Empress Selene was busy discussing an invitation to attend a banquet from Empress Aurelia of the Serathia Empire.
This empire was located on the southern border of Elyandra.
They had been old rivals since the time of their great-grandmothers, but during the Queen Mother’s regime, they reconciled and signed a peace treaty.
Now Selene and Aurelia were maintaining that peace treaty.
Princess Lynera volunteered to attend the banquet.
Selene approved it immediately, as she had other pressing matters to attend to in court.
Amidst their discussion, a messenger arrived with an invitation from Fourth Concubine Neron to have dinner.
She had been busy the previous week and could not visit him.
“Inform Neron that I will be able to have tea in the evening, but not dinner,” the Empress instructed.
“Isn’t the Fourth Concubine’s palace next to Moonveil Palace?” Princess Lynera asked.
“Hmm.”
“I heard your last visit to Moonveil Palace was quite pleasant?” Lynera teased, smirking.
She loved provoking Selene.
“Yes.
You may visit there if you want to have a pleasant experience,” Selene replied coldly.
“No, no.
I will pass.
I don’t want to intrude on my sister’s time with her consort.” Lynera gave a quiet laugh.
“You need to prepare a gift for Empress Aurelia.” Selene changed the subject swiftly.
“Yes, I do.
I shall take my leave.”
Lynera stood up from her seat and left, not before smiling at her sister.
In the evening, at Fourth Concubine Neron’s palace—
As usual, Concubine Neron played the flute exceptionally well.
It helped the Empress distract herself from current court matters and the suspicious behavior of several ministers.
The herbal tea served by Neron was refreshing.
She stood on the pavement outside Neron’s residence.
Involuntarily, her gaze drifted toward Moonveil Palace.
It remained the same as when she had left it last time.
A memory of grapes resurfaced in her mind.
Her gaze shifted toward the front yard.
Something rose into the air like a flower and then fell toward the ground.
Moments later, it rose again before dropping once more.
The process repeated several times.
She frowned at the object tossing through the air.
Intrigued.
Her steps once again carried her toward the entrance of Moonveil Palace’s front yard.
She saw a strange sight.
Keiro and Elias each held a round object with a handle.
They stood a yard apart, hitting a small flower-like object through the air.
A white line had been drawn on the ground, separating them like a battlefield.
Curious, she stood there watching, unaware that her guards were also watching from a few feet behind her.
Elias and Keiro continued striking the white flower-like object with the round handles in their hands.
They tried to keep it from falling to the ground.
Whenever it fell, they would laugh, curse, or yell before picking it up and hitting it into the air again.
Elias was laughing a lot, showing his dimples.
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She had never seen his dimpled smile before.
His hair was tied into a tight bun, exposing his neck.
Pale skin…
She had never noticed.
Elias sensed her presence and stopped playing.
Shocked.
He walked toward her and bowed.
“Your Highness, this humble servant greets you.”
She ignored his formality and asked,
“What are you doing with that round handle?”
“This?”
He gestured toward the handle in his hand.
“We are playing badminton.”
He told her.
“Explain.”
Curious, she ordered him to explain.
“This is a badminton game.
This white flower in my hand is a shuttlecock, and these two round-shaped handles are bats.
We stand opposite each other and draw a line to mark our territory.
We hit the flower with the bat toward our opponent.
We should hit it hard enough that it lands in our opponent’s territory.
The opponent must run toward it and hit it back before it falls to the ground.
Whoever fails to prevent it from falling on their side loses a point.
Whoever has more points wins.”
Interesting, Selene thought.
She had never heard of this game before.
The guards also watched their interaction with interest.
“Do you want to play?”
Elias suddenly asked, extending a bat toward her.
Everyone was stunned, including the Empress.
Realizing he might have made a mistake, Elias immediately began pulling the bat back and lowering his head.
“Sure,” the Empress said, surprising everyone.
The Empress removed her outer robe and handed it to a nearby guard.
She stood where Keiro had been standing, holding a bat.
Elias stood opposite her in his territory.
He hit the flower toward her.
Initially, she stumbled while playing, which earned laughter from Elias.
She repeatedly lost points and missed the flower coming toward her.
One time, it hit her in the face.
Elias clutched his stomach and laughed hard.
Everyone around them gasped in horror.
He had blatantly laughed at the Empress.
Elias immediately stopped laughing, now frightened for his life.
From the corner of his eye, he could see Keiro growing worried.
Selene looked at their expressions and picked up the shuttlecock from the floor before hitting it hard into the air.
It landed straight on Elias’s head.
He stood there stunned.
Elias narrowed his eyes at her and hit the flower back with equal strength.
That ignited her fighting spirit.
She learned the game quickly.
And eventually won.
They played for nearly an hour.
By the end, Elias was tired and declared it enough.
He was breathless.
Meanwhile, Selene was not tired at all.
In fact, she felt more alive than she had in years.
She had never done anything like this with her consorts.
It was always chess, poetry, romance, music, dance, or intimacy.
This felt different.
An activity anyone could enjoy.
Friends.
Siblings.
Partners.
She quietly watched him gathering his things in the garden.
Sweat coated his clothes, making the fabric cling to his body.
His hair was damp, sticking to his face and neck.
His flushed face carried a deep pink shade that contrasted with his pale skin.
Elias caught her staring at him.
Embarrassed, he walked over to her.
“Your Majesty, my feet are sore.
May I go inside and rest?”
He asked awkwardly.
She looked down at his feet.
He was barefoot.
She nodded.
He bowed once again and went inside.
She watched him enter the palace with Keiro following behind.
The excitement she had felt while playing slowly faded.
As she realized—
Once again, he had not invited her inside.
But this time she did not feel anger.
She felt disappointed.
And that surprised her.
Because for the first time in her life, she wanted to stay somewhere longer.
But she could not.
The guards silently witnessed everything, yet did not dare utter a word.
The Empress returned to her bedchamber that night.
Involuntarily reminiscing about the game she had played earlier in someone’s abandoned palace.
Author’s Note: Selene came to visit Moonveil Palace again…
This time she left with something even more dangerous than grapes— A badminton racket.
Elias laughed at the Empress.
The Empress hit him in the head.
A very healthy relationship, I would say.
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