101 Ways To Tame The Emperor

Chapter 1: New World, New Life, New Enemies

“ARE YOU all right, Lady Catherine?”

Catherine. Right. I almost forgot again. That is my name now. Catherine Peiris. If only the female servant did not gently reach out for my hand while asking me that question with a troubled look on her face, I would not have reacted. Because three days ago, in the place where I came from, I was still Sabina Ortega.

Unfortunately, in the end, I was not able to question Barbara-the woman who visited me and the one whom I thought was the hell manager because I fainted. I woke up three days later. The servant said that during those times, the Count sent a doctor for me. But I know it was not out of concern for me or for the owner of this body.

I still don’t know what to feel about all this. I’m still alive. That ought to be good news. But I am in a place I never thought existed. I am being called in someone else’s name while surrounded with unfamiliar people who seemed to be so immersed in their role as villains in Catherine’s life. I feel like any time, I could get eaten alive so I had to be on guard twenty-four seven. I was used to it back in the Army but Catherine’s situation was on a higher level. Her life was physically and mentally exhausting.

Catherine put me through this which made me want to hit her hard in the head if only she was here. This is too extreme. When she said she was going to help me live, who in their right minds would think that this is what she meant? This is my fault. I did not take her seriously that’s why this happened to me.

Then again, who would take her words seriously at first?

During the days that I was unconscious, I dreamt of Catherine as if it was her way of explaining the situation to me. I dreamt of the pitiful life she led ever since she was born. It was like watching a movie minus the popcorn. I saw all of her struggles.

I found out that Catherine was the third daughter of Count Quentin Peiris, one of the most influential people in the kingdom of Morven. He had four daughters but the entire house of Peiris regarded her as The Invisible Lady since her family members treated her life some freaking wallpaper. She was treated differently as if it was her fault that she happened to be a bastard. Her mother was a beautiful maid who served loyally under the Peiris’ since her teenage days.

The bald Count impregnated the poor woman when he came home drunk one night. And after giving birth, Baldy sent the maid away while the baby stayed in the Peiris’ manor.

“Remember, the Count is keeping you alive not because he cares about you, but because he wanted to use you for the House of Peiris’ advantage one day. That was also the reason why I allowed you to live here. You are only here to be used. Don’t you ever forget that.”  I remember seeing that from my dream and feeling furious about it. It was the Countess who said that when Catherine was only nine years old.

Yes, they allowed Catherine to live in the manor, but not in the mansion. The couple sent a caretaker for Catherine. She was raised in a place that was smaller and uglier than the servants’ quarters. When she was five, she was treated as a servant. She began washing the dishes and assisting the servants in doing the laundry. Nobody ever gave her a special treatment since that was the Countess’ order to everyone. That’s why she was often mocked even by the servants for being invisible to her family.

Since Catherine was a living proof of Baldy’s affair, she was the one who paid for her father’s sins. She was trapped; she was not allowed to leave the manor unless she was tasked to buy groceries twice a month. Whenever that happens, there were two bodyguards who would come along with her not to help her carry the supplies but to merely make sure she would not try escaping.

Her half-sisters Barbara, Gwen, and Denise, on the other hand, found a toy in her with Barbara as the mastermind despite being the eldest. They constantly pick a fight with her. They would trip her, would ‘accidentally’ splash drinks on her face, order the maids to place rats in her room, and to bring her nothing but spoiled food.

If not for Matilde who secretly brought Catherine food which she personally made, she would not have survived longer.

“Those rotten people!”

If only I did not hear Matilde gasped, I would not have known that I accidentally said those words out loud.

“My Lady!” she said in a horrified voice as if she was seeing a possessed woman in me.

Well, that was true, anyway.

Just thinking about what Catherine went through made me red with fury. She would get hurt most of the time because of her sisters’ tricks against her. Worse, Baldy knew it all but he never paid attention to it because he never gave a damn about Catherine. That was the reason why she grew up filled with insecurities. Unlike the other daughters, she was not able to study. She could only look at the University with yearning from the carriage whenever they pass by it each time she would do the groceries in the Capital.

Matilde, the only person who was nice to her in the manor, secretly taught her how to read and write. Without Matilde, the spell that Catherine did would not have worked properly.

“If you will behave and will do as you are told, I will let you see your mother one day. I am the only person who can do that since only I’m the only one who knows where Daria is staying. Until then, live quietly. Do not do anything that will taint my name.”  That was Baldy’s promise to Catherine when she was twelve years old.

Catherine endured all the cruelty and held on because of her dream. And that was to see her mother. She believed Baldy with her whole heart. I find it really sickening. Baldy would show her pictures about her mother every six months. She kept those pictures in her treasure box but the Countess burned all of them when Catherine refused to be sent to the Imperial Castle. It devastated her so much. I don’t know how she managed to endure all that. It must have been magic.

If I had popcorn while watching as Catherine’s life unfolded before me, I would not be able to eat it. At that time, I remember wanting a drink, a very strong one. I also remembered wanting to pour it straight to Baldy’s face and to all the people residing in the House of Peiris except for Matilde, of course.

