Chapter 94

Chapter 94

Everything was going according to Elnos’ plan. The Emperor was afraid. He could not sleep because he was afraid of his son’s revenge and his throne being taken away for abandoning the former Empress.

The Emperor lost his judgment and started to act arbitrarily, often saying nonsense or altering statements during discussions. The more the Emperor did so, the lower the trust of his servants.

Elnos, on the other hand, moved more carefully than ever. He had manipulated the Crown Prince of the Utran Empire like a scarecrow and had secretly joined hands with the major nobles of the Cromus Empire.

He had smoothly gathered the funds required for his plans as well as the trust of his vassals, and his revenge, including the fall of Marquis Kyun, was easily carried out.

Contiben, who was next to him, could not hide his expectations. Elnos was moving forward like a horse that never got tired of running.

Everything Elnos did on his own was great. At the end, he even had the unimaginable goal of unifying the continent. Was there anything else as satisfying as following such a great cause as his servant and having a high position?

As time went by, Contiben swore his loyalty to Elnos with all his heart. Elnos was cruel, but unlike the dumb Emperor who covered his eyes and ears, he knew how to accept the opinions of his subjects.

However the only remaining problem was to find a woman to be by his side. It was a great political advantage for him to choose an excellent family’s daughter as his bride, and for the family to receive the Crown Prince’s mercy, but he was showing no sign of getting involved in that matter. He only seemed to be interested in the knight called Leasis from the Imperial Elite Knights.

Contiben took a long time to find the answer to that problem, and he reached a quite plausible conclusion. It was to have Elnos win Leasis’ heart.

Perhaps Leasis’ cooperation was absolutely necessary to win over the power of the dragon and the Imperial Elite Knights. Leasis would be enough to convince the Commander and Vice Commander.

Contiben used his brain to try to make their relationship advance. He sent mission requests to the Imperial Elite Knights through another noble, and his plan was carried out in a perfect and successful fashionable manner.

The Duke of Tiumon, called the Emperor’s right arm, had suffered all kinds of threats, including an assassination attempt.

Leasis’ mission was to escort the Duke of Tiumon. The particularity of this mission was that it was individual. The Duke had a lot of private soldiers, and it consisted on leading them while escorting the Duke.

Max was a little puzzled, but since Hizen was absent, he gave the mission to her.

Early in the morning, Leasis headed to the Duke’s mansion near the capital. There was still a long time left before the mission, but she wanted to study the structure of the house in advance.

However, the Duke’s butler advised Leasis to go to the terrace instead of looking at the map of the mansion. She refused at first, but he was so stubborn that she had to concede.

There, she met an unexpected person. Like the owner of the terrace, Elnos was drinking coffee while leaning on the railing.

His black hair shimmered in the sunlight. Enjoying the aroma of coffee with his eyes closed slightly, he looked freer than when he was in the Imperial Palace.

Leasis stared blankly at Elnos, who was as beautiful as a picture, then bowed down and saluted.

“El-nim… No, I see Your Highness the Crown Prince Elnos.”

“Lea?”

Elnos could not hide his embarrassment, unlike usual. He blinked his black eyes several times and opened his mouth slightly.

“You’re here as well?”

“Yes. Today I am escorting the Duke of Tiumon, who was threatened with assassination.”

It was even before she finished answering. Elnos put down his cup of coffee on the railing and approached her.

He was too close. Leasis stepped back in surprise at the close distance.

Then Elnos reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“It’s a good thing you’re here.”

Smiling deeply, his appearance seemed to overlap with the one he had when she had faced him in his bed. Embarrassed, Leasis took off his hands around her waist with both arms.

Elnos glanced down at Leasis. She realized her rude behavior and bowed her head.

“Sorry.”

“It’s all right.”

Leasis now wondered if the man in front of her would act like a crazy prince. But contrary to the rumors, Elnos looked serious and friendly.

Elnos beckoned the butler watching from afar and asked for refreshments. Then, a servant brought some in no time.

Elnos and Leasis sat face to face on a square table on the terrace. The clean and white table with a trendy basic design looked very expensive.

Come to think of it, this table was the same as what the Duchess of Armada used. Leasis smiled and touched the table slightly.

Elnos crossed his legs, watching Leasis. Contiben was also useful in many ways.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, why have you come all the way here…”

“Lea.”

At the sweet call, Leasis blinked her red eyes suspiciously. Elnos smiled and said, tapping lightly on the table.

“Call me El as before.”

“But…”

“It’s an order.”

Elnos also knew how to deal with his subordinates. Leasis nodded when he said something she could never refuse.

Looking at each other, there were so many things she wanted to ask. The incident from before, his relationship with Blix, etc. However, she held them in because she could face death as soon as she put them in her mouth. Elnos, like Ashley, was someone with cruel blood.

