Chapter 17

Chapter 17: “A Chance To Change”

Eleanora’s father, Duke Alexander had been a loyal servant of the imperial family for generations, always putting the interests of the empire before anybody else including her.

But in the last moments of their life, he thought of her first rather than the empire, realizing that she was having an extremely hard time.

Her father said he loved her always, he didn’t blame her for anything.

Eleanora was afraid that she could not see him anymore if she did not find him right away.

The servants and maids looked at her running in surprise, but Eleanora didn’t care.

After running a long distance with her short legs, she ran out of breathe and stopped for a moment to caught her breath and looked around.

Eleanora saw his silver hair shining in the sunshine far away and her heart began to pound.

.....

She once again clenched the hem of her skirt and put her feet down to run more faster.

“My lady?”

“It’s dangerous!”

“What are you doing? Hold the lady! She still haven’t recovered!”

Maria and the other maidservants was speaking among themselves as they run after Eleanora.

She saw knights sparring or training in the middle of the training field looking at her in surprise when she was running across the field.

Some of them seemed to be groaning while they were withdrawing their swords urgently, but she didn’t care.

Normally, Eleanora wouldn’t be bothering them, nor visit the training field, but that was not important to her right now.

“Ele?”

“Daddy!”

As Eleanora approached him quickly, he was surprised and looked at her with a confused gaze.

The storm in Eleanora’s heart had finally calmed down as she saw Alexander’s face.

She ran faster and reached out to the dumbstruck Alexander, hanging on to him desperately.

Eleanora felt him stiffening when he instinctively held her in his arms.

She felt his warmth from practicing when he hugged me. She had never felt it before.

Eleanora buried her face in his chest and rubbed her cheek against him, hearing his heart beating fast.

Ah, how fortunate!

When Eleanora fully felt his warmth, she could confirm that he was alive with his vivid heartbeats.

She hoped that she was not dreaming anymore now.

“Ele?”

Suddenly her vision was blurry because he had never called my nickname since her mother died and she had become the empress.

He always referred her as ‘Her Majesty’ during the time she was the empress.

Till they bid each other farewell in the cold prison and called her ‘Ele’ again before she was killed.

For fear she might fell, Alexander carefully embraced her and spoke in a hesitant tone.

“E-Ele?”

“Yes, Daddy?”

Eleanora was choked with emotions when Alexander stuttered, calling her nickname in embarrassment and finally hug her tightly like she did.

Eleanora noticed his concerned eyes and his voice full of anxiety.

It was the first time she felt his warmth. Was it because she felt relieved?

Tears kept coming down her cheeks, and her father carefully wiped her tears and asked in a low voice.

“Why? What’s the matter with you, Ele? Are you still feeling uncomfortable?”

“Daddy, daddy, daddy...”

Suddenly, The more Eleanora called him the more he stiffened, at a loss about what to do, breaking out in a cold sweat.

After a while and lot of sobbings, Eleanora come to her senses and realised the situation.

As she took a deep breath and looked around, she saw Alexander looking at her blankly while holding her on his arms and the knights brightly smiling at her.

“Are you okay now, Ele?”

“Yeah, daddy.”

Eleanora barely answered with a feeble voice as she was ashamed. How come she cried like a child in front of these knights?

She didn’t have the nerve to raise my head, so she buried her face in Alexander’s chest.

“Are you still scared?? Did something bad happen in your dreams?”

“Hmm..”

Eleanora nooded her head as she still had to understand the situation.

Alexander carefully put her down on the ground, kneeled on one knee and made eye contact with her.

Eleanora folded her hands together and hesitated at his unusually kind posture. There was a moment of silence between them.

“What happened, Ele? Tell me.”

“..Nothing...Just a terrible nightmare..”

“Really?”

There was a deadly silence throughout the training field.

As Eleanoa carefully looked around, she saw her father with a rather hardened face and the knights staring at her blankly or with a burdensome expression.

Eleanora regretted that she came here. That was so stupid of her!

She should have looked around before expressing her genuine feelings or childish behaviour infront of her father.

It wouldn’t be this embarrassing if her father was alone, but she just had to cry infront of the whole duchy people!

And... What is her father also thinking of her now?

She just did something so out of manner as a duke’s daughter.

Eleanora just wanted to get out of here before she got more embarrassed.

Her tiny little face had become full red and Maria, who finally caught up with her put her slippers infront of her.

Eleanora was shocked. So the maids was calling her so desperately not to stop her but to make her wear her slippers?

And she ran all the way till here bare foot?

Looking down on her dirty feet and Alexander’s white shirt full of the dirts that her feet carried, Eleanora was more ashamed.

Eleanora silently put on her slippers without looking at anyone before she ran fast again.

She heard someone calling her from behind, but she ran out of the field without looking back.

‘This was really embarrassing!’

Returning to her room, Eleanora tried to calm down her throbbing heart.

Eleanora felt so ashamed, but didn’t care much about it.

As long as father and the other people’s are okay nothing else matters. She was not sure if she was dreaming now.

Or it might be God’s final consideration, who listened to her prayers to be saved from that darkness as she was innocent.

Perhaps she gave her another chance out of pity.

A chance to change her lonely dark world, A chance to cherish everyone, protect herself and the one whom she couldn’t protect.