“What the…!”
The empress glared at me, her eyes bloodshot.
Judging by the way her hands were trembling, she seemed like she wanted to grab me by the hair right now.
‘Of course, that would tarnish her image of a benevolent and loving mother.’
After all, the empress had so far portrayed herself as a pitiful mother who was suffering because of her wayward daughter.
Finally, after huffing and puffing for a while, the empress abruptly turned away.
Bang!
The sound of the door slamming shut echoed as if it might break.
“Ah, it’s finally quiet now.”
I crawled back into bed with a satisfied face.
I had been so exhausted by listening to the empress’s nonsense.
All I wanted to do now was stretch out and take a nap.
* * *
A few days later.
I received a letter from the Imperial Supernatural Abilities Research Institute.
After removing various greetings and inquiries, the contents were summarized in one line as follows:
[The purification elixirs are complete and will be sent to the north.]
Oh, that’s strange.
I’ve been waiting for this moment all this time.
Why do my eyes keep getting wet?
“Haaahhhhhhh…”
I let out a deep, sorrowful sigh from the bottom of my heart.
Now, all that was left was to toil away in the North for the next five years.
Goodbye to my warm and well-fed life as a princess…Sob.
* * *
The Astrid Imperial Family was in an uproar. Usually, 80% of the reasons why the imperial family is in a frenzy like a beehive is because of the mischievous princess.
This time was no different.
“Cassia has gone missing?!”
The emperor had been feeling intense pain as if his intestines were twisted since the morning, as a price for having a mischievous daughter.
It seems like he’ll have to ask the imperial physician for some stomach medicine soon…
A chamberlain approached the emperor, who was scowling, and carefully bowed his waist.
“Your Majesty, a letter was found in the princess’s chambers. It seems to have been written by the princess herself…”
“Give it to me!”
The emperor snatched the letter from the chamberlain’s hand.
Then, with his eyes wide open, he quickly read the letter in his hand.
“Wh-What the hell is this?!”
At the same time, the hand holding the letter began to tremble.
[To my respected Father,
Hello, this is Cassia.
You always told me to grow up and act responsibly.
I am deeply moved to finally be able to fulfill your words.
To comfort the hardships of our knights, I have decided to personally go to the Azure Dawn Knights as their administrative officer.
I know there were many rumors between me and Sir Romanov, but don’t worry.
I am only dedicated to my country.
And,
To Mother the Empress,
Your Majesty told me to marry someone who would be helpful to the imperial family to contribute to the country.
Honestly, I was very taken aback when you first suggested marriage, but…
Looking back, I wonder how much I must have been talked about behind my back for you to say that.
You even went so far as to pick out a list of suitors and urged me to marry so earnestly.
I have also reflected on many things.
Fortunately, I am very happy that I can contribute to the country as an administrative officer, even if it is not a marriage.
I feel so proud that I am finally being filial to you two after all this time!
I also wonder why I didn’t do this sooner, considering how much I’ve upset you two.
Well, take care of your health until we meet again. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
TL/N: LMAO…IT’S THE DRAWN EMOJI FOR ME XD
Sincerely, Cassia.]
“Cassia, this damn girl!”
The emperor’s roar echoed through the palace.
The empress beside him hurriedly tried to calm the emperor down.
“Your Majesty, getting so angry will be bad for your health. Please calm down a bit and…”
But then.
The emperor turned his head abruptly and glared at the empress.
“Empress, how on earth did you manage this child?!”
Flames suddenly erupted towards the empress.
The empress looked at the emperor in bewilderment.
“Your Majesty?”
“Surely you didn’t nag Cassia about getting married?!”
What?
Cold sweat trickled down the empress’s back.
The emperor raised his voice again.
“That’s why she ran away, isn’t it!”
“Your, Your Majesty. That’s…”
Smack!
With a nervous gesture, the emperor threw the letter onto the empress’s chest.
“I told you to take good care of Cassia so that she wouldn’t get into an accident like this!”
Once again, the Emperor’s roar echoed through the hall.
The empress, her face full of embarrassment, picked up the letter that had fallen to the floor.
The contents of the letter were generally enough to make one’s stomach churn, but the sentence that stood out most was…
[Honestly, I was very taken aback when you first suggested marriage, but…
looking back, I wonder how much I must have been talked about behind my back for you to say that.
You even went so far as to pick out a list of suitors and urged me to marry so earnestly.]
‘This bitch… she wrote this on purpose.’
The empress gritted her teeth.
‘She’s trying to make it look like she ran away because of me!’
How dare this bitch backstab me like this!
But the empress’s anger didn’t last long.
It was because the emperor continued to vent his frustration.
“An administrative officer, of all things!”
The Emperor continued his ranting.
“And what were you doing all this time, Empress, while she was causing all this trouble?!”
“Your, Your Majesty. I…”
“Duke Diaz will be in an uproar again. How am I going to deal with that sight again!”
The emperor, using the empress as a punching bag to vent his anger.
The empress, powerless against the emperor.
Their appearance was more like a superior and a subordinate employee than an equally positioned couple.
‘You never treated the late empress like this.’
Filled with a sense of humiliation, the empress chewed her lips until they bled.
The empress who was always so proud.
The image of the empress speaking her mind without batting an eye, even in front of the emperor, flashed through her mind.
‘Really, her mother was such a nuisance…and her daughter is the spitting image of her!’
But the empress held back again and again.
A long-standing inferiority complex towards the empress.
In order to overcome that muddy emotion, she had to make her son, Fernando, the emperor.
For that…
‘I need His Majesty the Emperor to support Fernando.’
So.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I was short-sighted, wasn’t I?”
The Empress spent a long time fawning over the Emperor with a smile on her face.
Until the emperor’s anger finally subsided.
* * *
A few days later.
Giscard was holed up in the office of the Knights’ Commander, deep in thought.
Cassia Sortis del Astrid.
A woman who had abruptly entered Giscard’s life like a disaster.
Just when life was already exhausting, Cassia would occasionally add new hardships. Giscard had grown tired at the mere mention of her name. But recently…
‘What on earth is she scheming?’
A deep frown of contemplation appeared on his chiseled face. Giscard recalled the image of Cassia at the banquet once more.
“Exactly what I said. Support for the Azure Order.”
“I’ll do it.”
Staring straight into Giscard’s eyes, Cassia had declared confidently. Although Giscard dismissed her words as nonsense and left, Cassia hadn’t backed down and shouted again.
“Just you wait, Sir Romanov!”
“I will definitely make the Azure Dawn Knights the wealthiest order of knights!”
Honestly, up until then, Giscard had no expectations. He was too weary to be swayed by such words.
Everyone took the sacrifices of the Azure for granted.
They were the descendants of a fallen kingdom.
To get even a meager piece of land to survive on for the Romanov refugees, Giscard and the knights had to bend over backwards..
…Even though the reason the Romanov Kingdom fell in the first place was because they desperately defended the portals to protect humanity.
“Damn it.”
Giscard muttered a curse under his breath.
Despair was like a swamp.
It tightened around his neck every moment, and he saw no way out.
‘How long must I endure by sacrificing my knights like this?’
The Empire’s royalty and nobles grew fat like pigs, feeding off our sacrifices…
Then one day, an unexpected rumor began to spread.
* * * *
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