《Saving The Abandoned Empress》 Chapter 1 Chapter 1: ¡°The beginning Of The Ending¡± Eleanora¡¯s pov ~ ¡°Kill her! Kill her!!¡± ¡°How can be someone be so vicious?!¡± The people i took care of like my child was demanding for my death penalty as I was pushed into the middle of the podium by a knight. Because of the silver handcuffs on my hands to restrict me from using magic, i couldn¡¯t keep my bnce and tripped down on my knees. Everyone was yelling that i deserved it. Then the crowd be silent as he coughed to get their attention towards him, while i struggled to get up to stand. I haven¡¯t done anything. Am not guilty. My hearts knows it even if no one believes me. ..... ¡°It looks like everyone is here now,¡± Cathain De Valerian Valentino, The emperor of the Valentino empire spoke, looking into the crowd. Who was my husband till a week ago. ¡°Today we are gathered here today to bear witness to the trial of Eleanora Dalton, former empress of the Valentino Empire.¡± He called me by my maiden name as he divorced me just a week ago. You gave me your name when i was useful and used me. The moment you achieved your goal, you took away your name from me and threw me away. I felt bitter in my heart. His eyes scanned over the faces of everyone around before finallynding on me, who was standing in a shabby white dress, that never once in my life i imagined to wear. ¡°Do you swear on the God name, Eleanora, that you will tell the whole truth during this trial?¡± The emperor asked. I met his piercing red eyes, a shiver going down my spine. Those bloody red eyes always looked at me with disgust and hatred. ¡°I do.¡± I replied loudly and confidently. ¡°Did you tried to poison the mother of the future heir of the empire?¡± I almost couldn¡¯t hold back myughter. ¡®The mother of the future ruler?¡¯ A mere maid, whoter be a mistress who enjoyed the real privileges of an empress, where me, the real empress was treated worse then a maid, who was also tossed into an abandoned pce? When my unborn children¡¯s was deliberately killed by them, no one believed me. No one called my child the future ruler of the empire. Here, he is calling her child the future ruler. I held my breath, my heart racing in my chest. ¡°Am not guilty.¡± The crowd fall silent... **Two weeks earlier: Annual banquet party** ¡°Lady Jena is pregnant, From now on she will be appointed as the new queen consort and i declear her child as the future heir to my throne.¡± The emperor raised his champaign ss and announced this shocking news the public with a smiling face. Some nobles who opposed me started cheering, where the knights and people who was in support of me was too shocked to react. I stared at him in shock too, my face paling. ¡®S-She¡¯s pregnant?¡¯ My man, my husband, the love of my life, was telling me he had gotten a girl pregnant. A girl who was not me. The emperor forwarded his hand towards the crowd and Jena came forward to took his hand. Light blonde hair with caramel brown eyes, a bright smile on her face which made her look soft and gentle. Then me, who was standing beside him was soon brushed aside for her to stand beside him. It was like a p to my face. I had given everything to him, suffered everything for him. And yet here he was, standing in front of me, telling such excruciating news as if he were telling us the time of day. I quickly stepped down and immediately ran out from there, tears brimming in my eyes. To hell with my manners as an empress! Who cares about this when the emperor that was supposed to be this empress is not her. ¡®You couldn¡¯t even fulfil all your duties as my wife, let alone as an empress. The empire needs an heir. Something you are incapable of, Empress.¡¯ His words ring, twisting deep into my flesh again. We had been married for four years now and it was true. I had failed to bear him a child. It wasn¡¯t as if I hadn¡¯t wanted to though. Everytime i be pregnant, i would suffer from a miscarraige. They said it was because of my poor health. But i knew it wasn¡¯t the truth. I am a trained knight. How can my health be poor? My father is also at the border. So i can¡¯t even ask him for help. After my mother passed away, we grew apart from each other. The emperor was never interested in me, I could see that clearly. I knew he was only with me because I was the rightful empress, who was able to help him. I also knew about his mistress; Jena, who was a mere pce maid. They had known each other since just before we were officially married or maybe more earlier? Not only me but everyone saw and knew how he doted on her over me. I was just a doll to sit on the empress sit and do the works where she enjoyed and took what was supposed to be mine. He gave her the love that was rightfully mine, and looked at her as if she was his only one. But every part of my being loved him even if he did not love me. He be my light when i was hopeless, couldn¡¯t find my way in the darkness. I hold on to him, the light of my life, thinking one day he will realise my true feelings and embrace me. Once i help him to be sessful, he will be proud of my efforts and on me. I remained hopeful that he would warm to me once I bore him a child. We will live happily ever after, with out children¡¯s and grandchildren¡¯s untill our hair turns white. I was the empress after all, his official wife where she was just a mere maid. He will soon get bored of her as he will realise my love and leave her toe to me. He will give me the same smile that he gives her now. I am more capable then her, i can even give up my life to save him, which a maid like her won¡¯t. But that was my biggest mistake. I belittled my enemy and now the child in my womb will also suffer with me. Chapter 2 Chapter 2: ¡°Hide The News¡± Eleanora¡¯s Pov~ I am four months pregnant. A year ago, after my second miscarriage, The royal physician said I was unable to bear a child anymore. I didn¡¯t know what to do, how to keep going. This was the one thing that I had pinned all of my hopes on for my fate to change, for him to change. I tried every medicine, medication they told me to do. I prayed to the god to make him recognise my efforts, my love for him. I did everything i could do, but now am feeling tired. I had always tried everything to keep his attention at me. ..... As i was a knightmander, i wasn¡¯t all soft and delicated like those otherdies. So before i married him, I lost weight, tried to make myself prettier, and dedicated myself to my empress duties. We were the most sessful empire in the world and a part of that was due to me. I thought if I could make him sessful then he would pay me back in kind. However, the longer time went on, the colder and more abusive he got. He told me to prove my worth to him, i bought down every enemies andnd he desired. But whenever he hadid with me in the past it had always been cold, clinical, as if he was performing a duty rather than enjoying himself. He never visited me in person. Just call me in his office whenever he needed me. But now i think, he only called me whenever Jena was unavable. Those short moments that he indulged me had been everything to me. The only times he had ever touched me with intimacy. My skin would send sparks wherever our bodies met, and his scent would intoxicate me. I wanted more and more of him, but once he was done he would fix himself and leave. No apology, no sympathy. He would rather see me suffer than give me even an ounce of love or affection. He couldn¡¯t even spare me the decency of a nce. Hisck of respect for me was evident. I can¡¯t stand it anymore and i want to leave this ce. I ran outside into the pce garden and the cold fresh air hit my face as I breathed it in. The wind bit at my cheeks where my tears had fallen, forcing a chill through my body. I run my hands on my slightly bulged belly. I wanted to tell him the news of my third pregnancy to him after this banquet. As i always lost my child right after the doctors confirmed the news, So i didn¡¯t even called or told anyone about this right after i felt the new existence of life, inside me. I didn¡¯t wanted this child to meet the same fate as the previous ones. But now am d i didn¡¯t. If he heard about it right now, I knew they would be thrown aside ¨C just as how I had been discarded. He might even kill it with his own hands because of Jena¡¯s child. Because if another child appears then it might be a threat to her child. He loves her so much that he immediately made her queen and decleared her child as a heir. I could see now that it had been for the best that I brought no children into this family. No child would make his feelings change for me, it was naive of me to think so before. I was in an impossible situation. Every part of me wanted to run away, but this empire needed me. I knew damn well that Jena would burn this empire to the ground if she became empress. She hadn¡¯t had any training and I was yet to witness a single intelligent remark in her. Literally she was just all about a pretty face and barely knew about anything. But what about my own health and the baby am carrying? Hadn¡¯t I suffered enough? Four years was way too long to wear my heart on my sleeve for him. He had made a mockery of my love for him and couldn¡¯t even respect me out of duty anymore. I need to head back but just a little while longer I want to forget about everything, waiting for me back at the abandoned pce where i live alone. Another hour passed and I knew it was finally time. But suddenly i saw a man with light blonde hair was standing there, wearing a white coat, watching me intently. As i was wearing a dress, so i didn¡¯t had my sword with me so i didn¡¯t dared to approach him directly. However, the man turned his back and hid behind the trees before i could evene close. He looked... kinda gloomy? I was taking my steps very cautiously as am not alone now. I might hurt my child if i act recklessly. But when i finally manage to reach the trees there was no one there. It was like there had been no one there at all. Had i imagined the whole thing? I had just gone through something extremely traumatic, it was possible i was seeing things and needed some food and sleep. My mind had been pushed to the brink and I knew I was close to snapping as am pregnant. I didn¡¯t wanted another experience like what i had just seen. I knew the news would have spread by now about Jena¡¯s pregnancy, and I knew people would be looking at me with pity. However, I could not risk them looking at me like I was insane. I was still an empress. My position was now hanging by a thread and I could not risk another reason for the nobles to turn against me. But that man¡¯s feature reminded me of someone. Then i shook of the idea out of my head as there is no way it can be him. He didn¡¯t even attended the annual banquet, why would hee here in the garden? Maybe am just too tired. Chapter 3 Chapter 3: ¡°Know Your ce¡± Eleanora¡¯s Pov~ I entered the pce and i was heading towards my office room to take some reports to finish, in my little hunted pce. But in the hallway, suddenly Jena blocked my steps as she shouted my name. Who stood several inches smaller than my five foot four height, with blonde hair and soft caramel brown eyes. Somehow her looks reminded me of my Duke Raven, who also have blonde hair. I never noticed before but they kinda look alike. ¡°Eleanora!¡± she yelled out to me. I was shocked. Even if she was announced as a queen, am still superior in terms of status then her. ..... She stood at the end of the hallway towards the living room. Even if she disrespected me, I didn¡¯t stop to talk with her though, instead choosing to pretend I didn¡¯t hear her and walked towards my office room. ¡°Eleanora, wait!¡± Jena called after me. I could hear her begin to quickly chase after me. Thest person I wanted to deal with right now was her. Why does she want to pour salt into the wound before I have even fully processed what¡¯s actually happening? Her hand grasped around my wrist forcing me to spin around to face her. I frowned out sharply at her touch. How dare she touch me? I am still the empress even if she is carrying the heir. Her brown eyes went wide in surprise at my reaction and she dropped my hand instantly. She looked as if she was about to cry. ¡°Empress, I¡¯m so sorry!¡± she whimpered. ¡°I didn¡¯t want it to be like this.¡± Hearing her words, iughed at disgust. She was always like this. Calling me by my name at first then addressing me as an empress when people started to gather around us. ¡°He¡¯s the emperor, how could I deny him?¡± she said as tears began to fall from her eyes. ¡°You know I never wanted things to go this far, but I love him too. And I love this empire as much as you do. Please don¡¯t hate me or this child.¡± She rested a hand on her belly as if to emphasise the point. I could feel my pulse beating loudly, deafening my ears. Everything about her made me want to cut her neck off her body. The audacity she had to say that to me as if she were the victim in this whole situation. Not I, who had suffered andboured for years, since even before we had been married. Not I, who had sacrificed everything to stay with him, to be treated as coldly as he treats me. She dares toe to me now with her tears for sympathy. Being the Duke¡¯s daughter, naturally, everyone had assumed i will be the empress and we already had an prior engagement because of a certain prophecy. I had trained for empress duties long before we were engaged officially. I had given up years of my life for him. My dream to be a knightmander. Jena was nothing. She was a fling everyone said would end once he be bored. But it never happened. Ordinarily, I would have ignored her. I would have given her a faux smile and uttered a few small words before leaving to keep the peace. But not today. Not today when she had crawled her way in and diminished any hope I had left to stay with Cathain. ¡°Get a hold of yourself and know your ce!, even if you be a queen but a maid will always be a maid.¡± I snapped at her. ¡°Did you honestly think I would have sympathy for you? That I would console you? Congratte you? What did you hope to achieve bying to me now? Did you want to rub in my face how you got pregnant by my husband?¡± I could feel the stares as the maids of the pce gathered to watch the exchange. They all looked on with mixed expressions ranging from sadness, anger and sympathy. I couldn¡¯t tell if it was for me or for Jena though. Jena broke down in heavy sobs, her legs giving out. I looked down at her in disgust and did not move even an inch to help her. ¡°Her Majesty!¡± One of the onlooker maid shouted out, running to her aid. Brayden, the aid of Cathain and third, no, he is now forth as we have this new drama queen as third inmand of the pce, also rushed to Jena¡¯s side to console her. His eyes looked up at me with burning hatred but I only looked back with uncaring eyes. ¡°She¡¯s pregnant, Empress! With the Empire¡¯s heir no less. How can you say such horrible things to her when she only wanted to make peace?¡± Brayden said angrily. I had a higher status than him but yet he still felt he could talk to me in that manner. ¡°And who do you think you are to talk with me like that, Marquis Hill?¡± I asked him with an intimidating tone and he just looked down as he couldn¡¯t find words to say. I wanted tosh out at him as well but it was enough. I turned around to leave the main pce without taking my reports. I had done enough already. His jaw clenched in anger but he bowed his head nheless. That¡¯s right, at least someone was forced to show me the respect I deserved even when they did not want to. I normally conducted myself properly, as an empress should, but this girl didn¡¯t deserved it. I left the main building and reached my own abandoned pce, that no one visits. Where i live alone, all by myself, only with my pce attendant Rena and my nanny, Maria. I had my own private kitchen, dining area and bedroom all to myself, where I would not be disturbed even if it was a burned down abandoned pce. The only people allowed ess to this area were Maria, Rena, and Cathain if he so wished. But he never came here. I tossed myself in my bed the moment i reached my bedroom. A sad looking Rena appeared at my bedroom doorway, her eyes were full of pity. She had obviously heard the news. I turned my face, not wanting to look at her expression, and my own tears welled to the surface. ¡°Empress,¡± Rena soothed and rushed to me, embracing me in her warm arms. I began to softly sob in her arms and grabbed on to her as if I was grabbing on to my own life. Rena was an olderdy with greying dark hair who had acted as a mother to me ever since I had be the Empress. My own mother had passed away when i was five, in a assaination attack while saving me. Since then, i was apanied by Maria, my nanny and over thest four years, Rena had looked after me as if I were her own daughter and they both showed me so much love. ¡°Shh, it¡¯s okay, Empress,¡± Rena whispered, stroking my silver hair. ¡°You are still okay and healthy, and that¡¯s all that matters.¡± At first, I felt like my world was ending but in reality it was just the pettiness I felt about dedicating my life to a man who did not love me. ¡°I¡¯m thinking about running away, Rena,¡± I mumbled against her chest. ¡°I can¡¯t do this anymore. I have nothing else to give to anyone anymore.¡± My interaction with Jena had only solidified in my mind that running seemed like the best option. ¡°Don¡¯t say that!¡± Rena scolded. ¡°You feel terrible now, I know, but the empire still needs you. You are their empress. They love you.¡± My mind wandered, remembering the faces that had surrounded me during my altercation with Jena. ..... I was sure now they were in sympathy towards Jena, not me; especially thinking back to Brayden and his look of hatred. They held no love for me anymore. I had helped raise this empire to the top but I knew their respect for me was never sincere. I was sure it would continue to fade away more as the days of Jena¡¯s pregnancy went by. How they celebrated her first pregnancy, where myst both pregnancy ended up with a tragedy. No one celebrate theiring news or mourned for their unexpected death. Someone must have poisoned me. But who and how? No, I can¡¯t risk my third child anymore because of them. I shook my head and pulled away from Rena. I needed to do the one selfish thing I had ever done in my life. I knew my father might be disappointed in me, but I couldn¡¯t take this anymore. No, this was the final straw. I would finally run away for good with my child. ¡°I¡¯ve made up my mind, Rena, I¡¯m sorry.¡± I reached my hand out and gently sped her hand in mine. ¡°This is for the best, I¡¯ve dedicated my life to the empire, to Cathain, I need to do this for me now. I¡¯m wasting away here, unwanted, discarded, humiliated in my own pce. Don¡¯t I deserve better? Don¡¯t I deserve a chance to be happy for once?¡± Rena opened her mouth to reply but, before she could say anything, the door burst open behind me. I gasped and turned my neck sharply towards the sudden intrusion. There was only one person I could think of who would dare to make such an entrance to my room. Those familiar bloody red eyes met mine, filled with hatred and rage. He came to my ce for the first andst time.... Chapter 4 Chapter 4: ¡°Filthy Desire¡± (18+) Cathain¡¯s Pov ~ My veins clenched in anger, the moment i heard about what happened between Eleanora and Jena. How dare she to treat Jena like this! ¡®She treated Jena like that, You must take revenge on her because of this!¡¯ A voice rang in my voice. It¡¯s right. I have to teach her a lesson for treating Jena like this. I couldn¡¯t wait for her toe so i asked Brayden to lead me to the empress pce. But where he lead me was not the empress pce but the abandoned mansion of the pce. ..... I had a lot of questions in my mind. Why does she lives here and for how long. This mansion looks like a hunted house as my great grandfather had burned this pce after my great grandmother was killed by the haremdies, who lived here. But i kept my emotions controlled that had many questions and step inside the mansion. Eleanora looked at me with shock and fear as she stood up from her bed. She immediately backed away from me but it was toote. I strode up to her and grabbed her neck in my hand, pinning her against the wall before me. ¡°Your Majesty... Please...,¡± She whimpered out against my choke, struggling to breathe. Seeing her like this my hand loosened slightly as i felt pain in my chest. It was crazy, but even in a moment like this, sparks erupt from where my hand touched her skin. Just because of this damn physical attraction i feel towards her, i couldn¡¯t leave her. The warm feeling of her body, the pleasure of being inside of her, just gives me so muchfort that i can¡¯t exin. Even if i had Jena, My queen, i didn¡¯t felt this kind of attraction towards her but rather to the woman whom i hated, who made me feel disgust. She was always able to make my emotions uncontroble, drive me crazy... I kept her away from me and it ended by calling her to me over and over. I clearly liked Jena, who was warm and sweet, unlike her, who never shows any emotion in her face. It¡¯s normal for a emperor to have mistress or queen beside the empress. So i never exined or felt guilty for keeping another women beside me. But everytime i look into her blue eyes full of tears, i feel pain in my heart. Something clenches my heart tightly and as always, i choose to ignore this bothering feeling. The room was pitch ck and i could only see her shining silver hair and blue eyes sparkling because of the faint moonlight that wasing in from the window. ¡°Do you think you¡¯re so important that you can treat Jena that way?¡± I roared into her face. ¡°Your Majesty... she came to me first and??.¡± ¡°Enough!¡±, I cut her off. ¡°I don¡¯t want your excuses. Jena isn¡¯t cold blooded like you. She is a gentle, sweet girl! What if you had caused her enough stress to induce a miscarriage? Are you really so petty as to kill a child out of spite? A future Emperor no less?¡± Even in her distorted expression of sadness and tears, she still looked so beautiful that stopped me from saying anything else. A curl of her messy hair had fallen out of ce and was framing her forehead, her blue eyes sparkled like a gemstone. I stood a foot taller than her, delicate shoulders, and curve like some mythical goddess. I could feel the height difference so clearly when i stood so close to her like this. She couldn¡¯t look into my eyes and kept staring at my chest nkly with a lot of emotions in her eyes to avoid looking at me. As i had fire magic, so naturally i was attracted to her cold ice magic. Her touch and scent were intoxicating, capable of driving me crazy. ¡°Your Majesty... I would never do it. She provoked me first??.¡± I pped her across the face very hard. She blinked as her vision be blurred with tears and her cheek burned with red colour. Even i was shocked by my action. How could i raise my hands at her? Why did i be so aggressive all of a sudden? But at the same time, i also felt like lustful jerk. I wanted to see her crying while being under me. Her red plump lips kept shivering from the pain and i clenched my fist to control myself. I wanted to pin her down this moment and strip her. Then devour her. I wanted myself to be inside of her and it was killing me to control myself. The moment i enter her, i will feelfortable again. It was a disgusting filthy desire. But i had to control myself. If she knews about this, she might take advantage of this. ¡°You¡¯re nothing, Eleanora. Even if you bear me a child, your child will be nothing like you. If you dare to hurt Jena again, I will make sure you regret it.¡± But i really couldn¡¯t control my body anymore and it moved on it own to kiss her neck as i whispered those cruel words to her. The moment my lips touched her skin, my body felt alive in a way I never experienced before. It was burning with a need to embrace her. I started to undressing her and soon her dress and corset fall on the ground, her shoulder and breasts was bing more and more visible. I put my one hand on her waist as i raised her thigh with my another hand, to pull her more closer to me. She put her trembling hands on my shoulders and closed her eyes. From her neck, i slowly reached her breast and the moment i put one of her breasts into my mouth; she clinched my suit. Her eyes was still shut and she was biting her lips to hold back her voice. ¡®I want to hear her voice...¡¯ With that thought, i spin around her body and she fall into the bed as i climbed up on her. She looked away but her eyes contained no more emotions. It was cold and lifeless, like a person who have given up on everything. She just kept staring at the window. I gritted my teeth as this made me mad. ¡®Just what¡¯s so good is there? Why don¡¯t you look at me instead? Why aren¡¯t you letting out your voice anymore? Why? Are you trying to run away from me?¡¯ I loosened my shirt and tie slightly before i unzipped my pants like always. I couldn¡¯t take it anymore and pulled up her skirt, to her waist as i pushed the head of my member into her entrance with a blurry expression. She bite her lips again as she clenched the bedsheets. Her waist arched and her breasts rose up too. ¡°Mmh..¡± Unwillingly, She slightly let out a very low moan, which felt like pleasing to my ears. I started to feel my head being light and refreshed again like always. I clenched my teeth, intoxicated by the melting sweet stimulus. She was trembling with delicate, small shivers under my pressure. I couldn¡¯t get rid of the feeling that it was as if i was embracing her for thest time. She refused to look at me which made me more angry and lost my control. As my stiffness slowly entered her deeper and deeper, a hotter pressure began to build up. Her lips were swollen because of her own bitings, and her heavily lidded, blurred eyes finally looked at me like she was looking at some kind of monster. I guess i am indeed a monster... having this kind of lust for her like this. But she said nothing, just kept staring at me coldly, with her blue eyes. I was sweating as i hold myself back till i couldn¡¯t do it anymore, I pushed my member to the root of her entrance. ¡°Ele...¡± Even nicknames that I had never sung before, suddenly flowed through my lips and she finally showed a surprised look. I embraced her for the first time. Something in my heart was feeling very low. Something tell me that i was going to lose her. Her wet flesh that was swallowing my organ to its roots was rapturous. I couldn¡¯t resist ecstatic stimulus and began to move my waist roughly. While my member twitched in her insides, I slowly pushed up, opening her narrow vagina wider. ¡°Ah....... ... ... ...!!¡± She finally could no longer suppress her voice anymore because of my rough thrusts, and her eyes grew bigger with the distinct sensation. She finally embrace me back. But her eyes was still like before, no pleasure in her expression, no love for me. Only pain and... coldness. I kepting in and out of her roughly as herck of expression was driving me more crazy. ¡®You used to smile at me, try to touch me, try to embrace me, why aren¡¯t you doing that now?¡¯ ..... Everytime i enter her, touch her, i feel my body get lighter and lighter, my headache seem to be gone. I could feel her release and also felt mine too. So, bouncing my waist, I then pushed my member all the way to it¡¯s base into her core. At the deepest thrust, I poured out my all semen inside her, fulling her up with my release. Unspilled tears seemed toe out from her eyes and she breathed heavily. She turned to the other side of the bed as she was indirectly telling me to go away. That she doesn¡¯t want to see me anymore. I can go now as i have fulfilled my flithy desires. Although it was not enough for me but i lost my interest when i still found no expression in her. My heart started to feel heavy with a sudden guilt. It¡¯s the first time that i have ever did it with her in the bed. Judging her cold eyes, I was sure that the lingering leftover feelings she had for me, died at that moment. ¡®Do you hate me now?¡¯ Just by the thought of her not loving me anymore made my heart ache and i felt it irritating. I just got up as i always did and shut the door with a loud thud. In my way to go back to the main pce, i realised something andughed at myself. ¡®How can i expect love from her when i acted like a beast with her?¡¯ Chapter 5 Chapter 5: ¡°A Father¡¯s Rage¡± As soon as the door closed, Eleanora erupted in a fit of hystericalughter, tears flowing from her eyes once more and pulled up the nket to cover her half naked body. ¡®If he had just removed me from my position at the start then this never would have happened.¡¯ ¡®If he had just rejected me immediately to take as his wife, instead of submitting me to this torture over thest four years, then maybe one day I could have learned to live a life without him.¡¯ She was here only because of him. Because the empire and he asked her to be their empress. She could have tried to live a normal life as a knight and tried to forget about him if he¡¯d freed her earlier. ¡®Maybe i could have even found someone to love me dearly.¡¯ Eleanora kept crying till she couldn¡¯t cry anymore and fall asleep after being tired of all the sobbings. ..... ¡®Just what am i too you? How can you humiliate me like this?¡¯ ... The next day Eleanora got ready at eight o¡¯clock for the regr meeting with the higher members of the empire council. Eleanora¡¯s maid Maria tied her long silver hair into a bun where Rena was helping her with my essories. Underneath her blue eyes, Eleanora could see the dark bags from the stress andck of sleep she had experienced the night before. Unfortunately, using makeup had shown little results at covering it up. Eleanora¡¯s appearance was a clear representation of her family, Dalton Duchy. The silver hair and blue eyes were a dead giveaway to their ancient Duke lineage. Eleanora was born four years after the emperor. It was almost guaranteed they would be married, their families always having been so closely knit because of their loyalty to the throne. The priests had even got prophesied about their union, which would bring great sess to the empire; they had been correct as she really bought great sess to this empire. ... Inside the meeting hall Eleanora sat to the emperor¡¯s right side. She could feel the emperor¡¯s gaze on her from time to time as always. Before, she could feel shy because of his gaze but now she didn¡¯t felt like that anymore. Eleanora just kept her eyes glues on the papers infront of her without even knowing the context. The eyes of the other ranked imperial members and nobles also bore into her as she kept het eyes cast down. Everyone knew. They knew how humiliated she must feel, how scorned she was right now. The meeting was the usual items; border patrols, country alliances. No one dared to ask her any questions for a change. They all acted as she wasn¡¯t even there. And to be honest, Eleanora wished she wasn¡¯t. She had told Rena, they would leave at the end of the week. She still need to organise her things and ensure the empire had enough organised to keep it running for at least a little while. Her hope was that no one would notice her missing for a few days. With any luck, if she can make it out from the empire then they wouldn¡¯t find her even if they tried. ¡°What do you think, Empress?¡± Marquise Roselia asked her suddenly. Eleanora looked up sharply in surprise, breaking out from her deep thoughts. She didn¡¯t expected anyone to address her during this meeting at all. Eleanora coughed, clearing her throat, and tried to think back on whatever they had just been discussing. She had carelessly let her mind wander too much. ¡°Well... that¡¯s umm...,¡± Eleanora started. Thankfully the door burst open at that moment, sparing her from having to answer. However, A man with shiny silver hair, wearing silver armour and blue cape came to Eleanora¡¯s view. She didn¡¯t expect it would be her father, Duke Alexander Dalton toe storming in so suddenly. ¡®Wasn¡¯t he on the borders for the past four years?¡¯ He looked furious and internally Eleanora began to whimper. ¡®Was he also here to pity me like them?¡¯ Eleanora closed her eyes tightly but what she was waiting for never came. ¡°What is the meaning of this?!¡± Duke Dalton demanded. But to everyone¡¯s surprise, his eyes turned to the emperor, not her. Eleanora looked up and saw the emperor staring back stoically, his facepletely unreadable. Or maybe he just genuinely didn¡¯t care. ¡°What seems to be the matter, Duke Dalton?¡± The emperor asked. ¡°You¡¯ve shown up unannounced that also caused a huge disruption to our meeting.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t y dumb with me!¡± Duke Dalton shouted. ¡°You think you can humiliate my family like this and I¡¯d just continue to loyally serve you? She¡¯s my daughter! The mother of our empire, your empress! And yet you let some mistress bear your child and name them heir?¡± Then breath caught in Eleanora¡¯s throat. ¡®My father is... defending me? Against our Emperor?¡¯ Duke Dalton had always been more loyal to the imperial family than anything else. It was sad but the father- daughter pair had never been particrly close because of that after her mother died. Her father be more loyal to the throne and kept himself busy in defending the borders; not returning home for several months. The emperor¡¯s jaw tightened in anger and frowned. ¡°I think you need to calm down.¡± The emperor said slowly. Everyone could hear the warning in his words but Duke Dalton seemed to either not notice or not care. ¡°Calm down? Calm down?!¡± Duke Dalton yelled. ¡°No, I have allowed you to disrespect her for too long, Your Majesty! She is a daughter of the Daltons and deserves your respect, even if only purely for her Duke lineage. To think you would throw her aside as if she was trash and impregnate another woman is totally uneptable.¡± The emperor was clearing bing angrier by the second. ¡°Duke Dalton_¡± The emperor attempted to speak but her father continued to rant, cutting him off. ¡°Your father would be disgusted if he were alive! My daughter does not deserve this. Am going to take her away!¡± That was it. The emperor finally lost it. ¡°What do you mean by taking her away?! If she cannot ept that then that is on her. Lady Jena will be having my child, and they will be named as heir. That is final. ..... Now I suggest you see yourself out from this meeting immediately and go calm down, Duke!¡± A murmur of agreement echoed in the room from everyone present. Duke Dalton, who was suppressing his ice aura released it in a fit of rage at thecent attitudes toward everyone around him. Everyone immediately became silent, bowing their heads as they was shivering from his cold magic aura. His eyes darkened to warn that his aura was on the surface and was about to lost control and the room became tense. Everyone could feel his power exuding off from him. He looked as if he was about to lose control at any second. The emperor scoffed at his attitude and it was enough for all hell to break loose. One could see Duke Dalton finally snap internally, making Eleanora feel worried. ¡°You dare disrespect my daughter like that? How dare you?!¡± Duke Dalton said, eyes manic, as heunched himself with his sword across the table towards Cathain. ¡°Father! No!¡± Eleanora screamed, but it was toote. He took out his sword and hold it on the emperor¡¯s neck, where the imperial soldiers who was gurding the emperor, pointed their swords at the duke¡¯s neck. Chapter 6 Chapter 6: ¡°Under Arrest.¡± Eleanora¡¯s pov ~ Everyone stood up and distanced themselves far away from my father except me, Duke Heartz and Marquis Roselia. ¡°Arrest Duke Dalton and take him to the cells immediately!¡± The emperormanded furiously to everyone in the room. They all scattered quickly to obey the Emperor, not wanting to upset him any further. ¡°And you,¡± He said, turning his cold red eyes to me with disgust. ..... ¡°Get out of my sight and stay in your room until I say you can leave. You will remain there and conduct all your business from within those walls. Do I make myself clear, Empress?¡± I couldn¡¯t talk. Words wouldn¡¯te to me as I stared in fear at this man. I was sure he would send me down after my father or kill me if I misspoke at this moment. I mutely nodded my head and quickly left back to my room in a daze after i saw my father being taken away to the cell. And i couldn¡¯t forget how he smiled at me which seems to say ¡®Everyting would be allright.¡¯ The days passed quickly after that as I organised the final touches of my escape. Everything was now ready. I had packed my bag, noted instructions for my empress duties over the following few weeks, and even left a letter for my father. I wasn¡¯t sure if he would receive it given his current incarceration, but I needed to tell him I was thankful for what he had done for me. It was nice to know he had actually loved me. It pained me to even think of leaving him behind, but there was nothing I could do to save him now. The cells were the most heavily guarded ce in the whole empire. Even attempting to break him out would lead to me being instantly caught. The night of the escape I was having a final dinner with Rena and Maria. Maria was my maid since i was a little baby. For some reasons she didn¡¯t liked Rena but she adjusted because of me. After hearing my n, she came with her own bag and said to me that no matter what i do, she will always be my maid to follow me and help me. In the end, i had no choice but to agree hering with me. We had decided to leave once dark so it would hopefully hide our presence a little. Tonight there would be arge celebration happening in the main pce to celebrate Jena¡¯s crowning as a queen so the guard patrols would be at their lowest. I was sure their opinions of me had only gotten worse now my father hadmitted one of the highest offences possible; attempted murder of the emperor. ¡°It¡¯s time to go,¡± I said nervously to Rena and Maria. I was scared. I was scared that we would be caught, that I would be dragged back to this hell, and possibly executed. But if we could pull this off, leave and finally be free, it would be worth everything. I need to do this for my unborn baby. They nodded her head as Maria grabbed my and her bags, getting ready to leave. ¡°Where did you put your bag?¡± I asked, noticing Rena hadn¡¯t put anything by the front door yet. Before Rena could answer though, the door crashed open and several imperial knight warriors stormed in. They grabbed my arms and pushed me up against the wall, restraining me in magic ban handcuffs. A few of them started searching the mansion and begin sifting through all my belongings. I was only just able to witness, in the corner of my eye, Rena and Maria being forced outside. It happened so quickly I couldn¡¯t even call out to them. ¡°What is the meaning of this?!¡± I scream, my face still pressed against the wall. ¡°I am the empress and I demand that you stand down and exin yourself.¡± I could tell the weight of my aura washed over them, making them hesitate... but only for a moment. The one holding me loosened his grip slightly but they didn¡¯tpletely let go. This meant the order had to havee from Cathain himself. He was the only one who would have had enough authority to allow them to ignore me. Another minute passed before Brayden finally walked in the door, ncing only quickly towards me. ¡°You can ease your grip and turn her around,¡± Brayden said to the one holding me. He spun me to face him, his face was unreadable. Were they doing all this because they discovered my ns to escape? It seemed a little over the top for something like that. No, something bigger was happening. One of the warriors suddenly walked up to Brayden, a few items in hand. ¡°We found these, Marquis Hill,¡± he said, presenting them to Brayden. ¡°It also looks as if she was nning to run away before we caught her. She had a bag near the door, full of clothes and supplies when we arrived.¡± I couldn¡¯t see what the second item was but the first one was my letter to my father I¡¯d left on the bed. A sinking feeling hit my stomach. I knew that letter could be misconstrued as sympathising and thanking the man who had almost killed the Emperor. I had nned to have left before anyone read it. Brayden read the letter, his face stillpletely emotionless, before he sniffed at whatever else he had been given. He grimaced and turned his face away. ¡°Is this yours?¡± he asked, showing me a neat bunch of herbs. I didn¡¯t recognise them, but then again I¡¯d never been great at herbalism. The only thing i knew was how to rule and swing swords to kill enemies. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen that before in my life,¡± I replied, spitting the words back at him. ¡°I don¡¯t even know what it is.¡± ¡°They were found in her bedroom, Marquis. Hidden under the bed,¡± the knight interjected. ¡°What?! You¡¯re insane! I don¡¯t keep herbs in here. I don¡¯t even know the first thing about identifying the different types!¡± ¡°It¡¯s Ephedra,¡± Brayden answered calmly, his violet eyes piercing mine. ¡°It induces miscarriages during pregnancy.¡± ¡°What?¡± I gasped. Chapter 7 Chapter 7: ¡°Falsely used¡± Eleanora¡¯s pov ~ I panicked as no one ever entered my mansion except me, Maria and Rena. Why would something like that be in my room? Who could have put it there? That means the knight is lying. ¡°Empress Eleanora Valentino, I hereby ce you under arrest for the murder of the unborn heir of the throne, and for the harm inflicted to our Queen, Jennifer. You will be detained immediately pending trial in a weeks time.¡± ¡°What? She lost the baby?¡± ..... I asked horrified, my body feeling paralysed. Of course they all think I had something to do with it. Why would anyone believe the empress who publicly made a scene about her pregnancy? ¡°Take her down to the cells,¡± Brayden said, his face finally showing the disgust I knew he had been trying to hide this whole time. They began to push me out of the door but I kicked and fought against them. I was a knightmander for god sake! How can this mere knights bring me down. ¡°You¡¯re insane! You¡¯re all insane!¡± I screamed. ¡°Where is His Majesty?! Let me see his majesty and clear this whole thing up! I am your empress! I demand you take me to the emperor immediately!¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary,¡± A deep chilly voice said behind me in the hall. I tried to look behind as much as possible to see the familiar red eyes I dreaded so much. The hatred filled in them was more than I had ever seen before. Fear gripped me, my legs almost giving out from just the sight of him in such anger. He looked plenty ready to snap my neck with his bare hands. ¡°Your Majesty...,¡± I cried. ¡°I didn¡¯t do this, I swear, I didn¡¯t kill your baby. I didn¡¯t even want to be here anymore. I was giving up, letting you have the queen just like you always wanted.¡± ¡°So you admit to trying to run away,¡± Cathain groaned in a low voice. ¡°Your motive seems clear here. Don¡¯t worry though, you¡¯re getting your wish.¡± Several of the imperial members now made themselves present with the high priest and a chill ran down my spine. I had a feeling I could guess what he was about to do. Even the admittance of wanting to escape was punishable, putting aside the false charges against me for Jena¡¯s miscarriage. ¡°I, Cathain De Valerian Valentino, Emperor of the Valentino empire, along with the majority agreement of the nobles present, divorce you and take away my name from yours, as my wife and empress of this empire, Eleanora.¡± I looked at Cathain. He stoodpletely emotionless as he spoke, if nothing had happened. So it was true. He had never loved me. Not even a little bit. He just looked down at me with those bloody red eyes as if I was never anyone remotely special to him. ¡°I...Eleanora Dalton, Agree to your divorce.¡± I mumbled as i had no other choice. I have my own pride. I won¡¯t beg a man to keep me. Then i saw the high priest sigh as he announced with a sorrowful tone. ¡°Sign the papers and you will be officially divorced.¡± He signed the papers without a second doubt and i signed it too, with my shaking hands. No need to stay with a man who doesn¡¯t believe and respects me. And then Cathain turned his back to me and began to walk away. ¡°Take her down to the cells,¡± He ordered over his shoulder, not even bothering to look back to check if hismand was carried out. Brayden immediately pulled me and began to drag me to the stairs. I didn¡¯t fight back, there was no point anymore. I just let him move me towards the prison I would stay for the next days till my trial. The cells were cold, damp and dingy, with little amenities. Only a bed, toilet and basin were given to me, a single nket being the only thing to try to warm myself. There was little space, each cell having three stone walls and bars along the wall where the door was. It had been seven days and so today, finally, I was set to stand trial before the empire for my alleged murder. I knew the evidence was stacked against me, it would be almost impossible for me to win this. The only hope I had left was that Rena and Maria was still alive. If they could testify saying they had witnessed first hand that I had been inside my chambers all week, therefore making it impossible to have poisoned Jena, then they would be forced to open the floor to the possibility I was not the culprit. ¡°Time to go...¡± A guard said from outside my cell. I recognised him. His name was Charles and I had visited his family on multiple asions as we was very close. He was a knight who fought alongside with me in battles. I stood up shakily, having not eaten properly the whole week from stress, and made my way to the side. Fortunately the baby in my womb was still alive and strong. I could still feel it whenever i touched my stomach. I was given medicines to heal my bruises but i didn¡¯t wanted too. This pain reminded me of my foolishness. ¡°Will Rena and Maria be at the trial?¡± I asked once he had shoved me out of the cell. He didn¡¯t reply, instead choosing to remainpletely silent as he continued to walk me towards the door. I couldn¡¯t tell if he had been instructed not to talk to me, or if he just genuinely hated me now. We were passing several cells and my eyes checked each one through the bars, desperately searching for Rena and Maria. Specially Rena. I needed her to be there. I needed her to prove me innocent. However, once we passed the tenth cell, my eyes nced across a man with familiar silver hair. Charles stopped on his track and finally looked at me. ¡°Commander...This is thest and only favour i can do for you.¡± I looked at him with bewildered eyes as i couldn¡¯t believe him. ¡°Commander.. We trust you. But we are helpless against the emperor and nobles. Please don¡¯t hate us. You are the only empress andmander for us.¡± Tears rolled down from my eyes and i opened my shivering lips to thank him. But not a word came out from my throat. He pushed me towards my father¡¯s cell and i cried seeing him in his poor state. ¡°Fa..Father!!¡± I cried out and run to towards his cell. Chapter 8 Chapter 8: ¡°Reconciliation¡± Eleanora¡¯s pov ~ ¡°Eleanora?!¡± Father widened his eyes in shock. ¡°What are you doing here?!¡± His expression was a mixture of horror and disbelief. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t get you out,¡± I cried to him. ¡°I wanted to, really I did, but I knew it would be impossible with the security measures in ce.¡± ..... ¡°Shhh, don¡¯t be ridiculous, I knew that there wasn¡¯t anything you could do,¡± heforted me. ¡°I¡¯m grateful you didn¡¯t try to rescue me. I epted the consequences and knew what I was doing. But why are you down here anyway?¡± I grimaced at the thought. ¡°It was Jena¡¯s baby,¡± I said. ¡°They all think I poisoned her with some sort of herb to induce a miscarriage.¡± ¡°What?! Jena lost the child? But that¡¯s insane! Why would they use you?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± I smiled bitterly. ¡°Of course everyone is going to point fingers to the scorned empress. They searched my room too. They apparently found the herb in question under my bed, even though I¡¯d never seen it in my life. I have no idea how it was nted there.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, my daughter. I promised your mom to take good care of you but i failed.¡± His eyes were watering at the sight of my tears. I¡¯d never seen him show so much emotion before, so much sadness. Even when mother had died, he had confined himself away for a while to hide any emotion from others. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Father. I was such a disappointment to you, to our family,¡± I cried, looking up to the ceiling to try and stop my tears. I couldn¡¯t look at him. Our title and duchy was taken down a few days ago by the imperial order. They said my father and i was nning for rebellion for a long time. It was more believable as my father pointed his sword at the emperor and i am used of killing the heir of throne. It wasn¡¯t easy to take down our duchy, so he must have been nning to do this from a long time before. It was just me, who didn¡¯t saw that all. Cathain has only used me... he had never even liked me as his partner. He always liked Jena, it was so clear. I was just too blind by his light that i ignored the visible truth infront of me. In the end, Everything I¡¯d done for that man had brought shame to our family, I¡¯d seen it on his face all these years. My love for him snatched away everything from me and my family. ¡°Ele, no, never. You¡¯ve never disappointed me, nor could you ever.¡± He cupped my face with his hands and his voice was so gentle, so quiet, yet filled with so much sorrow. I stared at him in shock. ¡°But don¡¯t you hate me for escaping when the assaination happened in our house and mom sacrificed herself for me?¡± ¡°No! Of course not,¡± he said, almost offended. ¡°I was disappointed in how i couldn¡¯t save your mother. I was disappointed in how i couldn¡¯t face you in guilt after your mom passed away. I knew how he treated you but I didn¡¯t do anything. I should be the one apologising, not you. I should have taken you away sooner. I¡¯m so sorry, Ele.¡± My father cried, tears falling down his face heavily. My father, the Duke of the empire, so strong and powerful, was crying to me, apologising to me about how he didn¡¯tmit treason by helping me escape sooner. It was overwhelming and then i whispered to my father. ¡°Father, Actually...am pregnant. If i can make it back alive then am gonna run away. If not then...¡± My father was stunned at first before he tried to wrap his arms around me to hug me awkwardly. ¡°Am sorry... So sorry...¡± As we were separated by the cold metal bars and pressed his forehead against mine as we both cried together. ¡°You have suffered so much all alone. Now am even more guilty for not being able to save both my daughter and Grandchild.¡± After another minute passed Charles cleared his throat behind us. ¡°It¡¯s time to go, Commander¡± he said awkwardly. I knew this must have been a strange or maybe even difficult sight for him to watch. Not too long ago he had served under both of us, looked up to us. Yet here we were, sobbing together between cell bars, saying our good-byes. I nodded my head and reluctantly moved away from my father. This was one of the hardest things I¡¯d ever had to do in my life. Did I feel better knowing my father didn¡¯t hate me if I were to die today with my child? Or would it have made it easier if i said i was pregnant? No, if i had said this then my this child would meet the same fate as my other babies. It¡¯s better for me to die with my baby then letting him die alone. Am sure, he will be separated from me the moment he is born. And infront of Jena¡¯s children, he would always be left out as the child of the sinner empress. It had been just Rena and Maria but now there was my father. How could I ever let them go? They were almost definitely going to die because they had tried to help me. Loving me had brought them death. ¡°I love you, Ele,¡± Father said onest time before Charles grabbed me unwillingly. ¡°I love you so much, I always have. Please don¡¯t forget that.¡± ¡°I love you too, Daddy,¡± I cried and saw my father for thest time. The dark dungeon cell was feeling like my road to hell, towards destruction despite doing nothing. The cold lonely feeling that it gave me was like winter nights, with no moonlight to pave the way for me. There was no escape for me instead of facing this, where did things went wrong? How did my love bought me death? Was loving you was really a forbidden sin for me? I guess so... Loving you was a losing game from the very beginning, i just choosed to lose on my own ord. Who can i me for my own foolishness? Chapter 9 Chapter 9: ¡°If Only Didn¡¯t Loved Him.¡± Eleanora¡¯s pov ~ Charles moved me towards the door and I walked as best I could without him needing to push me. My eyes burned so much from the tears I had shed, my vision blurred, but I managed to walk somewhat steadily. I had agreed to not make it harder for Charles to take me to the trial grounds and I owed him so much for those short moments he had given me. I would walk the rest of the way in silence and without protest. ¡°Only if you didn¡¯t married that bastard and nothing like this would happen. Only if he wasn¡¯t our emperor, we ck knights would tear him down.¡± Charles said as he clenched his fist tightly. ..... Hearing his words made me somehow shocked and happy. So there is still people who loves me, trust me. Why did i never saw this before? Why did i only realised it now? If only i didn¡¯t loved him. I abandoned them to be the empress, i tried to please the people who have turned their back against me now. This was my punishment for not cherishing the people who was always with me for a man who never looked at me with gentleness. ¡°Thank you, for trusting me Charles.¡± This is the only thing i could say to him. ¡°We all trust you, You will forever be our Empress in our heart.