Chapter 21: Departure
Arabella froze when the knights gasped upon seeing her.
They were so shocked to see her at their gathering place before their departure for the borders.
What was funny was even her husband looked so surprised she was there to see them off.
’What are they so surprised about?’ she wondered as she looked around. And she soon learned why as she heard their thoughts.
[Her Majesty is like a goddess!] Some were just astounded by her beauty and gawked at her.
[What an honor to be graced by Her Majesty at the blush of dawn!] Some felt honored she woke up early to see them off.
[Why is the Empress here? Doesn’t she dislike His Majesty? I heard she even eloped with her lover when she was engaged to the Emperor.] Some knew she was in love with someone else so they didn’t expect her to see them off. They thought, since she didn’t care about their emperor, she didn’t care about the empire or the knights either.
In her previous life, when she was new to Valeria, Arabella didn’t see Ferdinand or the knights off when they head for a journey or the battlefield. She only did it after some time when she learned it was also part of her duty.
However, this time, Aletha came to wake her up earlier than usual and helped her get dressed.
Aletha emphasized how important it was for the Empress to see her husband and the knights off as it raises morale and shows her support for Ferdinand and the empire.
Because one of her maids dared to come to wake her up, she was reminded of a duty she used to do for Valeria when she was the Empress for years in her previous life.