"So you are saying the emperor wishes to see me?" Ophelia frowns after hearing her father's statement.

"You should be honored! Listen, if you manage to grab his heart while you're there, your life is set!" he smiles happily, hiding his true intentions.

'My life my ass...' she lets out a sigh.

"Our life you mean?" her father gulps, seeing how his daughter had seen right through him.

"But why can't I go, father!?" Amanda cries as she threw a big tantrum.

"Amanda, haven't you heard the rumors? The emperor is such a cold man he will freeze you with his stare... He killed ten thousand people when he went to war and he is haunted by their souls until this day...!" Alvin kept on making weird gestures with his hands, scaring his daughter, "Imagine if you went there and got on his wrong side...!"

The young girl gulps as she imagines her head flowing out of her head just for having angered the emperor. Quickly, she cleans her tears and grabs Ophelia's hands with a charming smile.

"I always knew you were the right one for this sister!" her lies were extremely obvious as she tried to save her own skin.

"I'll be off then..." Ophelia puts on her sandals and heads onto the emperor's palace.

After some time, she arrives and sees how luxurious it was. The floor was covered in marble as the walls were made of pure gold.

"So this is what people call flexing?" her fingers touch the central golden pillar, adorned with several precious jewels.

"I hope you are not trying to steal those, I don't think a commoner like you could afford them," startled, she looks back and sees a young man whose hair blended in with the color of the walls.

"I enjoy having hands so I wouldn't dare," Ophelia replies, making the man let out a chuckle.

"I see..." his eyes begin to wander through her, "What might be your business in the palace?"

She approaches him and gives him a sheet of paper with the imperial symbol on it.

'She has been summoned?' he frowned his eyebrows out of suspicion. Everyone knew how much the emperor enjoyed his free time and how he avoided encounters with people, yet, he had called for this girl.

"I understand, follow me," the blonde-haired man begins walking towards a big golden door, opening it up just to reveal an incredibly large room filled with glamour and luxurious items, "Bradley greets his imperial majesty."

Understanding her situation, Ophelia quickly kneels on the floor but decides to look forward after hearing a child's laugh. Her eyes widen as the curtain is opened and she is greeted by a five-year-old with chocolate-colored hair.

"So how did he kill ten thousand men... With a pacifier!?" she began laughing as these words, unconsciously slipped through her mouth. Her laughter echoed in the room as her stomach began to hurt.

Bradley quickly gets up and places some distance as a figure began approaching without Ophelia noticing.

"What might be the joke?" her body flinches as she hears the voice of a grown man. Slowly, she turns her head and sees a boy, around her age, with dark brown hair, glaring down at her angrily.

Confused, she turns to the emperor's seat and sees the similarities between the two men standing in front of her.

'Brothers...?' So that means...' without a second thought, she bows down with all her body to the young boy standing before her.

"Answer me, peasant," she gulps as she felt his intense gaze pressure her into complying.

"W-Well your imperial majesty..." Ophelia's eyes wandered through the room as she tried to think on a reasonable excuse that could forgive her actions, "I was thinking about how strong your younger brother is! He could easily kill ten thousand people with a pacifier!"

Seeing her laugh out of nerves after her pitiful attempt at an excuse, the emperor chuckles right before regaining his composure.

"I see... What brings you here?" luckily, Ophelia managed to swift the attention in the room into pure amusement.

"I was summoned by your imperial highness," she averts her eyes as Bradley delivers him his letter.

'I never summoned anyone though...' he thinks as he reads the letter carefully, 'Does someone want her to die?'

"Of course you were..." he found this peasant girl quite cute and charming, even though she was clearly clumsy, "I summoned you because I needed a babysitter!"

'A what...!?' her eyes widen in surprise after hearing his words.

"You see, my little brother has been giving me some headaches and I need someone to manage his outbursts," he smiles charmingly as Ophelia looked up at him.

"I understand but... I never took care of children... I don't even have kids your imperial majesty..." she was extremely confused.

"Bring the gold!" several servants appears carrying a heavy chest filled with gold coins, "Is that your final answer?"

Ophelia bites her bottom lip. Her family was going through a crisis right now, filled with financial problems due to her father's greed. She needed the money, more than anything.

"I will obey your order," she bows down her torso once again.

"I forgot to mention but if my brother doesn't like you then the deal is off," he grins evilly, "I'm sure you know what I mean by that."

"What is your name...?" Ophelia approaches the young boy carefully right before questioning him politely.

"You ugly," she clenches her fist as the young boy insulted her, however, she quickly regained her composure.

