“Oh Lord. We almost got in big trouble.”
The blond knight, who had witnessed the madness of the Young Lady of Mezerine, said while catching his breath. Just for the sake of saving themselves, they rode the horse as fast as the wind.
“Nevertheless, he seemed to…. have accepted it better than I expected which I was extremely grateful for.”
The grey-haired aide, who was the one to had delivered the imperial edict, glanced at the knight and laughed in vain.
“Lord Lian… I haven’t met with the Lady earlier. Do you think Her Majesty would believe an edict that has been delivered so insincerely?”
“Haha. Were we that insincere?”
The blond knight tightened the grip on his reins and slowed his horse.
“Then what should I do… His Majesty has been making erratic judgement these days… I believe His Majesty would also be glad to know that it ended without a hassle.”
Another knight, who was riding beside Lian, glared at him in disbelief.
“No. Since when have you begun to evaluate His Majesty’s mind?”
“Since the last meeting. You should be aware of that. If things had gotten slightly wrong, do you think we would have lived back then?”
“Ahem.”
The grey-haired royal aide coughed in response to the knight’s words, feeling embarrassed. He straightened his posture as he asked cautiously.
“Nevertheless… Have you noticed anything strange in the Viscount’s house earlier?”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m curious since you seemed to were delayed on the second floor longer than I expected.”
“Ah. Well. Indeed, I’ve witnessed something quite interesting.”
The eyes of the accompanying knights soon turned to him, their eyes sparkling with curiosity.
The blond knight laughed heartily, as if pleased at their sudden attention and began stroking his horse’s neck.
“Fine, let’s hurry and return to the palace. I’ll explain everything once we get back.”
The hooves of horses thumped on the ground as they moved forward. A gust of dust rose behind the imperial knights as they left the Schmarin territory.
Knight Lian looked back for a moment, as if remembering something. He took a short breath and sighed before riding his horse after the group.
* * *
The gentle breeze blew through the window, fluttering the white curtains. The breeze caressed her lovely crimson locks that flowed down to her waist, and fluttered them around.
The clear, fair and pure skin, without any blemishes, shone brightly under the rays of tender moonlight. The pair of glistening red little lips below a small straight nose were pursed shut. Her delicate thin fingers moved slowly at the sky, as if tracing the constellations in the night sky.
This lovely young lady, with her eyes sparkling as if a rays of sunlights had been embedded into them, was none other than….
The sole Empress of the Great Empire Persia, the only Empire on the continent of Asha… Her Majesty (former).
The dark blue ribbon, wrapped around the precisely crafted citrine below her straight collarbone, brought out the elegance of her pale yellow dress, which matched precisely with the color of her eyes and made them stand out even more.
A pure white lace, crafted of rich materials, encircled her slender waist.
The beautiful Lady’s slender and delicate ankles shook with the rhythm of the ticking of the clock. Her small toes tapped above the floor, almost touching it.
Klisha, the first unmarried Empress since the foundation of the Empire, and was also the first unfortunate Empress to be divorced before the marriage, stared blankly out the window with her small, round chin held in her hands.
A small bird perched on the window-sill met Klisha’s eyes. It tilted its head and curiously looked at her. Then, it soon spread its wings and moved to another tree in the garden.
‘How envious. If you want to go, you can go. If you want to fly, you can fly.’
A week had passed since she received that terrible news. After hearing the news, she had been only blankly staring at things, not knowing how to save herself from this predicament.
She tried to calmly look back on the cause and effect of the incident, but no matter how much she pondered about it, she couldn’t find any fault done by herself. Doesn’t the situation seem like a shrimp caught between whale fights… or a ship sinks because… the crow flies above it?
[T/N: The phrase ‘이게 바로 고래 싸움에 새우 등’ implies someone or something insignificant or powerless getting caught in a conflict between much more powerful entities.
The phrase ‘이 아니라 까마귀 날자 배 떨어지는…… 도 아닌가’ implies questioning whether something is happening due to a seemingly unrelated event or cause.]
Not only was she divorced before marriage but also exiled to a remote island!?
Just the thought was enough to make Klisha attempt to run away in a fit of rage. However, every time she did so, her already old father would turn around with a helpless sigh. And the nanny, who had fed, clothed, and raised her, would just rub her reddened eyes and smile sadly.
