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.

And this time, perhaps, she would gain more people on her side if she did her duties and responsibilities well right from the start.

[She came to see me off?!] Ferdinand was delighted at the thought Arabella woke up early to see him off. A rare grin crossed his face and he took huge strides to meet her.

Everyone was even more dumbfounded at Ferdinand's reaction. Even Alwin, Raymond, and Rendell.

[HIS MAJESTY SMILED!!!]

Everyone gawked at their Emperor as if the world was ending.

It was clearly the first time they saw him smile so their jaws almost dropped to the ground and the thoughts which flooded Arabella were chaotic.

[His Majesty's eyes are shining and it's not due to a battle?!]

The knights were shocked to see their Emperor with a gleam of excitement in his usually bored or cold eyes.

They have only ever seen Ferdinand's eyes gleaming on the battlefield or when he was chasing after difficult prey.

"What are you doing here? It's cold," Ferdinand said and wrapped Arabella's coat tighter around her and gently touched her cheek.

Alwin rolled his eyes.

Raymond was smiling with a fatherly smile on his face although he was just two years older than Ferdinand.

Rendell was poker-faced since he had witnessed Ferdinand's weirdness around Arabella several times or rather on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, the knights were wondering if they were seeing the same Emperor as the one they had before or if this one in front of them was someone else entirely.

Arabella shared their sentiments. This was the first time she experienced this from Ferdinand. He never fixed her coat before nor told her to stay indoors since it was cold.

"I came to see you off," Arabella replied in a low voice pretending to be all shy about it. Of course, the knights with trained senses heard it and were delighted at her response.

[SHE REALLY CAME TO SEE ME OFF!!!] Ferdinand's eyes shined and Arabella pressed her hand against his chest to stop him when he was about to lean in. She knew he was about to kiss her.

"Everyone is watching," she whispered.

Ferdinand glanced at his knights and only then did they recall, they should greet the Empress. They bowed their heads and right when they did, Ferdinand kissed her.

But Ferdinand's kiss was too long so when the knights lifted their heads, they saw the act anyway.

Their shocked thoughts flooded Arabella again so she gently pushed Ferdinand's chest for him to stop now. But instead of stopping, he held her in his arms right in front of everyone.

'Since when was Ferdinand this shameless?! Didn't he only show his strong side to his knights? Why is he acting like this in front of everyone?'

"I will miss you," Ferdinand cupped her cheek and made her look up to meet his intense gaze.

'What's wrong with him?! Shouldn't he stop now?'

Arabella was beginning to truly feel embarrassed since she didn't do this kind of thing in front of other people even in her previous life.

"I will await your safe return," she had no choice but to reply since everyone was waiting for her response.

Ferdinand seemed to be satisfied with her response and he captured her lips again. He kissed her longer than before until the knights cheered.

Arabella thought she would die of embarrassment. The former Ferdinand she knew was not into public displays of affection. He never got too close to her in front of other people.

'Why is this Ferdinand such a flirt?!'

She soon learned the culprit as she heard Raymond's thoughts.

[My lessons are working! I did tell His Majesty to be more affectionate to his wife both in words and actions. But isn't he learning a bit too quickly? Anyway, all is well that ends well. The Emperor is happy and the knights are motivated.]

Arabella barely stopped herself from glaring at Raymond after Ferdinand finally let go of her. Her husband kissed her on the forehead and said, "I'll be back before you know it."

She didn't know how to respond any more as her heart raced and beat so loudly in her chest.

Ferdinand climbed his horse, gave her one last look, and finally led the knights out of the palace.

Her husband looked so strong, regal, and invincible astride his warhorse. If she had to be honest, he even looked so handsome.

But Arabella had seen her fair share of handsome and beautiful men in her previous life. Ferdinand was just one of them.

She wouldn't be fooled by his looks and actions anymore. Especially when she knows Ferdinand was just acting differently because Raymond was educating him.

Yes, that was it. What was she hoping for?

No. She was not hoping for anything in the first place. Or was she?

When Ferdinand was out of her sight, Raymond led her to one of the highest points of the palace and made Rendell hold her flag as the Empress so Ferdinand and the knights would see it from afar.

From there, Arabella could see the people who gathered to witness their Emperor heading out.

Almost everyone in the city seems to have awakened early just to be able to witness the scene. Even children were already awake and joined the crowd.

She felt a sense of guilt and regret once again at the sight of the people who loved their Emperor so much. In her previous life, she had most of these people killed.

Arabella had to bear with her conflicting emotions as she had to continue to watch until Ferdinand and the knights were out of the city gates.