¡± They loved me so much and yet all i could give him was a smile with tears. Soon, we reached the trial grounds. When we arrived, it was immediately clear that every noble family was present. Their eyes were all filled with malic, sorrow, hurt, sadness as they parted to let us walk through the gathering, some spitting or cursing at me as we walked. Inside I could see a few key figures. Cathain stood behind a podium and was dressed handsomely with his traditional Emperor crown on his head. Looking at him now felt weird. I remembered how not too long ago butterflies would have filled my tummy and my heart would have raced just by seeing him. But now there was nothing except fear; fear that he would end up executing me today. Fear he would hurt me one final time along with my baby. Of course, Jena was present also, sitting in a chair to the right of Cathain. This ce was typically reserved for the empress. Then i noticed the crown on her head, which was mine till a week ago. I wanted to feel angry about Jena sitting there but I couldn¡¯t. I couldn¡¯t care less about my former position anymore. I never had asked for it anyway. What i wanted was his love, to be his one and only woman, the only one to sleep beside him. Not the empress sit or the crown. Suddenly rage filled my heart. I did so much for you people but you people never paid me back in kind. It would take the empire descending in power to nothing before they realised their mistake. Jena was no gentle at heart. The family head¡¯s sat in a semi-circle around Cathain and Jena, and to the left Brayden and Duke Ravens sitting with a wide smile on his face. I wasn¡¯t surprised to see him smiling here since he was always a rival of our duchy. The empire needed another strong power to rece our duchy. Which was taken down just because of my stupidity. He loved Jena so much that, he took down our duchy that was established since the founding of this empire. The long history of our duchy, our pride, fame, everything has be dust now, just because of my love for him. Seeing Jena and Duke Raven together, the more i look at the more they look familiar. Even his own son, Cedrick Raven was not so similiar to him even after having his light blonde hair and green eyes. Jena had caramel brown eyes but the more i noticed, the more familiar i found her to be with the duke. Specially her face looked more and more like the duke. So, is it merely a coincidence that, Jena, amoner has simr hair that represents of being a member of the Raven? Cedrick looked at me with sorrowful eyes and i was surprised because of this. We had never really been close, but then again I had never really had the opportunity to get close to anyone growing up. Then i remembered the man with light blonde hair whom i imagined the other day. From the moment I was born, i was choosen as the future empress and trained as one. Arge oak stumpid before the podium. I knew what this was, of course, and my stomach ache as my baby kicked me. ¡®Sorry baby, Mommy might not be able to save you today.¡¯ They seem to determined about me being guilty. I had seen it used only a couple of times but it was enough to bring nightmares. This was where the guilty wouldy their heads to be executed, arge ceremonial broadsword doing the honours. Then another guard grabbed me and pushed me to the podium. As i was handcuffed, i fall down on my kness as i failed to keep my bnce. Fortunately i didn¡¯t falled on my stomach. I stood up by holding the podium, my body already shivering from the cold. I wore only a thin white dress shabby dress as my previous clothes having been taken off me not long after I had been locked up. Everyone cheered seeing me on my knees, saying a evil woman like me deserved it. I couldn¡¯t help butugh a little. They are the same people who kissed my feet to gain profits. ¡°It looks like everyone is here now,¡± Cathain said, projecting into the crowd. His eyes scanned over the faces of everyone around before finallynding on me. ¡°Today we are gathered here today to bear witness to the trial of Eleanora Dalton, former empress of our empire.¡± I couldn¡¯t breathe, i was scared... what if he kills me today? Chapter 10 Chapter 10: ¡°Not Guilty¡± Eleanora¡¯s pov ~ ¡°Eleanora stands used of murdering the named emperors heir by use of poisonous herbs,¡± Cathain continued. ¡°In doing so she also endangered the life of our Queen, Jennifer Raven. The trial today will look at the evidence to determine whether she is guilty of this crime.¡± ¡®Jennifer Raven? So, She is the child who was kidnapped and lost from the Ravens duchy?¡¯ Jennifer Raven was born a month before Cathain. ..... But she was decleared as death along with the duchess at that time. But some said the baby was lost or kidnapped. A cold sweat formed at the back of my neck. No wonder they looked familiar. Now no one will even look down at her because of her status. At that time, i be the prophecydy because Jennifer was older then Cathain by a month and she was also rumored to be death. After Cathain¡¯s birth, i was the first girl to be born in the upper noble ss. So now, people might even say that she was the true prophecydy. What a joke! I discreetly scanned my eyes around to see if I could spot Rena or Maria, but I couldn¡¯t find their familiar face anywhere. It made me more nervous as every second ticked by. ¡°Do you swear, Eleanora, that you will tell the whole truth during this trial?¡± Cathain asked, bringing my attention back to him. I met his piercing bloody red eyes, a shiver going down my spine. How those eyes haunted me. ¡°I do,¡± I replied loudly and confidently. ¡°And how do you plead?¡± I held my breath, my heart racing in my chest. ¡°Not guilty.¡± A murmur went through the trial hall in hushed voices but I ignored it. Surely they hadn¡¯t actually expected me to admit guilt to such a heinous act? ¡°Very well,¡± Cathain replied. ¡°We¡¯ll start by hearing the witness testimonies of those involved and any supporting evidence. The noble council heads and I shall and your sentence will be set.¡± I swallowed hard, my throat feeling so dry. The trial started after that without further drama and the imperial doctor was called forth first to give a medical opinion and an overview about this herb involvement. ¡°The herb in question is Ephedra,¡± Doctor Andrews started. ¡°I believe Queen Jennifer must have been giving this via means of ingestion. She lost the baby at three months but given her bad fortitude, her health was also a concern as she was given over dosage.¡± Another murmur went through the crowd as they heard the Doctor¡¯s testimony. I gritted my teeth against their voices. But it wasn¡¯t just one testimony. Several came forward to discuss the evidence found. The knight who had found the evidence was called upon next to recount his steps during the search of my quarters. ¡°I found the herbs the doctor mentioned under former empress¡¯s bed. They were well hidden and I believe had been ced in order to conceal their location. There was also a letter obtained from her bed. It was addressed to her father, Former Duke of Dalton.¡± He read the contents of the letter aloud to the crowd to which they all began to chatter again. ¡®Father, Am so sorry because i couldn¡¯t save you. Forgive this unfilial daughter who couldn¡¯t even save her own father, who made her father like this. I can¡¯t bear all this anymore so i made a decision. I want to run away, leave everything behind and him. It was my biggest mistake to love someone who didn¡¯t loved me back. I hate myself for sacrificing everything for that man, father. Please forgive me for leaving you behind and run away alone. Yours Ele.¡¯ ¡°Silence!¡± Cathain yelled to them all, instantly making them quieten down. He looked angry. He snatched the letter from the knight then turned to me. ¡°Is this your handwriting, Eleanora?¡± I noded as he would know if I was lying as he had seen my handwriting many times before. ¡°Yes,¡± I coldly admitted. And i know that am close to my dead. They have nned all this beforehand and i foolishly walked into their trap. I showed no emotions and continued to listen to their made up, false testimonies. It was humiliating to have something so personal read out infront of the people. The knight continued with his recount. ¡°In addition to the items recovered, we also found the former empress by the door as we entered. She was in possession of a bag with supplies and clothing. It is believed she had intended to run away that night. We also have several witnesses who can attest to her admitting to trying to run when we took her into custody.¡± Then Cathain gestured him to step down. ¡°We¡±ll hear from Marquis Brayden Hill, my aid now.¡± Brayden stood on the podium next, his face stern. I knew whatever he was going to say about me wouldn¡¯t be positive. ¡°The night when our Queen¡¯s pregnancy was announced there was an incident inside the main pce that several members witnessed. It was between Queen Jennifer and the former empress Eleanora. I believe this may have been a deliberate attempt to put stress on Queen Jennifer and the baby, an act motivated by jealousy.¡± My mouth hung open. I couldn¡¯t believe they¡¯d actually brought that conversation into evidence. Did no one care to see things from perspective? I would like to see them act so calmly when their husband¡¯s impregnated other women. I¡¯m certain most of them would have kill them without hesitation, yet I was being chastised for speaking to her harshly. It was true though, I couldn¡¯t deny what he was saying. I was angry and jealous of her. Who wouldn¡¯t be in my shoes? But to kill her child is unthinkable, an abomination. As i also had lost two of my babies before. I unconsciously run my fingers on my stomach when i noticed Cathain¡¯s gaze on me and immediately moved my hand from my stomach. Brayden¡¯s testimony painted me in a horrible light, fueling the hostility in the air against me. Cathain gestured him to step down before he opened his mouth again, ¡°We have one final testimony for you all today, one I believe will determine the fate of this trial. ..... This is Rena, Eleanora¡¯s attendant.¡± I felt numb all over, my breath catching in my throat. They had Rena then what about Maria? She was here and she would clear me. She knew me better than anyone else. Rena walked up to the podium and looked physically fine, healthy even. Where they pushed Maria to my side like a crawling dog. I hurriedly caught her and helped her to sit up, beside me. ¡°W...What happened? Why are you like this?¡± Maria was full of bruises, whipped marks and cuts. She wanted to say something but couldn¡¯t. This made me wonder why both of them was treated this differently. However, I did notice that Rena looked nervous. I wondered if they had been pressuring her to betray me. But i knew how much Rena loved me. She will never do it. Maria was trying to say something that i couldn¡¯t understand fully as her mouth was still injured, till i heard Rena¡¯s words. ¡°I am Rena. I have been former empress attendant for four years now. I treated her as I would my own daughter, caring for her and consoling her through difficult times. So I can confirm that I know her better than anyone else.¡± I smiled at her because of her words but she avoided to meet my eyes. ¡°Therefore it is with a heavy heart that I stand before everyone today, bound by my oath to the God, to inform you all of the atrocity she had me perform whilst under hermand.¡± My smile faded and fell quickly. No, Something was wrong. Atrocities? I¡¯d nevermitted anything of the sort. How could she say something like that? She knew I was with her all week, knew how upset I was. I felt sick watching Rena stand at the podium, refusing to meet my eyes as a feeling of impending doom washed over me. It was clogging my thoughts, nothing was making sense. All I could hear was my short breaths of anticipation over the loud beating of my heart. ¡°Eleanora, the former empress, ordered me to present Queen Jennifer a herbal tea. A tea I believe caused her miscarriage.¡± Chapter 11 Chapter 11: ¡°Worst Betrayal¡± Eleanora¡¯s pov ~ Thest piece of hope I had inside me died at her words. Rena had betrayed me, thrown me out and lied tantly to everyone. In the end, she was like those nobles too. So this is what Maria was trying to tell me, this is what she felt all over the years Rena had stayed with us. I had loved her so much, trusted her, and yet she was now acting like I meant nothing to her. Rena¡¯s eyes began to fill with tears as her voice trembled. ¡°She persuaded me to try and escape with her, but I know now she didn¡¯t tell me the whole story. ..... I thought I was going to be helping a poor girl who needed someone to care for her. Instead, I ended up abiding a criminal with something so heinous.¡± She turned her teary eyes to Jena, crying during her words. ¡°Queen... I don¡¯t know how you could ever forgive me, but I truly did not mean you any harm. I believed I was bringing you a peace offering from her that day, not dosing you with the death of your child. I thought she wanted to make amends one final time before we left. I was wrong... so wrong... I am so sorry....¡± Her voice broke off into sobs and the crowd was whispering among themselves. They all believed her. They believed every lie she was telling. And there was nothing I could do. I be a pathetic evil woman because of her lies. Jena, No, Jennifer suddenly stood up and everyone became silent to watch, anticipating a violent scene towards the woman who had poisoned her. Her walk was shaky and unsteady as she strode up to Rena as if to emphasise on her recent hospitalisation. However, to everyone¡¯s surprise, when she finally reached Rena, she engulfed her in a hug. They hugged as if they¡¯d known each other as good friends. When Jena finally broke away she smiled benevolently up at the older woman, grasping Rena¡¯s hands in her own. ¡°...I forgive you, Rena,¡± Jena said, making a show of her mercy. ¡°I know you did not mean me or my baby any harm, and so I can¡¯t me you for the sins of your superior.¡± I looked out into the crowd to see they were enamoured by everything she was saying. And i felt ridiculous. So this was all her nning for so long before. I trusted and loved a person who was sent for my doom. This was all pre nned by the Duke of Ravens along with his daughter. Fortunately i didn¡¯t mentioned my pregnancy in my letter or to her. Otherwise they would say i did this to make my own child the heir. I could see what she was doing now. They had some sort of deal, I was sure of it. Rena¡¯s co-operation and false testimony in exchange for her freedom post-trial. Jena smilled at Cathain, ¡°I hope you can forgive her Cain. She had no choice.¡± Cathain nooded in agreement, who was fascinated by her kindness. Calling him by nickname ¡°Cain¡± was also another power move, it showed everyone how close they were. No one had called him by that name publicly since his father had died. I was his empress, but i wasn¡¯t allowed to call him by his name. Even when we were together in the bed, i wasn¡¯t allowed to touch him as i wished. This was all a show to win the hearts of the people, to make them look up to her like she was a merciful saint. And I was the devil, a baby killer, a murderer. I felt betrayed, wronged... just what crimes i did to deserve this ending? Moreover, i felt hatred for this empire, for Cathain, for the nobles who areughing at my poor state. The crowd instantly filled with apuse at the scene they had just witnessed. Their new soon-to-be empress had shown great love and forgiveness to the person who admitted to poisoning her. She was beautiful, kind and strong. I knew they had never felt those things about me. I had always held their respect, but never their adoration even after what i did for them. ¡°I think we¡¯ve seen enough,¡± Cathain said gently, standing back up. He walked up to Jena and wrapped an arm around her possessively. I wanted to kill them... tear apart Jena from his arms and then strangle Cathain for what he did to me. It was then that I saw it. Something that made my blood boil. There, on her neck, was hanging the small ruby locket ne that was passed down to empress¡¯s for generation at their first night. Something he had never given me, something he had always refused me even after we got married. He had gave it Jena to prove her as his own, showing the world his favour for her. It had only been a week and already hed done this, wasting no time to make her the next empress. I felt pathetic, weak... i wanted to cry out loud but my body was also shivering thinking about my death. I was angry, furious. I no longer loved him, but to think I begged him to give it to me for years without him wavering, only to see him give it to her within a week. I hated him. I hated Jena. I hated this empire. I hated Rena. Yes, Rena, I hated her the most. She has given me the worst betrayal one can ever get. What did i ever did to her? I loved her, treated her like my own mother, respected her. But what i got in the end? Nothing but her betrayal that is sending me to my doom now. I failed to judge her, believed her lies, it must be her who helped the duke to poison me and made me lost my child. Am sure of it. It must be them! Chapter 12 Chapter 12: ¡°Death Penalty¡± Eleanora¡¯s pov ~ I knew what wasing next, Cathain didn¡¯t even need to say it. It was all because of Rena. Her false testimony was the final hit. It was my mistake in loving them; Cathain, Rena, this empire, this people. I had given everything to them and it had turned to poison against me. Was this always my destiny? Was I fated to live and die as only a means to help the empire? ..... They had their mighty leader now, their loving empress and a empire that became sessful off my own hard work and dedication. There was no room for me in the picture anymore. I wasn¡¯t needed anymore. ¡°I think the evidence here has weighed in an obvious result. Do you have anything to say in your defence, Eleanora?¡± Cathain asked. I cleared my mind and took a deep breath to calm myself. There was no point in trying to dispute the allegations anymore, there was nothing I could do or say that would change their minds. Maria was shaking her head and i knew what she was telling me to do. If i escape using all my magic powers or choose to fight them, i can win. But this will only prove me guilty, i will be a run away prisoner, who escaped her death penalty. A true knight will never run away from the battlefield even if she have to die. I won¡¯t bow for mercy. I haven¡¯t done anything wrong! I can¡¯t run away. I will face my fate. ¡°I sincerely hope that Goddess smites you all for the murder of an innocent you are about to carry out.¡± I said bitterly and there was no emotion in my face. ¡°There is nothing I can do anymore to prove myself not guilty against the pile stacks of false evidence you have brought forward, but deep down... I hope you all suffer. When I am gone and you are alone, I hope I haunt you. I hope my face is what you see when you finally meet your demise. My only mistake was ever loving anyone.¡± There was silence. No one spoke, no one moved. I don¡¯t think anyone had expected me to say something so intense. They had probably assumed I was going to cry and beg for forgiveness from Jena like Rena had. I refused to bow to that bitch though. Take my head, but you¡¯d have to cut my legs off before I¡¯d ever be seen kneeling to her. I turned to look at her and to my surprise, she looked straight back at me amused, a smirk on her face. She looked at me as if she knew all along this would be the oue. She looked at me as her true self for the first time. I realised then that she had nned all of this from the start. My miscarriages, living in that abandoned pce, istion, Cathain, Rena, My dad... who knows what else. She had pretended to be clueless so no one suspected her. With a disgusting realisation, I wondered if she¡¯d even killed her own unborn baby for the sake of my empress position. Or was she never pregnant to start with his child? I prayed it was thetter. The emperor cleared his throat bringing everyone¡¯s attention back to him. ¡°Very well. Now, all who find Eleanora Dalton guilty of the murder of the empires heir, and for the intended harm to the queen, please stand up.¡± It looked unanimous. I watched in horror as one after the other they all stood, their faces bearing down on me. I checked the rows of members and my eyes caught someone who were staring at me intently. The same crimson red hair, with ck eyes. He is no other then the Duke of south, who seldom came out. Alberto Dion Richardo. Along with him, Marquis Roselia and Duke Heartz...They was also seated. ¡°Duke Heartz, Duke Richardo, Marquis Roselia?¡± Cathain called their name, pointing out they was the only person not standing. They looked indifferent, uncaring as to whether they was singled out or not. ¡°I don¡¯t believe she did it. It seems like a possible frame job to me and most of the evidence was circumstantial at best,¡± Marquis Roselia said, his voice unwavering and confident as always... Duke Heartz nodded in agreement with him. ¡°The former empress is right. I don¡¯t wish to see her face haunt me by convicting her to this death. You might all becent but I will not sell my soul for the sake of poprity.¡± Duke Richardo spoke with a grim face. Cedrick Raven was also sitting at the first but under the duke Raven¡¯s gaze, he stood up weakly from his seat without saying anything and kept staring at me guiltily. Whispers of shocked remarks scattered through the crowd as everyone couldn¡¯t believe someone didn¡¯t find me guilty. Cathain seemed angry that someone had d against the majority, though he tried to hide it well. His voice tight as he proceed to speak, ¡°We hold the majority here to proceed. Please bring me the sword.¡± He indicated to a random attendant to the side and they quickly began to unbox the sword. The sword was mostly ornate and sharp as it was used on countless battlefields, which bought us victory over and over again. The hiltprised of several blue and white jewels and gold carvings made that sword look extraordinary beautiful and eye catching... but it also had countless people¡¯s blood on it. This is the sword i used to win countless battles as well the thirteen birthday gift from my father. ¡®You are really cruel!¡¯ He is going to kill me using my own sword! The sword that has my name engraved on it is going to kill it¡¯s own master. Now my sword would be blooded by my own blood. Cathain grabbed my sword tightly and inspected it to ensure it was still sharp. The edge gleamed towards me as if begging toe closer, to greet it. When he was satisfied with its condition he turned to me, his eyes as sharp as the sword. This was it. This was the end. Everything had been for nothing. What a bitter, sad life I had led. So empty, so lonely. ¡°You have been found guilty of the charges against you. The murder of the empire heir and harm to the queen.¡± Cathain started. ¡°Therefore, with the power held within me, I, emperor of the Valentino empire, sentence you, Eleanora Dalton, former empress of the Valentino empire, to death. Your sentence is to be carried out immediately.¡± I didn¡¯t want to be scared but I was. As every step closer he took to me, the more I wanted to run. So, he was really anxious to kill me immediately. I wanted it more than anything. Why had I waited so long before trying to escape? This man had been my death sentence long before now but I had been too blind to see it. With shaky legs, I knelt before the wooden stump, where Maria was still grabbing my leg, telling me to run away. Then a knight grabbed her and made her knelt beside me. ¡°Am sorry, Maria. You are going to die because of me.¡± ¡°N..No..My..Lady_¡± She couldn¡¯t talk anymore as the knight beside her had already swinged his sword on her neck. Her neck fall of infront of me as her open eyes and mouth kept staring at me. ..... Looking at her, i got more courage. Even if i survive, how will i live? Can i live despite knowing that the thousands years glory of our duchy was destroyed because of me? Everyone in the duchy died and my father in prison because of me? Can i give my child a good life as a murderer former empress? The answer is clear... No, i can¡¯t. I didn¡¯t need to be pushed or shoved, I willingly ced my head on the block and closed my eyes, waiting. I felt like I couldn¡¯t breathe, tears beginning to fall down my cheeks. Then i felt terrible stomach ache. The baby in my belly had started to kick me hard. Maybe it has sensed that his own father was going to kill us. How naive I¡¯d been. I had built myself to be one of the smartest people in the empire, but in the end it seemed I was actually the densest. I won every battle where i lost the main battle of my life. I protected this empire, but i failed to save myself and my babies, my dad, Maria, our duchy. As I felt Cathain stood infront of me... I turned my body upside to face the celling instead of kneeling down and opened my eyes to look at him. His red eyes had mixed feelings that i couldn¡¯t understand and i don¡¯t even want to understand them anymore. I opened my mouth to speak as he raised his hands to behead me. ¡°I hate you, Cain. I will never forgive you for killing me and my child.¡± Hearing myst words, his eyes widened in shock but it was toote to stop his hands. I felt the air shift, the faintest sound of the sword swinging... ...and then there was darkness. Chapter 13 Chapter 13: ¡°Save Me¡± Eleanora¡¯s pov ~ My body feels so heavy that i feel like am crushed down by a mountain. It¡¯s so dark here... So cold... And my body is slowly bing numb. I was very happy till i lost my mother at the age of ten. I felt guilty for leaving my mother alone and day by day, father be more distanced from me. He no longer called me ¡®Ele¡¯ and i no longer called him ¡®Daddy¡¯. But i still craved for his love, so i started to follow him around everywhere silently. One day while secretly following my father to the royal pce, i identally fall into the water and Cathain saved me. ..... The way he extended his warm hands toward me was like a ray of sun light in my dark life. That was the first and only moment in my life, where he treated me so warmly. He was very nice to me till he noticed that i was his potential fiancee Eleanora Dalton. I was ten back then, so i didn¡¯t knew what i did, that made him hate me so much. But still i craved for his love and attention. I did everything i could do in order to get his affection for me. When i was only thirteen, he told me to prove my worth to him because he just wanted to get rid of me from his sight, which i didn¡¯t understand and happily went to the battlefield to prove my worth. At the age of fourteen, I returned to attend hising of age ceremony banquet, his eighteenth birthday. I was the youngest knight in our history. But i was alsoughed at by other womens because i was no longer a softdy like them as i was a swordmaster. I had tough body muscles unlike those nobledies, my hand was no longer soft to hold as i held swords. This hands doesn¡¯t do the embroidery but kill people. I left for the battlefield again after a brief dance with him. Then returned to celebrate mying of age ceremony at the age of sixteen, as a deputy knightmander. That day was the day when he took away my virginity in a drunken state and left me all alone the next day as nothing happened. I went to the battlefield again with a broken heart and at the age of eighteen i be the knightmander and won the battle with Rua Kingdom. After the emperor passed away and he raised to the throne at the age of twenty two, with the eighteen year old me as his empress. I be the most suitable empress to assist him, throwing away my sword, my dream to protect our empire as a knight. I waited for him in my chamber all night but he never came and finally one day he called me to his office just to satisfy his needs. Then suddenly after a month of my first miscarriage, i was suddenly ordered to move into the abandoned pce, where the previous emperors concubine used to live. But two generation ago, his great grand father had mascaraed and burned the whole ce. Since then the ce was asionally cleaned up once or twice a year. I was ordered to live there without any servent or anything. Only my pce attendant Rena and my nanny Maria was allowed to apany me. But i didn¡¯tined. I worked hard everyday, for him to notice my efforts, for him to look at me, praise me, say i did a good job. But all he did was to humiliate me. Use me like a prostitute to satisfy his needs. Where all of his time went to someone else, his eyes that always looked at me with disgust was full of passion and love when he looked at her. Every night, i dreamt about my babies. Their screams, pleas to me to save them, how they was scared of darkness. Every night, I would wake up at in middle of the night. Crying all alone without anyone tofort me a little. Days passes by and everyone was saying she was the real empress where i was just a mere substitute because of my status. I stood beside him but the ce in his heart that belongs to me was hers. My husband was hers. Not even once in my life i wanted to be the empress. I just wanted to be his wife. I just wanted him to love me like i love him. But he used me of every crimes that i never did. Then he broke me to the point where i no longer want to wake up from this darkness was when he said Jena was pregnant. I should have expected this, he was in love with her. If he could touch me, the women whom he hated so much, then how can he not touch the women he loves so much? I felt pathetic, the truth was infront of me but i refused to believe it, see it, face it. I thought he would at least respect my position as an empress. But his love for her was so great that he stomped on me to make her happy. And i had to pay that price with my life along with my babies. Now i only want to rest in peace and if possible i want to meet my babies again. I want to see them, touch them, talk with them. I hope they regret what they did to us, specially Cathain. I will never forgive him for what he had did to me. I stayed curled up in the darkness for longer than I could say. It felt like days, or even years, but time didn¡¯t seem to move the same way here. Suddenly light surrounded me and I began to fall. Around me were images from my memories, floating past me as I dropped. And I saw my death. It was reyed over and over again as if trying to make me go insane. ¡°Please... stop...,¡± I begged as I didn¡¯t know if anyone could hear me but I couldn¡¯t handle this anymore. I shut my eyes tightly, pressing my balled-up fists against my ears to block out the images and sounds, but they continued to drill themselves into my brain. Someone please save me... Please.. I beg you... And my prayer seem to be heard by someone as i the memories stopped to y in my brain and i felt warm water drenching my body. I rxed my body and let myself drown deeper and deeper. Until i felt someone catch my wrist tightly and pull me up. What¡¯s happening? Chapter 14 Chapter 14: ¡°Saved¡± Eleanora tried to open her eyes but her eyelids felt very heavy. It was bing more and more colder... Then gradually her chest started to felt heavy and she gasped for breathe. She was losing her breathe and felt suffocated. Then the force that was pulling her up stop suddenly. Something strong was wrapped around her waist and It felt like someone¡¯s hand... Did someone really heard her prayer and came to save her from this? But before nora could react, she felt something pressed against her mouth and she was able to breathe again. ..... Someone was passing her air to breathe, by mouth to mouth. She wanted to open her eyes to see who it was but she couldn¡¯t. Is it another memory of hers that she don¡¯t remember? She just let the person pass her air and felt the persons warmth rushing into her. Her head was spinning and my body was gradually loosing it¡¯s strength. Eleanora was feeling so weak that even when that person pull her up from the water andid her on something hard like ground, she still couldn¡¯t open her eyes to see that person. ¡®Wait.. Where am i?¡¯ Eleanora could hear birds chirping sounds and a anxious voice calling out for her. Someone was shaking her violently. Asking her to wake up, again and again. She slowly tried to open my eyes and response to that person but everything was white infront of her because of the sunlight. ¡®Sunlight? How can their be sunlight in abyss?¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s cold and trembling body was now warming up by the sunlight. What¡¯s happening? She was drenched and shivering from cold. Eleanora put some more force into her eyes to see clearly and then she suddenly heard someone yelling my name. ¡°Elee!¡± Eleanora saw a man with familiar silver hair and blue eyes running towards her, he looked so young and handsome, exactly how she remembered him in the past... ¡®Wait, The past?¡¯ Before she could react, Duke Alexander Dalton came rushed towards her as he hugged her tightly. Alexander didn¡¯t mind her drenched body and he was wearing his official clothes that he used to wear, whenever he attended an imperial meeting. ¡°Are you all right, Princess?¡± A youngdy with wavy hair rushed towards her too. Eleanora recognised her. It was Maria. She looks quite young too. ¡®Wasn¡¯t Maria beheaded? Did he killed my father too? Are we in heaven?¡¯ Eleanora couldn¡¯t think of anything but what she knew was she wanted to hug and cry in her father¡¯s arm. Death was scary... very scary then she thought. Soon, tears filled up her eyes and she started to sniffle. Only Eleanora knew how much she missed this warmth of her father. Why did she only got to know about his love in the end? Eleanoraunched herself into his arms tightly and cried into his chest. ¡°Ele?? Are you okey? Are you hurt?¡± Eleanora shook my head. No, she wasn¡¯t hurt. She was just feeling a little cold. But she couldn¡¯t use her voice to say anything. Maria came back with a nket in a short moment and wrapped her up with it. And feeling the warmth, she couldn¡¯t control her fear that she felt when the broadsword fall on her neck and separated it from her body. ¡°Ele?? What¡¯s wrong? Why are you still crying?¡± Eleanora looked at Alexander and hugged him again more tightly as she burried her head into his shoulder. ¡°Daddy... Thank you foring... To save me... It was scary... Very dark... I was so scared... I didn¡¯t wanted to die... I want to stay with you...forever.¡± ¡°It¡¯s allright now, Daddy is here...sush!¡± Alexander kept stroking her damp hair and Eleanora was still sniffling, shuttering as she talked. ¡°I want to go home... Daddy ... Take me away from here.¡± Eleanora didn¡¯t want to stay in this dark ce anymore. She finally got to meet her dad and Maria. He was actually here, this isn¡¯t a memory of hers, she couldn¡¯t believe it. It was her father who listened to her prayers and came to save her. He saved her from there and took her in this havean. Alexander turned his head towards one of the attendant knights, whom Eleanora only just realised was in the scene also. He said something to them and they looked back at him with confusion, then nooded their head in agreement of something. Eleanora looked at them with confusion. Are they all dead like her? Eleanora be more terrified and hugged her father more tightly, wrapping her tiny legs around his waist. Then she heard them saying something but she couldn¡¯t focus as her mind was in a mess. What the hell is exactly happening? Alexander carried Eleanora to their carriage but she still didn¡¯t let him go. She felt so safe in his arms that she fall asleep. ¡®Oh God, Please don¡¯t let this illusion of mine to disappear. Don¡¯t take my long wanting father¡¯s love and warmth from me again.¡¯ Alexander stroke her silver hair gently and kissed her head. Eleanora¡¯s small body was wrapped up in a white nket as she was drenched and Alexander remembered the time when Eleanora was just born. That day right after Eleanora¡¯s birth, the usual silent duchy be lively with a child¡¯s crying sounds. Maria wrapped the newborn Eleanora into a white nket and take her out from the room to hand her over to Alexander. Alexander, who was anxious about his wife wanted to go in to cheak on Eunicelia first. But as his gaze fall on the tiny white bundle on Maria¡¯s hand, he froze. Silver hair like him, the baby girl looked so adorable and Alexander foumd her face simr to his wife¡¯s. He stopped on his tracks and took the newborn baby on his arms carefully. Her crying stopped right after she came to his arms and slowly opened her blue eyes to stare at him. Alexander was stunned to found her physical traits exactly the same as him. The baby smiled so brightly at him that, he named her ¡®Eleanora¡¯ which meant shining light. The priests predicted her to be the reborn saintess and wanted to name her Ariande. But under Alexander¡¯s death res, no one dared to speak. He vowed to protect the tiny girl on his arms and looking at the same girl who has grown up now, he felt the same possesiveness over her again. ¡®This time... I won¡¯t let anyone harm you. Father will protect you!¡¯ Chapter 15 Chapter 15: ¡°Back To The Past¡± Inside Eleanora¡¯s Bedroom... Alexander was trying to adjust the mana level of Eleanora¡¯s body as whenever she fall sick, her mana level drops. So at that time, someone with greater magic power have to transfer magic power into her body by making physical contact, like holding hands. ¡°Speak.¡± Alexander asked in a icy tone as he felt his aid Raynor has returned after seeing off the doctor. ¡°From what i got to know was, the princess was looking for you when she saw some small cat and puppies there and she ran away as she is afraid of them. And in the process of running away, she bumped into his highness, the crown prince and fall into theke...together.¡± ..... Alexander¡¯s aid Raynor replied thest sentence with a lot of hesitation and courage. ¡°You sure that bastard didn¡¯t did anything to her?¡± Alexander asked with a killing intent look in his face. ¡®D-Duke... He is the Crown Prince! How can you call him a bastard?¡¯ ¡°No, It was the crown prince who saved her.¡± ¡°It was him, who bumped into her thus she fall.¡± ¡°....¡± Raynor was lip tied. Alexander clenched his fist in anger as he was again a stepte but it¡¯s not tote. He will never let him approach her again! That crown prince doesn¡¯t deserve his daughter. ¡°Find out what that bastard likes and give him that as a both apology and thanking gift for saving her.¡± Alexander paused for a moment before he spoke again, ¡°Don¡¯t mention a word to her about him, saving her. Say it was a random stranger.¡± ¡°As you wish, Duke.¡± Raynor replied and stepped out from the room quickly like he was actually escaping, closing the doors. Aftering out, Raynor heaved a sigh of relief. He felt that he was about to die because of his superiors cold aura. His superior is always scary but today he was more scary... In the room, Alexander was sitting beside the sleeping Eleanora and stroked his fingers through her silver hair. He ced some fire mana stones around her so that her body warms up. As she fall into the cold water and she is already very sensitive to cold, on top of that, she has cold icy mana flowing all over her body with her blood. Most of the first born children, are born with strong and powerful magic powers. So, most of the first borns are usually boy, because the girls fragile body can¡¯t handle such strong mana and powers. Specially the Imperial family and the Dalton duchy, who helds the most powerful magic powers. Fire And Ice. This was why there was seldom girls born into this two family. Eleanora was the first born girl who was the direct blood heir into the Dalton duchy over the past hundred years. This was also why, the priest got a prophecy about her being the first saintess, Ariande; who came down on earth to destroy the demons, who will lead the empire to it¡¯s peck again. They got the prophecy right after the prince birth, and no girl was born after that above the rank of marquis. So everyone was sure that Eleanora is the girl in the prophecy. Thus, her name was decided as Ariande, which meant ¡®Most Holy¡¯ and she was already seen as an empress, since her birth. But Alexander didn¡¯t kept her name Ariande... he didn¡¯t wanted her daughter to live a life for someone else. Alexander grits his teath as he recalled how that cold blooded crown prince was staring at her. At that time, He was just staring at her like a boy who fall in love at first sight. ¡®This is impossible... I won¡¯t let that happen.¡¯ ¡°Raynor!!!¡± Alexander called his aid, who was waiting behide the door and was stunned to here his superiors sudden call. ¡°Y-Yes, Duke?¡± ¡°Hire someone to protect Eleanora from now on. No boy should be seen around my daughter.¡± ¡°...¡± Raynor was once again speechless because of his superiors words. Cathain was staring at his daughter, who kept crying while hugging her father. Alexander moved his body a little to block his view from Eleanora but he still didn¡¯t went away like he did before. This made Alexander furious. Why was that acting weird now? Cathain stood up and continued to watch the crying Eleanora, who was clinging to her father. To him, this girl was the potential perfect fiance of him, whom everyone praises non stop. So he never imagined that this girl would actually cry like this while clinging to his father. He has been watching her for quite a few days since her mother died. She follows her father secrectly and doesn¡¯t even knows how open her secretly sneaking is. Cathain¡¯s curious gaze was disturbing and very annoying. So Alexander bid him farewell and left without listening to his any words. Fortunately, Ele didn¡¯t noticed him. No way he will let that arrogant bastard toe closer to his daughter in any way possible again. Alexander is gonna rip apart every possible way for him to approach her. ¡®As long as Ele doesn¡¯t loves him, everything will go ording my n.¡¯ ¡®I won¡¯t let hime anywhere near you, Ele.¡¯ Alexander kisses Ele¡¯s forehead which was still hot because of her fever and looks at her sleeping face gently. ¡°Trust me, Ele. From now on, Daddy will keep you safe.¡± Ele wasn¡¯t fully asleep or awake. So she heard what her father just whispered to her. ¡®I will keep you and our duchy safe too!¡¯ But what they didn¡¯t knew was, another person who was standing in an dark road, with a dagger that was still dropping fresh blood as it was pulled out from another person¡¯s chest. That person slowly approached anotherying person on the ground and faint golden light glow out from that persons hands. Immediately, theying person started to breathe and was carried away by the mysterious person. ¡®This time, I will protect you, my empress.¡¯ Chapter 16 Chapter 16: ¡°Terrible Nightmare¡± Eleanora slowly opened her eyes but there was something blurry and out of focus in her eyes. She blinked her blurry eyes and slowly got up. Her head felt heavy as she overslept. As Eleanora opened the white curtains on her bed, she noticed a carpet embroidered with sheild in the middle of two spread white wings and two swords. She also saw a full-length mirror whose edge was decorated with silver with the same emblem. ¡®Why do I see the crest of my family here?¡¯ Eleanora jumped out of bed and ran towards her mirror. Instantly she could feel the difference when she moved. ..... She was shorter, lighter....And she felt strange. Eeanora looked at her reflection and widened her eyes in shock. She looked very young. Very much so. Her cheeks were plumper and her jewel like blue eyes were rounder. The stress lines she had umted over her years of mistreatment werepletely gone. She looked... pretty. Why she have never ever thought that before? Eleanora had been so focused on changing herself to suit Cathain that she hadn¡¯t realised it. And that¡¯s when she realised why she felt strange. Her body is soft and mana flow is lower then before... The older you get, the more you practice, the higher your mana levels up in your body. This body had never undergone those harsh knight training and war battles, this is why it¡¯s still so soft and smooth. This is how Eleanora looked when she was ten years old, before she officially began her knight training. A twenty-four year old trapped with a wounded soul inside the body of a small girl. ¡®Another dream?¡¯ Eleanora approached the window and opened the white curtains. She stiffened when she looked at the scenery outside the window. ¡®What happened? Why do I see my garden here?¡¯ Eleanora stood in a daze for a while and then looked again at the room. She was in the bedroom of her family home, the bedroom she had lived in up until her marriage with Cathain. Everything was exactly the same. Was it all a dream? Or is she trapped inside of another memory? ¡°My Lady!¡± A voice then suddenly yelled from outside as someone slowly opened the door. shes of memories of Rena came to her mind and she shivered. How many times had she called for me like that? ¡®My empress,¡¯ This is how sweetly Rena used to call her but in the end her betrayal took away her opportunity to flee. But no, that was impossible. It¡¯s the duchy, Rena can¡¯t be here. It took Eleanora a few seconds of realisation before she finally recognised who it was. There was only one person that could be... ¡°Good morning, mydy. You shouldy down as the doctor has suggested you to rest more.¡± ¡°Maria?¡± Eleanora opened her eyes wide at the brown-haired girling in, she rushed towards her and hugged her tightly. Maria tried to protect Eleanora till herst breathe, she was even beheaded along with her. But still she didn¡¯t left her... ¡°My-Mydy? Are you still scared?¡± Maria asked me with a dumbfounded face but Eleanora ignored her anxious gaze and hugged Maria tightly as tears filled her eyes. ¡°Oh my gosh! Why are you crying again, Did you perhaps had a nightmare?¡± ¡®Yes, I had a terrible nightmare.¡¯ The memories of seeing her father in the prison, Maria¡¯s head cut off and her being executed along with my child.. ¡®Wait a minute, Father?¡¯ ¡°Maria, where is my father?¡± Eleanora release Maria from her grip and asked anxiously. ¡°I guess he is on the training field. As you know, he is usually practicing around this time and he also took care of you all night.¡± ¡°Thanks!¡± ¡°Well, where are you going, mydy? You are still weak!!¡± But Eleanora paid no attention to Maria¡¯s words as she had to check. Eleanora thought she could be relieved after she checked with my own eyes that he was safe. She was not sure if what she experienced was a terrible nightmare or reality, or if she is dreaming now or not. All she wanted to do right now was go and see her father right away. As a nobleman¡¯s daughter, she was not supposed to run no matter how busy, but Eleanora didn¡¯t care about such manners now. She missed my father so much. Ignoring Maria¡¯s loud call, Eleanora grabbed the hem of her dress and ran barefoot. She ran downstairs through the second floor corridor where her room was, to the entrance, past the beautifully decorated garden, and to the training ground. ¡®Daddy...I hope you are safe!¡¯ Eleanora kept running as she continued to see familiar scenarios. The library where she used to sit all the time to know more about empress duties. The office room where her father used to work andter she worked when Alexander left for the border relief. The guest room where she used to chat with other nobledies. The garden where she took her first steps, the flower seeds which she nted with her father has bloom beautiful flowers now. The bench where her mother Eunicelia used to sit andb her hair while telling her stories. The big oak tree, under it she used to have pic with her parents on every weekends. Her mother cooking the meals personally and her father carrying the food basket as he carried her on his shoulder. Eunicelia crackingme jokes and Alexander trying hard to not let her realise it. Her father sneaking a kiss from her mother, thinking she wasn¡¯t watching. Everything was so clear and vivid in her mind like it all happened just yesterday and her mother is still with her. Every corner of the duchy made her remember the happy time she had with her parents. Then one day, her father suddenly left in a hurry for borders and right after he left, some mens in ck attacked their house. She watched Eunicelia keeping those mens away from her and then making her sit on a little pony. Her mother smiling for her onest time with blood on her hands and bidding her farewell. ¡®Run Ele... Never look back! Run fast.¡¯ Eleanora ran fast as she recalled her mother¡¯sst words. If she don¡¯t run now like she did before, maybe she will never be able to escape that terrible nightmare. ¡®Yeah, I need to run to Father, just like before...¡¯ Chapter 17 Chapter 17: ¡°A Chance To Change¡± Eleanora¡¯s father, Duke Alexander had been a loyal servant of the imperial family for generations, always putting the interests of the empire before anybody else including her. But in thest moments of their life, he thought of her first rather than the empire, realizing that she was having an extremely hard time. Her father said he loved her always, he didn¡¯t me her for anything. Eleanora was afraid that she could not see him anymore if she did not find him right away. The servants and maids looked at her running in surprise, but Eleanora didn¡¯t care. After running a long distance with her short legs, she ran out of breathe and stopped for a moment to caught her breath and looked around. Eleanora saw his silver hair shining in the sunshine far away and her heart began to pound. ..... She once again clenched the hem of her skirt and put her feet down to run more faster. ¡°Mydy?¡± ¡°It¡¯s dangerous!¡± ¡°What are you doing? Hold thedy! She still haven¡¯t recovered!¡± Maria and the other maidservants was speaking among themselves as they run after Eleanora. She saw knights sparring or training in the middle of the training field looking at her in surprise when she was running across the field. Some of them seemed to be groaning while they were withdrawing their swords urgently, but she didn¡¯t care. Normally, Eleanora wouldn¡¯t be bothering them, nor visit the training field, but that was not important to her right now. ¡°Ele?¡± ¡°Daddy!¡± As Eleanora approached him quickly, he was surprised and looked at her with a confused gaze. The storm in Eleanora¡¯s heart had finally calmed down as she saw Alexander¡¯s face. She ran faster and reached out to the dumbstruck Alexander, hanging on to him desperately. Eleanora felt him stiffening when he instinctively held her in his arms. She felt his warmth from practicing when he hugged me. She had never felt it before. Eleanora buried her face in his chest and rubbed her cheek against him, hearing his heart beating fast. Ah, how fortunate! When Eleanora fully felt his warmth, she could confirm that he was alive with his vivid heartbeats. She hoped that she was not dreaming anymore now. ¡°Ele?¡± Suddenly her vision was blurry because he had never called my nickname since her mother died and she had be the empress. He always referred her as ¡®Her Majesty¡¯ during the time she was the empress. Till they bid each other farewell in the cold prison and called her ¡®Ele¡¯ again before she was killed. For fear she might fell, Alexander carefully embraced her and spoke in a hesitant tone. ¡°E-Ele?¡± ¡°Yes, Daddy?¡± Eleanora was choked with emotions when Alexander stuttered, calling her nickname in embarrassment and finally hug her tightly like she did. Eleanora noticed his concerned eyes and his voice full of anxiety. It was the first time she felt his warmth. Was it because she felt relieved? Tears kepting down her cheeks, and her father carefully wiped her tears and asked in a low voice. ¡°Why? What¡¯s the matter with you, Ele? Are you still feeling ufortable?¡± ¡°Daddy, daddy, daddy...¡± Suddenly, The more Eleanora called him the more he stiffened, at a loss about what to do, breaking out in a cold sweat. After a while and lot of sobbings, Eleanorae to her senses and realised the situation. As she took a deep breath and looked around, she saw Alexander looking at her nkly while holding her on his arms and the knights brightly smiling at her. ¡°Are you okay now, Ele?¡± ¡°Yeah, daddy.¡± Eleanora barely answered with a feeble voice as she was ashamed. Howe she cried like a child in front of these knights? She didn¡¯t have the nerve to raise my head, so she buried her face in Alexander¡¯s chest. ¡°Are you still scared?? Did something bad happen in your dreams?¡± ¡°Hmm..¡± Eleanora nooded her head as she still had to understand the situation. Alexander carefully put her down on the ground, kneeled on one knee and made eye contact with her. Eleanora folded her hands together and hesitated at his unusually kind posture. There was a moment of silence between them. ¡°What happened, Ele? Tell me.¡± ¡°..Nothing...Just a terrible nightmare..¡± ¡°Really?¡± There was a deadly silence throughout the training field. As Eleanoa carefully looked around, she saw her father with a rather hardened face and the knights staring at her nkly or with a burdensome expression. Eleanora regretted that she came here. That was so stupid of her! She should have looked around before expressing her genuine feelings or childish behaviour infront of her father. It wouldn¡¯t be this embarrassing if her father was alone, but she just had to cry infront of the whole duchy people! And... What is her father also thinking of her now? She just did something so out of manner as a duke¡¯s daughter. Eleanora just wanted to get out of here before she got more embarrassed. Her tiny little face had be full red and Maria, who finally caught up with her put her slippers infront of her. Eleanora was shocked. So the maids was calling her so desperately not to stop her but to make her wear her slippers? And she ran all the way till here bare foot? Looking down on her dirty feet and Alexander¡¯s white shirt full of the dirts that her feet carried, Eleanora was more ashamed. Eleanora silently put on her slippers without looking at anyone before she ran fast again. She heard someone calling her from behind, but she ran out of the field without looking back. ¡®This was really embarrassing!