The Abandoned Empress

After reading through the notebook, Rublis looked down at the chief cook, who lay on his face under his feet and trembled violently. The reason he couldn’t get rid of it was obvious. The notebook recorded the recipes on the crown prince’s favorite foods. Nonetheless, it was unacceptable that he kept the notebook that contained his predecessor’s cursing of the emperor. Rublis was upset with him.

“So, I’m so sorry, Your Majesty. Please have mercy on me! ”

“Mercy on you?”

“Please take me as a foolish man, and have mercy on me…”

“Drag him!”

“Your Majesty, please!”

“Okay, then. Let me have mercy on you and save your life. Expel the chief chef from the Imperial Palace, relieve him of his position, and confiscate half of his property. If I come back to the capital in the future, you will be killed. ”

He ordered them to drag out the middle-aged chef, who kept expressing thanks to him, with his head down. Then, he walked into his bedroom with strides. All of the palace people passing by him hurriedly made themselves scarce, showing due manners.

When he opened the door with a murderous look, he threw away the notebook. However, he couldn’t calm down in frustrated rage. While looking around, he noticed numerous documents piled on the small table. A few days ago, he remembered that he had asked the director of the palace affairs office to bring all the documents related to the former concubine.

After grabbing some documents roughly, he lay down on the bed. He turned over the documents one by one quickly, then stopped when he read something. He carefully put down the documents and pressed his forehead with one hand.

Most of the documents were related to the guidelines about the operation of the palace, while the rest of them were related to Rublis himself. Perhaps she thought she couldn’t continue to be in charge of the palace affairs, so it seemed that she wrote down the palace operation manual by herself for the future empress. Given that the manual was written in detail without any flowery language and hackneyed phrases, and that in the round and clear handwriting style peculiar to hers, it was obvious that she compiled the manual herself. He could understand why the palace director kept it at the risk of his life because it would be a big help for anybody who would be in charge of the palace work in the future.

However, it was the documents related to himself that complicated Rubles’ mind.

Some of them were compiled by the concubine, which were not that thick. Since any information about the emperor was not to be leaked out, almost all of the contents were related to his trifling things, but there was lots of stuff about him that only someone who was really interested in him could record. For example, the design and texture of the fabric that he liked, his favorite color, the type and temperature of his favorite tea, and its brewing time. Although she had not much time to see face to face with him, she knew a lot of details about him. At the end of the document, she asked them to take good care of him, based on his preference or taste, no matter how trifling it was.

Aristia la Monique.

Even though they spent time together for a long time, he had never called her by that when she was alive, because he always called her ‘you’ or ‘concubine.’ He could recall that name only after tracing his distant memories of her for some time, which he had almost forgotten until now.

After quarrelling with Jiun a few days ago, he realized that his life was comfortable and very satisfying only when she was there with him. Once he realized that, he vividly recalled all about her that he had forgotten for the past three years.

Her silver hair that hung all the way down to the waist, her golden eyes that people praised, and her disciplined actions and calm voice.

She was a woman who was always like a quiet lake.

Because she was always calm, I thought she had no feelings. I thought she was a doll-like woman with no emotions, and I hated her, thinking she was a nasty woman only bent on taking care of her own faction’s interests. He thought she was made for the ’emperor’, not Rublis himself.

Watching Jiun smiling at me all the time, I thought she really loved me. Watching her treating me without any reservation and revealing her feelings without any hesitation, he thought she was made for Rublis himself, not for the ’emperor.’

But right now he questioned if his judgment was right. The concubine, who he thought was made for the emperor, knew even his taste, which he had never revealed to anybody. Although I had dinner with her only twice, before and after she entered the palace, she carefully observed his foods to understand his taste. On the other hand, Jiun, who he thought was made for himself, not the emperor, said she loved him, but she didn’t know what kind of food he liked while they were living together for over four years. Although she dined with him all the time, she thought his taste was the same as hers rather than observing his taste.

Aristia was a woman who prepared a chef for several years even before she entered the palace, so he could develop the food that he might like, while Jiun made food herself and brought it to him. In the past, he took it granted that it was Jiun, not Aristia, who really cared about him. But could he still think the same way even now?

He felt that the tower of his fixed perception of the two women began to collapse little by little.

‘Aristia la Monique.’

What kind of woman were you? I executed you with my hand. Why are you swaying me like this?

What is your truth? What was your feeling that you never showed to me or told me?

With you gone now, I am just curious about what kind of woman you were.

With you gone now, I would like to hear your story that I have not listened to.

With you gone now, I call your name I have never called before.

I call you Aristia, Tia.

***

Addendum: Aristia la Monique’s Observation Diary

<In 1085 by the imperial calendar, Historian Nisha finds two old books in the Imperial Palace Library. he couldn’t see what the titles were because of their worn covers, but at first glance, it seems like it was written as someone’s observation diary. While reading them to kill time, he was surprised at the new facts.

The documents in question were written in 962 and 963 by the imperial calendar. They were mostly about Empress Aristia, who was then the daughter of the Monique family. The documents recorded the facts not only about her, but also the life, climate, and situation of the knights at that time. At first glance, they were trifling, but those who read the documents were amazed by the symbols and metaphoric sarcasm hidden in the texts. So, since Nisha’s discovery, they have been regarded as one of the most valuable historical data that shows the atmosphere of the palace at the time.>

◎ Let me start recording the facts about our beautiful goddess Aristia la Monique.

You should never be pushed aside by the Monique family’s knights! They started first!

So, what did our goddess do today?

Call her Sir Monique, dude!

Oh, when I saw her a little while ago, she was leaning against the tree as if she was a little sleepy.

Oops, where am I now?

She seemed to visit there often, where there was a fire last time

Have you seen the other side of the tree? I saw His Majesty with her.

What! Why was His Majesty there?

He can’t help it. He is her fiance officially.

No! She is for all of us!

◎ During the New Year’s day this year, many knights were appointed, right?

By the way, did you hear it? That knight who was a personal escort for the princess also became a full-fledged knight.

What the heck? It didn’t look like he was competent enough. At best, he was a mere knight of a kingdom, right?

Well, he was an escort of a royal family member…

Which knights division is he going to be assigned to?

I hear he is going to join our knights’ division.

Oh my God!

◎ I’ve got the latest information I just obtained from the Royal Knights Division! It is said that the crown prince watched our goddess practicing in the training field of the 1st Knights Division for a long time before leaving

Ah, our goddess… Please don’t leave us!

I’m really afraid our goddess is going to be the crown prince’s wife!

No way, we need to serve her as the Captain of our division!

Let’s promote Sir Monique as Marquis!

I’m opposed to this couple!

Yes, me, too!

Don’t you think they make a good couple?

But our Captain seemed to be more interested in Sir Carsein.

Well, he seems to see her often these days.

Only

Well, I saw him being with our goddess often.

No way! He was bragging about his friendship with her.

Oh, no! He pretends to be her friend!

Stupid, don’t you know that there are no friends between men and women?

I’m opposed to them being a couple.

I am depressed. It’s sad to imagine our goddess is someone’s lover, be it the crown prince or another man.

Cheer up, man. We’re all on the same page on that!