The next morning, Dante Renard headed toward the Emperor’s office with a stride more militant than ever.
‘Stubborn to the end, that one.’
To think she’d dive straight back into work the moment she regained her senses.
Though, the same could be said for the woman who should be resting quietly at the knight order’s barracks right now.
She had claimed to have used long-distance teleportation about ten times without a break, yet this morning, she had finished preparing for work as if nothing were wrong.
Not that her return to work was entirely without issues.
“Did you ever notice anything strange about Elisha’s mana in the past?”
He burst into Erich’s office and asked without preamble. Erich looked up from his documents, staring at Dante.
Even Müllen Cassus, standing beside Erich, had his eyes wide as he stared at Dante.
“Oh.”
I didn’t expect Müllen to be here.
Dante bit his lip once and rolled his eyes.
Come to think of it, it wasn’t exactly a forbidden topic, and since Müllen already knew everything there was to know, it didn’t really matter.
“What is the meaning of this sudden question?”
Erich asked, his eyes gleaming coldly. Dante clamped his mouth shut for a moment.
Does Erich not know that Müllen has already figured it out?
“You should have greeted His Majesty before entering, Sir Renard. Especially considering His Majesty was suffering from a fever just yesterday.”
While Dante was busy racking his brain, Müllen spoke up with a benevolent smile. Dante bowed ostentatiously.
“I assumed that if he wasn’t in his bedroom at this hour, he must have recovered. It is a relief to see you looking so healthy, Your Majesty.”
“Never mind that. Just tell me what you meant by what you said earlier.”
I knew it. As if there’s any room for concern between us.
At Erich’s words, Dante shrugged pointedly and stared at Müllen.
Müllen smiled softly once more and bowed his head toward Erich.
“I shall take my leave. Please, continue your conversation.”
It seems he hasn’t let on that he knows to Erich yet.
Once Müllen had left the office, Dante took the few steps he had paused at and stood before Erich.
“Exactly what you heard. Has there ever been any talk regarding Elisha’s mana before?”
“No. Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“Elisha suffered internal injuries due to a mana mismatch while trying to dissolve the written pact.”
“What?”
No sooner had Dante finished speaking than Erich’s face contorted violently. Dante fluttered his eyelashes rapidly a few times.
Quite the reaction. If he was going to be this worried, why did he treat her that way in the first place?
“What happened to her mana? What is her condition? Did you call a royal physician? And why on earth would she suddenly try to dissolve the written pact-.”
“Wait, I’m not going anywhere, so ask one thing at a time. You’ll stop breathing again at this rate!”
Dante calmed Erich down and let out a long sigh.
Where on earth was he supposed to start? And why, for that matter, was he the one who had to explain all of this?
“First of all, it’s not that something is wrong with her mana. Or, should I say it is? Honestly, I don’t really know. That’s why I came to ask you.”
“…….”
“You know, you said Elisha’s mana had changed before. It seems it has been continuing to change ever since.”
It was hard to grasp the concept of a unique mana signature—known to be immutable—actually changing, but that was the situation.
She hadn’t even been able to pass through the barrier this morning.
‘It’s a good thing our destinations were the same.’
Dante frowned slightly as he recalled what had happened on the way to work.
Come to think of it, Erich shouldn’t be unaware of this fact. At least, not if it happened this morning…….
“You should have received a warning that there was an issue with the barrier. Didn’t you see it?”
“I woke up later than usual today. I was just about to start my work.”
Stubborn to the end, no matter how I look at it.
Dante clicked his tongue inwardly.
Erich still had his face contorted, his eyelashes lowered.
Her mana was constantly changing.
Had it been changing all along, only now revealed by the magic he had developed, or had it only just begun to shift?
And if it were the latter, what was the reason?
“As for her condition…… she says it’s the same as usual. I left it as is because Elisha didn’t want a physician. Besides, it’s an internal injury; there’s no way to treat it anyway.”
While Erich was lost in thought, Dante continued. Erich didn’t look at him, answering quickly.
“If that’s the case, I’ll just develop a way.”
“Oh, right.”
If you could make it, you should have done so sooner.
Dante swallowed the words rising to his throat and let out a dry cough.
He hadn’t been like this before, so he didn’t know why he kept wanting to pick a fight with Erich.
Was his life so miserable that he wanted to die early?
“What is this about dissolving the written pact?”
Erich asked, fixing his gaze on Dante.
Dante suddenly felt like prey before a predator and gulped.
If he wanted to pick a fight, he should at least have the guts for it; being unable to do either felt just as pathetic as his own life.
