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THIS IS NOT MY NOVEL, MY ONLY PURPOSE IS TO SHARE THIS NOVEL!

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ORIGINAL AUTHOR/S: 자하

Spring at the age of 19.

Archmage William’s favorite disciple, Elisha Obern, met and fell in love with a man at a banquet, where she was forcibly dragged away by her teacher.

The young lion with black hair and blue eyes was Emperor Kaiden of the Atien Empire. He was an arrogant and beautiful man, who caught the eyes of everyone in the banquet hall.

The moment Elisha met his eyes, she realized that there was more truth to life than just mana and magic.

Summer at the age of 22.

Her body, which had learned magic all her life, changed with pregnancy. Her mana became entangled.

It is usually difficult to keep the child in the womb safe, but thankfully, Elisha’s child was well.

Giving birth was more difficult than that.

Normal birth pains are great enough, but Elisha broke her tangled mana the moment the child left the womb.

It is a sentence that states that she will no longer be able to use magic in this life.

While continuing to spit out the blood that rushed from within her, Elisha gave birth to her child.

It was the product of a ceremonial relationship that was established only once with the marriage.

She would wither in the inner palace as the 2nd Empress, the mother of the 3rd Prince who was not a successor. The Emperor, who had never wanted this child, did not give the child a name.

Elisha called her child Leon, born with her own silver hair and the Emperor’s blue eyes. She called him the joys of her world.

Leon smiled brightly at his mother’s call.

Her baby was so adorable that it filled Elisha’s heart.

The truth of the world could not have been brighter than this.

Autumn at the age of 26.

Her beating heart slowed down little by little.

After two accidents that nearly killed young Leon, Elisha felt suffocated.

She could not tolerate even the slightest mistake, and she became so sensitive that small cracks were considered as a harbinger of a great threat.

As she became impatient, she could no longer wait for her child’s slow steps. Elisha pushed the child.

He fell as he tried to move forward, his eyes were brimming with tears, and he looked at her sadly, but she bit her lip and endured it.

All of this is for the child.

Nothing could take precedence over the safety of the child.

Even the child’s heart.

She said, “Someday you will know that there’s no choice but to do this now.”

However, patience does not result from compromise.

Even a brilliant light can push away the unchangingly darkness. At that time, Elisha did not know that tears were fading away.

Winter at the age of 32.

The battle for the throne between Crown Prince Ascencio, who lost his mother long ago, with 1st Empress Isabelle and her son, 2nd Prince Stoneham, began in earnest.

Elisha stood by and took advantage of their fight.

And the results were revealed before her eyes.

The body was so clean that it looked like he was merely sleeping.

Can I call you Mother just once?

The prince who had asked Elisha with his eyes that were like an abandoned puppy, was dead.

With the face of a sixteen-year-old boy still remaining, the Crown Prince’s time stopped forever.

In the hands of 1st Empress Isabelle, who had killed his mother, who was the late empress, and in the thorough ignorance of his father, who merely watched as his mother died.

Elisha stared down at the prince who had given her his heart for the humble reason that she was not his enemy. A prince who was so lonely because he couldn’t even find a resting place in this spacious Imperial Palace.

At that time, Leon ran past the knights who were blocking the way and fell on his face in front of Ascencio.

“Brother! Brother Ascencio!”

Holding him tightly in his arms, who did not wake up no matter how much he shook, he glanced up at Elisha.

“You could have saved him!”

“Had I saved him, where do you think the remaining arrows of the 1st Empress Palace will go?”

“Still, you were able to save him! What did he ever do to us!”

“Stop it! There is no longer the crown prince of this country. He’s just a traitor. But Leon, you too, are a prince, so make sure to protect your body!”

“Mother! Mother!”

When her son passed out because of her wickedness, Elisha had the knights drag Leon away. Elisha followed her son and stopped for a moment to turn around. The soil on which Ascencio was lying looked so cold.

Elisha removed the gloves from her hand that was holding the robe that was on her shoulder. There must have been eyes staring at this place, but there must be no flaws.

