Chapter 50
"Your Highness, I've returned."
The girl, now as tall as Eric, greeted him while holding a staff that was half
her height. On her cheek, a drop of someone's blood had dried to a
reddish-brown. Eric, who was sitting at the base of a tree, looked at her and
spoke bluntly.
"Why did you come to me? I am the Crown Prince now."
"Well, Your Highness the Crown Prince. Are you unhappy I came?"
"I asked you not to call me Your Highness, but Eric."
He hated hearing such an embarrassing title. The boy grumbled while removing a
lock of Elisha's hair that fell near him. Elisha simply nodded.
"Fine, Eric. If that's what you want, I'll name you so."
Eric suddenly felt a tightening in his stomach. This wasn't really good. This
feeling of his heart tearing apart constantly, or the heat rising in his
cheeks...
"But, Eric."
Unaware of Eric's inner turmoil, Elisha continued speaking quietly.
"Are you angry because of the title?"
"What?"
"You've been in a bad mood since I started talking to you."
Was it because I called you Your Highness? She sat beside Eric as she spoke.
Eric stared at Elisha with a look of true disbelief.
"Do I look like someone who gets angry over such a trivial thing?"
"Yes."
"If you can't even say it correctly..."
"You are the one who can't speak correctly, Your High— Eric. If not that, what's
the reason then?"
Then Elisha narrowed her eyes and asked. The bloodstain on her cheek was still
there. Finally, Eric let out a small sigh and extended his hand toward Elisha's
cheek.
"...Coming here with this kind of thing on you."
His thumb, which touched Elisha's soft cheek, burned as if it were seared by
fire. Perhaps it was Elisha's warmth, or his own, or maybe the heat of both
together. In any case, it was a very strange sensation. After ensuring Elisha's
cheek was clean, Eric withdrew his hand quickly. Elisha let out a small sound,
"Ah."
"That's not my blood."
"I know."
"It's not His Majesty's blood either."
"I know that."
As if someone who follows his father more than anyone would come to him with his
blood on her. Eric sighed quietly and opened his mouth slowly.
"This campaign, you weren't supposed to participate."
"......"
"No, in the first place, you were never assigned to any monster subjugation
campaign."
Looking at Cardion's future, it was in fact right for her to advance, but
neither Eric nor Bernard wanted Elisha participating in campaigns. But Elisha
participated in the last campaign, and the one before, and this one too. Eric
looked at Elisha with a somewhat cold look. Elisha stared at him for a moment
before answering.
"But since you became Crown Prince, I don't see you much, Eric."
"Why is that suddenly related?"
"My duty is to protect you, but if I can't see you, I can't perform my duty.
Then the reason for my presence in the Imperial Palace vanishes."
Elisha continued in a calm voice. For a moment, Eric was speechless and let out
a hollow laugh. What in the hell was she talking about.
"The reason for your presence in the Imperial Palace vanishes? Is that why you
go on campaigns?"
"To protect His Majesty too."
"Does my father allow it?"
"He said he couldn't tell someone who already arrived to go back, but I had to
take responsibility for my choice."
Although honestly, I don't quite understand what that means. Elisha shrugged her
shoulders and muttered. Eric let out a continuous series of disbelieving laughs.
He had no idea where to begin in correcting her. He even specifically placed
Dante Renard by his side to lighten Elisha's burden, yet somehow her obsession
seemed to worsen with every passing day.
Everyone already knew that neither he nor his father would ever abandon her. The
fact that she alone didn't know this was a little frustrating, yet pitiful, and
being pitiful, it was also annoying. Ultimately, it meant he hadn't given Elisha
that much confidence. When will Elisha realize she still has a place here, even
without such an excuse, even without a title or justification? But it wasn't
something one could accept simply because someone said so. In the end, you alone
can determine your place.
"...What if I were attacked while you're distracted?"
Regardless, he couldn't push Elisha into a dangerous place, so Eric decided to
use himself as a weapon to lure her. It was a cowardly move, to the point he was
sick of himself, but nothing could be done. If he didn't do this, Elisha would
roam the battlefields over and over again.
"It's fine, Eric."
That's why Elisha's response, so different from what he expected, could only
confuse him.
"I will make sure that never happens."
Thinking that the monsters would only appear within the barrier was the fatal
mistake.
"I should never have left Eric's side from the beginning."
