Chapter 103

Chapter 103

“So Hyung, me and the Count are the only ones in the Imperial Palace who know about this?”

“No. Ashley too… I think she noticed.”

Elnos smiled significantly at Blix’s answer. He thought that if he used the situation well, he could succeed without doing anything himself.

The reward of his work would be Leasis. Elnos’ smile became thicker. She was from a family which used to be a candidate to join the three major families, she could handle dragons and could use intangible swords.

She was the best person to be the Empress. The boring Imperial Palace would be quite fun when he thought of Leasis by his side.

‘If I come forward, I’ll lose her trust. Let’s use Ashley.’

He was sure that the stupid Ashley would not be able to keep her mouth shut. It would eventually separate Hizen and Leasis.

After deciding so, Elnos went down to the dungeon. He sent out the guard and approached Ashley, who was crouching on the ground.

“Get up.”

“Eh, Crown Prince Elnos… How can you be here…”

She was still stupid. To call the Emperor Crown Prince. She looked pathetic, but Elnos smiled benevolently instead of punishing her.

“Do you remember our agreement from the other day? You agreed to cooperate with me.”

Ashley curled up and nodded. Then Elnos laughed dangerously.

“If you follow me from now on, I will reduce your sentence.”

“R-Really?”

“Yes.”

Ashley’s black eyes were filled with relief. She jumped up unknowingly and nodded her head several times.

“Good!”

As expected, Ashley accepted his terms immediately. Elnos explained everything and came up from the dungeon. Of course, he did not tell her anything that could be used to weaken him.

“El!”

Blix, who was hiding nearby, approached and grabbed Elnos’ arm. He could not watch it anymore. Elnos’ choice would surely be painful for Leasis.

But Elnos was brazenly confident.

“What’s wrong?”

“El, please stop. If you do this, Leasis will have a hard time.”

“What are you talking about? I’m trying to restore her rightful place.”

“Leasis is happy like this. Everything can fall apart if you step up!”

Despite Blix’s words, Elnos was not persuaded easily. He spoke with a face full of greed.

“I’m the Emperor. If there is anything I want, I can have it. Whether it’s wealth or women.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Elnos struck Blix in the back of his neck.

“Ugh!”

Blix fell on the floor after the unexpected strong blow. He lost his conscientiousness while worrying about Leasis.

Elnos ordered a knight in iron armor to move Blix to his bedroom. He then headed to the indoor training ground of the Imperial Elite Knights.

The knights bowed their heads at the Emperor’s appearance.

“I see Your Majesty.”

Elnos slowly glanced over the Imperial Elite Knights. All of them were strong and reliable, worthy of the reputation of being the best knights in the Empire.

Among them, the red-haired knight looked especially bright to him. Elnos approached her with a happy smile.

“Lea, long time no see.”

“El-nim!”

Leasis smiled brightly and looked up. The thought of having this woman next to him made his heart burning hot. Elnos suppressed the feeling and put a thin mask on his face.

“I’m here to tell you something.”

“Yes?”

“Ashley. She cried and asked me to do her a favor.”

Princess Ashley cried to him? The knights, including Leasis, doubted their ears. But Elnos remained calm and lied.

“She said she wanted to apologize to you in person. It must be difficult for you to have lost your friends and colleagues in this incident.”

No way. Max looked at Elnos, thinking inwardly. But something was weird. Elnos spoke as if he wanted Leasis to go to the underground prison.

Leasis was persuaded by his gentle words and said that she understood. Max tried to stop her.

It’s an order.

Stay still.

Elnos’ dangerous voice rang in his mind. He could not go against the orders of the Emperor.

Max tightened his legs watching them disappear. He wanted to follow them right away, but could not.

The knights hummed and speculated about their relationship. Max calmed them down and started training again.

Then, someone grabbed Max’s sleeve. As he turned his head, he saw Blix looking up at him with an anxious look.

Why did he suddenly show up? Embarrassed, his brown eyes grew bigger. Blix had always been around, but he had never appeared in person.

In addition, Blix’s hands and legs were full of a black liquid. He was like a warrior who just came back from a battle.

Max grabbed him by the shoulder and asked.

“Are you all right?”

“Breadman, it’s a big deal. What should I do now?”