Elisha raised her chin with a cold face and turned around. Deep inside, something creaked and cracked.

Now, Elisha thought that even if her son didn’t smile at her, even if he complained as she took away his precious things. It didn’t matter.

As long as Leon could do well, Elisha’s own sacrifice was not a big deal.

The moment regret turns into obsession, becoming important is not important, but an excuse for yourself to keep moving forward.

A small vortex of flames swirled from the tip of Elisha’s clenched fist, and the disappeared as if it had never happened.

She had lost her magic once, but she finally found a replacement.

With this power, Elisha will give her son the best gift anyone in the world could ever want.

***

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter…

The four seasons that rotated around each other, bit the other’s tails and rolled in a circle.

The fast-sliding circle becomes two wheels, and a human body forms the bottom of the carriage.

Even without a pulling horse, the blood flowing on the floor made the wheels slide more easily, and the fate pushing from the back was fierce, making the carriage move faster and faster.

Elisha rode the carriage and carefully wrapped the gift she was holding in her arms.

Eventually, Elisha’s carriage reached where Leon was.

Elisha, a rare spirit and evil woman who, even in her middle age has the beauty of her youth, offered her son a gift.

For this moment, she had endured and struggled for a long time.

The results were finally seen.

Leon’s eyes, which she had not seen for so long, met Elisha’s.

They were the same colors as the Emperor’s, whom she had killed, but Elisha passed the gift without avoiding the other’s eyes.

“Is this the emperor’s crown?”

Leon smirked, picking up what his mother had given him and twirling it around his fingertips.

The noble decorations for the emperor’s head roamed around Leon’s fingertips…

Chaenggang!

And fell to the floor.

“You don’t know how long I’ve waited for today. I’ve been dreaming about this moment at that time when I lost Zenis, when I lost Brother Ascencio, and even when I lost Chad. The moment I’m most excited about.”

Cough!

When Elisa saw Leon coughing, Leon refused her approach unconsciously.

Blood flowed from Leon’s lips.

Leon wiped the blood with the back of his hand and twisted the corners of his mouth.

“Have you ever loved me?”

Elisha’s eyes shook greatly. None other for the reason that the truth was as true as much as this question shouldn’t have to be asked.

But Leon acted as if he already had the correct answer, which was the complete opposite of Elisha’s.

“I’ve been your every finger, haven’t I? As a puppet to project your ambitions, to replace Father, who doesn’t love you.”

Elisha shook her head, saying no thoroughly, but Leon didn’t seem to be impressed.

Leon vomited blood and collapsed.

The moment he heard that she was coming, he had been poisoned with deadly poison.

Leon fell to the floor as he continued to vomit blood.

Even then, he still rejected his mother.

Leon’s face overlaps with Ascencio’s face on that day.

“Mother, why did you give birth to me? I’ve never been happy in my life…”

Leon, who had been blinking his eyes in difficulty, looked up at his mother and licked his lips, then slowly stopped moving.

The empty carriage that Elisha rode was blown away by the wind and fell forward without its owner.

Elisha, with her back on the empty carriage, collapsed.

In front of Elisha, who knelt down on her knees, laid her son, who was getting colder.

Why did it become like this?

I did everything I could.

Elisha reached out her hands and pulled her son’s body.

The bitterness becomes a sharp spear that penetrates the whole body.

A fire erupted from Elisha’s body.

She and her pact with the Fire Spirit King, Ignis, entangled in the black darkness, and she let out a scream.

Fwoosh!

With a loud explosion, fire engulfed the world.

Chapter 1: Return of the Villain

Elisha was drifting.

Like she was about to exist or disappear, without any weight or warmth.

But someone kept calling her.

No matter how hard she tried to remember who it was, she couldn’t remember.

If it’s really something she can’t forget, she wouldn’t have forgotten.

Elisha wanted to be completely destroyed.

However.

“Mother.”

Tok.

A raindrop fell.

“Mother.”