All because Eric threw a tantrum, telling me he was fine and to just hurry and
handle the situation...! While Dante Renard was gritting his teeth and hurriedly
preparing to cast an offensive spell.
-Crash!
A massive ice spear shot toward the monster in the blink of an eye. It was an
offensive spell with terrifying destructive power, as if it gave no
consideration to anyone else. Dante immediately turned his head to look at
Elisha. But she had already left that spot and was heading toward Eric.
"To possess all this power even while using a transformation spell."
She said she couldn't use magic above a certain level due to the risk of
breaking the spell. What in heaven's name was that "certain level"? Perhaps
Elisha's limit was an ordinary mage's maximum.
"Your Majesty!"
In any case, the most important thing now was Eric's safety. Dante shook his
head quickly and ran to where Eric was. Fortunately, Eric was standing in his
place without a single scratch.
"They deliberately targeted a moment of neglect."
Elisha said while placing layers of defense spells before Eric. Eric frowned at
her continuous formal address, but answered her words obediently.
"That would be impossible unless they were watching this side."
"I believe Your Majesty has already anticipated who the culprit is."
"The survivor from the plains."
When I think about it, the fact that only one person survived away from where
the Hydra appeared, while everyone else was annihilated, didn't make sense in
the first place. I should have investigated more thoroughly, but in chasing the
desire before my eyes, I failed to grasp it. The situation Eric von Cardion
feared had come true.
"...What are the chances that this is the work of 'him' we talked about before?"
Of course, even that was no longer important, as long as it gave him a reason to
keep her by his side. Eric let out a short hollow laugh at his own ridiculous
conclusion. What could he do when the heart he suppressed was raging, unable to
control it?
"I'll have to look into it to know for certain."
Elisha answered Eric's question monotonously, then turned her head to scan the
area. Since she herself invented a transformation spell, there was no reason
"that man" couldn't have done the same. So, the possibility of the person
disguised as the survivor being him wasn't zero.
But if it were that man, he wouldn't have summoned such low or mid-level
monsters. A person who could lead dozens of Hydra won't send only minions when
he attacks the heart of the Imperial Palace.
"In any case, the fact the Imperial Palace was breached is certainly a problem."
Once all this is over, I'll have to use Dante Renard to focus on strengthening
the Imperial Palace security. Having made her decision, Elisha looked at Dante,
who was now standing protectively before Eric. At the same time, Dante was
seized by an unknown fear. Somehow, he had a feeling he was being dragged into
something unpleasant without even realizing it...
"I'll take care of His Majesty, so go and find the person who is summoning the
monsters."
Dante finally regained his senses and spoke. Elisha gave a small nod, cast a
glance at Eric, then turned and began to move as if she had no other choice. As
long as Dante Renard was with him, Eric would be fine. For now, the priority was
eliminating the true culprit who threatened him.
"Summoning monsters is, in the end, either magic or an artifact."
Regardless of the number of people present, it won't be hard to find the
activating mana. Of course, if it was "that man," his mana wouldn't be felt.
"It's not him."
He was someone who appeared before her of his own accord twice. Someone with
such a penchant for showing off wouldn't handle matters in such a pathetic way.
Elisha immediately walked out of the banquet hall and scanned her surroundings.
Excluding the mages who were casting defensive spells in preparation for any
invading monsters, and excluding the people in places where the inside of the
banquet hall was not visible. If I carefully remove the non-essential mana
traces from people carrying artifacts for self-defense...
"Found you."
There you are. A small smile blossomed on Elisha's lips. His scene of pretending
to be afraid among the crowd while casting spells was quite pathetic. He seemed
to have intentionally hidden in a crowded place in case he was discovered, but—.
"No chance."
The moment she found him, Elisha extended the summoned water into a thin thread
and fired it at her target. At the same time, the water enveloping the man's
body began to freeze with a crackling sound. At the sudden turn of events,
nearby people, their faces pale, began to retreat hesitantly. Elisha watched
them steadily and fired another spell into the air.
"Wh-what's this!"
It was the moment the man began to struggle and resist violently.
Crash!
With a loud sound, the man's body was slammed into the ground as if crushed by
something. Everyone, without exception, stared with wide eyes and in
bewilderment at the woman standing over him. A woman with unruly orange curls,
freckles covering the bridge of her nose, and lifeless pale green eyes.
"This is the culprit,"
She said nonchalantly, as if it were nothing at all.
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