‘I couldn’t protect him.’
The meaning behind those words was clear.
Elisha wasn’t talking about failing to protect her own body. She was blaming herself for failing to protect her father, Bernhard, the Emperor of Cardion.
That was the reason why Elisha, who was always arrogant and confident—the Elisha who, if you didn’t look closely, seemed devoid of emotion—was wearing such an expression.
‘If I had gone just a little earlier, I could have protected him.’
‘…….’
‘If I had followed him from the start, I could have protected him.’
I was the one who said I would follow him once this task was over.
Her voice, trembling without inflection, was buried in the damp air.
It was a tone Erich had never heard from her before.
‘Why…! you.’
Erich couldn’t hold back, his words grinding out through his teeth.
‘That wasn’t even your mission in the first place.’
Emperor Bernhard had not taken Elisha on this subjugation.
It had always been that way. Her father had never once allowed Elisha to participate in a subjugation. So, this, too, had not been Elisha’s duty.
‘How could it not be my duty to protect His Majesty?’
Yet, Elisha had shackled herself so calmly.
That damn duty, duty, duty.
There were already countless knights and mages stationed there to protect Bernhard. So, even if something had happened to her father, it would have been their responsibility, not the fault of Elisha, who hadn’t been assigned to the subjugation.
Elisha was not the Commander of the Magic Knight Order.
The duty of the Chief Mage of the Imperial Palace was not to guard the Emperor.
Elisha was the only one who didn’t know this simple fact.
And so, she had taken upon herself a burden of guilt that was not her own.
‘Elisha.’
Raindrops dripped from her wet hair, and the rainwater flowing down her cheeks vanished into the puddles that had formed.
Elisha did not lift her head, staring silently at her feet.
‘Elisha.’
Erich called her name once more. Only then did she slowly lift her lowered eyelashes to look at the man before her.
Deep blue eyes met eyes the color of water, shadowed by an even deeper darkness.
‘Elisha, please.’
Erich spoke with difficulty, his gaze fixed on the blood still flowing down Elisha’s arm.
‘Look after your own body first.’
But there was no answer to his words.
‘Listen to me.’
Erich bit his lip hard before opening his mouth again.
‘You were never a person who should have been in the imperial palace in the first place.’
Unlike other nobles, unlike the noble mages belonging to the imperial palace whose paths were set from birth.
Elisha would have had countless other paths, and in those paths, this imperial palace would not have existed. Because that was how society was designed. Because this was a space strictly divided by class.
But Bernhard had broken that formula and brought Elisha here.
Not to use her, but to look after her.
‘His Majesty didn’t bring you here because he needed a mage, or because he needed someone to protect him.’
‘…….’
‘Father never placed such a duty upon you.’
Yet, why were you so lost in a duty no one asked for that you couldn’t even take care of yourself?
‘We have never, not once.’
‘…….’
‘Ever wished for you to sacrifice your body to protect us.’
Having finished speaking, Erich stared blankly at Elisha, who stood beneath his coat.
Her gaze was not directed at him. It seemed the shock from the plains had been too great, leaving her dazed. Perhaps it was because she had lost so much blood.
‘……Elisha.’
It was the moment he called her name again.
‘Uh, Erich. I don’t know what you two were talking about.’
Dante Renard approached, hesitating as he spoke.
‘I think it would be better to go see His Majesty now.’
‘…….’
‘I’ll take Elisha… um, with me.’
Having said his piece, Dante pursed his lips, gauging the expressions of Elisha and Erich. Erich looked down at Elisha, who still hadn’t said a word, then let out a sigh and nodded.
After the Shillan Plains monster attack, Resto Renard, the former Commander of the Magic Knight Order, stepped down from his position, taking responsibility for failing to protect the Emperor. At the same time, his son, Dante Renard, succeeded to his father’s rank.
After that, Elisha never sought out Erich first.
* * *
“Why, exactly.”
Recalling the memory of that day, Erich let out another low, mocking laugh.
There was no way to know why Elisha had only relayed a portion of that conversation to Dante.