His green eyes shook with anxiety. His cruel appearance was nowhere to be seen, and he just seemed to be frightened.

Max hold his shoulder and whispered to calm down, giving strength to his hand. Then the knights approached and asked.

“Vice Commander-nim, who is this little boy?”

“Wait. I think I’ve seen him somewhere.”

“Oh… he’s my cousin! Vice Commander-nim, we’re going back now!”

Setchen tried to walk out of the training camp with the knights. When Max nodded his head, the puzzled knights disappeared.

Blix was restless. He kept clenching his lips like a child feeling guilty and anxious.

I shouldn’t have told Elnos the truth. Blix’s head was full of belated regrets. I should have stopped him somehow.

I’d rather tell Max first. Blix, who was nervously biting his thumb, revealed the truth.

Elnos liked Leasis. Her eyes filled with conviction and her proud shoulders did not shrink even in front of him.

I wish your were in my arms. The nervousness he felt for the first time reached his throat. In front of the prison, Elnos looked at Leasis and asked.

“Shall we go together?”

“No. I can go alone.”

“Okay.”

She bowed her head slightly and went down to the dungeon.

Creak.

As the door opened, Ashley’s face was filled with a smile. She stood and waited for Leasis.

Leasis approached Ashley with a calm pace. The two faced each other with iron bars in the middle.

A messy dress, scattered hair, unpleasant nose-poking odors and crawling bugs. Leasis looked carefully at them one by one.

Ashley tried to be confident. She straightened her waist and smiled. Now the thought of her face being stained with tears made her feel better than running out of jail.

“Okay, I admit it. You won.”

Leasis stared at her with dark eyes. It did not sound right to speak about winning or losing in this situation.

It was only necessary to mourn and reflect on those who had died unjustly. But Ashley, contrary to Elnos’ words, showed no sign of remorse.

Is Ashley lying again? Leasis closed her lips, thinking that it was not surprising.

“But you can’t.”

Ashley spoke by stressing each word.

“You’ll never be able to be with the Count-nim unless you die and come back to life.”

“I’m going to stop you here. I would be a fool to listen to someone like you.”

“You didn’t know? You’re from the Berman family.”

She only listened silently because she had already guessed that much. She was able to communicate with intelligent animals, she had red hair and red eyes, which symbolized the Berman family, and had excellent sword skills. So she was probably a distant descendant of the Berman family.

Nevertheless, Leasis did not leave. Sooner or later, Ashley’s trial would be held, so she would not be able to talk anymore. Her punishment would be the death penalty.

Ashley was furious with Leasis, who showed no reaction. As time passed, her voice became more exalted.

“How do you fall in love with the son of the enemy who killed your father? Your father in heaven will shed tears of blood.”

Killed my father? Falling in love with the son of the enemy? Leasis did not understand the words easily.

Ashley then spoke in a mean voice.

“Leasis Ren Berman, aren’t you sorry for your dead father? Now get a hold of yourself.”

Come on, cry. Ashley looked forward to seeing Leasis’ tears. In her head Leasis would already be hopeless, unable to bear the shock.

She may even end her own life crying, cursing Hizen and her fate, by stabbing herself with her sword in the stomach or right through her heart. Those thoughts made Ashley very excited.

But Leasis spoke lightly.

“Lie.”

“What?”

“It’s your last attempt to try to break our relationship. But I’m not fooled by such lies.”

Leasis could not believe Ashley’s words. She had killed people because of Hizen and made a mess in the Imperial Palace.

Contrary to Ashley’s expectations, Leasis was calm. Ashley was furious at the pity she could see in her red eyes.

“Do you… sympathize with me now?”

“That’s enough.”

“Hey, Leasis! Leasis!”

Leasis left the dungeon ignoring Ashley who was shouting to the point of hurting her throat.

Then Elnos, standing in front of the dungeon, hurried up.

“Lea. Did you finish your conversation with Princess Ashley?”

“Yes.”

Leasis nodded, answering softly. Elnos was embarrassed because he could not read any emotions on her face.

Did Ashley just send her back? That can’t be true. Why are you so fine after hearing that? Elnos’ throat was dry.

“I’m going back, then.”

He could not react when Leasis slightly bowed her head. Even for an unusual woman like Leasis, he had never expected this situation. He blankly watched her disappear.