¡¯ Returning to her room, Eleanora tried to calm down her throbbing heart. Eleanora felt so ashamed, but didn¡¯t care much about it. As long as father and the other people¡¯s are okay nothing else matters. She was not sure if she was dreaming now. Or it might be God¡¯s final consideration, who listened to her prayers to be saved from that darkness as she was innocent. Perhaps she gave her another chance out of pity. A chance to change her lonely dark world, A chance to cherish everyone, protect herself and the one whom she couldn¡¯t protect. Chapter 18 Chapter 18: ¡°Going To The Pce¡± Eleanora¡¯s pov ~ It¡¯s been a few days since am living in this dream again. Everynight, before sleeping, i pray to the god to not wake me up from this dream. Me and my father has been getting along with each other like before again. Maybe it¡¯s not totally like before, but it¡¯s still a lot better. The atmosphere in the Dalton duchy is somehow just like five years ago, before my mother, duchess Eunicelia died. I bid my father every morning with a bright smile before he leaves for the pce and father kisses my head and tells me that he will be back soon. But still, something seems a little off. This days, he over caress for me and he is being a little over protective. Like even if i cough a little, he would call the physician to cheak up on my health. ..... Now am currently in my way to the dining room as father eats his every breakfast and dinner with me. I think he changed a little because i changed? I entered the dining room where i found my father, who was already waiting for me. I sat down, still feeling awkward. Even if we get along now, but eating with him tires me out as he just stayspletely silent.... ¡°I¡¯m sorry for beingte, Father.¡± ¡°...¡± Huh? Did he wince at me? As his motion was so small, I did not know if I had seen it well. I tilted my head while moving my fork in silence. Why is he making such an expression? Is he displeased with behavior? ¡°You don¡¯t look good. Are you okay, Father?¡± I asked awkwardly and This time his motion was rather big. Didn¡¯t he really like the food? ¡°You look ufortable. Are you really alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± My father replied. ¡°Then, what¡¯s the matter with you? If you tell me, let me tell them to correct it immediately.¡± I asked him again why he was acting unnaturally today. He was silent for a long time, with his face hardened, and then said finally, ¡°Why don¡¯t you call me like you used to did before?¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± I blinked as i didn¡¯t quite get his words. ¡°I mean, why don¡¯t you call me like you did in the training field and...when you was little?¡± Huh? Training field? What did I call you then? ¡°Daddy...?¡± My face blushed and he smilled. Oh My God. What did I do there? I realized that I was doing something that I wouldn¡¯t have even imagined normally. Although I vowed that I would act freely as I wished in this dream of mine, I was still very embarrassed. As I couldn¡¯t see him face to face, I looked down. As if he felt the same way, he cleared his throat several times and said, ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the thing.¡± After eating our foods in silent, he stood up after finishing his and i tried to get up too as i wanted to bid him. But he patted my head and made me sit down again as he took my fork and pushed some food inside my mouth. Huh? I be dumbfounded as i continued to chew on my food. ¡°Eat your food and stay healthy. Don¡¯t get sick.¡± He was going away when he suddenly stopped infront of the door and hesitate for moment before he spoke again, ¡°I will be happy if you keep calling me that, Ele..¡± I immediately looked back but he was long gone. But somehow this triggered me, i felt like if i don¡¯t run to him now, i won¡¯t see him again like before. I put down my fork as i run behind him. ¡°DADDY!¡± I called out for him and he stopped. He was going to get into his carriage when i rushed to him and hugged him from behind. I grabbed his blue uniform with my trembling hands. I was afraid he would suddenly disappear. If I let go of his hands now, I felt like I would wake up from a cozy dream and be thrown into a cold reality, again. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, Ele? Do you have anything to say to me?¡± ¡°Oh no, daddy.¡± ¡°Well, are you sick?¡± ¡°No, daddy.¡± ¡°Then, what¡¯s wrong?¡± He extended his hand to touch my forehead and then took me into hisp. When I met his deep blue eyes like mine, filled with concern, I felt as if the anxiety weighing on me seemed to go away a bit. I knew that doing as I wished was different from troubling somebody. So, I felt that I should not trouble my father anymore. I was still scared, but I released my grip on his uniform and said reluctantly, ¡°It¡¯s nothing special. Please take care, daddy.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± He was still anxious. I smiled as brightly as possible, but my father frowned. There was a moment of silence. When I was about to tell him again that I was okay, he looked me again said, ¡°You want to go with me?¡± ¡°Pardon? To the pce?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Can I?¡± ¡°Well, Someone have sneakily followed me there for the past few months...¡± ¡°DADDY!!¡± I be so embarrassed at his unexpected response, and clung to his arms. How did he knew that i used to secretly follow him to the pce? Then i heard somebody murmuring behind my back. Looking back, I saw the knights staring at my father and me sharply. Why were they staring at us like that? Tilting my head, I met a young knight¡¯s eyes. I also smiled unconsciously when he smiled at me. Then, their whispering became louder. What the hell were they doing? Their long whispering stopped only after my father ordered them to leave. I was puzzled, watching them going back to their ce as if nothing happened. Was it because of me? Because I acted differently this days? If that¡¯s the case, it¡¯s too realistic for a dream. Then, am I in the real world now? Was the long and painful pain of mine, just a nightmare? I headed for the pce with such doubt. ..... Chapter 19 Chapter 19: ¡°Dream Or Reality?¡± Soon, The carriage with Dalton Duchy¡¯s silver crest stopped infront of the imperial pce. Alexander got down first and extended his hands towards Eleanora toe down. ¡°Let¡¯s get down, Ele.¡± ¡°Yes, daddy.¡± Getting out of the carriage, Eleanora looked around. The sunlit made the white building look like a shiny gold building, and the thick green trees cast shadows over the road. There were servants and maids walking briskly, officials talking to each other holding a handful of paperwork, and knights trading ces with each other, dressed in fancy uniforms. ..... All these were the same familiar images that Eleanora had in her past memories as she entered the pce cautiously. She could see a familiar magnificent pce towering over lots of buildings. Unusuallyrge, it was the Emperor¡¯s Pce, the Main of the imperial pce as well as the residence of the emperor. The ce where she wasn¡¯t allowed without any prior permission except for work, despite being the empress. As Eleanora was looking at the tall building infront of her, she was troubled by anxiety again. She didn¡¯t know if it was a dream or a reality, but all kinds of miserable memories started to came to her mind. She felt as if the emperor Cathain would appear before her right away and wake her up from this dream, so she grabbed Alexander¡¯s sleeves with her trembling hands. Alexander face hardened when he looked at her strangely. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you today, Ele? Are you feeling sick again?¡± ¡°Ah... No.. Am okay...¡± I started to gasp for breathe. ¡°Let me take you to the royal doctor.¡± Without giving her any time to respond, he moved quickly. Eleanora put her arm around Alexander¡¯s neck and leaned on his shoulder. It felt like the warmth she felt from his broad chest whispered to her that she would be okay, so she could feel relieved. Only then did her trembling and anxiety subsided little by little. ¡°Your highness, The Duke?¡± ¡°Captain?¡± Eleanora came to her senses when she heard them exchanging greetings with each other. Where is she now? When she turned and looked around carefully, the royal knights in indigo white uniforms were standing stiffly nearby. They were looking at her father in surprise. In fact, they were staring at her in his arms. Oh My God! Eleanora whispered small, hiding her blushing face. ¡°Please put me down, daddy... Am okay now.¡± ¡°We¡¯re almost there. So, hang on a minute.¡± ¡°No, It¡¯s awkward. Please put me down, Dad.¡± He didn¡¯t even replied anymore. Eleanora asked Alexander to put her down several times, but he was very determined to carry hour. Although Eleanora was ashamed when they were looking at her, She gave up and buried her face in his shoulder rather than asking again. Because Alexander had no intentions of putting her down. So, she pouted and red at him but he just smiled at her gently. Eleanora was really speechless when she met his gentle blue eyes with a smiling face. ¡°I¡¯m honored to see you, Captain!¡± ¡°Wee, sir.¡± When Eleanora turned her head slightly, she saw a couple of knights bowing to her father. Eleanora stiffened at their burdensome look. ¡®Why are they making such expressions? It looks like they are looking at their puppies!¡¯ ¡°Well Captain.¡± A knight in blue uniform came. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± My father asked with a cold voice. ¡°Can I hold her? You look tired...¡± The knight replied. ¡°No, sir. I can do it because this guy is very tired because of heavy training today...¡± Another knight in blue uniform came. ¡°No thanks, guys. Just go back to your work.¡± Eleanora saw lots of wistfulness in their eyes when her father rejected their request. After rejecting them out of hand, Alexander began to walk again. ¡®Just what am i too them? A doll they came to carry or a puppy to y with. Why are they looking at me like this?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she pouted, not realising the person who stopped on his tracks when his gaze fall on her. Although Eleanora told him several times that she was okay, Alexander still called the royal doctor as soon as he arrived at the office. Very soon, A old noble man who seem to be the doctor came in with a briefcase in his hands. When the doctor said she was okay, but felt dizzy because she was too weak, Alexander was relieved and went back to work. Eleanora look around and It was not very different from the office in her memories. Documents were stacked on arge desk. There were chairs and simple tea sets for his aides and visitors. It was a typical office. When Eleanora noticed the mounds of documents, one thing shed her mind. In the past, She always handled a lot of documents in a dreamy state. If her memory was true, could she understand and deal with her father¡¯s documents, too? Eleanora picked up a document from his aide¡¯s table. Alexander gave her a surprise look, but didn¡¯t care. Contrary to her expectation that it was difficult, the thick paper was surprisingly easy to understand. If so, are things in her memories not a dream? Or is she dreaming now? Eleanora looked up at her father with trembling eyes. If it¡¯s a dream... then will her father¡¯s warmth vanish from her once again? She looked at him very briefly, but he immediately met her gaze, so she lowered her head in a hurry. Pretending to be casual, Eleanora kept reading the documents. She tilted her head, thought. ¡®So, is this warmth just a dream of mine?¡¯ But then Alexander took away those papers from her hands as he hugged her. ¡°It¡¯s too early for you to read this. You should just y and have a lot of fun ording to your age.¡± Eleanora just kept looking at her father. Just why is he so different from the memories she remember? If it was in the past, he would just ignore her or stay expressionless. ¡®Oh God, Goddess, whomever is hearing me now please don¡¯t let me wake up from this warmth.¡¯ Eleanora prayed and soon came to realize that it wasn¡¯t a dream... ...The moment her blue eyes meet his fierce red eyes, once again. ..... Chapter 20 Chapter 20: ¡°Into The Darkness, Again¡± Eleanora¡¯s pov ~ A few moments ago, Marquise Roselia came and called my father for an imperial urgent meeting. It seems like there was a sudden problem with the temple as i also saw some priest on my way. I was walking on this familiar paths as i still couldn¡¯t distinguish if am dreaming now or my memory is only a dream? I tried to calm myself down as every path, only reminded me of horrible memories. I kept walking and then suddenly stopped in the middle of the imperial garden. I stood where my past memories from the dream was bought back again. Yeah, i stood here and cried as i stroked my belly which had a tiny life inside of it. The life, which i choose to apanying me in the darkness. If i had revealed that i was pregnant, maybe our life would be saved. ..... But we would have to live a worse life then dead. With a mother who escaped her sentence because she was pregnant with him and a father who didn¡¯t care about him and his mother. Maybe he would also be neglected like me once Jena gave birth to another child again. I just hope for the truth to be revealed and see my face when they meet their end and regret. Then i looked at the tree where i had an hallucination of seeing a man which i found empty after approaching. This memories are just to vivid to be a dream, Am i really dreaming now or am back to the past? I really needed someone to help me with all this, but i just didn¡¯t knew whom to share it with. Will i not be considered as a madman for this? I sighed then turned around to leave the ce but i bumped into something, which i knew that it was a boy. I fall on the ground and rubbed my nose as i felt hurt and i saw a hand with long slender fingere into my vision. I looked up and i was horrified to death... ¡®What is he doing here?¡¯ ck hair that shined like silver under the bright sunlight and his bloody red eyes which looked more darker as the shadow fall over his face. I looked at him with my widened eye and wore a horrible expression of fear. No... No... no... no... no... He couldn¡¯t be here. He isn¡¯t supposed to be here. It¡¯s my dream! At least let me be happy here! ¡®You are nothing, Eleanora. She is the only one who can bear my child and be the heir of mine.¡¯ No, please, no... I¡¯m not ready... ¡®You have been found guilty of the charges against you.¡¯ Cold, familiar red eyes stared down at me. Piercing gaze, Like a tiger watching its prey with curiosity. ¡®Therefore, with the power held within me, I, Cathain De Valerian Valentino, Emperor of the Valentino empire...¡¯ I took two steps back with the help of my hands slowly, unable to take my eyes off the teenage boy, in whom am seeing a adult man, in front of me. ¡®...sentence you, Eleanora Dalton, former empress of the Valentino empire...¡¯ ¡°Crown Princess?¡± A familiar friendly voice called out to me, who was standing beside him. However, I couldn¡¯t register their words. ¡®...to death.¡¯ I tried to get up to run but i fell backwards to the ground in front of the man who had been my death. Who will be my death again. ¡®Your sentence is to be carried out immediately.¡¯ No, please, make it stop!! I covered my ears feebly as the rational side of my brain tried to convince me this wasn¡¯t real, that the voice was just a memory inside my head and nothing more. Stop... stop... stop... STOP... STOP...STOP... STOP... My body began to rock, trying to force the memories to leave me alone. ¡°Princess Eleanora...¡± ¡®Empress Eleanora...¡¯ That was his voice. Even if it sounds less hostile and cold, i can still recognise it. It broke through my mental turmoil enough to make me freeze. It was exactly the same. Nothing was different. Nothing had changed. ¡°... Why are you here?¡± I managed to whisper. However, I wasn¡¯t sure if I was asking the question to him or asking myself. ¡°You realise that am the crown prince of this empire and it¡¯s normal for me to be here, right?¡± When I didn¡¯t reply he frowned. ¡°Crown Princess, it¡¯s rude to present yourself in this manner to your future emperor, The crown prince.¡± Another voice beside him said and i saw how his eyes glowed with hatred, the moment he heard him calling me crown princess. ¡°Princess, please get up. You¡¯re embarrassing me in front of another Prince of our alliance.¡± I could hear what he was saying but all I could see was the swing of my sword before it hit my neck. Over... and over... and over... and over again... ¡°Are you honestly just going topletely ignore what I¡¯m saying to you? Don¡¯t you have any manners?¡± He spoke, increasingly bing angrier. I couldn¡¯t get my body to respond. Nothing I did would let me take control. I was helpless to him, just as I had been in the past. I wasn¡¯t different even in my own dream. I hadn¡¯t changed. He was fated to control my life no matter how many times i died or dreamt or lived. ¡°Stop it! Get up right now!¡± I could feel the tone of his superior authority trying tomand me, but even that wasn¡¯t able to get through to me. When he saw me still refusing to move, he eventually lost patience and reached his hand out towards me. Atst, my body finally did react. I flinched, turning my face away as I held my hands up in defence against the p I anticipated was about tond. But it never came. I dared to peek up at him and saw he held a look of shock at my response, the hand he had stretched out having stopped midway before making contact. I looked at his arm and, to my surprise, I saw how it was positioned as if he had been nning to pull me to my feet rather than p me. I¡¯d acted on impulse when there had been no real danger of physical pain. ¡°I think it might be best not to touch her and leave her be for a moment to calm down.¡± A boy with shiny dark blue hair with bright golden eyes said, stepping in. Who seem toe from the opposite direction, mostly from the imperial meeting hall. Wait...He is... ¡°I greet the princess of the Dalton Duchy, Lady Eleanora Dalton. I am Dominic Caisson Arendell, The second prince of the Arendell Kingdom.¡± He bow down a little to greet me and I just stared at him. He wasn¡¯t supposed to be alive. What¡¯s happening? Then i meet his fierce red gaze which was burning up more and more as time passes by... ...And this was how i once again fall into the deep darkness, all alone. ..... Chapter 21 21 ¡°Write Your Own Fate¡± Eleanora¡¯s pov ~ I saw Prince Dominic and the crown prince argue or talk about something but i couldn¡¯t hear them and darkness slowly filled up my vision. Silence started to ring in my ears and i couldn¡¯t see or hear anything anymore. I started to feel cold again, like how i felt before i entered my dream. ¡°Eleanora, My child.¡± Then i heard a sweet voice, calling for me. I couldn¡¯t see any figure but i felt something warm, wrapping around my body. The darkness started to fade as a shiny silver golden light filled up my vision. I looked around here and there but i couldn¡¯t see anyone. I heard that same sweet voice again. ¡°You can¡¯t see me, My child. But i can see you.¡± ..... ¡°W-Who are you?¡± I asked. I don¡¯t know why, but i wasn¡¯t feeling afraid of whoever it was. Rather, i felt familiar andfortable. ¡°You don¡¯t remember me yet, My child. But even if you don¡¯t remember me, i can¡¯t leave you alone anymore.¡± I couldn¡¯t understand her words and it seemed like she was able to read my mind as the warmness around me got more warm. ¡°Am giving back your past divine powers to you again... I hope, this time, you will live like you want, write your fate with your own hands... You are not in a dream of your memories, You were reborn again.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I really didn¡¯t understand what she was saying and what powers? ¡°I can¡¯t tell you everything my child, I just hope you will live with happiness in this third life of yours. I couldn¡¯t take you to another dimension this time because after you died in yourst life, the world was full of chaos. I hope you can save yourself and the world with your new powers this time. This poweres from your first life. Now go back and write your own fate. Your children¡¯s are waiting for you...¡± ¡®My children¡¯s?¡¯ I wanted to ask for more but i was intrupted by her voice. ¡°I, Mother of all life, Thea, blesses the Valentino empire by passing my first daughter, saintess Ariande¡¯s powers, to Eleanora, the daughter of Alexander Dalton, so that she can help the humanity. From now on, Eleanora Dalton, will be the new holy saintess of divine powers, Eleanora Ariande La Dalton. Her name means what she is.¡± ... Eleanora, who was still in darkness didn¡¯t knew about the chaos happening in front of her. ¡°I think it might be best not to touch her and inform the duke.¡± Dominic said, blocking Cathain¡¯s view to see Eleanora. ¡°What are you on about? I haven¡¯t even done anything to her and she¡¯s acting like aplete fool.¡± Cathain gestured down at Eleanora. ¡°I¡¯d say by the looks of things that she really doesn¡¯t feel like being around you right now. Probably best to also keep in mind she¡¯s not in a good health.¡± Dominic replied and Cathain looked at him with a fiery eyes. ¡°How do you know that she isn¡¯t in a good health?¡± ¡°Well, i was just passing by when i saw you identally push her into the pool then rescuing her and Duke Alexander to take her away.¡± Dominic replied as he bent down and gently touched Eleanora¡¯s trembling shoulder to calm her down. ¡°Don¡¯t touch her!¡± Cathain yelled at him. ¡°She doesn¡¯t belong to you.¡± ¡°Guess you didn¡¯t hear the news yet, but she doesn¡¯t ¡®belong¡¯ to anyone anymore.¡± Dominic replied in a casual tone,pletely unphased by the crown prince¡¯s attitude. ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t think I need to remind you, but you do realise that you¡¯re not actually officially married yet, as someone didn¡¯t attended the engagement ceremony right?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t belong to anyone? What¡¯s that supposed to mean? Even if i attended or not, She is the crown princess!¡± ¡°Probably best to have a chat with your father about this one. For now though,¡± Dominic spoke as he scooped her tiny body up into his arms with ease. ¡°I think you¡¯re giving the poor girl a panic attack with your fierce temper and eyes.¡± Dominic was going to leave with Eleanora in his arms to take her to the duke but Cathain stepped forward, blocking him from exiting. He puffed up his chest as if he was about to challenge Dominic right then and there for daring to touch what he believed was his. Cathain had never loved Eleanora as per everyone but also knew that the emperor had loved to possess the empress in their past life. He had kept her caged the entire time they were together, cutting off all ties of friendships she barely had or tried to make with anyone of worthy status. So now, seeing someone else holding her like this right in front of him, how can he bear it? Well, if Dominic wasn¡¯t from an allied kingdom, he would have been dead or down in the cells already by now. Or at least the emperor from their past would have done that. Seeing the two of them standing together was almost surreal. Even though they were both still only fourteen year old teenagers, both of them stood tall and were as well-built as one would expect an future emperor to be. Brayden, who was standing beside Cathain was terrified to think of what a fight between them would look like. He knew that Cathain was like nothing else when it came to the battlefield. Just like his father Emperor Valerian, who had bepletely undefeated once he had ascended to power. ¡°Do you really want to start something with a kid having a mental breakdown in my arms?¡± Dominic queried, tilting his head slightly to scrutinise Cathain with his eyes. ¡°Can¡¯t we both agree that the best thing for her right now is to take her back to her father first? She was already in poor health when she came here and now she isn¡¯t even responding or moving anymore.¡± Cathain deted, finally thought better of the situation but he was still determined to not let anyone else touch her. He took the unresponsive Eleanora from Dominic¡¯s arm and walked way like nothing happened. Dominic lips curles up into a smrik as he thought, ¡®Let¡¯s see for how long you can keep her with you.¡¯ Chapter 22 22 ¡°Unconscious¡± Cathain¡¯s pov ~ I kept staring at the tiny figure in my embrace as i run towards my chamber instead of handing her over to her father, the duke. I ordered Brayden to call the royal doctor and after reaching my room, iid her down in my bed and tucked her silver hair, behind her ears. Why is she like this? Is she mad at me because i didn¡¯t attended our engagement ceremony or because she fall into theke identally because of me? Her blue jewel like eyes that used to shine had turned dark and her body was bing more colder. I put on another nket over her body but she was still cold. Then a sudden realization hit me. ¡®Am such a dumbass!¡¯ She has ice magic so cold mana flows into her body. Of course she will turn more cold as she isn¡¯t able to control her mana in this state now. She was bing more colder and looking lifeless. ..... ¡®So cold...¡¯ At first i just hold her hands to pass my warmth to her but it was no use as she was freezing and i sighed. ¡®Am doing this because she is sick, nothing else!¡¯ I slowly leaned towards her cold lips and gently put mine above her. ¡®So cold!¡¯ I focused on passing my mana into her body and unexpectedly her cold mouth was veryfortable to my mouth which was passing burning hot mana in her body. I could feel my cheeks burning up as my mouth wanted more then just passing mana. My lips wanted to covet hers as my tounge wanted to Interwined with hers. ¡®It¡¯s normal...it¡¯s normal to feel this way as we both have opposite mana...Her coldness calms my burning mana and mine warms up hers.¡¯ I was shocked at my own thoughts. What the hell am i thinking? I took a peck in her eyes which was still open but unconscious. I wonder how she would react if she saw this. The boy she fears so much that she be like this, but both times it was me who saved her! At the first time, it was me who passed her air by mouth to mouth and now am also passing my own mana to her! Why would she react this way? What did i ever did to her? Shouldn¡¯t she be grateful to me for saving her twice? I came back to my sense when i heard a knock in the door and took back my mouth from hers. I fixed my appearance and said in a calm voice, ¡°Come in.¡± Then Brayden came in with the royal doctor and i stood up from the bed for him to take a look at her. The doctor examined her for a long time and then stood up wuth a dejected face. ¡°Your Royal Highness, was herdyship traumatised by something?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, she was like this the moment i saw her.¡± ¡°She was already in a poor health when she came here this morning... Wait, maybe the sudden prophecy had something on her. You should call the new priestess who is still in the pce, Your highness.¡± ¡°What prophecy?¡± I asked Brayden as i have no idea about what the doctor is saying. But before Brayden could say something, Duke Alexander came in with a fierce gaze and letting out her chilly cold aura. ¡°What did you do to my daughter again, Your Majesty, The crown prince?¡± But the moment his eyes fall on the unconscious Eleanora, He froze and his fierce gaze was full of fear. ¡°Elee!¡± He yelled as he rush to the bed and His blue eyes trembled with anxiety. I always thought the duke was a merciless cold person, who didn¡¯t have any emotions. But seeing him like this, i was surprised. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Ele? What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°.....¡± ¡°What was so shocking to you? What is it that has distressed you so much as to copse? Huh? Tell your father..¡± ¡°......¡± ¡°Please tell me anything. I¡¯m so frustrated as you keep your mouth shut.¡± ¡°......¡± ¡°Are you upset because I camete? I¡¯m sorry. If I had known this earlier, I would never have left you alone.¡± Although he talked in a very friendly tone, I could see the anxiety and fear in his eyes and tone well. After a moment, when she blinked slowly and tilted her head, there was some liveliness in his face. He began to say with a subdued voice, ¡°Can¡¯t youe to your senses?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Are you going to live absent-mindedly like this? leaving your father all alone too?¡± Eleanora was still in a daze, didn¡¯t replied anything and the duke clenched his fist as he looked at me with a hostile eyes that was like ming me for what happened to her. What¡¯s wrong with this father and daughter pair? One looks at me like am gonna kill her and another looks at me like he is going to kill me. ¡°Elee!¡± ¡°...¡± He began to shout with a cracked voice. His hardened face was contorted, and his repressed voice was growing bigger. Maybe she didn¡¯t want to hear his cranky voice that broke the peace of her mind, she covered her ears with both hands. The duke finally ran out of patience as he grabbed her arms tightly. Pulling away her hands from her ears, hemented, ¡°I was wrong! As I was worried that you might hate me for not being able to save your mother, I distanced myself from you. As a result, you have be a weak child now.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°How long are you gonna escape by passing out and crying all night? How are you going to change your life since you are weak like this? How can you hold a sword anymore with such a weak spirit? How can you seed the family with this weak mental power!¡± I really couldn¡¯t understand the dukes words anymore. What the hell is he saying? seed the family? ¡°Eleanora Dalton!¡± Even my own heart skipped a beat by his severe rebuke imbued with sadness, but Eleanora still didn¡¯t moved. Seeing this, the duke hugged her tiny body tightly and i could see a faint tear drop in the corner of his eyes. Then suddenly another person knocked on the door. Chapter 23 23 ¡°The Prophecy¡± Alexander¡¯s Pov ~ Earlier in the morning, i took Eleanora with me because i knew she was still in a daze, she was still confused about either it¡¯s a memory of hers or reality. That day, I opened my eyes again to find myself back in the past. After finding myself into the royal pce again, i immediately ran outside to find Eleanora, when i hear some ruckus about someone falling into the water. And then i saw, The crown prince saving Eleanora from the Lake, just like in the past. This was the moment when Eleanora fall for him in the past. I hurriedly went to her as i didn¡¯t wanted that bastard to touch her, who will end up killing her with his own hands. The moment i saw Ele and heard her words, i was sure that she was back in the past just like me. But unlike me, she couldn¡¯t ept it right way. She started to do weird things that she never did before and i was actually happy to see her change. ..... She would often cry in the night because of her nightmares about the past and pass out in the morning or whenever she encountered something simr to past. She had thought, it was me who saved her this time and i had no intention of telling her the truth. I don¡¯t want my baby girl to suffer once again and she needed to face this reality. That¡¯s why i took her to the pce, so that she could ovee her fear. She can¡¯t escape this pce no matter how much she tries, she have to face this. I have already thought about talking to the emperor about the annulment of their engagement and train her once again as a knight. I also know that, Ele will want the same as she want to escape him this time. But if she doesn¡¯t ovee her this fear sooner, she won¡¯t even be able to hold her sword anymore. It hurted my heart to see her trembling in my arms but i had no other choice. I have to let her go through this pain to make her more stronger. After the doctor left, i wanted to talk with her about this when Marquis Roselia suddenly came and informed me about the emergency meeting. In the meeting room, Emperor Valerian was sitting on his throne and we all greet him together. Seeing that the crown prince was absent from his seat, i sighed in relief because, i thought he wasn¡¯t in the pce. Then my gaze fall on the second prince of the Arendell Kingdom, Dominic Caisson Arendell. Beside him, sat a girl, who seemed to be at her teenage. Her face and full body was covered in veil. So except her caramel brown eyes, which was quitemon, i couldn¡¯t see anything else. Her appearance seemed like a priestess and it was quite rare to see a priestess at this young age. Then with the emperor¡¯s approval the meeting begin. From their exchanges, i got to know that, this girl was a priestess who was able to heal and hear the god¡¯s prophecy. Recently she got a prophecy about the Saintess of light, Ariande, finally being reborn again in the Valerian empire. Seeing the flow of their conversation, i felt a sudden hint of danger. It¡¯s normal that, the Arendell Kingdom is just trying to get in a more good term with us, but something was off. Then we all heard a sudden voice, that seem toe out of nowhere and ring in our ears... ~I, Mother of all life, Thea, blesses the Valentino empire by passing my first daughter, saintess Ariande¡¯s powers, to Eleanora, the daughter of Alexander Dalton, so that she can help the humanity. From now on, Eleanora Dalton, will be the new holy saintess of divine powers, Eleanora Ariande Dalton. Her name means what she is~ ¡®What?¡¯ I felt like lighting has struck me. The priestess eyes sparkled as she spoke, ¡°Your Majesty, What i told was true, The goddess, herself, sent the prophecy this time!¡± The meeting room be silent and after a few moments people started to whisper among them and some even started to congratte me. But i was shocked. Eleanora meant shining light and Ariande meant most holiest, So if you put them together it bes the most holiest shining light. And the prophecy we got before Eleanora¡¯s birth was, ¡°The most holiest shining light will be the prince¡¯s partner, who will help the empire to prosper and save the world.¡± The emperor dered proudly and my heart skipped a beat in fear. No! This can¡¯t be! I can¡¯t let my daughter to be tied with him again! Oh God! What have you just done? Why did you gave us a second chance if your n was to tie her with him again? Now that Ele was decleared as the new saintess and it was now confirmed that she is thedy of the previous prophecy, it won¡¯t be easy for me to annul their marriage. After the first prophecy, Eleanora was the first girl being born into the upper noble ss, so she was gradually thought as the girl sent by the god for the prince. Although it wasn¡¯t even sure if she was thedy in the prophecy, but now it¡¯s sure. There was no prophecy in the past, so why now? And from what i know about the emperor, he would definitely not let me annul their marriage as if she doesn¡¯t be the prince¡¯s wife, then she is a threat to his son and to the throne. She can either be the prince¡¯s partner or die. People was talking around me but i paid them no attention as i was emerged in my own thoughts. Then prince dominic who saw me standing kept staring at me with a dumbfounded expression as he asked me, ¡°Duke? Why are you still here?¡± ¡°I greet the second prince of the Arendell Kingdom, May i ask what you mean by your words?¡± ¡°Princess Eleanora had copsed on the road and the crown prince took her. I thought he would sent her to you-¡± Before he could finish his sentence, i rushed out from there and asked many servents on my way to know where that bastard took away my daughter. ¡®Ele...¡¯ Am sure, he must have done something to make her copse. When i finally reached there and saw her eyes which had no light, i felt my whole world copsed. ¡®No, Not again!¡¯ Chapter 24 24 ¡°Stay Away¡± Back to the present ~ Surprised by a sudden knocking, everyone looked up to the door and saw prince Dominic entering with the priestess. ¡°I greet the little sun of our empire, Your Majesty the crown prince. I am priestess Liana, who came from the Arendell temple to deliver the new prophecy.¡± Cathain observed the priestess who had her whole face covered except her caramel brown eyes as she came in after getting his permission. Somehow, he felt like he has seen her before but couldn¡¯t remember where. ¡°So, what brings you here, priestess?¡± Cathain asked. ¡°I came to knew about the sudden copse of the saintess, so am here to help.¡± Priestess Liana replied with a calm voice but Cathain was rather shocked by her reply. ¡®Saintess?¡¯ ..... But priestess Liana ignored Cathain¡¯s shock expression and continued with her words, ¡°The saintess must have copsed because of awakening her holy powers so suddenly and it¡¯s normal as she is still quite young.¡± Although Alexander still had his doubts about the priestess but her words somehow helped him exin the situation of Eleanora¡¯s sudden copse to others. If any outsideres to know about her sudden weak body, they might use this against her to harm her. And there is no way that Alexander will allow that to happen. Liana kneeled down beside Eleanora and took her hands to kiss it gently. Everyone looked at her with a dumbfounded expression as they didn¡¯t understand what she was trying to do. ¡°I greet the holy saintess Eleanora Ariande Dalton. This servent of yours will serve and protect you till her death.¡± Although Liana¡¯s greetings seem to be normal but it gave a suspicious vibe to Alexander. Why would a priestess, who never meet her before swore the loyalty oath to a young girl? The loyalty oath is unbreakable till one of them dies and you can only vow to one person. Then a faint golden light started to glow on her hands and Eleanora¡¯s body started to absorb it. ¡°Ele...¡± Alexander anxiously called her name as he was a little afraid about Eleanora¡¯s safety. After absorbing the holy powers from Liana, Eleanora blinked her eyes a few times before the light in her eyes came back. Everyone in the room had their heart beat stopped as they held their hopes on Liana. A few momentster, Eleanora finally opened her mouth and tried to speak as her eyes fall on the anxious Alexander. ¡°D-Daddy?¡± But soon shepletely fall unconscious as her head was hurting very much as well her body. She was feeling like, something new was running throughout her cold ice mana, which gave her a warm feeling but pain at the same time. ¡°Ele! What happened?¡± Alexander widened his eyes and asked in a panicked voice. ¡°Don¡¯t worry duke, she is just sleeping.¡± Liana paused for a moment before she stroked Eleanora¡¯s hair and spoke again... ¡°Sleep well, Saintess.¡± After she finished speaking, Liana kissed her head. Amd Cathain red at Liana. Why is she being so intimate with Eleanora? Can¡¯t just holding hands work? Does she really need to kiss on her forehead? Then Cathain paused his thoughts as a sudden realisation hit him. ¡®Why am i thinking like this? What¡¯s wrong with me?¡¯ The frown Eleanora had on her forehead calmed down and she fall into her father¡¯s embrace to sleep. ¡°Her divine power needs some more time to settle and merge with her ice mana, so she will probably sleep for two-three days.¡± Liana replied and got up to stand beside Dominic. ¡°Thank you so much, Priestess. Our Dalton Duchy will never forget your help and you are always wee.¡± ¡°It¡¯s what i am supposed to do, Duke.¡± Liana politely bowed to Cathain and Alexander to express her gratitude. Soon, Dominic Left with Liana as they thought they needed to give Alexander and Cathain a little time to talk privately. They had sensed the awkwardness between them. So it was only Alexander, Eleanora, Cathain and Brayden left into the room. Cathain was relieved to see Eleanora bing normal again and sleep soundly. Alexander was stroking Eleanora¡¯s hair when he suddenly opened his mouth to speak. ¡°Your highness, the crown prince.¡± ¡°Y-Yes?¡± Cathain jolted as he thought he was caught as he kept staring at Eleanora¡¯s sleeping face. ¡°Am sorry for today¡¯s incident on behalf of my daughter, if there is something you want, you can just directly contact my aid Raynor. The Dalton¡¯s will do their best to fulfil your request.¡± Cathain frowned as he heard him. Does he wants to call off today¡¯s event like theke incident too? Just by giving him the high grade mana stone? He doesn¡¯t know why this father-daughter pair os treating him like this. Alexander never spoke more then necessary so they seldom talked with each other. But now, Alexander¡¯s looks was like he won¡¯t mind to kill him even if he was the crown prince. ¡°Duke, i didn¡¯t saved her for a reward... She is my-¡± Before Cathain could utter the word ¡®Fiance¡¯, Alexander cut him off. ¡°Given the circumstances, the safest thing for me and the duchy would be to make Eleanora the empress...¡± Alexander paused on his words and Cathain felt something terrible was about toe. ¡°But i won¡¯t.¡± Alexander said with a firm and serious voice and somehow Cathain felt his blood boiling with anger. ¡°What do you mean by this, Duke? It was the god¡¯s decision to sent her as my partner, for the future-¡± ¡°I want my daughter to be happy and safe, which she won¡¯t be once she bes the empress. I will train and make her the next heir of the duchy. She can help the empire prosper like this too.¡± Before Cathain could say something else, A knock came and a knight informed that their carriage has been prepared. ¡°Duke, The carriage is ready.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Alexander gave Cathain no chance to talk and stood up while carrying Eleanora on his arms. But he stoped when he reached the door and suddenly looked behind, ¡°Stay Away From My Daughter!¡± Alexander left with Eleanora and Cathain just stood dumbstruck. ¡®Just what did he meant by hisst sentence?¡¯ Chapter 25 25 ¡°Abyss¡± Eleanora¡¯s pov ~ Everything was cold and dark around me... and weirdly familiar. With a startling realisation, I realised I was still in the Abyss again. So the past few days was really my memory? Where is the goddess? She told me that it was my third life, not a dream. Then why am i still here? Am hearing sounds, but i can¡¯t tell what it is about or who it is. I had so many questions going through my mind. I knew from previous experience that there was no escaping the Abyss, not until it was ready to release me. I would need to wait in the empty, the darkness, the nothing... alone. ..... Then, a light suddenly surrounded me and I somehow found myself at the trial grounds, staring up at the noble council who would decide my fate. It was just like before but there were small changes. Cathain was facing the elder head nobles, his back to me as he addressed them. Jena had wrapped herself around him like the snake she was, smiling at me with her true face. Her true face was an destroyed face of an angel, which now looks like a demon, more precisely like a zombie. The sky was dark and the moon was bloody red. It offset the scene before me as the light had cast itself down. Suddenly Cathain spoke, bringing my attention back to him. ¡°You have been found guilty of the charges against you. The murder of the empire¡¯s heir, in addition to the harm caused to queen Jennifer, carry the harshest sentence,¡± Cathain started. He turned around and Jena finally stepped back, her smile never faltering as she fed on the anticipating of waiting to watch me die. Her hunger was insatiable as she looked as if she was holding herself back from killing me herself. ¡°Therefore, with the power held within me, I, Cathain Valentino, Emperor of the Valentino empire, sentence you, Eleanora Dalton, former empress of the Valentino empire, to death.¡± I looked up to meet his eyes as he carried the broadsword in his hand as if it was entirely natural for him, as if he¡¯d held it many times before. I looked into his red eyes and saw the same cold look I was so familiar. A look of hatred. ¡°Cain...¡± I called for him. But he ignored mepletely as the scene continued like a script of the original memory. It was like I was unable to make a difference, everything was predetermined. ¡°Your sentence is to be carried out immediately.¡± He continued to walk towards me with the sword in hand, unstopping and uncaring about anything I had to say. This time, i wanted to make the scene that i didn¡¯t did before. I wanted to scream at him that this was wrong, that i was innocent, but suddenly my voice was gone again. Every time I tried to speak it was like I was being suffocated, and every time I tried to get up to run my body would refuse to listen. There was no waiting for me to ce my head on the block. No, he immediately stepped forward and swung his arm back. I looked behind him for one final moment and saw Jena to his left staring at me with such greed, almost salivating at the final blow about to be struck. However, to my utter shock and horror, to his right, I saw the Goddess herself watching on. She was a silent bystander, unmoving and expressionless as she stood and witnessed what was about to ur without a single ounce of remorse showing. She had told me I wouldn¡¯t be alone this time, and yet she showed no regret at seeing me killed. I wanted tough out loud. The goddess told me to write my own destiny and here everything is going ording to the script she has written. I can¡¯t even say a single word that isn¡¯t written in the novel of my life called ¡®Fate¡¯. I met Cathain¡¯s red eyes as he brought the sword down. I wanted to watch this time, not die in the darkness as I had thest time. The impact was quick and swift as he finished the job in one movement. And finally, I felt at peace. __ I woke up to the feeling of someone lightly shaking my shoulder. I wanted to protest against the touch and refuse to open my eyes, but the shaking was insistent. ¡°Ele?¡± a voice called to me. It was familiar and warm. It sounded like father. I managed to open my eyes a bit, fighting against the bright light that was piercing my gaze. But after several seconds of adjusting, I managed to make out the face of my father. ¡°Ele?¡± He called again. ¡°I¡¯m alive...?¡± I said, my throat dry and sore. Maria quickly brought some water to my lips and I began to sip on it, enjoying the refreshing feeling that came with it. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± My father asked as he put his hands on my forehead to cheak ny temperature. How was I feeling? I was sure I had died again. I was in the Abyss, I saw the memory. It was just like how it had feltst time. So, how was I feeling? I felt confused by the entire situation right now. ¡°I should be dead,¡± I replied. Father¡¯s face instantly turned ck, also a little shocked by my blunt response. ¡°Leave us alone.¡± My father spoke in a cold voice and in an instant, everyone left the room. ¡°Don¡¯t say something like that, Ele. Father won¡¯t let you get hurt anymore.¡± ¡°Daddy...¡± ¡°You have me and everyone... Why would you be death? You have everything and everyone¡¯s love for you...¡± He said as he hugged me in his arms and i wrapped my tiny hands around his shoulders. Does this mean I was never in the Abyss? Had it just been a nightmare the entire time? Chapter 26 26 ¡°Marked¡± Eleanora¡¯s pov ~ My father looked at me and i felt like he wanted to say something but he was debating internally. After a long time, he sighed and looked at me with a affectionate gaze. ¡°You know... Daddy will support you in everything you do and want. So don¡¯t be afraid.¡± I was confused at his words. ¡°Daddy loves you Ele. Daddy have never once med you for anything.¡± I kept stare at him nkly and tears filled up my vision. This was real. I am really back in the past. That¡¯s why everything was feeling so real, this was what the goddess meant by third life. But then, what happened in my first life? ..... How can i prevent things from my second life ur again? Should i find Jennifer Raven, then kill her? Or should i find evidence against Duke Raven to take him down? None of this made any sense. Then i heard my father speak again, his eyes was full of concern. ¡°Ele, Today an incident happened...¡± ¡°W-What incident?¡± I asked. ¡°The day you copsed, we all heard the new prophecy. It¡¯s about you being thedy of the prophecy, who is supposed to marry the prince.¡± ¡°The day?¡± I asked in confusion. ¡°You have been ina for three days, as the priestess has said.¡± I was shocked to know that i was ina for three days! Time really passes either very fast or too slow in the abyss. But who is this priestess? Sensing my question, father replied without me asking. ¡°Prince Dominic De Caisson Arendell bought that priestess, Liana. She came here to deliver and discuss about the prophecy.¡± I frowned as i knew about this damn prophecy that made me engaged at the first ce. And that name Liana... also felt familiar. ¡®But as per i remember, prince Dominic was actually heavily injured and died after a long suffering, in myst life. So how is he here? That too with a priestess, who didn¡¯t appear in past?¡¯ ¡°The priestess, she swore a oath to you.¡± ¡°Oath?¡± I asked in surprise. ¡°Yes.¡± I was in deep thought about this when father told me something unimaginable. ¡°We found something on your body... It¡¯s the mark of saintess Ariande, Now you are called Eleanora Ariande La Dalton, Ele.¡± If my jaw could have hit the floor then I¡¯m sure it would have. Is the goddess ying a prank with me? Before i fall into the abyss, she said she will help me, write my own fate. How can i write my own fate when she is constantly trapping me with him? ¡°What?! How is that possible?¡± ¡°You seem to have been marked in the right side of your back...¡± Internally I cringed and wanted to curse the Goddess. So much for letting me choose my own fate, she seemed to have ns of forcing me to stick around. If what my father was telling me was true, then it would appear the Goddess had now marked me as her own daughter, Saintess Ariande. Any ns to run away in the future were now nearly impossible. ¡°Do you know what that means, Ele?¡± I knew what it meant of course. No one had seen the choosen saintess mark in over a thousand years after thest saintess of our empire, Ariande died. But since the goddess said my name means what i am, this indirectly indicated that i was the choosen bride for the prince, who will help the empire to prosper. And as per what the goddess said, it seemed like the world copsed after my death. So the purpose to sent me back was to prevent the world from copse. But how can i save it without knowing anything about it? My life was about to be infinitely more difficult now. Seeing me silent, father understood that i knew and kissed my head. ¡°Do you know why you were marked?¡± I could hear the worry in his voice. I can¡¯t imagine what he must have gone through finding this all out. All the ranked nobles and elders would be pressuring him for information whilst trying to figure out what will happen from now on. ¡°No.¡± I replied to him, hanging my head down. I don¡¯t want to tell him about my sufferings in the abyss. I can¡¯t let him know about those painful memories. He hesitated but didn¡¯t push the topic any further. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about anything and tell me what you want.¡± My father looked at me with a warm gaze. That seem to telling me that, i can tell him anything. So i did. ¡°Father, I don¡¯t want to get married with the crown prince.¡± ¡°...¡± Father paused for a moment, before speaking again, ¡°Impossible.¡± [He meant, it¡¯s impossible that, he will let her marry the crown prince; But as always Alexander uttered misleading sentence and Eleanora misunderstood.] Father¡¯s expression changed and a frown appeared in his forehead. I clenched my fist under the bedsheets. You just told me that i will get anything i want then why? Is my marriage with the crown prince really that important to you? Maybe because i was the perfect daughter in myst life, he said those things. Which am not now. He doesn¡¯t know about my past sufferings yet. But, i will really not let myself suffer like that, in this lifetime! No matter how, I have to pursue my father to break of this engagement. ¡°The emperor has requested your presence as soon as possible to urgently discuss the prophecy.¡± He said with a calm voice which seem to indicate that i can put that off for a few more days in the name of being sick. I thought about it for a few moments. Should i push of the meeting? But I knew it was something unavoidable that I would need to do eventually. I ampletely fine other than the shock and stress that came from the recent mark revtion. ¡°I can meet with him tomorrow,¡± I confirmed. ¡°Okay, Then we will meet him a weekter.¡± ¡°...¡± Chapter 27 27 ¡°Foe Or Friend?¡± Eleanora¡¯s pov, A weekter ~ My father, who postponed the summoning of me a weakter was dragged to the imperial hall by me today. We can¡¯t dely this any longer. I had feared the imperial pce but i really need to face it. Specially the crown prince. I purposefullye today as i got to know that, he isn¡¯t in the imperial pce now. My eyes wondered around the meeting room where i frequently used to sit andplete my duties, where my father had pointed his swords at our emperor and was taken to the cells because of this. What happened to my father after that? Was he also executed like me or imprisoned his all life? I wonder how he had reacted after knowing that his daughter was killed for false usation, the duchy he was so proud and protected his all life had fallen. Sometimes i really want to know what happened after my dead. Did he knew the truth that i was really innocent? Did he regretted killing me...and our child? ..... But there is no way for me to know the answers. I just hope that the truth has came into light and i can avenge my past self in this life. Investigate everyone who plotted this in myst life, give them the punishment that they really deserve. As for the crown prince... it¡¯s better to just stay away from him. I can¡¯t just kill the future emperor and give the others a chance to covet the throne. But that depends on how he behaves. If he was the main mastermind and plotter behind everything, am afraid i can¡¯t just let him be. My father and me was exchanging greetings with Marquise Roselia, when emperor Valerian entered. Everyone in the room bowed their head in respect. We all waited as Emperor Valerian took his seat in his throne, which was in the middle of the meeting room. ¡°You may raise your heads,¡± Emperor said. Everyone in the room lifted their gaze. Emperor Valerian was a kind man whenpared to his son. He was stern and intelligent but he could be very personable despite his sometimes tough demeanour. The crown prince had the same ck hair and red eyes as him, though greying and darking now in his old age. He had a fearsome reputation throughout the world and was undefeated in every battle he had partaken in. Because of this, many refused to cross him. This allowed for the Valentino to remain almost untouched over the years since he would reward and respect people immensely if they remained on his good side. I had always tread carefully to stay on that side of him, all the way up until the ident that had imed his life several years from now. In my past life, for pleasing this father and son pair, i took down every country, kingdom or empire on the map they desired. ¡°Our little princess Eleanora has been grown into a more beautifuldy now. It¡¯s very nice to see you again. I only wish this was under better circumstances,¡± he started with a friendly tone. ¡°I, Eleanora Dalton, Greet the sun of our empire, Your Majesty, The Emperor, I am honoured to be in your presence,¡± I said and quickly bowed respectfully again. Gosh! I just fucking hate this, when people stare at me! ¡°I knew Lady Eleanora was incredibly bright for her age, But you pronounced your own name wrongly.