Tok.

Another raindrop fell.

“Mother?”

Tok-tok.

Sweet rainwater filled her ear and flowed into the earhole. It filled her whole body and overflowed, eventually squeezing out Elisha’s closed eyes.

Then, a small, soft touch pressed the corners of Elisha’s wet eyes.

“Mother…”

Eventually, Elisha remembered who was calling her.

It’s not that she forgot about him.

It was buried deep inside her. She just couldn’t dare to take it out.

Elisha opened her eyes.

The two blue eyes that had approached her nose widened.

“Leon.”

“I was wondering if you were sick. I never meant to be late for class, Mother.”

Leon licked his lips and lowered his gaze.

He should be around six years old?

Where did the young man who drank poison with his own hand and died in front of his mother go? And in place of him, a young child as small and immaculate as a chick was standing in front of Elisha instead.

Elisha hurriedly lifted her upper body from the table where she was lying down. Leon thought he would be scolded, but there was no particular agitation.

Elisha pulled Leon with both hands and held him in her arms.

Alive!

How lovely is this warmth compared to the body temperature that is getting colder?

My jewel that shines brighter than the truth of the world, my child.

“You don’t want to go to class?”

“It’s not like that, you said that to be a good person, I have to study a lot. To show the qualifications of a prince, I cannot show any gaps.”

Leon felt awkward because his mother’s arms were unfamiliar to him after a long time, but he gave a flawless answer as if he had memorized them.

That little boy was already preparing to become an adult.

To that child, Elisha touched his cheek and told him the secrets of the world.

“You don’t have to be a great person.”

For the first time, Leon was flustered and asked.

He thought he heard her wrong.

“What?”

“You don’t need to study a lot, and you don’t have to work hard to show the qualification as a prince.”

“Mother…?”

“Just be happy. Believe that tomorrow will be brighter than today, and be a person who can move forward. No, no. I don’t want anything. Just you, Leon. Be the person you want to be. This mother means that she will love you whoever you become.”

“Mother, you are really weird today. What’s wrong with you?”

I was wrong.

But Elisha will never tell the child about it for the rest of his life.

“Let’s have dinner together tonight. And let’s go for a walk. We will play until the middle of the night, and then we will oversleep tomorrow. Alright?”

Leon, who had been hesitating over and over again, finally wiped his mother’s cheek with his hand.

“Okay. I understand, Mother. I’ll do that… Please don’t cry.”

Elisha didn’t know that she was still crying. She was surprised, but quietly took the child’s hand.

If this is not a dream, then it’s a miracle that’s given a new opportunity to meet her child again.

She had stolen a lot in the name of doing it for him, so now she wanted to do whatever he wanted.

Elisha swore that she would be a good mother this time.

“Mother, I’ll come again after class.”

Leon bowed his head and moved away from her embrace.

Even though she had said he could keep playing, Leon only took three days off before going back to his regular routine.

Elisha felt sorry for him, but she also respected Leon’s decision.

However, her eyes were slightly drooping, which was a rare expression coming from her, making it difficult for others to recognize her.

“Am I not fun to be with?”

Abused by Baron Obern before she was noticed by Archmage William, Elisha, who had spent her entire childhood in the tower, had no idea what games she could play with her child.

Someone appeared before Elisha, who just remembered the need to learn to play.

It was Jane-Marie, the maid of the 2nd Empress Palace.

“Your Majesty the 2nd Empress, it is already too late to start preparing for Prince Leon’s birthday banquet. What should we do?”

Elisha paused.

“Should we just proceed as you instructed us to do the other day?”

The rough plan had already been made, so Marie confirmed it again.

The 6th birthday of a prince is significant.

Having survived without being poisoned, ill, or killed by any accident means that you have the minimum strength to continue to survive in the Imperial Palace in the future.

This is because the matter of the one who sits on the emperor’s throne is recognized as a matter of public recognition.

“Hmm.”

Elisha lightly tapped the table with her fingertips.

