Chapter 88

The fact that the 2nd Consort had returned quickly spread beyond Barossa to the capital, the entire empire, and the continent.

And the next day.

Elisha had been standing at the entrance of the magnificent throne room since the early hours. She walked inside, treading on the red carpet.

Elisha walked pridefully among the nobles staring at her from the left and right sides of the red carpet. Finally, she stopped at the end of the carpet and the beginning of the marble staircase leading up to the emperor’s throne and lifted her head.

“You summoned me, Your Majesty?”

“Yes, I wanted you to rest a little more, but the nobles are anxious.”

“Anxious about what?”

“They are worried that you might have lost your qualifications as the emperor’s woman.”

“Your Majesty decides the emperor’s woman. Who dares to discuss her qualifications?”

Elisha glanced at Prince Raymond on the left before turning to the right. Marquis Rwanda of the West quickly avoided eye contact.

They tried to find fault with Elisha to prevent the expansion of Elisha’s position and to disrupt the influence of the emperor, who was using Elisha to oppress them.

There wasn’t any justification. They only thought that it wouldn’t hurt to try.

“Your Majesty, send your people to the desert. Let the East and West knights see with their own eyes.”

“What are you implying?”

“Let them see with their own eyes that I have the power to protect myself. And I want them to know how I repay those who threaten me. I hope this will never happen again, Your Majesty.”

The figures she spoke of became clear not long after.

“2nd Consort speaks as if she was hiding in the desert for revenge, not because she was kidnapped.”

“No wonder His Majesty’s people found no trace of her.”

When Elisha asked if it was as they had said, the emperor answered with his chin resting on his right hand.

“Yes.”

Elisha thought that one should pay the price for every pawn they use. She nodded her head as her gaze met with the emperor.

“Well, it wasn’t exactly revenge. I wasn’t able to move because of my physical condition. If I didn’t accidentally arrive at a place full of the energy of nature, the situation might’ve ended as the nobles had expected.”

“Sounds like a fairy tale.”

The emperor omitted the later sentence in response to the explanation as to why he had not been able to find her trace.

But.

“Fortunately, that fairy tale became a reality. My spirit has grown, and I have returned home to take revenge,” Elisha said.

Elisha wanted to make it impossible for the nobles to claim that she must have been humiliated after being captured by the desert tribe.

Of course, to do that, she had to lie, which was one of the few things Elisha couldn’t do very well. But that didn’t mean she could be beaten when her eyes were open.

So Elisha spoke of the situation as it was while leaving out a few of the most important things. The nobles would have to figure out the rest and put them together.

Those who could deny her were already dead, leaving only Shamir, Dahil, and Taro; Elisha trusted they would not betray her.

If the nobles still insisted that she had been humiliated even after seeing the aftermath in the desert, she might have to admit that these people were truly courageous.

“I know what everyone is curious about. Rather than deeming the result impossible, why not let me tell you how it was possible?”

That was the surest way to give credibility to everything. Show them the powerful force that seems to be able to achieve anything!

“With Your Majesty’s permission, can we all go out of the throne room together?”

“Of course. Don’t destroy the 1st Consort’s garden again.”

“Why can’t it be destroyed?”

When Elisha asked with a slight tilt of her head, the emperor stood up from his throne, descended the marble steps, and stood next to Elisha.

“Nevermind that. You said you’d show me something I’d want to see.”

“Then please hold on to me a little longer next time. Wouldn’t it be a pity if you let me go so soon?”

At Elisha’s words, the emperor went out the throne room entrance, put his lips to her ear, and whispered.

“Then I’ll just have to stand on the calculating side. I save you for fear of disappointment. Because it will be my loss if others take you away.”

Inside the throne room, the high-ranking officials of the empire were all looking at the two’s backs. The two seemed quite affectionate as they chatted.

“Does His Majesty truly think nothing has happened to the 2nd Consort?”

“Or is she dear enough to make him think that it doesn’t matter even if something did happen?”

The nobles followed the two outside with uncomfortable faces. As high-ranking aristocrats gathered from the throne room, attention was drawn to them. Rumor spread quickly, and the number of eyes watching from afar increased.

Elisha walked twenty steps from the entrance of the throne room before stopping. Then she turned around and faced the way she had come from.

The emperor walked further to her back and widened the distance.

The nobles also followed the emperor and drew a semicircle behind Elisha’s back with her as the center.

Elisha raised a hand.

Pong!

Undine appeared from the air.

“It will be difficult. Can you do it?”

When Elisha asked, Undine raised her chin as if telling Elisha to believe in her. Her wide, mischievous smile was refreshing.

Undine tumbled across Elisha’s silver hair as she played around and climbed her shoulder. She was not facing the throne room, but the nobles lined up in a semicircle behind Elisha.

So Elisha did not notice when the smile directed at Elisha was erased, leaving a chilling expression in its stead. Undine, kissing Elisha’s silver hair in her tiny hands, was giving a warning to the humans.

“Undine, let’s go.”

When Elisha called, Undine turned around and smiled brightly again. She rubbed her face against Elisha’s cheek like a lively girl and flew into the air.

Shwaaa!

Water gushed out from all directions with the throne room in the center.

The streams of water gushing up from the ground were high enough to cover the high throne room, and they twisted one by one to form snakes. The snakes also twisted their bodies then and soon grew to the size of the snakes Elisha had set free in Aran’s basin.