¡± Augh... He caught me... I did this on purpose because i don¡¯t want to be rted to your son! ¡°Please forgive my forgetfulness, Your Majesty. Am just not quite used to it.¡± I bowed again and what is he doing? Why is he not telling me to get up yet? My back is breaking for all this bowing down! ¡°Raise up, it¡¯s okay as it¡¯s just been a week and you were not in a good health too.¡± ¡°Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty.¡± I politely smiled before i stand up again and took a seat beside my father. ¡°Now,¡± Emperor Valerian spoke. ¡°I need to hear the details of this prophecy and the rumour of Lady Eleanora getting the saintess mark.¡± So, it¡¯s finally beginning... I gritted my teeth. He hold this public meeting just to make me took the empress role in order to establish control. ¡°You are a smart girl, as we have all inly heard the prophecy that day, here today. I assume you know what the prophecy meant, Lady Eleanora?¡± His eyes were back to their spective sharpness. ¡®Friend or foe?¡¯ I was sure he was thinking this. I wanted to curl away from his gaze but I held my own. I knew that what he really wanted to know was what the Saintess mark meant to me and what I nned to do with it. The reality was that the mark was not just a symbol of favour; it was a sign of higher authority. I now possessed the potential to hold as much take over the Empire as the ruler. I was a living threat to the crown prince¡¯s very future position unless I submitted to him. This was why Emperor Valerian was pushing for me to be his son¡¯s empress; possibly even by force if i refused. He wanted assurance I would not call upon my new authority and disrupt his bloodline one day. It was a double-edged sword, to say the least. On one side, it meant that it would be almost impossible for the crown prince to publicly disgrace to the extreme degree he had once before. Someone blessed by the Goddess and being a Saintess herself could not be convicted of a crime so easily. Once my mark was confirmed by the noble heads of the imperial noble council, i will officially hold the position of ¡°Saintess¡±. Therefore, it was far more likely that I would now not stand trial for Jena¡¯s poisoning in the future at least. It was incredibly reassuring in that regard, but it didn¡¯tpletely guarantee my safety. On the flip side, it opened me up to a greater danger. Chapter 28 28 ¡°Consideration¡± Eleanora¡¯s pov ~ I was now a very big target for assassination if the Emperor felt I was a threat. I would probably be found dead by mysterious causes and the case would eventually go cold. I won¡¯t even know how i died. Wherever I went, no matter how far, I was now the only current living human with the most divine and holy power. Even if they don¡¯t kill me, they might lock me up for my healing powers, as a test subject. Escaping from the empire would be impossible as I would be dragged back immediately. Regardless of how much I might try to hide, I would now be recognised all over the empire. ¡°Yes, I am aware, Your Majesty,¡± I replied. ¡°Then what is your thoughts about your future? You should probably start to take up the empress lessons soon.¡± ..... I bit my lip. It was a heavy question that was just to know about my thoughts but I wanted to answer truthfully. ¡°Your Majesty, in all honesty, I do not wish to be empress, I am not fitted for that position,¡± I dered. I don¡¯t care about what father is thinking now. But i need to do this to save me. ¡°In fact, if I could make the decision myself, I would choose to not hold any substantial authority within the empire at all, except my family.¡± His eyes widened in shock and a murmur of voices spread amongst the council. I could even feel Prince Dominic¡¯s eyes of surprise on me which I ignored, continuing to keep my face forward and expressionless. ¡°Then what about our prophecy? We believed you to be the choosen bride for our crown prince and your union is foretold to bring great sess to our empire.¡± The person who shouted out was Marquise Odelia. I looked at him and remembered that he also shouted that i should be immediately executed without the trial in myst life. His voice was always loud... ¡°Our empire will always have my love and support regardless of my position. I don¡¯t need to be the empress to support this empire¡¯s sess.¡± More murmurs spread throughout the hall as they discussed the implications of my words. Suddenly they were all silenced as the Emperor began tough loudly. I wasn¡¯t sure whether to feelforted or worried by his reaction. ¡°It looks like our young Eleanora here is still capable of showing her true age on asion.¡± The emperor said, still chuckling. ¡°We will put this up to discuss at ater date. I can see now that maybe discussing future romantic prospects with the youngdy is perhaps too soon. For now, I will take your request into consideration, Princess Eleanora.¡± ¡°Your Majesty! She is destined to be our empress!¡± Shouted another damn noble which i didn¡¯t even bothered to look at. ¡°That will be all!¡± Emperor Valerian said, holding his hand up. Damn this man! He is just a sly fox like his son! He put up this conversation because he was afraid that i could drag it or my father might take my side! So, taking my words into his consideration only meant that i will still be the crown princess till he decides! ¡°We are lucky to have such a blessed and intellectual youngdy in our empire. We would be foolish not to take her desires into consideration. There is nothing to get so worked up over just yet, we still have plenty of time until hering of age for final decisions to be made.¡± Everyone was unsure how to take the news but they bowed respectfully nheless. He is just taking advantage of me being underaged! Am only ten now! So you are telling me that you need six years to think about my opinion? ¡°This meeting is adjourned. Council, please follow me.¡± Emperor Valerian said. Everyone began to move and leave via the hall¡¯s back entrance which led to a smaller meeting room, most likely because they had other confidential matters to discuss. My father gave me a final look before following the others out. ¡®Is he mad at me because i publicly disgraced our family or protest against the marriage?¡¯ Shortly, everyone left and only Prince Dominic and I remained in the meeting hall. ¡°Prince Dominic, I really did want to thank you for stepping in for me that day.¡± I spoke and found him taking two steps closer to me with a confused gaze and i subconsciously took two steps behind. Then i heard him chuckle. ¡°You forgot me, right?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I just helped a little. I heard that the prophecydy was in the pce, so i tried my luck to see if i could find her or not.¡± ¡°Well, I heard the priestess was from your kingdom, did she already left?¡± I asked as i felt the sudden presence of someone who was not in the past a little suspicious. But he seemed to be reluctant to answer, so i hurriedly exined. ¡°It¡¯s just i heard she had helped me too that day. So i wanted to thank her.¡± ¡°Oh... She is staying inside the pce as she doesn¡¯t like to stay outside, I can bring her to meet you, if it¡¯s okey for you..¡± He said, a little awkwardly. While i just politely smiled at him awkwardly too. We both walked to the door and I turned to say something else to him, my hand on the door handle. I wanted to know some information about him as he wasn¡¯t supposed to be healthy right now. He is at the same age as the crown prince and if it wasn¡¯t for his death, everyone was sure that he would be the next king of their kingdom. However, I didn¡¯t get the chance to say anything as the door was suddenly was pulled open from the other said. I fell forward, tripping from being dragged along with the opening movement. And then suddenly I found myself face to face with the crown prince again. His red eyes, which was giving me a piercing gaze again... Chapter 29 29 ¡°Jealous¡± Cathain¡¯s pov ~ After the duke gave me a warning for nothing, i got to know everything from Brayden. She was really the choosen partner for me, sent by the goddess. I don¡¯t know why, but i seem like to not hate the idea of having her as my partner anymore. There was no urate reason that could exin why i didn¡¯t liked her. But i was way more shocked to know that, the person who was always over praised by people to me, would actually copse just by seeing me. Am i that fierce? And she didn¡¯t even meet me after she grew up. Afterying down on the bed, i suddenly got up. ..... ¡®The bed smells like her...¡¯ I tried to ignore it and sleep but i just couldn¡¯t, for constantly three days. The moment iy on the bed, i could see herying beside me too. Her smell bothered me, but it was also me who didn¡¯t let the servents change the sheets. I kept my eyes on any news about her recovery and when i finally got to know that she has woken up, i just wanted to meet her. But i knew i can¡¯t and why should i meet her? After a long struggle with my own feelings, i went to the borders for doing nothing. That was when i got the news of the council meeting. ¡®Why are they holding a meeting without me? Am also involved in it!¡¯ I rushed back to the imperial pce and the moment i pushed the doors open, someone pulled it too and it resulted that person to fall back. I stared at the person who fall. ¡®Fuck! Why does she always falls down the moment we meet?¡¯ With this, the three times i meet her, she fall down three times and copsed two times. Is she going to copse again? But she looked at me like i was going to kill her! I forwarded my hands towards her to get up but someone was faster then me. Prince Dominic put his hands towards her first and she tried to get up by holding his hands. This sight just wanted me to separate those two right instant and take her in my arms! ¡°I greet the little sun of the empire, Your highness, the crown prince.¡± Both of them greet me together, like are they a couple? ¡°You may raise, Prince Dominic... And as my future partner, you don¡¯t need to follow any formalities while talking with me, Crown Princess.¡± I purposefully said this to emphasis her as mine and again i don¡¯t know why i did so. Eleanora was still terrified of me as i could feel her legs shaking. Her face was also a little red and i subconsciously reached out to put my hands on her forehead. Despite having cold mana flowing through her body, her temperature was very high. But she flinched and step back from my sudden touch. Her back identally hit Prince Dominic¡¯s chest and he put his hands on her shoulder as a sudden body reflection to catch her. Seeing this, my lips curled up and i smiled a little, which was maybe, more like a smrik. ¡®I just want to cut off those hands right now!¡¯ But i think seeing my smile made her more terrified, which she was trying very hard to control. And right at that moment, my father came out with other imperial council members. Seeing me, everyone politely greeted me and then that bastard Dominic exined himself, which waspletely unnecessary. ¡°Priencess Eleanora isn¡¯t feeling well, she might have a fever...¡± Duke Dalton was about to rush when my father stopped him. ¡°Duke Dalton, i have something to discuss with you. The crown prince can help the crown princess to go back.¡± ¡°But-...I understand, Your Majesty.¡± Duke wanted to protest but then he choosed to not. Somehow, i felt a little thankful to my father after a long time. Then she left the pce with me, who was following her from behind. I felt proud when it was me, who left with her, not that Blueberry. ¡®Trying to be a gentleman to hit on my girl? Heh...In his dreams!¡¯ Then, I, myself was speechless as this was the first ever time i felt like this, is it what they call jealousy? ... In the whole time, She was trying her best to not copse again and we soon came out into a spacious field where there were a lot of wagons lined up. She seemed to sighed with relief and bowed to me. ¡°Thank you for escorting me here, Your highness. Let me leave now.¡± ¡°Sir Ethan!¡± I turned away, ignoring her goodbye, and called a royal knight nearby. When the knight came near, i said with a cold voice. ¡°Get a carriage ready as soon as possible. I¡¯m going to go to the Dalton Duchy.¡± ¡°Yes, Your highness!¡± She opened my eyes wide with a face that was like asking me about ¡®What the heck you are talking about?¡¯ I stared at her after giving him the instruction. ¡®Can¡¯t she understand that am worried to sent her alone?¡¯ She hurriedly lowered her eyes and kept trying to pull herself together as she felt wobbly, biting her pink lips. And then i suddenly felt my throat go dry as i recalled how my lips has touched those lips. How soft they were... I immediately came back to my senses as i heard an ornate carriage engraved with the crest of the royal family approaching us. She got in the wagon nervously. Somehow, she looked like a rabbit, who was trying to run away from the hunter. I fixed my eyes on her as i wanted to see how many more cute expression she can show. She folded her hands on her knees, and then finally raised her eyes at my gaze. Her round blue eyes was really attractive but then i sensed her breathing heavily with nervousness, i took my gaze off of her and looked out the window. Again, heavy silence fell inside the wagon. ¡®Why are you so afraid of me?¡¯ When we barely arrived at the duchy mansion, she hurriedly got out, helped by the knight. It was more like an rushed escape to me. I didn¡¯t turned my gaze way untill she turned back to face me and spoke with honorifics. ¡°Your Majesty, thank you... It¡¯s an honour for me...¡± Bang! I closed the wagon door before she could add any more formality to just say goodbye to me. It just pisses me of whenever she treats me like a stranger now. Not to long ago, she used to smile brightly whenever she meet me asionally a few times after her mother¡¯s death. Althought it was only for a brief moment, before i identally pushed her into theke. But after that, she now, avoids me like a gue. Chapter 30 30 ¡°First Encounter¡± Cathain¡¯s pov ~ After a hourter, Brayden exined today¡¯s whole situation to me. How she rejected the idea of being my partner, She doesn¡¯t even care the status of being an empress... Although i didn¡¯t showed any emotions but deep inside my heart, i felt messed up as i thought of something else. Now that she is proven to be thedy of the prophecy, my bad days are just about toe. If i could, i wanted to strangle everyone whopares me with her. If she is so great, then just go and lick her shoes! Why bothere to me and praise her infront of me? Now that i think about it, it was one of the main reasons about why i didn¡¯t liked her. It¡¯s so childish! It¡¯s not like shepetes with me or anything. ..... But one will still feel bad, if there hard work ispletely ignored because of someone who didn¡¯t even bothered or knew about it. Just what¡¯s so great about her? Yeah, i admit she is a little pretty and cute, specially her soft lips... And the next moment i found my fingertips touching my lips, which still had her lingering scent. Iughed at myself! This is the same girl that i used to didn¡¯t like at all. I was sitting beside the window with a fowl mood. The shiny moonlight reminded me of her silver hair. The day she fall into theke was the first time, she had ever seen me, Or maybe not?? But my eyes was always on her from the very beginning. Ten years ago~ ¡°Crown Prince! Where are you!¡± Maids and Knights was searching for their four years old crown prince who again ran away from his studies. Cathain didn¡¯t liked to study all day at all. What he wanted was to y around and learn things. Meet his father and feel his warmth. Cathain¡¯s mother, Empress Catharina had died during his birth. Many people who lost their beloved empress because of the little prince wasn¡¯t pleased with his birth. When he was in the pce, he often had to hear their open criticism. But they didn¡¯t dared to say something infront of his father. So he didn¡¯t liked to stay at the pce. Four year old, Cathain was watching the maids and knights run everywhere to look for him, but who would thought that, he was sitting on a tall tree branch? But then suddenly the tree branch started to crack and he was afraid. Because he was on the highest branch, so if he falls, he will be terribly hurt! As the branchpletely cracked and he closed his eyes tightly in fear as he felt himself on the air. But rather then pain, he was feeling cold. When he opened his eyes, all he could see was something white and cold. After a long struggle, he managed to clear his vision and raise his head. Little Cathain was starlet for a moment as he thought he was dead, because he saw an angle. In the story books, it was written that angles look very beautiful and they have white hair. But the one infront of him has shiny silver hair, who can barely walk on her ownpletely. *chuckle* ¡°Ice! Ice man!¡± The little girl infront of him pointed her tiny fingers at him as she struggled to crawl towards him. Little Cathain was still in a daze and kept staring at the tiny figure nkly. She came to him and brushed off some snow from his head. Cain just kept staring at her with his round red eyes. ¡°Who are you, Baby?¡± Cathain asked. ¡°Butiful, ice men!¡± The tiny girl who seemed to not understand his words, said in a babynguage. Cathain sighed as he understood what she meant. He brushed of the snow over his body as he came out from the pile of snow. If it wasn¡¯t for this tiny girls ice magic, he would be terribly hurt. It was rare for a girl to be able to use her powers at such a young age. ¡®Wow..She is barely one year old but she can use magic?¡¯ He tried to carry her but failed, so he just sat on the ground and took her on hisp. The little girl started to y with her teddy bear once again, ignoring him. ¡°Hey, You meant ¡®Beautiful Snow man¡¯, right?¡± Hearing his voice, The tiny girl on hisp finally looked at him. But she just smiled as she still doesn¡¯t understandnguage that clearly and tried to touch his cheeks. She had bright blue jewel eyes and shiny silver hair. Little Cain felt like his heart beat stopped as he looked at the tiny girl in his arms. He looked away as he asked, ¡°W-What¡¯s your name baby?¡± ¡°N..Name..ish..papa¡¯s Prinsesh!¡± Cathain almost couldn¡¯t hold back hisughter and asked, ¡°You mean papa¡¯s princess? But that¡¯s not your name...¡± Then he suddenly heard a women¡¯s voice, who seemed to call for someone. ¡°Noora... Where are you, baby? Nooraa...¡± Before he could react, the tiny girl in his arms jumped out from his embrace. She was crawling on her knees as she still can¡¯t walk. She isn¡¯t even one year old yet. ¡°B-Baby?¡± Cain chased after her but then he suddenly hide behind the bush as the tiny baby was faster then he thought. She had already reached the women, who was calling her and the women had kneeled down to hug her. ¡°Mamaa!¡± ¡°Ohh, Noora.. Just how did you disappeared again? Don¡¯t do this anymore to your mama... I almost died because of fear when i couldn¡¯t find you.¡± Thedy who had light sky blue hair and golden eyes had tears rolling down from her eyes and Cain was touched by her. ¡®Is it how it feels like to have a mother?¡¯ Little Cain thought. ¡°Mama...Monkey! Ice Man!¡± ¡°Huh? What are you talking about, Noora?¡± Thedy asked in confusion. And his face be red out of embarrassment. Did the little baby thought he was a monkey because he was up in a tree branch? Did she thought if him as a snow man because he was pilled up in snow? Whichever it was, it¡¯s embarrassing! Chapter 31 31 ¡°The Reason Of His Hatred¡± That day, Little crown prince with a chubby face and round red eyes had run away from the bush and he was hoping to meet the little baby again. For many days, he kept thinking about how he can meet her again. But what he didn¡¯t expected was to meet her again at his fifth birthday banquet, only after four months of their previous encounter. The ducal couple greet him and the duke hold a little girl in his arms, who had silver hair and blue eyes just like her father. The same little girl whom he meet before was the same exact girl whom everyone praised and said he was lucky to have her as a partner. She was no other then that same little baby, who saved him that day. The same little girl, whom he didn¡¯t liked even without seeing her. Originally, people get their magic attributes after they pass their fifth birthday. But his potential partner, Eleanora La Dalton, could use her powers since she started to crawl, where he awaken his powers just today, on his fifth birthday. ..... She had awakened her powers unknowingly, when she saw the little crown prince falling down from the tree. But this was unknown to everyone, including herself as she didn¡¯t understand anything properly at that time. The five year old little crown prince was angry at the little one old Eleanora. Because, it was clearly his birthday banquet but everyone was focusing on her! Even his father, who was always strict with him was smiling and ying with her. He was making a little mes with his magic power to astonish her as she pped happily because of the entertainment she was receiving. When he awaken his fire attribute powers, everyone just congratted him for a brief moment. Before they started to focus on the little girl who could create a snowke if someone she liked asked to make one. The emperor teached her how to do this and she immediately learnt it. How sheughed, how she miss pronounced words even if she did something uncultured, everyone praised how beautiful and talented she is! When Little Eleanora suddenly saw the little gloomy crown prince at the middle of the banquet hall, she waved at him, calling him ¡®Ice Man¡¯ as she previously remembered him like that. Eleanora wanted the crown prince to hold and y with her like he did before at the garden but when he refused, she started crying. The little Cathain was just flustered for a moment but he didn¡¯t realized his action would be looked in a different way to the other people. ¡®Why is the crown prince so cold blooded? She is just a little child. He should be honoured to have her as his future partner.¡¯ This was what everyone murmur openly infront of the little crown prince that day. He also be aughing stock because of that. Peopleughed at how, even a one year old tiny girl knows he is cold! His own future partner called him that! From that day, Cathain never meet Eleanora face to face again. And it seemed like Eleanora, who was very little at that time didn¡¯t remember about this too. She spent her happy time with her family, where Cathain was filled up with annoyance as wherever he went, he would only hear her name. ¡®The crown princess also knows this... she did this months ago, where the crown prince is only passable at this.¡¯ Cathain started to hate even hearing his partners name as time passed by. He avoided her in every asion but he was more pissed off when he noticed how unbothered she was about that! She seem to not even have the slightest awareness of his ignoring. Without his knowing, he would spent most of his time, looking at her. But she never noticed as she was always surrounded by the crowd. This just seem to him like, she was being ignorant. Looking down on him. Enjoying the attention which was supposed to be his! Everything only changed after Eleanora¡¯s mother, duchess Eunicelia died on the attack. Eleanora¡¯s once happy family picture shattered into pieces. Father be distance and other started to criticism her because she survived alone. Her mother sacrificed herself for her. Both of their story be the same, which only remained unknown to the other one. Eleanora be more and more cold as she grew up. The people feared to even approach her anymore because of her chilly aura. The same people who used to create crowd just to talk with her. They started to talking behind her back. She started to sulked back her training and started to follow her father everywhere to stay with him. And Cathain knew all of this as, he was also following her, whenever he got the chance. He just thought, he should keep an eye on his enemy. But he never expected to bump into her identally that day and fall into theke. He saved her and now he thinks she doesn¡¯t even know that it was him who saved her! The duke just sent him a high grade magic stone, which he had a eyes on as a token of appreciation for his help! ¡®I want to get closer to her... But how?¡¯ Cathain was tossing around the bed with a pillow in his embrace. Just how can he approach her, without her being terrified of him. ¡®Only if she didn¡¯t recognised me....¡¯ Then a sudden realization came to his mind and he got up from his bed and approached the bedside drawer, where he put the magic stone, that was given by the duke. He took the pentagon shaped red magic stone in his hands as he closed his eyes to absorb the magic stone¡¯s power inside him. If what he thought worked out, then he might be able to approach her, without having to worry about her copsing. Or at least he can try to see if it works outs or not. His only hope was now this magic stone. Chapter 32 32 ¡°Eleanora¡¯s New Wings¡± Eleanora¡¯s Pov, Earlier of the day ~ When i lifted ny head up to see, whom i have bumped into, i was horrified again. But i tried my best to keep it within myself. No, I can¡¯t copse every time i see him. I need to face him and ovee my fears sooner orter. Right then, Dominic extended his hands towards me and i took his hands to stand up. I identally took a peek up at him and saw he held a look of anger in his face and the hand he had stretched out having stopped midway as i took Dominic¡¯s hands instead of his. We both greeted him and his response to me shocked the hell out of me. Not using any formalities while talking with you? Who are you trying to fool, mister? I wasn¡¯t even allowed to call you by your name, in the past. ..... Now you are telling me that it¡¯s okey for me to not use any honorifics? The more i stared at his red eyes, the more i see the twenty six year old Emperor Cathain in the fourteen years old boy. Then i suddenly started to feel sick again. But Dominic was here this time, he didn¡¯t died like in the past. This made the future already very different from the past. This wasn¡¯t the trial grounds. The crown prince wouldn¡¯t be able to kill me without a valid reason in front of a witness. But then he suddenly moved his hands to touch my forehead and i unconsciously took a step back, resulting my back bumping into Prince Dominic¡¯s chest. He also caught my trembling shoulder out of physical reflection. I looked at Dominic¡¯s golden eyes when i suddenly heard the crown prince sneer, which was more like a smrik. And i froze. This is his smile, that he puts on when he doesn¡¯t like something. The crown prince had never loved me but I knew he had loved to possess me in our past life. I was something that he owned, no one was allowed to touch me. So now, seeing someone else holding me like this right in front of him? Well, if Dominic wasn¡¯t from an allied kingdom and my cousin, I was sure he would have been dead or down in the cells already by now. Or at least the crown prince from my past would have done that. I never knew him well at this age but I could only imagine he was much the same. When the door to the small meeting hall finally clicked open behind us I felt my body begin to rx. I was still on edge, but i was trying my best to keep my image. When Dominic exined the situation to avoid any further misunderstanding, i felt somehow relief. The emperor stop my father and i knew if he protested, it would only be bad for us. So i gestured him to say i was okay and then left with the crown prince as ordered. ... I walked away in breathless silence. Was it because I felt so tense? Or was it because of his brutal coldness? Suddenly, I felt my fever rising up. When I closed my lips tightly, I let out a hot breath unconsciously. My head was pounding, so I squeezed the hem of my skirt tightly unconsciously. ¡®Hang in there a little more, Eleanora. You can do it¡¯ Trying to straighten up as I felt wobbly, I soon came out into a spacious field where there were a lot of wagons lined up. I sighed with relief and bowed to him. ¡°Thank you for escorting me here, Your highness, The crown prince. Let me leave now.¡± ¡°Sir Ethan!¡± He turned away, ignoring my goodbye, and called a royal knight nearby. When the knight came near, he said with a cold voice, ¡°Get a wagon ready as soon as possible. I¡¯m going to go to the Dalton Duchy.¡± ¡°Yes, Your highness!¡± I opened my eyes wide. What the heck is he talking about? He stared at me after giving him the instruction. Obviously, he was annoyed. At that moment, it urred to me that the crown prince wanted to escort me to my house since the emperor didn¡¯t specify how far he should go in escorting me. He had to escort me to my house because he didn¡¯t want to get med by the emperor. I came up with the most realistic thought. I hurriedly lowered my eyes as i was afraid that I might annoy him all the more when he was already feeling bad. I kept trying to pull myself together as I felt wobbly, biting my lips. Iforted myself, vowing I would stick it out a little longer. After a few moments, I saw an ornate wagon engraved with the crest of the royal family approaching us. I got in the wagon nervously. I fixed my eyes on my folded hands on my knees, and I raised my eyes at someone¡¯s gaze. I didn¡¯t know what he was thinking at the moment, but the crown prince was staring at me. The moment I breathed heavily with nervousness, he took his gaze off of me and looked out the window. Again, heavy silence fell inside the carriage. I barely arrived at my mansion and got out, helped by the knight. I felt like I was alive now and it took me unusually long to get back home today. Had I been alone with him a little more, I thought I might have suffocated. When I adjusted my clothes and said goodbye, him who fixed his eyes on the window until I got off still didn¡¯t looked at me. ¡°Your Highness, Am honoured by-¡± Bang! The carriage door closed before I could finish my words. I smiled bitterly, looking at the wagon disappearing gradually. With my hand on my stinging forehead, I walked into my house with a heavy heart. Maria rushed to me, the moment she was informed about my arrival. I felt very sick, so i went to take a bath first. ... In the bathroom, i stared at the celling as the other maids helped me to bath. The maid¡¯s still gasped a little, when they saw the mark at the right side of my upper chest. It was ck in colour, looking like some tattoo that people get done with magic powers nowadays. In the shape of two crescent moons facing outwards, which was the proof of me getting the same authority and power as Saintess Ariande. But it seemed like to me a butterfly, whose wings were torn and then the two moon be it¡¯s new wings. Like mine... How my previous wings were torn apart by him and now am trying to get a new wings to fly again in this life. Chapter 33 33 ¡°Border Inception¡± Eleanora¡¯s pov ~ After finishing my bath, i fall asleep as soon as i closed my eyes. It¡¯s been three days since i returned from the imperial pce. Is the Imperial Pce different from other ces? Every time i returned from the pce, I barely left my sickbed. I still felt heavy, though I felt much better. Then i got to know about the sudden visit of Marquise Derrick Roselia and Duke Keiran Heartz. Marquis Roselia had light pink hair with golden yellow eyes, where Duke Heartz had Dark green hair with light green eyes. As if they were very busy, they came into our house directly even before the butler asked them about their purpose of visiting. ..... I went to greet them and my father made me sit beside him. Duke Heartz spoke to my father, ¡°Do you remember what your daughter said the other day? The emperor¡¯s and the other nobles expression was hrious.¡± ¡°I just regretted for not taking a recording magic stone to capture their expression.¡± Marquise Roselia added. ¡°Why are you suddenly bringing it up?¡± My father asked with a calm demeanour. ¡°It looks like we¡¯re going to see more pissed off faces from this year, espeically Duke Raven.¡± ¡°Duke Heartz, really can¡¯t stand Duke Raven...¡± ¡°...I see. What is the problem? I think they were actually just asking for it, right?¡± My father spoke as he took a sip of his tea. Are they really the most powerful and fierce people of the empire? Because infront of me is just the picture of three friends chatting andughing. Even in my past life, i never saw them so rxed. ¡°Of course they did. But there is one problem. Despite the government¡¯s earnest request, it looks like there urred looting in some of the provinces. So, I hear there are signs of riots in those areas.¡± Marquise Roselia spoke with an annoying tone. Duke Heartz, who sighed deeply as if he was frustrated, unfastened the top button of his jacket. Looking at Marquise Roselia nkly, my father asked, ¡°What you mean is we have to dispatch knights to stop the riot?¡± ¡°Yes. In addition to that, they¡¯re thinking of appointing squadron leaders as the supervisor who ensures the safe distribution of foods to them.¡± ¡°Supervisor?¡± ¡°That fucking bastard suggested this fucking solution.¡± Duke Heartz said with a sneer and i guess this fucking bastard must be Duke Raven. My father red at him because he used badnguage infront of me. Because he doesn¡¯t know from a very young age i have been cursing everyone in my mind silently. I suddenly felt guilty. ¡°Watch yournguage!¡± My father warned Duke Keiran. ¡°Who¡¯s gonna look after our estate if we all, as the heads leave? Who is gonna look after our family?¡± Then marquise roselia sighed as he continued speak again. ¡°As the main border areas are under the direct control of the imperial family and defended by the four dukes and eight marquise, they pose no problem, but they are worried about the uing riot..¡± That was true. The four dukes, defended our empire by four side. Duke Dalton of east, Duke Heartz of west, Duke Ravens of north and finally, Duke Richards of the south. Even if they lived in the capital, they had full control over their area and border. Marquis Roselia was a special case but the rest of the marquis families could not move to the central political stage because they were busy defending the borders from generation to generation along with the dukes. It was all because of the first emperor¡¯s decision to have them keep their estates near the borders, to keep their powers in cheak. Because of that, they barely had any power in the central government, but their military power was great. There was no need for the central government to worry about the border area. The only problem was the estates of the lower aristocrats, whocked their own defenses and had little assets, which made them more likely to rip off the peasants in their own estates. Like the duke said, they couldn¡¯t afford to dispatch a civil officer alone in a situation where many hungry people could turn into dead. This is why, My father who is the first imperial squadron leader and Duke Heartz, who is the the second squadron leader, have to go to the border along with their knights. Then again Duke Heartz voice made me focus again. ¡°Just in case something goes wrong, some of the royal guards and the 1st Knights must remain to protect the pce, However... ¡± ¡°You mean that all the 2nd Knights and more then half of my knights must be dispatched.¡± My father said with a serious face. ¡°Yes. In addition, I have to send all the knights of my family, too.¡± Marquis Roselia said with a gloomy voice. ¡°I see. Then, you are probably the only one to stay here, Derrick.¡± My father spoke to the marquise. ¡°Well, the emperor would have wanted a loyal guy like you instead of someone like me. But you know there are other nobles watching the emperor¡¯s action. So someone from the imperial noble council has to stay.¡± ording to my father and Duke Heartz, part of the 1st Imperial Knight, all of the 2nd Imperial Knights as well as all the private knights of the Duke Heartz, Marquise Roselia¡¯s family and my family have to go. And my father and Duke Heartz had to lead them. I was afraid that I might not be able to see my father for years in the worst case. What should I do if my father never returns? ¡®Let¡¯s not think about it, Eleanora.¡¯ In the past life, he came back after three years, when i was about to leave for the uing war. At that time he left me in the imperial pce, which only drew me more closer to Cathain. I shook my head slightly. This is not gonna happen again. ¡°Got it. I¡¯m sorry to say this, but Derrick, please take care of my daughter while I¡¯m not here. ¡± ¡°Your daughter? I thought you was going to sent her to the imperial pce...¡± ¡°No. As she is smart, I think she can manage well, but she is still too young, as you know. So, I hope you cane here and check if she needs any help.¡± I look up to see my father¡¯s face and somehow i felt a little happy in my heart. ¡°Okey, Not a problem,¡± My father expressed thanks to Marquis Roselia by nodding and said, ¡°Thank you. Can I ask you one more favor?¡± ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡± Marquise Roselia said with a smile. My father suddenly put his hands on my ears and i looked up to him. ¡®Why is he covering my ears? Is he cursing?¡¯ ¡°Keep that crown prince away from my daughter.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± I wondered about, what my father had said with such a serious face that, both Duke and Marquis be dumbfounded. Chapter 34 34 ¡°Alexander¡¯s Departure¡± After their long conversation, Duke Heartz and Marquis Roselia left our house. I looked up to my father and he carried me to my room after dinner. He tucked me in my bed and when I saw my father pulling the nket over me, my heart began to pound nervously. I got up unconsciously and grabbed his sleeves when he was about to leave after saying goodbye. ¡°Ele?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I just did that unconsciously.¡± He slowly smiled after looking at me with a perplexed expression. ¡°When are you leaving, Daddy?¡± ¡°In a day or two... There will be some knights of my squadron and the maids are here to take care of you.¡± ..... ¡°Um.. Don¡¯t worry about me. Just be safe..¡± ¡°I will try to finish this quickly and return to you.¡± ¡°Daddy....¡± ¡°Sleep.¡± ¡°Goodnight, Daddy.¡± ¡°Goodnight.¡± ____ ____ ____ ¡°You can¡¯t disrespect my daughter like this even if you are the emperor!¡± I opened my eyes at the sudden voice and saw my father, whose hand was clenching around the sword handle on his waist. What the heck is he talking about? Only then did I see correctly who I was now. It¡¯s not me, but the 24-year-old girl who was going to be dead in a few days. I tried to stop my father from doing this as i know he was imprisoned after this. ¡°No, Daddy!!¡± I had to stop my father from doing this. ¡°Please stop, Daddy!¡± I hastily tried to catch him, but he was getting farther away from me. I was so nervous. I couldn¡¯t let him go to the prison just for defending me. ¡°Please don¡¯t go..¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Please, Daddy... Don¡¯t leave me alone.¡± When I was reaching out desperately, I felt I touched something stiff at my fingertips. I don¡¯t know what it was, but I grasped it in my hand and clung to it with all my might. ¡°Ele¡± ¡°No...Don¡¯t leave me.¡± ¡°Ele, you¡¯re fine. Ele, open your eyes.¡± I opened my eyes to someone¡¯s friendly whispering and saw my father¡¯s blue eyes full of concern. When I quickly looked around, my room in the duchy mansion came into view. I saw myself grasping my father¡¯s shirt as a child. ¡®It was a dream.¡¯ I sighed with relief. My father, who reached out and pulled me into his arms, patted my back, and said lightly, ¡°You must have had a nightmare, again.¡± ¡°...¡± Do i have a nightmare like this everynight? Otherwise how can be daddy here at this time? ¡°You¡¯re alright. It¡¯s just a dream.¡± While he slowly swept my hair, I smoothed out my rough breathing. I sunk into his arms to feel a little more warmth. Only now could I feel relieved. ¡°You¡¯re still very young now. I think I¡¯m a foolish to forget your age.¡± ¡°Daddy¡± ¡°Should i not leave?¡± ¡°Am fine now, Daddy. I have to look after our duchy sooner orter.¡± ¡°Be strong, Ele. You can do this...¡± ¡°Yeah, I can do this!¡± I said with great enthusiasm and father stroked my hair. ¡°I will try toe back as soon as possible, I¡¯m sorry for leaving you now when you need me the most.¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to be sorry. I will be fine.¡± I tried not to show sadness when he repeatedly said he was sorry for leaving me, but I shook my head, pulling myself together deep down. As a nobleman and an imperial knight, he was doing what he was supposed to do, so I should not dishearten him who was leaving on a long journey. I spoke as brightly as possible to him as he let out a long sigh, ¡°I¡¯m really fine, so don¡¯t worry about me, and pleasee back safely when you carry out your mission.¡± ¡°... Sure. Can you go back to sleep now? You must be very tired as you slept fitfully,¡± he said, releasing me carefully. Sitting slowly on the edge of the bed, heid me back and covered me with the nket again. ¡°Let me sit here by your side until you go to sleep.¡± ¡°You will be tired, daddy...¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. I think I can sleepfortably when I see you fall asleep. ¡± ¡°Still... ¡± ¡°Am okey, Just sleep.¡± Cutting me off strongly, he said in a soft voice, ¡°I will leave everything with you when ites to our family affairs while I¡¯m away. Take care of any urgent things, and leave the non-urgent stuff alone. As you have other work to do, don¡¯t overwork yourself. Got it?¡± ¡°Yes, I will.¡± ¡°Avoid going outside as much as possible, and try to stay home.¡± ¡°Yes, will do. Don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Okay, I believe you. Don¡¯t worry too much about me. Make sure you practice properly. Even though you feel better these days, you are basically still very weak, as you know.¡± ¡°Yes, daddy.¡± ¡°And... ¡± I began to feel drowsy when he gently stroked my dishevelled hair on the pillow. I heard his gentle voice fading away. ¡°Don¡¯t fall for him again this time...¡± I seem to hear my father say something but i couldn¡¯t hear it properly as i was slowly falling asleep with my father next to me. ____ ____ ____ Two dayster ~ ..... I frowned slightly at the lukewarm air even in the early morning. I felt my father and the knights would find it harder to travel to the border areas. I hurriedly called Maria and asked her to get me something. In my previous life, I had made this with my mother, for father. But because we grew apart and anyone hardly mentioned anything about mother infront of him, i didn¡¯t had the courage to give him this. With the help of Maria and the other maids, i got ready to bid my father and the other knights. When I arrived on the training field, a silver-haired knight, who looked no less then a mythical God, in his blue uniform, standing in front of the knights and calming down the neighing horses, looked at me. ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± Although his voice was cold, but i could feel warmness into it. ¡°Yes, daddy. Please be careful.¡± ¡°Sure. Keep well. When something happens, ask Marquis Roselia for help, okay?¡± ¡°Sure, i will do.¡± ¡°Okay, then. Goodbye! We need to depart now.¡± ¡°Oh, daddy, wait a minute.¡± My father, who stroked my head once and turned around, looked back. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°This...¡± His blue eyes opened wide slightly. As he looked surprised, I said quickly, ¡°I made it with mommy, praying that you coulde back safely, thest time you went...¡± My father kept staring at that silver tassel which was decorated with blue jewels like his eyes. Five years ago, when my father went to the border inception, my mother and i was making this tassel for my father. Right after we finished making this, we were ambushed and mom had to sacrificed herself because of me. ¡°Thank you.¡± Receiving the silver tassel that can be considered as my mother¡¯sst gift for him, he spoke in a slightly subdued voice. While watching him put the tassel on his sword, he looked at it for a while again. He seemed to miss my mother again. I opened my eyes wide because he took out our duchy seal. It had my father¡¯s name on, and having it meant you have the permission of the Duke Dalton. I was even more shocked when he handed this over to me. ¡°If you give me this... ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s a normal athourity seal. As I have received a precious gift, shouldn¡¯t I give you one as well?¡± Father came forward and kissed my head before he get on his horse and left. I kept staring at his shiny silver hair, till i could no longer see it. Chapter 35 35 ¡°Unannounced Guest¡± Eleanora¡¯s POV ~ After bidding away my father, i was about to enter my house when i suddenly heard the sound of a carriage stopping by infront of our gate. ¡®What the hell?¡¯ The person, who came down from the carriage was no other then Prince Dominic. I just kept staring at him as i couldn¡¯t think straight for a moment. ¡°I, Second Prince of the Arendell Kingdom, Dominic De Caisson Arendell, greet the Princess Eleanora Ariande La Dalton.¡± ¡°H-huh.. Ooh! greetings..¡± I shuttered with my greetings as i didn¡¯t expect him to visit me. In ourst meeting, we were rather distanced and talked formally. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Rx... Cousin!¡± ..... He said and i just kept staring at him. ¡°Wait.. Don¡¯t you know that we are cousin¡¯s?¡± ¡°Yes, Yes, Of course.. I just.. Father just left so..¡± This was real embarrassing! I forgot that he was my maternal cousin for a moment! My mother, Eunicelia Alexander Dalton was actually Princess Eunicelia De Leonardo Arendell, the blood sister of the current king, Caisson De Leanardo Arendell. So this made Prince Dominic and me as cousin¡¯s. But my mother seldom contracted her family thus we was not so close and he died at the age of fourteen in my previous life. ¡°Will you not invite me inside?¡± Prince Dominic asked and i awkwardly lead him inside of our house. As we took our seats, Maria and the other guest went outside to bring some desserts for us. So it was only me, Prince Dominic and his aid Hayden beside us. Time went by and none of us spoke a thing, so i started the conversation first. ¡°Let¡¯s be honest, Prince Dominic. You are not here just to pay me a visit, right?¡± His lips curved upward and i could see a faint smile in his face. His golden eyes was shining more brightly under the sunlight. But something was telling me that he is not that simple he pretends to be. He gestured his aid something and Hayden politely bowed to him before he went out. ¡°So, it was true... Cousin is indeed very smart.¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± I asked with a cold face and wary eyes. ¡°Your Father contacted me before leaving that i keep an eye on you, in case you fall for some random guy.¡± ¡°...¡± Prince Dominic spoke and i shoot him res. There is no way father sent him to keep an eye on me. ¡°Don¡¯t be so prejudice... I promised someone that i will help her. But it seemed like i need your help to do this.¡± ¡°Let me guess, this has something to do within this empire and as you are not a part of this empire you can¡¯t act rashly so you need my help?¡± I asked with a smrik and he pped. ¡°As expected, you are too clever only when you are sane.¡± ¡°...¡± I frowned as i couldn¡¯t understand the meaning behind his words. ¡°Get to the main point.¡± ¡°Okay, But let the main charectere in first.¡± After he said this, i heard the door opening and too my surprise, it was priestess Liana! ¡°I, Priestess Liana, greet the holy saintess Eleanora Ariande.¡± ¡°Please take a seat, Priestess.¡± She seemed like a mystery too me, there was no Liana or Dominic in my previous life. But both of them are sitting infront of me now, alive. She wears all white and covers her body. So, except her caramel brown eyes i can¡¯t see any other part of her body. ¡°So can you tell me now, What you need my help with?¡± I asked as i couldn¡¯t think of anything they need my help with. Then suddenly, Liana got up from her seat and kneeled with her head down beside me. Even Dominic was surprised by her action, not to mention me. ¡°Priestess! What are you doing?¡± ¡°Princess, Please help me... My sister was taken as a ve when we was in the empire... Please help me to save her!¡± Her voice felt familiar but i couldn¡¯t recognise it. I helped her to get up and sit beside me. She was crying very badly. At that time, Maria bought tea and some cakes for us and i dismissed them as i felt like she would prefer it. After sometime, Liana finally calmed down and started to tell me everything. When she was three, she was kidnapped and sold as a ve to a farm house. There she started to grow up with other ves and there was a girl named Jennie, who had helped her always. Jennie was four year older then her and took care of her. But a few months ago, when Liana turned fourteen, Jennie who was only eighteen was sold to a nobleman¡¯s house as a ve. She tried every means to reach her, but couldn¡¯t. Then she ran away from the farm house and identally rescued Dominic who almost died and healed him with newly awaken, healing powers. And now, to rescue her, Liana needs my help. But something feels off... Was it really a mere coincidence for her to meet the dying Dominic there and she awakened his powers right at that moment? Well, something feels missing. ¡°What will i get if i help you?¡± I asked as i knew things was not as simple as it seemed to be. And hearing my question it felt like they was prepared for this. Even if Liana is a priestess and Dominic is a prince, they can¡¯t intervene with the nobles in another empire. For onlookers we looked like a ten year old girl, conversing with two fourteen year older teenagers but it was more like a negotiation between adults. ¡°I will help you change your fate.¡± Liana said and i widened my eyes in shock. My heart skiped a beat. What does she knows? And how? ¡°Although it¡¯s not revealed to others but Liana can foresee the future which might cause chaos for people, This was also how she found me.¡± Prince Dominic spoke as he took a sip of tea. So, that¡¯s it. Now it makes a little sense... But does she knows about my future too? Even if i put up a calmposer, my legs was shaking underneath my dress. ¡°Yes, My sole purpose is to find and save my sister.¡± Liana spoke and i felt like she was hinting that she won¡¯t reveal anything. But i can¡¯t trust her fully. ¡°Then what did you see in my future?¡± I asked warily. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you as am afraid the future might change drastically... but all i can let you know is, i will help you no matter what and whenever you need me, Only if you help me this time.¡± There was sparkle light in her brown eyes that was telling me that i can trust her. A strong will to protect her sister. Like my father, who always wants to protect me. And how i want to protect him this time. But, should i really agree to help someone whom i meet for the first time today as well when she feels a little suspicious? ..... Chapter 36 36 ¡°Saving The ves¡± A few dayster ~ After the sun set, Darkness covered the Earth like a ck, airtight. At this time, themps there were all lit and the dim candle lights flickered throughout the empty streets and gave off a slightly luxurious atmosphere. Right there, Dominic and Liana came in by a shabby carriage as Eleanora had agreed to help them in the end. But Eleanora was shocked to see his appearance. Dominic¡¯s blue hair is dark brown and golden eyes is now silver and Liana¡¯s appearence is the same as him too. They lookedpletely different! Although Eleanora never saw Liana¡¯s hair but her sparkling caramel brown eyes is now normal silvery coloured likemoners. ¡°Shocked?¡± Dominic asked Eleanora. ..... ¡°H-How is this possible? Your hair and eyes-¡± Eleanora was really shocked. ¡°Well, you can do it too. People with high mana powers can do it with the help of high grade mana stones.¡± ¡°If we go with our real appearance, we will get recognised right away, specially you, Princess.¡± Dominic spoke as he passed Eleanora a dark blue mana stone to, which was kinda simr to her eyes. ¡°Hold it with both of your hands and concentrate to fuse it with your own mana. Then your appearance will change to a suitable form.¡± Dominic exined to her and she followed his steps. It was a warm feeling. Eleanora could feel the mana from the mana stone to fuse with her own and then she felt the change within her. Her shiny silver hair turned into a shiny blonde colour and jewel like blue eyes had turned light blue colour, unlike Dominic and Liana¡¯s brown hair and silver eyes. ¡°Wo....