The atmosphere felt turned somewhat dry and heavy.

It was definitely a different feeling from before, where a cold wind blows if anything is bothering her, which usually draws attention from the people around her.

When one of the people gathered looked over as if trying to check her expression, the unpleasant atmosphere disappeared at once.

The master of the 2nd Empress Palace, who had been acting like a changed person since a week ago, had caused quite a stir in the palace. But Marie thought that as long as she did her job properly as a maid, it should be enough.

However, she, too, could not help but be surprised by the words of her master that followed.

“Ask Leon first.”

“… Pardon?”

Ignoring Marie’s reaction, Elisha thought this choice was only natural.

In the past, a party that was held luxuriously as a means to show off the 2nd Empress Palace’s might and supposedly attended by many people was messed up by the 1st Empress Isabelle’s trickery, making the child have to spend his worst birthday in an empty party hall.

Hence, for Elisha, there was no need or reason to repeat the same thing.

“We’re celebrating Leon’s birthday, so we have to ask Leon what he wants to do first.”

“I understand, Your Majesty.”

Marie came to her senses and replied.

In any case, Elisha drank the tea in front of her, and turned the page of her book to the next.

***

That night.

“The birthday banquet will be held soon. What do you want to do?”

Elisha pulled out Leon’s quilt from the bed and covered him tightly up to his neck, then she asked.

“I will do what Mother likes.”

“Is there no one you would like to invite?”

Leon blinked as if asking why.

His eyes were so big that it took up half of his round and small face. How pretty he was.

“Leon, it’s your birthday.”

Elisha combed the child’s hair with her fingertips and waited for an answer.

Her answer came after quite some time.

“Don’t worry about me. The banquet hall will be full even with only those invited by Mother.”

“…”

Leon, who had been hesitant about how to accept his mother’s silence, raised his blue eyes and met his mother’s gaze.

“I’m really fine. I’m glad that Mother asked me like this first.”

Whether those words were true or not, a blush spread across Leon’s cheeks, as lightly colored as a peach.

Ah.

That’s how it looks.

Elisha found another small piece of the past that she had missed.

“Then let’s try to decorate this birthday with this mother’s greed. Once you see it and don’t like it, please tell me later. After that, on next year’s birthday, Leon, we will do whatever you want.”

“Alright, Mother.”

He didn’t expect anything to change next year, but Leon still answered so.

Then, his mother’s eyes bent a little and softened.

Feeling embarrassed for some reason, Leon pretended to be tossing and turning and pulling up the blanket more to cover his face.

“You must be tired. Go to sleep.”

Elisha patted Leon on the shoulder.

She wanted to sing a lullaby, but she couldn’t do it because she had never heard it in her life.

The world is unfair.

What you have never received, you cannot give to your children.

But, it’s okay.

You can fill in what you don’t have.

In fact, learning and mastering was one of the things Elisha did best.

As long as the direction is not wrong, Elisha would always get the desired result.

The next day, when Leon went to class in the morning, Elisha moved to do her own work.

This was the first time she went out of the 2nd Empress Palace since returning to the past.

When she was first greeted by the still intact Imperial Palace, which had become a mess in the past as the battle with Emperor Kaiden began in earnest, she felt strange.

As Elisha recalled the past, she headed to where the Ministry of Magic was at this time.

The guards at the entrance of the Ministry of Magic looked bored.

Then, their faces flashed at the presence of someone approaching.

“Oh? Look there. Who is that beauty?”

“You bastard, is it common to have silver hair and blue eyes? There must be only one person like this in the whole Empire.”

“Do you mean, it’s the forgotten empress who is coming?”

“What empress. You never know when she’ll be thrown out.”

The eldest of the three flirts tilted his head.

“By the way, she’s been out of touch for so long, so why is she here now?”

To his murmur, another knight answered.

“You can find out about that soon enough.”

There was a hint of fun on the faces of the knights.

The Ministry of Magic itself is a place where mages who deviate from the mainstream of the Palace Tower, stay, and for strictly confidential matters, they use their personal magic and communication tools.

