Chapter 50
“Get lost. I’ll return properly later.”
With a flick of Edin’s hand, the shadows dissolved into black smoke and vanished instantaneously. Members of the imperial family, all dominant alphas, possessed several unique abilities, including shadow translocation.
Primarily used by the Shadow Guard who protected the Emperor, this form of teleportation wasn’t particularly dangerous for typical alphas. However, for a dominant alpha like Edin, each use took a physical toll.
This was due to the interaction between a dominant alpha’s pheromones and the shadowy residue left by translocation. The pheromones became muddied, straining the body. Consequently, Emperors rarely used this ability.
The tainted pheromones also caused cold-like symptoms in omegas, so past Emperors, concerned for their own health and that of their Empresses, avoided translocation whenever possible. However, it had been days since Edin had seen Lysei, and with only half a day to spare, he decided the risk was worth it to reach Rose Palace.
He knew Zerga would lecture him for over an hour, but even a little extra time with Lysei justified the consequences.
“She’s currently in the training grounds, Your Majesty.”
Arriving at Lysei’s room only to find it empty, Edin felt a pang of disappointment.
“The training grounds? Rose Palace has training grounds?”
“Duke Theor had them built for Nyxna’s exercise.”
“…Lead the way.”
He’d specifically requested Theor’s protection for Lysei, but the thought of his close proximity to her while he was buried in work made Edin’s blood boil. The simmering anger intensified into a searing jealousy when he arrived at the training grounds and saw Lysei with her back against Theor’s chest, their hands overlapping as they held a sword together.
“Oh! Your Majesty!”
Lysei’s immediate, delighted rush towards him, her face alight with joy, soothed his temper somewhat.
“When did you arrive? Are you finished with work? You could have told me you were coming.”
Edin gazed down at Lysei, a warm smile spreading across his face as she chattered excitedly, looking up at him. He reached out, brushing a stray strand of hair from her forehead.
“Just now. I have about half a day free. It was rather sudden, so I didn’t have time to send word.”
Hearing the voice she’d only heard through the communicator so close to her sent Lysei’s heart racing. Or perhaps it was the brush of Edin’s fingers against her forehead that made her pulse pound.
“How did you get here? Aren’t you busy?” Theor asked, having followed Lysei.
Edin glanced at Theor, explaining he had half a day free. As Lysei looked up at him, she couldn’t help but think that even his jawline was strikingly handsome.
While Theor and Edin briefly discussed foreign heretics, Lysei stared intently at Edin. He, in turn, occasionally glanced down at her, offering a tender smile.
“I have to leave next week. Will we have secured a safe place for Sei by then?” Theor asked.
Edin nodded. “It should be possible. But who decided on ‘Sei’?”
“What’s wrong with calling Sei, ‘Sei’? Right, Sei?”
Lysei, who had been completely focused on Edin, finally met his gaze as he looked down at her. “Oh,” she said, then, “You haven’t slept at all, have you? Those dark circles are terrible. Come on, let’s get you to bed.”
“Sei?” Theor asked, bewildered as Lysei completely ignored him, tugging on Edin’s arm.
Finally seeming to register Theor’s voice, Lysei turned to him. “I’ll leave the rest of the practice for tomorrow.” She then pulled Edin towards the entrance of Rose Palace.
“You’re on a first-name basis with Theor now?” Edin asked as he allowed himself to be led.
Lysei replied nonchalantly, “It just happened. But seriously, how little sleep have you gotten? I couldn’t tell through the communicator, but your face looks awful.”
“I slept enough.”
“Lies. You can’t sleep without my scent anyway. Zerga said he’d do something to help you sleep, but I guess he’s not very good at his job. Every time he contacted me to ask if you were sleeping well, you told him it wasn’t bad enough to worry about. But honestly, the Emperor of the Empire looking like this? You look like a sick chicken.”
Lysei continued to mutter to herself as she pulled Edin through Rose Palace. Edin, in turn, couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from turning upwards. The palace servants, captivated by his smile, gazed after him, mesmerized.
“Oh, I’m sweaty. I need to wash up. Will you wait?” Lysei asked, looking down at her workout clothes as they reached her room.
As she released his hand, a flicker of disappointment crossed Edin’s face. “Let’s wash up together.”
Lysei’s face flushed crimson. “No, we can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Just… no. Do you want to wash up here? Or I can use another room.”
“I’ll go.” Having no intention of forcing Lysei, Edin turned to leave and find another room.
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