¡± But unlike them, my voice still sounds like a kid. ¡°...¡± ¡°Hahhhahh! Cousin, Why didn¡¯t your voice changed? Don¡¯t tell me you are not gonna grow anymore?¡± Dominic burst intoughter and Liana sighed. ¡°Princess, you need to keep this mana stone with you from now on untill it no longer works. Whenever you want to change your appearance, just close your eyes and concentrate to fuse your mana with it.¡± Liana exined and Eleanora nodded to her. Then they took out the map of the very auction house and the map of the viscount willem¡¯s house. At first Liana just wanted to bought back her sister with money but Eleanora thought of something else to teach them a lesson. They just caught them and sold them, so can¡¯t they do the same? Why waste money when they can get it just by a little effort? Viscount Willem, who is directly involved with this, his territory is in the north and have the support of Duke Ravens. As northen part is colder and always snows, so the territory is not that supervised like other three dukedom. He wouldn¡¯t dare to do this if he didn¡¯t had the support from the duke. ¡®Duke Ravens again... Only if this man wasn¡¯t there, our empire would be so peaceful.¡¯ But Liana¡¯s expression changed the moment she heard Duke Ravens name. Her eyes was full of fury, anger, sadness, regret and remorse. Eleanora didn¡¯t thought much, as indirectly it¡¯s Duke Ravens, who is the main cause for her sister to be captured. ¡°Tonight we will move ording to the n, Prince Dominic and Priestess Liana will stay hidden and i will charge...¡± Eleanora was exining the n when Dominic suddenly interrupted me. ¡°Let me fix a thing first. We are cousin¡¯s and now we are allies that can be considered as friends. So just call me by my name, Dear Princess.¡± ¡°Me too, Just call me Ana!¡± Dominic and Liana eximed in joy and Eleanora couldn¡¯t refuse them, seeing their puppy like cute face. ¡°Then just call me by my name too.¡± Eleanora said with a smile and they allughed as they continued to discuss their n. In the empire, only ones family members and very close friends can call one by their name or nickname. Dominic and Eleanora can be considered as family and Liana as a close friend. So it¡¯s not wrong for us to call each other by our names. ¡°So let get started, shall we? Brother Dominic and Ana?¡± ¡°Yes, Leader Ele!¡± They both replied at the same time and then they started to discuss the final part of their n again. ¡°The guards will be alerted if we blow up our covers, so we need to sneak in.¡± ¡°There are more then fifty ves would be sent to the auction house today. With ten guards stationed around the building. Only one of them can use magic and we need to sneak into the viscounts dungeon before he transfers them.¡± In this era, To be able to use magic, one need to born with mana. But that¡¯s not enough. They must hold their mana awakening ceremony at the age of five with the help of a priest and continue to develop your magic powers ording to the attribute powers you were born with. But there are also people like Eleanora and Liana, who can naturally awaken their power. There are six magic attributes, Fire, Water, Nature, Air, Light and Dark. Among them, only The imperial members have Fire magic and Daltons have rare Ice magic. Many people are born with water magic but none of them are ice magic like the Dalton¡¯s. Duke Heartz and Marquise Roselia family have nature power, which is different for everyone of them. Duke Heartz can only use the ground as he wishes where Marquis Roselia can only use the nts. Duke Ravens family are born with Air magic and no one knows what is the power of the Duke Richardo¡¯s as he never had the need to use his powers. Because they are physically really strong. So everyone thinks, supernatural strength is their power. The Arendell Kingdom have the holy light magic that can heal like Dominic and Liana. And Kingdom Rua uses Dark magic. This is why everyone had a conflict with them as they use it for their own beneficial purpose. Commoners doesn¡¯t have magic powers this is why they are looked down by the nobles. But to Eleanora, They have powers, so that they can protect them. She hates how the civilization developed a world full of very based on one¡¯s magic power. And, there is nothing that, She, A single person can change. Eleanora snapped out from her thinking and exheal a deep breathe as she spoke, ¡°All right, let¡¯s head out.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try to kill anyone and avoid direct confrontation.¡± Then we started to move to our destination. ____ ____ ____ ¡°There! There! Don¡¯t let them get away!¡± ¡°Stop running!¡± ¡°Get back here! Who are you?¡± ¡°How dare you trespass in Viscount Willem state?¡± ¡°Damn you! We are gonna kill you!¡± The guards were chasing after Eleanora as she distracted them to chase after her, so that Dominic and Liana can get into the dungeon. ¡®They are weaker then i thought.¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s mana level is lower then before and her body is also weak, because she is younger now. But she still managed to knock some of the guards out. It¡¯s probably because they are only responsible for guard this weak ves and there is rarely any incident like this. ¡®Brother Dominic and Ana should have reach the dungeon by now.¡¯ By the time Eleanora knocked out the eight guard, she heard some sound, which wasing from above her head. She looked up and was surprised to see a cage. ..... ¡®Who sets up a cage like this?¡¯ But she was more surprised when she heard someone¡¯s voice. ¡°Hey, Pretty sister! Can you please save me?¡± As it was above her head, she couldn¡¯t see who it was but the voice sounded girly. She took a few steps away and saw a kid of six-seven years locked up in the cage. ¡°Please save me, sister! My brother is very handsome and rich! If you save me i will help you to marry him!¡± ¡°...¡± Chapter 37 37 ¡°Discovery Of A Secret¡± Eleanora¡¯s POV ~ ¡®What the hell is this kid saying? Who wants to marry her brother?¡¯ ¡°The cage is made of iron, i can¡¯t break it. Please help me sister!¡± Although i couldn¡¯t see her face, but all i could see was her ck eyes. ¡°Please help me sister! My brother will give you whatever you want if you help me!¡± ¡°...¡± I was really speechless because of this little girls words. Her brother must have a lot of pursuers thus she thinks every girl wants her brother. She is trying to tempt me with her unknown brothet to make me help her to escape. I sighed and stopped running my head as what her identity has got anything to do with me? ..... She was wearing a pink hoodie like cloak, which didn¡¯t seem cheep to me. But why did they had to cage her moreover at so high? I swing the magic sword in my hands, which was given to me by Dominic in case of emergency and with a loud cking sound, the door of the cage fall down. ¡®If there¡¯s a person begging to be saved infront of me, i can¡¯t ignore them.¡¯ ¡°Come, Jump down. Sister will catch you.¡± I raised my hands as i asked her to jump down with a smile. She looked at me with a eyes of admiration and then jumped down. She fall on my arms and wrapped her hands around my shoulders and leg around my waist. But then i was shocked. When she jumped down, her cloak fall and now that i saw her with my own eyes, i couldn¡¯t believe it. She has red hair and ck eyes! She is a Richardo! The daughter of the Duke Richardo of south who rarely participated or got involved in imperial politics. At the same time, The Duke Richardo from my past shed in my mind. He had believed that i was innocent. So that person must be this little girls brother now, right? But i got more surprised to see that she has a fury tail and ears? A wolf? I-Is this possible? ¡°Thank you for saving me pretty sister! I will make sure you marry my brother and be my sister inw!¡± I was still shocked as i identally found out the secret of the Richardo¡¯s! So instead of magic powers, they are blessed with aplete new mankind? But why are they hiding? I was still in daze, when the little girl suddenly bite my shoulder with her sharp teath and i hissed in pain. ¡°Why did you bite me?¡± I asked and she jumped down from my embrace. ¡°Please forgive me, sister. I did it so that i can remember your taste and scent, in this way i can find you again!¡± And then she ran away. My appearance is fake and i don¡¯t think she can find me again. If am not wrong then she should be the current heir Alberto Dion Richardo¡¯s hidden little sister, Diana Richardo, who never came to the society world. The reason was unknown to everyone, but now i think know why. A little girl getting caged, abused and she can even be sexually harassed... anyone who will suffer this can¡¯t lead a normal life. I should probably go and find Dominic and Liana now. ... On the other hand, Liana and Dominic was horrified to see the scene infront of them. Infront of them was a big cell where more then hundred girls was held captive. They were stinking as they couldn¡¯t take bath properly. They was also very skinny, like bones could be seen in if you cut their flesh. Liana¡¯s face be pale as she rushed toward the cell. Dominic helped her to broke the cell lock with his magic and Liana¡¯s eyes kept searching for her sister. ¡°Sister! Where are you? Linnie is here! Sister!¡± And then she finally spotted a person with dark brown hair and light brown eyes, who was close to be a skeleton. She slowly raised up as she looked into Liana¡¯s eyes. ¡°L-Linnie?¡± She tried to touch her face but then stopped thinking she was dirty. But Liana just took her hand and put it on her cheeks. ¡°Yes, sister. I finally found you!¡± ¡°It¡¯s dirty, Linnie...¡± Jennie tried to take away her hands but Liana caught it firmly. ¡°It¡¯s not, it¡¯s still warm like before.¡± Dominic was staring at Liana with deep emotions. He never thought anyone would be willing to go this far just because a sister who once gave her a bread. Dominic was going to sent a magic signal to Eleanora when the dungeon gate was burst open and the other ves started to yell in horror. Dominic hide at a corner beside the two sisters, where no one could see him. ¡°What¡¯s so noise about? This dungeon is spreading disease. So clean everything after taking the good ones for tonight.¡± Viscount Willem ordered the guards that came with him. ¡°Understood.¡± The aid replied as he unleash his magic aura. ¡°Sir! Please don¡¯t kill me, Am not sick!¡± ¡°Sir, I can still work!¡± ¡°Please, Spare me!¡± ¡°Aaah!¡± The girls was yelling and Jennie started to tremble. ¡°Linnie, Run! Run away! They will kill you!¡± ¡°N-No! Am not gonna leave you alone again!¡± Dominic was horrified by the scene infront of him. Because he has never imagined a scene like this. But Liana wasn¡¯t horrified but rather disgusted by this. She stood up and about to yell when Dominic caught her mouth and pulled her towards him. ¡°Lady Liana, Please calm down. He is the Duke Ravens aid, as well-known and highly revered viscount willem. We can¡¯t expose us!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s try to sneak out and contact Eleanora first!¡± Dominic tried to calm Liana down, but tears was kept flowing out from her eyes. A guard was about to kill a ve when suddenly his magic was blocked by another magic. Then a sharp sword pierced through his chest and killed the guard. Everyone was shocked as it was not a normal sword but rather a sword which was made from ice! Chapter 38 38 ¡°Change The System¡± Everyone including Dominic and Liana, looked at the direction where the sword came from. ¡®Ice Magic? Eleanora?¡¯ Dominic was stunned as he never imagined that she would directly kill someone. ¡°Who are you! How dare you kill my guard?¡± Viscount Willem shouted at Eleanora, who paid no attention to him. She helped the girl to stand up, who was just about to lose her life. ¡°A massacre? Do you really think so little of human life¡¯s?¡± But then he noticed the ice sword that was peirced through the guards chest. ¡®Ice magic? Dalton¡¯s? Eleanora Dalton?¡¯ ..... ¡°You expression tells me that you already know who i am.¡± Saying this Eleanora exhealed and her magic appearance faded. Hermon blonde hair changed to her real shiny silver hair as her eye colour be jewel blue again. ¡°Y-You! Why are you here? As ady you should just stay at home and take the empress lessons!¡± ¡°Who are you to tell me what i should do and not?¡± Eleanora asked him and The viscount panicked as she was not only a Dalton but also a saintess, who will be the future empress. ¡°You have no right to interfere in my buisness, no matter who you are!¡± ¡°You are right, But does that matter?¡± Eleanora said with a cold expression. ¡°I just hate scumbags like you...¡± Everyone was speechless and stunned by her reply. ¡®This vulger shameless bitch! Even if she is just a kid, she is too arrogant! we was wrong about making her the empress... We thought she will just be a cold empress who will just sit on the throne.¡¯ But then he suddenly smriked as he started to speak. ¡°Ha! You are just a kid. How can you understand why i kill them?¡¯ Eleanora kept staring at him with a cold expression and her presence was as cold as Alexander. But still, viscount managed to pull himself up and continued to talk. ¡°They are here to pay off their debts! Do you think they can live if i release them?¡± ¡°ves?¡± Eleanora¡¯s cold words echoed into the dungeon as she continued to walk towards the viscount and continued with her sentence. ¡°No...They are like us... We are all just nothing but human lives.¡± Hearing her words, the viscount started tough loudly. ¡°That¡¯s the funniest joke i have ever heard! We are nobles! Gifted magic powers from God and they are just lowlymoners! They are all just trash!¡± ¡°Even if i don¡¯t kill them today and release them, where can they go?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do as the little princess wants then, All the ves are free to go! Go now!¡± But hearing his words, the girls started to tremble. ¡°A..ah...¡± ¡°No, Viscount... Please let me live, I will continue to work... Am not sick!¡± ¡°Sir, We have nowhere to go, we have a ce to stay and some foods to eat here... Don¡¯t kick us out.¡± ¡°If it weren¡¯t for her and angering the Viscount, then some of us might have lived... but where can we go now...¡± Eleanora just stood there and heard all kind of words from the ve girls. Seeing her standing like that, Dominic was worried for her. ¡®Ele...¡¯ ¡°See! They are now ming you for saving them! ves will never be human! This is ingrained in them! They can¡¯t live even if you release them!¡± ¡°They are born to serve us! And we are their master! They are only alive because of us! And we are their saviour!¡± The viscount said with a proud face and seeing Eleanora being silent, he thought he sessfully scared her. ¡°No, You are wrong.¡± Eleanora said in a low but majestic voice. Everyone looked up at her with a bewildered look. Where Liana and Dominic was amused to hear her. ¡°They are the master of their own lives¡± ¡®The master of our own lives?¡¯ The ve girls was stunned to hear her saying this. Because till now what they heard was, they was born to serve the nobles. ¡°From the very start, All this time, they have only been taught that, they are born to serve us!¡± ¡°We have stripped of their dignity as a human being, deprived them from their education. We forced them to be ves for our own needs!¡± ¡°And you dare to say, we are their saviour? Who are you to say that?¡± Eleanora¡¯s majestic loud voice had touched the depth of the girls. The voice they had been suppressing for so long seem to finallye out. ¡°Yes... Thedy is right... It¡¯s them who made us like this!¡± ¡°I would be with my parents, if it wasn¡¯t for them!¡± ¡°They killed my sister!¡± ¡°It¡¯s all because of you nobles!¡± The viscount panicked as he stared at Eleanora and spoke. ¡°Y-You! are you nning to make them rebel against us? Did you forgot you are a noble like me too?¡± Eleanora took a step ahead and replied to him. ¡°Yes, I am a noble... But am not like you. Everyone is not a scumbag like you!¡± Viscount clenched his fist as he spoke again. ¡°This is how the world is! You can¡¯t change them!¡± ¡°Then i will just... Change The System!¡± Hearing Eleanora¡¯s reply, the viscount burst out intoughter as he spoke. ¡°You are just a kid who came here alone, even if i keep you with them and use your holy powers, no one would know, right?¡± ¡°Pff- You just reminded me by this that, if i kill you all then no one would ever know!¡± Viscount finally lost his calm as he ordered his bodyguards to charge at her. ¡°You damn arrogant bitch! Guards! Charge at her!¡± Dominic could no longer keep himself hidden and came out to help Eleanora out. ¡°Hah! So you just took a fourteen year old boy as your bodyguard? How naive!¡± Dominic and Eleanora was ready to fight the guards when Liana suddenly stand with them with a dagger. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, If i was only a delicate priestess, how did i managed to survive till now?¡± Liana said as both Dominic and Eleanora was staring at her. They was just knocking them out with only a few injuries, where Eleanora was stopping them with her ice magic. But as they all were only teenager, specially Eleanora, whose current body didn¡¯t went through any training was gradually bing weak. Right then, when a guard was about to charge at Eleanora, he was knocked out by a stone. Surprise by this, Eleanora looked behind and saw Jennie holding some rocks in her hands. ..... Although her hands was trembling, she bite her lips to calm down before she shouted at other ve girls. ¡°How long are we going to live like this?¡± ¡°Day after day, Year after year... We had to sacrifice our dignity to live... We had to endure their abuses to live... But are we really living?¡± All the ves girls was stunned by Jennie¡¯s sudden rebellion, but what she said was true. ¡®Just how long...?¡¯ ¡®Is getting a only piece of bread a day, can be considered as daily meal?¡¯ ¡®Is it really living where the viscount cane and kill you any moment he wants?¡¯ One by one, all the girls got up and picked up rocks from the ground. Eleanora smiled at them as she continued to knock down the guards with magic. But unknown to her, someone was staring at her with admiration. ¡®She is really strong... Can i be like her in this lifetime?¡¯ Chapter 39 39 ¡°Murderer Eleanora¡± ¡°Quick! Kill them all! How dare this trashes to rebel?¡± ¡°Kill them all!¡± Viscount willem ordered the magicians behind him this time as the guards was already fighting Eleanora, Liana and Dominic. He was afraid that he might lose to them. ¡°Okay, Try me you bunch of trash! Don¡¯t me me for making you dog foodster!¡± Eleanora said as she swing her sword that was made of ice. She didn¡¯t liked how Viscount Willem was acting all mighty even after all the wrong things he did. But all the magicians was surprised and also terrified to see a young girl like her taking out a sword out of nowhere. ¡°Wait, How can she create a sword like that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s high level magic!¡± ..... The magicians was yelling in pain as the exhausted Eleanora kept knocking them out. It was very exhausted to use high level magic powers with a body which hasn¡¯t gone through proper trainings yet. Although Dominic and Liana was stronger, but they can¡¯t fight more then 30 strong guards amd magicians, who use magic, all alone. Not to mention they only have normal sword with them and their magic powers. ¡®I have to do something... We can¡¯t lose.¡¯ A magician was about to charge at her from behind when another one was fighting her from the front. Eleanora felt her body bing weaker and her vision going blur. ¡®We will lose to them, if this keeps going on.¡¯ Eleanora narrowed her eyes as she shoot her ice magic power by mind controlling. And immediately all the guards and magician was froze in icebergs. Everyone stopped at this scene in shock and surprise, but because she suddenly used such a high grade magic power, she coughed up blood. ¡®J-Just how can a ten year old girl can be this strong?¡¯ ¡°We win, Viscount Willem... You are the only one left now!¡± Even though Eleanora was severely affected, but she was still standing as she spoke. Viscount Willem panicked and took a few steps back. ¡°A-Am the Duke Ravens aid, if you kill me... it will affect Duke D-Dalton!¡± ¡°You are right, it will affect my dad and our duchy... But even if it affect us... I can¡¯t let you live to continue this!¡± Eleanora was taking big steps toward the viscount but right then he used his low level magic on her. Eleanora sessfully blocked that but as she had used up almost all her mana, she was weak and fall back behind. ¡°Ele, Are you okay?¡± Dominic asked as he hold her falling body and Liana hold her hands to use her healing power on her. Seeing them distracted for a moment, Viscount took the chance and grabbed a ve girl as he hold his sword on her neck. ¡°Surrender right now! Or else i will kill her!¡± Seeing the girl taken as a hostage, Everyone panicked. But Eleanora was unnaturally calm. She just keep staring at the viscount as she asked. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Kneel down and apologise! Then go back with your little bodyguard and maid! The moment you open your mouth about this, i will kill all of them!¡± Eleanora stood up with the help of Dominic and Liana. ¡°As you wish...¡± ¡°Ele...¡± Both Dominic and Liana murmured her name as they couldn¡¯t believe she was really going to kneel. She took steps with her trembling legs and kneeled down infront of the viscount. ¡®S-She is a princess... But she is willing to kneel because ofmoners like us?¡¯ All of the maid was astonished and looked at her with admiration. They also felt guilty for not believing and helping her earlier. ¡®Only if all the other nobles treated us with a little dignity and respect like her... Only if they thought of us being a human being like her.¡¯ The viscount was grinning happily seeing the future empress and the only holy saintess of the empire kneeling infront of him. ¡°Hahah! Look! Who is kneeling infront of me! The future empress of the empire! You stupid kid, Did you think an apology would fix everything?¡± Eleanora, who was kneeling suddenly looked at the viscounts eye with a piercing gaze and smriked. ¡°No... I never expected you to keep your promise from the very start... But, That was enough.¡± ¡°I bought us enough time!¡± Eleanora spoke and the viscount suddenly felt a chill down his spin. He looked behind and saw Jennie holding arge rock. ¡°Aaahhh!¡± The viscount yelled as the rock hit his bald head. ¡°I-I did it!¡± Jennie eximed in horror and surprise. ¡°Good job!¡± Eleanora thanked Jennie as the next moment, her sword cut off the viscount¡¯s hands, which was holding the girl captivated. ¡°Gaah! My arm! You stupid Bitch! Do you really think you can free them! They will always be trash and ything for us!¡± ¡°Even if...am dead...there will be...Haah!...another viscount!...seated in my spot...Can you save...all of them?¡± ¡°ve will always be...ve-¡± Viscount couldn¡¯tplete his sentence as before he could, Eleanora swing her sword and the viscounts neck went flying in the air. Bloods covered Eleanora¡¯s face and her shiny silver hair. ¡°No matter how many of you appears, As long as am alive, this time... they will meet the same end.¡± Everyone was silent for a moment but when they realized that the viscount is dead, they started to cheer because they are finally free. ¡°We did it! The viscount is dead!¡± ¡°We are free!¡± ¡°Lady Eleanora saved us!¡± ¡°She is our hero!¡± ¡°The empires hero!¡± Eleanora looked down at her hands filled with bloods and felt like she is back in the past. ¡®Don¡¯t kill me¡¯ ¡®Spare me¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t want to die¡¯ Her enemies plea before they died...before she killed them, started to ring in her ears. She kept having sh backs about her previous life. ¡®Our Empires Hero!¡¯ ¡®Hail to our future empress!¡¯ ¡®Another sun of our empire!¡¯ ¡®Princess Eleanora!¡¯ ¡®Crown Princess Eleanora!¡¯ ¡®Commander Eleanora!¡¯ ¡®Empress Eleanora!¡¯ And finally she heard again what she feared the most... ..... ¡®Murderer Eleanora!¡¯ Chapter 40 40 ¡°Imperial Letter¡± Eleanora¡¯s POV ~ I stood there motionlessly, imerged in my past memories. I could feel Dominic and Liana calling my name but i couldn¡¯t response to them. I could hear them talking but i couldn¡¯t understand what exactly they are talking about. Then at a moment, Liana suddenly kissed my forehead and finally i felt like my mind have gone nk. But it was a warm and refreshing feeling. My headache seem to be gone and am much better now. I couldn¡¯t think of anything about the past anymore and came to my senses. ¡°Hhhaa-¡± I let out my breathe and finally responsed to them. ¡°Ele, We need to get out from here first...¡± Dominic said. We currently trespassed and murdered a viscount no less. We will face many questions about this if we get caught. ..... ¡°Burn down this ce, leave no trace of us...¡± I replied to him and Dominic just looked at me with a kind of mixed emotions. Surprise, Amused, shocked, horror... i can¡¯t exin it. ¡°Do what she said first, Your highness!¡± Liana rebuked Dominic when she saw how he was in a daze. ¡°Dominic can handle this, we should get out first from here with the girls...¡± I said as Liana helped me to stand up. Dominic nodded to me before he handled the guards and started to make process to burn this ce. I took them to the mountain near the viscount estate and watched as the luxury mansion filled up with ck smoke and gradually the red mes be higher and higher. The maids and guards started to look for water to distinguish the fire; but it won¡¯t be that easy to put off a hair this big. Dominic soon came out and joined us, as we kept staring at the mansion burning and turning into dust. ¡®This is something i didn¡¯t did in my past life... but also something very simr to the past things i have done...¡¯ Yeah, I was this cruel and cold blooded that i never even blinked before killing someone. But never once in my life i had willingly hurted someone innocent, where i was killed despite being innocent. The dark night was starting to fade away as we would feel the sky brighten up. Dominic helped the girls to get into a wagon, that will directly take them to the ce Dominic have arranged temporarily. So, it was only me, Dominic, Liana and Jennie; who was still standing and seeing the red me put off slowly. Jennie turned to me as she hold my hands to thank me and kneeled down. ¡°Thank you so much, Princess. If it wasn¡¯t because of you, we would never been able to escape from there.¡± I smiled faintly as i kneeled down beside her too. ¡°Princess! What are you-¡± ¡°Ssh! we are no different from each other. I was given the power to protect you guys.¡± In my past life, i always wanted to help the week but i couldn¡¯t because i had to maintain my image as an empress. I wanted to be a knight to protect them, which i couldn¡¯t. ¡°M-May i follow you from now on princess?¡± Jennie asked me and i was stunned to hear her. ¡°Sister! Aren¡¯t you gonna live with me in the temple?¡± Liana asked as she was hurted by her words. ¡°I can¡¯t be a burden on you anymore, Linnie. This time, i want to follow the person who gave me a new will to live. I worked as a merchant before. So i know how to fight. Let me serve you, my master.¡± Jennie said to me and i could find the same determination of honesty and sincerity that i saw in Liana before. ¡°Are you sure, Jennie?¡± ¡°Yes, am sure. Mydy.¡± ¡°Then from now on, you will be one of my people, Jennie.¡± ¡°You can call me, Jena. That¡¯s my real name, Mydy.¡± I looked at her with a horrified bewildered look. ¡°J-Jena?¡± ¡°Yes, Mydy. Previously Lennie used to call me Jennie to match my name with hers.¡± I just smiled at her and started to walk towards to the wagon. ¡®No, She can¡¯t be the Duke¡¯s daughter Jennifer, the one who was the ultimate mastermind, who pushed me into hell along with Cathain. Moreover, Jena was at the same age as him, but this Jena is almost eighteen; four years older then him now. She also have brown hair, not blonde and it¡¯s amon name!¡¯ I calmed my inner turmoils as i walked. But then a sudden question popped up in my head. ¡®Where is Jena now then?¡¯ ______ _______ _______ A monthter~ The problem with viscount was only known as a idental fire. No one would ever suspect a ten year old girl, who is the saintess and a princess to do this anyway. We all got away quite easily even if i felt something was not so simple. Am still recovering as my barely eleven year old body couldn¡¯t take the amount of power i used that day; causing my all mana powers to drag away from my body. Dominic and Liana have settled those girls in the empire with a resturent. Now they earn their own livings and can protect them. Jennie has be one of my maids and she also helps me train now. I call her Jennie as am notfortable with the name ¡®Jena¡¯. Although i started to train a long time ago, but not practicing for almost nine months has caused my body to stiffen a little. I write two letters to father, not knowing either he received them or not yet. I already miss him; where i know he won¡¯t be able toe back before three years. I wasying in the bed as i wasn¡¯t feeling well when Maria came rushing in. ¡°My Lady, You got a letter from the imperial pce!¡± I took the letter from her hands and noticed the crest on the outer envelope. It was engraved with a roaring golden lion. It was none other than the crest of the imperial family. My heart sank. Why did the emperor sent me a letter? Did he perhaps knew it was me who killed the viscount? I put my hand on my chest as my heartbeat beat nervously and took a big breath. When I opened it with a trembling hand and read it, I tilted my head. It had just one sentence on the luxurious paper saying that I had to see the emperor. ¡®What is going on?¡¯ Typically it would mention the reason...¡¯ ¡°Maria, Jennie¡± ¡°Yes, Mydy?¡± ¡°I think I need to go to the Imperial Pce. Please help me get ready.¡± ¡°Really? But...¡± ¡°You know I can¡¯t disobey the emperor¡¯s order.¡± Although she hesitated for a while, Maria reluctantly nodded and Jennie started to prepare for our depart. I didn¡¯t want to go, but I would feel ufortable if I didn¡¯t go. I need to know if the emperor knew about what i did or not. Father is also not here, what should i do if i get caught? The emperor might have omitted to mention the reason why he wanted to see me, but he didn¡¯t mention the reason in the letter...why? I raised my body, feeling dizzy. ..... ¡®Can I reply that I can¡¯t go? What if I get med?¡¯ After hesitating for a moment, I headed for the Imperial Pce, leaving Maria and Jennie behind, looking at me worriedly. ________ _________ ¡°I, Eleanora Ariande Dalton, am honored to see Your Majesty, the Sun of the Empire.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Eleanora. By the way, are you sick?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t been feeling well. I¡¯m sorry to let you see me like this.¡± ¡°Oh, if I knew you were sick like this, I would have called upon you another day. Let me send a royal doctor to treat you.¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to, Your Majesty. I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°This is my order.¡± ¡°... Thanks for your considerations, Your Majesty.¡± When I answered reluctantly, the emperor nodded. ¡°You must feel lonely as your father is away now. How are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m keeping well, all thanks to Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Well, I wanted to see you as I have some questions.¡± I felt my legs was giving out. How did he knew? we left no trace! Is he going to put me into the jail? Am i going to be executed again? ¡°Who is serving you as your bodyguard? Are there any knights around in your house?¡± I was stunned by his words for a moment but i quickly gathered my thoughts. ¡°There are some apprentice knights, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°s! He should have left a couple of strong knights to protect you. How inflexible he is! How can you keep the house without any guardians? Let me dispatch a royal knight to you as of today.¡± I opened my eyes wide. ¡®A royal knight?¡¯ They exist to protect the royal family alone. The emperor¡¯s measures were highly extraordinary. Except for legitimate royal family members, nobody can be escorted by the royal knights. Even though I am the crown prince¡¯s fiancee, I am currently a daughter of a Duke family. And i heard from father that there are only a quite few knights left to protect the emperor. Most of the knights are on the border. ¡°Please withdraw your order, Your Majesty. That¡¯s an extraordinary special treatment for me.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not. You are the only saintess and the next empress, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Your Majesty...¡± ¡°Let me promise you I won¡¯t ask you for anything else because of this. How about that? Are you still going to refuse it?¡± Fuck! So he really knows about what i did to the viscount! He is threating me with a friendly smile! ¡°... I¡¯m deeply touched, Your Majesty. I¡¯m endlessly grateful to you.¡± Chapter 41 41 ¡°Tomato Stew¡± Eleanora¡¯s POV ~ After bidding away from the emperor, i didn¡¯t stayed a single second in the imperial pce. ¡®I don¡¯t want to bump into him.¡¯ Am still not prepared to face Cathain yet. I get into my carriage and start to head towards the duchy. As we passed through the forest connecting the outside of the imperial pce, buildings gradually appeared. With my back leaning against the backseat of the carriage, I looked out the window at the exotic and different scenery. As we headed towards Central Square, the number of buildings and people gradually increased. ¡®Everything is exactly the same as the past... it¡¯s just me who is changed...¡¯ Suddenly i wanted to go out, walk alone. Maybe this could help me with my suffocating feeling. ..... I took out the dark blue magic stone and changed my appearance with it. Now once again, my silver hair is blonde and my eyes are nowmon light blue coloured. ¡°Stop the carriage.¡± I ordered the horseman. ¡°My Lady...? May i ask where you are going?¡± The horseman was slightly stunned seeing my fake appearence. ¡°Go ahead, I wille back on my own.¡± ¡°...Okey, Be safe. Mydy.¡± Hearing my answer the horseman hesitated for a moment before he politely nodded and headed to the duchy. After being alone in the road, i felt very happy and clear in my mind. I walked on the roads, bought street foods that i have never touched in my past lifetime. Then i went to a small restaurant located a bit far from the square. The interior was quite cozy in ordance with the wooden exterior. There were not many tables, and there were only a few people. ¡®Phew, I think I¡¯m going to live a little now.¡¯ I felt like i was going to be sandwiched between the crowd of people i passed beforeing here. ¡®But somehow this doesn¡¯t feel that bad.¡¯ As I entered the restaurant, i felt someone¡¯s gaze watching me; but i can¡¯t find out who it is. I stopped thinking about unnecessary things and looked at the menu, tapping the table with my fingernails. Tomato stew, pork roast, chicken leg meat... Have I ever read a menu like this and chose something to eat...? And eating with other people like this... I always eat alone in my previous life, Whatever the chief used to cook, i had to eat it. They always cooked ording to Cathain and Jena¡¯s preference; not mine. A light smile came out from my mouth, without me realising it. ¡®How pathetically i have lived, in my past...¡¯ But then i was having a hard time to choose because i knew nothing about foods! And moreover i don¡¯t know how to order! It¡¯s my first time to visit a resturent like this and that too all alone. ¡°The tomato stew here is excellent.¡± I heard a boy who had light blue eyes and blonde hair like me; saying out loud. The teenage boy raised his hands and a waiter came to him and took his order. ¡®Is this how you order?¡¯ I tried to copy him and raised my hands too. Soon another waiter came to me and took my order too. A few momentster, my dish was served at the same time along with that boy. The tomato stew was really excellent. Unlike the duchy and the imperial family meals, it tasted more like home made meal; full of warmth. I felt a rxing peace of mind here. There was still some tomato stew left on the te. But i didn¡¯t felt like eating anymore. I called the waitress for bill the same way the boy did and left the resturent to roam around a little more. I decided to take a walk along the quiet promenade behind the square. It was a quiet and sparsely popted promenade, so it was enjoyable. While walking on a bridge with a river flowing under the promenade, I stopped. Holding onto the railing, I held out my head and looked down at the flowing water. The water was so transparent that the ground was clearly visible. I could even see the fish swimming from above. ¡°Lady, if you fall then you won¡¯t die but you will be badly injured.¡± I was stunned after hearing the voice that suddenly came from behind. I almost tripped but thank god i was holding into the railing. It¡¯s the tomato stew boy from the resturent! ¡°I¡¯m holding onto the railing.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t even trust the strength of your grasp.¡± ¡°...¡± He isn¡¯t wrong as am still sick and my mana is still recovering. I shed my hands off the railing and took three steps away from the bridge. The boy let out a heavy sigh as if satisfied. ¡°Can i go now if you are satisfied?¡± I asked the boy and his lips curved up. It wasn¡¯t the usual gentleman¡¯s smile, as his eyes were folded and his lips were smiling... no, that was a viin-like smile. ¡°Are you new here,dy?¡± The boy asked and i looked at him with wary eyes. ¡°What does that have to do with you, Mister?¡± I said and he looked stunned. Maybe because i called him mister that we only use to address people at least ten or more older. I didn¡¯t wait for his answer. It¡¯s not safe to stay with a stranger as am weak and sick now. I walked back to the square and sat on a bench. But then i suddenly heard a child¡¯s voice. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry!! Just once... Forgive me just once!!¡± A desperate child¡¯s voice echoed in my ears. The screams were so mournful that they could be heard clearly even through a wall of people. The eyes of the crowd were focused on one ce. Wondering what was going on, I approached the crowd. The owner of the voice sat down on the dirt floor. Seeing that there was a lot of dirt all over her face and body, it looked like she had rolled all over the floor. A man stood opposite the muddy little child. The man, who was wearing a colorful costume that couldn¡¯t find harmony in the colors, had a deep frown and held a cane in one hand. Rather than using it because of old age, it seemed to be a popr trend in noble society these days. ¡°Forgiveness? Forgiveness! How dare you talk about forgiveness in front of me! You almost scratched the carriage!¡± There were whispers in small voices all around. The girl kneeling in front of the arrogant nobleman trembled. It seemed that the girl almost got hit by the carriage. ¡°Gosh... Oh my gosh... Somehow, he got caught by such an aristocrat...¡± ¡°How could you run so fast in such a crowded ce?¡± ¡®But one has to slow down in crowded ces. It¡¯s even written in clear words in our imperialw.¡¯ ¡®What should i do? I can¡¯t use my mana powers that much, but it¡¯s still enough to draw out a sword... but my identity would be exposed...¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t know... help... should I?¡¯ I didn¡¯t know why the dark sides of the world were unfolding right before my eyes these days. ..... It was a very annoying and tiring situation where I felt very bothered to step up. But then my back bumped into something strong and hard. I looked behind and my expression be irritated. It¡¯s the tomato stew guy again! ¡°Do you know who that person is?¡± I asked him in a low voice, and he shook his head without replying. I put it off and fixed my gaze on those two again. The man¡¯s cane was making a menacing noise above the child¡¯s head. The trembling little child crouched every time the cane passed over his head. At the very pathetic sight, the people around them only shouted, ¡°Oh gosh!¡± I felt disgusted. Can¡¯t they help them instead of just standing and watching? I shook my head as i know i can¡¯t ignore this and looked up at the tomato stew guy. ¡°If he swings that stick at me, you better block it well!¡± I don¡¯t know why, but i felt like he will save me; i can trust him. That¡¯s right, I should prepare a backup before attacking. The image of a child with a trembling body, being hit with a cane over his head was something I couldn¡¯t bear. ¡°H-Huh? What are you trying to...¡± Before he could finish his sentence, i walked towards the center of the crowd. A noble hitting a person of lowly background because of a scratch.... I guess this situation is verymon. But i can¡¯t just standby and watch like them. Chapter 42 42 ¡°Looking Forward To Meet Him Again¡± Eleanora¡¯s POV ~ People were confused by my sudden appearance. If this was a y, it would be urate to say that the audience suddenly stormed in. My lovely entertainment seeker Jennie would have loved this situation. I closed my eyes shut for a moment, then opened them. ¡°Stop scaring the child... it was your fault to ride your carriage so fast.¡± I said and the man just stare at me nkly. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Who are you to speak so rudely to ady?¡± Tomato stew, who was standing behind the man speaking informally, replied with an unusual stern face. A chill filled his voice. Seeing that cold look, the man who had been wielding his cane proudly until just now, flinched. ..... I grabbed the end of the tomato stew boy¡¯s clothes as he approached the man in anger. ¡®No, not you.¡¯ The boy with blue eyes like my fake appearence, who was looking down at my hands, which was holding his clothes, took a step back. Judging by his clothes, he seemed to be a merchant. ¡°Are you talking informally to me because we have never seen each other?¡± In my words, the man wrinkled his eyebrows and blinked. I guess it was scary when that guy spoke, but not when I spoke. Although no one could recognise me because of mymon hair and eyes; but my dress was sure expensive that not any noble could buy. ¡°Haa, looks like you¡¯re a nobledy who doesn¡¯t know anything about the world... I¡¯m just giving this little girl a life lesson right now. Don¡¯t get in the way and go your own way, mydy.¡± The man pulled out his neck and squeezed his cors as if he was trying to threaten me. By the way... If i didn¡¯t know him, that meant that he was not a famous nobleman... was that why he was so confident treating me like this? I never saw him in my past life, let alone present one. If one used their image to step on the ones below them that much, they should do the same and bow deep in front of their superiors. However, looking at his face, he didn¡¯t think I was a person with a higher status than him. So I looked at the man and tilted my head, then moved my gaze to the man¡¯s cane. Following my silent gaze to it, the man turned his eyes to the cane too. I trudged in front of him and grabbed the cane with my hand. The man, helpless at my sudden action, winded his eyes, seeing he had lost the cane out of his wobbly hands. As soon as he realized the situation, the man¡¯s expression turned pale. I grabbed the cane with both hands and... __Pak!__ I directed it to my one knee. The wooden cane made a snapping sound and split in two. ¡°......¡± The whole ce fall silent. ¡®Ah... My knee hurts so much. Fuck! it really hurts. Maybe my knee is broken. I should have asked this tomato stew to do it... I¡¯m sure he would be good... ah... it really hurts...¡¯ As I dwelled on my pain silently, the man, who snapped, shouted. ¡°This... What is this! Have you ever seen such rudeness and disrespect! Call the guards... call the guards right now!¡± When a loud roar resounded, the coachman, who had been standing behind the man, hurriedly ran away. People were looking at me like I was a crazy bitch. ¡®Anyway, if you decide to create an ident, you have to be brazen.¡¯ Dare to threaten me in my own territory? Meddling is annoying, but if you ever meddled in a situation, you had to at least create an ident worthy of your energy. A familiar squeaky sound was heard amid the man¡¯s screams. As I looked back, I saw the child¡¯s eyes widen as she looked upwards. Following the little girl¡¯s gaze... As expected, tomato stew, the main culprit of that giggle, was covering his mouth to prevent hisughter from leaking out. At such a familiar sight, I shook my head as if telling the girl, ¡®Don¡¯t mind him. That guy is just crazy.¡¯ Of course, in the eyes of that kid, I may have seemed even crazier. I calmly fixed my eyes on the man in front of me again. He was doing something like a tap dance, as if he was trying to gather all the anger of the universe. ¡®What kind of nobleman who seeks elegance gets angry and moves around like that...¡¯ In any case, it was clear that he was truly a person with no status. While appreciating this tedious unapanied dance, a skinny coachman with two armored guards rushed from behind. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The two guards looked at the man jumping around, then fixed their eyes on me. ¡®They might think I was the one who called them. Let¡¯s just let them think like that.¡¯ I answered the guard¡¯s question on behalf of the very enraged man. ¡°That man¡¯s cane smashed my knee.¡± Then I pointed to the cane lying on the floor. When I finished my words, people around me made different exmations. The nobleman in front of me looked at me as if I was talking shit, and the guards looked at the man as if they were watching trash hitting a woman with a can. The child¡¯s hups could be heard from behind me. Also, a louder giggle reached my ears. People around me were staring at me with question marks appearing in their eyes. I groaned and rolled my eyes. ¡®Such a drama scene... Jennie would love this.¡¯ ¡°What the... Ha! Really!? You can find all sorts of weirddies in this world! This woman took my cane and smashed it on her knee!¡± The man, who hade to his senses, grunted with indignation and pointed his finger at me. The two guards followed the fingertips and looked at me, then turned their gaze back to the man. ¡°What nonsense are you talking about?!¡± The man shouted and surprisingly the other onlookers yed along with me. ¡°Yeah, This man was riding his carriage fast and then he beat up this little girl and hit thedy who stood up for the girl!¡± The guards began to receive testimonies from the surrounding spectators at the sight of the man whining as if it was unjust. ¡®Wanna teach me? No one is qualified, huh!¡¯ Without waiting for any more drama, I turned back and walked towards the child. She wouldn¡¯t have had anything to say, anyway. The child, who had been huping, flinched and knelt again as I approached. She seemed to be scared, thinking that I might¡¯ve been of a higher status than that man. She must have thought that all nobles were like poisonous snakes. The tomato stew guy stepped back to talk with the guards. It was clear that he was trying to end this drama, to help me as i lied without blinking. I bent my knees in front of the trembling child and whispered as i hand her a little pouch of ten gold coins. ¡°You were lucky to survive today, take this and treat your wounds. Don¡¯t go out without your parents.¡± The child was stunned and nodded in response. It was an action that came out reflexively. ..... Then, i rose up slowly and gradually moved away from the child. I don¡¯t want to get involve anymore. So, i proceed to leave the ce quickly without saying goodbye to the tomato stew guy. I took ast nce at the boy with grey eyes before i left the scene. ¡®If we are fated, then we will meet again... Farewell, Tomato stew.¡¯ Chapter 43 43 ¡°Protected By Him¡± Eleanora¡¯s POV ~ The number of the people decreased as i passed by the crowd and returned to the bench where i was previously sitting. I slightly pulled up my skirt and found that my knees are bruised. ¡®As i thought, i should have let that guy do this.¡¯ But then i was stunned again when i heard a familiar voice again. ¡°H-Hey, Little Lady! Why did you left me behind?¡± ¡®This tomato stew again!¡¯ He ran towards me and stood infront of me like a huge piller. ¡®Why is this guy so tall? He is at least a feet taller then me!¡¯ ..... I thought Cathain was the only tallest guy but seems like that he is not. He just stared at me with his arms folded and i felt like he was a little hurt because i felt without saying a proper goodbye. ¡°Hey, Pretty Lady!¡± He called me again as i wasn¡¯t giving any response. ¡°Nothing, why are you looking for me?¡± I asked. ¡°Do i really need a reason?¡± He said with a sad face. But somehow he looked like a abandoned puppy to me. I looked at him with a poker face as i wanted to say ¡®Do you not?¡¯ Both of us just stare at each other before he finally noticed the bruise on my knee. ¡°You are so badly hurted!¡± But then we both realised something. He hurriedly looked another way where i rolled down my skirt. His ears was red like my face. ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t mind i can walk you to your home.¡± I wanted to refuse but unexpectedly i agreed. I was feeling like someone was watching me again. Unlike the stare at the resturent, it gave me a feel of danger. He forwarded his hand towards me and i put my hands on his palm. His hands were big. Hard, with a lot of calluses. His hair was shining like gold under the the sunlight. ¡®He must use sword and good at it too.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t feel any mana powers in him so, he must be amoner. ¡°Thank you.¡± I said with a polite nod to him. ¡°Umm...Wee?¡± He replied. ¡®Gosh! It¡¯s awkward!¡¯ We both was walking towards the road where we can hire a wagon to ride. I looked up to see his face, when I suddenly saw himughing, wondering what it was he found so funny, but the sound did not stop. ¡°Why are youughing so suddenly?¡± He didn¡¯t replied and kept onughing; which made me think... am i really safe with this madman? But at some point, theugh sounded a little strange. As if he wasughing out loud on purpose. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± When I looked up at him again with a strange look, he nced at me, put a finger to his lips as if telling me to shush, and stillughed hard. ¡®Something is wrong...¡¯ Because, amid his loudughings, his eyes were busy moving, and he turned around while wrapping one arm around my shoulder. Thanks to the spinning movement, I felt like a paper doll. Semi-forced into his arms, I raised my head and looked back. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Gangsters.¡± ¡°Gangsters?¡± ¡®Gang- why would gangsters be here?! I should have cheaked my horoscope today before i went out.¡¯ As if answering my innermost thoughts, a muscr man with an iron rod over his shoulder chuckled and opened his mouth. ¡°Looking at it earlier, I saw that you had a lot of money... Why don¡¯t you donate some money to us too?¡± It looked like the scene that impressed him the most amid all that chaos was when I handed over the pocket with gold to the kid. I turned my head back to see him smirking and smirking. ¡®Well... It¡¯s a lot more burdensome than I thought.¡¯ Taking off their tops because they didn¡¯t know how to wear them properly... I nced up, and a clean jaw caught my eye. ¡®Isn¡¯t there a big difference even between themoners...?¡¯ Since there was no single gangster,ughter was heard from many ces. The blonde boy turned my body, looking at the thugs, and pulled me to his chest. ¡°Don¡¯t wrap your arms around my back, hold them tight in front of you.¡± ¡°Y-Yes?¡± I listened obediently as i had no other choice. I can¡¯t fight them in an open space and am also hurt now. I didn¡¯t want to die in the hands of others again, less be slugged by a nameless gangster. ¡®However... when protecting someone, don¡¯t you usually send the person you want to protect to the back?¡¯ I thought as i was held in front of him like a baby Kangaroo in a Kangaroo pocket. The position was quite fishy... ¡°By any chance... I¡¯m not a shield, right?¡± ¡°You¡¯re too weak to be used as a shield.¡± ¡°...¡± Luckily, it wasn¡¯t a shield. That was good enough. The boy with blonde hair¡¯s left arm was wrapped around my back. There was a huge height difference, so I had to bury my face in his chest without moving. ¡®His chest is sturdy... he must be very muscr...¡¯ During their conversation, I wondered if they were waiting for us...? The people who were still giggling with each other started attacking only after blonde tomato stew adjusted our posture and even drew his sword. He held me in his arms and moved lightly. ¡®Thanks to you... Instead of helping me, It feels like i am going to die! Uhk- Uhk!!¡¯ Every time the boy with blonde hair took a light step back, he gave strength to the arm wrapped around my back in order not to drop me. The movement was not a big deal, but every time he applied force, my ribs were pressed. ¡®Who will die at the hands of gangster?... If the power of his arm is increases, there is a high probability that I will just die here!¡¯ Several people were heard shouting and swearing around as if they had fallen out. The gangsters were on alert while maintaining a distance, perhaps realizing that their opponent was unusual. Apparently now was the time to catch our breath. I didn¡¯t even fight, but I had to catch my breath with them. ..... Blonde, who was actually facing them, didn¡¯t seem to be exhausted. ¡®I should have asked for his name.¡¯ ¡®When will this situation end...?¡¯ I put my head out a little and saw his condition behind him. Several people were rolling around. ¡®Serves them right!¡¯ I felt a bit better after that. At that moment, a human jumped out of the alley in the back and swung his iron rod towards this side. ¡°Tomato Stew! behind you.