Albert said as if he had noticed such a question.
“To be precise, our family does not only serve His Majesty the Emperor. The purpose is to protect all the people of the imperial family from generation to generation.”
For example, he was a guard of the imperial family for generations. At the same time, he said that the royal family and blood were mixed in the middle, and because of that, in a way, they were also distant relatives.
“Of course, not being able to protect His Majesty this time is a painful mistake. I’ll be punished when I go back. I’m willing to bear all of that, of course. But before that, there’s one thing I need to solve.”
“What’s that?”
“Do you know Sir Henry?”
“Sir Henry. Yes, I know.”
He was referring to the knights she met while staying at the duke’s house. A knight who was said to be a distant relative of the imperial family with a cheerful personality somewhere. She forgot about him, but she remembered when she heard the name.
“He’s also a member of my family.”
Luana looked surprised at Albert’s words.
“Right, Sir Legion has inherited the blood of the Imperial family. It’s even closest to His Majesty. Your Majesty had no empress, no successor. So the answer is one.”
“Legion is the next emperor.”
It was a surprise.
“That’s right.”
But what does that have to do with her? Luana was somehow caught up in an ominous feeling.
“I don’t think the princess of the fallen kingdom is worthy of the position of the empress. You used to be a royal family, but now there is no kingdom. There are many better options.”
“I’m not the option.”
Luana gave herself an answer, and she was surprised by it herself. They have a contractual relationship. How confident? But she didn’t even think about giving up. As long as Legion didn’t let go of Luana, she would stay with him.
Albert’s expression, which had been calm with his confident tone, distorted.
“Are you really confident that you can stand there?”
“I’m confident. I don’t say there’s one thing that I don’t have.”
“Have you not learned anything because you were abandoned?”
“I can learn now.”
“It’s called useless confidence.”
Albert seemed unwilling to back down easily. But neither did Luana. Giving up Legion for this?! It was impossible.
“You have to shut up, you know. Don’t regret saying something wrong later.”
Luana spoke proudly and leaned her head back into the carriage. Albert stayed for a while and left. Legion then approached the carriage and talked to her.
“What did you two just talk about?”
“We didn’t talk much. By the way, you seem to be overdoing it, are you okay?”
She could have told him all if she wanted to, but she decided to keep my mouth shut. Albert’s nosy will eventually come from loyalty. If she crosses her line, Luana will not stand still then, but not yet.
“I’m fine for now. Didn’t you cook for me yesterday?”
She had to do it for him. However, there was a limit to the food that could be cooked on the street, so she couldn’t feed him as much as she wanted. Ingredients! If only she had more ingredients! Luana had a sad expression.
Time passed, and evening came; the carriage stopped again, and Luana stood before the fire again. Then the knights, who had been working hard all the time, noticed her and began to gather around her. Since they were heading to the Empire hurriedly, proper beds and food were not provided.
But since a few days ago? The princess of the fallen kingdom in the carriage began to stand in front of the fire, and the big pot on the fire smelled good.
‘This is weird. I think it’s just dried vegetables, hard bread and beef jerky, but it smells this amazing.’
Some people questioned. It didn’t take long for it to lead to curiosity. Because the duke, famous for his picky taste, ate the whole pot himself. The duke, who ate everything up, always left a word as a courtesy.
“It’s delicious.”
They heard that the royal chef’s cooking was not good either. How delicious is it? Natural curiosity grew louder and louder. And the interest finally paid off.
“Do you want some?”
‘Was it because I was watching you with so much pity?’ The princess had asked to give a dish to a knight.
“Well, would that be okay?”
The knight did not refuse.
“Yes, but you have to give me the ingredients.”
After he gave his ingredients, he received a bowl of soup stew. Vegetables and pieces of beef jerky were floating on the yellow-colored stew. Would this taste good? The knight drank the stew in doubt. And the moment he took a sip, he admired it.
‘Delicious!’
