Chapter 15
A few days later.
Elisha, who was dozing off while reading a book she had brought from the library as usual, woke up due to the sudden series of shouts.
“Who is it?” Elisha looked out the window in a hurry.
A man in the royal knight’s uniform was seen rushing into the mansion. His unusual expression somehow gave her an ominous premonition. Elisha left the room and went down the stairs. As Elisha saw the man was entering Albert’s office, she secretly followed him.
The man was in a great hurry and didn’t close the office door completely. His voice could be heard through the gap.
“Your Grace, a war broke out with the Fyran Kingdom at the western border last night.”
“…War?”
“Yes. So, His Majesty has issued a royal decree.”
‘A war? All of a sudden?’ Elisha blinked as her eyes lost focus.
In the office, the solemn voice of the royal knight reading the royal decree was heard. “I, Roam Cairot, order Rubelin to fulfill the Brother’s Pledge by sending the Duke of Rubelin’s successor, Richard Rubelin, to accept the oath and defend the Arencia Empire.”
Elisha hadn’t realized it until she heard the royal decree. The reason why Christian, who had been fine all along, suddenly bedridden. No, he just pretended to be sick. The incident at the royal hunting ground incident, the nobles who joined the Duke of Rubelin’s side, Christian who suddenly began to fall ill, and the sudden war. All the clues clicked together.
The Emperor wasn’t in favor of the power of the Duke of Rubelin, and its source was Richard’s ability, which was shown during the incident at the royal hunting ground. The Emperor had already planned to start the war when he spread the news that Christian was sick.
When war broke out, the Crown Prince and the other Princes must go to war to boost the morale of the soldiers, but they couldn’t send a bedridden person to the battlefield.
‘The Emperor intends to kill Richard using the war as an excuse.’ Because if Richard was kept alive, he would threaten the royal family in the future.
Albert also recognized the Emperor’s intention and shouted in an angry voice. “Ha! You’re trying to dry up Rubelin’s blood!”
The Fyran Kingdom was a country bordering the western side of Arencia and was originally formed by the nomadic bandits. Perhaps they could not abandon their way of living, Fyran bandits frequently plundered the citizens of Arencia Empire. Because of this, the relationship between Fyran and Arencia was very bad. The Emperor intended to clean up two troubles simultaneously this way.
‘…It’s alright because Richard won’t die in this war.’ According to the original story, he would come back alive and become the father of Hades. So, there was no need to worry.
‘But why do I feel so anxious…’ Elisha turned around before the royal knight came out of the office and trudged helplessly toward the mansion lobby. When she arrived there, she bumped into Richard, who went out to suppress the monsters early this morning, as he was coming in.
Richard’s eyes were indifferent as usual and his rob was stained with blood, apparently belonging to the monsters. But Elisha looked extremely worn out. She looked at him and saw the light in his dry eyes. As soon as she met his eyes, Elisha realized.
‘Just because he won’t die doesn’t mean he won’t feel pain. It’s not alright….’ Whether it was an enemy or an ally, it was never easy to take someone’s life and see the countless dead bodies. She didn’t want to send him there…
Tears welled up as soon as she realized it. Among those who thought of him as just one of the chess pieces, she was saddened by the fact that she was the only one who could grieve over his tough fate.
“…Elisha?”
In front of Richard, who looked embarrassed by her sudden tears, Elisha cried.
*****
No matter how powerful Rubelin was, they couldn’t disobey the royal decree. Unless they decided to start a rebellion right away. The current Rubelin was not a family that could be looked down upon, but he didn’t have enough power to rebel because the future succession was unstable. So, Albert turned the arrow to the other direction. “Starting tonight, both of you should work hard to produce your successor.”
Richard’s expression hardened at his words. “No.”
“It’s the most important duty of a successor. Since you took the position, whether you like it or not, you should do your duty.”
“If that’s what you want from this position, I’ll step down as successor.” Richard held Elisha’s hand and turned around as if he had nothing more to hear.
It was then.
“If you die!”
It was the first time Elisha heard Albert’s exasperating voice. Richard’s and Elisha’s footsteps stopped. Elisha looked back at Albert, but Richard just stood still without turning his back.
