Don't Concern Yourself With That Book

“The emperor from a few generations ago had a brother who was also evicted to the far south. The nameless prince had managed to survive and gave birth to some children whom he lived with for a long time before dying. His son’s son’s son then returned to the Empire and met a woman.”

According to history, all the princes who failed to become the emperor died. Apparently, being exiled from the Empire was the same as forced suicide. However, a prince from a few generations ago managed to survive and gave birth to forbidden children. Furthermore, out of pure coincidence, his descendant had the ‘Power of the Lord’ too. And when he returned to the Empire, his powers had reawakened. 

“The Crown Prince at the time then discovered him and tore him to pieces but not before his woman escaped and gave birth to their child in her hometown. Well, it wouldn’t take long before she would get caught. And the child that barely survived the massacre was you.”

For some reason, the emperor did not kill the child. Instead of killing her, the child entered the Imperial Palace along with her mother. The woman then became the 8th Queen. No one knew why. And that was why no one knew the truth behind the princess’ birth. The emperor managed to thoroughly disguise the child as his own daughter. 

“Didn’t you find it strange? The treatment you were receiving as the sole princess of this Empire.”

The woman spoke with a smile. Even though this wasn’t something she should be talking about while smiling like that, Auresia whispered softly. As if she was talking about someone far away.

“The emperor is plotting something you can never imagine. Why do you think he’s collecting female templars or women related to templars as his wives? And why did he save you? My little songbird. You’re merely a chess piece being stringed along on a giant chessboard.”

The tip of her fan was pointed at one place.

“I’m still curious about your ‘scar’. Everything you care about, everything you wanted to protect and everything that bothered you.”

Auresia then added.

“Come find me.”

When she said that, Ashley retreated backwards. She gave the woman one more look before turning her back around and running away. The image of the woman’s smile lingered in her mind for a long time and didn’t seem to leave. She squeezed past the aristocrats approaching her and ran away away from the busy centre to the corner where she could catch her breath. She slowly raised her head.

“Lord…”

When she let out a long breath and raised her head, she met the stiff face she was so familiar with. He looked a little worried.

“Lord, there’s someone I need to find.”

The knight remained extremely calm. He didn’t raise his hands to give her any comfort nor did he ask her if there was anything wrong. He merely waited for her with his calm and cool silence. That was how Ashley could quickly regain her senses. 

‘So, I’m not the emperor’s daughter?’

It was funny. No matter whose child she was, nothing changed. She never considered herself to be their descendants anyway. And this was not the time to be thinking about problems she couldn’t immediately solve.

“Who’s the person you’re looking for?”

His soft voice seemed to be calming the anxious girl. Just when Ashley was going to say what was on her mind, she was startled by someone grabbing onto her shoulders. But another firm hand pulled her away and hid her behind him. It was Ray. 

“O-Oh, princess…?”

The Prince of Walter who had approached her without much thought looked lost. Under Ray’s brutal glare, he slowly raised both his hands. He quickly admitted his fault for acting in a way that could cause misunderstandings. 

“Prince…”

“I already told you to call me Cjezarn and you’re calling me so stiffly again.”

The prince had immediately forgotten he was being threatened before speaking. At his worriless smile, Ashley felt both anxious and relaxed at the same time. In front of Ray who was shielding Ashley from him, the prince complained about how long it took him to find her. 

“I just wanted to talk to you about your performance! I scoured the whole banquet hall!”

He was wearing an outfit that looked like it came straight out of a Neoclassical European painting. His white suit suited his silverish sky blue hair. Even though his face had clearly lost all of its baby fats, she could still only see him as an immature child. Perhaps it was because of his bright smile. 

“You were looking for me?”

“Yes! You were really, really, really cool!”

Hold on. Ashley really doubted whether this was the silver knight who played a prominent role in the war. 

