Chapter 2
At the words spoken without any change in expression, everyone's jaws dropped,
including Eric's. In the midst of them all, only Elisha was blinking with a calm
face.
Of course, Eric had acted without dignity, but he was, after all, a Prince. A
position where no one could recklessly criticize his actions except the Emperor
or someone permitted by the Emperor. And she had called such a person "rude."
Treating him as if he were on the same level as a maid, nonetheless.
"You, what did you just say......"
That was the moment Eric asked, his eyes wide as if he had heard something
unbelievable.
"I told you not to run indoors."
A gentle yet dignified voice echoed. At that, the maids who were standing with
dazed faces hurried to bow their heads again. Meanwhile, Bernard, now standing
in front of Eric, offered a faint smile. It was a kind smile, just like the one
Elisha had encountered before, but it was completely different from that time.
Eric knew when his father wore such a smile.
"Father, I......" "Eric von Cardion."
It was just as Eric stammered, his words trailing off. Bernard opened his mouth,
looking at his son. "Tell me what just happened."
A soft voice, yet a powerful one. Eric flinched immediately. Elisha watched the
scene blankly, her finger still pointing at the maids.
"She, she said I was rude......!" Eric finally managed to stammer it out. The
absurdity of it seemed to have hit him again, for at the end of his sentence, he
whipped his head around to glare at Elisha.
Elisha met his gaze indifferently and remarked, "You pointed your finger at me
first." "That......!" "Elisha, then why are you pointing your finger at those
maids?" Bernard interrupted Eric and asked. Only then did Elisha slowly lower
her arm and asked in return.
"Where are you going to send me?"
It was a statement completely unrelated to Bernard's question. A child’s
innocent question, free of malice or anything else. Bernard raised an eyebrow,
then soon shook his head and smiled at Elisha. As if he had understood the
situation perfectly.
"I am the one who brought you here, so you won't go anywhere."
Then he passed by Eric, stopped in front of Elisha, and bowed at the waist. At
the same time, the maids let out small gasps. The meaning was clear. The Emperor
was now showing them clearly: the status of this child.
"So, in order to adapt to this place." His eyes, tinted with blue light, swept
over Elisha, then Eric, and finally the maids standing beside them. "It seems
some etiquette lessons are necessary."
As if being brought in by Emperor Bernard himself wasn't enough, the girl was
granted her own palace and took lessons alongside the Prince. On top of that,
the maids who had looked down on her, even for a moment, were immediately
expelled from the palace.
In this situation, rumors about Elisha grew uncontrollably with each passing
day. From rumors that she was the Emperor's hidden daughter to baseless
speculation that she was the daughter of a lost first love. Some people passing
by Elisha watched her as if she were a strange animal. Some even intentionally
repeated the circulating rumors right in front of her.
Elisha listened to all of it. That was all there was to it. If someone stared at
her, she stared back. If they spoke, she fluttered her lashes a few times. In
the end, they were the ones who got tired of it first and gave up.
"She's unsettling for some reason." "I’ve never seen that child speak. Can she
not talk?"
This was what people who met Elisha even once had in common. Naturally, Elisha
knew how to talk. She simply had no desire to speak with those people. Just
because a dog barks doesn't mean you have to bark back. Although barking would
be fun.
Anyway, most of it was just passing chatter, so there was no particular reason
to pay it any mind. Although some people clung to her persistently.
"Just because you’re taking lessons with me now, don't mistake that you can
become like me." Eric spoke to Elisha, who was sitting at the base of a tree,
reading a book.
Elisha turned a page without even casting a glance in his direction. At that,
Eric frowned deeply and continued. "Stop following me."
"......Your Highness." Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Elisha opened her
mouth offhandedly. Her gaze remained fixed on the book. "Your Highness, you are
the one making a grave mistake. Why would I follow you? There isn't a single
pleasant thing about you to be found."
"You, with that mouth of yours......!" "A mouth is supposed to be open. You
can't eat through your nose."
Having finished her piece, Elisha finally turned her blue eyes to look at Eric.
Just as she expected, Eric was looking down at her, his face flushed.
Ordinarily, she would have said, "Looking down on me is unpleasant, it’s rude,"
but Elisha intentionally kept her mouth shut.
The person teaching her "etiquette" had said it. That Eric was fundamentally
different from her by birth, so she must show him respect. That saying "rude" to
His Highness the Prince was, in itself, a rude act. So, Elisha would sometimes
hold back what she wanted to say like this and make sure to address Eric as
"Your Highness." It was the greatest respect Elisha could show Eric.
"You, didn't you hear the etiquette teacher tell you to use formal speech?" Eric
asked, lifting his chin as if showing off. Elisha stared at him calmly and
answered.
"I read in a book that formal speech is used to express respect for someone."
"And so?" "I do not respect you, Your Highness. So I don't use it."
