Don't Concern Yourself With That Book
Chapter Side Story 1-1

Side Story 1-1

Translator: yun

Side Story 1: An Observation Journal of the Handsome Men in Kaltanias by a Ducal Princess

The Kaltanias Empire. In the eyes of her neighbouring countries, the Empire was seen as a mystery. 

“Huh? Father, what are you talking about?”

Even countries had their own lifespans too. Typically, even the oldest kingdoms had only lasted for hundreds of years at their longest. On the other hand, towards the north, the barbaric clans, that had fallen and merged countless times before, have shorter lifespans. 

In that sense, the Kingdom of Walter had long been an elder. Of course, it was still considered a toddler compared to Kaltanias which boasted a history stretching for thousands of years.

The Ducal Princess of the Kingdom of Walter, Ira de Marigold, stared back at her father, the duke, Veter de Marigold. 

“A visit to Kaltanias? No, why me?”

“How am I supposed to know why?”

The duke heaved a sigh. 

“That is merely what the Crown Prince Cjezarnian had decided.”

Ira was very, extremely, bewildered.

‘Why am I being sent to the Empire when I don’t have any connections to it?’

The kingdom had restricted women’s actions to an extreme degree. So, it was ridiculous to even imagine that a woman would be joining  the delegation unless there was a special reason. 

But what if it was Cjezarnian who pushed for her addition? 

‘What on earth did I get myself into!’

Ira looked troubled. 

In  Walter, a wife submitted to her husband and, of course, a daughter had no choice but to obey her father. Assigning a man to be part of the delegation was not unusual. Rather, her participation would be a serious violation of the law. 

“Think about it over again, father. We are talking about the emperor’s birthday here. This is also the first time they’ve opened their borders ever since the war, you know?”

“I know.”

“But what do you mean I am being sent there as a representative of Walter? Did they really permit you to send me?”

The duke shook his head. 

“The ministers were also surprised by the decision but what else can I do?”

The duke never approved of this decision in the first place.

“As I have, the ministers speculate that you have been chosen because the emperor is a woman as well.”

But if the emperor was a woman, that would change things. Some ministers had suggested that sending a woman would be better as it would allow them to appeal to the Empire. 

“In any case, isn’t she the emperor who led the Empire to victory during the war?”

The duke admitted with an air of disapproval. 

“In any case, we cannot ignore the Empire since we signed a treaty with them.”

The King of Walter did not approve of the emperor being a woman. Of course, he did not make his disapproval apparent to the Empire. 

In any case, the duke still could not think of any plausible reason why they would choose to send his daughter. 

“I assume that the Crown Prince might be thinking the same.”

She had been childhood friends with Cjezarnian, the current Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Walter. And until a few years ago, she had been engaged to the royal family.

‘That was until Rusbella came along.’

To be exact, she had been engaged to Cjezarnian’s older brother, Slorenian. She had only been engaged to him for a short period of time and they had broken the engagement coolly without any hard feelings. But what she should care about most currently was the delegation. 

‘I can’t leave things like this.’

Ira first visited Cjezarnian to interrogate him. 

Cjezarnian had replaced Slorenian, who had suddenly disappeared, as the Crown Prince. To make up for the absence of his brother, he had been very very busy. In other words, he barely had enough time to hear her out. 

“Welcome, Ira!”

“Your Highness, I greet the Crown Prince of our Kingdom.”

Even so, his response was ridiculous. 

“Ira! Go and bring me news of the princess!”

Ira quickly forgot the manners she had been taught. There was nothing else she could do in the face of absurdity. 

“What? Princess? What princess?”

Ira, who was unable to discern whom he was referring to, pointed out his mistake which prompted Cjezarnian to repeat himself as though he had forgotten. 

“Ah, she’s the emperor now!”

Despite his age, he still looked like a young boy when he flashed a bright smile like that. 

“The emperor of the Empire. Please bring me news of her. How is she doing right now? Is  she hurt anywhere?”

Ira was shocked to discover the identity of the one he was referring to. 

“Please pardon me, Your Highness.”

“Hm?”

“Have you gone mad?”

Being the 2nd Prince, she had always wondered if there were some bolts missing from Cjezarnian’s brain that made him act like such a teenager at times. 

“Hahaha! Ira, you and your jokes!”

He soon flashed a charming smile before explaining why Aira had been chosen.

“You’re good with your words and you’re good at art too, aren’t you?”

“Huh?”

“So, look at everything you can and relay it back to me!”

What kind of selection process was this?”

“What are you talking about?”

Aigoo. I can’t believe I had been friends with this man for 16 years!

She screamed inwardly. 

“Why are you sending me on that long journey? No, wait. I am a woman. Why are you entrusting me with such a big responsibility…!”

“Hahaha, because you’re smart, Ira! You understood arithmetic and memorised the law book before I could, didn’t you?”

That was because he was slow! Ira cried silently. 

“Ira, you’re wise. Just like her. So, please.”

“Wait, Your Highness, please, Your Highness!”

“Understand?”

“Where are you running off to!”

Ira opposed it but Cjezarnian could not spare time to talk to her any longer as he had to fill in his brother’s shoes.

“No! I don’t want to go!”

Nonetheless, Aira was to be sent to the Empire as the only Ducal Princess in her kingdom under an order she had never heard of before. But no one listened to her protests. 

***

“Welcome to the Empire, Ducal Princess. I am Antecke, a Templar of Fog.”

Ira gave a brief nod. 

“Yes. It’s nice to meet you.”

‘Was it the emperor’s birthday again?’

