In This Life, I Will Raise You Well, Your Majesty!

Is this a new way to apply for a duel?

Elisha stared at the hand extended in front of her.

Short-cut nails that were neat on long, hard-looking fingers.

The skin on the inside of the hand was full of calluses, which repeatedly crushed and regenerated, skidding the light.

It’s not because it was soft.

It’s because it was so tough that there were no wrinkles that would hold the light.

As Elisha was counting her chances of winning against the hand that was big and strong enough to cover her face in one shot, the voice came again.

“Do you want to dance?”

Elisha took her eyes off the hand and raised her face to the owner of the hand.

“There is no reason not to do it, so have you decided to do what you can?”

“…”

There was no answer, but the outstretched hand remained the same.

The two of them seemed to have forgotten where they were, but only Leon was in a hurry.

“Mother? Sir Rohan, what are you doing? Hurry up, hurry up.”

At Leon’s urging, Elisha placed her hand on Rohan’s.

Leon jumped off Rohan and fell a little.

And as his eyes twinkled, Elisha paused as if she had suddenly remembered something.

The 2nd Empress, who usually acted casually at anything, suddenly reacted strangely, and Rohan turned to look at her in confusion.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Dance…”

“Go on.”

“I forgot how to dance.”

It was only after she became the 2nd Empress that Elisha was able to receive the little basic education she would have had to learn from an ordinary aristocratic family.

Among them, dance was particularly useless, so it was a subject that she quickly put aside.

If she had known this would happen, she would have learned a little more when she got to a higher position.

At that time, there were quite a few people who tried to approach her, but Elisha’s coldness and intimidation often made them give up…

Dancing was useless to Elisha until the very end.

So that’s it.

It’s not because Elisha herself can’t do it.

While Elisha hesitated, the song that rang out in the banquet hall ended and the first dance of the Emperor and the 1st Empress also stopped.

Rohan whispered softly as he led Elisha.

“You can just follow me. From the point of view of swordsmanship, you seem to have a knack for using your body, so don’t worry.”

“Well, I guess that’s true.”

Because it was a natural fact, Elisha did not deny it either. But…

“Is Sir Rohan really capable of teaching? In terms of the training method of the 1st Knights… Hmm…”

If you can’t match the movement, grab the other’s arm and twist it, press your heel on the back of your foot to fix it, and then turn your body around once, isn’t it enough?

Rohan, who could conclude the story in her head even if she didn’t say it aloud, smiled without realizing it.

“I know the time and place for everything, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“I am not worried. I was afraid that Sir Rohan, the knight among knights, may show something that should not be shown in front of people.”

Because it was unexpected, Rohan’s steps slowed down a bit.

“… I will be careful not to do that.”

Elisha nodded and entered the dance space without further conversation, but a shadow fell in front of the two.

It was because they ran into people who were just about to get out.

“It is really good to see.”

Emperor Kaiden’s indifferent blue eyes appeared before them.

“The 2nd Empress and the 1st Knights Commander. It looks like you’ve become quite friendly with each other.”

“Sir Rohan helped me in many ways.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

Kaiden reached out and tapped the pearl earring hanging from Elisha’s earlobe.

The pearl earring was lightly dangling and made a clear sound.

Elisha frowned slightly, but Kaiden raised his hand again to see if the shaking was good.

Before Kaiden could reach the earring again, Elisha grabbed the earring and took it off.

“It’s an item that needs to be returned, so it will be difficult if it’s damaged, Your Majesty.”

Kaiden asked as if surprised.

“Do you know who sent it?”

“How could I not know? They sent it with their seal so that I can see it clearly.”

Elisha opened her fist, revealing the earring.

A golden flower fluttered over the milky pearl in the center of it, leaving a pale yellow afterimage.

Elisha, who knew why this was so familiar, found out the reason when she looked at the pearl, which did not communicate with the spirit, unlike other gems for some reason.

It was the embroidery that lay on Rohan’s handkerchief, which she had once borrowed.

But the thing is.

The shape of the flower itself is very common, and without any clues, it was great to infer all the circumstances with just one object in hand.

Kaiden, who was staring intently at Elisha, said.

“Well, earrings that aren’t anything else must be Jaylene’s right?”

“Yes. It’s beautiful, but it’s sharp and valuable only when you dig into the wound. It really is a fitting decoration to symbolize the Countess.”

“Ha.”

The explanation added to the reply returned without delay seemed to fit too well, so Kaiden laughed.

It was a vague kind of laughter, really, but the repercussions were huge.

“Whoaaa…!”

The aristocratic crowds around the outside of the empty circle space in the center, burst into shouts of exclamation.

But they weren’t even worth a single glance from Kaiden.

“As expected, conversations with the 2nd Empress are fun.”

Kaiden, who had muttered, asked Rohan, who had a hardened expression this time.

“Rohan, you look like you had no idea.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“So when you saw the earrings of the 2nd Empress, you asked her for a dance to confirm, did you not?”

“It was a request.”

“A request? Is there still a great person left to request something from you?”

“…”

“Well, it doesn’t matter. But it’s not good if I let Jaylene make another accident. There’s a limit to covering it up.”

It refers to the range of values, not abilities.

The moment the latter surpasses the former, Kaiden will abandon Jaylene without hesitation.

Whether it is aimed at the wife who breaks his justice as a knight, or it is blaming himself for not being able to keep even such a wife in line.

The noble knight’s eyes were dyed with shame.

To Elisha, it looked like he had been hurt.