Such a high-ranking person who is worthy of attention would not be able to leave the Ministry of Magic without leaving any traces and attracting attention.

As a knight in the palace who had the responsibility to check and guard the entire palace, he set the order and stood alert.

When Elisha approached right in front of them, he said with a strong force on purpose.

“Stop. Please state your identity and why you came to the Ministry of Magic.”

However, the opponent was the problem.

Elisha scanned the three knights from left to right.

Sky blue is not light blue.

The bright and clear sky blue didn’t shine on the opponent, but reflected and bounced them off.

[T/N: I think this is talking about how the knights’ bravado doesn’t work and is countered by Elisha instead. Sky blue is Elisha’s eye color, ‘Sky blue is not light blue’ perhaps is saying that she’s not a lightweight.]

The knights were taken aback by the reaction different from what they had expected, but then raised their momentum and suppressed Elisha.

“Did you not hear me?”

“I heard you. But, I’m too surprised to think that there are people, standing on guard as knights, who don’t even know the face of the empress within the Imperial Palace.”

The knights turned to each other because of Elisha who responded with an indifferent expression that was not at all surprised.

The oldest among them spoke.

“It’s not that I didn’t recognize the 2nd Empress, but there are several procedures within the Imperial Palace. This was just one of them.”

“I came to the Ministry of Magic to use the magic communication device, should there be other reasons? Is there a procedure that the empress must inform one of the knights of the contents of the communication? I did not know this until now. I will talk to the mage in charge.”

“Y-Your Majesty, that’s…!”

The knights called her urgently.

Not only such a procedure impossible, but the mages and the knights are in a bad relationship to the point resembling dogs biting each other.

The 2nd Empress herself is nothing to be afraid of, but if she goes inside and talks to the mage and they get caught, once they return to the Knights Order, they will not be able to raise their face at all.

The moment when the knights who hesitated opened their mouths again.

“What is it? You’re not even the mage in charge, and I don’t think they instructed those guarding the entrance that one has to get permission first before entering, right?”

A thin silver wick sprang up in Elisha’s sky-blue eyes.

“… Euph!”

Beyond emotional embarrassment, the knights opened their eyes as goosebumps rose on their skin with a real sense of intimidation.

“Are you still trying to stand in front of me?”

Then, they unconsciously bit their tongues at the cold tone.

Who is the dark, inflexible, stupid woman from the rumors outside?

It should never be the woman before them right now.

Elisha passed through the entrance to the Ministry of Magic, not paying attention to how they looked at her.

“T-There is no need for Your Majesty to tell the mage in charge. It’s just a common matter where we overlook some noble people, there is no need to pay this matter too much attention…!”

Behind her, one of the knights spoke quickly, but as if she did not hear it, Elisha moved away from them.

***

The mage, who breathed in mana to the magic communicator to activate it, glanced at Elisha again and again.

Then when their eyes met, he gave out one big, hoarse cough before turning his face away.

“It’s done.”

At his words, Elisha nodded and stared at him quietly.

“Oh, I’ll go out then. You’ll be connected soon.”

With an awkward expression, the mage went out.

As soon as the door was closed, blue and purple light intertwined and spread from the mana-infused communication port, and a human face appeared immediately.

「It’s been a while, Elisha.」

“Yes, Teacher.”

The face reflected in the large telecommunication sphere placed on the central table was the Archmage William.

「Did you call me because it’s about time for you to die? You want to count on our old relationship?」

The master of one of the three towers in the Atien Empire and a 7th-Class mage, who was closely related to the western nobles, Marquis Rwanda and Duke Verdin.

There was no way he could’ve liked it when Elisha, his disciple, married the emperor.

But William felt most fortunate when Elisha, as a mage who can rarely gets pregnant, had Leon and surprisingly, succeeded in giving birth.

Because he couldn’t lose such a talented person who would become an archmage to the Imperial faction.

There was no way Elisha was unaware of William’s judgment.

