"W- what ?" Jezstro, instantly frightened, started biting his nails despite knowing I was planning something
Shhh," I shushed him, not wanting the surrounding guards to hear
"What are go–"
"Shh!" I hissed, cutting him off.
Jezstro flailed his hands in frantic sign language:
(What are we going to do, Your Highness?)
What was he doing?
"It's not time to dance, Jez," I whispered, pulling his hands down. "We're going to escape this place."
He signed again, eyes wide: (How?!)
(And why?!)
"That's my plan. Take this."
I handed him my apple knife.
"Pretend that you're attacking me."
Jezstro blurted, "WHA—"
I clamped my hand over his mouth, silencing him.
"Just do it already! That annoying person is coming."
Here's the grammatically corrected version preserving your dramatic tension:
"No, I won't." Jezstro shifted his expression. For the first time, I saw the calm, serious Jez.
But... I gestured sharply with my knife .. pointing at him, then drawing it across my own throat.
(My orders are above everything. DO IT!)
Jezstro's serious expression faded immediately, and he swallowed.
He held the knife, his hand clearly shaking
"AAAAA! I AM GOING TO MURDER YOU, EMPRESS!"
Jezstro started chasing me, and I fully committed to his performance.
"KYAAAAAA!!! LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU MONSTER!!"
He was doing it—running toward me while deliberately slowing his pace!
"AHAHAHAHAH!! I'VE ALWAYS HATED YOU, YOUR 'LOWERNESS'! YOU ALWAYS LAUGH AT MY NAME MORE THAN ANYTHING I DO! THAT HURT MY PRIDE—I DON'T LIKE YOUR DISDAIN FOR ME!!"
oops.., he's fully immersed in the role!
I spun around and flashed him a thumbs up "Good job, Jez! Keep going!!!"
Well, so that's what he doesn't like about me, huh? I'll keep that in mind, my dear friend!
The guards watched, utterly stunned
"Guys—what should we do?!" one facepalmed
Another shouted, "We can't shoot arrows—the Empress is there! She could get hurt!"
A third panicked: "She'll be murdered by Jezstro if we don't move!"
But they froze mid-chaos as realization struck
"...But that's Jezstro!!
THE CLOWN himself!"
"Jezstro started laughing. 'That's fun! That's fun! I haven't experienced anything like this in my life! AHAHAHAHA!'
I turned to Jez—what really stunned me wasn't just his laugh...
...but his genuine smile. I'd never seen it before.
That terrible emperor with his harsh, boring life!... The thought made my blood boil
"Ah, Emily! You okay? You seem angry?' Jezstro asked , shouting, despite the chaos around us
Wait .. what?
Emily?!
Oh damn it... He saw me biting my lip. Now he'd assume I am furious.
Oh, there's nothing, Jez! .... Anyways!" I gestured wildly toward the distance, we're way far from them!! WE DID IT!!'"
Jezstro started tearing up
"We did it... we did it... YES! WE DI—"
THWACK!
From afar, the guards stared at the lone figure who'd fired—
The Emperor himself, lowering the borrowed guard's bow.
"They don't send me on missions for nothing..."
He relaxed his grip, fixing Emily with a cold stare
"..And they don't call me the Archmaster for nothing!"