Chapter 5
In the back garden of Soltaire Palace, which Emperor Bernard had once granted to
Elisha, there was a long labyrinth of ivy. Elisha enjoyed reading books while
sitting deep within that labyrinth. In a space where no one would disturb her,
the shouts of a maid calling her name in search of her. The sound of grass
rustling as it brushed against her skirt hem and the humid warmth of a summer
breeze as it caressed her hair. And as she reads her book, a voice eventually
reaches her,
"Do you want to read a book, or do you want to play hide-and-seek?" The young
Prince's gruff voice.
Every time, Elisha would let out a small sigh, tear her eyes from her book to
look at Eric, and play along appropriately. Although that was usually with words
like, "Your Highness, you are disturbing my reading."
"Hide-and-seek?" Of course, among those times, there were moments when her
curiosity was truly piqued. It was when Eric mentioned a new word. "What is
that?"
"What, you don't even know that?" the small boy retorted, shrugging his
shoulders with an air of boastfulness. Instead of answering, Elisha simply
tilted her head.
"Your Highness-." It was the moment Elisha was about to speak in a low voice.
"Simply put, it’s a game of hiding and searching," Eric interrupted her with a
preemptive move and began to explain. Judging by his expression, if he hadn't
interrupted her, she would have surely let out another cutting remark. So, let’s
interrupt her before she speaks. It was a special skill of his that Eric learned
after spending a few months with her.
"One person becomes the 'Seeker', counts to a hundred, and then finds the person
who hides." Eric's black hair, naturally taking the seat beside the girl,
fluttered in the wind. Elisha stared blankly at him before suddenly saying.
"I wasn't hiding to play." "......" "You kept saying I was following you, so I
moved away first. But now you are the one following me, Your Highness."
At her tone, which sounded as if she were stating a simple fact, Eric's cheeks
flushed. Elisha watched him blankly, her lashes fluttering. It was a color just
like the roses blooming in the garden.
"That’s because you’re in an easy-to-find spot, so you just happened to catch my
eye, that’s all!" as if hiding his expression, Eric shouted again. Elisha
answered calmly, as she always did.
"The maid couldn't find me." "That’s because I’m smart and quick......" "Come to
think of it, Your Highness, you seem to be very good at lying."
The moment Elisha's words ended, Eric's expression crumpled again. Elisha
observed his face intently and continued. "I wasn't hiding to play this time."
"......" "Next time we play that hide-and-seek game, I’ll make sure to hide
very, very well indeed."
At Elisha's words, Eric bit his lip hard, then spoke with a firm voice, like
someone whose competitive spirit had been ignited. His ruby eyes, clearer than
the sky, were fixed on Elisha. "Then let’s play now, hide-and-seek." "......"
"You were going to stop reading anyway." Eric pointed with his chin toward the
neatly folded corner of the page. Folding a page corner instead of using a
bookmark. It was a sort of habit of Elisha's whenever she stopped her reading.
"......If I win," Elisha, who had kept her mouth shut, finally spoke and offered
a quiet suggestion. "You have to eat all your carrots today, Your Highness."
"What?" "His Majesty is always worried. He wonders if you’ll ever grow tall by
being picky with your food, or if you’ll just wither away and die..." "You made
that last part up!" "You are mistaken," Elisha said, fixing her blue eyes on
Eric. Although her gaze was still devoid of emotion, Eric saw for a moment a
small glint in Elisha's eyes.
The boy, staring as if entranced, nodded his head after a while. "Fine. If I
lose, I’ll eat all my carrots today without picking them out." "......" "But if
I win, you have to eat all my carrots."
As if expressing his unwavering determination, Eric's mouth snapped shut after
he finished speaking. Elisha blinked her emotionless eyes again and spoke
lightly. "Honestly, this is a bet where I gain nothing even if I win." "You were
the one who suggested it!" "Yes, you are right. Then let’s do it." Finally,
Elisha nodded her head in a small gesture. "Because I’ll win anyway," she said,
with an expression that seemed somewhat amused.
"You’d better get ready to eat some carrots," Eric shouted with a confident
face, then covered his face with his palms and began to count. The winner of
this game would be him in the end. That girl had only been here for a few
months, but he had lived here his whole life. So, he should tell the chef to put
plenty of carrots in tonight's dinner.
And that evening. Eric had to force himself to eat carrots drenched in tears.
"The breakfast menu is soup for everyone." With a raspy voice, a bowl of soup
was pushed in front of Elisha. Elisha looked at the bowl of soup placed in front
of her and slowly opened and closed her eyes.