Above all, it was true that Elisha betrayed William first by going to Emperor Kaiden.

“Is there even a stain between Teacher and me? In the beginning, due to our contractual relationship, Teacher taught me magic, while I informed you of the magic formula I made and let you claim it as your achievements.”

「You’ve never been cute ever since you were a kid.」

“I just wanted to make you feel comfortable. It’s nice not to have to watch a little girl walking around the tower with shaky legs.”

「So, why did you call me? I’m aware the coordinates are of the Imperial Palace’s Ministry of Magic, but if this call is only to listen to your nonsense…」

“There seems to be a lot of talk inside the tower about how Teacher hasn’t announced new magic formulas for some time, isn’t it?”

「And what can you do about it? Do you want to say that you, a fool who can’t even lead the path of mana, have invented a new magic formula? That’s unreasonable no matter how genius you are at magic formulas.」

“I do. But why do you think I gave you all the formulas I made at the tower even though our relationship wasn’t that ‘good’? Don’t tell me you think I felt the slightest affection for my teacher who brought me out of the Obern Barony, or thought that everything you’ve done was out of sincerity?”

「Of course that couldn’t be the case. I was surprised that you did something cute even though you put all kinds of restrictions on it. Quite so.」

William’s eyes widened.

“Should I give it to you right now so you may solidify your position a little bit more? What I want is nothing special, just please attend my cute son’s birthday party and brighten it up.”

「I just need to come and sit?」

Elisha curled up the corners of her mouth and snorted.

“How could that be possible? We’ll talk about the rest after you come to the Imperial Palace.”

「Elisha!」

“Then, let’s stop here.”

「Ellie!」

Before he could even finish speaking, Elisha opened the door to the communication room and went outside.

A roar was heard over the communication port and then cut off.

“I’m done with my business.”

Elisha notified and passed the mage, who was blinking his eyes, and went outside.

The knights at the entrance wanted to ask her something, but in the end, they couldn’t speak to her cold face and bit their lips.

The news that she had stopped by the Ministry of Magic and who she was calling had already been rumored, making the eyes looking at her increased dramatically.

This is why the Imperial Palace is so scary.

But Elisha didn’t care.

AD

Elisha looked down at her hands.

White and slender wrists, and long fingers that looked weak.

She did not return with the fame or power she had accumulated in the past.

However, the experiences and memories that made her victory possible were all in Elisha’s head.

Just like the formula that made it possible to negotiate with William.

The magic formula wasn’t actually made by Elisha. It was by exploiting the talent William had found after Elisha. A few years later, though not now, William would take in another student and make them his prey.

Moreover…

Crack!

AD

The red light on Elisha’s fingertip faded.

Ignis had not responded yet, but the contract with the Fire Spirit King was imprinted in her soul.

Her return did not mean that her relationship with Ignis had been eliminated.

Not just because of their status as a spirit king and a summoner…

The relationship between Ignis and Elisha was special.

A mage forcibly fixes the form of mana and is absolutely incompatible with a summoner, who feels and summons the spirits living in mana itself.

Their difference is beyond the ideological rejection that is common between mages and knights. The origins of the two things are simply different.

Even if Elisha’s path as a mage had already ended, her broken body, the traces that used to lead the mana had not disappeared. She was also a great knight who became the first person in the Empire to successfully summon the Fire Spirit King.

“Answer me just like back then. Ignis.”

Elisha clenched her hand tightly.

Ignis had been her most powerful hand in the past and in this lifetime.

***

“Shit.”

Marquis Blemir took a deep breath as he went to the Crown Prince Palace. This is because he remembered the private meeting with the emperor in the reception room just before.

The black-haired, blue-eyed emperor was as inhuman as his sculpturally beautiful face.

A monarch who was expected to become one of the most capable emperors in the history of the Empire, who was also his brother-in-law, but Blemir did not like him.

Blemir’s sister, whom he had been following like he would a mother because of the large age gap, withered and died in the Imperial Palace.