Elisha said, blinking, as if she were stating the obvious. At that, Eric shouted
back. "The Emperor is a position everyone respects! I will become the Emperor
when my father dies!"
"But while there might be an order for our arrival, there is no order for our
departure......" "You read that in a book again, didn't you!"
"I didn't see this in a book," Elisha answered lightly, her blue eyes blinking
twice. Then, as if in deep thought, she furrowed her brow slightly. "Then I’ll
use formal speech when you become Emperor later. I’m worried for this country,
but if it’s unavoidable, I suppose there’s no choice."
She said it firmly, as if granting a great favor. Her voice held no malice, only
pure sincerity. For Eric, who had to listen to that, the words were infuriating.
"You......" Eric was about to scream, "What on earth does that mean?!" but he
soon regained his composure. He had learned that raising his voice was an
undignified act. And that he couldn't become a respected Emperor that way.
"......My nanny says you don't sound like an eight-year-old when you talk."
Eric's sulky voice soon found its way back to Elisha's ears. Elisha offered a
light response this time too.
"You don't look like an eight-year-old either, Your Highness." "Really?" "Even a
five-year-old outside the palace gates wouldn't act as childishly as you do."
"What!"
"I’m truly worried for this country......" Elisha let out a deep sigh and
muttered under her breath. Eric bit his lip, huffing in anger. It had already
been a month since this troublesome stone had rolled into the Imperial Palace.
She was a nobody who wouldn't even have a name if not for his father, but the
way she calmly talked back to him without any proper status was extremely
annoying to Eric. In the beginning, she only spat out a few words, but now she
was refuting him with full sentences. And even worse, most of what she said was
correct, so he couldn't even argue.
"I really hate you," Eric said, his lips pouting stubbornly. That look in her
eyes, as if she had seen the whole world despite being the same age as him, and
그 expression that didn't change no matter what he said.
"I’m not particularly fond of you either, Your Highness." And that personality
that wouldn't budge an inch—there wasn't a single thing about her he liked!
Just as Eric's eyebrows shot up at Elisha's words. "But don't worry," Elisha
spoke first, her face devoid of expression. "I’ve never once thought that I want
to be treated the same as you, Your Highness. Nor have I ever thought that was
possible."
"You......"
"If my attitude made you feel that way, I apologize. It’s simply that saying
things I don't mean feels like thorns are growing out of my body. That’s why I
usually try to keep my mouth shut, but you keep talking to me." "......" "In any
case, I am," her indifferent blue eyes fixed on Eric. "here to survive."
Her tone was infinitely calm, as if she were stating a simple fact. For a
moment, Eric didn't know what to say and gaped in daze. Elisha had already
turned her gaze from Eric and was staring at her book again. Eating, sleeping,
breathing—all were actions that ultimately stemmed from the will to live.
"Following that person here, too." If she hadn't taken the hand Bernard offered
then, she might have starved to death. Elisha knew this. That was why she didn't
care what anyone said about her. Because she knew that regardless of right or
wrong, the moment she added her own words, the person who brought her here would
find himself in a difficult position.
And she would be the one to bear the full consequences. However long she lived
here, she was, in the end, a stranger. Truly, that was something, just imagining
it...
"I’m tired." "What?" "You’ve kept talking to me, Your Highness, and now I’m
tired."
Then Elisha closed her book and stood up from her spot. Eric's gaze
inadvertently fell on the title of the book Elisha was reading.
[ The Bewildering Human Psychology ]
"Where on earth did you borrow that book......" It was the moment Eric was about
to retort to Elisha, as he always did.
"Eric, Elisha." A familiar voice filtered into the two children's ears. Almost
simultaneously, Eric and Elisha turned their heads to look at the man
approaching them.
"Father!" "It seems you two were getting along well."
Bernard stopped in front of the two children and smiled. Elisha stared blankly
at Bernard for a moment before speaking. "We are not getting along." "Hmm?" "His
Highness hates me."
Her tone was indifferent, as if she were merely stating a simple fact. The
moment Elisha finished her sentence, Eric's eyes widened and his mouth fell
open. How could she be so nonchalant, saying something like that so casually in
front of Father? Was she trying to get him in trouble?
Of course, unlike Eric's assumption, Elisha's remark held no ulterior motive.
She simply stated a fact.
"Is that true......?" Bernard smiled knowingly, his gaze shifting from Eric to
Elisha. Elisha tilted her head, staring into Bernard's deep blue eyes. She had
read about it in the book she was carrying, [ The Bewildering Human Psychology
]. A look like that...
"I’d like for you two to get along." Then he placed a hand on each of their
shoulders and said, his voice as nonchalant as Elisha's had been. "You’ll have
to marry each other when you grow up, in the end."
Instantly, Eric's face turned pale.
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