CH 10

"What?"

*****

"Ellie, what's wrong with your face?"

Why would I do that, it's because of you.

The next morning.

When I came out to eat, Eloine was already seated. It was one of the closest seats to the top seat. That's on the right too.

'It's true that I thought it would be nice to have Eloine by my side because of Caien, but..... as expected, it's rather uncomfortable.'

I've been sitting well in the top seat so far, but I felt uncomfortable sitting there because there was Eloine.

I don't know if it's a younger brother, but it was more uncomfortable because it was Eloise's older brother.

'Even though I'm a Grand Duchess, I have an older brother, but sitting in the top seat is a bit... Shall I sit across from him?'

When I peeked at the tableware, an empty bowl and a knife were placed on the top seat. Apparently, Eloise sat at the top of the table even when Eloine stayed in the north.

'As expected, the position is the first priority here. I feel guilty because I'm a Confucianism girl.'*

I sat at the top of the table with a natural step so that I didn't notice where I was going to sit.

"You look like you didn't sleep well. Have you been unable to sleep after meeting your older brother after a long time?"

No, I didn't sleep well because I was thinking about how to tell my brother about Caien existence.

"Tell me what you were going to say yesterday."

"What are you talking about?"

"You said you was cut off. There wouldn't be many people who could get rid of my brother."

First of all, it seemed that I should know how Eloine was fired.

'It's obvious who it is.'

"Is it Duke Ilysian?"

I asked in a calm tone. At this time, there was only one person who could fired Eloine.

"As expected, my Ellie is smart."

"He's keeping me in check."

That was a given. I rarely get out of the north, but no aristocrat has as strong a military force as I have. And military power was power.

Eloine, who shrugged his shoulders, answered while drinking wine.

"It must have bothered him. I was an older brother of the Grand Duchess of the North and leads the Knights."

"It's not just a Knights, it's a Holy Knights Guarding the Saintess."

He habitually tapped on the table and continued his words.

"He must have done something in advance for fear that I would use a Saintess to wield the temple power.”

*****

"Greetings, Your Royal Highness."

Eloine knelt on one knee in front of Caien and bowed his head.

'I didn't think you were in the north.'

It was a few weeks ago that he was relieved to hear that Eloise had locked the gate. But he didn't expect to meet the Crown Prince here.

'It wasn't entirely unexpected, but... he made an excellent choice.'

Apart from praising Caien choice, he was not happy with the situation. It was an excellent choice for Caien, driven by a struggle for the throne, but it was a gamble with too much risk for the North.

Caien did not tell Eloine to get up. He just looked down at it with indifferent eyes.

"You are the only blood relative of Eloise."

Eloine, who was kneeling on his knees, frowned at the voice pouring over his head

'Why are you calling Eloise's name?'

Thanks to his head down, his frowned face would not be revealed. No matter how much he lost his memory, his opponent is the Crown Prince. Eloine did not set boundaries.

"That's right."

"Get up."

As soon as he raised his head to get up, he made eye contact with Caien.

"..…."

I have never served the Crown Prince, but whenever he encountered him from afar, he always had a face like that. A cold, expressionless expression. It was a familiar face for Eloine.

'Even if you lose your memory, your nature won't go anywhere.'

Eloine thought nothing of it and got up.

"I'll be in your care, Eloine."

That is, until Caien smiles at him, as he got up.

'Why are you smiling all of a sudden? Don't tell me........'

An ominous intuition flashed through his mind for a moment. Eloine rolled his eyes and turned to the side. Sure enough, Eloise stood where Caien eyes met.

t/n : *the ethical teachings formulated by Confucius and introduced into Chinese religion, emphasizing devotion to parents, family, and friends, cultivation of the mind, self-control, and just social activity