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Chapter 1
“She is a very pretty baby. Congratulations, Madam.”
Born with everyone’s blessings, the baby smiled softly as if she knew her future. She had curly platinum blonde hair and purple eyes, and even though she was a baby, she seemed to exude elegance.
“Elysia, I’ll call you Elysia. You will be the child who will brighten up the Hellen family and this Empire. You will become a greater child than anyone else.”
It was the birth of Elysia Hellen, a child born in the venerable, historical, and orthodox Hellen family.
The child was very smart and clever. And, if anyone ever wanted to picture a child who didn’t act their age, they would talk about Elysia.
“Ellie, come and try it too. This is so much fun!”
Duke Rayden’s eldest son, Conrad, was the boy with brown hair so light it looked almost blonde crouching on the side of the garden catching ants, and he had been chosen as her fiancé from a very young age. Elysia shook her head slightly, gathered her still short legs, and sat down. She was so mature no one would think that demeanor came from a seven-year-old child.
“Tch. No fun!”
Conrad grunted at her as she held a glass in her small hand and drank clear tea.
“I was taught that playing with life is bad. If you are going to be a social leader who will rule the people in the future, you must set an example. Even though the Young Master learned such a thing, why don’t you apply it?”
Conrad had lost his excitement at Elysia’s point and approached her with a frown on his face.
“Hey! Then why don’t you listen to me?! Aren’t we friends before being engaged? I said it was okay to talk informally between friends! If you keep behaving like that, I won’t marry you!”
Elysia sighed a little and held out a handkerchief.
“Okay. If you really want to, I’ll do it. Wipe off the dirt first.”
As Conrad’s eyes widened and his body stiffened due to the sudden informal speech, Elysia slid from her chair and approached him.
“You can’t go around looking like this. The nanny and the maid will be scolded for not taking good care of us. Do you like it when your people get in trouble because of you?”
Feeling a bit daunted, Conrad shook his head slightly.
“It may not be fun, but you should know. About our position.”
“Why should I? It wasn’t even my choice. It’s not like I was born like this because I wanted…”
Conrad was an average boy of his age. He was still too young to understand responsibility or social weight.
“No one can be born the way they want to be born, Conrad. But we’re lucky though. Just think carefully until you got here. Have you done one thing with your own hands?”
As Conrad shook his head, Elysia looked at him meaningfully as she meticulously wiped his palms.
“But they didn’t let me! I can do it too, I wanted to do it. By myself. But they didn’t let me. I would be able to change clothes, wash, and come all the way here by myself!”
He complained as if it was unfair. Actually, it wasn’t just about that. The world was still too difficult for a child to understand.
“Then go and tell the Duke immediately. Give up the title and live as a commoner. Then you can do everything yourself, by yourself. Instead, you won’t be able to talk recklessly until you get permission from a high-ranking person, and you’ll have to attend to other nobles during this time instead of playing in the dirt. Which one would you choose? You can’t have both.”
Conrad’s small rebellion was thwarted by her decisive answer. Elysia sighed as she looked at his sullen face and explained in a way that her fiancé could understand.
“That’s why we are lucky. Because I can act on my own, not for others. However, Conrad, with that much responsibility, we have a lot of people below us, and we’re like mirrors for them. If we make a mistake, not just us, but also the people below us will be criticized. And we might get a little scolded, but those people’s lives depend on us. We might say we did it just for fun, but it means that they might lose the bread that goes into their family’s mouths today. Conrad, always be careful with your words and actions from now on. That’s the responsibility.”
[tl/n: damn gurl, you’re only seven?!]
Elysia was raised strictly since she learned how to speak and was mature for her age, so Conrad felt intimidated and uncomfortable around her.
“What if you really want to play? There will be times when even nobles want to play, too. My mom and dad sometimes go out to play.”
After wiping off all the dirt, Elysia folded the handkerchief, handed it to the maid, and straightened his collar.
“The opportunity comes when you live well. You just have to do your part and don’t do things that’ll catch trouble for you later. Then, no one will be able to say anything to you. Did you memorize everything you had to memorize about Imperial Law today?”
