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

“You’ve taken great care of the 3rd Prince. I can’t express enough how grateful I am.” Elisha said to Viscountess Cain. Elisha expressed her sincerity because she knew how self-conscious she must have been to lead the family alone without a husband and still care about the fallen 2nd Consort’s Palace.

And she would repay her with something real ten and twenty times greater than that.

“I’m glad that you returned safely.”

Viscountess Cain drank the tea, and they had a short talk before she went home. She kept their meeting short because she thought she should not take too much time from the busy 2nd Consort. And because it was true, Elisha didn’t try to stop her.

She had to meet the various nobles who came, check the conditions of the 2nd Consort’s Palace with her maid Jean-Marie, and confirm the source of a large amount of money she continued to receive. Still, in Elisha’s personal opinion, it must’ve been from Rosenin.

The money always came in a pocket with a mana stone logo drawn, as if the sender was trying to use it as their mark. She’s probably got the Ballong area I mentioned last time. 

And.

“Since the mark is a mana stone, not a gem, she must have found it, right?”

The gem mine was located in a mountain in the Ballong area, and it would soon be closed as the reserves had been nearly exhausted. In the past, one of Rosenin’s brothers was forced to take it over, but one day, a weak earthquake hit the mountain, making the inside shake, and the dug area collapsed.

Then, a miner found a peculiar thing among the crumbling stones near the innermost block and gave it to his superior.

Only after the ‘peculiar thing’ arrived at Heron group did they discover it was a mana stone. The brother quickly soared to the position of president.

Gem mines were uncommon in the first place, and the number of mana stone mines was one-tenth of that.

But who would have imagined that there was a mana stone mine buried beneath the gem mine?

If she had told her straight away, Rosenin wouldn’t have believed her and misunderstood, so Elisha had only told her what she needed to know.

She had asked her to take the entire Ballong area, not just the mountain where the abandoned mine was, because if Rosenin’s smart brain were filled with questions, she would’ve wondered if there was something more to be dug around. This would’ve given Elisha a peek about Rosenin’s character, and now Rosenin had sent her an answer.

Elisha thought it mustn’t have been easy, but Rosenin had realized it at once and put it into practice to produce results.

“As expected, Rosenin is a great person.”

Elisha smiled faintly as she remembered Rosenin.

In the middle of her free time, Elisha visited Dell. She asked if Dell was dissatisfied with taking charge of the 2nd Consort’s Palace, and Dell said he liked this place much more.

The crown prince was a good man and a master he wanted to serve, but he said he wouldn’t have been able to endure it for long because the nobles of the crown prince’s faction were rude.

Of course Elisha knew he would’ve endured it had he persisted. When he had been called the Witch’s dog in her previous life, he had somehow dealt with even nobbles of much lower quality than the current nobles of the crown prince’s faction. Those who didn’t even possess the dignity of a noble.

“By the way, 2nd Consort, where did you pick him up?”

As he mentioned this, Elisha let out a sigh.

“I didn’t pick him up. He just followed me on his own. Has Shamir caused any trouble again?”

“There’s no trouble. Seeing how well he gets along with the boys, I’d like to have him join the 2nd Order.”

Elisha had thought she’d be lucky if they didn’t fight.

But since even the twisted Sir Dell asked for him, it seemed that they were getting along really well. Elisha wondered how Shamir had dealt with the people of the desert if he could even deal with Sir Dell and the 2nd Order.

Elisha separated from Dell, thinking that she should check that out later.

***

The emperor looked at the things that Marquis Croix had brought with him.

“This time, the 2nd Consort solved the water shortage, which was the biggest problem in and around the capital. These are some gifts people have given to show their gratitude.”

The emperor asked Marquis Croix, who had added that he could not bring some of the gifts in and left them outside.

“Why did you bring it to me then, not to the 2nd Consort’s Palace?”

“Most of them are addressed to you and the 2nd Consort, so I brought them to you first.”