“We made a bit of a deal. I agreed to help her dissolve the pact in exchange for taking her to your bedroom.”
“My bedroom?”
“She heard you were ill and insisted she had to be by your side…….”
Dante, who had been speaking without thinking, trailed off as he checked Erich’s expression.
It was a face Dante had never seen in his life.
It looked angry, yet filled with a sort of anticipation. A face that looked all the more tormented for it.
‘It wasn’t a dream.’
Erich closed and opened his eyes slowly, unaware of the expression he was wearing.
He had thought he’d seen an illusion because he was delirious with fever. To think it hadn’t been a dream, but reality.
The warmth he felt then, the voice that called to him, all of it…….
“Where is Elisha now?”
“Why do you suddenly care? And you clearly said it yourself last time. That you would refrain from seeking Elisha out personally for a while.”
Don’t tell me you’re going to say you don’t remember.
Dante spoke in a deeply somber voice.
He didn’t know the reason, but he didn’t like Erich seeking Elisha out.
No, perhaps he knew the reason vaguely.
Dante curled his lips inward, squeezed his eyes shut, and then opened them to speak.
“I don’t want to interfere if I can help it, but Elisha is my friend, you know? So, like it or not, I keep getting involved.”
“…….”
“She said it herself. That she cannot leave your side.”
Whether she had left on her own or been driven away, she was someone who had eventually managed to escape the imperial palace and live freely.
Yet, Elisha had bound her own freedom.
Yes, this was a cage.
“She’s a girl who has lived her entire life in the imperial palace. So, she probably can’t even imagine that she has other options.”
She doesn’t know that she has been granted infinite opportunities.
If Erich were to prioritize his own selfishness and hold onto her in such a situation, Elisha would lose all those opportunities once again.
“I know I shouldn’t say things like this, no matter how close we are. But.”
Dante Renard’s violet eyes stared straight at Erich.
“If you are keeping her by your side simply because of her abilities, stop it.”
“…….”
“You hate Elisha anyway. You drove her away with your own hands, so to use her now is-.”
“What?”
Before Dante could even finish his sentence, Erich asked back, his expression stiffening. His gaze had turned icy.
Dante parted his lips as if he couldn’t understand, then slowly continued.
“That’s what Elisha said.”
“…….”
“That you told her, ‘You are a being who should never have been in the imperial palace in the first place.’ I, too, saw you two arguing, even if I didn’t hear the exact words.”
Your relationship went completely to ruin after that, didn’t it?
Once Dante finished speaking, a deep silence settled over the office.
Erich chewed over his words several times, then let out a small, bitter laugh.
“Ha.”
He felt as if everything finally made sense.
Yes, so that was it.
“Haha.”
The real reason Elisha had left him, the beginning of all this.
To think it was because of nothing other than those words of his.
* * *
It was a day of unpleasant, drizzling rain—the kind that would splash muddy water onto one’s trousers with a single careless step.
The imperial palace, which would have been quiet on a normal day, had fallen into great chaos due to the sudden teleportation magic, and the moment they confirmed who had arrived via that teleportation, it turned into a scene of carnage.
The same went for the Crown Prince, who had remained in the palace instead of participating in the subjugation.
‘Your Highness, there is a place you must go to immediately…….’
Immediately after hearing the news, Erich headed to the location where the teleportation magic had occurred.
Muddy water soaked his trouser cuffs with every long stride, and the damp raindrops chilled his head.
He lamented his position, which made it impossible for him to run away, even though he wanted to.
The sight that unfolded before Erich was truly shocking.
‘……!’
Instead of Bernhard, who had already been moved to the medical wing, it was Elisha standing guard, one of her arms stained with blood.
The moment he confirmed that sight, Erich’s heart sank violently.
‘Eli….’
The red droplets of blood being washed away by the rain pierced his heart sharply.
The sunken eyes looking at him stirred his mind into a frenzy.
Elly, Elisha.
‘Elisha!’
Erich bolted from his spot and ran toward Elisha.
‘What on earth is this, why is your arm like that? You’re so badly hurt, why are you just standing here-!’
Erich immediately took off his formal coat to shield Elisha from the falling rain and checked her condition.
He could not even begin to fathom what had happened on the Shillan Plains. He could not dare to guess why Elisha, who had always returned unscathed, had sustained such grave injuries.
And at that very moment, Elisha opened her lips, which had been pressed shut the entire time.
"I am sorry, Your Highness."
"……."
"I failed to protect you."
0 Comments