The Abandoned Empress

As I couldn’t believe my ears, I glanced over the letters piled up.

But it was clear that the handwriting on the golden blue letters was definitely his, no matter how often I checked it. His handwriting was a gorgeous curvy one used by the imperial family, and yet it gave out a feeling of neatness and coldness, as if to show his character.

Only then did I realize that the person who wrote these letters was the emperor and that the recipient was me.

I suddenly blushed. Not only my face, but also my whole body felt hot. It was something I had never dreamed of, or could even think of. But I was seeing it unfolding in front of my eyes.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the letters while covering my cheeks with hands and breathing in and out deeply several times. It seemed that I could feel his sincerity in each word written fully in the letters. He was desperate, kind, sad, and warm…

Suddenly, I recalled my dialogue with him some time ago. During the conversation he asked me why I thought he would change his mind so easily. He said he would never have kept an eye on me if he had taken me lightly.

Why did he think so?

Honestly, I could not figure out why. I just thought it was only natural that he would think so.

I thought that as the emperor, he wouldn’t be satisfied with only one woman and that since he was a cold-hearted person, he would take me lightly. Even though I knew that he was different from the old him, I thought I never knew when he would change his mind, recalling his love of Jiun.

Was it just my prejudice? Can I really trust him? He even confessed his love to me sincerely.

While looking blankly at the letters, I shook my head vigorously. No matter how much I thought about it, I thought this was not the right way to deal with him. I vowed that I would never hurt anybody because of love. Besides, my partner was none other than the emperor.

‘Come to your senses, Aristia.’ I murmured to myself.

When I shook my head once again, I suddenly heard Lina asking me with mixed feelings of doubt and concern, “Are you okay, my lady?”

I looked around, calming my pounding heart. Lina was looking at me, leaning her head to the side.

“Oh my goodness! What’s up, Lina? ”

“I called you several times, but you didn’t reply. What’s the matter with you?”

“Oh, nothing. Did you call me several times? Anything to say to me?”

“Ah. It looks like several people came from your estate to congratulate you on being the official successor of the family…”

“Really? I got it.”

Nodding lightly, I gathered the letters piled up on the desk. My heart ached again when I saw the thick letters. Originally, he was not the type of person who wrote a long letter. His messages were always short and concise.

‘What the heck are you thinking? Wake up!’

Biting my lips tightly, I put the letters back in the envelopes. Folding each letter, I cleared my confused thoughts. Looking into the mirror, I erased any lingering emotions from my mind.

There was a figure reflected in the mirror, who was obviously familiar to me, but who I had not seen for a long time.

‘You’re fine, Aristia.’

But what is fine with me?

Leaving that question behind, I moved to the drawing-room where my family vassals were waiting.

The next day I headed for the Central Palace after finishing morning work. I was supposed to carry out the emperor’s order to help him handle the increased workload related to the new knights’ divisions.

While walking through the long corridor, I tilted my head because every knight I ran into avoided my eyes. I double-checked my uniform just in case it was not unkempt or untidy, but I didn’t see any problem with my uniform.

What the hell are they doing now?

“I’m honored to see you, the Sun of the Empire.”

“Come on in!”

Although I vowed to act calmly and casually, I blushed as soon as I saw him. As his deep kiss, his desperate confession and his letters came to my mind, I couldn’t make eye contact with him.

Since I couldn’t figure out what to say, I fidgeted with the bunch of documents I was holding. After he was done signing the documents he reviewed, he reached out suddenly.

He said, looking blankly at me when I flinched, “What is your assignment today?”

“Ah… I’m supposed to relocate the knights concentrated in the existing three knights divisions. ”

“Well? Should I receive a briefing about it?”

“Yes, because it requires the even distribution of the knights among the three divisions…”

“Good. Then, will you give me the documents you brought to me first? Let me read this, so please give me an overview.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

He reacted as usual as he did in the past, except that his face looked a little pale.

Although I was relieved by his calm voice and casual expression, somehow I felt a bit sorry. I felt like I was drained at the moment.

Did he take his physical wellbeing last night lightly?

I had some mixed feelings because of that, but I could calmly brief him about the number of people to be relocated and the factions they belonged to.

When I was explaining to him for a while, I suddenly heard a knock outside. Soon, the Lord Chamberlain who carefully opened the door and stepped in, said with a deep bow, “Your Majesty, Lady Jena has formally asked to meet you. What shall I do? ”

“Lady Jena? Ah, was that today? ”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Right. Let her in. ”

I shook his head when he spoke with a tone as if he forgot it for a long time.

I felt strange because he was not the type of person who forgot this kind of stuff.

Even if he forgot, didn’t his aide give him a reminder about his schedule of the day every morning?

But it wasn’t that important now, so I stood up with a puzzled look.

When I was about to leave after bowing to him, he suddenly grabbed my wrist and said, “Just stay here.”

“But Your Majesty. Lady Jena is coming now…”

“That’s fine. I’m not going to see her for long anyway.”

Is this really okay? She is not in my faction, and I don’t know why she came to see the emperor.

Although I felt uncomfortable, I just sat back reluctantly. Only then did he let go of my wrist and closed the documents, so they were not visible. I also gathered documents piled up high and put them on one corner of the table that was hard to notice.

Stepping into the office with a smile, she suddenly stopped. She stared at me with a sharp glance, as if to ask why I was here, then quickly smiled at him, showing due manners.

I broke into a smile, looking at the swollen purple satin dress.

“I, Graspe de Jena, am honored to see you, the Sun of the Empire.”

“Sit down. Hmm, Lady Jena.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I don’t know what business brought you here, but given that you didn’t request a solo meeting with me, I don’t think your agenda today is secret. So, would you mind if I had Lady Monique stay here?”

“… Not at all, Your Majesty. ”

Responding a bit belatedly, she sat down on his left, adjusting the hem of her dress. As I sat on his right, I was sitting face to face with her.

“Aristia, let’s take care of the rest of the work after the meeting is over. Just assume you’re taking a break.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

I replied, flinching at his remarks. Why is he saying that? I looked up at him curiously, but he looked very calm, though his face looked a bit pale.

Only

“Okay. Then let me listen to what you have to say, Lady Jena. So, what’s the matter?”

“Oh, nothing special…”

Casting a sharp glance at me, she put down a small box on the table. Smiling shyly, she untied the golden ribbon, opened the lid, and gave it to him.

“I had a chance to obtain the best rosehips from the Sono kingdom. So I’ve brought it to Your Majesty. ”

“Really? Thank you. ”

“You’re welcome, Your Majesty. And I’ve brought this one, too, as it’s good with the rosehip tea. Although I’m not good at it, I’ve made it by myself, longing for you so much. So, please accept it as a small sign of my kindness.”

“Thank you, Lady Jena.”

‘Did you make it by yourself?’