The continuous silence made Elnos worry. What should I bring up? The lady in front of him was special, unlike ordinary women, so he should treat her differently.

‘Oh. There’s that. As expected of me.’

His worries did not last long. Elnos giggled, praising himself for his brilliance.

“Lea, get up.”

“What?”

“The Duke is not coming today. He’s away because of something urgent.”

Leasis was dumbfounded by the news she was hearing from the first time. Elnos had his usual shameless appearance.

The Duke was away on a top secret mission, so he could not tell her about it, but he would pay the Imperial Elite Knights for the disturbance.

In other words, there was no disadvantage to the Imperial Elite Knights. As a result, Leasis’ shoulders were slightly lighter. It was her first solo mission, but she had nothing to worry about

Elnos did not hide his excited look. It was their first time meeting since they had spent the night together, so he was more impatient. He endured the greed under the name of reason.

It was hard to bear it because the opportunity was right in front of him. He grabbed her hand, as she was still sitting, and raised it.

“Let’s go. There’s somewhere we need to go to.”

The place where the two arrived was the Duke’s indoor training ground. It was a training ground for ordinary nobles, so it was well managed.

The roof made of magic bricks had excellent warming and cooling effects, the smooth floor had no dirt, and the practice swords were stacked one by one on the training ground.

“Like a knight training outstanding warriors…’

“Lea.”

When she looked up, she saw Elnos holding a sword in each hand. He threw one at Leasis.

Tack. Leasis’ expression changed when she reflexively caught the sword. Now she could not understand why she was holding a sword along with the Crown Prince.

Elnos brought up the thing that Leasis would like the most.

“Let’s practice swordsmanship.”

She could not immediately agree to the sudden proposal. Perhaps it was a trap, so Leasis quietly looked around.

No matter how much she thought about it, there was no reason for her and Elnos to fight. But Elnos just laughed.

He had already figured out about her, so nothing else mattered.

“Have you heard the rumors about me?”

Of course. A crazy prince who was blinded by alcohol and women, or a scarecrow who could not even make a proper decision without Contiben.

Leasis felt strange. Come to think of it, they were all strange rumors.

The black-haired young man in front of her had a cruel smile, but his eyes were lively. He had the same intelligent eyes as Neren.

Elnos spoke with his arms wide open.

“One of them is true. I can use a lot of different swordsmanships as the rumor says.”

At that moment, Leasis’ ears opened.

“A lot of swordsmanships?”

“Yes. The one of Serleang of Cromus, Tombian of Kessen, Jenne of Lologo…”

She could not believe he could use such precious swordsmanships. Leasis’ mouth opened wide. She had read about all of them in books, but she had never seen them in real

life.

As expected, being the Crown Prince of the Empire had good privileges. Leasis envied Elnos for the first time. As her eyes twinkled, Elnos laughed.

“Have you changed your mind now?”

Still, how could she aim her sword at the Crown Prince? Leasis opened her lips, but could not answer. She could not do something wrong because of her personal greed.

Furthermore, if rumors went wrong, not only her honor but also the honor of the Imperial Elite Knights would fall to the bottom.

It had already been the case when they spent the night together, so she had to be more careful.

“No. I’m…”

“I’ll show you all the sword skills I know. There’s no one watching here right now, and I can trust everyone nearby because they’re all close to me. I can assure you. And if you’re worried, why don’t we choose a different place to meet?”

It was a very tempting offer. Leasis, restless, was about to refuse, but Elnos raised his hand. He said with only one corner of his mouth raised.

“It’s an order. Listen to the sword.”

Ashley’s stress reached its peak. She was going crazy when her plan failed.

However, there were some questions that were not solved at all. It was rumored that Elnos did not kill the woman and that the two seemed friendly.

“Suspicious… suspicious. Maybe… is Elnos trying to use Leasis?”

Then it made sense. She did not know about politics as much as how to take care of her nails, but she had recently heard rumors about the Emperor and the Crown Prince.

“I need to tell Father!”

Ashley entered the Imperial Palace alone, leaving her superior maid behind. The battle for imperial power was different from her very personal unrequited love.

If her new superior maid had been bought by Elnos, it could be a big deal to bring her along. Ashley was walking on thin ice.

Ashley reached the door of the room despite the dissuasion of the servants. Standing in the quiet hallway, she touched the doorknob.

At that time, she heard a faint conversation.

[Yes. We can use the dragon named Iddahak… Huhu.]

[Yes, Your Majesty. You will be able to use the power of the dragon if you use this magic.]

‘Wait… if it’s magic to control a dragon, then it must be black magic, right?’

She got excited as she continued to listen. With that power, she could kill a maid-turned-knight.

Ashley quietly focused on their conversation. It seemed that Elnos had already touched black magic, and other interesting things entered her ears.