Time passed this way without being able to do anything.
The butler, and even the servants kept glancing at each other in anxiety, as if checking whether the atmosphere of the gloomy house had brightened a little or not. But they would soon shake their heads helplessly.
Even the always blooming garden was quiet. The only being who was oblivious of the tense atmosphere was the bird sitting on the window-sill. It would occasionally glance at them while preening its tail feathers.
‘No, what the heck… why.’
It had been nearly a decade since the territorial war that had raged half of the continent, and wiped out many people across the continent. The peaceful atmosphere that always enveloped the house seemed to have completely lost its luster and fallen into darkness.
The thought made her angry again.
Klisha Mezerine. 21 years old.
Aside from her childhood which was full of unusual events, she didn’t think she was raised covered in wealth, or strampled in poverty.
Her father, Issac Mezerin, was a nobleman with minimal authority, and held the rank of Viscount. He had always been respected by the people of the estate for his gentle personality and frugal lifestyle.
The story of Issac, for having raised his only daughter on his back after losing his wife early on and becoming a widower, was popular among the people of the estate.
And he indeed raised her on his back.
Issac Mezerine was a poor knight in his early years. He was granted the title of Viscount after he earned the reputation of the ‘Red Lion of Schmarin’ when he reclaimed the northern border at the end of the territorial war. And the fact that the Viscount took his young daughter, who was just an infant, to the battlefield at that time was a famous story passed down in people’s mouths.
Growing up on the battlefield from the time she was only a toddler and learned how to walk until she was about ten years old, Klisha received the uncountable love and attention of her aunts, uncles, and grandparents. The relationship that strengthened by the years passed together was thicker than blood.
If one were to trace the origins of all the ‘tricks’ she had learned since childhood, they were all things she had learned half-willingly, half-forcibly from her ‘self-proclaimed relatives’.
After the war.
Issac received a part of his hometown, Schmarin as his fief and settled down there as a noble. After that, they thought only a peaceful life was waiting ahead.
But the sudden news of the Young Lady of Mezerine’s exile brought heavy tension to the mansion once again.
The exile of the sole successor of the House of the Viscount was ultimately equivalent to the exile of the entire Household of Viscount Mezerine.
He was a noble with little authority, therefore, he had always deliberately kept his distance from central politics. However, after all the years passed in peace, he might have been dragged into the struggle of power without him even realizing it.
Some of the vessels were agitated at the sudden shift of heavy gloom. They could not comprehend why they were thrown into such a predicament after all these years when nothing had occurred before.
The specific reason for this was unknown. However, the people of the Lord, who were sensitive to this atmosphere, only sighed as they thought about the misfortune that had befallen on the Schmarin’s Young Lady.
‘No. Ten years is a long time. I have many wishes too.’
Klisha could not accept this fate that has befallen on herself.
She wanted to meet a gentle and handsome man, preferably with black hair and ruby red eyes. The both of them would have a sweet lovely relationship, and after years passed by, they would get married. And? She also dreamed of going on an adventure around the world, travelling to various cities and eating delicious foods.
Even if she put aside the topic of the sudden divorce.
She had wasted ten years of her life living in a war zone. If she were to be exiled for another ten years.
What would be left of her life? Nothing would be left. Not only her dreams, but her life would also be turned into dust and blown away.
‘I have to find a solution somehow. Hmm. Hmm.’
Klisha, whose mind was busy wondering about various things, was holding her neatly combed hair in both hands and pulling it in frustration without even realizing that. The back of her head, desperately trying to find a way, seemed pitiful.
Nanny Alice sighed involuntarily seeing Klisha behaving that way.
Alice first met Klisha when the war hero, Issac, had just received the territory and arrived there.
After seeing an advertisement poster, which was seeking for a live-in tutor who could teach ‘manners and etiquette’ to noble children, she went to the place mentioned in the poster to try her luck. It was the first time when she met the Young Lady, a small child, holding onto the hem of the Viscount’s trousers.
She was first astonished to learn the fact that the child, who looked like she was about six or seven years old, was actually ten.
For the second time she was astonished by learning the fact that the little child with cautious movement and messy red hair was a girl.
