The Abandoned Empress

The fresh breeze was blowing through the window, and the morning sun shining through the curtains was shining brilliantly. The voices of the maids chatting happily and the chirping of the birds in the morning was heard through the half-open window.

Is it because I slept fitfully last night?

Although everybody felt great in the morning, I could not share their happy mood.

My head was throbbing, and I felt heavy all over my body like I was wearing a wet dress.

“Do you think you are really okay, my lady?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Leaving Lina behind, who was worried about me all morning, I raised my tired body and changed into a riding suit. When my body felt heavy, it was better for me to move my body properly than to stay still.

“Hi, Sylvia. Good morning.”

When I whispered, burying my face in her mane, Sylvia blew from her mouth strongly as if she replied to me. That made me remember my coming-of-age ceremony. That day I fell from Sylvia because of a roaring bear, and I was in a difficult situation because Sylvia was limping due to her sprained ankle. I also rode the emperor’s horse because of that.

‘Don’t think about it, Aristia. You decided to forget all about it, right?’

When I climbed Sylvia with a bitter smile, a knight in white uniform climbed his horse and asked me, “Where are you going, my lady?”

“Um, well…”

I hesitated for a moment. If I could have my way, I wanted to ride far, but I didn’t want to put a burden on the two royal knights who were dispatched to escort me.

“Why don’t you make a round of the noble’s district? I think you will be fine as we are escorting you from behind.”

“May I?”

“Of course. Do as you please. ”

“Thank you.”

After greeting the knights guarding my house at the gate lightly, I headed to the boulevard of the noble district with the two royal knights.

As it was early in the morning, the street was empty without a single wagon. I raised my head and looked up at the sky. There was no cloud or bright moonlight in the sky.

Suddenly, I felt some hot feelings surging from my heart.

“Giddyup!”

As I spurred her, pulling the reins, Sylvia shook her silver mane and galloped quickly.

The fresh breeze drifting by my chest seemed to blow away my hard and sad feelings.

Let me forget it. The tears of happiness and the old me last night. Let’s forget it all as if they didn’t exist from the beginning.

“Giddyup!”

Heehaw!

As Sylvia picked up speed, blowing roughly from her mouth, my lingering memories of what happened last night disappeared. The magic attraction of the blue moonlight was also blown away.

“Oh, welcome back, my lady. Are you feeling better? ”

“Yes, I think so.”

“I’m glad to hear that. You looked so bad a little while ago.”

I smiled at Lina who beamed at me, and I headed to the home office to take care of some paperwork before going to work.

While I was organizing letters and documents for a while, which I didn’t finish reviewing last night, I noticed a familiar sign. An urgent sign was stamped on the tightly sealed envelope.

The moment I opened the envelope and checked its contents, a smile touched my mouth.

Isn’t Amarantine the crest of the Lanier family? I was very pleased to hear that Baron Carot finally obtained the secret document I had been looking for. Moreover, since he confirmed the existence of “it,” all I had to do was to identify the connection between “it” and Duke Jena.

If so, I could at least punish the duke for poisoning me.

‘By the way…’

I tapped the desk gently. .

All the others were good news, but I was bothered by the fact that Ian Belot’s daughter was going to change her dwelling. She has stayed put in her location until now, but why is she suddenly moving? Did they notice our surveillance?

‘Should I rescue her right now?’

But I could not. She may just change her dwelling routinely. Besides, the moment that we rescued her, it is certain that they would find out who we were. So, we had to rescue her only after we prepared everything.

While I was pondering over some things, I suddenly noticed the first line of the report.

At that moment, something crossed my mind quickly. Okay, as it happens, Duke Jena Jr. wants to see me. Let me meet him and make a deal. Then I can find out if they have already noticed our plan or not. It may be a bit risky, but I felt it seemed worth a try.

I hid the letter in a secret drawer, and got up in a hurry. It was time for me to head to the knights’ division for work.

“It’s been a long time, Duke Jena Jr.”

“I told you not to call me that way.”

“Well, don’t you remember I asked you how I should call you without any formal title?”

When I turned my mouth up a bit, he said, looking at me with an annoying expression.

“Don’t play on words, will you? I’m not here to crack jokes with you.”

“Sounds good. Then, let me get to the point. Given that you called me here, it seems you have accepted my offer. Is that right?”

“I’ve said it before, but I really can’t accept your terms. Give me different terms.”

“Hmm? I clearly told you that I only wanted one thing. I think I’ve got the wrong person as you called me here to engage in this kind of talk. Okay, let’s assume our deal is void.”

The moment I stood up after speaking coldly, I felt an eerie touch on my neck.

The middle-aged man suddenly pulled a self-defense dagger and pointed it at my neck with his purple eyes sparkling.

“Tell me about a different condition.”

“I don’t like it.”

“It is my last warning. Tell me something else. ”

Although he pointed the sharp blade right up my neck, as if he would cut it, I shrugged and replied casually, “Didn’t you hear I already said no?”

If he was desperate enough to point the sword at me, it was obvious that he didn’t want to miss the deal. If then, I didn’t have to make concessions to him. As I originally tried to negotiate with him, I could get what I wanted if I played my cards right.

“Unless you give me ‘it’, I won’t strike a deal with you. Now, what are you going to do? Are you going to stab me?”

“You… ! ”

“And there is one fact that you are overlooking. That’s …”

I was raising my right arm right up to his chest secretly. When he flinched at my cold voice, I quickly reached out and twisted his wrist roughly.

Clang!

The dagger that fell down hit the floor, making a squeaking noise. After kicking the dagger into a corner, I chuckled at the man who was looking at me as if he was dumbfounded.

“You are overlooking the fact that I’m a full-fledged knight. I’m very familiar with coping with a situation like this.”

“You wretched slut!”

“So, why don’t you stop your useless threat and try to negotiate with me? Don’t you want a deal?”

When I asked, tilting my head to the side, the man stared at me for a long time, gnashing his teeth. Then, only after a long time, he said with a slightly softened voice,”… I can’t tell you anything about it except for its storage place.”

Only

“A storage place…Hmm. Though I don’t like it, let me listen. Please tell me. ”

“Did you say what you wanted was a shield, a sword, and a seal engraved with a rose?

I searched for them in my house, but I didn’t find anything like that. Why the hell are you searching for them in my house?”

“I don’t think I have any obligation to answer that.”

“… Well, good. If the seal really exists in my home, there is only one place for it. It’s the secret vault. ”

“Secret vault?”

“Yes. The secret vault that only the head of the family can enter. ”

Great! The seal must be kept there.