The Empire was a long way from the kingdom. The journey on the carriage that caused her back to ache was uncomfortable and a bore. She was already exhausted and resigned from the long trip she took to get here. 

“I’d like to bring you to tour the Central Palace before escorting you to your accommodations. Would that be alright?”

“That’d be an honour.”

Feeling a little under the weather, Ira replied. It was all because of fatigue. 

“Oh dear.”

But the templar who came to welcome her arrival misunderstood her response to his question.

“My apologies but Her Majesty would be away for a while. She was extremely sorry to hear that she would miss your arrival when she heard about your visit.”

“No. It’s alright.”

Ira shook her head.

“It’s just that the delegation from Walter had arrived earlier than scheduled.”

Ira explained, excluding the fact that she had hated the long carriage ride. 

“It is my honour to be able to look around this beautiful palace in the meantime.”

The templar’s polite attitude reminded her of the relationship between the two countries. Despite winning the war, Kaltanias was not boastful. 

‘Is this because of their emperor’s temperament?’

It had been five years since the war ended. 

The emperor did not persecute Walter nor was she hostile to the country. On the contrary, she granted leniency to the defeated nation. 

Ira slowly recalled the image she had of the emperor.

‘I don’t know what she looks like… but she’s probably a youthful young woman, right?’

The emperor, Ashley Rosé. She was a great leader who brought her country to victory during the war just as she ascended the throne. 

‘She’s amazing. The master of this enormous country.’

Above all, she managed to sit upon the throne atop this man-led world as a woman. The fact that she had been the youngest princess, who was forced to live as though she was dead in the past, had only made her ascension even more spectacular. 

Anyway, Walter had been defeated so it was only natural for her kingdom to become fixated on each and every thing the emperor did. 

“It is merely a war between them and me.”

There were rumours circulating that the emperor had something along the same incomprehensible lines. 

“Ira. Please bring me news of her. Alright?”

Ira knew of a secret story between the countries of Walter and Kaltanias which had long been enemies.

‘Does it make sense for you to ask me to check on your crush’s safety?’

Ever since they were children, Cjezarnian would tell Ira everything. That was how Ira also heard about his precious crush. 

“Would you mind waiting here for a moment?”

“Alright.”

After having waited for her templar escort for a while, Ira suddenly noticed something strange in the hallway. 

‘A young girl?’

Ira’s eyes blinked rapidly. She thought she spotted a girl but when she opened her eyes again, she was gone. 

‘Was I mistaken?’

But feeling something was amiss, Ira cautiously walked towards the pillar she had spotted the child. 

It was at that moment, a bright light burst in front of her eyes. 

‘Urgh, my eyes.’

She hurriedly rubbed her eyes. When she opened them again, she found an unfamiliar woman standing in front of the pillar. 

“Ah. I made a mistake while teleporting.”

The woman had covered her head with a large piece of cloth which was why Ira could not catch her face. But her appearance only made her even more suspicious. 

“Hm, what should I do?”

However, from the curves and thin wrists she could see under the fabric she was wearing, Ira guessed that she was a young woman. 

The woman turned her head towards her.

“Hello?”

The stranger greeted Ira. As though she could tell that Ira was staring. That startled Ira.

“The weather is nice today, isn’t it?”

“Huh? Ah, yes.”

Even as she faced the woman directly, Aira could still only catch half her face as the other half was covered by cloth. 

‘Is she a templar?’

She did hear that the different temples in the Empire upheld different rules and traditions. She thought that might be the reason why this strange woman had covered her face. 

Ira quickly recalled how she was supposed to greet a templar. 

“Ah! I pray for the Lord’s protection to be with you.”

The woman groaned.

“I don’t like being greeted with that.”

“Huh? Why’s that?”

At the same time, a bitter smile spread across the woman’s lips.

“The gods don’t grant us anything.”

Oops, Ira inhaled sharply. Didn’t this woman just utter a blasphemy on the lands of this holy Empire that served the gods? But the woman reached out for Aira’s hands before saying. 

“Instead, I prefer to hear a greeting like this.”

She felt inexplicably warm. 

“May your morrow be peaceful.”

Ira could not see the woman’s face but the woman knew who she was based on how Ira was staring at her. 

Ira had no idea but the woman covered in cloth was the emperor of this country, Ashley. 

While she was inspecting the City of Beasts, she received news of the arrival of the delegation from Walter which was why she teleported back in a hurry. 

But for some reason, she must have inputted the wrong coordinates to have encountered the squirrel-like lady in front of her. 

Ashley did not hide her pleasantries in her smile. 

“This might be strange to hear but I knew I would meet you here today.”

Ira widened her eyes.

“Do you know me?”

“No. But I will soon.”

“Huh?”

Ira did not like it when people beat around the bush vaguely. However, Ira thought the woman’s mystical speech suited the atmosphere surrounding her well. 

“Actually, I’m not supposed to be here just yet.”

“You’re not supposed to? P-Perhaps… are you being chased?”

Ashley shook her head. Before giving a small smile. 

“You’re interesting. Of course, I’m not. The Imperial Palace is very safe.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Yes. It is.”

Ashley tilted her head gently. She looked as playful as a child. 

“Anyway, could I ask you for a favour?”

“What kind of favour?”

“Could you keep this for me for a while?”

Ashley handed over what had been in her hand. Ira’s eyes widened. 

‘Her hands were clearly empty earlier?’

What a mystery. 

“Could you take this and bring it to someone for me?”

“To whom?”

“The person in the innermost room in the palace.”

Ira was puzzled. Not only was her manner of speech strange and mysterious, but so was her request. How was she supposed to get to the innermost room in the palace?