“Promise me one thing.”
The wet teary eyes which were looking at me were so pretty for me to disobey her request.
Was choking supposed to feel like that? The woman looking at me was so beautiful, even when she was blinded by sadness. That one moment felt like forever.
“Create a better world for our children who will be born later.”
How could I disobey those words?
I was willing to give away the entire world, but that lovely woman wanted something different. I thought I could do what she asked.
Was it how the knights would feel in novels?
I was no knight, nor was the woman a princess, but to me, she was. I felt like a knight who would protect her at any cost. However, we were in a different situation.
“Okay.”
Nevertheless, even if she hadn’t asked for that…
I was always willing to give everything.
“I promise, Silvia.”
January 1st, year 510
Ugly.
June 27th, year 512
Ugh, but cute sometimes.
February 30th, year 514
I heard nothing from that ugly one.
September 17th, year 517
These days, she talks back to me—that ugly one.
April 22nd, year 520
I really hope we stop growing up.
January 22nd, year 531
I love you, my daughter.
-content from the diary of an unknown author found inside the palace.
Epilogue: The Only daughter of the Emperor
During the era of the Great Emperor Caitel, there were numerous stories about the Imperial family. Aside from the oral information, which held no basis, we would try to deal only with valuable sources.
Historical records mentioned that period, among several diaries, considered the most reliable data of the era, unearthed during the Podere palace restoration project at the beginning of the century.
There still was a lot of controversy over how the diary owner was beneficial during his time. Still, there was no disagreement about it in the document which the close friend and maid wrote about Princess Ariadna, who was known for her beauty.
It had been revealed recently, but the owner of that diary was Baroness Elene. Research founded this detail through the list of maids and servants who served during Caitel’s era, released by the royal family.
Baron Elene was a maid who attended the young princess Ariadna on her maiden days. Even after marriage, she occasionally visited the Imperial Palace and provided her service; she was a maid who was favored by many. Although private, it was well known to many that the princess herself had painted the artworks in the Imperial Palace.
However, that didn’t make the diary a remarkable find. It was evaluated to be a more valuable artifact than others because others wrote about Ariadna in it. Though I was not sure, a few chapters were written by Prime Minister Ferdel or even Caitel the great!
It was still unclear why such figures took a maid’s diary to write their words, but it was clear that we had a chance to study how Caitel’s era worked.
Since it was a diary that contained personal affairs, it was heart-breaking that many scholars were waiting for the opportunity to devalue such a valuable log because of the numerous people who wrote it and since their words didn’t hold any political information.
Scholars had raised numerous perspectives in recent years. Considering that the diary was in a secret drawer with Princess Ariadna’s most valuable items and collections, some thought writing in that specific diary had some purpose. To gain power. For example, some theorized that a great priest and princess left some kind of passwords in the book, taking over others’ guises.
Above all, there was no record of Caitel the Great and Princess Ariadna returning to the Empire from their journey during the last two years of the Great Emperor. The year of their birth were the ones officially noted into the Imperial record five years after their disappearance.
Whether it was because of some mysterious exit or because the princess gave away her heart to someone during her time, numerous stories about the royal family were unsolved.
Their story continued to stay under the radar and remained as nothing but folklore throughout the empire. The story that the children of the Empire would read, the story of Cai-Ria, who took down men of high standing for their wrongdoings, a story that imperial people accepted as orthodox.
It would be irresponsible to throw those records in such a situation, speaking as a history student, even in the absence of data.
Until now, there was no evidence to prove it; it was buried, after all. However, the discovery opened up the possibility that the Imperial family’s bloodline was still alive and going strong.