Chapter 32
Rosalyn’s grating words had ruined dinner and left his stomach empty. More than anything, he wanted to sit across from Asteria and share a meal.
“Stew and bread—what a modest spread.”
He dipped his bread into the stew, took a bite, and his expression softened.
“The palace kitchens serve nothing but extravagant fare, and I’d grown sick of it. A simple meal like this is a welcome change. Warms the stomach.”
“It is merely humble cooking.”
Asteria was tense in his presence.
Lucian noticed.
“Does my being here unsettle you?”
“Honestly… I am not at ease.”
“Then I give you my word, I will not lay a hand on you tonight. Will that suffice?”
Asteria nodded slowly. The simple assurance that he would not force himself on her brought a measure of relief.
“Being with you puts my heart at ease.”
The irritation Rosalyn had stirred just moments ago seemed to settle into quiet stillness.
“I think I understand now why every Emperor before me sought the Saintess.”
Asteria continued her meal in silence.
To Lucian’s eyes, the sight was endlessly pure and refined. After watching Rosalyn in all her excessive finery, beholding Asteria like this felt as though his eyes had been washed clean.
Perhaps, had he met Rosalyn before ever setting eyes on Asteria, he would not have felt this way.
Perhaps he might even have found Rosalyn beautiful. But there were no ‘what ifs’in history.
“Eating simple meals is all well and good, but you seem to eat too little.”
“That isn’t so.”
“I’ll have the head chamberlain send proper meals for you.”
“No, please don’t. Living simply is a virtue of the Saintess.”
She truly was worthy of the title.
“If you insist, then I have no choice.”
Lucian accepted without protest. Before long, the two had finished their meal.
“Shall I make some tea?”
“Please.”
A short while later, Asteria brought out the tea. It was a simple herbal infusion, but the fragrance was deep and lingering.
“What herb is this?”
“I don’t even know its name. It simply grows in the Sanctuary.”
“I see.”
Asteria’s world was astonishingly small. It was hard to believe she had come to the Sanctuary as an infant and never once stepped beyond its walls.
“Are you not even curious about what lies outside?”
“I was brought here almost at birth, I’m told. The Sanctuary is the whole of my world.”
“There is so much more beyond these walls. Out there stands the grandest palace on the entire continent.”
Asteria shook her head.
“I have no interest in anything beyond staying here, dreaming my dreams, and reading the stars.”
Lucian felt an almost reverent awe at the purity of her heart. Could there truly be another soul so untouched by the world?
“I sent treasure to the Lumines clan not long ago. I wished to honor them for offering you to me.”
“I heard. But to the Lumines clan, gold and jewels are no different from stones.”
“What pure and virtuous people. So unlike this palace, steeped in its sordid dealings.”
Asteria did not know how to respond. She had been brought to the Sanctuary as an infant and knew little of how the clan actually lived.
“You came here for my sake when you were barely born, and you’ve spent your entire life within these walls. I wish to repay that.”
“My destiny was ordained from birth. No repayment is necessary.”
“You truly have no interest in anything beyond the duties of the Saintess?”
“None.”
Asteria’s only wish was to serve as a faithful guide to the Emperor. She believed that was her reason for living.
But at some point, whenever she saw Lucian or thought of him, unbidden feelings had begun to stir. That was surely the imprint left by the moment he had desired her—seared into her memory.
“Your Majesty, I have a request.”
“What is it?”
“Please promise me… that you will not desire me, as you have tonight.”
Lucian’s face hardened.
“That is a promise I cannot make.”
“But you have Her Majesty the Empress.”
“I have never once shared a bed with the Empress. I have not so much as kissed her.”
“That is precisely why this must stop.”
Asteria looked at him with unwavering eyes.
“It is not me you should desire, Your Majesty. It is Her Majesty the Empress.”
Lucian’s expression grew stonier still.
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