APTB | Ch 05

The cool autumn breeze made the colorful maple leaves flutter and dance in the wind.
Oriana tightly buttoned up Tia’s coat with a serious face, while Marisol kept sniffling with a red nose, despite Oriana scolding her.
“Poor Princess Tia. The Empress is really too much.”
“If you don’t shut your mouth, I’ll sew it shut, Marisol.”
“Tia should be the next Empress! It’s so unfair that she has to be exiled. Sob…”
“Seriously, stop whining. Do you even know what exile means?”
Oriana shot Tia a look and then continued.
“How about we leave her behind, Princess? A child like her is just going to cause trouble and won’t help at all. She doesn’t want to leave the palace, so she’s just making things worse.”
“No! I’m going too! I need to protect Princess Tia! She’s so precious, it’s not fair!”
Marisol hugged her bag and collapsed into tears.
“Vicente Kalli is an ignorant, lowly man! What’s the Ninth Fleet? Not the Third or Fourth Fleet, but the lowest Ninth Fleet! They say they have fewer than a thousand soldiers!”
“Even with a small army, he’s doing a great job defending against invaders.”
“Karayan doesn’t even have an opera house, a glass greenhouse, or any tropical fruits that Princess Tia likes! And Vicente Kalli is old… an old man! I can’t believe we’re giving Princess Tia to him… Ahhh!”
Oriana quickly covered Marisol’s mouth and glared at her.
“Shut up. Vicente is only twenty-one, not an old man.”
“Ugh, Gael, the vice-commander, is so handsome… And the old saying goes, if a man hasn’t married by twenty, he’s… Ugh…”
“Keep it down, you little brat. Get in the carriage.”
After finally pushing Marisol into the carriage, Oriana and Tia exchanged farewells with those who came to see them off.
Tia had asked for a quiet departure, so only a few people were at the front of the carriage: Osvaldo, Vellarenza, and Gael.
“Don’t worry about the empire, Tia. We’ll take care of things here. Just focus on staying safe.”
Osvaldo gently patted Tia’s shoulder with warm, kind eyes.
“Go and get along with Vicente. They say he’s a barbarian with an empty head, but at least he’s in good shape and decent looking, right? Just don’t have too much fun before the wedding. Oh, I’m so jealous, Tia!”
Vellarenza laughed and hugged Tia tightly.
Then, a man who had been waiting stepped forward.
“Commander Natalia asked me to give you this, Your Highness.”
Gael, the vice-commander of the First Fleet under Natalia, was young but extremely skilled. He had become a vice-commander at the age of seventeen, and no one questioned his abilities.
“This is…”
Tia looked at the compass he handed her, which was about the size of a gold coin.
It wasn’t a new item; it had the slight marks and soft shine of something well-used.
“This is something I’m lending to you for this trip,” Gael said with a small smile, raising his eyebrows.
“Moora’s compass is said to guide travelers. Commander Natalia also said she would pray for your safety every day on this journey.”
Tia flipped the compass over and saw faint, carved letters on the back.
“To my beloved daughter from Father.”
Ah…
She remembered Natalia had once told her she received this compass from her father on her first voyage.
“To my beloved daughter from Father…”
Tia murmured, feeling a warm wave in her chest, as if the words were from her own father.
She thought of her late grandfather, Duke Hessel. Even though she only knew his face from a portrait, he had been very similar to her, the Emperor’s husband.
“…Please send my regards to Commander Natalia. I’ll keep this necklace safe and return it when I can.”
Tia carefully hung the compass around her neck, making sure not to scratch the precious gem.
If Natalia had handed it over in person, Tia might have refused, but she accepted it carefully.
“Please stay healthy… and I’ll be waiting for your return soon, Princess Tia.”
Gael bowed deeply with an awkward smile.
He hesitated before calling her “Princess Tia,” a title he hadn’t used before. Behind him, Vellarenza covered her mouth, laughing.
Tia wasn’t sure how to react to Gael.
He was a knight from the First Fleet, tasked with protecting the capital, and had once been considered a possible match for her.
Even the Senate had recommended him as a good candidate to marry Tia, and Osvaldo often invited him to talk with her.
If she had married Gael, Tia would have been able to stay close to her mother, but…
“The princess is getting in the carriage! Let’s go!”
Her mother had ordered her to leave for Karayan.
“Wait! Princess! Tia!”
Someone shouted as they ran after the carriage.
It was Duke Devan.
“Whoa! Whoa!”
The carriage stopped at the Duke’s command.
When the door opened, he rushed over with a flushed face, clearly out of breath.
“Please keep this pen where it’s visible, Your Highness.”
“Oh…”
“I’ll occasionally write updates about Her Majesty. It’s important.”
It was a fancy peacock-feathered pen, with a rare red glowing stone embedded in the ink reservoir.
“Is this a magical communication tool…?”
Tia wasn’t familiar with such objects, so she hesitated as she lightly touched the pen’s nib.
Magical tools were rare and highly valued, especially the communication pens, which only a few royal families had because of their short lifespan.
“Yes. I think Her Majesty forgot about it, so I brought it with me. Once you arrive, please use it to send your regards, Your Highness.”
Tia nodded at his warm smile, but her hand automatically touched the compass around her neck again.
Grandfather Hessel. And Duke Devan…
“I’ll be back soon, everyone.”
Tia lifted her chin, trying to clear her thoughts, and took one last look at the palace she was leaving.
She was leaving the palace to explore the world outside, something she had never done before.
It felt strange and unfamiliar, and though she felt nervous, she also knew this wasn’t a forced departure.
Her mother loved her, and she made the best decisions for her.
“Ugh! Our Princess Tia has to endure a tiny, uncomfortable carriage for more than ten days!”
“Ugh, so annoying. Do you want me to knock you out to make you quiet, Marisol? Can we just put her in a baggage cart, Your Highness?”
The feeling of leaving the palace for the first time was strange, but it wasn’t all bad.
Tia looked out the carriage window, and beyond the barren roads, she saw people gathered in the fields.
“Oh, it looks like the people are here to see us off!”
The people, spotting Tia through the slightly open curtain, waved and smiled widely at her.