"Princess Astrid, what a surprised to see you in the palace during the day," the head butler of the Malthor's was an honest man and a loyal subject of the emperor, seeing her during the day wearing her princess attire must have given him a fright. Esteban was one of the few who knew about her dressing up as a Knight after all.
"I'm here to see the Emperor, Esteban."
"I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little longer, my dearest Princess Astrid, His Royal Highness is currently receiving a valuable guest." It was unusual for her father to receive guests without her knowledge; whoever the guest might be, Astrid must be informed as the head of the Imperial Knights.
"And who might it be at this hour?"
"I'm afraid I cannot speak about this matter with you, Your Highness." Esteban was a loyal subject of the emperor, and for him to be keeping a secret on behalf of her father was quite unusual, and Astrid had an unsettling feeling about it for some reason unknown to her.
"I understand. I'll be in the waiting room. Please let me know if the guest has left."
"Certainly, Your Highness,"
The room next to the emperor's office was the waiting room that used to be her former nursery. His father adored her so much when she was little that he emptied the room and built her a nursery next to his office. The room was renovated when she turned five, at the same time that her mother died of illness.
"My Lady, would you like some refreshments while waiting?" Shea, her handmaiden and most trusted servant, stayed inside the Shentis Palace to give her all the assistance that she needed. From making sure to have spare clothes for her to change from being the Princess Astrid to the Head of the Imperial Knight, the Knight Commander Astel of the Land of Parriah. She couldn't have survived the last five years of living two lives without Shea by her side.
"I'm fine, Shea, did you pick up the dresses from the boutique already?" Astrid was against the idea of buying a ton of dresses for the duration of Quest, but her father insisted. It's not like that she could even dare dress up when she was too caught up with her duty as the Knight Commander of the Imperial Knights.
"Yes, my Lady, everything was sent back to your room as you ordered."
"Shea, the sword that I ordered from the master sword smith, can it make it in time?" As much as she loved her sword that her master gave her as a gift years ago, the condition that it was in after battling in the previous war wasn't good enough to be used as her primary sword now. Thus, sending a request in the name of the emperor to secure the finest quality of the sword that she will be needing in the future was the only way to acquire such rare pieces at the moment.
"Do not fret, my Lady, I have Sir Esteban pick up the sword later this week." Hearing that everything of her needs was met, Astrid felt a sense of relief.
"Forgive my intrusion, My Lady, the Emperor wants to see you now," The wait for the guest to leave was quite shorter than she expected. Esteban escorts her to the emperor's office in an instant.
"Greetings to the sun of the Empire; may your light shine upon us," Astrid greeted earnestly, the scent of earth lingered faintly inside the room. Whoever His Majesty's guest, it might be someone who wield earth magic or could be a healer. But why would the emperor receive a guest without her knowledge?
"I haven't seen you so dolled up in a while, my lovely Astrid," Seeing the Imperial Princess in her fancy gown in broad daylight instead of her usual knight ensemble, the emperor was delighted at the mere sight of her.
"You flatter me, your Highness,"
"To what do I owe an audience with my daughter at this time of day?" Astrid swallowed the growing lump on her throat. She was nervous, her father may support her other request but participating in the quest herself might be a little too much to ask. The last thing she wants was to give him more reasons to be anxious about her safety.
"Father, regarding the Quest that would be happening in a week, it seems that this daughter of yours would like to join in the fun; what do you say?"
"Astrid,"
"Father, no, Your Highness, this is my wish not as your daughter, but as the Head of the Imperial Knights. All of the Knight Commanders would be participating in your quest; if I, the Head of the Imperial Knights, wouldn't participate, it would cause suspicions against my platoon and the rest of the Knighthood. I hope you consider my position in this, Your Highness." It was not just her honor as the Knight Commander that was on the line, Astrid has a more logical reason for her insistence of joining the quest, one that the emperor shouldn't know.
"Astrid, no, Knight Commander Astel, I'm not planning to stop you. Not that I can anyway. You will always be as stubborn as I, what's the point in not giving you, my permission?"
"Your Highness," Astrid knew that her father wouldn't stop her; he believes in her, and she was not planning on letting him down.
"But we have a problem, my dearest daughter. How will you be presenting yourself in front of everyone if you will also be participating along with them?"
"Father, have you forgotten that no one knew that the manifestation had started for this daughter of yours?" The Imperial Princess Astrid Von Malthor was known as the Ghost Princess of the Empire. She had been kept hidden for the sake of her safety since the death of Empress Atashia; the last time that the Princess appeared in front of their people was during her coming-of-age ceremony three years ago.
The House of Malthor was blessed with an abundance of mana. A child born with a blood of Malthor has silver hair that will slowly turn black or grey as soon as the mana manifested on their mana chamber awakens. And Princess Astrid was one of the very few who awakens her magic even before she comes of age.
During her coming-of-age ceremony, Princess Astrid hair was silver with obsidian tip, and no one had seen her again since then. She was sent to the rear palace for Knight training soon after and had been using potion to keep her identity in secret for years. It was one of the reasons for her flawless disguised, with no one knowing the Princess current appearance, it would be impossible to be caught.
"Your mother may rest in peace watching you and your silly antics, my dearest Astrid." She can't help but let a small laugh to ease his father's worry, wondering if her mother would be delighted with watching over her and the path that she was taking.
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