“I’ve never seen such an amazing performance in my life! Even if the best theatre company from the kingdom were to perform in front of me, they would never meet the standard you’ve set today. Of course, if it were the archmage, it might be a different story… but anyway, it was amazing!”

“I see. Come to think of it, you’ve always reminded me of something.”

Something just came to mind. She was never the type of person to not grab an opportunity that appeared in front of her. Rather, she would use any means to grab the opportunity. It was a tragic habit she developed to live through her series of misfortunes. 

“We made a promise. If I brought you to the stage, you would grant me one wish.”

“Hm? Oh! Yes, I did!”

At Ashley’s reminder, the prince nodded as if he was happy to know that Ashley remembered their promise. He looked like a fan meeting his idol.

“Say it.”

At his lively voice, Ashley tilted her head and smiled. 

“Have you ever heard of a ‘Rusbella’?”

Now, it was time to uncover the truth of this world.

“Rusbella…?”

“Yes.”

The prince frowned. With his arms folded, he tilted his head before speaking without confidence. He sounded apologetic. 

“I’m sorry but I’ve never heard of that name?”

Thump.

It felt as if a heavy boulder just fell on her shoulders. She quickly held onto Ray’s arm. To make sure she wouldn’t stumble, she desperately sent strength to her legs. 

“Is she someone important?’

“Hm? Yeah…”

The prince looked sullen.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help you.”

After thinking about all the ladies, cousins and maids he had, the prince ultimately shook his head and told her that he didn’t know. Ashley clenched her fists. Instead of being disappointed, she bit the insides of her cheeks. 

‘Is there no news yet?’

There wasn’t any plausible reasons she could think of.

‘She has to be in the academy… I’m sure of it.”

Rubella was currently at the academy. That was where she fell in love with the male lead, the prince. The 2nd Prince only met Rusbella for the first time when their academy was on break. When the 1st Prince brought Rusbella back to the Royal Palace. 

‘The 1st and 2nd Princes of Walter were very close.”

Furthermore, they had their break in autumn. There wasn’t much time left until he would get to meet her. Still, Ashley thought the 1st Prince might have mentioned something about her in a letter but did he not? Ashley clenched her fist before loosening it. This was too early to be disappointed. 

“I see. Will you let me know if you ever hear this name?”

She smiled softly before holding the prince’s hand. 

“That’s my wish.”

With one glance at his hand that was held in hers, for some reason, the tips of the prince’s ears turned red. 

“… That wouldn’t be too difficult but may I know why?”

“I gave you a full tour of the stage without asking too many questions so I’m hoping you could do the same.”

The prince who quickly understood what Ashley meant nodded. Ashley was a little surprised  but she immediately hid her emotions. She knew that he was immature but he didn’t seem to be too dumb. Or perhaps he was just senseless? Ashley wanted to release the boy’s hand and stepped back. 

“Princess!”

Just then, the prince held onto her hands. Surprised, Ashley stared back at him. But what she was actually looking at was not the prince but the balcony. With a gust of wind, her hair shook vigorously. All she could see was the distant crescent moon hanging on the edge of the prince’s shoulder. 

[I spotted a crescent moon hanging from the highest branch on a tree.]

The moon was peeking over a tree branch. Ashley quickly shook off the prince’s hand and ran. 

“Ray! Find a High Templar!”

Even though her orders were vague, that was all she could say at the moment. She was in a hurry. 

‘The diary clearly stated how I looked around in surprise!’

If that was the case, she shouldn’t be too far from the scene. Instead of wasting her steps, Ashley looked around from a fixed spot. There were so many people. Even though she was near the corner of the banquet hall, it was still not easy to find people. Colourful fabrics kept flitting across her vision. Ashley calmed her breaths. 

‘A High Templar.’

She had to find the High Templar from her diary. A middle aged… a middle-aged male… a middle-aged male High Templar…! Her purple eyes swept across the hall before she finally spotted a gold plate hanging on someone’s waist. 

‘There’s two?’

