Cielo switched places with him at the last second.

"Jeez, you slap hard. Glad I saved the idiot he would have spoken nothing and acted like it didn't hurt when it did." I replied.

"Cielo-sama, please try not to move I have a cloth to prevent more sting on your cheek," Aki spoke.

"Man, Aki I'm scared for you one day," I replied.

Aki took the cloth with cold water and gently dabbed it on Cielo's cheek for a few minutes.

"Consort Raven, how dare you to try to slap Aki! He even told you that he excused himself for the way he spoke, yet you try to slap him anyways then, you actually slapped my consort, instead which is even worse." He replied.

"It's fine, Aki got it covered here." I replied, "Besides I don't wanna ruin this, look the people are happy here, there are life and happiness all around that sounds like fun."

Aki walks closer and whispered in Cielo's ear.

"My lord, you should head back and finish your book. I'll have some sweets later for you, and try to calm his majesty down. If he doesn't then I'll probably won't see you tomorrow till afternoon." He paused then spoke again "I'll prepare the tea as normal, try not to get in too much trouble. My lord."

"Okay, Aki." I replied, "I hope your sister isn't a pain when I meet her finally."

"She won't And I know for the fact she is even I can't save her," Aki replied.

Cielo walked back to his palace as per the wish of Aki. Meanwhile, Aki and Yuki are in his chambers.

"Aki, Who's your sister?" He asked.

"Akio, the future Empress Attendant, Your majesty. But for now, she will serve you next to me so when you pick an empress she will learn all the rules and everything." Aki replied.

"Empress? I will pick on soon, but the one I want..I don't know if they'll live to that point. Anyways I want you to bring Consort Raven here." He ordered.

"As his majesty commands," Aki replied.