¡± ¡°I know.¡± He pulled his body aside and knocked over the huge man at a speed fast enough to make me feel embarrassed for trying to alert him. It was the first time I saw it with my head raised, but his skills were truly amazing. ¡°Wow... you fight really well.¡± ¡°Is that what you want to say now?¡± He asked me with a dejected smile, as if he was dumbfounded. ¡°...Can¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Did you call me Tomato Stew?¡± ¡°...¡± Even during conversations with me, I admired his ability to move neatly without any disturbanc- ¡®Ahk!¡¯ ¡°It looks like you are very exhusted.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not wrong... the luggage in front of me is a little heavy.¡± ¡®Ugh, this blonde tomato stew!¡¯ But now the safety of my head depended on him, so I just bit my tongue. He pulled me more closer and i could hear his heart beats. It was beating unusually fast, maybe because he was fighting or exhusted? His face was red, and a few drops of sweat was dropping down from his hair. I felt my own heartbeat faster too. ¡®Is it how it feels like when someone protects you?¡¯ The sound of bangs and the harsh breathing of the gangsters were still ying harmoniously like background music. It was actually a terrible melody. ¡°Um, i can¡¯t focus if you stare at me like that. Can you close your eyes?¡± And then i realized that i was actually staring at him! I hurriedly closed my eyes and burried ny face into his chest. ¡®That was embarrassing!¡¯ His arms loosened a little and then grabbed me tight again, as if he was adjusting the posture to find some kind offort and stability. When he stopped moving and I couldn¡¯t hear any sound, I gently moved away from him. When I looked around, I saw muscr men scattered all over the ce. ¡®It seems that no one is dead...¡¯ Honestly, I wasn¡¯t worried, but I turned to him just in case. Then i noticed a slight cut in his hand and i pulled down and untied the ribbon of my tied hair. As soon as the light blue ribbon was loosened, the hairs that had beenbed in a clean braid, loosened. I roughly ruffled my hair a couple of times and held out the hairband to him to tie it around his wound to prevent any infection. He, who was looking at this side silently, raised his hand towards me. ¡®Huh? Does he want me to do it?¡¯ I unconsciously tied it around his hands. I was feeling embarrassed as he was staring at me. I felt my cheeks was buring so i hurriedly tied it before we start to head towards the wagon station. My heart was beating faster. Chapter 44 44 ¡°Royal Guards¡± Eleanora¡¯s POV ~ The blonde tomato stew guy helped me to hire a wagon and apanied me. Although i wanted to refuse the idea because he may know my real identity if i do so, but soon i realized he already know my identity. When we hired a wagon i didn¡¯t told him that i was from the Dalton duchy. So how did he know? I stared at him and he was avoiding my eyes, trying to look outside of the window. ¡°How did you knew?¡± I asked him. ¡°K-Know What?¡± He asked back. ¡®So he is ying dumb?¡¯ ..... ¡°How did you knew that am going to the Dalton Duchy?¡± I asked with a cold voice. ¡°W-Well, i saw you to get down from the wagon that had the Dalton crest...¡± He replied as he scratched his neck awkwardly. ¡®This makes sense, but...¡¯ ¡°Why did you approach me?¡± I asked with a wary eyes. Because of my identity as the crown prince¡¯s fiance and the duchy¡¯s princess; People would rather to stay away from me. Not to mentionmoners do that to every nobles. So why did he approached me? ¡°Ummm... I was sent by the duke to protect you in shadow and help you in need.¡± ¡°H-Huh?¡± I was stunned as father did mentioned that he will find someone to help me with my training but i declined as i don¡¯t need anyone else to teach me... And i don¡¯t think amoner merchant like him would know about our discussion anyway. If father trusted him that means he is trustworthy. But i still have to test him more. ¡°So, what did my father told you to help me up with?¡± ¡°Sword training to seed the duchy.¡± He replied and i sighed in relief. Only father and i know about this n. I smiled at him as i could tell he was really sent by my father otherwise he wouldn¡¯t know this. But isn¡¯t he a bit too young for this? I think he would be fourteen or fifteen. ¡°So what is your name?¡± I asked as i can¡¯t refer him as a ¡®blonde¡¯ or ¡®tomato stew¡¯ always. ¡°Ain¡± He replied after staying silent for a moment. After we reached our duchy, i invited him toe in but he refused. Saying that he has some works to do. He followed me because he was just curious about the girl he was going to teach. I was tired too, so i didn¡¯t asked for much. The next day; As soon as I opened the door of my room, I sighed at the white uniform. ¡®How did I end up like this?¡¯ The emperor sent a two royal knights to protect me. Introducing themselves as Anthony and Edmund respectively, they alternately guarded me. They even stayed up all night at the door of my bedroom every day, saying that night time was the most dangerous. Why did the emperor give this order? In the current situation where the local political factions were too busy with securing their own estates to fight, it¡¯s unlikely that anybody would try to harm me. In addition, more than half of the regr knights were out of the capital, which led to an increase in each remaining knight¡¯s workload. In this situation, the emperor sent me not one, but two royal knights who were supposed to protect the royal family alone. Did that mean that the emperor had no intention of freeing me? Is he trying to monitor me? I tried to live without paying attention to such stuff, but I couldn¡¯t because these two royal knights kept following me. Suddenly, I broke intoughter. I didn¡¯t get this kind of treatment when I be a 18-year-old empress, but I¡¯m getting this special treatment now when I¡¯m still the daughter of the duke and the crown prince¡¯s fiancee. Maybe because i am a saintess now? ¡°Lady, you have a letter from the border.¡± When I wasughing in this contradictory situation, Maria and Jennie came with a letter from the border, which I received a month after everyone including my dad left. He seem to sent this letter right after he left but it took more then a month to reach here. My heart was pounding. I immediately opened the seal to read it. ¡®Daddy... I miss you so much¡± Tears blurred my vision as i continued to read my letter. ¡°Mydy...¡± ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I asked with a subdued voice. I could see Jennie and Maria¡¯s concern for me in their eyes, So i desperately tried to hold back my tears, but the butler seemed to have already noticed that I was emotionally charged while reading my father¡¯s letter. The butler signalled to them to get out of the room to give me some space. I silently looked at the two leaving and started to read the letter. There was nothing much but i could feel his warmth in it. He told me about his journey and how the work on the border was going on. How i should manage my works and all. Take care of my health, how i should start my training. But hisst words in the letter left me speechless. ¡®Stay away from mens. They are all like animal.¡¯ ¡°...¡± ¡®Aren¡¯t you also a man, Daddy?¡¯ I burst intoughter as soon as i thought what kind of expression daddy would make if he heard me asking this to him. I am afraid of animals. The smaller they are the more am afraid. I could fight monsters, demon beasts with no hesitation but the moment i would see a little puppy or bird; i could tremble in fear. So, my father is telling me to avoid mens like the way i avoid dogs? ¡®This is really hrious!¡¯ I wasughing hard when i suddenly heard someone knocking in my...window? ¡®Who would knock in the window? A killer?¡¯ ¡®But why would a killer spye in knocking?¡¯ But then i noticed a boy with blonde hair, who wear a ck merchant type dress and had a maroon coloured cape over it. ¡°Tomato Stew?¡± Chapter 45 45 ¡°Sneak Into Her Room¡± ¡°Just how long are you going to keep me hanging up?¡± Ain spoke and Eleanora finally snapped back to open the window for him toe in. ¡°Why are youing from the window?¡± Eleanora asked. But instead of replying directly, Ain started to look around her room before he finally settled himself into one of the chair, beside the window. Like it was his own room. ¡°Hey! Why are you not answering my question?¡± Eleanora asked angrily. ¡°Umm...Maybe because i don¡¯t like doors or love window¡¯s too much?¡± ..... ¡°Why are you still talking informally with me?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t like me talking informally then forgive me and you continue to talk formally with me. Am sick of speaking formally all the time...¡± Ain replied formally. ¡°Huh? What do you mean?¡± Eleanora asked. ¡°I mean, talking with those noble client¡¯s!¡± Ain replied as he scratched his neck and looked away. Eleanora didn¡¯t thought much and sat on the opposite chair as Ain; She started to observe him carefully. ¡®His sitting posture looks like a noble... he can also talk formalnguage very fluently... Is he a from a fallen noble family?¡¯ ¡°Gaah!¡± ¡°What the hell is this?¡± Ain, who took Eleanora¡¯s tea from the table to drink was choking because it was too bitter for him. Eleanora, Who instantly stood up and patted his back to stop his coughing sighed. ¡®I was wrong... There is no way a noble would behave like this...¡¯ ¡°D-Don¡¯t you know you shouldn¡¯t touch a man, randomly like this?¡± Ain said and Eleanora noticed his red ears. ¡°But what if i don¡¯t see you as a man...?¡± Eleanora asked back and Ain was speechless. ¡®Just where do i not look like a man?¡¯ Eleanora sat back on her seat and passed a strawberry cake to him. ¡°Eat this; it will lessen the bitterness in your mouth...¡± ¡°And why are you talking informally with me again?¡± ¡°Because i want to?¡± Ain spoke as he frowned. Because it was difficult for him to adjust himself on Eleanora¡¯s chair which was made ording to her height. His legs was way longer as Eleanora hardly reaches his chest. Eleanora just looked at him with a frown as there is nothing she can do when one doesn¡¯t cares. ¡°So when are you going to teach me?¡± ¡°Whenever you want...¡± ¡°Let¡¯s start from tomorrow because if the royal guards sees you sneaking in, then they will be on more guard. Which is really annoying because i can¡¯t move freely then.¡± Eleanora said as she took a bite of the cake she was eating. ¡°That¡¯s true...¡± Ain said and Eleanora looked up to him. ¡°I mean, when someone watches over you, i know this because there was often killers sent to kill me.¡± Ain hurriedly exined and Eleanora looked at him with amusement. ¡°Owh... You must be very strong then to finish them and live on...¡± Ain replied nothing as he touch his neck with another hand and took a bite of his cake too. ¡°Mydy... Are you all right?¡± Both Eleanora and Ain was shocked because of the sudden knocking on the door. It seemed like the royal guard Edmund and Jennie who are worried because she locked the door. ¡°Mydy, why did you locked the door? Did something happened?¡± Eleanora¡¯s mind went nk for a moment and then she hurriedly pulled Ain to hide him in her dressing room. ¡°W-What the?¡± Ain was dumbfounded but still let Eleanora drag him. ¡°Stay here quickly if you don¡¯t want any rumors going around saying ¡®The crown princess cheated on the crown prince with amoner¡¯. I will get away but you will be beheaded right away!¡± Eleanora tried to threaten Ain and before Ain could say anything; Eleanora shut the door on his face. ¡®Well, I could just jump out from the window...¡¯ Ain thought that he could just go away, just like how he came in at the first ce... ¡®But this doesn¡¯t feel bad too...¡¯ Ain squatted down in the dressing room, while being surrounded by her clothes. He put his chin on his knees and burried his face as he felt his hear beating faster. ¡®It¡¯s full of her smell.¡¯ On the other hand, Eleanora ran to open the door for not making it suspicious. ¡°My Lady!! Don¡¯t worry the duke is safe and will return soon!!¡± ¡°Yes, Mydy!! We will be with you till our death separates us!!¡± ¡°We will protect you, Mydy!¡± Eleanora was stunned to find all the maids and knights who came infront of her room to cheer her up. Because they thought Eleanora was upset because she missed her daddy... ¡°Thank you so much guys...¡± Eleanora smilled and a tear drope out from her eyes. ¡®Why did i never noticed their this devoted love before? would my life be more cheerful if i had noticed them?¡¯ The maids panicked seeing her crying and eventually ended up taking her to take a stroll in the garden. ... ¡®Just how long more i have to keep hiding?¡¯ It¡¯s been more then twenty minutes since Ain was hiding here. But then he heard them leaving so he slowlye out. He roam around the room a little more but found nothing interesting except some few painted pictures. But most of them was Alexander¡¯s pictures. ¡®Just how much she loves her poker faced cold father?¡¯ Then he finally noticed something that he couldn¡¯t take his eyes off. There was eight pictures at first; but the moment he walked away from there, it be seven pictures. He was going to wait for her but then he felt a sudden presence of someone¡¯s approach. ¡®Who dares toe into her bedroom?¡¯ Without another single thought, Ain drew out his sword and the approaching figure stiffness. ..... ¡°I-It¡¯s me!!¡± The person infront of Ain shuttered as he removed the cloak from his head. Dark green hair with light green eyes immediately be visible to Ain and he withdraw his sword. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°You need to go back. You have been summoned.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t it be dyed for a moment?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s an imperial order. The emperor summoned you immediately, Crown Prince.¡± Chapter 46 46 ¡°See You Soon¡± Cathain¡¯s POV ~ That day, i seeded into doing the appearance change magic. Not many in our continent can do this yet, so the people who can perform this is quite rare as one needs pure magic powers to do it. I looked into the mirror and was stunned to see my ck hair turning blonde and my red eyes bing faint blue in colour. But i don¡¯t think i should do this to deceive her, just to fulfil my sudden curiosity about her. Yeah i thought so... Until i meet her into the streets that day. I was inspecting the area as i just wanted to get her out of my mind when i saw her carriage that carried the Dalton Duchy crest stopped. A girl with blonde hair and blue eyes came down from the carriage and nced here and there. I immediately recognised her, as she can be the only one who can perform such high magic at this age. ..... If it was before, i think i would be pissed off; but somehow i didn¡¯t felt like that this time. I heard that if two people¡¯s magic appearance is the same that means they are verypatible... Our appearance is almost the same... So, her and me? I started to follow her as i realized, this is the first time she have ever beene outside alone. ¡®Why did shee out alone? What if something happens to her?¡¯ I was also angry on her, foring out all alone without anyone to protect her. So, i continued to follow and watched her to curiously buying street foods, Being confused about how to count the bronze and silver coins as she always counted golds... the same genius girl that everyone praises infront of me. I followed her as she watched other kids at her age y, walk with their parents. That was when i understand that we are not different. We are the same people who are suffering from the same loneliness, who has to be perfect in order to carry on their duties. Who wants nothing but a normal life and breathe because it¡¯s suffocating, where we stand. She gradually entered a resturent as she couldn¡¯t walk in the crowd anymore. I entered the resturent from the back door and sat three tables away from hers. I couldn¡¯t hold back myughter, when i saw how she was hesitating and didn¡¯t knew what to choose in the menu. Rather then that, she actually didn¡¯t knew what kind of food was in the menu. ¡®So, our genius girl, who knows everything... doesn¡¯t know the foods in the menu and how to order?¡¯ I sighed and called the waiter loudly for a tomato stew and she looked at me. The moment she nced at me, i swear i had the urge to cut my neck because it kept wanting to look back at her. Following me, she did the same. She called a waiter and ordered the same tomato stew as me. I felt a little happy and continued to eat as i kept ncing at her time to time. But she seems to have realize it so i left the resturent first. A few momentster, she left the resturent too and started walk into the park. She tiptoed and tried to see the clean water that was flowing under the bridge. ¡®That¡¯s risky!¡¯ So, i finally went to her and called her out with courage. ¡°Mydy, That¡¯s dangerous.¡± Hearing my sudden voice, she looked back in surprise. ¡°Tomato Stew?¡± ¡°...¡± Is she calling me a tomato stew because of the incident at the resturent? It was fun to tease her and follow her around. The way she protected the little girl on the street made me admire her. Maybe this was also why she risked herself to save those ve girls too. Although the others only know it as an ident, but me, who visited the scene could sense her magic there. I covered up the incident as an ident so that she doesn¡¯t get drugged into it. My behaviour was weird, i was saving the girl that i didn¡¯t cared about before. The moment she was in my arms and hugged me, i felt like i was the happiest man in the world. The happiness i felt at that time, i couldn¡¯t describe it in words. But at the same time, i realized, she onlyughed and talked with me because i was not me. She only get close to me because it was her ¡®blonde tomato stew¡¯ but not the crown prince, Cathain infront of her. After riding the carriage, i told the brutal lie i had ever told. I used the dukes absence and his conversation with Duke Heartz, that i somehow overheard. He was thinking about hiring someone to teach her swordmanship, so that she can seed the duchy. I thanked the god, that i never believed; because she somehow trusted my words. I don¡¯t know for how long my lie is gonna work. But at the same time, i don¡¯t dare to reveal myself infront of her. She trembles in fear everytime she sees me, let alone talk with me. I sighed as i really needed to leave now, even if i didn¡¯t wanted too. I nced around the room to find a pen and paper when i noticed the letter sent by the duke. ¡®Stay away from mens... like animals.¡¯ Hah! The duke is really! Does he think every man wants to eat her? He even warned me, the crown prince, her official fiancee to stay away from her! ¡°Brayden... Find out about informations about the crown princess. What she likes, dislikes, her weakness... i want to know every single details.¡± Brayden blinked his eyes as his expression told me that he is thinking if he heard it right or not. ¡°Y-Yes, Your highness. I will start the investigation shortly after reaching the pce.¡± He nooded with a stunned face and i wonder too, what made me like this. I put down the letter and write a small note for her as i climbed the window again to leave. ¡®See you soon, mydy.¡¯ Chapter 47 47 ¡°Eager To See Ain Again¡± After Eleanora came back into her room, She didn¡¯t let anyone enter the room, fearing Ain might be caught by them. She sighed a relief and closed the door as soon as she entered the room but was shocked to find the room empty. Ain was not here anymore. She searched a little before she found the little note left by him. ¡°I have to go now, see you soon.¡± Although the letter contained not much words, but somehow Eleanora was looking forward to meet him again. This was the first time in her life that she got someone to talk, who can be considered as a friend of hers. Eleanora felt her heart fluttering with a new feeling. Days passed by, Ain and Ele got closer to each other too. Eleanora goes out to the center field every weekend in the disguise of Ele, Where Cathain trains her in the name of Ain. ..... Cathain was surprised by Eleanora¡¯s skills. It took a long time for her to be a knight in her previous life because of her weak body. But because she had already learnt and remembered every moves from her past life, so this time it wasn¡¯t that hard for her. ¡°Huff...¡± Eleanora breathed heavily as she dropped her sword and sat up to take a rest. Cathain passed her a towel and Eleanora tooked it with a smile. ¡°Thanks, tomato... Ain!¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain just sighed, because Eleanora still calls him ¡®tomato stew¡¯, no matter how many times he forbids her. ¡°Your skills are quite good, You can atleast pass the trainee knights with your skills, Ele. Did the duke trained you before?¡± Eleanora hesitated and then she finally replied, ¡°Yes, I started to train at the age of five.¡± ¡®I didn¡¯t lied though... i started to train at five but my skills wasn¡¯t that good because of my weak body.¡¯ Eleanora slightly blushed when she nced at Ain, who was looking up at the sky. It¡¯s been a year since they have been training together and fourteen months since her father left for the relief inception. Ain and Ele have gotten quite closer to each other during this time. Even if they only meet four times a month, Ain visits her almost everyday by climbing her window. They often talk with each other till midnight. Both of them have many simr topics to discuss about. They talk about military, border problems and many more things. Somehow, Ele¡¯s heart started to grow a little space for Ain. ¡°What are you going to wear for the uing national founding day?¡± Ain suddenly asked and Eleanora finally remembered about the uing national day. ¡°Y-You... Don¡¯t tell me you forgot about it?¡± Ain asked again with a disbelief look. ¡°So... you really did? The holy saintess and the crown princess of this empire, forgot about it¡¯s foundation day?¡± Ain burst intoughter and Ele looked at him with amusement. ¡®He looks so handsome when heughs...¡¯ Eleanora looked at hisughing face and smiled too. ¡®Only if i could watch him like this everyday...¡¯ Eleanora was a person who never had anybody to share orugh with. Although her rtionship with her father improved but still, a friend at the similiar age is still required. So, Ain was everything that Ele needed. A cheerful, supportive friend. Because, inside the twelve year old Eleanora was the soul of a twenty four years old, wounded lonely girl. ¡°So you are going to attend the banquet with the crown prince right?¡± Ain asked and Eleanora¡¯s smile faded from her face. She be gloomy and sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t want to though...¡± Eleanora replied and Cathain felt like a heavy burden on his chest. ¡®Then would you want to attend the banquet with Ain?¡¯ This is what Cathain wanted to ask but he couldn¡¯t. Because he knows the answer. ¡®As long as it¡¯s not the crown prince, Cathain; She won¡¯t be afraid¡¯. Before he thought that she was afraid of every man, but then he realised it isn¡¯t. She isn¡¯t afraid of Dominic, Ain; She only fears ¡®Cathain¡¯. ¡°Umm... May i ask why?¡± ¡°The crown prince is the only heir of the throne, you will be the empress in the future and he can provide everything you want... So why?¡± Cathain couldn¡¯t help but ask her. His heart was feeling heavy. ¡°I can tell you if you promise to not tell anyone else.¡± Eleanora said as she smilled at Ain and spoke. ¡°I swear with my everything that, if i ever leak anything you said, i will give them to you!¡± Ain said with a serious face and Eleanora burst intoughter. ¡®Just how much assets amoner merchant can have? And he even dares to bet on them?¡¯ ¡°Okey, I will really take them all!¡± Eleanora was stillughing and Cathain kept staring at her face. ¡®S-So beautiful...¡¯ ¡°The crown prince can provide me everything but, he doesn¡¯t like me...¡± ¡°He is Cold blooded... Arrogant... bad tempered!¡± Eleanora¡¯s each word was stabbing Cathain and he couldn¡¯t even refute as what she said is almost true. ¡°And... He will kill me...¡± Eleanora said in a low voice and Cathain looked up to her with a shocked expression. ¡°H-Huh?¡± Cathain was surprised. ¡°Nothing... I just want to find a man who will only love me in his whole life.¡± Eleanora changed the topic but Cathain was sure about what he heard earlier. ¡®I can only love you in my whole life...¡¯ Cathain was stunned on his thinking again but choosed to keep silent as he thought she doesn¡¯t want to share it yet. It¡¯s true that he didn¡¯t liked her before, he was jealous of her, he was more pissed off when he noticed Eleanora never even paid any attention to him and thought she was looking down on him by this. But slowly, all his misunderstandings are getting cleared up and he started to like her more as days pass by. And thus another month passed and finally the national founding day came. Chapter 48 48 ¡°Annual Banquet¡± (1) Eleanora¡¯s pov ~ As the founding day of the empire and the annual banquet was approaching, the capital city of Valentino became crowded with iing nobles. Where the dukes and knights were busy in the border inception and relief distribution. The boutiques specializing in dresses for nobles were booming, and themoner people were also satisfied with the emperor, thanks to the release of the massive reserve grains. Some of the nobles balked at the luxurious ceremony at a time when the empire was suffering from famine, but the emperor was determined to have the banquet to proceed in a splendid manner as always, even if the imperial family was financially strained because of the poor crops. Nobles usually attend the banquets with an intension to find a suitable marriage partner. So, they won¡¯t miss this opportunity where all the nobles familly attend. Everyone was in a cheerful mood, but i couldn¡¯t be. Because of thest annual banquet, that i attended in my previous life. I kept remembering the events of that day, The starter day of my hell. How he happily announced his mistress as a queen. How i was treated after that day. As the day wasing nearer day by day, i was getting more and more nervous. ..... ¡°Please eat a little more, youngdy. You have to go through a big event tomorrow...¡± ¡°I can¡¯t eat anymore. Let me stop here. By the way, Maria, have you heard anything from my father?¡± ¡°No, not yet. Don¡¯t worry too much,dy. He will be in touch with you soon.¡± ¡°... Got it.¡± Iy on my bed and thought about it. What happened? Although those officials dispatched to the border returned to the capital one by one, I haven¡¯t heard anything from him. ¡®Did something bad happen to him? What if he neveres back?¡¯ I kept sending letters but i didn¡¯t got any letter from him in thest four months. He sent only three letters in whole one and half a year. When I came to think of the day of possible farewell to him, my heart sank. I couldn¡¯t stand it. I need my father, Without him, i can¡¯t escape. ¡°Let¡¯s not think that way, Eleanora.¡± I murmured to myself, holding the doll he gave me when i was three. Probably he forgot to send me a letter because he had to go on a long journey. In terms of swordsmanship, he was the best and strongest man in the empire. So, there is no possibility that somebody could harm him. Besides, he didn¡¯t go to the battlefield, but the border area for regr inspection. I curled up and pulled the nket over me. I was exhausted because I had to prepare for the ceremony for the past several days, but I was still lucid. While tossing and turning on the bed because of endless idle thoughts, I opened my eyes at the noiseing from outside. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ Shortly afterwards, Jennie came in and asked carefully. ¡°Mydy, Lennie wants to see you immediately. What should I do?¡± ¡°Really? Please let her in. I would rather move to another ce to talk with her, but I¡¯m too weak to do so.¡± ¡°Okay, mydy..¡± I slowly raised my body and sat, leaning against the pillow. What the heck is going on? Why did she came alone to visit me? ¡°May ie in, Princess?¡± I heard Liana¡¯s voice, she uses honorifics when we are outside because of our status. ¡°Yeah, Come in.¡± I replied and the door opened up. Liana is still wearing her priestess clothes, where i can only see her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Ele. I was going to ask if you were keeping well, but you don¡¯t look good.¡± ¡°Well, i think so too.¡± ¡°Why do you look so pale? Should i use my healing powers a bit?¡± Looking a bit tired, Liana approached my bed and kneeled beside it. Beside Ain, i also got close to Liana and brother Dominic in the past year. I often hang out with Liana and Dominic in my free times. Liana held my shaking hands, ¡°I¡¯vee here to tell you something, but you look too tired. Should I leave?¡± ¡°Oh, no. I¡¯m a little tired, but I can talk with you.¡± ¡°Are you really okay?¡± ¡°Yes, don¡¯t worry.¡± When I smiled feebly, she felt sympathetic. ¡°So, are you prepared now to tell me? Ana?¡± ¡°Yes, sort of.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you must have been distressed as your father was away.¡± ¡°Well, a little.¡± I could say I was very distressed, but I didn¡¯t as i had Ain beside me to keep me apany. Liana looked at me anxiously, she gently patted my hands andforted me. Maybe she used a bit of her holy powers, and i felt my strengthing back a little. But i wondered why i was still so weak when i had more divine holy powers? Maybe i should study a bit about this. I smiled gently, feeling her warmth when she touched my hands. There was silence for a long time. She said she came here to tell me something, but she kept hesitating, as usual. What was she trying to tell me? The moment I tried to ask because I couldn¡¯t wait anymore, Liana said with a determined expression, ¡°You know, Ele...Actually, while I was talking with my sister, I came to hear about your condition until now.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell you everything, but can you please trust my words and do as i ask you to do?¡± I was a bit surprised at her words. Just exactly what she can¡¯t spoke off? What is she afraid of and what is she trying to do? ¡°Let me hear it first, i can only tell my answer to you then.¡± I spoke with a gentle manner, i knew Lennie would never ask for something that i can¡¯t do or inappropriate. ¡°Please, Don¡¯t let the crown prince drink anything that the maids serves tomorrow at the banquet.¡± Liana said with a lot of hesitation and i just stare at her. ¡°Why?¡± The words just came out of my mouth. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you, but once he drinks it; everything will start to change again...¡± ¡°If you can, then try to take him out of the pce for a few days...¡± I could sense the fear in her voice, when she spoke. Something is wrong. Is it rted to my past? Will the future change and i will be saved if i do this? But why can¡¯t Liana tell this to me? ¡°Ana, Let me ask you this way as you can¡¯t answer. Someone will mix something that is harmful for his health, and even if they fails, they will attempt for another chance. This is why i need to take him out of the pce, Right?¡± Liana didn¡¯t answered and kept silent. But the way she sighed in relief, told me that i was right. ¡°Ana, you know i copse and tremble, everytime i see him. I don¡¯t know how i am about to do this, but... i will try my best.¡± ¡°Thank you for trusting me, Ele. I will really tell you everything once i can. Thank you so much for trusting me.¡± Liana jumped up in happiness and hugged me tightly. I hugged her back but It felt like, she wasn¡¯t just trying to save him, someone else too. But who? Chapter 49 49 ¡°Annual Banquet¡± (2) Eleanora¡¯s pov ~ Maria, Jennie and the other maids started to put some makeups on my face to cover up my pale face and got me all dress up. As the crown prince¡¯s fiancee, I had to enter with him at the ceremony today, so all the housemaids of my house were eager to get me dolled up as best they could. Of course, I wasn¡¯t interested at all. I looked into the mirror and kept staring at myself. I had always wore darker coloured dresses after i turned sixteen, in myst life. So, this light blue coloured dress, which was made in a matching pare with the crown prince; looked weird on me. At least i thought so. This light blue coloured dress reminded me of the white shabby dress that i had worn in my trial grounds. But i can¡¯t always keep remembering this and fear him. He can¡¯t kill me anymore in this lifetime. I will never be the empress, who will get abandoned and eventually killed in the end. ..... No matter how the fate is written, i will change them. I know, this Cathain has done nothing wrong yet, but that doesn¡¯t mean he won¡¯t do in the future. I will fully use my power, because i don¡¯t love him anymore in this lifetime. There is nothing to be afraid of. I can do this. After Liana went backst night, i thought a lot about my present life. Why am i trying so hard to escape him? Why do i still feel so scared of him, just like the past? It was because, i couldn¡¯t let go of my past with him. I couldn¡¯t let go of my obsession with my father and him. I couldn¡¯t let go of my love and hatred for him. I said, i will change my destiny. But can i really do it when am still holding into the past? Holding into my father¡¯s sudden wramth towards me? I will save myself this time. I will help the people and speak of my mind this time. I will achieve my dreams. I can only escape the past when i won¡¯t expect anything from anyone in this life. If i can¡¯t escape, then i will face it. Did i really thought, i could escape after being confirmed as thedy of the prophecy? I wasn¡¯t in clear head this days. But when i thought about it clearly, there was many loopholes. Cathain never gave me a proper reason for hating me, Jena suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Emperor Valerian died suddenly, Cathain be more aggressive and my unreasonable obsession with him grew day by day, my two misscarriages that couldn¡¯t be exined properly. The empress, living in the abandoned pce; which no one even bothered to demand an exnation or something? Father suddenly losing his mind to attack cathain, Jena be Jennifer Raven and then a empress¡¯s execution just because of a queen¡¯s misscarriage? There is too many missing pieces. I was only focused on living, escaping. But i will die for sure again, if i can¡¯t piece them together. Also, i need to cheak out about the story of saintess Ariande. I think this also have something to do with this. I was afraid of the arrival of today¡¯s ceremony until yesterday, but I wasn¡¯t scared anymore. Perhaps, it¡¯s because I felt empty and more clear headed now. I wouldn¡¯t care even if things went wrong. Now that I finally regained my consciousness fully; It¡¯s my turn to show them what am capable of. If i can bring prosperity to this empire, i can even lead it to destruction. Looking at me notining at all even when they tightened the corset around my waist and put on a pannier to make my skirt look abundant, the maids whispered among themselves, but I didn¡¯t care. I just moved my body as they led me. Even after I examined my outfit for thest time, I felt like I was floating in my dreams until I got in the carriage. ¡®I won¡¯t escape anymore, Rather, i will face it!¡¯ ¡®Before your hands choke me, i will cut them.¡¯ ¡°Are you okay,dy? You do look pale.¡± Sir Edmund spoke with a worried look and when I got out of the wagon with the royal knight¡¯s help with people around me whispering about me, I didn¡¯t care because, they will always whisper, no matter what i do. I gave Sir Edmund a reassurance smile, before i started to walk, ignoring those whispers around me and finally reached the banquet halls entrance. He was wearing a gracefully shining, white suit with a light blue robe, which had the same matching decoration design as my dress. Even the simple white ribbon in my dress was the same as his. His ck hair was neatlybed up, making his facial features more sharp and prominent. His red eyes looked up and stared at my blue eyes, the moment he sensed my presence. Unlike before, his eyes was somewhat clear and surprised after he saw me today. He turned his body to face me and seemed like he was waiting for me. ¡°I, Eleanora Ariande Dalton, am honored to greet you, the Little Sun of the empire.¡± ¡°You... okay, let¡¯s go.¡± Even though he, who greeted me politely for the first time in this lifetime was my partner, I felt he was acting strange. I didn¡¯t like his dreamlike voice or his surprised look, that didn¡¯t contained hatred or disgust anymore. He frowned, when i did my greeting with an expressionless look. He tried to say something but then shake his head to not say, and reached out for my hands. I put my hand lightly on his cold hand and left the waiting room. ¡®Instead of escaping, i need to take advantage of things beside me now.¡¯ Before entering, I slightly adjusted my dress ribbon and straightened up, his gaze was still on me. I felt ufortable, so i looked up at him and he coughed lightly. After clearing his throat, the chief attendant shouted loudly. ¡°The little Sun of the empire, Crown Prince Cathain De Valerian Valentino and the Moon of the empire, Eleanora Ariande La Dalton, are entering the hall!¡± The door slowly opened. I smiled consciously with my back straight. Slowly moving, I saw nobles bowing to show their manners to the next emperor. The same people, wearing the same dress as i remembered them wearing in the past. The same people who shouted in joy, the moment i was executed along with my child. ¡®Just wait and watch, how i make your lives a living hell.¡¯ As I walked along the red carpet, I stopped in front of the tform and bowed to His Majesty sitting on the throne. ¡°I¡¯m honored to see you, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°I¡¯m honored to see the emperor, the Sun of the empire.¡± ¡°Come on, Crown Prince and Princess. Raise your heads.¡± When he and I showed due manners to the emperor, he ordered the nobles still bowing to him to raise their bodies. Everyone fixed their eyes on the emperor, when he started to speak. ¡°Today is the 1746th year of our empires national founding day. So, let¡¯s start the banquet and enjoy yourself.¡± The emperor said and gave his ss to give us a toast. Following him, we all did the same. As i took the ss to my lips, i couldn¡¯t help but silentlyugh a little. If in myst life, he didn¡¯t broke the news of her being pregnant; maybe i would drink with him at that time with a smiling and happy face, who was happy just by standing with him... ...a pathetic fool who was obsessed with him. Chapter 50 50 ¡°Do You Trust Me?¡± Cathain¡¯s POV ~ I was waiting for her in the waiting room. The moment i sensed her presence, i felt my heart was beating really fast and it was about to jump up from my chest. In our empire, when two people gets engaged, their magic bonds with each other, which helps us sense the presence of our partners; after theiring of age ceremony. Not only their presence, but we can also sense their magic and emotions. But, i don¡¯t know how am feeling this now, where i still have two more years left to mying of age ceremony. I don¡¯t think she can feel my presence or emotions yet. I breathed heavily and looked at the mirror to fix my appearence before she entered the room. She was wearing a light blue fluffy dress with a white ribbon. Her dress was a matching pare with mine. Her long wavy silver hair was open today, she was looking gorgeous. ..... I was d at first because she didn¡¯t feared me like before or trembled but her silence and emotionless greeting made me feel ufortable. There was no emotions in her blue eyes and i suddenly got a shback, the moment her blue eyes looked into my red eyes. It was for sure her! I could recognise those jewel like blue eyes! Although she was a lot older there, she was wearing just a white dress with her shoulders exposed and kept staring at me with tears in her eyes. She wasying in the bed and the room was dark. Her gaze now was just like the shback i had now. ¡®What was that?¡¯ But unknown to me, i was staring at her this whole time. So, i coughed a little before the cheif attendance yelled out our names. And we entered the hall as she ced her small hands on my big hand and caught it tightly, feeling that if i don¡¯t held on tightly; she might leave. When my father raised his ss for a toast, we all raised our own sses too. The way she raised her ss and drink it, i was surprised because it was so natural that it felt, she has done it many times before. After the toast, As the Crown Prince and Princess, we had to start the banquet by our first dance. ¡®My first dance with her...¡¯ I reached out my hand towards her and again, she just hand me her hands like, she is just doing it because she needs to. ¡°It is an honor, Crown Prince- Ah!¡± I wrapped my hands around her waist tightly and pulled her closer to me. She was slightly stunned because she didn¡¯t expected me to pull her closer so suddenly. We was looking at each other at the dancing floor,pletely unaware of the people around us and their surprise gazes on us. The chamber orchestra members picked up their instruments quickly and started to y the music. I moved slowly, holding hands with her, in line with the slow dance that started grandly. Only the emperor, the crown prince and his partner could dance the first dance to start any banquet. Because of this, she and I alone were dancing under the attention of numerous guests. Even though I practiced all night long, I was tensed. She is so closer to me, my heart is pounding so hard that i fear, she might hear it. My ears were getting hotter and i kept gazing at her, who barely reached my chest height. But, her eyes and face was emotionless, there is not a single trace of any emotion in her face. She was just following my lead quitely. ¡°Oh, It¡¯s surprising.¡± I suddenly spoke and she finally looked at me. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± She barely replied in a cold voice. Well, it¡¯s better then her copsing or tremble in fear. ¡°I¡¯m talking about you. Isn¡¯t it the first time in your life that you are dancing today?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°But why are you so used to it?¡± I asked coldly, pulling her toward me when i noticed she was stepping a bit away from me. She just kept quite without replying. ¡°I can see you¡¯re focused on something else, but you¡¯re still dancing so well. Does it mean that you have danced with another guy so many times?¡± I asked in a rather sarcastic tone. I know there is no other guy beside her except ¡®Ain¡¯, but i couldn¡¯t help but ask. Her dancing skills are way too good for someone who is dancing for the first time. ¡°What do you mean? How could I do...?¡± ¡°Really?¡± After snorting withughter, I pulled her more closer and hold her tightly. I grinned strangely at her, when i saw how surprised she was when i mentioned ¡®another guy¡¯. ¡°That guy over there with red hair. He is staring at you for quite a time. Do you know him?¡± I put my lips close to her ear and whispered. When she turned her head along my gaze, a boy with ming red hair came into her view. With his fresh hair and deep ck eyes in her view, she looked at him and quickly widrawed her gaze. ¡°It¡¯s Alberto Dion Richardo, The young duke of the southern duke territory.¡± She replied coldly. ¡°... I don¡¯t like him.¡± I coldly told her. I hated it when other guys stared at her. I just wanted her know my feelings, even if it was a little bit. I want her to feel how i am feeling. ¡°Your Majesty?¡± She raised her cold blue eyes and looked up at me. ¡°Don¡¯t look at other guys, except me.¡± ¡°....¡± She was surprised but didn¡¯t replied and kept quite. She just looked like a soulless doll to me. I felt goosebumps. Why do i feel she got it in the wrong way? As if somebody threw cold water over my body, I felt cold and nervous. The blood flowing through my heart seemed to have frozen, and my whole body began to tremble. At that moment, the music stopped and a thundering apuse was heard. But I was still staring at her face. I knew she was pretty but she is looking way more pretty today. My mouth was bing dry. Their whispering was getting farther away. Seeing me not moving, she took away her hands from my grip and step backed politely to bow before me. ¡°It was an honor for me...¡± Then i smiled casually as if nothing had happened and reached out with politeness and grabbed her hand again. Almost dragged by me, she was headed to the tform where the emperor was seated. After bowing to the emperor, she was about to go away, when she was stopped by me. I took her to walked out of the tform and entered a nearby balcony. Although she looked up at me in surprise, her back was already pinned against the wall. The moment she looked up to me, My heart sank. But then ie back to my senses and put my hands on her shoulders. She surprisingly looked at me and when she came back to her senses, i was already sitting beside her on the balcony chair. ¡°Hey, you!¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± When she responded in surprise to my sudden call, i said with a frown, ¡°Why are you so scared of me?¡± ¡°Ugh, I don¡¯t get it, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°You must know what I¡¯m talking about. What is the reason? Did your childhood memoriese back?¡± ¡°Pardon? My childhood?¡± ¡°I guess not, then. Hmmm...¡± I purposefully put my lips to her ears and said, ¡°Is it because of your middle name?¡± ¡°Howe you....?¡± ¡°Did you think I didn¡¯t notice it?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Although there is little possibility, you have the right to seed the throne, and that you can¡¯t give it up because it was given by God¡¯s prophecy.¡± ..... ¡°Although the emperor ordered them to keep silent about it, how couldn¡¯t I know it?¡± ¡°... What are you going to do to me, Your Majesty?¡± Sheughed lightly and finally looked at me with a eye, that was not cold anymore. Her eyes was not the eyes of a twelve year older. She brushed her hair aside and put her another hand on her chin. She kept staring at me and for the first time, i felt a sudden fear. She was like a danger and her looks was telling me to stay away before it¡¯s toote. It was the eyes of a born schemer, who can take down anything she desires. ¡°Do you trust me?¡± She asked with seductive smile... and me, who knew i shouldn¡¯t, i should be wary of her, couldn¡¯t help but answer... ¡°...I do.¡± Chapter 51 51 ¡°Breaking The Shackles¡± ¡°Do you trust me?¡± Eleanora¡¯s words kept ringing and repeating in Cathain¡¯s ears. ¡®Can i really trust her?¡¯ Although, the Eleanora infront of him was only a tweleve year old girl, but he could feel the heavy burden and seriousness of those words. She casually didn¡¯t asked him that and once he says, he do... he will be trapped forever in her chess game. He could feel a sense of danger which was warning him to stay away, not believe her... perhaps Eleanora herself wanted him tosh out on her for asking such a outrageous question. And it was true... Eleanora didn¡¯t wanted him to believe her. She wants to see the past Cathain and remind herself that he will never change. No matter what, Just like how Emperor Cathain never trusted Empress Eleanora... She also wants the Crown prince to reject her, to make her heart more stronger to not crumble. ..... He might even hit her like before but that¡¯s okay, she has seen worse of him. This much would be nothing. If he does that, she can continue to hate him without any problem in the near future. Cathain heavily sighed before he put his hands on hers. Because he had the urge to trust her, get closer to her. ¡°I do.¡± The fireworks started right at that moment and Eleanora¡¯s smile froze for a moment before it looked more decisive under the colourful light. ¡°Are you sure, Crown Prince?¡± The strong wind made her shiver a little in cold. So, she frowned because the dress was thin. Cathain immediately took of his white robe, which was hanging on his shoulders and ced it over her shoulders. ¡°Yes, Am sure.¡± Eleanora looked at him with a surprised gaze and she felt that, like her, he has drastically changed too. If it was the past Cathain, he would just order her to leave. But the current him, not only noticed her difort but also took care of her. ¡°T-Thank you...¡± Eleanora was staring at his red eyes before she finally looked away andughed in her mind. ¡®Hah! Did you forget how this man killed you for another women¡¯s unborn child? He will never change. He is like this because i changed. The moment i flutter like before again, he will show his true colours too.¡¯ ¡°Once you are in, you will never be able to get out. Think it through, don¡¯t rush... Your highness.¡± Cathain was staring at her beautiful face, she was looking at the sky and opened his mouth slowly to speak. ¡°Then i hope you will keep me trapped inside it forever... Never letting me go.¡± Eleanora smirked as she found something very funny but she didn¡¯t replied back. ¡®Am trapping you so that i can leave you... why would i hold you tight?¡¯ While looking at her, Cathain noticed that, she looked more pretty with his robe, covering her. Cathain was so lost into his emotions that, he unconsciously asked her, ¡°Why are you suddenly... not afraid anymore?¡± Although Eleanora was smiling, Cathain could feel it was more like a mocking or cold smile, Which didn¡¯te from her heart. ¡°Because i wasn¡¯t thinking straight and only thought of running way from it.¡± Eleanora replied and paused for a moment. ¡®I was so desperate to run away that, i didn¡¯t noticed the shackles on my feet, which was holding me back from running. So, am gonna cut those shackles first, now.¡¯ Eleanora added, in her mind silently. ¡°Running away... from whom?¡± Cathain asked, who was still in a daze. ¡°You.¡± Eleanora replied without any hesitation. She found it fun to tease a young boy. [As Eleanora in her mentality is twenty two, where the present Cathain is only sixteen] ¡°Me?...Why?¡± Cathain was shocked a little, but still lost in his emotions so deeply that he wasn¡¯t even thinking straight. ¡°You want to know why?¡± Eleanora¡¯s smile grew more wider and crossing her legs, she put her chin on her palm, her blue eyes piercing his soul to see the truth. It was the first time that, They was properly conversing with each other. Cathain was feeling that, he is slowly stepping into her trap, she was making him more and more curious about her. It was a dangerous feeling, that was telling him to stay away from her but he couldn¡¯t. It was like, he is a kid, who was being lured into kidnapping because of his greed for a candy. As, Cathain didn¡¯t spoke for a long time, Eleanora started to speak in a low but alluring voice. ¡°Being interested in me is dangerous for you... So, you better hate me like you used to did before. Don¡¯t drink anything that the maids offer you tonight and try to be away from the pce for a few days, if you trust me...¡± Right after she finished speaking, Eleanora stood up and was about to leave because ording to her, she have finished her work; when Cathain caught her wrist tightly. ¡°Let go...¡± He abruptly asked a question that Eleanora wasn¡¯t prepared for. ¡°Do you like me?¡± Cathain asked with a lot of courage. He thought that if she didn¡¯t cared about him then why is she helping him. It¡¯s also a little weird for him to ask this kind of question to a tweleve year old girl. But Eleanora just kept staring at his red eyes with no emotion. Under the dazzling moon light, The wind blew coldly. One was still sitting, where the other one was standing. Eleanora¡¯s hair was flying a little because of the strong wind, but Cathain kept holding her hands and looked at her with expectations. ¡°I hate you.¡± The three words that Eleanora uttered was like a fatal blow on Cathain. But he tightened his grip on her hands and gave her a wide, warm smile that Eleanora have never seen before. Her blue eyes widened shock and surprise, as she kept staring at his red eyes deeply. ¡°But...I think, I love you. ...My Empress¡± Chapter 52 52 Chapter 52 ~ ¡°Can Two Paths Be One?¡± ¡°But i think, I love you...¡± ¡°My empress!¡± Cathain gently took some of her flying hair in the air, at his hands and kissed it. He looked up and stare at her widening blue eyes in shock and smiled at her devilishly. Where, Eleanora looked at Cathain with a shocked and horrified gaze. She could imagine the 26-year-old Cathain looking to her in the appearance of a 16 year-old teenager. Cathain in the past, sometimes would look at her like this. Which would be full of obsession and possessiveness. Red eyes, which wanted to possess her, cage her and keep her tied with him. His red eyes is no longer the eyes of a teenager, which always looked at her with a little annoyance. ..... Just like how her soul was a adult in mentality but child at appearance, his expression just now was the same. ¡®N-No... No... It can¡¯t be... ¡® Eleanora unconsciously kept murmuring in her mind as she continued to step back from him. ¡°I love you, Ele. I- I missed you so much... ¡± Cathain spoke as he took step towards her. He doesn¡¯t know why he is feeling so heart break when he said he missed her. And why did he said that? It felt like he was being controlled by something. But it was so heavy that he felt his heart was breaking apart as he spoke those words. Eleanora kept gazing at the floor as her mind stopped it¡¯s functioning. ¡®How can this happen? Is he back in the past like me too?¡¯ Cathain tried to touch her face but Eleanora pped his hands away and finally looked at him with a gaze full of hatred and disgust. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me! I hate you! Did you hear clearly? I hate you!!¡± Eleanora gritted her teeth and yelled at him. Her eyes was full of hatred and rage. But Cathain just kept standing infront of her. She turned away to leave and he chased after her. The moment she tried to open the balcony gate, Cathain suddenly mmed the door again and took his mouth near her ear to whisper. ¡°Remember, You can only be mine... My empress.