Chapter 19
The main topic of conversation among those who attended the banquet was war and Richard who led the first battle to victory.
“Even though he inherited the powerful ability of his family, I was worried whether a 15-year-old boy could win or not. Nevertheless, although he is still young, I guess a Rubelin is always a Rubelin.”
“When I saw him on the hunting grounds, I always thought that his powerful ability would surely bring victory to the empire.”
“Maybe His Majesty already recognized his immense potential and put the right person ahead.”
“Even though he is still young, he is really brave and confident with his powerful ability.”
Each of the nobles praised Richard and his bravery which didn’t seem to match his young age. Christian, who made an official appearance after a long time, did not become the hot topic.
Hearing Richard’s name everywhere, Christian had a look of disapproval on his face. Every time he heard that name, he felt angry.
‘I would have been the one who went there if it weren’t for my father.’
The emperor, Roam, ordered Christian to lie in bed and pretend to be sick.
[An emperor is not the one who steps out first, but the one who commands. Going to war and fighting are the responsibilities of the ones below you. That is why you don’t have to go to that dangerous place yourself.]
The emperor even deliberately provided Richard with only a small part of his troops.
He anticipated that the little kid who didn’t know anything would lose the war. If luck was on his side, Richard would die.
However, the results were far from what he had expected. Richard won the battle and gained more fame than Christian, who remained on his sickbed.
‘That unlucky son of bitch……’
Christian gritted his teeth as he recalled Richard’s handsome face.
A year ago, Richard, who suddenly appeared as Rubelin’s successor, stole the spotlight from Christian.
He lost both ladies’ attention and political influence as the next emperor.
On the surface, Christian kept Richard by his side while saying,
“As the next emperor with discerning eyes, I need to keep the talented people close.”
But his insides were twisting as he said that.
‘Looking at him winning the war easily, it seems that the war is not that big of a deal. If I was the one who went there instead, I would have won a long time ago.’
At first, he did what his father said because he was afraid of war, but when he saw Richard’s victory, he felt confident that he could do it better.
At that time, he saw Elisha standing alone absentmindedly at the center of the banquet hall. At that sight, Richard’s face came to his mind and the corners of his mouth went up crookedly.
Instead of Richard, who wasn’t around, Elisha seemed to be a suitable target to vent his anger.
Christian dragged Rose and other children toward Elisha.
“Oh, look who is here. Aren’t you the wife of Duke of Rubelin’s successor?”
“Your Highness.”
Elisha greeted Christian politely by lifting the hem of her dress slightly as she saw him approaching.
“I heard that Your Highness was very ill. Does Your Highness feel better now?”
Listening to Elisha’s friendly way of talking, Christian cleared his throat.
As soon as he saw that Elisha, who dressed up beautifully, expressed her concern towards him, his desire to bully her disappeared.
“Well, almost?”
“Then it wouldn’t be good for your health if you overdo it after such a long time.”
“But it’s His Majesty’s birthday. As his son, I can’t just stay in bed.”
“Your Highness is a very filial son. His Majesty must have felt like he received a great gift just by seeing Your Highness waking up from your sickbed.”
Elisha smiled as she complimented Christian.
Feeling flattered, Christian’s mouth was about to flash an arrogant smile. At that moment, Elisha’s bright smile was suddenly replaced with a frown full of concern.
“But why is there such a rumor going around when Your Highness is just fulfilling your duty as a filial son?”
“Rumor?”
“I heard that Your Highness pretended to be sick because Your Highness was afraid of the war.”
“……What?”
Christian’s smiling expression turned into an embarrassed one in an instant.
Elisha said with a more distressed look on her face.
“How could there be such a rumor? It is such an impudent act to spread such rumor while attending the banquet to celebrate His Majesty’s birthday.”
Christian, who was hit at his sore spot, felt even more resentful.
“Wh-what kind of crazy bastard said such nonsense? Unless he wants to dig his own grave.”
“I must have misheard it.”
“Just tell those who dare to spread such rumors…”
Christian hesitated for a moment, but soon made up his mind and added.
“That the crown prince will join the next batch of reinforcement troops.”
There was nothing he couldn’t do when even someone like Richard could bring victory.
“Your Highness is so courageous!”
“I’m sure that the next troops will be more victorious.”
As the noble daughters of Christian’s supporters cheered, the noble sons also expressed their admiration toward him as they got caught up with the atmosphere.
“You guys are just stating the obvious.”
Christian shrugged, getting so absorbed in boasting about his bravery.
Elisha furtively raised the corners of her lips as she saw Christian’s bravado.
Soon enough, it was time for the nobles to present their gifts before the emperor. Elisha stepped forward with Albert.
Then, the Rubelin’s servants brought a box and politely handed it to the royal attendant. The royal attendant took the box, went up the steps, and opened the box.
The eyes of the nobles widened when they saw the content of the box.
“That’s….”
A huge luminescent stone, as big as a human head, came out of the box.