‘Could it be that when she looked dazed back then…’
Was she truly not listening to me? If so, does Elisha remember nothing of what was said after that?
“Ha.”
Erich let out another hollow laugh.
And Dante, watching him, blinked blankly.
Lost in thought alone, laughing to himself. His expression was so fierce it looked like he might cut someone down at any moment.
‘Something definitely seems wrong.’
And it seems terribly wrong, at that.
Dante kept glancing at Erich, his eyes darting around nervously this time.
He had been like this ever since he relayed what he heard from Elisha. If that was the case, it must mean there was a problem with “those words.”
But seeing as he didn’t deny saying them, it didn’t seem like the words were entirely untrue, either.
“Where is Elisha?”
How much time had passed? Erich asked, fixing his gaze on Dante once again.
Dante let out a small, troubled groan and muttered.
“Even if it’s you, if you ask where Elisha is without explaining what’s going on……”
“This is a matter between the two of us.”
There is no reason to explain it to a third party.
Erich said in a rather sharp voice. Dante shifted his gaze again, his eyebrows twitching.
That’s true. But why do I feel so uneasy?
Of course, setting aside all my own feelings.
“I’m sorry, but I really can’t tell you.”
“……Dante Renard.”
“No, it’s not that I won’t tell you, I really can’t. I’m not her guardian; how would I know where Elisha is right now?”
If anything, I’m the one who needs to be protected by her!
Dante finally appealed in a voice full of grievance. Erich let out a small sigh and ran a hand through his hair.
He didn’t know where to begin to set things right, but despite that, he wanted to face Elisha immediately. He felt he had to.
But if he wandered around the imperial palace without knowing where Elisha was, they might just miss each other…….
“……?”
At that very moment, a small window appeared before Erich and Dante.
[Unregistered mana signature detected, in front of the main gate of the Ereubna Palace.]
At the same time, Erich and Dante wore expressions of mixed emotions.
‘The timing is truly impeccable…….’
“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll be going.”
Erich stood up and began to walk quickly out of the office. Dante looked at the window still floating before him, then snapped his head around to look at Erich.
“I know this is overstepping, but as a friend of Elisha, let me say one thing: whatever misunderstanding there is between you two, don’t force only one path upon her.”
Erich stopped in his tracks, turned to face Dante, and opened his mouth.
“That, of all things.”
“…….”
“Is what I have always wished for Elisha.”
To show her many different paths.
* * *
She had clearly been on her way to the magic research department because something had arrived under the name of Lucy Forte.
“All units, combat stance!”
Elisha blinked blankly, staring at the spears leveled at her.
She had come out alone because it seemed Gabriel wasn’t at the garrison, but if she had known it would be this troublesome, she should have waited.
‘……It would be useless for a mage to have spears pointed at them from close range.’
Watching the sunlight reflect off the sharp spear tips, Elisha continued her thoughts indifferently.
Between the dissolution of the written pact yesterday and the fact that even the barrier wasn’t recognizing her mana, it seemed her mana signature had changed again relatively recently.
‘Why of all times, now?’
It seemed she needed to conduct research regarding her mana. In addition, research on the magic used to summon monsters and whether a mage could conceal their own mana.
“Raise your hands and surrender!”
While she was lost in thought for a moment, the guards pointing their spears at Elisha shouted sternly.
It was just as she was pondering how she should handle this.
While tilting her head, a figure approaching from far away suddenly entered Elisha’s field of vision.
Elisha recognized the person approaching her immediately and blinked. The soldiers who had been extending their spears toward her did the same.
“……Your Majesty?”
Is His Majesty running right now? Or is he walking quickly?
Whatever it was, it was unimaginable for the Emperor they knew.
At the sight they couldn’t believe even while seeing it, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared blankly at Erich.
However, Erich continued to move forward quickly, completely unconcerned. His gaze was directed solely at one place.
Auburn hair, light green eyes. Nothing about her resembled the appearance he had known.
Yet, she was still beautiful.
“Lucy Forte.”
0 Comments