¡± Cathain immediately backed off after he finished his sentence and Eleanora stomped out from the balcony without looking back. She took the emperor¡¯s permission to leave the banquet in the excuse of feeling unwell and the emperor granted her permission to leave because he sensed something wrong. On the other hand, Cathain didn¡¯t left the balcony and watched her as she run away from the banquet and stepped into her carriage. He kept staring, till the carriage with Blue and white coloured g, and crest disappeared from his eyes. Cathain turned his body and leaned on the railings. He kept staring at the shining moon and hold up his hands high towards the moon. ¡®You can¡¯t escape me, Ele...¡¯ Cathain spoke in his mind as he tried to grip the moon with his hands. He narrowed his eyes and his lips curved up into a smrik. Everything was finally making sense to him. He kept having dreams about a woman. Whose eyes was always lonely, even if it smiled sometimes; soon it would be gloomy again. He kept having dreams about the woman, who had shilvery shiny hair with blue eyes. She kept working hard and hard, kept hearing gossips about her, being ignored by someone. Today after he saw Eleanora¡¯s cold eyes and had hisst vision; he finally came up with something. If what he saw was future, then the current Eleanora is totally different from this and she is the only one who is acting differently from his vision. And her acting differently, somehow made him acting differently too. He had been having visions since they fall into the water. So, it can only be one thing. He was back in the past but his memories couldn¡¯t adjust with his current body yet. Although he doesn¡¯t remember much, he decided to try out by calling her ¡®Empress¡¯. And the way she reacted, he is now sure that, those was not normal visions. So now, it can only be two possible way. One, they both are back in the past again. One with her full memory and him, without his full memory. Two, he is just thinking and dreaming nonsense. But the second thing doesn¡¯t suits at all. So, it can only be the first one. He have to try more harder to find out all the memories. ¡®This is why i felt the urge to know about you more, the reason i did those stupid things because i already loved you for a long time...¡¯ ¡®I will make you mine again, Ele...¡¯ _______ Right after reaching her house; Eleanora dismissed everyone from her room. She closed the door and slowly slide down on the floor and clenched her fist. ¡®How can this happen! Why?¡¯ There was no tears in her eyes but her eyes was full of rage. She finally short out everything. She thought about facing the reality and find out about the past. But everything will go wrong if Cathain remembers everything too. ¡®N-No, This can¡¯t be. If he was really back in the past, he couldn¡¯t behave like this from the start.¡¯ Eleanora stood up from the floor and sat infront of her mirror. It was a 22-year-old adults image in the mirror. Lifeless and tired blue eyes with a gloomy face, which haven¡¯t smiled for decades. ¡®Do you want to be me again?¡¯ The girl in the mirror asked. ¡®No, I won¡¯t be like you again.¡¯ Eleanora replied and the girl in the mirror smiled. ¡®Bring justice for us and punish the guilty... also live happily.¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t lost yourself in the midst of this.¡¯ The girl in the mirror said before she vanished from the mirror. Eleanora was seeing her own 12-year-old appearance in the mirror again and sighed heavily before she looked up to the mirror. She smiled brightly as she spoke, ¡°Yeah, I can do this!¡± Past Cathain or not, nothing can stop her this time. She will be a knight as she wanted and discover the past to prevent the past incidents urring again. Eleanora walked and stood beside her window as she kept gazing at the moon to be determine again. ¡®I will never give in to you again, Cathain.¡¯ ______ Once love turn into great hate, where once missed be a obsession. Two people with two different thought, Can they ever be one again? Chapter 53 53 Chapter 53 ~ ¡°Warm Sunset¡± The next day, sunlight was dazzlingly shining through the slightly open curtains, in Eleanora¡¯s room. Maria, who came to wake Eleanora up, drew aside the bed curtain and opened the window. Chirp, chirp! Eleanora blinked her eyes because of the sudden light falling on her eyes, as she heard birds chirping here and there. Her hair was scattered by the refreshing wind blowing through the windows. When she opened her eyes, breathing in fresh air, she saw the garden dyed in light green. After all happened yesterday, seeing this peaceful atmosphere today; Eleanora felt like something good would happen to her this morning. ¡°Good morning, Maria!¡± ¡°Good morning, mydy!¡± ..... Eleanora washed up and got dressed up to have breakfast. ¡®Something good might happen today. I spent a quite peaceful morning.¡¯ After finishing her breakfast, Eleanora saw the two knights who always guards her without any rest. They escorted her outside, to the garden. Eleanora was drinking her afternoon tea in the garden, with a very happy and cheerful smile; while the royal guard Edmund and Anthony was still guarding her. ¡°You seem to feel good somehow. Did you have a good dream, Mydy?¡± Sir Edmund asked. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t, but I feel like there¡¯s something good happening to me today.¡± Eleanora replied and took another sip of her tea. There was a lot of thing going on in her mind. What to do in the future and many other things. But somehow, she was feeling very happy. Right then, Jennie came to her running and Eleanora wondered what made her run like this. ¡°Was you chased by a dog, Jen?¡± ¡°That would be better... but, the crown prince is here at the door... what should we do?!¡± Eleanora split her tea and coughed violently. She wasn¡¯t prepared to hear this. ¡°W-Who¡¯s here?¡± ¡°The Crown Prince.¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora leaned on the chair and heavily sighed. ¡®Why is that bastard here?¡¯ ¡®So it was the peaceful silent before the uing disaster?¡¯ She was more irritate when she thought of preparing meals and all, just to greet him. ¡°Just prepare another tea cup, then.¡± Eleanora told Jennie and everyone looked at her with bewildered eyes. ¡°Mydy, it¡¯s the crown prince... how can you serve just tea to him...?¡± Jennie asked hesitantly. ¡°...Is he in the guest room?¡± Eleanora asked Jennie and proceed to stood up from her chair when she felt a sudden pressure on her shoulders that made her sit down again. ¡®Huh?¡¯ Cathain came directly to her garden and kneeled down as he hold her bare hands to kiss. ¡°Is your health better? I was very worried for you when you suddenly left yesterday. So, I came to cheak on your health, My empress...¡± ¡®E-Empress?¡¯ Anthony, Edmund, Jennie, Brayden and all the present people including Eleanora frozed. ¡®W-What is this bastard saying? Who is his empress?¡¯ But Cathain had his eyes only on Eleanora, ignoring the weird gazes of the people around them. Eleanora was so flustered that she forgot to greet him. Cathain stood up and took a seat beside her. She was still in a great shock to understand what was really happening. ¡°You are drinking tea?¡± Cathain spoke and took the cup of tea, which Eleanora was previously drinking. He already took a sip before anyone could tell that it was already drunk by Eleanora. ¡°Blugh!!! E!! What kind of tasteless bitter tea you people brew for the future empress?¡± Cathain eximed as he wore a disgusted expression on his face and Brayden, his aid; immediately rushed to him with a handkerchief. But then he noticed the horrible expression of Eleanora, as well the nervous expression of the royal guards and her maids. ¡®D-Did i have done something wrong?¡¯ Cathain thought as he still couldn¡¯te up with a possible reason for her this look. Then finally Jennie opened her mouth to speak after she coughed a little. ¡°Y-Your Majesty... The T-Tea was personally brewed by herdyship... ording to her taste...¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain just stared at Jennie with a dumbfounded expression. ¡®S-So i called her tea horrible? as well her taste?¡¯ ¡®Is this why she is mad?¡¯ Eleanora sighed and started to brew another cup of tea, while Cathain started to scratch his neck and suddenly he found Eleanora staring at him with a bewildered expression. ¡°I was just joking earlier!¡± But he thought she was still mad, so he just raise the cup again and drunk it in one gulp. ¡°The tea is very tasty! The best tea i ever had!¡± Seeing him finishing the hot tea in one gulp, Eleanora sighed and mixed two sugercubes into the new tea before she put her hands above the tea cup. Then she passed the tea cup toward Cathain and spoke in a rather annoyed tone. ¡°I have put a little bit of my mana that will help to heal your burned throat.¡± Cathain kept staring at the tea cup and then finally took a sip of the tea which was cold but warm at the same time. He suddenly felt his heart beating faster as the warmness of the tea spread through his body. ¡°So, why are you here... Your highness?¡± Eleanora¡¯s question bought back Cathain, who was lost in warmness. Then he gaze throughout the people around them and Eleanora understood that he wishes to speak alone. ¡°Please, excuse us alone for a moment.¡± Eleanora spoke to the people around them and everyone left after bowing to them politely. ¡°You are quick to understand the situation.¡± Cathain spoke and Eleanora seemed rather uninterested in hearing him talking nonsense. ¡®Why does this guy, who rarely spoke in my past life; speaks so much nonsense in my present life?¡¯ Eleanora sighed and looked at him seriously as she folded her arms. Cathain understood that any further nonsense will lead him to kick out from the house so he started to speak. ¡°Didn¡¯t you asked me to stay away from the pce for sometime?¡± ¡°Yes, I did.¡± ¡°So, Am going away from the pce for quite sometime.¡± Eleanora¡¯s eyes jolted as she heard him. ¡®So he won¡¯t be in the pce for a few days and i won¡¯t have to see him?¡¯ But, she was too nt with het thoughts that Cathain could read her mind even without hearing her. But he just smriked before he started to speak again. ¡°And you areing with me... here¡¯s the royal order.¡± Eleanora thought he was joking with her. What does he meant otherwise by taking her with him? She took the royal sealed letter and her eyes widened as she continued to read the letter. ..... ¡®What? I have to go with him to the kingdom Rua for a negotiation?¡¯ In Eleanora¡¯s past life, this negotiations seemed to work out a little for only some months before they started a war against the empire thatsted for more then five years. It was also the first war she had participated at the age of thirteen. Although Eleanora bought victory but they also lost a lot soldiers and resources. In the past, it was Duke Raven; who went to negotiate. The negotiation seemed normal on the above but after calcting clearly, it had the upper hand for kingdom Rua. ¡®Was the duke foolish or deliberate?¡¯ Eleanora was lost in thought, because it seemed like to her that; their is indeed something fishy with the duke and the negotiations. Maybe it will help her to prevent the past losses even if she is at personal disadvantage. ¡°I have promised to trust you even without asking the reason. So, you need toe with me.¡± ¡°Okey, when will we leave?¡± Eleanora asked and Cathain was silent for a moment as he didn¡¯t thought she would agree so easily. ¡°T-Two dayster...¡± Cathain shuttered a little but seeing Eleanora, who had a devilish smile as she was scheming something; He frozed. He even found it funny as even if he knew she was plotting something evil, he not only minded it but is also looking forward to see what she is plotting. Gradually the burning sun turned bloody red to set and spread it¡¯s chilly warmness. Eleanora¡¯s silver hair was looking like a shiny golden colour under the warm sunset, which made it impossible for Cathain to took away his gaze from hers. Suddenly the wind grew stronger and messed up her hair a little. Eleanora put down the letter to fix her hair but before she could do so, Cathain had already leaned towards her to tuck her hair; behind her ears. Both of them was staring at each others eyes and they felt their heart beating faster. Cathain was so close to her that, if he only moved a little, his lips would touch hers. But they was intrupted as they heard Brayden knocking on the door, because it was time for him to leave. Eleanora backed off and looked in the other way with her cheeks blushing crimson red, where Cathain was the same as her. He took away his hands and sighed a little before he stood up to leave. Seeing him walking away, Eleanora stood up to see him out but she suddenly bumped into his back and rubbed her nose a little as she looked up to him. ¡®Why did he suddenly stopped?¡¯ Cathain was holding the door handle and suddenly turned to face Eleanora who barely reached his chest. He suddenly realised about why in his every vision, Eleanora always looked up. Because she was still shorter even after she be a adult. Under the fading sunlight, his shadow hadpletly trapped her into his darkness but her silvery hair and blue eyes was still shining. He suddenly leaned down towards her to meet her eyes and Eleanora was little surprised because of his action. They was directly staring at each other because now they were in equal height. ¡°Your highness?¡± Eleanora called out to him but unexpectedly moved his face towards her body and Eleanora closed her eyes tightly as she clenched on her dress. Cathain chuckled because he found her expression to be very cute and moved his face away from her lips. He slide up her bangs from her forehead and kissed her there before he meet her surprised blue eyes again. ¡°See you soon, My empress.¡± Saying this, he opened the door with a bright smile and left alone because Eleanora was still in a shock that she even forgot to see him out. She just kept standing and looking at the way from where he just left, till the warm sunset fade away into the darkness of the night and the shiny moon rose up, spreading it¡¯s chill everywhere. Chapter 54 54 Chapter 54 ~ ¡°Terrible Dream¡± The night before their trip ~ Eleanora was lying on her bed with gloomy face. She thought it was the maids who let Cathain in to her garden but what she got to know from them was something different. He found his way on his own and didn¡¯t even had to ask anyone for to lead the way. It was like he has been here a lot of times. Cathain in the past, didn¡¯t evene that many time times in her house and even if he did, he never went to her bedroom or garden. So, how did he knew the way this time? Eleanora was lost in thoughts when she suddenly heard a knocking on her window and a smile show up on her face. She threw away the nket over her and rushed to open the window, with a warm gaze and smile as she called his name. ¡°Ain...¡± Eleanora called out to the blonde boy with light blue coloured eyes. ¡°May ie in, Mydy?¡± Ain asked and Eleanora step aside to let him in. After getting in, he saw her packed luggage and smiled faintly. ..... ¡°Are you going somewhere, Ele?¡± Cathain asked as he wanted to y a littlr dumb with him. ¡°Ohh, yes. I am going to the Rua Kingdom. So i can¡¯te for practice with you in this month.¡± Eleanora said softly to him and Cathain felt a little heartache. ¡®Just when will you talk with such a warm gaze and tone with Cathain, Ele?¡¯ ¡®How long will it take you to smile like this to Cathain?¡¯ He not only felt devastated but was also feeling guilty because he was lying to her. He could get close with her because he was Ain, not Cathain. The more he though that Eleanora can ept anyone except Cathain, He want to yell at her that doesn¡¯t seeing Ain atleast remind her about him? Everytime when he thinks about how she will react if his lie gets caught, he bes terrified at the thought of her leaving him. It¡¯s been a year since they be close as Ele and Ain, his feelings are bing more deeper and deeper. At first he was only curious about her, then when he started to get visions about the future, he started to feel afraid for no reason. He doesn¡¯t know what will happen in the future for her to be like this but he knows that he is also responsible if she bes like that. ¡°Ain... What are you thinking?¡± Eleanora touched his hands as he was in a daze that he didn¡¯t even noticed her callings. Cathain came back to his senses and seeing Eleanora who leaned a little closer to him, his heart skipped a beat. Eleanora was smiling at him, he never saw her smiling up to so closely. Seeing him a little surprised, Eleanora chuckled and flicked his forehead. ¡°What weird things are you thinking?¡± Eleanora asked and Cathain rubbed his forehead a little as she really flicked him hard. Eleanora wasughing at his silly look, where he just smiled at her and they continued to discuss about their daily topics till midnight... He was discussing a new topic to her and then felt something heavy on his shoulder. Eleanora had fall asleep and leaned on his shoulder to sleep. A warm feeling filled up Cathain¡¯s heart and he put his head above hers to lean on her too. It was feeling so perfect, he could already imagine their future in the imperial library. They both canugh and discuss about things while leaning on each other like this... looking at the bright moon time to time. They can also take a stroll in the garden at night, walking with her hands into his hands. Cathainughed a little because it was too early to think this. She is only twelve now, he needs to be patient and wait for her to grow up a little more. If it was a seventeen months ago, someone told him that he would behave like this... he would call that person insane. Because never once in his life, he though that he would fall for the person whom he was always jealous off. She seemed to take away all the attention and praise he should receive. But now he realised that, as long as you work hard for your own happiness; you won¡¯t care about what other people¡¯s say. She would do better because she was curious and interested into the study, where he was busy in winning and defeat her. This was why, he noticed her warmness sote, if he had felt his real feelings under his jealousy a little earlier; then they might already be lovers. They had been engaged for two years. Cathain¡¯s gaze fall on her hands and ced it on his hands and gripped it. Both of their ring finger was empty, even if they are engaged. That day, Ten-year-old Eleanora put on her ring herself that day, butter she seem to remove it. He regretted his past decision to rebel against his father by not attending their engagement ceremony. If he had attended, he could put the ring on her finger, where she would put a ring on his finger too. Cathain sighed, then carefully carried her in his arms and moved her into her bed. He took the nket to cover her and kissed her forehead before he left through the window. ¡®See you in the morning, My empress!¡¯ ______ After reaching his own bedroom, Heid on the bed with a happy smile and soon fall asleep. But then Cathain had another dream... A girl was wearing a beautiful white dress and walked towards the podium, with a bouquet of red roses in her hands. Her silver hair was hidden underneath her white veil she was wearing, that also hide her face from his eyes. She was lead to the podium by her father and her father took her hands to put it into his hands with a gloomy face. He didn¡¯t mind her father much as all his attention was on her. Even if he couldn¡¯t see her eyes, but the warm and bright smile on her face was clearly visible to him. That was the brightest smile she had ever on her face and he ever saw on her too. Her hand was much smaller then his, he suddenly had the urge to protect this hand forever, so he gripped her hands tightly as the priest started to recite their wedding vows. His gaze never moved away from her and she didn¡¯t seem to notice it because she was wearing a veil. ¡°Now i pronounce you as husband and wife. You may kiss-¡± Before the priest could finish his sentence, Cathain had lifted up Eleanora¡¯s veil and kissed her soft lips intensely. ¡°Oh, They already kissed.¡± The priest spoke awkwardly. ¡°Ohooo!! Too hot!!¡± All the guest eximed and cheered up for their new Empress, the moon of their empire. Although Eleanora was startled because of his sudden action and shyness, because of the guests ntments about them, but she didn¡¯t hate it. Because it was Cathain, her husband and The love of her life who was kissing her. She wrapped her hands around his neck and he pulled her more closer by grabbing her waist as he continued to interwine their tongue and explore her mouth. Her blue eyes flickered with happiness and love for him, as the distance between their lips widened. Eleanora was looking at him shyly with a red face, she was looking breathe taking in her wedding dress and her crown. Cathain felt warmness and overwhelmed love spread to his body. His hands was still wrapped around her waist and his red eyes fixed on her. He wanted to express his love to her, how much he missed her and how much regret he feels even if he doesn¡¯t know where they areing from. But the moment he opened his mouth to speak, a deep scary cut appeared on her neck and blood continued to flow out from there. Her beautiful white wedding dress turned into a shabby prisoner white dress, which was dyed in red because of her blood and her long silver hair was cut to her neck length from where the cut started. Jewel blue eyes, which was beaming with happiness just now, turned lifeless and her smile faded. ¡°Why did you killed me, Cain?¡± Chapter 55 55 Chapter 55 ~ ¡°Only His¡± Cathain¡¯s hands trembled and he tried to touch Eleanora. They was clearly happy just now. They got married, everyone was cheering, They was about to start a happy life. So, Why is this happening now? But before his hands could touch her, she vanished and his surroundings bepletely dark. ¡°Eleeee!¡± Cathain yelled her name but no one answered and everything was pitch ck around him. He kept running but their seem to be no end of this dark area. Then a white light shed before his eyes and he started to see the little Eleanora again. But it wasn¡¯t only little Eleanora, there was many more images of Eleanora from different age, as well him. ..... He couldn¡¯t touch them but he could see some of their memory. Eleanora, Who was chasing after him, getting hurt while trying to use a sword for the first time, how he kept rejecting her, how beautiful she looked when he had put the empress crown on her head... But then he kept seeing her sad, dejected, gloomy, how he kept disrespecting her, insult her, hurt her. Cathain was yelling at the man who looked just like him, but no one seem to hear him. ¡°Don¡¯t do this to her!!¡± He begged the man to not do this to her, it pierced his heart into pieces to see the man who looked like him; treat Eleanora like that. And finally the man raise a sword to execute her. ¡°NOOOOOOO!!!¡± Then he suddenly waked up from his sleep with a loud scream and his body was fully drenched in sweats. He was breathing heavily and his eyes was still widen in shock. ¡®I-It was a dream?¡¯ ¡®W-What was that? What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡¯ Hearing his scream, the outsider guards knocked on the door to cheak on him but he dismissed them. The moon was slowly fading as the sun started rise up, bit by bit. Cathain woke up from the bed and stand infront of the mirror. He kept staring at his own figure in the mirror and slowly another figure started to show up from behind him. ¡°Let me take over your body... I will make her yours. She will never be able to leave you, i will chain her down with you...¡± The ck figure whispered from behind but Cathain didn¡¯t moved and kept listening to the ck shadow. It¡¯s not the first day that this shadow has approached him. It started long ago... but he always ignored this. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to have her? Lock her down where no one else but only you can see her? Don¡¯t you want her to love you?¡± ¡®Yes¡¯ Cathain felt he was being trapped but what it said was true. He want Eleanora to only look at him, talk with him, love him. He don¡¯t want anyother to notice how beautiful she is, when sheughs, talks, eats, read. This same figure had been pestering him from a long time ago that he can¡¯t even remember. It wanted to destroy the empire, destroy Eleanora, destroy anything that came in his way or irritated him. It wants nothing but destruction and the fall of this empire. He didn¡¯t told anyone about this, because firstly he doesn¡¯t care about it, secondly he don¡¯t think anyone would believe him about this. The figure kept speaking and Cathain find himself to agreeing to all of his points. ¡®He is right.¡¯ But then another figure appeared and Cathain was shocked this time. The young man was wearing the same ck pants and a loose white shirt like him, he also had the same ck hair and red eyes as him. Unlike him, he was more taller, muscr but sad. He looked lonely and heartbroken. Both of them kept staring at each other, then the older him finally spoke. ¡°Cherish her properly, don¡¯t let your madness take over you and crush her. Don¡¯t be like me... regret when there is no way back, except grievance.¡± ¡°The answers you want,ys within you heart...¡± Cathain, who had almost fall into the trap of the ck shadow, was stunned to hear his older image words. The older him smiled at him as he spoke but he could feel the sorrow behind his smile and his heart clenched in pain. ¡®Answerys in my heart?¡¯ He fall down on his kness and both figure from the mirror disappeared, leaving only him in the mirror. Cathain put his hands on his chest as the pain kept increasing and he let his body fall down totally on the floor. His breathing be more heavier and he started to gasp for breathe. ¡®Ele...¡¯ ¡®What¡¯s happening?¡¯ ¡®Why is this happening?¡¯ ¡®What¡¯s the meaning of all this?¡¯ ¡®What should i do?¡¯ ¡®Let you go? But how will i live then?¡¯ ¡®Chain you down? But you won¡¯t be happy then...¡¯ She was all he could think even now. He slowly tried to get up but couldn¡¯t, so he decided to crawl toward his bedside table. After reaching the table, Cathain slowly took out a sword tarsal, which was gifted by Ele to Ain. He clenched the sword tarsal near his heart and he gradually started to feel more better as the little magic Ele had put on that tarsal was calming him down. Cathain keptying on his bed like a dead person, who seem to be holding on the only hope to live. The risen sun spread it¡¯s light everywhere, making his dark room filled up with light once again and he finally felt a little peaceful. Birds started to chirping and the outside started to get noisy. ¡®I need to find out what¡¯s happening and why... i need to find the answer.¡¯ Cathain spoke in his mind and started to get ready for his trip with Eleanora to the Rua Kingdom. Soon, they reached the duchy and Cathain came down from the royal carriage. Eleanora was already standing there with her luggage. She wasn¡¯t allowed to bring any servants except her two royal guards. ¡°I, Eleanora Ariande La Dalton; Greet your highness the crown prince.¡± All of them bowed down to greet him and as always, he was drawn into her beautiful face. She was wearing a royal blue coloured dress and her hair was tied up into a bun with blue ribbons. The knights helped Eleanora to load her luggage and she was about to get into the carriage when a hand was forwarded towards her. ¡°It¡¯s an honour for me, Your highness.¡± Eleanora politely smiled before she ced her hands on Cathain¡¯s hand to get into the carriage. But suddenly he gripped her hands tightly and kissed it, which sent shiver down her sprain. It was only his lips touching her hands but the way he put his lips and kissed it like sucking it, Eleanora froze in surprise. Cathain narrowed his eyes, which was full of endless obsession and possessiveness over her, as he opened his sexy lips to speak in a deep voice. ¡°No, It¡¯s an honour of mine...¡± ¡°My empress!¡± ¡®I won¡¯t chain you down... but that doesn¡¯t mean i will let you go either. You can only be mine!¡¯ Chapter 56 56 Chapter 56 ~ ¡°idental Kiss¡± In the carriage both of them was silent. Although Cathain was staring at her, Eleanora didn¡¯t mind it. Her eyes kept following rhe scenario¡¯s outside of the window. ¡°Is those scenario more handsome then me?¡± Cathain, whose head was resting on his palm as he kept staring at her asked. ¡°Yes.¡± Eleanora ntly replied and he was lip tied. Another awkward silent began and finally Cathain spoke up again. ¡°You are from future right?¡± Cathain asked and Eleanora widened her eyes in fear. ¡®H-How did he knew?¡¯ Cathain sighed and started to speak again. ..... ¡°I knew it. Your behaviour suddenly changed and...¡± Eleanora was listening to him so seriously that his sudden stopping made her frown. She just wanted to grab him by his coller and ask what¡¯s next. But she can¡¯t do that, she had to be patience and calm right now. Violence isn¡¯t an option here. ¡°You look more cute now.¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora suddenly had the urge to beat him up. Only if he wasn¡¯t a crown prince... ¡°What more do you know?¡± Eleanora directly asked as she was sure he is just guessing now. If he really remembered everything then he wouldn¡¯t reveal that he knows it. He is revealing it because he wants more information. Eleanora had observed and lived with him before so she knew his every actions and thinking clearly then anyone else. ¡°I just kept having many visions about the future. Whenever i did something in the past seventeen months, i kept feeling like i have did it before too.¡± ¡°The only thing that was different from my visions and dream was you. You were not acting like how you was supposed to be...¡± Cathain nced at her blue eyes again, which remained cold and emotionless. ¡°How i was supposed to act like then?¡± Eleanora asked calmly with a little bit of curiosity. ¡°You was supposed to be live in the imperial pce, falling in love with me. But it¡¯s happening the exact opposite.¡± Cathain spoke and Eleanora exhaled a heavy breathe. ¡°Are you telling me that, instead of me... you are falling in love with me this time?¡± Eleanora asked as she found it ridiculous to believe. She couldn¡¯t make him fall in love with her after doing so much and now he says he fall for her without her doing anything? Cathain¡¯s lips curved up as he leaned towards her and he trapped her between his arms. Eleanora kept unmoving and emotionless till she couldn¡¯t bare his prating gaze anymore and decided to look up. Both of their eyes meet and straightly looked into each others. ¡°I was always in love with you.¡± Cathain spoke with a low voice that contained deep emotion and Eleanora¡¯s eyes widened as she thought was he joking with her. No way she can believe him. He must be saying this because he wants her to tell him about the future and then throw her away just like the past. No way she will repeat the same past mistake to believe him or give her heart to him again. But at that time, the carriage suddenly stopped and as Cathain was bented down towards her, the sudden brake of the carriage made him lean towards her and their lips meet each other. Both of them remained motionless and kept staring at each other with a widened and surprised gaze. None of them dared to move or more preciously, afraid to move as their mind wentpletely nk and their lips kept in touch with each others. Eleanora blinked a few times and Cathain¡¯s eyes was still struck into hers. Then there was a sudden knock in the door and Eleanora pushed away the dumbstruck Cathain, who awkwardly falled down into the another seat. She didn¡¯t nced back at him in embarrassment and hurriedly got down from the carriage. More like running away. Cathain kept staring at her running away site with a bewildered expression. His ears was fully red and he blinked a few times before he touched his lips. Suddenly he felt a little shy and blushed. This was their first official kiss. Before their lips touched too, though that was only for saving her. It was idental but they really kissed this time as she wasn¡¯t unconscious like before. Cathain calmed himself down and inhaled fresh breathe a few times before he got down from the carriage. They had stopped to spent the night and make a camp for them to stay. So all the knights was working while Eleanora was sitting on a stone beside the camp. Her face was also red and blushed like him and noticing his gaze, she hurriedly looked away and burried her face into her hands in embarrassment. Cathain smriked a little and walked towards her to seat beside her. ¡°It wasn¡¯t the first time i kissed you anyway, why are you so shy?¡± Cathain asked as in his mind, he had already kissed her twice while saving her. Also, from the visions he saw till now, it seemed like they was a married couple. So, obviously they should have kissed countless times. Hearing him, Eleanora finally looked at him again and asked, ¡°How much do you remember or saw?¡± Cathain didn¡¯t wanted to reveal that he didn¡¯t had his full memory back but only some few visions. So he scratched his neck and decided to lie. ¡°I remember almost everything!! You looked very beautiful in our wedding! Specially that white wedding dress!¡± He remembered the dream he had earlier in the morning, although he didn¡¯t quite understand the meaning behind it. But it must have happened for him to see this. He started to panick when he saw Eleanora didn¡¯t said anything and kept staring at his red eyes. He felt a little chill down his sprain and avoided her eyes as he kept scratching his neck. Then finally, Eleanora opened her mouth to speak in a cold and emotionless voice. ¡°But we never had a wedding ceremony...¡± Chapter 57 57 Chapter 57 ~ ¡°Finally Peaceful¡± Hearing Eleanora¡¯s words, Cathain felt like he was struck by lightening. ¡®W-We didn¡¯t had a wedding ceremony? But she was the empress of the empire, she should have the grand royal wedding as i dreamt today. Also a crowning ceremony...¡¯ Cathain was lost in his thoughts. In his dream, he had seen her wearing her own crown. So, the wedding he saw never happened and it was only his dream? Eleanora suddenly stood up and without looking at him, she opened her mouth to speak. ¡°Please excuse me, Your highness.¡± Saying this, she turned to leave the camp area. ¡°Eleanora!¡± Cathain wanted to chase after her bit he thought he shouldn¡¯t right now. So, he step back and let her go. _____ ..... Eleanora run as fast as she could into the forest. She doesn¡¯t want her tears to drop down from her eyes. But she also can¡¯t stop them from flowing out. And finally she stopped as her legs gave out,falling on the ground with a loud thud. Her tears started to pour out from her eyes like waterfall ans sensing there is no one around her, she let out a loud yell. ¡°WHY????¡± ¡°Why are you asking me all this now??? Why after all this?? Why does he remembers?? Why goddess, why??¡± ¡°If you want him to remember everything, tie him up with me again, then why did you sent me back to save the world where i can¡¯t even save myself?¡± ¡°How can i face the man who killed me and my babies with his own hands? I can¡¯t even me him because the ¡®him¡¯ in present didn¡¯t even did anything wrong?!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t take revenge on him either as he will soon remember everything!!!¡± Eleanora was sobbing really hard, the past she kept locked in her cold heart, he is trying to break it and let it out. How expectant the past her was, about wedding ceremony with him, how well she nned her own crowning ceremony. But in the end, Cathain just made her the empress by a official notice. No celebration, No white dress, No ceremony! She had to wear her own crown by her own and take it off on her own too. She attended others wedding party and imagine how her own wedding would be. How she would look into a white dress. Cathain had surely gave her a white dress... A prisoner shabby white dress for her death penalty. Everyone ridiculed her about being an empress without any royal wedding and crowning ceremony. But she ignored all this, as long as he was her husband. She didn¡¯t mind not having a wedding ceremony as long as she was his only bride. In the end, it turned out he was not her either. What did shecked? looks? family background? education? qualifications? No, she didn¡¯tcked anything. The only thing shecked was her father¡¯s love and love from the man she loved, married. Eleanora hates herself more for crying over the man who killed her. Hating herself for not being able to hate him as she should do. The present him is making her past just a distant memory of hers, that kept repeating everytime he acts different from the past. She can¡¯t help butpare them together. Even wishes that she have been keeping into herself from the past is like awakening up, telling her to fulfil the happy dreams that she had about him. Her cold heart still contains all the painful memory that she endured all alone. Now, he ising, knocking at her cold doors with his new warmness. Seeking permission toe in, to hold her hands again, warm up her cold heart. Past the cold dark nights full of painful memories, is there anything new to reach beyond the harsh memories, waiting for her? Even if she is born again, she is still stuck into the past harshness she faced. Does he really thinks he can warm her up again? She waited countless days for him, only to get more pain in her choosen road that lead her toward destruction. No matter how she wants to face it, it¡¯s suffocating to repeat the same fate, fearing to face the same lonliness again. Seeing the same man that broke her heart into pieces, trying to fix it. The past image kept repeating in her minds, Eleanora felt like she was struck into the abyss again. Everything around her was bing dark and she was feeling her vision go blurry. ¡°Ele!!!¡± ¡®A-Ain? Or Dad?¡¯ ¡®They can¡¯t be here... who is calling me?¡¯ Eleanora heard someone calling her by her nickname and felt a warm hands wrapping around her, bringing her more closer as she felt a fast beating heart near hers. It was the same as how she felt when she was pulled up from the pool when she first came back in the past again. ¡°Don¡¯t cry...¡± ¡°Am sorry if i have reminded you something unpleasant. But please, Don¡¯t cry...¡± ¡°I won¡¯t mention anything else anymore, I promise.¡± His voice was shaking as he talked to her and hold her with his trembling hands. Eleanora raised her shaky hands and trailed them on his strong back as she started to brust into crying again. She is finally letting out all the pain she had kept hiding in her heart alone. Her tears kept flowing until there was no more tears to shed. She hugged him tightly and burried her head into his chest, listening to his fast heartbeat as she closed her eyes. ¡°Sleep... Don¡¯t think about anything.¡± The offer sounded tempting to Eleanora and she seemed like forget about everything that upied her mind till now. Then she felt someone¡¯s lips touching her forehead and rxed her frowned brows. The past, as well the present worries started to fade and slowly disappear from her mind. She only wants to sleepfortably in his warm embrace now. Eleanora slowly fall asleep as he kept stroking her hair gently. It¡¯s finally peaceful again... Chapter 58 58 Chapter 58 ~ ¡°Past Memories¡± ¡°Both noble and aristocrat fictions are in a mess. Even though we have won the war, we need more funds to recover the damage...¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°So, what am i trying to say is that, a royal wedding isn¡¯t possible at this moment.¡± ¡°I have no problem with it, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Hah! You are really- Forget it. Now that you are okay with it, i will just make an public official announcement and appoint you as the empress.¡± ¡°As you wish, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Just go back. Seeing you gives me nothing but headache.¡± ¡°Farewell, Your Majesty.¡± Emperor Cathain just waved his hands to dismiss the empress to be out of his office and she left after bowing to him politely. ..... Empress Eleanora came out from the emperor¡¯s office and the door behind her slowly shut down. Eleanora clenched the hem of her dress but kept her emotions into her. ¡®Didn¡¯t you just asked me out of consideration, where you have already made the decision to not hold our wedding?¡¯ She had already heard about this decision long ago... but she just didn¡¯t paid attention to it because she believed in him. But seems like she was mistaken... he doesn¡¯t even love her, why would he care for their wedding ceremony? He just didn¡¯t cancelled the marriage because he needed the support of Duke Dalton. Because, with Duke Dalton, came Duke Heartz, Marquise Roselia and many other noble families who would be loyal to the throne. As he be the emperor after his father, Previous Emperor Valerian suddenly died, hecked the proper noble support. Otherwise, why would the emperor marry a young girl like her, who only knows how to kill? Who isn¡¯t all soft like otherdies but hands full of human bloods? This is what she had been hearing all day and night, everywhere she went. Eleanora walked towards her room, which was in opposite direction of the emperor¡¯s. ¡®You hate me to the point that you won¡¯t even let me stay beside your room, let alone sharing the same bedroom.¡¯ ¡®Why do you hate me so much, Cain?¡¯ Eleanora turned her gaze away from his bed room direction and after reaching her room, she took the budget papers that she worked for nights. ¡®All of my hard works is useless now...¡¯ She nned a wedding ceremony in the lowest budget that anyone could ever imagine. ¡®I shouldn¡¯t have believed you...¡¯ Then she stared at her hands, which had several tiny wounds from sewing. She had designed and with the help of other maids, she made her own wedding dress. Eleanora walked towards the dress and touched it gently. A beautiful white dress with a long veil. Which she made by imagining her dream wedding with him. Simple, yet full of love... ¡®But i still can¡¯t help but want to believe in you...¡¯ Eleanora took the veil and put it over her head, she was amazed as it really matched with her. ¡®It¡¯s beautiful... but it¡¯s a pity that i will never be able to wear it...¡¯ Eleanora felt frustrated and pulled away the veil from her head. She suddenly looked at it with disgust and put the dress into a corner to not see it anymore. Seeing it just made her heart ache and get more angry. ¡®Am the first ever person who be the empress without any royal wedding or crowning ceremony.¡¯ ¡®Just a signature made me his bride, the mother of this nation.¡¯ Eleanora sneered at herself. Seeing her own crazy behaviour in the mirror, sheughed at herself like a mad woman. ¡®Look, Cathain... Look! What you made me do!¡¯ ¡®My love for you turned me crazy! Are you satisfied now?! Will the hatred you have for me will reduce if i keep going crazy like this?!¡¯ Eleanora yelled at her own mind as she keptughing and throwing the things inside of her room. ¡®I have really gone crazy...¡¯ Alexander was greatly unhappy about this. Her daughter deserves the best wedding in the world. He knows it¡¯s just a excuse that the funds aren¡¯t enough and all. But to Eleanora, she just thought her father was unhappy because it was disgracing for their family. Days passes by, the people praised her for being sensible at a young age. She thought about her empire first, rather then having a wedding ceremony. And this same people discussed behind her back about how pitiful she was for not even having a wedding ceremony. But Eleanora was not that kind hearted. She still had the hopes for her wedding once the situation got better. She wanted to wear the white dress, put a ring on his finger as they will take the vows and kiss each other to seal it for eternity. She wanted to have her own wedding ceremony... But, gradually she be busy with pce work and kept waiting for Cathain in her room. Only, He nevere and she couldn¡¯t understand why. Till one day, she saw Cathainugh and talk with a mere pce maid, she had finally found out why he doesn¡¯te to her. Everyone told her that this won¡¯tst long and she believed it. She believed in Cathain and her love. She believed as long as she shows her capabilities, help him grow stronger, He will feel her love and devotion to him. Eleanora be the number one war strategic as well themander of the first imperial knights squadron. She took down every enemies for him, making him grow stronger and be the sadistic tyrant of the battlefields who loved to ughter. Her hands be full of blood as glory came upon him. Then, suddenly she was banished from the empress pce to the abandoned pce that no one visited only with two single maids. Countless killer was sent every night to kill her... She couldn¡¯t even sleep peacefully at night where she had to see her man loving another woman during the day. He woulde to her whenever he felt like to vent his anger by pouring his desires on her, like he wasn¡¯t making love but merely doing what he was supposed to do for calming himself down. nora somehow liked it. Because those were the only moments when he was her. Even though it hurted, but she liked how he hated her. Because you can only hate the person, you once loved or care about. This little false hopes was everything to her tiny dark world. But she gradually started to realise how wrong she was to hold onto those falls hopes. Her two unborn babies died without anykind of mourning or proper invesigation about their dead... Like this, four years of her marriage with him and as a empress passed. Then Eleanora, the empress was imprisoned and execute because of a queen¡¯s unborn child. Thinking about her pathetic life, Eleanora felt likeughing as soon as she opened her eyes. ¡®The past feels like a joke to me now.¡¯ Eleanora was still in the twelve year old body of hers. She sat up on the bed as she started to think about the past incidents during this time. If she isn¡¯t wrong, then the war with Rua Kingdom will broke out soon after this negotiations. ¡®I need to remember more details so that people would suffer less.¡¯ ncing at her surrounding, it seemed like she is in the tent. She was feeling a slight headache. ¡®Who bought me here?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she couldn¡¯t remember how she got back. She only remember bursting into crying as she heard a familiar voice calling her. ¡®This must be my illusion. How can either dad or Ain be here?¡¯ Eleanora got up from the bed and walked outside. ¡°Lady! You are awake?! Come and eat with us!¡± ..... A young knight waved at her and he was immediately punched into his chest by his another collogue. ¡°P-Pardon himdy... he is new so he doesn¡¯t know-¡± The knight, who was speaking frozed as Eleanora went and took out a normal te like them to eat. ¡°What are you looking at? Am i not allowed to eat?¡± Eleanora asked the knights, who was frozed by seeing her sitting with them. ¡°Lady... You aren¡¯t supposed to eat with us...¡± Another knight spoke and everyone nodded in agreement. ¡°Why can¡¯t i eat with you guys? Unless you guys are animals, i can eat with anyone.¡± Eleanora spoke and started to eat as she sat on the ground, folding her legs. All the knights was astonished but soon they all started tough and eat together. Eleanora stare at the young knight who had called her at the first. ¡®You are still the same as past even at a younger age, Charles.¡¯ [In case you guy¡¯s forgot: Charles is the guy who had helped Eleanora in her previous life to meet with her father onest time before her trial in the prison] Everyone soon be free with Eleanora and she felt like she is back in those war times. Where this same people wouldugh and chat with her during meals, assist her in fights, the only people who believed in her innocence. Many present faces right now was sacrificed in the war¡¯s, while assisting her, protecting her. Some lost their limbs, hands, eyes, even lives. ¡®I will make sure to save and cherish you guys in this life time. We won¡¯t suffer like before.¡¯ Eleanora was lost into her thoughts so deeply that she didn¡¯t noticed those bloody eyes on her. With a cracking sound, his bare hands broke apart an entire thick tree branch. He was angry, hurt, devastated... He was burning with jealousy that he had yet to realise. ¡®That smile should be only mine...¡¯ Chapter 59 59 Chapter 59 ~ ¡°Rua Kingdom¡± Two dayster, they finally reached the border of Rua Kingdom. It was situated on the south so it was basically much hotter then the Valentino empire, which was neither too hot or cold. Eleanora hadn¡¯t seen Cathain much in this two days as they both ride different carriages. He seem to avoid her, but that was ratherfortable for her. She was looking outside curiously as it was her first time in Rua Kingdom before the war. Eleanora felt a little hurt, as the cheerful atmosphere she is seeing now would turn into a desperatend, where people would cry and beg for mercy. In her past life, The king of Rua Kingdom even forced themoner people in the war, when there was shortage of knights. This is why... She personally behead the king on behalf of themoner people. She had her shining sword in one hand and the head of the king was on her other hand as she walked. Her long ck cape fly in the air and her white face was crimsoned red by enemies blood. ..... She looked like a grim reaper in the battlefield... Thinking about this, Eleanora really thought she deserved to be called a sadistic tyrant. She unleashed her madness, agony, frustrations and everything she hold back into wars. She felt like, battlefield was the only ce where she could be herself. A masochistic beautiful psycho... who liked to kill to feel better, who loved him even if he hated her. Everytime her sword was raise up, she was venting her emotions into them. This was why it was so powerful and undefeated... After a series of bustling movements, in less than half a day, they finally reached the capital city of Rua, Livita. Rua¡¯s pce looked very different from Valentino¡¯s temperate atmosphere. Colorful and gold patterns were mixed in harmony to cover the pce. The delegation group entered the outer wall. Inside the open gate, arge number of guards were standing. They were men with brown skin like red earth. Eleanora, who never got the chance to notice their appearance before was amazed. Rua¡¯s all had ck hair. They were very different from the people of Valentino, who had white skin and various hair colors. They were mainly wearing protective gear made from tanned leather, not armor. Rua, which is surrounded by lush forests, swamps, and rugged terrain, having free movement was more important. Wearing heavy equipment such as armor would slow down one¡¯s movement, and thus it would be easier to die from arrows. After facing the guards, the atmosphere of the Royal knights became sharper. The senior knights stood closer to their carriage. A strange air current circted between the white and ck groups. But only for a while. Soon, the Rua guards split to the sides, and from the center, a young man in his eighteens dressed in splendorous gold appeared. Eleanora had met him in her previous life. It was Rua¡¯s prime minister, Attk. ¡®He looks quite young now...¡¯ In her previous life, Attk bravely fought for his country and in the end, he was set up by his own king because he protested to sent themoners in the war. He be the prime minister only at the age of sixteen because of his exceptional grades and intelligence. ¡®It¡¯s a pity that his own country will betray him.¡¯ Attk knelt on both knees and greeted them in the Ruatic manner. Many of the guards followed him and politely knelt. ¡°It¡¯s an honor to meet the Crown Prince and the holy saintess of Valentino. I am Attk, a faithful servant of Rua Kingdom.¡± Attk¡¯s greeting relieved the tension between the people. Knight Commander Starz, who judged that there was no immediate danger, opened the carriage door for Cathain first. After getting out first, he reached out his hand for Eleanora toe down too. Eleanora ced her right hand on his palm and got out of the carriage while arranging her long silver hair with other her hand. As it was a sunny day, the light reflected from her shiny silver hair was also more dazzling than usual. She was wearing a thin floral patterned dress which was beautifully flying a little as the wind hit her; along with her shiny hair. Young but mature, dangerous but tempting... this was the first impression of him on Eleanora. Attk was momentarily at a loss for words at the sight of something like a halo forming behind the holy saintess, who is also the crown prince¡¯s fiance. ¡®How divine and beautiful it is to see the sunlight shining brilliantly behind her.¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Prime Minister.¡± Cathain spoke in a cold voice, the moment he noticed the young prime minister¡¯s admiring gaze on Eleanora. If gaze could kill, then he would have already torn the prime minister into pieces for staring at Eleanora. When Cathain addressed him, the prime minister suddenly felt a chill. Eleanora greeted Attk back and as she was about to ce her hand on his palm for the greeting kiss on the back of her hands; Cathain suddenly ced his own hands on Attk¡¯s palm. Everyone froze, including Cathain himself. He hurriedly changed his action as a way to help the prime minister to stand up and the situation be more awkward. Because everyone knew why he did that except the bewildered Eleanora. She got back on her carriage after giving them a awkward look. To fix the atmosphere, Attk started chattering, saying that they had worked hard toe a long way, asking whether they felt hot, whether they was tired, and whether they was hungry. Some people even thought that he was Cathain¡¯s servant instead of Melendez¡¯s, the king of Rua. They were soon led into the road for pce, along with the royal knights. Armed Rua guards moved around with the Royal Knights. As the capital of a country, there were many tall and splendid buildings. The slum was located in the invisible back while the road to the pce was thoroughly polished. However, not a single one of them paused to appreciate the scenery. As they had set foot in the country of their friendly yet sworn enemy, everyone became wary even if it was not immediately dangerous. Cathain got down from his carriage and started to drove his ck horse in the name of appreciate the scene. Where his main purpose was to stay closer to Eleanora¡¯s carriage, bing alert about their surroundings as they kept heading to the pce. Chapter 60 60 Chapter 60 ~ ¡°13th Birthday¡± After finally reaching the main pce, Eleanora noticed a few more carriages with some royal crests of different nations. Eleanora again got down from the carriage with the help of Cathain but something caught her off guard. ¡®Why he isn¡¯t letting go yet?