"Alright You Ugly, what would you like to do now?" his eyes widen as he was surprised with her words. He had never been insulted before, by any of the servants who took care of him.

'She has guts...' the emperor, standing several feet away from them, was watching the show unfold in the distance.

"Ugly! Ugly! Ugly!" Ophelia's sense of pride was begging to hurt as she was repeatedly insulted by the young boy.

'I swear I will...!' her frustration was growing.

"Ugly! Ugly! Ugly!" the boy began pointing his finger at her. Her patience snaps.

"Listen here you little brat, do you want to know what I did to the other kids who mocked me!?" she grabs his cheeks forcefully and begins playing with them, making him cry, "I would mince their meat and feed it to the birds!"

She lets go of his cheek as he continues to cry loudly. Suddenly she feels a heavy gaze on her and she quickly came back to reality. She was not at home, she was in the palace and the boy she had just punished was none other than the emperor's younger brother.

"Calm down...! I'm sorry...! I'm sorry okay...!" she tried to pet him in order to calm him down but he kept on moving his feet and hands up in the air as he threw a tantrum.

Without knowing what to do, she picks him up, holding him closely into her arms.

"Everything is fine... I'm sorry..." she whispered repeatedly as the boy struggled to leave. He wasn't pleased and began grabbing everything he could. He ripped her clothes, removed her hair adornments, and pulled her long dark hair strands but, even then, she didn't flinch. Her hands continuously petted his back and so, after some time he stopped struggling.

"U-..." the boy was about to curse her once again but he bit his tongue instead.

"Want to see something interesting?" she smiles warmly. He nods and she quickly turns around. Bradley's eyes were horrified as she dared to touch the emperor's little brother but, on the other hand, the one who should mind was, in fact, entertained, "Can you show me a room with no light and bring me some candles?"

The emperor nods and some servants take us into a room upstairs without any windows. Everyone was now standing in the room, sharing glances with one another, confused as to what she intended to do in pure darkness.

Suddenly Ophelia's hands are joined together and began making shadows in the wall. First a bird, then a bunny, then an elephant, then a duck... The young boy's eyes widened with surprise while, at every shape she created, a story was being built.

"What happened next!? What happened to the dog!?" without being able to control his excitement, he yells.

"What do you think happened?" she questioned him as he began to think on the matter.

"He killed the elephant with his sword and then killed everyone else...!" he smiles happily at his conclusion.

'What... the... actual... fuck...?' Ophelia glances at the emperor who was now laughing quietly, 'I guess I shouldn't be surprised... Not with this type of upbringing.'

"Yes, that's exactly it!" she declared, unpleased.

"That's the best ending!" he gets up, "Brother I want to be as powerful as the dog...!"

"Of course Ralph," the emperor kindly smiles as he petted his hair, "Now go on, it's time for your bath."

He groans. It was clear he didn't enjoy this situation in the slightest but, even then, he gave in and went with the rest of the servants.

"Leave us," the emperor ordered and everyone else left the room.

Unconsciously, she began stepping away, carefully, right after seeing the door close behind him once again. The only light in the room was the one provided by the candles but, even then, it was barely enough to see the items around.

"Your imperial highness... I guess I should..." she was scared, frightened.

'Did I fail? Am I going to die?' her limbs had begun to tremble as she realized these were her last minutes on this earth.

Finally, she hits a wall and feels a weight over her. Her eyes widen in surprise as she sees the emperor, standing before her, trapping her onto the wall with a grin on his lips.

"Please make it fast!" she yells as she closes her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" his lips come closer to her ear, "I'm just getting started."

After hearing his final remark she opens her eyes and glares at him.

"Excuse me!? Who do you take me for!?" without controlling her emotions she speaks loudly, disrespecting the man standing before her, "For your information, I am not getting started, nor ending, nor anything in between! What's wrong with you!?"

He lowers his head as his hand covers his face. A shiver runs down her spine once she realizes the words she had spoken. Then suddenly, his body begins trembling.

'This is it...!' she thought she was going to die as she had angered the emperor deeply.

Suddenly, laugher echoes in the room and she opens her eyes once again, confused. Her eyes see the emperor, laughing with tears falling from his eyes as if he was having the time of his life.

Ophelia didn't speak, she didn't know what to say in this type of situation.

"You're hired... You're starting tomorrow..." he states after regaining part of his composure and heading towards the door.

"Thank you, your imperial highness...!" her eyes mimic beautiful jewels, filled with glimmer and expectations.

"And... Call me Mace when we're alone," he smiles kindly before leaving.

'What was that all about!?' flustered, she takes her hands to her cheeks, feeling the temperature on her body rise.