The light-emitting stone was a stone that absorbs sunlight during the day, and when darkness fell, it emits light.
It was such a rare stone that could only be found in Rubelin duchy.
The luminescent stone’s size was usually smaller than a baby’s fist. With that size, it was sold at a high price that the commoners could never afford even if they used all of the money they’ve earned during their lifetime. Therefore, it was hard to estimate the value of the luminescent stone that was presented to the emperor.
“We prepared it with earnest hopes that Your Majesty’s grace, which is as brilliant as this luminescent stone, would come upon us in Arencia.”
Both Elisha and the emperor knew that Albert’s words were insincere. Nevertheless, the emperor pretended to be satisfied and smiled.
“I feel sorry to receive such a gift in this current situation. The duke’s successor has already won a big victory on the battlefield, hasn’t he?”
“Your Majesty has shown greater grace than that, so even this much isn’t comparable.”
At Elisha’s sudden reply, Albert and the emperor looked at her in wonder. Elisha looked up at Christian, who was standing next to the emperor, and opened her mouth.
“His Highness announced that he would join the reinforcement troops this time to boost the morale of the knights. Would there be any greater grace than this?”
At Elisha’s innocent words, the faces of both the emperor and empress were flushed with embarrassment.
Only then did the emperor notice that something was wrong and looked at Christian.
However, the nobles, who did not know the details of the story, decided that it was time for them to revere Christian and the emperor after hearing Elisha’s words.
“As expected of Your Highness!”
“Indeed, it’s the bravery of the next emperor!”
“Long live the crown prince!”
“Long live the emperor!”
The emperor’s expression was rapidly distorted by the nobles’ reverence.
Now that it had been declared in front of everyone, it would be strange to announce that Christian would not join the war.
Elisha looked at him and smiled innocently as if she knew nothing.
“Since His Highness will join the war himself, we will certainly attain victory.”
***
Christian’s departure date with the reinforcement troops was just 15 days away. Since he vowed to join the war in front of all the nobles, he could no longer avoid it.
Elisha was very pleased with the desired result.
‘He’ll come back soon with all kinds of excuses. However, when he returns shortly after joining the war, the public opinion will turn against him.’
Whatever reason he uses to come back, Christian would not be able to avoid the disgrace of being a loser and a coward.
The more dishonor he gets, the more heroic Richard, who remained on the battlefield, would appear.
Elisha wasn’t the only one who was pleased with the situation. Perhaps because Elisha gave the emperor and Christian such a big blow, Albert’s attitude towards her changed a little after that day.
“Nice to meet you, milady. I am Argyll Richester, who will serve as your aide from now on.”
Albert attached an aide to Elisha. The 17-year-old boy named Argyll was a talented student who acquired vast knowledge of the world from the Tower of Truth at such a young age.
The fact that Albert gave Elisha an aide to help her with her duties meant that he acknowledged her status as Rubelin’s mistress.
‘I’m sure he just regards me as another useful chess piece.’
He was a villain who undermined his values and inflicted mental abuse on her and Richard. However, he was a person who quickly admitted his mistakes and had keen insights to see the new possibilities in any situation.
Observing Albert’s way of thinking, Elisha couldn’t help but admit that he had the perfect qualities to become the most powerful man in Arencia.
A month had passed since the banquet, and Christian’s departure was just a few days away.
“Milady, do you have anything to send to Young Master Richard?”
Butler Grayson asked as he brought the warm milk to Elisha, who studied until late at night.
“The royal knights informed us that they’re going to deliver the supplies to our knights on the battlefield when they reach there.”
“No-Ah!”
“If milady wishes to send something to Young Master Richard, please prepare it by this week. I will deliver it to the royal knights and inform them about it.”
“Thank you, Grayson.”
Grayson left the room after reminding her to not overwork herself until too late at night.
Elisha closed the book she was reading and took a paper out of the drawer. In her previous life, she remembered her cousins who joined the military service said that they couldn’t be happier when she sent them letters.
‘Will Richard like it too?’
She wanted to give some encouragement to Richard, who fought along with the adult knights even though he was physically smaller than them.
‘Should I talk about my life in the mansion?’
After pondering about what to write in the letter for a while, Elisha decided to talk about the story behind the duke’s change of attitude.
She started telling him about her newly appointed aide, Argyll, first.
“I’m done!”
Elisha, who filled the paper with her stories, put it in the envelope and laid down on the bed with a proud heart.
That night, she felt Richard’s absence after a long time since his departure.
*****
People said the war between Arencia and Fyran would end in five years with Fyran Kingdom’s surrendering. However, Fyran Kingdom was more persistent than expected and did not back down until the end.
As the war got longer, the people predicted that it would end only after 10 years as the destruction of the Fyran Kingdom would happen by then, but their prediction was off the mark this time too.
After seven years, the Arencia-Fyran war ended in the early winter, before Elisha’s coming of age. The Fyran Kingdom fell faster than expected.
By the hands of Richard Rubelin, who is also known as ‘Rubelin’s storm’.