Dozens of such snakes wrapped around the throne room and climbed to the top of the roof without stopping. As they straightened their bodies, it was as if pillars of water had connected the throne room’s roof and the sky.

As if… rain that hadn’t fallen in a very long time was only allowed there.

It was a marvelous and terrifying sight made clear by the dazzling light. It was hard to believe that a woman with such a slender body had made this possible. And when it ended, only memories remained. But Elisha wanted something bigger. She wanted to make sure no one would ever ask such a ridiculous question again!

Elisha held out her other hand. The pillars of water rising from the roof of the throne room were split into twelve long pieces.

The moment Elisha clasped her hands tightly and spread them out-!

They scattered one by one and flew in all directions. As if the goddess of water was throwing spears from the roof of the throne room.

Swaaeegh!

Even though those pillars were quite high in the air and not in a position to reach them, the old people screamed in surprise.

“Uwaakh!”

“It’s dangerous, Your Majesty!”

The knights who circled around Emperor Kaiden shouted, raised their swords, and covered them over his head.

Chaeng-chaeng-chaeng-chaeng!

When the tips of the ten swords inclined toward the emperor gathered at one point in the air, it was as if a silver bud had formed.

Along with that, a black shadow fell behind Elisha. An outstretched blade touched Elisha’s slender neck.

Elisha did not panic. After she made sure there was nothing left to do, she looked down at the blade resting on her neck. She raised her index finger and gently pushed the blade, but it did not move.

Seeukh!

As her index finger slipped, a cut was formed, and her finger bled.

“What are you doing?”

“…”

Elisha didn’t know what to say, so she shut her mouth. Blemir approached, took out his handkerchief, and wrapped it around her injured finger. Then, when Rohan tried to put the blade away-

The emperor’s voice was heard.

“Is it over now?”

It’s a tone expressing, “What’s with the fuss when there’s nothing special?”

“Not quite, Your Majesty.”

As soon as Elisha finished speaking, far away, beyond Barossa, in the capital and its vicinity-! An explosion was heard.

If the 2nd Consort had not been standing indifferently in the middle of Barossa, and if the one holding the sword at her neck wasn’t Rohan, the people might have already been seething.

Even now, if the emperor ordered it, this would turn into an act of rebellion and strangle the 2nd Consort alive.

“I heard that the capital city is also in trouble due to lack of water these days. Some say that Mirlin area needs to be reorganized, so I sent this gift because I heard that the common people living beyond the capital wall are also struggling.”

The emperor beckoned Rohan to withdraw his sword.

“Did you mark the water veins?”

Elisha shook her head at the emperor’s question.

“No, I let the water come out. The water will rise if you go to the side where the sound came from.”

“Is this the method you used in Vecchia Plain? Didn’t you say it was difficult because you had to use excessive power?”

Back then—the only time she had personally opened the water vein before many people—Elisha had vomited blood and collapsed. 

“I have to show this much, or they won’t shut up. I’m using my power to save Barossa because I can’t damage it. So as I said before, send your men to the desert. I don’t want anyone to say such unpleasant things in front of me again.”

Instead of answering, the emperor pointed to the road’s entrance leading to the throne room.

“Well, here comes the last piece. After checking this out, it will happen as you said.”

Elisha frowned faintly as Shamir came with the knights.

What else is it this time?

“I see Your Majesty.”

“So you’re the desert warrior who came with my consort.”

The emperor had already seen him yesterday and just left without cutting his head. It had seemed as if he had allowed him to be, but now he treated Shamir as if he was seeing him for the first time.

Since he ignored me yesterday, this must be our first official greeting.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

When Shamir answered, the emperor said, “You helped my consort. I wonder why you risked your life for the 2nd Consort whom you are unfamiliar with.”

Too many things had happened for quite a long time for their relationship to be called unfamiliar, but this was one of the many things he had discussed with the 2nd Consort on the way back to the empire. 

So Shamir said confidently, “The first time I saw the 2nd Consort, as you may know, was when the monsters attacked the village. Sir Rohan was there as well. I led the attacking party without wanting to. Because a couple of desert people whose children were like my brothers and sisters were caught by the chief of the tribe, so I had no choice but to do it… At that time, Her Ladyship sacrificed herself… ordered Sir Rohan to protect the safety of the prince and the villagers, then rushed toward the monsters and reduced the number of desert tribe warriors-”

Even in Barossa, Shamir was being Shamir. A madman is a madman wherever he is.

Shamir, thinking that someone might cut his words off with a straight face or because “they already knew”, continued for a while.

By the time he was finished, everyone seemed to know about one hundred and thirty-two reasons why Shamir had to obey the 2nd Consort.

“… I see.”

Elisha was looking forward to the emperor’s irritated face for a moment.

It did not come true. The blue eyes sank and just shone like jewels.

And it should have ended there.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Is it strange for a dog to like his master? The dog only likes his master because they’re the master and never covets them. So please believe me on this: I am the 2nd Consort’s faithful dog.”

The surroundings became quiet because of Shamir, who smiled with wide open golden eyes, making eyes that looked like he would bark if told to bark.

It seemed as if Shamir would even give his tongue willingly if the emperor ordered the mad dog’s tongue to be cut off. However, it didn’t happen in the end.

The case of the disappearance of the 2nd Consort ended like this. The western nobles tried to approach Elisha several times but were blocked by Blemir and kicked out every time…

“If you point that sword at the 2nd Consort again, it won’t end like this.”

And it seemed that this incident had made Blemir even more hostile to Rohan.