We left Volume 4 with Tia (Aristia) having a rocky relationship with Allendis. After she decided to trust him with her memories, and he didn’t believe her words, she felt betrayed. Her dearest friend didn’t consider her feelings and dismissed her words like they were just a bad dream. Allendis quickly realised the mistake, and he’s now doing his best to get Tia’s forgiveness.

It seems as if he will be able to patch things up, but Tia is changing. She’s not the same person that Allendis met when they were younger. She’s growing into her own person, and she won’t repeat the same mistakes she made in her past life. She’s going to become her father’s heir. To do so though, she needs to become an official knight. She’s just an apprentice but she has the support of her friend Carsein, who is about to be sworn in as a knight.

Events are happening much more swiftly than in Tia’s past life. It seems that her decisions are changing and shaping the future, although we don’t yet know whether it will be for better or worse. But Tia is happy to form connections with people with whom she didn’t interact in her past life. She’s even debuting in society and is planning on creating her own clique. Society is brutal and Tia needs all the support she can get. Thankfully she has the memories of her previous life and the support of her friends and family.

Things will be different—Tia will make sure of that. Now if only her willingness to help and save other people wouldn’t get in the way when the emperor was finally about to cancel her engagement to the crown prince. He saw her qualities, and he really doesn’t want to lose such person for his own son.

There are only five volumes out of The Abandoned Empress so far, but this manhwa is turning quickly into a soap opera with all the drama there is. And I’m all here for it.

I like how Tia is growing, but at the same time she makes me frustrated. She goes from being a formidable foe when out in society to a meek and naïve girl when she has the men fighting over her. She can’t figure out Allendis’s and Carsein’s feelings. Although they are not saying the words, their actions speak pretty clearly. The crown prince too seems to have feelings for Tia. Is it love? Admiration? Or something else? I’m not sure yet, but he feels something.

In this volume, we also get thrown into the mystery that is Tia’s past. She has no memories of her mother nor what happened to her. Her father is not speaking about Tia’s mother, and it’s only when she’s eavesdropping on her father that she finds out about her mother’s anniversary. The crown prince too, seems to know more about Tia’s mother than Tia herself. What happened to her? Why is no one saying anything to Tia? I’m sure that Tia won’t let this go, and she’ll dig until she finds out the truth.

As mentioned, there is a lot going on in this manhwa. Tia can’t have a moment of peace. If it’s not the crown prince or the emperor, then it’s society throwing more obstacles her way. I’m cheering for her, but I wish she would be firmer and more decisive at times.

The Abandoned Empress is written by Yuna and illustrated by Ina. Yen Press published the English edition with a translation by David Odell. Volume 6 is slated for release in September.

Our review copy from Yen Press was supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.