The Villainess Is The Karma

Chapter 13

As I sit upfront the emperor, I try to calm my fast-beat heart.

It was not long ago that the empress wanted us to have lunch with her. She usually eats alone or with Lilian.

I often skipped my meal or ate alone. I had no interest in being uncomfortable while eating. However, today was different. The empress had personally invited me to join her for lunch, and declining such an offer would have been seen as disrespectful. Despite my apprehension, I knew I had to put aside my discomfort and seize this opportunity to tell her about the engagement.

The lunch is going on in silence, except for Lilian telling her mother things she likes or is interested in lately. She is such a baby; come on, she's sixteen. But yet again, I can't blame her. She has a naturally clumsy, extroverted personality. Besides that, it's good to have someone like her sometimes. The empress has always sheltered Lilian from the harsh realities of the world, treating her like a fragile porcelain doll. It's no wonder she still acts like a child at her age.

I don't know about others. But I feel good whenever she is like this. When she is not, that is what concerns me. It hints that something bad might happen.

Lilian had very good intuition. She could sense danger, and it would worry her. So, I can guess any situation according to her expressions, unless she's around.

"I had something to tell you all here." The Empress finally speaks. All? It's just you, your baby. Whom are you calling all? Do you even know Evory is here?

"Do tell, Your Majesty," I say, looking at my food.

"A war is breaking out in the North; at least one member of every royal kingdom is bidden to join the war." She pauses. I can feel the tension in the room rise as everyone processes this information. The Empress continues, "We must make a decision on who will represent our kingdom in this war."

Wait.. War? It was not mentioned in the novel. There was never a war in the north, nor in the south, east, or west.

Oh, now I remember. There was a war in the North just before Lilian's birthday. But it was not anything important. Lucas won the war, then broke off the engagement with Evory and proposed to Lilian on her birthday. But it was mentioned in a line or two. But why a war is happening way before that? 

Does that mean my end is coming way earlier than expected? better not be it.

I pick a piece of meat and stuff it in my mouth. I shouldn't jump into conclusions. I need to gather more information before assuming the worst. It's important to remain calm and not let my imagination run wild.

"I learned you're quite a good leader in crucial moments. You also have very good fighting instincts. I'd like you to join the war, Evory." The empress says.

The meat I swallowed went into the wrong pipe, and I started coughing. Damn, I think I just saw my death right now. As I struggled to catch my breath, Lilian worriedly passed me a glass of water and confronted the empress: "Mother, you can't be serious. It's losing the war. Sister might die and never come back!" Lilian's voice trembled with fear and desperation as she pleaded with the empress. The weight of the impending war and the possibility of losing her sister weighed heavily on her heart.

"Then it would mean she'd get the honour of the martyr." The empress replies.

Hearing her say this, my heart sank. Her daughter's death means... nothing? It is a heartbreaking realisation that her own mother sees her potential death as insignificant in comparison to the cause.

I know being honoured as a martyr is worth history, but I might die, and she might never see me ever again. Every mother longs for her child. But they sometimes need to sacrifice their child despite feeling the pain of losing them. But hearing how coldly she said it, she doesn't care at all. Not even an ounce.