At Elysia’s question, Conrad shook his head with a prickly expression. For some reason, it seemed that Elysia was scolding him.
“Look at it. You don’t seem confident either. Why are you doing something to fuss about? Others are evaluated according to the reputation of their superiors no matter how well they do, but we are not. We’re the only ones who need to do well. Stop playing with the soil, wash up, and do what you have to do today. You don’t have to come if you don’t do everything you have to do in the future.”
Conrad thought Elysia was outstanding, but on the other hand, he felt uncomfortable. Whenever he was with this child, he felt as if he had made a huge mistake.
“How do you know all these things? You’re the same age as me. Why am I the only one who doesn’t know?
It was a childish question, but Elysia vaguely understood the emotion it contained.
“You learned it too. You shouldn’t play with soil, you shouldn’t treat life recklessly, and thoroughly study what you have learned. These are all things you kept hearing while growing up. I’m just reminding you.”
Elysia explained it well, but Conrad was still upset.
“Tch… If that’s what you want, then okay. Everyone says that. We’re just kids, so it’s okay.”
“Right. We’re young, so we’re still learning. But when you grow up, if you act irresponsibly, you have to pay the price. So start practicing now, Conrad.”
Conrad eventually ran out of the garden with tears in his eyes, perhaps upset that she was so cold-hearted that she never lost any argument.
“Miss, is it okay leaving him like that?”
When the nanny approached and asked, Elysia nodded. She hadn’t even entered the academy yet and couldn’t chase after a child.
“It’s okay. It wasn’t that I couldn’t say anything. He’ll be attending various meetings soon, I can’t let him act recklessly any longer. I might just teach him, but other people will swear and hate him. It’s not that they’ll insult him only, but also his family.”
It was also a promise to herself. Never, never, under any circumstances, do not show any flaws, and do the right thing in the right place. The nanny pitied Elysia. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to act childishly or play recklessly. A child born with such social responsibility was oppressed and unable to express herself.
“Miss, shall we build a sandcastle together as the Young Master did earlier? I’ll keep it a secret from Madam.”
Elysia’s eyelids fluttered at the somewhat unconventional proposal. Those eyes were full of regrets that anyone could read. After looking at the half-collapsed sandcastle that Conrad had built for a long time, Elysia shook her head.
“No, I have to prepare for what I will learn tomorrow. A lot of time has already passed. Let’s go inside.”
Once again she felt pity for the young Miss who tried hard to move her eyes fixed on the sandcastle, but the nanny couldn’t suggest anymore. Because no matter how young she was, she made her own decisions.
“Yes, Miss.”
“Mom, Ellie says this: Because we are social leaders, we are responsible and should not make things to be reproached for. But what does that mean?”
After returning home, Conrad had been childishly behaving in his mother’s bed and conveyed Elysia’s words as if he had suddenly remembered them. His mother smiled as she swept her son’s hair.
“What should I explain first? Do you understand what the social leadership’s responsibility means?”
As Conrad shook his head, his mother found her son so cute that she sat him on her lap and patted him on the back.
“What does our Con do when he has something he wants?”
Conrad answered confidently as if the question was too easy.
“I tell Mama,Papa, or the butler.”
“Then you could always have it, even if it took a long time, right?”
He nodded hearing the soft voice of the Duchess.
“Exactly. Being able to have what you want is power. But Conrad, what happens to the things Con cares about the most if you fight with your friends or don’t do your homework?”
Recalling what had happened last time, the child dropped his small shoulders.
“Dad takes everything… He didn’t even let me see my friends for a whole day.”
“Then what should Conrad do to protect his precious things?”
After thinking hard, he answered, his eyes shining brightly.
“Do homework well, don’t fight with friends, and listen to Mama and Papa well?”
As if the answer was correct, the mother smiled sweetly.
“That’s right. Conrad, that is your responsibility. Our Con was born with a lot of things. The mansion where my son was born, the food prepared at every meal, and these wonderful clothes are all owned by Con. You need that kind of responsibility to keep these things. There will be more things to protect in the future. What should Con do to do that?”
