Chapter 18: The Ghost of the Past
Inside the office that Dante Renard had just left, Eric, now alone, recalled
their last conversation and let out a long sigh.
"This is so unfair, I must say this one thing before I die."
"......"
"This is all your fault."
Understood, you bastard! The way he stared and shouted until the moment he left
the office. He should have been thrown in prison for insulting royalty, yet he
had the audacity to lift his chin with pride. Eric frowned for a moment and took
a deep breath. With the noisy man gone, the office felt quieter than ever. It
was quiet, still, and lonely.
"......Eli."
Are you alone now? Do you know what happened in Cardion yesterday?
"They say there was someone wearing a cloak beside Lord Renard."
The report he had received yesterday flashed through his mind. Eric let out an
involuntary sigh. At first, he had thought the person in the cloak might be
Elisha. But that thought was soon followed by a wish that it wasn't her. Of all
things, the monster that appeared in the capital was a Hyde. And Hydes reminded
him of "that day."
"I am sorry, Your Highness."
A voice that sank heavier than anything in the world.
"I couldn’t protect you."
The image of the woman apologizing to him, without even caring about the blood
pouring from her left arm. Eric took another breath. Even the air touching the
tip of his nose felt damp, as if it were trying to recreate the nightmare of
that day. For now, he tapped his fingertips against the window and lowered his
lashes.
Will it rain tomorrow? I wonder if there will be thunder and lightning. It
should be sunny where Elisha is. Because Elisha is afraid of thunder. At times
like this, I wish you were very far away, yet I wish you were close enough to
touch.
"Elisha."
What do I want to do with you? What were you feeling when you left this place?
What are you thinking now?
* * *
"Just kill me......"
Life is so hard... Dante, who had appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the
Renard manor library, muttered in a voice that sounded like he was on the verge
of death. His arms were full of documents. Elisha clicked her tongue, watching
the man collapse before the teleportation magic circle had even faded.
"Build up your stamina, Dante Renard."
"Don't you know that the more pathetic and fragile a mage looks, the stronger
they are...?"
"Seeing you panting like that, I don't think so."
"Be honest, you've killed someone with your words before, haven't you."
Finally, Dante grumbled as he stood up. Elisha casually ignored Dante’s words
and took the documents from his arms.
"This is a lot."
"Of course it is. I've been dragged everywhere all day preparing for meetings."
And before that, he had been summoned here and there because of yesterday’s
incident. Thanks to that, no one suspected when he said he would handle his
overtime work at his manor.
"How did you know I was here?"
Elisha asked, her eyes scanning the documents at a fast pace. Dante naturally
took a seat opposite her and replied.
"If you weren't in the library, where would you be? It's not like you’d be
sleeping at this hour."
"......"
"Even in the Imperial Palace, you were always in your office or the library."
Usually with Eric. Dante smoothly swallowed the last words and forced himself to
smile. It would be a disaster if he mentioned Eric and let what happened today
slip by mistake. Even though the plan had completely failed...
"Is that so."
"......"
"You have a surprisingly good memory."
At that moment, Elisha briefly fixed her gaze on Dante, her eyes curving in a
gentle smile. It was a truly unexpected, fleeting smile. For a moment, Dante’s
mind went blank, and he blinked stupidly.
"I suppose that’s how you managed to perform your duties as the Captain of the
Magic Knights reasonably well."
Elisha added afterward, turning her gaze away from Dante as if nothing had
happened. Dante finally regained his senses and frowned.
"You keep adding 'surprisingly' and 'better than I thought' to everything."
"......"
"I've been a very competent person since long ago, you know? When I was young,
people had no doubt I would become the High Mage of the Imperial Palace..."
Wait, maybe this isn't something I should say in front of the actual former High
Mage of the Imperial Palace. Realizing this, Dante immediately shut his mouth.
He was practically teaching a fish how to swim.
"I see."
Just as Dante tilted his head with a vague sense of unease, Elisha slowly opened
her mouth. Dante frowned slightly again.
"I see"?
"Don't answer so coolly."
"I wasn't being cool."
At that moment, Elisha’s blue eyes met Dante’s directly once more.
"I was choosing my words."
"......"