“Bring them to the 2nd Consort’s Palace.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

When Marquis Croix put the pile aside, a servant handed the marquis a large silver tray.

The emperor noticed the silver tray was full of wax-sealed envelopes with luxurious materials.

“This is an invitation from each country.”

“Is that also the 2nd Consort’s?”

“Yes. But they were sent to His Majesty. Inviting a consort of a foreign country is a matter of caution. It would not be possible without Your Majesty’s permission.”

“It seems that the 2nd Consort’s abilities are very coveted.”

“How can it not? When she first left for the West, nobody expected much. However, it is no exaggeration to say that she had performed tremendously in the West, and her actions after returning this time are truly a miracle.”

“Tell me. Since she’s done a miracle, should I reward her? I need to pay a fair price for the miracle, but I can’t think of anything. What if I give her the authority of the emperor? Will it be enough?”

It sounded like a question as he asked without stressing the tones. His voice was as calm as water from beginning to end. However, the words contained a lot of poison.

“I made a mistake, Your Majesty. Please forgive me.”

Marquis Croix, astonished, hurriedly said. He bowed his head deeply so he couldn’t see the emperor’s face.

He only got another chance because he was Marquis Croix, the most useful among the Imperialists.

“So how should we deal with the invitation? Many countries will offer land, goods, or the title of honorary aristocrats.”

“Well, having such a treasure at a time like this alone is a great strength of the empire.”

“But, Your Majesty, the crown prince of the Santiano Empire sent another letter.”

“Is he going to pay a visit this time? Or does he want her to come like everyone else? Come to think of it. He was the first to send an invitation to the 2nd Consort.”

“Yes. I heard he’s not attending any official events and only stays at the Crown Prince’s Palace. It’s very suspicious that he suddenly shows interest in the 2nd Consort.”

“Didn’t they say he was also a spirit summoner?”

“Yes. I heard that he wields a high-ranking wind spirit.”

The number of spirits was very small, and the number of spirit summoners who owned high-ranking spirits, second only to spirit kings, at most were only two or three individuals on the continent.

Wasn’t it funny for the haughty crown prince to beg the 2nd Consort of another empire so humbly?

“Are you sure that Undine, the 2nd Consort’s spirit, is not a normal spirit?”

“The civil servants have searched all the ancient books, but there are not many written on them, so it is difficult to say. However, one thing is certain: Spirits do not grow. Spirits are divided into classes like humans. They are born and die the same.”

“I see.”

“And there isn’t anything concrete of this, but after putting together all sorts of stories, the civil servants said that they don’t know if Elestra, the high-ranking water spirit, has that much power. Not to mention a low-level Undine.”

This meant that the 2nd Consort’s spirit was unique regarding power and usage.

“Is the crown prince of Santiano interested in the 2nd Consort’s strange spirit, or is it because his own spirit is strange?”

The appearance of one variable meant that more variables had occurred…

It should be kept in mind that just because one was better did not mean the other would be the same.

And.

“It could be both.”

Keep all possibilities open.

Kaiden put his chin on the back of his left hand.

“Find out more. The 2nd Consort is a double-edged sword. You could be seriously injured depending on how you hold her.”

“We are constantly collecting data. We are checking things in the empire and other countries, so something useful will come out soon.”

“Strengthen our eyes in Santiano, too. I wonder what the crown prince is up to.”

“I’ll make sure to find out.”

Marquis Croix covered his left chest with his right hand.

After Marquis Croix left, Kaiden remained alone to check the paperwork due today. He ate on time and met those who asked for an audience. Most of them said nonsense, and some just came to see Kaiden’s face.

Kaiden was not angry. He was equally indifferent to all of them and received the same price.

It was a familiar thing. It had been the same with the former empress. But didn’t the 1st and 2nd Consorts still accept him who was like that?

“Hmm.”

On his way for a simple swordsmanship training after digesting all the audience schedules, Kaiden changed directions.

***

Kiing! Kiing!

Inside the cage, Remy continued to cry.

