Chapter 39

The Verdin Duchy was spacious and well-organized.

Most people say that Duke Verdin is an easygoing and ordinary person, but how could he have been able to keep his position as the head of the great aristocratic faction if that was all he really was.

For the word “ordinary” to be attached to such a person…

It means either that he hides the extraordinary, or that the smile on his face looks normal even when he squeezes people out.

Duke Verdin should be included in both.

Ever since Jonathan joined the carriage, Elisha rested her chin on her arm resting on the window sill.

It might look a bit undignified, but Elisha didn’t really care because the person closest to the window was Rohan, who was driving the horse.

The glass in the window that was touching her forehead was cool. It is very rare for Elisha to continue doing nothing like this.

If they had used the portal, this would not have happened, however, not only is it difficult for this many people to move, the emperor would not have wanted it.

The emperor wanted to wrap this event up nicely and for it to be known, so he needed time to spread the word…

In order to quickly persuade the public and not allow the nobles to arbitrarily control the story and change the story.

Moreover, in Elisha’s opinion, the emperor who received something from the Western nobles in exchange for sending her to the West was unlikely to be satisfied there.

“Since many key figures including the second-in-command Marquis Rwanda, are staying in the West, the Western faction in the capital is almost empty. If I had to work closely with other noble factions, there would be no better time than now.”

Elisha’s fingertips touched the window and she wrote down the numbers.

Time passed by as she looked at the emperor’s intentions one by one.

The emperor’s way of creating and solving problems was somewhat similar to Elisha’s, so this process was quite helpful for Elisha as well.

It broadens her thinking and allows her to reflect on herself.

In the past he was an enemy, but he also made Elisha the greatest.

Although he was a ruthless teacher, in the way that if his teaching was followed but could not be overcome, the result would be death.

Yes, if one looks at it that way, sending Sir Rohan would have many meanings.

Aside from showing off to the nobles, it will also be an opportunity to get more attention by sending out the knights that the people love the most, and to make it clear for whom Elisha is moving, and…

Elisha found that Rohan’s eyes were quite fierce as he looked at the surroundings.

The emperor was to take measures in advance before regretting late preparation.

The road from the capital to the west is well paved and there is a lot of information, but it will have a new meaning for someone who is good at manipulating troops like Rohan.

They will be visiting several noble estates in the west, so he will be able to check various information about them.

Everything that came to her mind was intriguing, so the bottom of the window was filled with numbers.

Something soft touched her cheek as she was going back to see if she had missed anything.

She was wondering what he was trying to do when he covered the book he was reading, then guessed that he was trying to come next to her.

Elisha likes the texture of the child’s cheek, so she rubbed his little face and lifted the corners of her mouth.

The child smiled bashfully, wrinkled his nose, and asked as if he had suddenly remembered.

“Mother, is this the place where you will help those in need?”

Well, it wasn’t wrong, so Elisha nodded her head.

“Hihi.”

The child let out a slightly excited breath, and his blue eyes twinkled.

The warmth breath that the child exhaled clearly reveals the numbers that were slowly fading away, but it didn’t feel so important to Elisha anymore.

Elisha pulled her sleeve and wiped off the window with her hand, so that the child could see better.

She guessed that there were a lot of things the child wanted to see out of the clear window.

“Oh? It’s Sir Rohan.”

Leon recognized Rohan happily.

Hearing the small sound, Rohan leaned his head closer to the window and leaned his face towards the window.

The low voice was covered by the sound of the carriage, so it was hard to hear.

Leon opened the window without hesitation, and the smell of earth mixed with the sounds of the surroundings.

It was noisy, but it was vivid and refreshing.

He heard the voice he had been waiting for..

“3rd Prince, what are you doing?”

When Rohan asked, Leon, who had blinked his eyes because he didn’t really have a business, said abruptly.

“How is the weather over there?”

Rohan, who tilted his face slightly to the side, glanced at the floating sky, the surrounding scenery, and the area around the carriage, then looked at Leon again.

“It’s fine.”

“…”

Rohan, who had been silent for a while because of Leon, who kept staring at him as if expecting something, asked.

“How about in the carriage?”

“Here is…”

It was a conversation that Elisha couldn’t even guess what it really meant.

She wondered if the two of them are going to keep doing things like that.

They don’t look like they will ever fit together, therefore, it was strange to see them come together so naturally.

The wind coming in through the open window was cool, and the swaying of the moving carriage was no longer bothersome.

The sound of the horses running alongside the carriages, hitting the ground, repeatedly hit their ears.

The voices of the two people connected within it.

Feeling somewhat at ease, Elisha closed her eyes without realizing it.

The sound of even breathing lingered in the carriage.

Rohan and Leon looked at her at the same time.

Elisha, who always seemed to be on the edge of something, was sleeping so deeply.

Rohan and Leon looked at each other. And they nodded and shut their mouths as if they had made an agreement.

Rohan turned his gaze to the front, and Leon hung from the open window sill and looked outside.

They stayed like that for quite some time.

For some reason, they were so sorry that the journey felt shortened.

***

“Your Majesty the 2nd Empress, was the journey difficult?”

As soon as they got off the carriage, a calm looking woman greeted Elisha.

Elisha looked left and right and replied.

“It was difficult.”

“…”

The woman’s face hardened as the usual answer to the out-of-formality question she had expected did not come. Unfortunately, Elisha had no intention of stopping there.

“Nevertheless, the Duke did not even come out to meet his guests. Is he hurting? Perhaps he broke his legs? Otherwise, surely the Duchy would not treat the 3rd Prince who came all the way from the capital this way.”

Her voice was low and her tone was indifferent.

