The Abandoned Empress

“Are you the one who has proposed the newly introduced luxury tax?”

“… Yes.”

Although she was not a match for me, she was much smarter and quicker to understand than the many dumb girls and stupid Alexis around me.

Guts got me here, but I now genuinely became interested in her. As I aggressively questioned her, she was clearly embarrassed, which was cute to me.

I liked her dreamy vibe, far from reality, as well as her ability to carry on dialogue with me, which I could hardly find in other women.

But the reason I really got interested in her was because my father stopped me from proposing to her and I saw her intense gaze at my father.

When I saw the deep darkness and a touch of madness in her golden eyes, I thought her gaze was peculiar to that of those who were not loved like me. When she hurriedly pulled her hand from me in surprise when I grabbed it, and when I saw her trembling with her face white, I thought she was perhaps being abused, but I discovered belatedly that she wasn’t.

I found myself enthralled by her affectionate gaze at her father who looked at her as if she was so lovely. I was fascinated by the deep darkness emanating from the girl’s eyes that had blown away her dreamy aura as well as her desperate obsession with her father and a touch of some blind madness.

She was insanely beautiful, and I wanted to have her.

‘What if she directs that madness and blind obsession at me?’

My heart started beating like crazy at the mere thought of it. I gave up the idea of defeating my stupid brother Alexis. Instead, I decided to make her gaze only on me by all means.

However, I made a serious mistake by getting carried away with her in ecstacy. Her father noticed I had a crush on her. Seeing him overly wary of me, I ridiculed him in heart.

‘Oh, so what? I already know you have a soft spot for your daughter. So, all I need to do is make her like me. Then, you won’t oppose me openly. Well, I’m sick and tired of waiting. So, I want to make her fall in love with me little by little and slowly.’

“Aristia.”

“… Huh?”

I didn’t think she was a normal girl, but she was really weird. She seemed to be out of touch with reality as if she was from another world. She did not laugh, nor did she cry. I have never seen her get angry. She disliked being touched by people. She was like a doll with no emotions, except when she looked at her father.

I didn’t want to give up. ‘Please show me the same enthusiasm you feel about your father. I want to have you, and I miss you. Please show that blind obsession and dark madness to me, too. Huh? Show me your fascinating beauty, please, my lovely little lady.’

It took me two full years for me to make her feel interested in me. After numerous attempts, I made her accustomed to me touching her. I played a gentle friend and a sweet lover to her by reciting ‘softly, warmly, little by little, slowly.’ Now, I began to tame her little by little by stroking her wavy and soft hair and feeling her warmth when she was in my arms.

“Allendis.”

“Did you call me, my lady?”

Is it her reward for my strenuous efforts? Her golden eyes towards me began to reflect something I had been longing for.

Obsession, madness, darkness and blind trust.

I was fascinated. Her eyes were so beautiful. I wanted to lock her up right now and make her look at me alone. Whenever I recalled her eyes, my heart beat like crazy. So, I visited her every day. If it had not been for her engagement to the damn crown prince, if the condition had been right for me to take her anywhere, I would certainly have hidden her in a place no one knew and never shown her to anyone. I began to fall in love with that little silver-haired lady who showed her obsession and blind trust in me.

“Are you going to the Imperial Palace today?”

“Yes.”

‘Damn it.’

Even if she was struggling to escape from the Imperial Palace, the girl was still the crown prince’s fiancee. Sometimes, she had to spend time with him because of the emperor’s order.

I did not want to send her. I didn’t want to show her to anybody else. I was afraid that the crown prince would notice her brilliant beauty. Whenever the girl went to the palace, she had a hell-like time. Although I smiled at her as if nothing happened, although I knew through careful background information that the crown prince was not interested in my young lady, I was trembling with nervousness whenever this happened. I was afraid that she might be taken away.

“Again.” I threw hot tea on the floor.

Clear tea water flew and permeated on the carpet embroidered with two keys intersected between the dried leaves of laurel, the crest of my family. Shortly afterwards, the maid brought tea again with trembling hands. After taking a sip, I tilted the mug again.

‘It really sucks.’

Tea flowed again on the carpet soaked with water.

“Again.”

‘Damn it! Why can’t you brew tea as well as my lady does?’

I felt frustrated and upset, grabbing my chest. By now, my lady would be drinking tea with the crown prince. Even if she doesn’t show him the beautiful eyes reserved for me and her father, she would be chatting with him quietly, with a distinctive, gentle smile.

My heart was burning with jealousy. I wanted to go to the palace right away and take her with me. Controlling my raging anger, I poured the new tea the maid brought me on the carpet.

“Brew it again!”

“I’m sorry, Master.”

Clang!

The maid with her eyes welled with tears dropped the empty mug while trying to hold it. Broken pieces of the teacup were scattered on the carpet. She grew so tense at that.

‘Stupid! You’re not good at anything. Well, there are all stupid guys in this house. My father doesn’t appreciate my value properly, and my mother is busy checking his expression and moods, and I don’t have to mention that stupid brother!”

“Beat it!”

The maid, who shed tears helplessly, went out.

I looked at the shattered mug pieces once and picked up the book nervously, which the girl said she read with interest recently. I read it a long time ago and memorized all of it, but as she said she read it, I opened it again. Taking into account her character, I read it, analyzing which part of the book she might have read with interest, and what part would interest her when I brought it up.

“Allendis.”

“What is it? Do you want to say anything to me?”

“You don’t feel very good. What is going on? ”

“Why do you care?”

“You’re back early today. Did you have words with Lady Monique?”

“Please get out. Don’t meddle in my affairs. Go and take care of my handsome brother. ”

My mother’s chocolate-colored eyes were wet with tears.

Only

‘Don’t look at me like that. If you don’t love me only, if you don’t look at me alone, please don’t look at me like that. Don’t pretend to care for me now. Go and live with your proud elder son that you dote on so much. I don’t need you. If you’re not going to look at me like my lady, just go away!’

It didn’t matter whether my mother turned in tears or not.

‘Damn it. I wasted my time on something useless!’

I focused on the book again. I had to sort out my thoughts to share with her if I met the girl tomorrow.

“Alendis, the emperor has told me to take you to the restoration projects this time.”

I should have restrained myself, but I couldn’t stand it if I could not see her insanely beautiful eyes even for a day. So, I visited her house almost every day. In the end, my frequent visit to her house caused trouble. My father said I needed to help him because my brother was physically weak, but it was unreasonable for me to accompany my father when I was only 15 years old.

Needless to say, it’s the emperor who ordered my father to take me. Obviously, the emperor didn’t like me hanging out with Aristia.

I had no other choice but to leave the capital with my father. I had no power to refuse. Somehow, I felt very bad about the situation, but as I had no other choice, I decided to go and build a reputation for myself for the sake of my future. Just in case I can bring the girl back to me, but when I returned to the capital the following spring, the girl was not my lady any more.