Chapter 1
Prologue
It was an exceptionally clear and quiet morning. Or rather, it was a morning
that was supposed to be so.
Eric von Cardion, the Emperor of the Cardion Empire, reached out his hand and
slowly began to read the letter placed on the table.
[ To His Illustrious Majesty, the Emperor... well, I cannot say that I hold that
much respect for you. ]
It was a sentence enough to make anyone reading it gasp in shock.
[ I still remember you quite clearly as a crybaby with a runny nose, incapable
of even taking care of himself. Just because you ascended the throne doesn’t
mean respect I never had will suddenly spring forth overnight, you know. ]
The elegant handwriting was completely at odds with the content. Eric
immediately realized the identity of the one who left this letter.
How could he not? After all, there was only one person in this Imperial Palace
who could say such things without hesitation.
[ The reason I am leaving this letter, as you might already be aware, is to
fulfill a promise. ]
A promise? Eric's straight eyebrows furrowed slightly. A promise? I don't
remember making any promises lately. We had a huge fight, but...
[ A very old promise. ]
But the moment he read the next sentence, Eric understood exactly what that
"promise" was.
[ You know that thing you used to repeat constantly, Your Highness—no, Your
Majesty. ]
The words he used to repeat all the time.
[ "I’d rather die than marry you!" ]
"Dammit...." Eric spat out a curse in daze.
If anyone had been beside him, they would have said something like, "You must
maintain your dignity, Your Majesty!" but that didn't matter. Because anyone
seeing this letter would have had the exact same reaction.
[ Didn't you say you’d rather eat a raw carrot from the Imperial kitchen than
marry me? Ah, but you took that back after you actually tried a raw carrot and
decided it wasn't for you. ]
Did I say that?
[ And didn't you say you’d rather enter a monastery than marry me? Come to think
of it, you took that back too, saying you didn't want a vegetarian diet. ]
"What on earth was I doing...!"
[ There are many other pledges—which weren't really pledges—starting with
"Instead of marrying you~", but if I wrote them all down, I feel like I'd never
leave, so I will sadly stop here. ]
The handwriting in the part where that sentence was written, unlike the rest,
seemed somewhat cheerful. Eric tried to steady his trembling hands and read the
next sentence.
[ Anyway, since you were going around singing about how much you didn't want to
marry me, I decided to leave before it’s too late. Don't be picky with your
food, don't doze off during state council meetings, and don't get hurt by
needlessly taking the lead during monster subjugation campaigns. ]
"......"
[ You worked hard enduring me all this time, Eric. You can finally live a little
now. Congratulations. Take care of yourself. ]
At the end of the calm sentences, not even the sender's name was written. It was
a stance confident that he would already know her identity, and beside the
letter, a scepter was placed elegantly.
"......Elisha."
Eric ran his fingers violently through his black hair and crumpled the letter.
Less than a month after the new Emperor ascended the throne, the future Empress,
Elisha, had vanished.
Chapter 1: Tracing the Footsteps
A perimeter consumed by flames, screams erupting from every side, and a space
turned into utter ruin. A day sixteen years ago, when unidentified traces
scattered like ash.
"Little child, won't you come with me?"
A hand reached out to a small girl who didn't look older than seven. The girl
glanced around for a moment, then took the hand without hesitation. It was the
beginning of a bond.
Blink, blink.
Inside the shaking carriage, round blue eyes slowly opened and closed. Her gaze
seemed a bit vacant, yet somehow full of curiosity. After a while, the girl
repeatedly toyed with her white hair, stared out the carriage window, and tilted
her head.
"Little child," the man, who had been staring at the girl, spoke affectionately.
At that, the girl's gaze shifted from the window to the man. "Can you tell me
your name?"
The man asked, his eyes crinkling in a gentle smile. The girl just kept
blinking.
Perhaps she doesn't know the language of this country. The place where the child
was found was a border area where a monster subjugation campaign was in full
swing. So there was a possibility she didn't speak the language of Cardion...
"Princess."
At that moment, a low voice came from the girl's lips. "My name is Princess."
At the same time, the man tilted his head slightly. It seems her parents used to
call her by that title. Perhaps she was called that more than her real name and
cannot remember it. As far as he knew, there was no princess in any other
country with such an appearance. And even if there were, she wouldn't be in the
middle of that chaos.
"My name is Bernard. What is your real name?" "Princess." "Don't you remember?"
"I told you, it’s Princess."
I think that’s what I was called. The girl said again, her eyebrows lifting
slightly. It was because she felt frustrated that the man didn't believe her.
Bernard finally opened his mouth with a slight smile.
"And I am truly the Emperor."
Then he turned his gaze from the girl and stared out the carriage window.
Watching the child, Bernard once again lifted the corners of his mouth in a warm
smile. "I’ll have to give you a new name."
Emperor Bernard had returned. And with a strange girl, nonetheless.
The girl's presence, as expected, turned the entire Imperial Palace upside down.
It wasn't enough that he returned earlier than scheduled; he had to bring a
child with him.
"There were no survivors in the area. If I hadn't found her, she would have
starved to death long ago," Emperor Bernard dismissed the situation with just a
few words. "It is due to my lack of virtue in not taking proper care of my
people, so isn't it only right that I take her under my wing?"
"His Majesty is so merciful it’s to his own detriment," one of the maids combing
the girl's hair spoke offhandedly. The girl stopped moving her eyes and stared
blankly at the maid in the mirror.
"He even gave her a name himself, I believe," said another maid picking out
clothes nearby, casting a fleeting glance at the girl. Her attitude suggested
she didn't even care about the child’s presence right in front of her.
Regardless, the girl blinked her eyes, kicking her feet from her seat on the
chair.
"From now on, your name is Elisha," the black-haired man had told her.
"Elisha." The girl liked the name very much. So from then on, her name was
Elisha.
"He's not thinking of adopting her, is he?" "Oh my, don't say such things!"
While Elisha was lost in her thoughts, the sound of bickering continued behind
her.
"He might have gotten away with it this time, but do you think the other nobles
will just stand by?" "But just look at the fact that he gave her Soltaire
Palace...." "Probably just until he finds a family to adopt her."
They had heard the rumor that he declared he would raise her himself, but that
was something that could never realistically happen. To think of raising a girl
of unknown origins in the Imperial Palace.
"We’re just doing what we’re told for now, but honestly, this isn't a nursery.
We have the Prince, so what more does he want...."
The maid's gaze shifted to Elisha in the mirror. It was a look of deep
resentment. Elisha didn't avoid the gaze and fluttered her lashes twice. As if
she were reminding them that she heard everything they said.
A moment passed like that. The maid was the first to look away. Only then did
Elisha also turn her gaze from the mirror and slowly began to kick her feet
again. After that, the maids didn't utter another word. Naturally, Elisha didn't
open her mouth either. Elisha liked the quiet.
"You!"
But the silence didn't last long. Someone had violently opened the door and
burst in. As the door suddenly flew open, the eyes of all three people turned to
a single spot without exception.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
At the same time, the two maids realized the identity of the voice's owner and
hurried to bow their heads in greeting. Elisha slowly tilted her head and stared
intently at the boy in front of her. It was the Prince who was rather flustered
by the intensity of her gaze.
Hair as white as snow reaching down to her waist, and blue eyes. For someone of
unknown origins, that vacant expression while sitting on the chair, looking at
him in that condescending way...
"You, who are you!" the boy shouted, having regained his senses, and immediately
pointed his finger at her. Elisha stared at the boy for a moment, then pointed
at the maids and made a remark.
"You, and those people." "......" "You are all rude."
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