It was the Emperor who forcibly pushed ahead with the political marriage and gave Rohan to Jaylene.

It was always his master who made that unshakable and steadfast knight unhappy.

Despite this, his master arrogantly judges the misfortunes of his knight.

How can you treat a knight like that so rudely?

Of course, Elisha was not a good owner for her subordinates either.

She had been a mess, to say the least.

So, more and more, she is trying to be different in this life.

Among the memories of the past that made her so, the death of Rohan, who died loyal to the Emperor until the end, was particularly clear.

It was heartbreaking to see Rohan being treated so unreasonably by his master right in front of her.

Even more so because she was the one who started it.

For Elisha, Jaylene was just trying to show that she’s watching her, and that she will bite at any time if she shows a weak side.

Why did the Emperor suddenly intervene?

She didn’t expect him to recognize these earrings, but even if she did…

She didn’t know it would go out like this.

In the past, Elisha was not interested in anything.

But.

If the Emperor responds differently because Elisha acts differently, it is not totally incomprehensible.

As long as the event is related to the Emperor, there’s no way it’s just a whim. There’s definitely a reason.

Currently, Elisha just didn’t notice.

At that moment, a very beautiful hand was held out in front of Elisha.

At the same time, the Emperor’s voice was heard.

“Since it is like that, there’s no need to provoke Jaylene for nothing.”

Even though flagships exploded from all directions when they saw the scene, Elisha, the party involved, was still in the middle of nowhere.

When she didn’t want to move, Rohan pushed her hand, which he had been supporting, towards the Emperor.

Naturally, next to the Emperor’s hand, the two people’s hands clasped together.

Dancing with the Emperor.

It was terrifying, but she couldn’t refuse.

It was time for Elisha to hold the Emperor’s hand.

***

There was a great commotion at the entrance to the Golden Hall.

“Didn’t you say it is almost done?”

“It’s almost done.”

“Is it not here yet?”

“Almost, Your Majesty.”

Green eyes contorted at the words of Marchioness Bahrain.

Just as her shriek was about to explode, the signal that the 1st Empress Isabelle had been waiting for had arrived.

“I have to see the 1st Empress! I have something to show you!”

Isabelle’s eyes flashed and she made her way towards the entrance, while Marchioness Bahrain gave a wink to her entourage, who was waiting behind her.

When the entourage, an aristocratic wife, was instructed and disappeared, Marchioness Bahrain followed behind Isabelle.

Holding a small box in her hand at the entrance, the face of the maid, who was caught by the great knights of the Imperial Palace who were guarding the Golden Hall, looked familiar.

As soon as the maid saw Isabelle, her momentum grew as if she had met her ally.

“Your Majesty!”

While the knights stopped and relaxed in the ambiguous atmosphere, the maid slipped through them.

Swaeeeg!

Before the handmaiden could reach in front of Isabelle, she knelt down in front of her, startled at the sight of the flashing blade approaching her chest.

As she was approaching, the 1st Empress’s escort knight drew his sword.

“Do not come without permission, you are lowly.”

The knight’s eyes were ugly.

As the knight given by Duke Cherkah to his beloved daughter, he didn’t put down his guard.

“Hiiiy!”

The maid turned blue and started to hiccup.

“What’s going on?”

When the Emperor appeared, the commotion outside disappeared at once.

The 1st Empress’s knight quickly returned his sword to its sheath and retreated.

Because they were together, Elisha, who naturally accompanied him, found someone kneeling at the entrance while licking her lips.

“It’s you?”

“Someone you know?”

When the Emperor turned around, Elisha nodded her head.

“I am the maid of the 2nd Empress Palace.”

The banquet was finally entering a new phase.

A stranger who did not fit in the space where the Emperor and the 1st Empress had danced a while ago took a seat.

The handmaiden trembled less compared to when she first called the 1st Empress.

She hiccuped and glanced at Elisha, then stopped completely when their eyes met.

The maid couldn’t speak properly, so Isabelle stepped up.

“I heard that Stoneham recently wanted to make a present for his mother who gave birth to him on his tenth birthday, so he had to go to the East Coast to find some good gems. I was so proud of him that I was going to pretend I didn’t know until the day he came, but when the prince, who should have been excited, suddenly looked unhappy, I became worried. Then this maid brought over something just now.”

As Isabelle motioned for her, Marchioness Bahrain, who was waiting for her, supported a fairly large box, about the length of an adult man’s fingers, with one hand and opened the lid with the other.

With a click, a set of diamond jewelries could be seen inside.

Earrings, rings, bracelets, and…

“The missing necklace that the 2nd Prince had left on the desk after he checked whether the crafting was good.”

Like what was said, the place for the necklace that should have been placed around the edge of the box was empty.

“That maid works at the 2nd Empress Palace, but she and the 1st Empress’s maid, Jang, have known each other for a long time. It seems that she accidentally heard the story of the necklace from the maid. She came to the 1st Empress Palace a few days ago and told a startling story.”

Isabelle turned her gaze to Elisha.

Isabelle could finally see her sky-blue eyes wrinkled, and she continued as she raised the corners of her lips.

“She saw a diamond necklace exactly like the one she was talking about in the 2nd Empress Palace.”

What matters in Barossa is not the truth.

The power to get people to admit is what makes the real thing.

Isabelle believed she had that ‘power’ in her, and that belief never betrayed her.

At least, not yet.

“I didn’t believe it was possible, but that maid seems to be trying to prove what I said after all.”

The green eyes staring at Elisha burned fiercely.