You had already noticed the coldness of the Emperor, it’s like that with every concubine after the incident. He still allows the others to touch him freely when he wants to satiate his desires, yet he seems to hold this distance with you. Not once had you been called to accompany him, his gaze only stays on you a few seconds before he adverts his eyes.

Since you didn’t know Claude’s direct opinion of you, you simply concluded that he dislikes you to the point of not even feeling the slightest bit of want to look at you.

But it seemed different today, as you spoke with a knight that has been kind enough to show sympathy, the sound of footsteps interrupted the conversation, the knight stayed silent when he noticed the person that stood behind you and with no time to react, a hand held your chin in order to tilt your head upwards. The emperor met your gaze with his own icy hues, before he simply leaned closer and placed a kiss on your lips.

Claude had been observing you, ever since you arrived there was this strange feeling in his chest and he ran from it. He avoided you to avoid the feeling— the warmth. But he couldn’t bear the thought of another being able to embrace that emotion you ignited.