After leaving the Imperial Palace and heading straight for the city, she entered
this place after seeing the small description on the sign. It was said they
provided shelter as well as meals, so she thought it was a place similar to the
Imperial Palace, but...
Should I have enjoyed one last feast yesterday evening? A soup without a single
piece of meat. She then picked up her spoon, stirred the soup, and let out a
faint sigh. She had to get used to it now. She had only lost her sense of
reality from living in the Imperial Palace for so long; perhaps most people
lived like this. At least, that’s what the books she read said.
"It’s a good thing Eric is of the royal family." Eric, who loathed vegetables,
would never have endured this. Elisha thought as she picked up a half-submerged
piece of carrot with her spoon. He probably would have cried. Or maybe he would
have refused to eat and just collapsed. In either case, it would be equally
troublesome.
"It’s clearly obvious you look as if you were raised with a silver spoon in your
mouth, which is strange," as Elisha was stirring her soup with a spoon, the man
standing in front of her initiated the conversation. "A young noble lady can't
be wandering around the city without a guard."
Elisha deftly shifted her eyes to look at the man standing in front of her. So,
he is the owner of this building, isn't he? "Ran away from home?" he then asked,
stroking the end of his beard with his fingers.
Elisha simply fluttered her lashes without giving any answer. To call it running
away from home, the Imperial Palace was never a "complete home" in the first
place. Elisha was not oblivious to the fact that the reason she could live in
the Imperial Palace for so long was ultimately because she was useful. At the
same time, she knew. She would always be a useful person among people for all
eternity.
If nothing had happened, I might have been able to stay in the Imperial Palace
all my life. So, in a way, it could be considered a runaway. "Um, were you
kicked out?" the man asked, taking Elisha's silence in another way, once more.
This time too, Elisha didn't open her mouth and tilted her head to the side. Was
I kicked out? This, too, was partially true. Albeit with a condition. In any
case, the moment to fulfill her promise with Eric finally came, and so she left
the Imperial Palace without any lingering regret.
Of course, she didn't leave without putting any measures in place. Worried that
he might be assassinated by someone in her absence, she installed security
devices throughout the palace just for Eric. Dante Renard would take the
position of Imperial Archmage, so there was nothing to worry about there. She
even left behind the scepter she used for the people who would be thrown into
confusion by her sudden disappearance. With a spell cast on it that would
increase the user's mana capacity and spell casting speed by one level.
Dante Renard will likely use that. Having finished her thoughts, Elisha let out
a light breath. Whether she ran away or was kicked out, the result was the same.
She wouldn't return to that place.
"Were you really kicked out?" meanwhile, the man knit one eyebrow and spoke to
her again. Elisha shrugged her shoulders slightly and picked up the spoon she
had briefly set aside. There was no reason to tell this story to anyone.
Especially not to someone she just met.
"......Miss." But before Elisha could take a spoonful of soup, the man snatched
the soup bowl away. Elisha immediately furrowed her brows and looked at the
person in front of her.
"You looked like a noble, so I didn't bring up the matter of prepayment, but if
you were kicked out, that’s a different story." "......" "You have money, don't
you?" the man asked, his eyes now carrying a threatening glint. He looked ready
to throw her out immediately if she didn't have any money.
Elisha blinked in daze and began to organize her thoughts. This person provided
her with a place to sleep and food. Therefore, his desire for a corresponding
payment was not wrong. Besides, Dante Renard said that ordinary humans were so
fragile that a single gesture could end their lives. To be precise, it was:
"With one gesture from you, hundreds, thousands of people will be introducing
themselves to each other in the afterlife, you know?"
And he added this. "Try to solve things with words if possible. Dialogue,
negotiation, amicable agreement, happy ending." And if that truly didn't work,
then you could simply eliminate them.
"......I don't have money, but." having finished her thoughts, Elisha opened her
mouth and spoke calmly. The man's expression contorted even more fiercely. "Then
get out of my inn immediately......"
The man was about to point his finger at the door and lose his temper. "I have
something like this." Elisha felt for something in her clothes and placed it on
the table. It was an artifact with a purple magic stone embedded in the center
of an intricately crafted gold frame.
"Immediately......now......" the man's brown eyes, after confirming the
artifact, seemed to hesitate for a moment. "I’ll put some meat in your soup."
Then he folded his fingers elegantly and smiled extremely gently.
Elisha fluttered her lashes twice and nodded her head. Eric would be happy to
hear that. Of course, Eric would have eaten much better meat than this.
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