Albert, who took a breath for a moment, continued in a more pent-up voice. “If you die, what about Rubelin? The royal family will take over Rubelin under the pretext of no eligible Rubelin blood to succeed it, and its name too. As long as I’m alive, I can’t ever bear seeing them taking over it.”
“….”
“This is the family that I protected by spilling so much blood with my hands. Things should never turn out like that. No, such a future should be avoided at all cost.”
Richard’s grandfather was not worried about his grandson’s death, but of the downfall of his family, which he had built and protected with all his life. Richard had already known what kind of person his grandfather was, but hearing the words directly made him feel even more miserable.
Richard allowed himself a wry smile. Richard took a deep breath and turned to Albert. Albert’s look became cold. Richard spat out his words. “…I’m not going to die.”
“….”
“No matter how many times I will be on verge of death, I’m going to get over it somehow… I’ll survive.”
“….”
“I’ll never let Rubelin fall like that.” ‘Because I’m going to ruin it with my own hands.’ “So, you should never-”
Before Richard could finish his words, Elisha, who was next to him, barged in, “We shall obey your order.”
Albert’s expression, which had been stunned by her unexpectedly meek answer, was further softened. Richard looked at Elisha in astonishment. However, Elisha asked with a calm face. “Then, could we go out now?”
That’s how the conversation ended. After leaving Albert’s office, Elisha immediately disappeared without giving Richard a chance to ask anything. Night came as he spent the rest of the day without seeing Elisha.
After taking a bath, Richard stood in front of the door anxiously. ‘Elisha, I thought you had a way…’ After a moment of hesitation, Richard entered the room. Elisha, who washed up first, was lying on the bed in the room.
When Elisha saw Richard coming into the room, she lifted her head, patted the empty space beside her, and called him. “I’m exhausted today, so let’s go to bed quickly.” There was no hint of tension on her face.
Richard just stood at the door, unable to come closer. Elisha jumped off the bed and looked at him. “I promise I won’t eat you. Come here.”
Richard was stunned, but he followed Elisha to bed nevertheless. As he sat beside her, she showed him something. “Ta-da! Guess what this is?”
It was a small, black medicine bottle. Richard looked at it suspiciously. “…What’s that?”
“It’s the chicken blood. When you spray it, it looks like human blood.”
“Chicken blood?”
“Let’s sleep first and wake up early tomorrow morning and spray this on the bedsheet. This will make the Duke shut his mouth until you leave.” (t/n: well, it’s just a myth that a woman bleeds during her first time making love with a man.)
Only then, Richard realized where Elisha had gone during the day. Elisha cleared her throat as if she had something to say, and spoke with a rather serious look on her face. “For the first time, you shouldn’t be swayed by anyone’s will and do it with the person whom you truly love.”
“Why?”
“Huh? Because… you should share every precious moment with someone you love?”
Richard stared at Elisha as she said so.
Elisha, who saw his persistent gaze, felt awkward and avoided his gaze a bit late. His eyes, which had been indifferent to everything, were suddenly filled with inexplicable emotions somehow.
“Well, let’s go to bed now!” Elisha flung herself on the bed.
Following Elisha, Richard also lay on the bed. Soon after, the sound of Elisha’s even breathing could be heard in the quiet room. Elisha rolled over and naturally clung to Richard’s arm. Richard turned around and looked at Elisha, who was asleep.
He recalled what Elisha said a while ago. ‘Love…’ That word was unknown to Richard. He never received it from anyone. Naturally, he never gave it to anyone either.
His mother died when he was a child and he couldn’t remember her well. His maternal uncle raised him and fed him to make sure he wouldn’t die, so he could extort money from the Duke. He never met his father and his grandfather tried to kill him as soon as he knew Richard’s existence. He got used to living his life that way without much thought.
One day, this girl appeared in front of him. She was the only person who cared about him, stayed by his side, fought for him, and cried over him. He still didn’t understand what love was. But he was sure about one thing…he didn’t want to lose his only person.
Richard, who stared at the sleeping Elisha, carefully embraced her warmth. The warmth of someone he held in his arms for the first time in his life was pleasant and cozy. Richard’s eyes, which were blinking slowly, soon closed.