“Well…?”
Warmth radiated from his mother’s smile and her hand wiping his hair.
“Right, it’s always good to keep this in your heart, Con. To protect your favorite toys, do your homework well and not fight with your friends, so people won’t blame you for anything. If you get in trouble, you’ll feel bad and they’ll take away your precious things. You must not make such things happen.”
Conrad nodded as if he finally understood.
“However, Ellie pretends to know everything and it’s not fun. She’s not even a teacher, but she always says something to me.”
In the end, he found out that everything Elysia said was true, but it was unavoidable to still feel hurt.
“My Con, are you in a bad mood? Ellie did it with a good heart. Basically, what you know and what you do are very different. Because there are many times when you know but don’t know how to do it. My son doesn’t know how lucky mom feels to know Con has a good friend named Ellie by his side.”
“Really? Even though I feel uncomfortable when I’m with her because I feel as if I did something wrong?”
His mother nodded confidently.
“Of course, Ellie and my Con will become good friends. Good friends who will fill each other’s shortcomings.”
That was Conrad’s last conversation with his mother. The Duchess was weak and became increasingly ill and could no longer hold conversations, and she eventually passed away, leaving young Conrad behind.
Thirteen years passed since Count Hellen died in war, and fifteen years since Duchess of Rayden was deceased, and Elysia and Conrad became adults at the age of twenty-two.
The mature Elysia grew up as the epitome of nobility, and Conrad, still a little reckless, became a first-class groom through Elysia’s help.
“There are many rumors that the Countess will ascend to the vacant seat of Empress. Is that correct?”
Conrad asked Elysia, who was reading a book. Countess Hellen was Elysia’s mother. Not long after Conrad’s mother died, war broke out, and Elysia’s father had gone to war to fulfill his noble duties and never returned.
Madam Hellen had prospered running the Hellen household single handedly and seized the opportunity to secure strong support, and the Imperial Family gained enormous wealth thanks to this, so eventually, it was decided to hold an Imperial marriage.
“Mng. That’s what it is.”
As if her silver-blonde hair bothered her, Elysia moved her hand slightly to tuck her hair behind her shoulders and looked back at the book. Pensive purple eyes were hidden under her rich eyelashes.
“Is that it? Is that all? Are you okay? It may be the Empress seat, but there are other Imperial princes, and you won’t be treated like a princess, would you?”
Elysia put down the book she was reading and looked into Conrad’s eyes. He recognized those eyes. Anytime she held such a gaze, she would pour out the words he hated so much as if scolding him.
“Should I care? Of course, I’m not at ease either. But when you look at the whole household, it’s a good thing. In the name of the Imperial family, import and export items can be expanded, and the Hellen family can enjoy the wealth of the Imperial family, so the Britelbin Empire will grow stronger. I’m not gaining a father. The Hellens and the Imperial Family are maximizing their profits through each other.”
After finishing her speech, Elysia picked up the book that she had put down. Long, white, soft fingers wandered over the book cover.
“You are too stern. How can a person think that way? Even if not a real father, you’ll have a father on paper. And, again, what about the princes? Do you think they will treat you nicely? Don’t you know how scary the Imperial family is?”
Conrad was still emotional. Elysia advised him to control it every time, but in the end, he couldn’t fix it. She shook her head as she watched him ruffle his hair as if he didn’t understand at all.
“It’s not that I don’t love my late father. But if I pose that I would never accept someone else as my father, will my dead father come back alive? My father died while fulfilling his duty for the Empire. We who survived must do our job, too, and live fulfilling our duties. It’s not about betrayal or forgetting my father. Just because His Majesty the Emperor accepts my mother as the Empress, he cannot become my father, nor can the hostile princes and vassals of the Imperial Palace call him my father. That’s it. His Majesty will still be His Majesty.”
Despite Elysia’s kind explanation, Conrad left the room with a face showing thorough confusion, and couldn’t understand a word of what she said.
“This place is like that.”
Elysia muttered and focused on the book again. To be a part of the Imperial Family, you must behave correctly and judiciously at all times.
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