The Abandoned Empress: A Princess's Revenge

Chapter 1

A month later after Lady Aristia's execution, the noble families who allied on the Emperor's faction were getting nervous but others were getting angry. They were all afraid of the outcome if they will ended up with the House Monique; both the father and the daughter were gone and all were its left was an empty estate that was abandoned by numerous servants and those who serve the family for generations.
That's why, they try their best not to anger the Emperor or even put him in a sour mood. The aristocrat faction however, were lay low for a while, they were planning on searching a perfect noble girl who will surpass the deceased Lady Aristia's excellency because of the rumors surrounding the royal courts that the current empress was doing a horrible job on her duties as empress. They think that the 'blessed child' was fake and that the oracle was wrong. They needed a perfect empress next to the emperor who will follow their bidding for the sake of the aristocrats' status quo.
When Princess Lucresia heard about Jieun's poor performance as an empress, she wanted to laugh and decided to pay her a visit in the Empress' study quarters and mocked her. As she was about to enter the room, she heard two voices inside and it looks like that they were fighting.
"I can't do this anymore! I don't know anything all about this stuff on running an empire!" Jieun complained to the cold hearted emperor who glared at her for being annoying and humiliated him at the same time. The nobles began to ridiculing him behind his back for having a stupid empress who can't even write a single damned law. The messy papers were scattered unceremoniously when Ruve suddenly gets angry at the dark haired girl who was about to cry right now. Outside, Lucresia felt pity on the dark haired girl, she was right, she's not Aristia. She doesn't have a great intellect like her dear friend. Jieun was just an ordinary person.
"You're the empress of this empire whether you like it or not! So, you have to get used in all this. It such a pity but based on your performance for these past few weeks, I think Aristia did a good job for she was handling them for merely few days so you should do the same thing, Jieun." He criticized causing Jieun's face to redden madly.
"I am not like Tia! I'm just a normal girl. Please hire someone else to do this job for me." She gripped the emperor's cape with a pleading look on her face, she wanted to go back to her world where she will lived in a normal life, not like this. This place is hell. Though , she liked that the emperor was very affectionate towards her but after Tia's death, he kept pressuring her to do empress' duties in the library and even if he hired numerous tutors, she can't understand a single damned thing about everything on the subject matters. He always gets mad at her if she had done a terrible mistake and sometimes, he didn't want to speak to her.
His eyes darkened, "You dissapointed me, Jieun." He harshly removed her hand and exited the room where he meet a pair of hazel eyes that was filled with confusion.
Lucresia bowed, "Greetings, Great Sun of the Castina Empire." She curtised and smiled at him causing Ruve to startled that his half sister was standing before him, "Have you been here all this time?" He asked in a low irritating voice but the Castina princess shook her head, "Not at all. Your Majesty. I came here to visit the empress. I heard that she had an awful day." She replied gently as she move forward while passing her brother emperor, "Why don't you rest, Your Majesty. I'm sure you're very tired after the meeting with the council earlier." She suggested in which Ruve agrees, "Indeed you're right. See you later, Lucresia." He left in which the two ladies caught sight in relief including Jieun who raised her arms in the air, "Finally, he left! Lucresia, thank you for visiting me here! It's so boring that I don't have friends to talk to." She cried and hugged the azure haired princess who was unfazed of the empress' miserable state. Lucrezia took a single paper from the desk and she read carefully the content with it.
"Did you do all of this?" She asked incredulously the sobbing dark haired girl as the said girl release her grip from the princess and continue to sob. The princess was bewildered that the content of the papers was completely messy and wrong. No wonder that the empress' royal staffs were quitting because they couldn't stand themselves serving a unintelligent empress like Jieun.
Jieun sob, "Yes, he was very angry because I did a terrible job in it. If Tia was here, she will do all of this herself perfectly without any complained from Ruve." As she mentioned the azure haired princess' deceased friend; Lucresia's mood sour, even in death, this poor excuse of a empress is still too dependable to Tia. She wanted to slapped this dark haired girl. This girl treated Tia like a friend too, but she didn't do anything to her when she was on trial. This annoying girl was just siting next to Ruve with her arms cling on his right arm while watching the helpless Tia that was been accused as a traitor. It's sickens Lucresia. Is god Vita mistaken this girl as the blessed child from the prophecy?
"Then, you should quit." She murmured but luckily the sobbing dark haired girl didn't hear her insult. The nobles' endless gossipping about Jieun's terrible performance as an empress circulated in the entire empire. Other allied kingdoms find this an advantage and they will send their own princesses to offer to the emperor. She gritted her teeth, now that the person that Ruve hates is no longer around, he will soon search a girl to replace Jieun or someone who will took Tia's former position as Queen but before that will happen, she needed more time to think of her plan against Ruveliss.
She eyed the sobbing dark haired girl with no sympathy, "Your Majesty, Now you understand the actual duties of the empress instead of being always pampered by maids, wearing pretty dresses, and being showered by the emperor's love. It is a painful reality that you must face. This prestigious position was too much for a normal girl like you could handle. If Aristia took your position as empress, I'm sure this will be an easy job for her for she had been trained ever since childhood to stand next to the emperor's side, but it's a pity that she's no longer here." She said in a blunt tone.
After hearing those words, Jieun glared at the princess, "Not just Ruve but you as well! Why am I always been compared to Tia! Those nobles, I heard that they were gossiping about me that I was not in the same level as Tia, they always say that Tia is doing a great job rather than me. It's unfair, I didn't ask for any of this, I just wanted to go home!" She shouted in the entire room and ran to the exit leaving the quiet princess all alone in the study hall.
