The Abandoned Empress

“You know we promised to go to the village. We’ve got only two days, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Which day is good for you?”

“I thought you forgot it, but you didn’t. Given the choice, what about the last day of the festival?”

“Sure. I’ll see you then.”

After seeing him off, I came back to the room and looked down at the cat, which was asleep with Lina. In the end I, too, fell asleep while looking at the sleeping cat.

The next day I was about to report to work with a light heart when I heard the cat meowing.

I hugged the little cat with glittering golden eyes, crying at me.

“Hi, Luna. Good morning.”

The name of the cat I coined after thinking hard all evening was Luna.

I gave her that name because its glittering silver fur was like the beaming moonlight.

When I saw her looking at me with her golden eyes, I really couldn’t walk away.

‘As I have to work inside the office today, can I take her with me? Oh no, I’m working in the office. I shouldn’t.’

After agonizing a bit, I put Luna down. I felt sorry as she hung on to me, meowing, but I got in the wagon, thinking I would spend time playing with her after coming back.

When I arrived at the Imperial Palace and got out, I saw a bunch of silver hair curled up on the foot step, with its head buried in its paws and shivering. I felt sorry rather than embarrassed to know how she got on the wagon.

Even though the wagon was driving at a slow speed in the capital street, she must have been very scared out there.

When I saw her trembling, I couldn’t send her back, so I finally hugged her and headed for the 1st Knights building.

When I put her down on a soft chair and stroked her several times, her golden eyes closed in no time. After I confirmed that Luna was asleep, I started taking care of the backlog of work.

I was so absent-minded working all day long that I didn’t know it’s already time to go home.

I straightened up and stretched my back for a moment when I heard someone knocking.

“Come on in.”

“Hi, time to go home!”

“Hi, Carsein. I’m almost done now. ”

“Really? Then I will wait. Come with me.”

“Sure. Can you wait a minute? I’ll be done in a minute.”

“Got it.”

After nodding, he was about to sit in a chair in front of the table. Awakened from sleep, Luna meowed low, wary of Carsein.

“Oh my! What’s this?”

“Ugh? It’s my kitten, Luna. ”

“Luna? Meaning moon? Good name. By the way, she looks like you. Where did you get her? ”

“Allendis gave it to me as a gift yesterday. She was born two or three months ago.”

“Did that guy give it to you?”

Then, he tried to catch her quickly, but hurriedly wrapped his hands. She extended her claws and scratched his hand before hiding under the desk. Her golden eyes were sparkling in darkness, full of wariness.

“Hey, you scratched my hand!”

“Are you hurt, Carsein? Let me see. ”

“It’s just a little bit of a scratch. Oh, she has a temper! She’s the same as the jerk who gave the kitten to you.”

“Sorry. Are you okay?”

“Okay. Why don’t you finish your work?”

“Got it.”

Even a kitten has sharp claws. I thought she was soft and gentle because she was docile with me. Was she scared in a strange place like this?

I was sorry for Carsein, and Luna, meowing low under the desk, but I turned my eyes to the papers I was working on. After I was done finally, I held a handful of documents.

“I’ll be back after leaving them in the captain’s office.”

“You done? Okay.”

“Sure.”

Duke Lars was not in the office today. As he was so busy, I could not know where he was.

I waited for a while, but I didn’t feel like he would arrive anytime soon. So, I left a note summarizing the contents of the documents that I sorted out, and returned to my office.

When I opened the door, the kitten suddenly came out of the office.

‘Luna?’ I hurriedly stretched out my hands, but the kitten suddenly disappeared.

“Oh dang it!”

“Carsein?”

“… Like that guy, she is so annoying. Let’s go out and find her.”

“Oh, yes.”

While I was blankly looking at the place where Luna disappeared, I came to my senses when he said that. Carsein said he would try to look for her outside the palace gate, and I went to the inner palace.

‘Where is Luna? She’s still young, so she couldn’t have gone far. ‘

I felt she might be hiding in a dark place, so I intensively looked for her under the shade of the garden trees and the bush, but to no avail.

‘Luna, where are you?’ I regretted not sending her back home.

“What are you doing here?”

While I was bent on looking for her, with my head down, I stiffened when I heard a cold voice, which was familiar to me. I knew I had to thank him for sending me the tea leaves, but I didn’t have the nerve to face him, so I tried writing something on the silvery letter yesterday, but stopped several times. In the end, I didn’t send him a reply. I didn’t expect to bump into him so quickly like this.

I really didn’t want to check who he was, but I reluctantly raised my head and confirmed who called me. Yes, he was the crown prince with deep blue eyes. He was looking at me quietly, with something in his arms.

“Luna?”

“Luna? Are you the owner of this cat? ”

“Oh, I’m honored to meet the Little Sun of the Empire. Yes, she’s my cat.”

That silver kitten I couldn’t find anywhere was asleep in his arms. How did this happen?

I wanted to ask him, but didn’t. When I hesitantly looked at Luna in his arms, he, who was staring at me, opened his mouth, “As the kitten suddenly came running towards me, I thought somebody lost her, so I kept her for now.”

“… Thank you, Majesty. ”

I lowered my head, smacking my dry lips. I felt very awkward when he kindly explained the situation, with his deep blue eyes fixed on me.

“I didn’t know you liked cats.”

“Well…”

“Hmm, I guess it’s a gift you received from somebody who really cares about you.”

I hesitated, not knowing what to answer. As if he noticed it, he turned after handing the sleeping Luna back to me politely.

‘Whew!’

I was breathing a sigh of relief when he suddenly turned again after walking a few steps. When he walked back to me and stopped, his face was as calm as usual. I felt relieved to see it, but at the same time I felt a bit upset.

‘Doesn’t it matter to him? Are you alright? My head is a mess now.’

It was only yesterday that he asked me to look at him as he was now, seeing that I kept comparing him with the old him.

“I understand you were absent-minded while searching for this kitten. You look like crap!”

I instinctively looked at my body and stiffened. He gently brushed off the silver hair and the blades of grass all over my black uniform. His blue eyes fixed on me and his gentle touch. I was afraid of his sudden touch, but my fear was fleeting. I found myself moved again when he carefully adjusted my dishevelled uniform. Some meaningless words were on the tip of my tongue.

Only

As I was distraught at the moment, I tightened my grip on Luna unconsciously. Luna moved a bit and meowed low. Her golden eyes looked at me as she was trying to comfort me. I felt a bit relaxed at her warmth, snuggling into my arms.

While silently looking at me, he sighed, pulling his hand from me. I was looking at him as he turned and disappeared.

“What should I do? I can’t find her… Ugh? Have you found her? ”

“…Oh, yes.”

How much time passed? I came to my senses at Carsein’s sudden voice.

As if he felt relieved to see Luna in my arms, he said with a sigh of relief, “Why didn’t you tell me you found her? I was so worried, man.”

“Ah. Sorry, Carsein. ”

“Are you okay? You look a bit blank. Were you so shocked because you almost lost her?”