There were two men. One was a brown-haired man who looked half bald and the other was a man with a large red beard. Her eyes shook as she alternated her gazes between the two men. 

She had to choose one. She didn’t have time. 

Being pressed for time made her frantic. Between the two, who was going to die? Ashley quickly turned her head away and spotted someone. Not too far away, she spotted the fluttering strands of black hair. Castor was walking this way. Ashley gritted her teeth. 

“Princess!”

“Lord!”

At that moment, Ray approached her first. She quickly grabbed onto his arm. 

“Listen to me closely. See that brown-haired man over there? It’s an order. Protect him no matter what happens.”

Could he block any of Castor’s sword strikes? She didn’t know. Her fingers were trembling. Ray seemed flustered as he had no idea what was going on but he quickly nodded his head. For just a moment, Ashley couldn’t breathe.

“… As long as he’s not dead. It’s fine if he gets hurt.”

“Alright.”

“I’m telling you not to get hurt, Lord.”

Ray paused at her words and stared at her. A bright glint that couldn’t possibly be there appeared in his dark eyes that looked as if they had been painted with ink but the glint t quickly disappeared. 

“… Alright.”

He spoke the same words but it felt different.

The two separated without another word. Just one look was more than enough to convey what they were thinking. After sending Ray off, Ashley ran to the other person. 

“Hello?”

The man with the red beard was talking to someone else. 

“Oh, princess?”

The middle-aged man who spotted the girl widened his blue eyes in surprise. Ashley had no clue who he was but she joined their conversation naturally with a smile.

“I am the Head Templar of the Rivers, Talles Peristokletos.”

The man who might be dying soon was an extremely ordinary person. Ashley became curious. 

‘Why did Castor make this bet?’

It was strange. All Castor had done so far was look for her then chat with her and take the people around her hostage then threaten her with them. Hold on, taking the people around her hostage? A strange thought popped into her head. When did he do that? She quickly shook her head. She didn’t even have a second to waste. 

‘It’s strange.’

If Castor had any reason to kill this man, he would have killed him without any hesitation. He didn’t have to use her to make a bet.

‘Moreover, his idea for this bet seemed spontaneous and a little sudden.’

If he offered to make a bet without thinking about it in advance, what was the reason? She was confused. However, whatever his intentions are, she could not let this person die. Processing her thoughts, she looked at a distant window. 

A shrill scream resonated through the hall. 

With the crescent moon now hanging on the tip of the branch, the scream sounded unreal. Surprised, she turned around to see a young girl grabbing her dress and crying. The cries of the girl wearing a white dress sounded just like a woman’s scream. She was probably crying because of someone’s mistake as the grape juice that spilled over her dress was soaking her shoes as well. Not knowing what to do, the young lady lowered her head. 

“You must have been surprised.”

“Huh?”

Ah, yes. Ashley stared at the man with the red beard before looking down. It’s a relief that it wasn’t this man. Ashley turned her head around to find Ray to discover that it wasn’t that man either. 

The future must have changed. 

Just then, Ashley heaved. It was the man with the red beard. 

Ashley spotted a figure appearing and disappearing quickly but not before pulling something out of the collapsed man’s neck. She didn’t have time to check who it was.

“Urgh.”

“Head Templar!”

Out of shock, Ashley tried to catch the falling man’s body. However, she was not strong enough to hold onto him and the man ultimately fell on the floor. 

“Kyaaaack!”

“S-Someone collapsed!”

Why? There was no time for her to be shocked. Ashley lifted the convulsing man and shook him recklessly. But the man continued having seizures. His eyes were quickly losing focus and he was starting to foam in his mouth. Both men and women backed away from the disgusting sight and everything was thrown into chaos. 

But all Ashley could focus on was saving this man be it by slapping his cheeks or kneading his stiffening hands. A pair of long legs then appeared in front of her. 

“Hm, I’d like to know what the princess is doing here.”