Her thoughts drifted back before Aristia was beheaded in public, she wanted to visit her one last time. Although, most of her attendants and knights were protested of the idea that she was going to visit the criminal but it can't be helped. Aristia la Monique was her friend after all.
Lucresia together with her two royal knights who were deeply loyal to her went to the dungeon to visit the fallen queen who was accused of assassinated the emperor. As the warden greeted and escorted the princess, She was stunned to see the weak and thin Aristia leaning against the wall with her disheveled long hair.
The white haired young woman was shocked to see the princess together with her knights came to this ugly dungeon, her execution will be tomorrow in the afternoon and she was afraid but as well, glad that she will be able to meet her parents in heaven. The azure haired princess kneeled before her, "Oh! Aristia! I'm sorry that I failed to convince the emperor to lower your sentence. He was just too stubborn." She gripped the white haired young woman's hands tightly, they were dirty and cold but her warm tears was melting away her loneliness, Aristia realized that in the end, Princess Lucresia was her true friend despite in the past that she was snobbish to her.
"No. It's alright. You did your best. Your Majesty. Thank you for standing up for me in the trial, I was alone and helpless but you are there to brave enough to help me." She said as tears streaming down her cheeks.
The princess smiled, "Everyone would do the same thing for their friend. Aristia, I want you to know that I will do what I can to help you." She said but she wondering about the demented rumors about Tia and she wanted to confirm herself, "By the way, Is it true that you are happy that you miscarriage Ruve's child. The rumors around the courts were malicious and it makes Ruve getting more...upset."  She murmured the last part.
Aristia shocked, "Of course not. How can I be happy that my only child died. That night, I was laughing because Jieun gets pregnant as well and it hurts me because mine was dead and hers was loved by the emperor. He even said that he will not take my child as the heir." She smiled bitterly.
The princess was speechless, something was really off about this.
Lucresia wasn't the type on accusing anybody but she could sense that the opposition was behind of all this mess. Her half brother was acting strangely and gets even worst that she had expected.
She stared at Aristia with a pitiable look, if she had enough political power to protect her then, this wouldn't happen. As the daughter of a foreign noble, she had no full fledged authority because of Ruveliss. The two of them weren't close and it's getting worst since she sided Aristia rather than him.
What reason does the princess befriended the cold hearted Queen Aristia  it's because it's simple: she saw her own mother's struggles on Aristia's position since Lucresia's mother was a mistress and an unofficial Queen of the empire. Her mother was suffering the same pain and loneliness at the hands of her father, the late emperor. He ignored her and never visited her to own palace to the point that she died in sadness. That's why, Lucresia vowed to herself that she will never choose a man that was dictate to her by the royal family.
"Aristia, listen to me, be brave all the time. That's the only advise that I can give you for tonight. Again, I'm sorry that I can't save you from this execution. I can only hoped that tomorrow, Ruve had a change of heart. I will try to pursue him one last time." She said in a determine voice.
The white haired girl gave the kind princess a warm smile, "Princess Lucresia, thank you for the bottom of my heart. For being my only friend for those past two years." She said in a warm tone. The princess recounts the time she was fourteen years old and Aristia was just fjfteen at that time. The two of them spend time together in a gazebo drinking tea and eating delicious pasteries and chatting trivial things. Those were their precious moments as best friends. Yes, Aristia was her best friend.
Lucresia smiled at her, "It's nothing. I had no friends back then except you. The nobles treated me like I'm invisible despite being a member of the Royal Family, there's no one to support me because I'm a daughter of the lower queen." Her tears as well fell. She was weak and can't do anything to save her own friend from this execution.
Just then, the warden came with a stoic look on his face, "Your Majesty, your five minute visit is almost up. You must leave this dungeon quietly." He said in a strict tone but the princess was unfazed from the warden's critical gaze.
She took a basket filled with bread, fruits, milk and cheese from one of the knights and smiled, "Aristia, you need to eat up and get stronger. Just for my sake, you needed to eat." She pitied the last member of House Monique because she was so thin and dirty. She ordered the prison guard to unlock the prison cell and gave the basket to Aristia who was grateful at the Castania princess's generosity.
"Thank you. Princess Lucresia. I will never forget your kindness." She took the basket from the knight and then the prison guard locks the fallen queen's prison cell. The princess bid goodbye at the prisoner together with her knights and Aristia watches as the door close covered the place in entire darkness but the only light illuminates her was the full moon. She eyed the basket full of goods and she agreed with the princess, Aristia bites the soft bread and stare at the bite piece, this will be her last meal for tonight and tomorrow, she will gone from this world.
Lucresia will never forgive him. She cannot forgive her own flesh and blood for destroying that family's reputation. The House Monique was the oldest ally of the Royal Family and it's impossible that they will commit treason unless they were intentionally, framed up.
Realized from what she had in thought, the princess thought to herself, "The empress was attacked right before Aristia's execution. Is it coincidence or something is really wrong here." she said as she glanced at the Royal Family's insigna. She cannot inherit the throne because of her lower status on being next to the prince who was now an emperor but Lucresia isn't interested in taking the title of empress because she had no experience in governing the empire, she was forbid to learn politics ever since she was a child and was only taught on basic teachings about being a princess.
She was aware of the corruption in the inner palace courts under Ruveliss and she couldn't stand it but first, she must investigate who attacked the empress that night.

But first, she must pay a visit to her dear brother.