This taste may surpass that of an imperial cook. But there was one thing he could guarantee. At least at this moment, no food was more delicious than this. The flavor of the savory that touches the tip of the tongue, the meat jerky that adds saltiness, and the taste of the spices that he can feel clearly.
“What do you think?”
The knight praised a colleague who asked for a review from the side.
“It’s good! It’s really delicious!”
From then on, Luana was freed from the poverty of ingredients! A bigger pot, more pot. The pot began to increase gradually. And the knights were falling for the taste, except for one person.
“Sir Albert, don’t you eat?”
“I’m fine with this.”
It was Albert who rejected everything. He chose to eat dry beef jerky and hard bread by himself. But that didn’t mean he had no sense of taste. He was fully aware that the food was not delicious.
‘Tsk, I won’t fall for it.’
Luana wanted to give Albert some dish if possible, but he didn’t budge. Luana pouted as she stirred the pot. It wasn’t the only reason she dared to cook in large quantities. She had to get more ingredients, but also to win the favor of the knights.
In many ways, she was not in a position to be liked. At least not being hated will make the future more comfortable. So she was doing this, and only Sir Albert was holding out. And in the meantime, time was passing.
It didn’t take long to go to the empire, but it took a considerable time because the number of people accompanying them changed. It also means that the week Albert gave her passed on the road.
“Have you not changed your mind?”
Luana responded to Albert’s comments in an unchanging manner.
“I haven’t.”
Albert, who stared at Luana for a moment at her firm answer, bit his mouth. Then, after a while, he said,
“Then I won’t say any more.”
That’s what he said, but his attitude remained. She seemed to think that Luana would give up one day because he gave her a hard time. When the emperor dies, won’t everything be all right? She felt so, but it didn’t seem like it. After all, can the world turn advantageously with the death of one person?
Everyone had their own life, and Luana’s life continued even after the emperor died. However, Ingrid’s life would have been a little different. Now that the one with the greatest influence has passed, she will be walking a different path than she was originally supposed to take. Now, even Luana didn’t know what the end would be. The part she knew was long gone.
‘What’s really going to happen now?’
Her heart pounded at her slight anxiety and a bit of excitement.
‘But I’m not alone.’
It’s going to be okay. Although she had many challenges, she believed she could get through it.
***
As soon as they arrived in the empire, everything went fast. First, the date of the emperor’s funeral was set. His body was not intact because it had already been transported for a long time.
Undertakers had to make a lot of effort to keep the body as intact as possible. Thus, the emperor regained his beautiful appearance during his lifetime. But that was it. Because the dead could not be resurrected, their beauty was of no use.
‘After all, it’s just a corpse.’
The emperor got everything, but he didn’t get what he wanted. Legion thought he had a foolish life. Now he’s standing here because the emperor made the wrong choice.
At the Emperor’s funeral.
It’s a silly story, but it rained. Although the priests who had deliberately chosen a sunny day seemed perplexed, Legion moved calmly.
“Proceed as planned.”
At Legion’s words, people began to move calmly. The tomb of the imperial family was opened, and the coffin was lowered. The flowers fell one by one on top of it. Luana, standing next to Legion, also dropped flowers on it. It was then that he saw a familiar blonde in the drizzling rain.
The woman in black mourning threw the flower in her hand and turned around. The flowers that had fallen on the tomb of flowers piled up with white robes fell on top of it. The soft purple light shining through the white caught her eyes.
He looked up again in wonder, and she heard Luana whispering from the side.
“That purple flower language is revenge.”
Only then did Legion understand Ingrid’s action, the blonde woman who disappeared. Perhaps she still didn’t satisfied with the emperor’s death. Still, she clearly left a feeling of hatred to the person she loved. Maybe she’ll never forget the emperor.
The emperor’s funeral came to an end in the rain. After the funeral, the people had a period of mourning for the emperor for a while.
And during that time, Legion’s preparations for the coronation began. The days continued to be hectic.