Blemir gritted his teeth and endured to protect his lone nephew.

He took the place of his father, Duke Fontana, the leader of the neutral faction, who couldn’t move easily, showing off his swordsmanship skills that he had been hiding for fear of becoming a nuisance.

He moved exclusively for his nephew, Crown Prince Ascencio.

The emperor tried to exploit such Blemir by using Ascencio.

“So, where are you going again this time?”

Blemir, who was gritting his teeth and swiping back the red hair that covered his eyebrows, drew a deep wrinkle on his forehead.

The Crown Prince Palace was more noisy than usual.

“What’s going on?”

As he entered the palace, he realized that the one he was looking for was not around.

“He is at the training ground.”

As he hurriedly walked, his face grew even more distorted at the sight at the entrance of the training ground.

“The one over there, how much more does she want to bewitch His Highness?”

In addition to the energy of a familiar boy, he felt a subtle annoyance.

Blemir stared at the woman sitting in a chair on the edge of the arena, who staring at the sword-wielding boy in the center.

She has long, fine silver hair and sky-blue eyes.

Even with colors that can only be called light, that woman’s presence is strong.

Blemir thought so every time he saw her.

It is said that the essence of the Emperor, who engulfs all things in the deep darkness, and the woman with light color, who changes the whole thing by mixing the colors of the moment, are terribly similar to each other.

Of course, that woman, unlike the Emperor, still has nothing and is not polished, so she will not be able to compete on an equal footing. But then again, there’s no way she will ever have the power.

“We’ll see if you can hold on until then. Hmph.”

Blemir snorted at her, and the woman’s gaze was fixed on him.

There was blue flame within her eyes.

***

Elisha, who just left the Ministry of Magic, was told that Ascencio was practicing swordsmanship at the Crown Prince Palace, so she headed there and wanted to stop by for a while.

However, Ascencio, who had already heard of Elisha’s visit, ran towards her right away, so she promised to wait until his training was over, and took a seat at the edge of the drill hall.

Swish! Whisk!

Although it is a wooden sword, the power it contained is unusual.

As explained in the Three Basics, Five Layers of the Paracion Continent…

There are only three swordmasters in the Atien Empire.

Ascencio also has considerable talent in swordsmanship, which resembled the ability of his maternal uncle Blemir, who is also the youngest between the three.

The 12-year-old boy, who was immersed in training, occasionally looked back at Elisha and smiled.

Four years were left until the light went out in those clear blue eyes and his black hair covered the ground.

Elisha unknowingly pressed her lower lip down with her upper teeth. Soon, she sensed a sign of someone approaching and turned her head.

The cool-looking young man with red hair and brown eyes was Marquis Blemir.

She didn’t get along very well with him because he was usually very displeased with Elisha for taking advantage of Ascencio’s starvation of a mother’s favor.

However, if that person didn’t die by mistake…

Ascencio’s death would not have come so soon.

After all, Marquis Blemir is the heir to the Duke Fontana, one of the most prestigious sword geniuses, one of the pride of the Empire.

After that, once he inherited the title of duke, he would become one of the four major dukes and become a strong supporter for the Crown Prince.

How long has he been making eye contact?

“I’ve seen the 2nd Empress.”

“Long time no see, Marquis Blemir.”

“Considering that the 1st Empress is not even aware of your visitation, and that you’ve personally come all the way here, I assume you must have a very big request for the Crown Prince today.”

“Well, it is a big request.”

“Ha!”

Blemir burst into laughter at Elisha’s blunt response.

Elisha didn’t even frown at his cheeky act.

There’s no way she could frown at him now when she came back to do something she didn’t do in the past.

“It’s the 3rd Prince’s birthday soon. If His Highness the Crown Prince can attend, the child will be very happy.”

“… If the Crown Prince attends , the 1st Empress will quarrel all along and the banquet will be a mess, do you not mind?” Blemir asked.

He thought if it were the 2nd Empress, even if the Crown Prince wanted to come, she would nail him not to come.