Elisha didn’t even glance at it, but Leon was nervous and couldn’t help but say, “Mother, can I take it out for a moment?”

“I don’t mind.”

“Then, wait a minute.”

Leon went to the iron cage he had put down next to the table and opened the locked door. A wad of black cotton popped out and ran straight to Elisha.

The little guy who climbed to the top of the table with that small body at once bit Elisha’s arm. Then it started chewing with its teeth.

“D-Don’t do that! Mother, are you hurt?!”

Leon grabbed the chunky butt of the cotton ball and tried to pull it off, but no matter how young it was, it was still a Barcado. There was no way it could lose to Leon.

The one who didn’t want to fall off and the one trying to get rid of it whined together, so the wound on Elisha’s arm only widened more.

“Blood, blood!”

Leon was so surprised and let go of the cotton ball.

Cotton Ball licked Elisha’s blood. Leon was afraid, so Elisha pinched her thumb and forefinger together to form a circle and flicked it quite hard on the forehead.

Ttak!

Cotton Ball fell back with its stomach exposed.

“M-Mother. Is it dead? Is our cotton ball dead?”

“It won’t die just from that. Barcado is strong. It’s not in vain that they say it’s a legendary animal that simultaneously inherits the blood of a divine beast and a demonic beast. There’s no need to worry about it, Leon.”

Maybe.

Elisha’s words were rarely long and spoken fast, but Leon didn’t even notice. When Elisha shot Cotton Ball with the energy of water, it quickly sprang to its feet. It cutely shook its small head once, straightened its back, shook its hip, then its tail. In Elisha’s eyes, it was not a Barcado, but a fox. A damn fox cub.

[T/N: Fox as in expressing something/someone is ‘sly’ not sure if a Barcado resembles a fox as well]

The thing understood that Leon had fallen in love with itself and made requests every once in a while. It had been a while since the little thing had noticed that Elisha listened to Leon’s words.

“I’m sorry, Mother. I keep asking to take it out. When I told it not to bite you again, it put its face on the floor and raised its buttocks. I thought it understood. But in the end, it bit you again…”

Elisha didn’t mind being bitten a little. Leon, who had been depressed all the time when she hadn’t been there, was now as lively as he’d been in the past.

However, Leon was a thoughtful child and cherished Elisha very much, so he felt bad as he watched her getting bitten again because of his repeated mistake.

It was okay if he felt sorry because the little thing was being trapped or if he wanted to play with the cute animal. But Elisha thought he was more restless than necessary. 

Elisha, who was looking at Leon quietly, asked.

“Leon, do you feel sorry for Cotton Ball?”

“Umm… Yes. I have a mother, but Cotton Ball doesn’t have one. It must be upsetting to cry and fall sick without a mother. It has no brother, Grandpa Georg or Jillian either.”

“Do you want to tell Sir Rohan to take Cotton Ball back to its habitat?”

“I was pleased with Sir Rohan’s gift. I also like Cotton Ball very much. But if it makes Cotton Ball happier to be in its habitat, then I’d like to do so.”

Leon’s big blue eyes were filled with determination.

White, soft cheeks with a rosy blush and pale pink lips. He clenched his fists and mourned the breakup with a friend that had not yet happened.

So lovely. Elisha thought, holding her child tightly.

“The fact that a Barcado cub is alone means that both of its parents are dead. A Barcado baby has nutrition, taste, and cuteness that monsters love so much that they never leave them alone. Is Sir Rohan someone who’d take such a small beast just to give it to you?”

“No! Sir Rohan is not like that!”

“That’s right, so he gave it to you so that the black wad of a cotton ball can make a new family. And have a mother too.”

Elisha pointed at herself with her index finger and turned it toward Leon.

“And a friend, grandpa, older sister, and older brother all at once.”

“As expected, Sir Rohan is great,” Leon said dreamily. 

Elisha looked down at her finger for a moment, then nodded.

“He’s a great man. He can be trusted unless His Majesty commands him.”

Elisha muttered to Leon and herself, like a promise.