n

n

n

nAfter getting out of the 1st Knights building, I walked here and there. I thought my father might not like the idea of me becoming a knight because of its weight and price I would have to pay, but never did I expect he, who supported my decision silently, was actually opposed to it.

nIt often broke my heart when I recalled that he wanted me to live freely.

nWas that the reason why my father sent the old me, his only daughter, to the Imperial Palace?

n“Whew!” I let out a deep sigh.

nI came out to shake off my idle thoughts, but it looked like I was more distracted.

nI took a deep breath and turned around because I felt I couldn’t think straight no matter how much I tried.

nAt that moment, I saw someone walking toward me across the street. He had blue hair fluttering in the breeze and put on a ceremonial uniform as white as snow.

nHe was the crown prince.

n“I, Aristia La Monique, am honored to greet Your Majesty, the little sun of the empire.”

n“What’s going on here?”

n

n

n“I was getting some fresh air.”

n“I see.” He nodded silently and told me, “Can you walk with me for a minute?”

n“Sure, Your Majesty.”

nI was walking a few steps behind him carefully, but he opened his mouth, breaking the silence, “Looking at your uniform, it seems that you joined the knights.”

n“Ah… ”

nI looked at my uniform again. My uniform had the silver badge of the 2nd Knights, my original unit, on the black background of the 1st Knights where I’m currently assigned. This was the uniform that the only one who could succeed the Monique family, namely the Captain of the 2nd Knights, could wear in the empire. Although I was not yet fully qualified, I could wear it because I was the legitimate successor of our family.

nHe continued to walk as if he didn’t want to hear my answer. When I walked silently behind him, I saw a maid walking from the opposite side, holding a handful of beautiful white flowers.

nShe was holding pure white camellia flowers.

n‘It’s the same flower I saw yesterday! The flower that my mother liked most. ‘

nWhen I was surprised by the surprise coincidence, the maid approached us and bowed deeply.

n“Your Majesty, I brought you the flowers you have ordered. Shall I place them in your room like every year? ”

n“Sure, go ahead.”

nBowing out deeply, the maid disappeared with the flowers. Because of the afterimage of a bouquet of white camellia in my mind that I saw last night, I opened my mouth unconsciously, “Do you like that flower, too?” I asked.

n“Well…”

n“What a coincidence! My mother also liked that flower. ”

n“Yes, she did.”

nSurprised by his unexpected reply, I looked up at him. How did he know that?

nI never expected to see this flower in an unexpected place today. Is there any relationship among my father, mother and the crown prince?

n“Did you know your mother well? How did you know about it?”

n“Well, I heard it accidentally some time ago.”

n“Then, how do you know? I understand you didn’t know when your mother passed away.”

n“Well, I heard it accidentally the other day.”

n“I see,” he said with a deep sigh.

nHe turned his eyes from me and stared into the sky. It was the first time I saw a compassionate expression on his face. He always looked expressionless or cold, but this time he made a compassionate expression as if he were longing for someone.

n“Come to think of it…” He was whispering something to himself.

nStrangely enough, I couldn’t feel any coldness in his voice now.

n“Pardon, Your Majesty?”

n“Well, you look a lot like your mother.”

nSuddenly, I was speechless. I didn’t know how to answer because I had no memory of my mother. And there were only a few who told me about my mother.

nA weak wind blew over us. Somehow, I smelled a camellia flower blown by the wind.

nIt wasn’t until dark when I got back home. My father was not there. It seemed that he went to the room where my mother’s portrait was hung.

nI went up to the second floor and paced up and down the corridors. I found the room by tracing my memory, but I couldn’t enter because it was locked. I sighed somehow.

n‘I wanted to see my mother’s portrait once.’

nMy mother who doesn’t exist at all in memory. What kind of woman was she? Do I really look like her? If I do, which part of me takes after her? My face or character?

nWith my curiosity growing, I came out of the house with a deep sigh.

nWhen I breathed in a cool night air, I felt much better.

n“Who is there?”

nI stopped at the sudden voice coming from the darkness. I saw a middle-aged man approaching me from the end of the trail.

n“It’s me, Sir League.”

n“Lady Monique? What are you doing here at this time? ”

n“I couldn’t sleep. I think you’re on night duty today. ”

n“Yes, I am,” said Sir League, who walked to me with big strides.

n“I will escort you. You should not be alone at this time. ”

n“Oh, thank you. Sorry for giving you trouble.”

n“You’re welcome. It’s my honor to serve you, my lady.”

nOf course, it was not a dangerous place because I was walking inside my garden, but I nodded gently when I noticed that he was genuinely concerned about my security. I was glad to see him. If he knew my mother, he could solve some questions that dogged me all day long.

n“Sir League.”

n“Yes, my lady.”

n“Well, I would like to…”

n“Please go ahead.”

n“Well, do you know my mother?”

n“Are you talking about your late mother? Of course, I do.”

nAs soon as he replied in the positive, I asked him questions without hesitating any more.

nIn fact, I kept on reflecting on these questions because I didn’t have the nerve to ask my father.

n“In your eyes, do I look like my mother a lot?”

n“I don’t think your father has said that. Who told you so?”

n“The crown prince.”

n“Oh, I see,” said Sir League with a sigh after hesitating for a moment, adding, “It looks like the crown prince also remembers today.”

n“Really?”

n“Yes, because the crown prince kept your mother’s deathbed.”

n“Did the crown prince really?”

n“That’s right. He was also there that day. ”

nI stopped walking at the moment. I felt like I spaced out. Given his reaction at the palace, I thought he might be related to my mother in one way or another, but I didn’t know he was close enough to my mother to keep her deathbed. I have never heard of this in the past or even after I came back from the past.

n“You may not remember it that time. You had convulsions while crying for a long time after knowing about her death. You might have lost your life unless your father had come and soothed you in time.”

n“… ”

n“Since that day, your father has forbidden anybody to speak of her in front of you, but I think somebody told you about it.”

n‘Now I see what happened.’

nOnly then did I know why I couldn’t even remember my mother’s death. I also knew why my father didn’t even let me know about the date of my mother’s death.

n

n

n“You look like her very much.”

n“Pardon?”

n“You have just asked me, right? You really look like your mother. You’re a chip off the old block except for the color of your hair.”

n“…I see.”

nWhen I replied with a hoarse voice, Sir League immediately stopped and said, “It’s spring, but it’s still chilly at night. Why don’t you go back inside, my lady? ”

n“Ah, yes.”

nWith a heavy heart I headed back to the house, escorted by Sir League who insisted on taking me there, although my house was just around the corner.

nMy life as a knight was more interesting than I thought. I trained with apprentice knights in the morning and helped my boss with his work and worked or practiced personally in the afternoon. Thanks to my special status as the captain’s aide, I never had to be on guard duty, so I had more personal time than other knights. However, more personal time did not necessarily mean I had more break time.

n“Hey, you have to swing faster! Don’t you remember I’ve told you as you can’t overpower the other party, speed really matters to you?

n“… ”

n