Just as Baldy predicted, his illegitimate daughter indeed became useful to him one day. It happened after the Imperial Castle began requiring every aristocrat’s household to send one of their daughters to marry Aldis Salvatierra, the Emperor who was known for being a tyrant who ruthlessly eliminated thousands of soldiers when he invaded many kingdoms, including the Kingdom of Corbett, the largest kingdom in the world, right after he ascended the throne. Because of that, many kingdoms were no longer in the map. Their names had been removed as they became an extension of Morven.

Morven had been peaceful ever since the Emperor took over the Empire. But after his thirty-third birthday this year, the Ministers began pressing him more and more about his marriage in order to stabilize his position in the Empire which he eventually agreed on.

But for strange reasons, the women who were sent to the Imperial Castle all died in an accident. Even an average person would not believe that it was all a coincidence. It was too suspicious. Someone had to be behind it.

There were rumors circulating around saying that the Emperor was behind those killings to teach the nobles a lesson who were against his ruling so they would not dare to cross him. Whether it was true or not, I would find out soon. I have no choice but to find out anyway. Damn. Catherine gave me no choice.

A week ago, the Emperor’s messenger visited the Peiris household to pass His Majesty’s written edict. And that was to send one of Baldy’s daughters to the Castle. But no one from the ladies wanted to be the Emperor’s wife since there were also bad rumors regarding his face. They said that he looked horrible since half of his face and body was burnt from the fire in his chamber when he was a teenager that’s why he was constantly wearing a mask when facing the public.

Besides, no one can be assured of the woman’s safety the second she travels towards the Castle, much more when she steps inside the Castle. Even if Baldy send his strongest knights to protect his precious daughter, if someone who was a rank higher aimed to kill her, the knights would still be useless.

Of course, as a Count, Baldy can decline the royal edict. But they would suffer a backlash. It was like digging his own grave. Aside from that, his title could be stripped from him.

Baldy and the Countess then came up with a brilliant plan. It was through Catherine.

 N-no. I will never m-marry the Emperor! I will never l-leave this manor! I will wait for my mother here!” Catherine protested for the first time. I think that was the only moment when I became a little proud of her while watching her life story. The scene made me feel like a mother cheering for my daughter. She stuttered while protesting with fear in her eyes. But what mattered was that she voiced out her opinion. That was progress.

The Countess’ raised her brow. “Do you honestly think that you have the right to say ‘no’ to us? We already listed your name in the edict and submitted it to His Majesty’s Castle. Refusing the edict is as good as dying. If you do not wish to marry the Emperor, then I suggest that you better kill yourself now than be killed later.”

“No, Lilian. That must not happen.” Baldy said in a firm voice. “If she kills herself, then we will have to send another representative for our family. If you disobey me and dishonor our family, I will have your mother killed, Catherine, and send her body to you afterwards.”

That ended their ‘family conversation’. Catherine had a bad feeling about it. If she complies, she was certain she would still end up dying in the Castle. If she doesn’t, she would die either way since it was a grave sin to reject the royal edict. It was like choosing her own poison. She was worried that once she dies, the Countess might kill her mother since they were only keeping Daria alive as leverage to keep Catherine in the manor.

It was then when she decided to use the book Matilde gave her about witchcraft several months ago. Matilde bought it from the black market for Catherine out of pity and concern, thinking that it might help her escape from the manor one day.

And since she had lesser time to prepare and she lacked the tools needed for a greater spell, she came up with the most dangerous spell that required the hardest sacrifice. Her blood and her life. The spell allowed her to travel to another Universe through her dream. It took Catherine three days before she saw me since I was her target all along. Only the ones with the same blood as hers could help her complete the spell, after all.

“I am truly sorry that I dragged you in my world, Captain Sabina Ortega.”  I remember Catherine saying in my dream. I guess making me meet her that way was her last spell. “You can curse me all you want for this. I was just desperate to save my mother. I love her so much though I haven’t met her and I know I would not be able to.”

She smiled and I don’t know why but it… broke my heart. And it surprised me because I rarely feel this way. The agony in her eyes was too much to bear. I didn’t know that a love like that was possible, though. Loving someone you haven’t met. I could not relate to that since I grew up seeing my parents occasionally.

But I can relate to Catherine being invisible to her family. Maybe that was the reason why I felt compelled to help her.

“Matilde told me that my mother loved me and never wanted to part from me but Father threatened to kill her parents if she wouldn’t give up on me. I held on to her love. Maybe because I wanted to feel it even for a while. I don’t know what she looks like but I’m sure she’s a lovely woman. If you see my mother, can you give her a hug for me? Can you tell her that I waited for her and that I love her so much? I would give anything to do those things myself but the situation doesn’t allow me to do them.”

I had to look away when her tears fell. So she was loved by her mother. She was not that unlucky, after all.

“You are a very brave woman, Captain. I have only seen you for three days but I knew in an instant that I could trust you and that you could make a difference in my world. I am leaving my mother in your care. Please find her and protect her from the Peiris’. Consider my body as yours since I owe you so much.”

“You speak as if I’m a superhuman or something. What makes you think that I will be able to make a difference in this world?” I asked while massaging my temples. I feel like from now on, I will have to prepare myself because I will be having a constant headache considering how messy and stressful Catherine’s life is. “Frankly, I can’t tell if you saved me only to kill me in the end. You know what I think? I think you are escaping your destiny through me.”