Alice, who realized at first glance that teaching manners and etiquette to a child, who spent her early life on the battlefield was difficult, let alone daily education based on her previous experience, politely expressed her gratitude for having her there and turned around. But before she could leave, a small hand grabbed Alice’s skirt and smiled shyly.
“Are you going to be my mother?”
While everyone became flustered in an instant at the innocently asked question, Alice left the room with hurried steps as if escaping from something. However, the child’s deep almond-colored eyes did not leave her mind the whole way back.
In the end, Alice went back to the Viscount’s house the next morning.
In the face of the surprised Viscount, she declared, “The Young Lady needs a nanny, not a teacher,” and offered to take care of her as her nanny.
The Viscount, who happened to be having a tea party with his giggling daughter and was covered with cookie crumbs all over his body, agreed without a second thought.
For her daughter, who grew up on the battlefield, the Viscount was aware that teaching her manner was not the problem.
Ten years had passed since then, the time passed with the Young Lady was long but warm.
Now Alice had reached the point where she could guess what Klisha was thinking just by looking at the back of her head. It was the inner voice she had built up over the years while dealing with all sorts of mishaps caused by the Young Lady.
Strangely enough, the victims on whom numerous pranks were played, did not resent Klisha. In fact, there were even cases where they defended her.
There was a time when she couldn’t help but wonder if her Young Lady had some kind of unknown magical power. If she knew some spells for which people couldn’t help but adore her like this.
Later on, she found out that it was actually the result of a ‘maternal bond’ which couldn’t be explained to others in words.
Nevertheless.
With the hard work of Alice and the people of the County, the little girl with a bushy head who grew up on the battlefield has grown up into a beautiful young lady!
‘The wrapper is still pretty!’
[T/N: Only the packaging/wrapper is pretty is a slang which is often used to suggest that, despite other issues, someone’s outward appearance or presentation is still acceptable.]
‘Even if you glance at her with half-lided eyes, she appears to be the epitome of a perfect noble lady!’
‘She has grown up so well!’
If you ask if that was the best they could do, there would be nothing to say. After all, some things are just….. beyond people’s control.
Alice reached out and patted Klisha’s round head.
“Miss… Nothing will be solved by sitting and worrying.”
Klisha turned her head and met her eyes.
…Her warm and bright eyes.
Nanny Alice smiled gently and whispered.
“Sighing continuously….”
Klisha lowered her eyes.
“Two wrinkles on the forehead.”
Alice raised her hand and gently pressed Klisha’s round and pretty forehead.
“If you’re too worried about something, ask for a solution. If someone made you sad, ask for a proper apology from the person involved. No one can force a one-sided sacrifice on you.”
“Still. Father….”
“Everyone has their own reason. The Viscount is a knight loyal to his country. If the Emperor orders him to risk his own life, he cannot disregard it.”
“That’s what I was also thinking.”
“However, you’re not similar to the Lord. For now, your prime identity is that you’re a noble young lady. The Young Lady has no reason to uphold the Viscount’s chivalry.”
Klisha’s expression brightened immediately.
“As expected of… my nanny.”
Klisha ran her hand through her messy locks before opening her lips.
“I’m so glad to have Nanny as my nanny. All right then. I’ve decided. I’ll go to the temple. If they don’t hear my appeal, I’d go and have a meeting with His Majesty to make a suggestion. Wouldn’t His Majesty at least spare me from being exiled?”
Klisha stood up with vigorous energy, as if she was going to leave for the temple right away.
“Then don’t let the Lord know that you’re leaving. I’m sure… he’ll be against it.”
“Father is also stubborn.”
“It cannot be helped, it is an imperial decree nonetheless. The Viscount is currently looking for a mansion in the Isle of Lakai to move over there….”
“Ah. Really….”
“Do not fret. If neither of these work out, I will be more than willing to leave for a far away land with the Young Lady and accompany you for a thousand years.”
“…That’s a bit….”
Alice held out the small bundle which she had hidden behind her back as she urged.
“I’ve packed the necessary things. Let’s go, Lady.”
Let’s go witness the vastness of the world.
Nanny Alice, who feared that the precious child, having grown so quickly like the lush summer plant, might leave her embrace forever if she werea bit outspoken. So she buried the words in her heart and replaced them with a serene smile.
My precious young lady.
Let’s go see the world.
T/N: This novel is hard to translate. Apologize in advance for any mistakes and late updates.
