The Abandoned Empress

‘Oh, I heard that he was also responsible for the security of one of the palaces where the princesses stayed. Maybe he is also in charge of that princess. ‘

I decided not to care about them anymore, so I turned around and tried to walk away. I stopped, though, when Carsein said, “Where are they going? They are going out of the palace!”

“Yes, they are!”

Surprisingly, the two were passing through the Imperial Palace. I couldn’t understand this situation, so I blinked for a moment, seeing Carsein face to face.

Then, suddenly something flashed through my mind.

“Let’s shadow them!”

“Ugh? Why?”

“I don’t know which kingdom she is from, but she is a princess. If anything bad happens while Sir Lars is escorting her, our empire must take responsibility. Besides, she is here as a candidate for the crown prince’s bride. What if they have a scandal … . ”

“You’re right. Hurry up before they disappear!”

“Sure.”

Carsein and I quickly followed them. After walking out of the Imperial Palace for a long time, they continued to move past the place with noble mansions. As they walked very fast, Carsein and I could barely catch up with them when they reached downtown where there were lots of stores for nobles.

“Brother?”

“‘Sein? Why are you here, Lady Monique?” Sir Lars asked with an embarrassed expression.

The princess who glanced at Sir Lass quickly asked me gladly, “Oh, Lady Monique! Haven’t we seen each other before?”

“Yes, that ‘s right… ”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Frincia de Lua, the 2nd princess of the Kingdom of Lua. When I saw you the other day, I wanted to introduce myself, but I couldn’t.”

“Oh I see. My name is Aristia la Monique, the eldest daughter of the Marquis Monique family.”

Unlike the princess of the Eet Kingdom, who arrogantly demanded me to introduce myself first, she casually introduced herself.

“I’ve always wanted to see you once, but after seeing the crown prince, I really wanted to make friends with you because I was very curious about who you were. ”

“Pardon? What do you mean…? ”

Why does she want to make friends with me? Lua Kingdom is a strong country like the Lisa Kingdom. As the princess of such a kingdom, why does she want to approach me? Regardless of the rumors about me, I’m the crown prince’s fiancee.

‘Does she think building a friendship with me to get to him will work, or is there something she wants from our family?’

As if she noticed that I was wary of her, the princess shook her head and said, “Ah, don’t ever think that I want to approach the crown prince by demonstrating my friendship with you. I’m not interested in him at all. I don’t like a cold-hearted man.”

“… ”

“I don’t have any particular reason. I was just a little curious about the daughter of the famous Monique family. And I was also curious that you joined the knights as the crown prince’s fiancee. It’s not something anyone can do, right? ”

As I had nothing to say, I just remained just silent. While staring at me for a moment, she said with a smile, “As we met like this, why don’t you eat with me? I think time is also appropriate for a meal. ”

“Well, I think you had better return to the palace…”

“Please. As I’ve come out like this, I don’t want to go back without seeing anything. I want to take a look at what the capital of the empire looks like.”

“However…. ”

“Sure, why not? However, you have to go back to the palace after eating.”

When Carsein suddenly cut in, she said with a smile, “Thank you. May I have your name? ”

“My name is Carsein de Lars. I’m Duke Lars’s second son.”

“Oh, you must be Sir Lars’ brother. Nice to meet you. Then, Sir Carsein, would you please introduce a decent restaurant? ”

“There is a good one if you walk a little more over there. I will guide you. ”

Suddenly, the two hit it together and walked to the restaurant in a good mood.

‘What the heck? Carsein, why are you excited?’

I felt a bit embarrassed, but I walked with Sir Lars after them.

While I was following them, I suddenly felt empty and turned around. At that moment, I saw Sir Lars staring at the two with a blank look, standing still. I sighed unconsciously. What’s wrong with Sir Lars?

“Sir Lars?”

“… Ah, did you call me, Lady Monique?”

Surprised, he walked again. He hurried to catch up with them.

While I was trying to keep pace with him, I said carefully, “Sir Lars, it looks like you are in charge of the palace where the princess is staying, right?”

“Pardon? Oh, yes, I’m.”

“What kind of person is the princess? I can’t figure it out.”.

Suddenly, he got excited and began to talk about her with an excited voice, which was very unusual because he was always calm and disciplined.

“She is kind to her subordinates and the knights here. Of course, she isn’t kind to everybody. When she needs to, she shows her dignity. She had some friction with another princess, but she was very cool-headed…”

“… ”

“Although her kingdom is not comparable to our empire, she was confident and elegant as a princess from the powerful Lua Kingdom. In my eyes, she looked like a very ideal princess. ”

“Oh, I see.”

I nodded meekly, as I was a bit surprised by her fine qualities. I’ve known Sir Lars for quite some time, but I never saw him praising a lady like this. Is Princess Frincia such a great woman?

It was quite surprising to me that Sir Lars, who was blunt and cold-hearted like his father, talked about her with excitement.

With a puzzled look, I followed Carsein and Princess Frincia. When I arrived at the noble-only restaurant, the most popular restaurant in the main street, Carsein said to me before I sat down, “You will have steak and salmon, okay? I will get you if you choose that salad from last time. Got it?”

“… Why are you bugging me again, Carsein? ”

“Like I said last time, physical strength is the most important thing to a knight. You should eat well. No salad or vegetable menu, okay?”

“Okay.” I reluctantly nodded. He didn’t allow me to pick my food last time. On the day, he said he would buy dinner for me to celebrate his becoming a knight, he forced me to change the menu when I ordered vegetables. He was forcing me again today.

But regardless of whether I liked it or not, Carsein smiled with a happy expression.

Princess Frincia glanced at us and said, looking at Sir Lars, “Sir Lars, would you please choose a menu for me?”

“Me, do you want me to select the menu for you?”

Sir Lars replied, stuttering a bit, which was very unusual. When I looked at him curiously, I was surprised to see he was blushing slightly. He raised the menu with a perplexed look and said, “Well, you might like beef steak, but sometimes the meat here doesn’t taste good… Oh, how about fish? Fish dishes are very good here. Or what about the truffle pie?”

“Um?” Carsein, who was trying to choose his menu, raised his head.

Looking at his brother with a pitiable look, he said, “Beef steak tastes fine here, Princess.”

“Oh, really? Then, I’d love to have steak. I appreciate Sir Lars’ recommendation, but the fish menu is so diverse that it’s hard to pick. Let me have it next time. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, that’s fine, Princess,” Sir Lars said hesitantly, silently covering his face with the menu. Only

As soon as we ordered and food began to come out, three of us including me enjoyed food, chatting about various topics.

Princess Frincia mostly asked me questions, then I answered. Carsein interrupted in the middle, but Sir Lars was just eating rather in a stiff manner without joining in the conversation.

As if she was bothered by Sir Lars who remained silent, the princess, who started talking about various stuff including her private things, suddenly turned her eyes to him and said, “Sir Lars?”

“Oh, did you call me?”

Her voice wasn’t that loud, but he replied in surprise. Because of that, he dropped the knife that he was holding on the floor with a sharp noise. Looking at the knife and Sir Lars alternately, with an absurd expression, Carsein asked in a puzzled tone, “Are you sick, brother? You look very weird today.”

“Oh, nothing, ‘Sein. Never mind.”

“Hmm, if you feel uncomfortable, talk to me right away.”

Sir Lars nodded, blushing. When I put down the fork, thinking he made an absurd mistake that didn’t fit him at all, I suddenly heard a familiar voice.