"If what I just said sounded like I was belittling your abilities, I apologize.
It wasn't my intention, but my way of speaking is harder to fix than I thought."
It's something Eric pointed out to me a lot, too. She then lowered her long
lashes and apologized. Dante stammered in response, his mouth opening and
closing. Was she always like this? To his knowledge, she was more domineering,
or more accurately, had a bit of an ego...
"Now that my position has changed, I must be more careful."
Elisha added at that moment nonchalantly. Surprised, Dante asked back.
"Position?"
"I'm not your boss anymore. And although we have a contract, I'm the one
receiving help from you."
To say I'm helping... I tried to sell you out just today. A wave of guilt washed
over him, and instead of answering, he turned his gaze away from Elisha, his
violet eyes shifting around. To try and sell out a person like this.
"Somehow, I feel like I did something terrible."
It's not like Eric is a villain. But then again, thinking about his actions and
words toward Elisha, maybe he is a villain. While Dante tilted his head in the
ambiguous situation, Elisha continued her work in silence. Her skill was
remarkably practiced and fast. A heavy silence settled over the library. Dante
unconsciously shivered. This kind of silence is awkward.
"What did you do today?"
Finally unable to bear it, Dante threw out a casual question. Elisha replied
without lifting her eyes from the documents.
"I took a look around the manor's flower garden."
"Ah, the garden."
"It wasn't being managed properly."
All the flowers have withered. A thin line of displeasure appeared on Elisha’s
flawless face. Dante watched her quietly. Thinking about it, Elisha always liked
places like gardens. It was to the point that Eric would grumble, "To find her,
I have to wander through every garden in the Imperial Palace."
"If you want, I can have it replanted."
"I’d like white flowers, please."
"You accepted my offer quickly."
"It's not a good habit to refuse something just for the sake of refusing when
you don't mean it."
"Wise words, indeed."
Dante finished with a faint smile on his lips. According to the original plan,
he should have handed over this blunt speaker to Eric today, but what could he
do when it had already failed? For now, he had no choice but to live with her
and do as she wished. Managing a garden wasn't a difficult task anyway.
"Besides, Elisha will be good at hiding herself when the gardeners are around."
Above all, his life was on the line if he broke the contract, so what choice did
he have?
"I'll take care of the rest, so why don't you go home now."
While he was thinking about plans to restore the Renard manor garden, Elisha
suddenly spoke. Dante finally regained his senses and looked at the woman in
front of him. He didn't know since when, but Elisha’s distinct pale blue eyes
were fixed on him, without hesitation. For a moment, Dante unconsciously
swallowed a breath of fear. Would she say something like, "The presence of
someone like you around is just a distraction"? Elisha had never said anything
like that to him, but somehow, it wouldn’t seem out of place if she did...
"You look tired."
But the words that followed were, contrary to Dante’s expectations, a somewhat
concerned statement. Dante blinked again in bewilderment before responding after
a moment.
"W-well, I am, but."
"If you collapse in the middle of a meeting, it will be troublesome for Eric."
"Ah."
I was wondering why she was suddenly worrying about me, but that was the reason
in the end. I almost fell into the illusion that "The cold woman actually has a
warm heart."
"How about picking one, either be warm or cold?"
"I have never been particularly warm or cold."
"Still, you sometimes say and do such unfamiliar things......"
To the point that it's scary. Dante, who was about to continue speaking, caught
Elisha’s cold gaze and shut his mouth. She says she’s never been cold, but
what’s with that look? It’s enough to freeze someone to death!
"If you're going to talk nonsense, go to your own manor and get some sleep,"
Elisha retorted, as if annoyed. Dante shrugged his shoulders. Right, this is the
Elisha I know.
"Emotionless Elisha, doll-like Elisha." Though lately, I feel like I've seen her
annoyed more than I've seen her emotionless.
"Then I'll close my eyes for a bit."
Whatever the case, the fact that Elisha was scary remained unchanged. With that
thought, Dante lay down on the sofa and closed his eyes. Elisha was about to say
something, but when she heard his steady, soft breathing, she shut her mouth.
Because the way he stubbornly stayed by her side somehow resembled Eric. Just
for that.
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