It must have been somehow eerie, but Anne raised her chin up and confronted her sky-blue eyes.

“It’s not that he has any medical conditions, but because he’s old, he doesn’t feel comfortable moving around. I believe that the 2nd Empress and the 3rd Prince will be generous and understanding, so please do not be offended.”

“Are you Anne, the first daughter-in-law of the Duke?”

“Yes.”

“Then, the one over there must be the eldest young master.”

[T/N: The literal translation for it should be “the Grand or Eldest Prince”. A duke is similar to a king in ancient Korean/Chinese culture, that is why their children are usually also called a prince/princess. To avoid misunderstanding, I will just translate it as young master/lord]

When Elisha stared at him, Patrick gulped.

When he heard the rumors about the 2nd Empress, it is said that she had a great personality, so he thought of an arrogant beauty with a cold temperament.

Although he was timid in the Duchy, he was a playboy who knew how to deal with women. Patrick, who was proud of himself, was unfairly pushed aside by his younger brother to meet the 2nd Empress, but he still intended to earn the favor of the 2nd Empress while she was in the Duchy.

In any case, his wife, Anne, who was in charge of the hospitality, was a noble lady.

Thinking that no matter how high the Barossa woman’s eyes are, his wife should be enough to match her.

But, what is this?

An arrogant beauty with a cold temperament?

She is not at a level that can be explained in that way.

He had never seen a person with such an arrogant look with such an arrogant presence in his life.

Even his father, whom he is afraid of, was not like that.

The owner of Barossa, the emperor who sat in the highest place and embraced all people.

He should have felt this way only with Kaiden de Rappelcia!

Patrick crouched behind his wife, but he was so short that his height barely reached Anne, who was not that tall in the first place.

“I don’t know if I should feel good or bad.”

Elisha clicked her tongue.

You’re acting like a frog in front of a snake. It doesn’t matter to me, but if you do that now, what would the Duke think, as well as the Western nobles and the knights of the 1st Knights who came with me?

Elisha didn’t feel it was worth caring anymore and turned her gaze to the side.

Jonathan’s wife and the second daughter-in-law, Vera, stood a short distance away.

Perhaps if it wasn’t Jonathan who met Elisha as the Duchy representative, Anne wouldn’t have placed her here.

When Elisha saw her, Vera hesitated, then bowed her head slightly.

Elisha accepted her greeting without much emotion, and then she turned her head…

“It’s a little kid!”

Leon, who was holding Elisha’s hand, wasn’t like that.

To Leon, who rarely saw children younger than himself in the Imperial Palace, the little child Vera was holding was a very strange existence.

He is smaller than him, and cute.

Leon ran and stood in front of Vera, who, in bewilderment, looked at him first before looking at her husband.

The 3rd Prince, whom Jonathan saw during the journey back, was polite and intelligent. Besides, he was so lovely that he wondered how such a child could be born from that emperor.

…Therefore, he didn’t think he’d do anything strange.

Even if he would, there is no way to stop the actions of the 3rd Prince.

When there was no other reaction from Jonathan, Vera leaned over and put the child she was holding down in front of the 3rd Prince.

The child, now four years old, was not much different from Leon. Actually, it was because Leon was smaller than his peers, so their size was kind of similar.

But it didn’t seem to feel that way to Leon.

“Hello?”

Leon made eye contact with the child and smiled broadly.

Even though he acted like an older brother with a big age gap, there was no response from the child.

At this point, Vera was very nervous because the other nobles might try to draw a reaction by getting angry or shouting that the child dares to ignore the prince.

Duke Verdin said that his grandson was much better than other children, as he had a different mind and had high mana affinity, so there was no problem with anything else, but many people were talking behind the scenes.

It is said that the Duke’s only grandson is somehow strange and creepy.

However, Leon still looked at him innocently, because such a gaze was not unfamiliar to Leon.

Leon turned to Elisha, then spread out his hands.

Elisha tilted her head for a moment, then summoned her spirit and placed it on Leon’s hand.

Undine likes Leon very much, so she was quiet.

When Leon showed Undine to the child in front of him, Undine played with water drops in front of the child.

The child reacted to this, perhaps because it looks interesting.

When the child raised his fingertip to touch Undine, Leon stopped him.

“You should ask her (Undine) first.”

“…Why?”

“If you touch her suddenly, she’ll be surprised.”

The child tilted his head as if he did not understand Leon’s words.

He didn’t understand what’s a big deal to be surprised by toys.

No, he didn’t even think it should be done just because it’s alive in the first place.

The child stared intently into Leon’s blue eyes and asked.

“If I do that, it won’t hate me?”

Leon opened his eyes wide.

He didn’t quite understand.

Meanwhile, Elisha, who had sent Undine back, stretched an arm between the two children.

“We shouldn’t make other people wait too long.”

“Ah, yes, Mother.”

Elisha embraced Leon, who answered.

Elisha looked at the child opposite her with sky-blue eyes.

Still an animal that has not yet had teeth. In the future, fangs will grow that will rip the nobility of the West to pieces.

“We shouldn’t pick up anything, but what can we do? Our Leon is too kind.”

And he is very affectionate, so once he holds something in his arms, he won’t put it down. I think he already likes it, so what do I do?

Elisha, who muttered to herself, said to the woman who was close to the child.

“The 3rd Prince seems to like the boy, so let him be his friend, and you will be with me.”

Vera took turns looking at Elisha and Anne with wide-open eyes. Her thoughts were cluttered and her toes trembled, but Vera did not dare to refuse the Empress’s request.

She had to take courage, considering the position of his child.

“It’s an honor, Your Majesty.”

Vera walked over to Elisha’s side.