Elisha in the past had certainly done so, but not this time.

“I will only send an invitation to the 1st Empress.”

At Elisha’s words, Blemir’s, who had no talent of hiding his own expression, eyes widened.

Only sending an invitation to the 1st Empress, who will be uncomfortable even with a direct visit from the Crown Prince Palace, is something that can make that fox passes out in anger.

While Blemir was calm on the outside, he was still worried.

Of course, it wasn’t for the 2nd Empress, but for Crown Prince Ascencio.

If there is trouble for no reason, only the heart of the Crown Prince will be weakened.

“Even id the 2nd Empress goes out to support the Crown Prince, we can’t promise anything.”

The one who needs nominal support is the 2nd Prince Stoneham, who lacks legitimacy and justification, not the Crown Prince.

Elisha nodded her head despite the obvious line that was drawn.

For Leon, Elisha could build a tower with thousands or tens of thousands of corpses, and she had actually done so in the past.

One cannot survive in the Imperial Palace if they’re weak enough to complain about the cruelty of what they’ve done.

However.

“It seems that Marquis has not yet set up his hands in the Imperial Palace, since you don’t even know what I was talking about at the Ministry of Magic. Please don’t forget that no matter who the opponent is, at any time, it is impossible to predict how the situation will change in the future. So, you should always leave room for anything.”

“…”

“Even if it is not comparable to the 3rd Prince, I also cherish the Crown Prince.

Blemir swept through her side profile.

Elisha’s indifferent expression remained the same. However, the slightly bent corners of her eyes softened her cold face.

At that moment, Elisha also turned her head to face Blemir.

“So, Marquis, don’t let the Emperor use you as his sword any longer. If Marquis is broken, who do you think will be the veil on that day? Just because you can’t bear a moment of pain, are you going to harm His Highness the Crown Prince with your own hands?”

Blemir was always worried.

His weakness was the Crown Prince himself, and that was the reason the Crown Prince was able to stay safe until now.

If he ignores and acts ignoring the Crown Prince, harm will be done to the Crown Prince, and who will be able to stop that?

If his father, Duke Fontana, is willing to step up, he would’ve done so earlier.

Elisha said as if she had read Blemir’s thoughts.

“I’ll protect him. I’ve let you lose in the past, but I won’t this time.”

In the past? There are so many puzzles, yet so many crises. Blemir simply shrugged his shoulders.

“Everyone has a heart to protect. However, the right to protect is only given to them who have the power. Are you saying that you will help me and the Crown Prince? Will the 2nd Empress, who lost her magic, be able to do that?”

“Didn’t I just tell you? Please leave room for anything. Why did you decide I can’t? Above all, I haven’t fully decided yet. I will definitely protect the Crown Prince, but when did I say that I will protect the Marquis as well? Did I say I would?”

“Huh?”

Looking back, that was correct.

Marquis Blemir had asked that unconsciously, and now his face became as hot as the color of his hair.

Even a six-year-old child hides his true feelings and pretends to be an adult in this Imperial Palace. Being able to make such a face at the age of mid-twenties also requires talent.

Elisha burst into a small smile as she suddenly thought that it would be good if her own child could make such a face at that age.

The smile disappeared as soon as it was drawn, but Blemir, who was facing her, did not miss it.

At that time, Ascencio walked over to their side from the center of the drill hall as the training was over.

“You two, what are you talking about? It makes me happy to see you two get along well.”

Ascencio’s bright voice echoed brightly.

Elisha took a step towards Ascencio and whispered to Blemir.

“I have something left to check as well. Therefore, Marquis should attend the 3rd Prince’s birthday banquet next week with the Crown Prince and check yourself what hands I have, and how far will I draw the line between the Crown Prince and the Marquis.”

Elisha disappeared, leaving Blemir behind.

Blemir couldn’t take his eyes off of her slender back as she moved away.

It wasn’t the hostility he had often seen, but Blemir, who had a somewhat blank expression on his face, bit his lip as if he was angry.