¡¯ Cathain didn¡¯t let go of her hands on his palm, instead he tightened his grip as he pulled her to walk. Everyone around them kept staring with various emotion containing in their gaze. Some feared where some was envious. Brayden was following them from behind and Eleanora suddenly remembered the day when she was dragged by Brayden into the prison like this. That day, she had let Brayden to drag her without any protest because she had given up in any hopes from Cathain. Seeing Cathain, who never once hold her hands in theirst life, holding her so protectively... Eleanora momentary felt a little warmness in her heart. ..... She looked at the tall figure infront of her and let him hold onto her as they walked into the pce before her heart be cold again. Only if he had hold onto her like this in their past life... Eleanora can¡¯t help butpare this boy with red eyes infront of her, everytime he does something totally different from his past. ¡®Don¡¯t fall for it... it¡¯s just an act to make me weak again.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s just a trick of him to use me and then discard me... just like in the past.¡¯ Cathain kept feeling ufortable because of the burning gazes of people on Eleanora. ¡®I shouldn¡¯t have bought her here... should i just dress her up as a man?¡¯ He kept ring back at the people who was staring at her and they immediately withdrew their gazes from her. They didn¡¯t wanted to die yet... His furious gaze was really scary. Attk soon lead them to their room and left. Eleanora, who was in a daze of her past memories returned to her senses once Attk left. ¡®Wait... where is my room?¡¯ Cathain, who easily understand the dumbfounded expression of Eleanora, smriked slyly. ¡®Finally they did something good...¡¯ Cathain and Eleanora was official partners as their engagement wasn¡¯t annulled yet. So, they just prepared a single bedroom for the young couple. It was verymon in the empire for even young couples to stay together in the same room. As, Cathain didn¡¯t attended their engagement ceremony and Alexander didn¡¯t wanted to Eleanora stay in the pce, they never shared the same room together. Even in their past life, they never stayed in the same room together. ¡°Well it¡¯s seemed like they prepared a single room because we are still officially engaged together.¡± Cathain spoke and Eleanora kept silent for a moment. ¡®If i request for another room now, they will certainly spread this news negatively. It might impact the negotiation process.¡¯ ¡®It will only be a few days... i will just treat him as air and moreover what can a kid like him can do?¡¯ This, 16-year-old Cathain was like a kid to the 12-year-old Eleanora, who had the 22-year-old soul inside of hers. But what she didn¡¯t knew was, even if this boy infront of him wouldn¡¯t do anything to her, but it was still dangerous to stay beside a beast afterall. Because, just like her, he was a 26-year-old young man into the appearance of a 16-year old. A small beast is still a beast and sometimes, it¡¯s more dangerous then the older ones as the young beasts are afraid of nothing. ¡°I understand, your highness.¡± Eleanora finally replied to him and unbeknown to her, Cathain narrowed his eyes as his lips curved up into a sly smile. ¡®You are still so innocent, My empress.¡¯ ¡®But that¡¯s good for me...¡¯ After eating their lunch, they got the notice of an invitation to the royal ball for weing them. So, they started to get ready for tonights ball party. Cathain wore a crimson red royal suit, where Eleanora wear a ck coloured dress, embroidered with gold threads. She just wore a pare of long diamond earrings and kept her hair tied up without any essories. The servants, who helped her to get ready was amazed by her beauty. She was not a adult but her aura had superior and mature vibe. Like, she was just born to rule. Which was somehow right, because to the people of the empire; Eleanora was born to be the bride of their future emperor. A girl, who was born to be their empress, to rule over them. Guide them towards prosperity. As Attk¡¯s first impression on her, She looked like danger but still, one would be tempt to walk into trap of danger by himself. Her shiny silver hair and exposed white shoulders looked more white in the gold embroidered ck dress. The door opened and Cathain¡¯s tall figure reflected on the mirror. Eleanora looked into the mirror to meet his frowned expression. ¡®Why is he angry now?¡¯ She didn¡¯t even did anything to him, so why does he frowns all the time? Then she sighed as, she didn¡¯t even did anything in her past life too. But she was still killed in the end. Wasn¡¯t she? Then, she felt a cold tingling sensation on her shoulders and looking into the mirror, she saw him staring into her eyes. Cathain took his mouth near to her ears and Eleanora suddenly felt a shivering feeling. ¡°I suddenly want to lock you up in this room... not letting anyone¡¯s gaze to fall on you, except me.¡± Eleanora frowned her brows as she couldn¡¯t understand his words. ¡®What¡¯s he saying all of a sudden? Has he be crazy?¡¯ Cathain chuckled a little as he could easily understand her mind without even asking. ¡°Yes... You are right. I have indeed gone crazy... it¡¯s you who drive me crazy... My empress.¡± Eleanora widened her eyes in rather an inexpressible feeling and before she could say anything else, she felt him putting something into her finger. Eleanora looked down and saw a shiny diamond ring on her ring finger. ¡°T-This...¡± She was shocked and as she opened her mouth to speak, she felt his thin lips on her cheeks and frozed. Eleanora stared nkly at the mirror, where she saw the reflection of him kissing her on the cheeks as his hands wrapped around her waist swiftly. ¡°Happy 13th birthday... My empress.¡± Chapter 61 61 Chapter 61 ~ ¡°Bloody Red Eyes¡± ¡®B-Birthday?¡¯ Eleanora finally remembered that today was her 13th birthday... In the empire, people wasn¡¯t allowed to celebrate their birthday before theing of age ceremony and as she was busy with her training and all, she totally forgot about her birthday. ¡®So... it¡¯s been already three years since i came back? That means father will be back soon, The war would start too. It¡¯s just i didn¡¯t fall for him in this life like the past...¡¯ Seeing her lost in thoughts, while being on his arms, Cathain frowned. Normally Eleanora would jump out the moment he gets close to her but right now, she was too shocked and lost in thoughts to do so. ¡®I don¡¯t want you to stay in my arms like this. I rather you avoid me because at least you notice me at that time.¡¯ Cathain hugged her more tightly and burried his face on her shoulder. He spoke like a child who wasining for not getting attention. ..... ¡°My empress is ignoring me...¡± ¡°W-Who is your empress?¡± Eleanora, who finally snapped back jump out like a frightened kitten when she finally felt his grip around her. But, he didn¡¯t loosened his grip and finally felt happy as she noticed him. ¡®Yeah, Hate me, Loath me... but do that while staying beside me, do it in my arms.¡¯ Eleanora saw his expression and felt like their roles have reversed. His gaze right now was just like her own gaze in the past. How she loved the way he hate her, loath her... but was happy because he was bound with her. ¡®No... this can¡¯t happen... it will be another tragedy if this goes on...¡¯ She knows how it feels like when you feelings isn¡¯t mutual. And giving their circumstances now, it¡¯s impossible for her to return his feelings. She knows he is somehow interested into her, but she always ignored this with many excuses. But his gaze right now is serious. She can see the same crazy obsession into his eyes like the past her. Cathain took out another ring as Eleanora was lost in thoughts again. It was his engagement ring. ¡°Won¡¯t you help me put it?¡± Eleanora red at him, she doesn¡¯t fear him anymore like before and she hates him openly, which he also knows. But this guy is persistent. He forced her to take the ring and put it into his own ring finger forcibly. ¡°Now it looks good...¡± Cathain spoke as he stared at both of their couple rings and devilishly smiled. ¡®Because those guys will know that you are mine... ...And can only be mine alone.¡¯ Eleanora couldn¡¯t bear his crazy behaviour anymore and stood up to leave, like she was actually fleeing away. Cathain smriked and soon catched up with her, as he extended his arms towards her to hold. She didn¡¯t wanted to hold his arms but had no choice either. The cheif attendant shouted their names to announce as the door to the banquet hall opened for them. ¡°The Crown Prince, Cathain Valerian De Valentino and Saintess, Eleanora Ariande La Dalton; Are entering...¡± Everyone looked up towards them as they walked into the banquet hall together. The current king of Rua kingdom, Melendez, came forward to wee them. They greeted each other politely and then Eleanora¡¯s gaze fall on the bronzed skinned boy beside the king. Bronzed skin with long ck hair and ck eyes, his muscr figure was visible because of the exposed dress he was wearing. He was smiling, looking not dangerous at all, Which was the real danger. It was the 7th prince of the Rua Kingdom, Mendel, the illegitimate prince who was born from a pce maid. The weak prince who will kill his own half siblings and his own father for the throne in just six months. Who will start a war with the empire and whose head would be beheaded by her hands. The shiny banquet hall remembered her the day, when the seventeen year old Eleanora went on rampage as she unleashed her all magic powers. She destroyed this whole ce and killed all the knights alone as she charged towards the him with her sword. ______ ¡°Come... My beautiful princess. Wee to my pce.¡± ¡°Your presence in this pce has really turned this ce upside down.¡± ¡°As expected from the girl, who caught my eyes.¡± Without replying to any of his words, Eleanora kept killing the soldiers who came infront of her. As she finally charged towards him, he shed against her with his sword. Eleanora gritted her teath as he was really the strong one. They kept shing against each other but she felt like he was just ying with her. Like they was actually dancing with their swords. ¡°I know i can¡¯t have you... So, i rather kill you myself then not having you...¡± Mendel, the current king of that time said with a yful smile. He was sure that Eleanora was no match for a powerful man like him. And this was his biggest mistake... Eleanora, who finally lost her all patience went mad and unleashed her all magic powers. She felt like her heart was torn into pieces and with a single swift motion, Mendel¡¯s head fall into the ground. The whole ce was destroyed and people, who outside of the pce was frightened to see such a big pce suddenly copsed. They was even more shocked when they saw a blurry figure in the midst of the copsing pceing out with something on her hand. It was themander of the first squadron knights, Eleanora Dalton and the thing in her hand was the enemies king¡¯s head! When she saw themoners, sending into the battlefield, Eleanora lost it. She personally left the battlefield, instructing the knights to not attack the weaks to find Mendel. Everyone be silent and looked at her as she passed by them. The Rua soldiers immediately surrendered and themoners started to cheer for her. But what Eleanora felt was not victory but a cruel murderer, who was being cheered for murdering. _____ Infront of Eleanora is the same crazy tyrant king of the Rua kingdom, who will be beheaded at her hands in the future. She has no intention of meddling into their affairs as long as she can stop the war from happening or minimize the damage. After their brief greeting, The hall echoed with beautiful melody and everyone started to dance. Cathain put his one hand on her waist as the other caught her another hand. As their fingers interwrilled together, The ring on her finger seemed like a invisible shackle to him, which was bounding them together. They continued to dance together but seeing her not paying any attention to him, Cathain started to speak first. ¡°Do you fancy that weak prince? You was staring at him earlier...¡± ¡®This crazy guy...! does every guy i stare at have to be to my liking?¡¯ Eleanora rebuked him on her mind and kept silent without replying. Then she heard him whispering to her again. ¡°I see... Then i have to work hard, So that you can only stare me and can¡¯t look at any other guys...¡± After he finished his whispering, Cathain suddenly opened her hair and lifted her up as he twrilled her around. He hugged her tightly and carefully. Where she ced her hands on his broad shoulder¡¯s to not fall. ..... Theypletely ignored the surprised gaze of others. As, time seemed to stop around them... People stopped moving and their surrounding be filled with dead silent and darkness. The moonlight swoon upon them, who had only each other in their eyes. Eleanora stared into his red eyes with her widening blue eyes. His eyes was full of desperation, obsession and possissevness. Which only had her in those bloody red eyes... Chapter 62 62 Chapter 62 ~ ¡°The First Emperor¡± Eleanora was shocked to find such emotions in Cathain¡¯s eyes, which contained everything except the thing in the past. Hatred, Disgust. She desperately tried to find hatred and disgust in those eyes, which can help her to keep hating him. But she couldn¡¯t find any hatred in those bloody red eyes. ¡®Only if this eyes could look at the past Eleanora...¡¯ Then she might not have an unrequited love for twelve years, unhappy marriage life, dead of their three children¡¯s and... her execution at his hands. None of those tragedy would happen if only there was no hatred in his past bloody red eyes. Eleanora felt like tearing up. Why is he trying so hard to get close, to only force her to push him more farther? ¡®Why do you love me when i longer love you?¡¯ ..... Then the sudden sound of ppings echoed in the room and they finally came out from their own world. Eleanora was embraced but his eyes never left her for a moment. She excused herself first and went to the garden for some fresh air. It was embarrassing to keep staying there under those curious gazes. ¡®Please, show me a way...Goddess. Help me.¡¯ Eleanora murmured in her heart and sighed heavily. Everything is slowly messing up, different from the past. She kept walking and hugged herself as she was feeling cold. Then she suddenly felt something on her shoulders and she looked up, she saw his flustering red face. ¡®I-Is he embarrassed?¡¯ Eleanora thought as it was rather weird. He doesn¡¯t even flinches when he keeps being intimate with her by holding her or kissing her cheeks. But he is embarrassed by this normal thing? ¡°Thank you.¡± Cathain gave her a polite smile and both of them kept walking with awkward silent. After walking for some moment, they found a white coloured mansion like old building. They stared at it as it felt rather familiar and also weird. All the buildings in Rua Kingdom was gold and warm in colour, where this building was rather the Empire¡¯s styled building. Curiosity caught them and both of them entered the white building. It was a ce markedly different from the banquet hall¡¯s atmosphere. The magnificent interior, lit by a few candles, was full of carvings and murals. There was arge spring in the center of the temple, and the ceiling was wide open above it, allowing the moonlight toe in. The smooth, round shape of the spring indicated it was created artificially. All important ceremonies on the continent have always been conducted using water. It was to imitate the ¡®Lake of Promise¡¯ which is closely rted to the myths of the first emperor of Valentino empire and the saintess. The first emperor of Valentino empire was originally from Empire Rua and the saintess was from Empire Arendell. This is why the Valentino imperial family members have ck hair like the people of Rua¡¯s. ording to the myth they know, the first emperor, was only Duke Valentino of the Rua empire at that time. And Saintess Ariande was originally the only princess of the Arindell imperial family, Ariande Dalton. Both of them meet near theke for the first time and they was married for a peaceful delegation for their empire¡¯s. They lived happily and the saintess gave birth to a lovely daughter. Who had ck hair and red eyes just like the first emperor, whoter be the second emperor of the empire. Shortly after giving birth, the saintess sacrificed herself to protect the empire¡¯s from devil beings. The first emperor had even begged the saintess to choose him and to live with them instead of sacrificing herself for the empire. But she still choosed to sacrifice herself for everyone. Because, she can¡¯t see innocent people dying where she has the power to save them. The first emperor divided both nations and created the Valentino empire by force after this. He alone made two powerful big Empire¡¯s into two small kingdom¡¯s. He was known for his cruelty and tyranny. But he was also famous for his loyal love to the saintess. He raised their two boys all alone after the saintess died and never had any other woman for the rest of his life. He burried the saintess near theke they meet for the first time and he was also burried there too. Where he promised toe and find her again. Because of this story, ¡®Lake Of Promise¡¯ be a myth and water be a holy thing for most of the ceremonies for eternal love and loyalty in the empire. Specially in the weddings, they spread water to bless the couple. Cathain looked away from the artificial spring and he suddenly started to hear many voices ringing in his mind. Then he noticed a mural engraved showing the wedding ceremony and unknowingly, he started to walk towards it. Carved inside was a round circle, and beneath it were also carved two people praying in the middle of theke. He narrowed his eyes as he find the mural rather familiar and he felt a mixed emotion. To his surprise, he was able to understand the letters that was written in ancient words. ¡°~I will keep wandering till youe and choose me. Otherwise, i will destroy your beloved humans for you to show up~¡± Eleanora uttered the words before Cathain could read them out for her. ¡®She can read them too?¡¯ Cathain looked at her with amusement but she was lost in thoughts as she finally found some clues. ¡®Destruction... Show up...¡¯ Eleanora rather felt familiar to this. The goddess said the empire was destroyed after her death and after getting reborn, she was given the title of being thest saintess Ariande. Doesn¡¯t it mean saintess Ariande showed up in the form of hers after the empire was destroyed? Then who is the first emperor? How is she rted to this? Eleanora was lost in thoughts when she suddenly heard a loud thud sound. She looked back and be horrified as she run and yelled his name. ¡°CATHAIN!!!¡± Chapter 63 63 Chapter 63 ~ ¡°The First Saintess¡± ¡°Cathain...¡± ¡°Can i call you by your name?¡± The girl with long silver hair and blue eyes, who was standing beside theke, asked with very expectations, which he couldn¡¯t refuse. ¡°Mhm. You can.¡± ¡®This is our first meeting but she is already roaming around by herself... Not to mention calling me by my name.¡¯ Duke Valentino stood infront of his soon to be wife, Saintess Ariande Dalton. ¡°Yourke is very beautiful you know? It caught my eyes right after i came!¡± ¡°It¡¯s artificial...¡± ¡°So what? Ake is just ake to me.¡± ..... ¡°...¡± ¡®Is this bbermouth going to be my wife? How am i supposed to tolerate her for the next two years?¡¯ To Duke Valentino, Ariande was just a helping stone on his path towards rebellion. He had been preparing for rebel along with the help of Arendell Empire because the emperor of Rua is a unreasonable tyrant. To suppress the duke family, he even plotted to kill the previous duke and duchess. The only survivor was their son, Cathain Valentino. The situation in the Arendell royal family wasn¡¯t that good either, So to protect his younger sister... The prince had no choice but to sent her to Rua. His only condition to help Duke Valentino was, he has to keep his sister safe. Duke Valentino, who had no problem with this agreed to the condition without even seeing her. Now, that he saw her, he couldn¡¯t take his eyes off from her. He knows, she doesn¡¯t know anything about him or their condition for marriage. He had intended to tell her about this after shees. He had to tell her that their marriage is only for a show and will end after two years. She had to stay away from him because he is not a human, rather, he is a demon, who is harmful for a innocent goddess like her. But seeing her, he suddenly doesn¡¯t have the intention to let her know any of this. Duke Valentino felt weird. Why does he not want her to know about him and fear like everyone else does? Seeing him all flustered, Ariande chuckled a little and opened her mouth to speak, ¡°Anyway, I hope we will get along from now on and I will try my best to assist you and...love you.¡± Ariande felt a little embarrassed as she spoke herst words and then nced at Cathain, who stood like a rock. ¡°I-I just meant i already seem to like you a little-¡± Ariande felt even more embarrassed now. What is she saying?! As a girl, who is both a princess and a holy saintess, how can she just confess so easily? Not to mention that they meet for the first time today. But unbeknown to her, the lips of the man infront of her curved up as he took steps towards her. Cathain wanted to greet her properly but she got surprised. Ariande was caught off guard by his sudden action and took a step back, only to fall into theke together with him. Even if theke was artificial, it was deep. Cathain reach out to her into the water and crashed his mouth onto hers as he passed her air from his mouth to breathe. He quickly pulled her up and both of them breathe heavily as they got up from theke. Cathain¡¯s hands was still wrapped around her waist and Ariande was hugging him tightly. With their drenched body, both of them kept staring at each other and even without knowing what she is actually doing, Ariande crushed her lips onto his. Cathain widened his eyes in surprise but he liked that. He pulled her more closer as he deepened their kiss on their first meeting. There was something that was pulling Ariande closer to Cathain. She doesn¡¯t know what is this feeling but she can¡¯t reject this and want to only get more closer to him. This is the first time they meet and she already confessed as well kissed him on her own. Ariande felt her face burning as she recalled about her behaviour that morning. While kissing, she was out of breathe and Cathain carried her into the mansion. All of the maids was staring at them! They are already married but still, her taking the first initiative on their first meeting... he won¡¯t think of her as a casual girl, right? Ariande sat on the bed and started to be nervous. ¡®I heard it¡¯s painful for the first time...¡¯ ¡°But... looking at his handsome face and tall figure, his body must look good too...¡± ¡°Do you want to see it right now? My perverted saintess...Wife?¡± Cathain whispered to her ear and Ariande jumped out in fright; almost cried as she didn¡¯t noticed him approaching her at all! ¡°Y-You! You frightened me!¡± She moved herself from him and then suddenly she felt like sliding as he pulled her closer by gripping on her legs. ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Ariande asked as Cathain looked at her from above, he gulped his saliva at the image of his lovely wife being under him and looking away shyly. Her silver hair was spreading on the bed and the white nightgown she was wearing had slipped up a little, revealing her white legs. ¡°Didn¡¯t you wanted to see my body? I will grant your wish now.¡± Saying this, Cathain took of the thin shirt he was wearing; revealing his hard and strong muscr body. Ariande immediately put her hands on her eyes but then decided to look a little by sliding away her fingers a little from her eyes. ¡°Little pervert...¡± ¡°Am peeking at my own husband¡¯s body! Why am i a pervert? Won¡¯t you look at mine too? We are even then!¡± Ariande decided to be a little bold even if she was dying out of embarrassment as she thought what was about to happen. ¡®I shouldn¡¯t have read those R-18 novels!¡¯ But then Cathain just wrapped her up in the nket as heid down beside her. ¡°Sleep...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®WHAT?!¡¯ ¡®This guy is telling me to sleep on my precious first night?¡¯ ¡®A-Am not getting rejected, right?¡¯ ¡®How can i, the empire¡¯s...No! Continent¡¯s beauty get rejected like this?¡¯ ¡®He doesn¡¯t have any problem down there...?¡¯ ¡°Just how long are you going to keep staring at me?¡± Cathain spoke and Ariande jolted, she got rid of the nket from her body and twrilled around. ¡®I am a pervert to him anyway...So,¡¯ Ariande sat on his top and Cathain just look at herzily. So, she decided to be a little more bold now. ¡°Am giving you a chance. Get down this instant and go back to sleep... Otherwise you will regret this.¡± ¡®Yeah, she will regret for staying with a demon like me... i can¡¯t let her know about that yet...¡¯ Seeing her dropping face, Cathain sighed too. This is the result he wanted but he is a little dejected too. But to his surprise, Ariande took of her nightgown as she spoke, ¡°I won¡¯t regret it.¡± She put her lips onto his once again and Cathain was surprise before he smriked into the darkness. ¡®What am i supposed to do with you?! My lovely innocent wife who doesn¡¯t know the real danger?¡¯ From then on, Ariande always reached out to Cathain first. ..... She always followed him, talked while he kept being silent, giving him surprises... but deep down, she was upset. Because to her, it only felt like she was the only one who loved him, trying hard to develop their rtionship. He makes her walk towards him by herself and no matter how sad she is, she can¡¯t help but love him. She is giving her all out where he is just taking it without giving back. It feels like he doesn¡¯t want to get her hopes up for him. But why? Ariande also want Cathain to talk with her,ugh at her, invite her to tea or a vacation. He just seem to get along with everything she wants, not expressing what he wants. She shares everything and he just listens, this was why she doesn¡¯t feel close to him despite staying so close to him. And after twenty months, when Ariande was eight months pregnant, she finally found out why. Chapter 64 64 Chapter 64 ~ ¡°The Tragic Ending¡± ¡°So, This is the reason of your being like this...¡± This is the first words that Cathain heard right after he entered their bedroom to cheak up on her. Ariande was standing beside the window and her hand was protectively wrapped around her big belly. At first, he didn¡¯t wanted a child. Because he was nning for rebellion and also, he doesn¡¯t know if he was ready for it yet. But seeing the excited Ariande, he had no choice except agreeing to keep the child. He can already feel the enormous mana from their unborn baby. And somehow, he is also looking forward to the birth of their baby. Cathain couldn¡¯t spent more time with her as suddenly the number of the monsters increased and he had to join the army to keep the empire safe. The nobles are pushing him to take out the saintess, who can stop this chaos. But he shut them all of. How selfies for them to say this to him... bring out his wife who is pregnant with his child, to save the empire? ..... This is why he spents more time on controlling the situation, so that they won¡¯t told him to bring her out. Cathain didn¡¯t quite understand what Ariande meant. ¡°What are you talking about, Aria?¡± Cathain approached her but Ariande pped away his hands from her. He was really dumbfounded but then noticed a letter in her hands... ¡®This seem like a letter from Arendell, D-Don¡¯t tell me...¡¯ ¡°You already knew everything... Right?¡± ¡°A-Aria... listen to me first, okay?¡± Cathain tried to calm her down as he could felt her raging mana, which was both harmful for their child and her. Tears kept pouring down from her beautiful eyes and she looked at him with disgust. His heart felt like it stopped breathing when he saw disgust in her eyes instead of warmness. ¡°Aria...?!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me that! So, this was why you was never close with me! Because there was no need for you to do so! I was just someone that you needed to keep for the next two years!¡± ¡°Calm down, Aria... being angry right now isn¡¯t good for you now... let-let me exin everything first, Okay? It¡¯s not like what you are thinking...¡± ¡°Then what is this, Cain?! Tell me what?! You never loved me! You never once said this to me!¡± ¡°Aria... Calm down first!¡± ¡°I always reached out to you despite you never reaching out to me... i kept talking like a fool because if i don¡¯t then it will be silence between us as you never share anything to me... I kept loving you and thought you loved me back too... but this was all a pretense... A lie...!¡± ¡°Aria... Let me exin okay? I didn¡¯t intended to hide it from you... I also lov-¡± Cathain¡¯s words remained unfinished as he felt the sudden change into her mana. He looked up to her and saw her forehead covered in sweat just before she ced her hands on her belly and started to yell. ¡°N-No... A-Aria?? GUARDS! CALL THE PHYSICIAN RIGHT NOW!!!¡± Cathain yelled to them as he carried Ariande to the bed. She kept tossing around as she felt the pain in her belly. ¡°This is why i told you to calm down first!¡± But Ariande was not in a situation to hear him. First, the truth that her marriage was a deal for him to get help from her brother was a initial shock to her. Then realising that this was why he was distanced from her made her heart shatter. She kept giving into him like a fool, where he knew everything! And now the pain in her lower abdomen is making her bones cracking down. The maids immediately rushed to the room and shortly the physician came too. ¡°The duchess is inbour!! Hurry up and get ready to deliver the baby!!!¡± Cathain was dumbstruck. She is going to deliver now? But wasn¡¯t the date two monthster? ¡°Duke, please step back...¡± The head maid said as he wasing in their way. He was about to step back when a knight suddenly came in while panting. ¡°DUKE!! You need to go right now! The situation in the capital isn¡¯t good. They are demanding for the duchess toe out!¡± Cathain felt rage in his heart. Just how heartless one can be to demand a pregnantdy to save them? If he doesn¡¯t go now, it might be difficult to control the situation... but Ariande also needs him here right now. She is giving birth... how can he leave her? But if he doesn¡¯t go then they might take her away. In the end, Cathain choosed to go. He can¡¯t let her risk her own life because of this selfish people. Cathain bent down and kissed her forehead, ¡°I will be back soon... Aria. Wait for me to exin it to you with our baby... We will be happy together.¡± Ariande caught his sleeve as she vaguely understand his words. ¡°Cain... Don¡¯t go...¡± Ariande said weakly with a pale face. Her full body was covered in sweat and it hurted Cathain to think that she is going through all this because of him. But he has no other way now. He has to go to keep her and their baby safe. Cathain forcibly released her grip over his sleeve with a deep hurted heart. ¡°Prepare the horse...¡± He left the mansion with a raging spread. He have to quickly finish this to go back to his home. ¡®Home¡¯ Suddenly thinking about Ariande waiting for him while holding their baby in her arms shed across his mind. Will the baby have silver hair and blue eyes like her? Then the baby would look very beautiful for sure either it¡¯s a boy or a girl. But after he returned, something else waited for him. Cathain, who was full of bloods rushed towards their room when he saw all the servents kneeling down. ¡®N-No... Nothing can go wrong right? I still haven¡¯t told her how much i love her... i never thought of leaving her... I want to spent my rest of my life with her...¡¯ As he reached the room, the big bed was empty and only a little moving creature was in the middle of it. Even the servents who helped Ariande with delivery was kneeling down. The mansion was heavily silent except the crying sounds of a baby. He slowly approached the baby with heavy footsteps. It felt like his feet was tied up with heavy rocks. ¡°Where is Aria?¡± Cathain asked the servents in a low but cold voice that they shivered. They couldn¡¯t open their mouth to speak. ¡°I ASKED WHERE IS ARIA?!¡± This time, Cathain yelled out loud, forcing them to speak. ¡°D-Duke... Right after you left and the youngdy was born... A royal order came... asking the duchess for help... we couldn¡¯t stop the duchess.¡± ¡°BUNCH OF TRASH!! WAS A MERE LADY MORE POWERFUL THEN YOU ALL WHO JUST GAVE BIRTH?!¡± ¡°D-Duke... the duchess... used her saintess powers to teleport, we couldn¡¯t...¡± The servents couldn¡¯t speak anymore. Cathain¡¯s face turned dark and he was about to left when he suddenly noticed a loud explosion sound from outside. The explosion sound was loud but it spread warmness and the sky be bright golden for a moment after the explosion. ¡®A-Aria?¡¯ Cathain¡¯s eyes widened in shock as a tear drop left his eyes. He was about to rush out when he suddenly hear the giggle of their child. He gritted his teeth and took the baby into his arms, as he was covered in blood, he made the white nket that was wrapping her up red too. He thought of cing her down but as she opened her eyes and stare at his red eyes with her blue eyes, Cathain was stunned. ¡®Her eyes is the same as her...¡¯ The child smiled at him and then he felt the enormous manaing out from her. ¡®Wait... isn¡¯t it teleportation magic? H-How can a child who was just born do this?¡¯ Cathain was immediately transported to the area where everything was destroyed and Ariande was weakly sitting on the ground. She was coughing out bloods and Cathain rushed towards her. Tears kept pouring out from his eyes as he felt her weakened mana. He knew she was about to leave them. ¡°ARIAA!!¡± ..... Ariande weakly looked at him and smiled. ¡°Cain... you havee? I thought i wouldn¡¯t be able to see you for thest time...¡± Ariande leaned on his chest and nced at their daughter, who had ck hair and blue eyes. She weakly moved her hands and stroke the baby¡¯s face. ¡°She is so beautiful, Right...?¡± ¡°Yeah, So you have to stay and watch her bing more beautiful...¡± ¡°I know, you will take great care of her.¡± ¡°We will take care of her together!¡± Both of them fall silent. Ariande was breathing heavily and tears kept pouring out from his eyes. ¡°I have never seen you smile before... Can you please smile at me onest time?¡± ¡°I will... I will smile as much as you want... i will keep talking until you are satisfied... i will take you out on dates, invite you for tea, taking strolls in the garden... But, Please... Don¡¯t leave me Aria! I can¡¯t live without you... I was wrong. I shouldn¡¯t have hide things from you... From now on, i will tell you everything you want to know... I will share everything with you... It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t want to talk with me anymore, hate me... But give me onest chance, Okay? I want to spent the rest of my life with you... With our daughter... We will grow old together... Don¡¯t leave me, Please?!¡± Cathain forced a smile on his face as tears kept pouring out from his eyes. Ariande cupped his face with both of her hands and kissed his lips onest time. ¡°I love you...Cain.¡± ¡°I love you too... Aria?!¡± In the end, Ariande couldn¡¯t hear his confession. She took herst breathe in his arms and died peacefully, leaving the desperate Cathain. Sensing no manaing out from her, Cathain understood that she has left him forever. But unexpectedly, no tears came out from his eyes anymore. In one hand, he hold his daughter who was crying, where his other hand hold his dead wife. ¡®She died because of this empire...¡¯ The knights, who finally reached him was shocked to see his dark aura. Ariande just didn¡¯t left this world alone, but also took away his all sanity. ¡®T-The Duke is a Devil?¡¯ That day, Cathain went to the imperial pce of Rua all alone. His sword in his one hand and his daughter in his other. There was no emotion in his eyes. The tears he shed for Ariande was yet to dry before he bathed in blood. Only eternal darkness was seen in his eyes as he kept killing every imperial members. In just a night, The royal pce waspletely massacred by him all alone. He divided two empires even before they could bury Ariande¡¯s body. Cathain didn¡¯t lost his mindpletely just because of their daughter, who not only didn¡¯t got scared from his bloody appearance but also smiled at him whenever he looked into her eyes. He hugged his daughter as bloods dripped down from his sword. ¡®You are the only will for me to live now.¡¯ He be the first emperor of his newly founded Valentino empire along with Ariande¡¯s brother as the first Duke of the empire. He kept Ariande¡¯s name as the first empress; which didn¡¯t changed till now. He never embraced any other women and spent his life with their daughter, Athenesia Cathain De Valentino. Because deep down in his heart, he was insane. He needed to tell her that he loved her, he always loved her. He have to destroy this world that took her away from him. If he does so, wouldn¡¯t shee back to save it again? Everytime a devil appears, a goddess appears too, to save this world fron chaos. So, he can just be the demon to make the saintess re-appear. Yeah, he should just do it. She should know that, Cathain will only love her in his all life¡¯s and... ...she can only be his. Chapter 65 65 Chapter 65 ~ ¡°Everything Is Messed Up¡± ¡°Haaah?!¡± Cathain heavily breathed as he sat up abruptly from his sleep. His body was full of cold sweats and his heart was beating really fast. ¡®What was that? Was it our past?¡¯ The room was dark and only a few candle was lit up to make it dim light. The curtains was moving because of the light cold wind. Cathain felt something over his hands and as he nced over, Eleanora¡¯s sleeping face beside him came to his view. She was sleeping beside him, holding his hands tightly. Cathain rubbed his forehead with his thumb and felt a light headache. If that was really their past life, then is this what Eleanora remembers? Does she hates him for not cherishing her? But something is still missing... he needs to find that out too. He can¡¯t repeat the same mistake twice. ..... Sudden possissevness and obsession takes over Cathain as he leans over to kiss on her forehead. ¡®I won¡¯t let you go again from me, Either it¡¯s past or present... you can only be mine.¡¯ Sensing his movements, Eleanora blinked and rubbed her eyes before opening them. ¡°You are awake?!¡± Seeing him awake, Eleanora immediately opens her eyes in shock and sits up. ¡°Do you feel pain somewhere? Are you okay now?¡± Cathain just nkly stared at her, before he hugged her so tightly that she couldn¡¯t even breathe. ¡®I finally meet you again... My Aria. Am sorry... I love you... I can¡¯t let you go.¡¯ The past Cathain¡¯s emotions was still inside of him as it¡¯s hasn¡¯t been long since he remembered their first life. A part of his heart calmed down. He is finally feeling a peaceful... his headache is also gone too. But he was surprised when Eleanora hugged him back and patted on his back. ¡°Everything is okay... Calm down.¡± Eleanora said to him but somehow he had the feeling that something isn¡¯t okay at all. He felt goosebumps because of her sudden change of behaviour. Something is going very wrong... Eleanora was anxious. The moment she saw him falling down suddenly and be unconscious, she felt like her life be dark again. Thankfully Brayden kept following them in an distance and took him back to their room secretly without anyone noticing. He was breathing normally and from outside, he just looked like he was sleeping. But she knew, he was not just sleeping. She have faced this many times. She knew he must have remembered something from the past. ¡°No... Don¡¯t remember... Don¡¯t change... I beg you. Don¡¯t make me quiver for you again by your changed behaviour and make me repeat my past again... Just to kill me like before.¡± Eleanora kept looking at him, stroking his hair tofort him. She knows how painful it is to face the abyss. ¡°I love you...¡± Cathain murmured in his dream and Eleanora¡¯s body froze. How eagerly she had waited to hear this from him, in her past life. Eleanora sneered at herself for being like this. She momentary gave in to him. Thanks to his words that she has gotten back her rationality. Who is she to pity him, where he have never bothered to do the same for her? ¡°Haah...! Am still pathetic... No matter how strong i pretend to be, you are able to crush it all just by a fling of your hands... How good it would be if the present you and my past self meet? Who loved each other? I feel like i snatched your love from you... I tainted the 13 year old Eleanora¡¯s heart with my coldness. Otherwise she and you would be a lover who would be deep in love. When i stopped loving you, You started to love me... Just what should i do with you, My executioner?¡± Eleanora narrowed her eyes as Cathain hold her hands tightly in her dream. She stared at his face with great seriousness as she continued to spoke to herself. ¡°If i think that the current you is innocent... then wasn¡¯t the past me innocent too? Should i make you suffer like you did to me... or just kill you?¡± Eleanora devilishly smirked at his handsome face. She tried to pull her hands out from his grip but they tightened more. ¡°D-Don¡¯t leave me...¡± Cathain again murmured in his dream and Eleanora couldn¡¯t help but sneer. How pathetically she had begged him countless time to not leave her alone... ¡°The past Eleanora¡¯s only mistake was to love the past you... Then, shouldn¡¯t the current yours mistake should be the same? You want to y love game? Then should i join you to make it a little more interesting?¡± Eleanoraid beside him andughed at herself before she closed her eyes. ¡®Look... what you turned me into... From a innocent girl to a scheming viiness!¡¯ _____ The Eleanora, Cathain knew would never let him hug her, let alone being close or sleeping beside him. Something is really wrong... He grabbed her shoulders and look into her deep blue eyes. All he could see was hidden disgust and hatred that she was trying so hard to hide under the pretense of worrying. Eleanora was really worried... worried about what he remembered and how much. ¡°You know... the first emperor and empress?¡± Eleanora was taken aback for a moment before she replied. ¡°Yeah, The first emperor was Cathain Valentino...¡± She slowed down a little before she uttered herst words. ¡°And the empress was saintess Ariande...¡± Eleanora be lost in thoughts. She knew the first emperor¡¯s name long ago but never paid that much attention. As for saintess Ariande... Is it merely a coincidence for both of their name to be same and her getting the saintess name? ¡®Why have i never thought about this before?¡¯ Seeing Eleanora in daze, Cathain was surprised a little. Because to him, the dream he had jist now was their past life. Then what was those vision? Both of them fall silent. Everything was messing up. Nothing was clear. If she got one clue, then it would get entangle with another. Cathain¡¯s grip on her shoulders be a little more tight, Was the memory he saw was not the only life they shared together? He had a feeling that if he doesn¡¯t short this out, he will only make more mistakes and lose her forever again. He can¡¯t let that happen. So, he needs to know what exactly happened even if he doesn¡¯t remember. Cathain started to speak in a low but gentle tone, that Eleanora was unfamiliar with. ¡°Eleanora... I want you to be honest with me. What exactly happened in our past life?¡± Chapter 66 66 Chapter 66 ~ ¡°Puzzle of Mystery¡± Eleanora nkly stared at Cathain. Thinking if he was trying to negotiate with her, like exchanging information. In the past, Eleanora was only ten when she first had a crush on him. At twelve, she realised her feelings for Cathain. At Sixteen, she knew she was in love with him. All her life she had grown up believing that he would be her one day, hoping she would make him proud. She was groomed, controlled, and moulded to be the perfect empress from the moment she was born. She remembered when she first felt their magic bond connecting them together after hering of age ceremony. It was like the air around him shimmered, beckoning her forward, demanding that she gravitate around him. Pulling her towards him like a magnate. In the world of darkness, he was the only shiny person to her, who could save her,plete her. ..... If she focused enough, she could even still recall how his skin felt on her; like tiny sparks of pleasure wherever it touched even if it was rough. He was a strong, an incredible leader, a capable emperor who had everything that no one else had aplished. She stood beside him and felt proud on him, she wanted him to feel the same way for her as she does for him. She worked hard and hard to get his attention, a little bit of warmth. Those were the good memories of Cathain, that Eleanora buried deep down in her heart. So why was her mind surfacing this now? Maybe she was trying to justify to herself that at one point in her life I¡¯d wanted this. That the old Eleanora would have revelled in this moment. To hear him confessing his love to her. She wants to hate but can¡¯t... Doesn¡¯t want to love but have to do it for her gain. So what did she want now? ...Did her wants even matter anymore? What choice was there if it was this or war? As a duchy princess, she won¡¯t have much authority to investigate the past or stop the war from happening, that she will have as a crown princess. Realising this, Her eyes suddenly be gentle as she smiled at him warmly. Cathain¡¯s eyes widened and his heart started to beat fast. This is the exact smiling face he have seen in his memory right now. She was finally willing to smile brightly at him, like she did for Ain. But... her disgust can¡¯t be hidden in those deep blue eyes, no matter how hard she tried to hide. The smile she showed to Ain was genuine, there was no hidden intention or hatred on them. She never pretended infront of Ain. She trusts and believes in Ain, like the way she hates Cathain. Cathain let out a heavy breathe before he smiled at her too. ¡®Even if you lie, I want to believe it like truth. Even if i know, but i want to turn a blind eyes to the truth and believe in you like a fool.¡¯ ¡°Eleanora, it¡¯s only fair if you let me know your concerns... at least let me know the reason for you being like this...¡± Cathain¡¯s grip over her shoulder momentary loosen before it tighten again. ¡®No matter what it is... i will believe you... fix it... but i can¡¯t let you go...¡¯ Hearing him saying about fair, Eleanora sneered. His words struck a nerve, igniting her inner emotions once again despite her trying so hard to supress it. But one final piece inside her still cared about how he would react if he knows the truth. ¡°Fair?¡± Eleanora spoke in a low voice. ¡°Cathain De Valerian Valentino, You want to talk about fair with me? You find my disgust and hatred so intolerable... but in fact, i lived with it my whole life...¡± Cathain be dumbstruck, does she mean the memory of their past life? But even if he was a little indifferent to her, he never once hate her. Eleanora heaved a heavy sigh and run her fingers into her hair. ¡°Agh! Am sick of whatever this is...¡± Eleanora¡¯s eyes once again be emotionless as she looked at him. ¡°This version of yours, who is goddamn unpredictable that i feel as though everything i learnt the first time around ispletely meaningless. You make me feel like the past me was useless. The living hell i went through for years, living in your indifference and hatred, silent abuses, taking me for granted... now you talk about ¡®fair¡¯ with me?¡± Eleanora stopped on her words to observe his emotion, who wasn¡¯t getting a single thing she was saying. ¡°Ele...¡± Cathain opened his mouth but except her name, not a single word came out. He didn¡¯t understand what she was saying but for the first time, he saw the truth in her eyes. The raging hatred in those emotionless eyes wasn¡¯t a lie... Was the memory he saw, iplete? But it didn¡¯t seem so... it feels like both of them are talking about to opposite memories. Seeing him not responsing, Eleanora let out a low grin as she tucked herself into the nket. ¡®You think you can fool me like before into believing you? Am not that dumb anymore, whose life revolved around only you...¡¯ Despite doing everything, she couldn¡¯t get his love but now he says he loves her? She can forgive...but not forget. Cathain kept on sitting in the bed and after some time, when he heard a stable breathing, he sighed. ¡®Finally she fall asleep...¡¯ He slowlyid down beside her and kept staring at her back, which was facing him. At that time, He didn¡¯t had the courage toy down beside her again after hearing her words. So, he awaited for her to fall asleep first. Cathain kissed her silver hair and sighed inside. There are too many puzzles that he need to solve. ¡®The answerys in my heart...¡¯ Cathain finally understood the meaning of this, the ultimate answer and the main mystery of this puzzle is no one else... ...But Eleanora. She is the only one who can solve andplete this puzzle of mystery. Chapter 67 67 Chapter 67 ~ ¡°Always On Her¡± Aftering back in time again, Eleanora often wondered if she is really back in time or not. Everything is same, the ce, the people, events. The only thing that¡¯s changed is her and Cathain. She feels like their roles have reversed. In the past, it was Eleanora who always tried to make him feel her love. But now it¡¯s Cathain, who tried every mean to make her understand his heart for the past three years. Maybe the reason why she pretends to not believe is just a excuse of hers. She knows who he will love. It was Jena and it will be Jena. Eleanora saw how gentle he was with her, how hepleted her every demands, how he protected and loved her... He behavedpletely opposite with her, If Jena had his love and gentleness; Then Eleanora had his hatred and roughness. ..... She saved her cousin and some lives that she never encountered in herst life, got a friend. And his endless obsession and possissevness in this life when she no longer wanted it. ¡°Eleanora...¡± A familiar voice echoed in her mind, like a distanced memory. ¡°Ele!?¡± ¡®Ain? Why is Ain calling me?¡¯ Eleanora felt a little happy as she thought about her happy training times with Ain. Maybe what she feels for Ain is more then just friendship. She misses him so badly but doesn¡¯t feels distanced. Like he is with her always. ¡°Eleanoraaaa!!!¡± The voice cut through her mind, making her realise that it wasn¡¯t ringing in her head. Eleanora blinked a few times, rubbing her eyes as the sudden bright light blurred her vision. ¡°Don¡¯t rub it so hard...¡± Cathain spoke as he caught her hands from rubbing her eyes and took a wet towel to wipe her face. Eleanora was stunned for a moment. Not because of him helping her to wash her face but because for a moment, she mistook him as Ain. ¡®How¡¯s this possible. Ain is just amoner merchant. The crown prince has too many works to do, rather then teaching me swordsmanship. Ain even climbs up my window secretly. Cathain is too proud to do that.¡¯ ¡°Let...Let me do it.¡± Eleanora spoke in a low voice as she took the towel from his hands to wipe her face. Cathain smiled at her gently and let her take it from her hands. ¡°We will have to attend the council meeting. The breakfast is ready, so we will leave after you are ready.¡± Eleanora just nodded her head lightly and went to the bathroom to wash up. Everything was ready for her already, so it didn¡¯t took long for her to take a bath. In herst life, Only Rena and Maria was there to help her in the abandoned pce she lived in. She was used to do everything by her own. But their was one thing that she couldn¡¯t... Eleanora couldn¡¯t tie the knots of her dress. She came out holding her dress and saw Cathain, who was reading a newspaper. ¡°Um... Your highness, Can you call a maid for me?¡± Cathain nced at her and put down the newspaper on his hands. ¡°It will take a while, we are already runningte. What do you need?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tie the knots on my dress... I need help.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a knot? I can do it.¡± Cathain walked towards her and Eleanora looked at him in disbelief. He is really going to help her? ¡°How can i bother you to do this Your-¡± ¡°Sush, didn¡¯t you called me ¡®Cathain¡¯ yesterday? Why are you being so formal again?¡± Cathain put his finger on her lips to intrupt her and turned her around as he started to tie the knot. Eleanora felt embarrassed as no man has ever helped her do this, simple silly thing. She just couldn¡¯t learn how to tie the knot no matter how hard she tried. ¡°Why are you embarrassed? Am not even helping you to get dressed and... Am not interested into minors.¡± Cathain whispered in her ear with a mischievous tone and Eleanora felt speechless. ¡®Then who was confessing to a minorst night then?¡¯ ¡°Okay, Done.¡± ¡°Already?¡± Eleanora was a little surprised as it didn¡¯t even took him a minute to do it. Why is he so experienced? Unknowingly, she felt a little sad as she thought he must have did it for Jena so many times in the past that he remember this even now. But soon she felt a little pain on her forehead. Cathain had flicked her. ¡°What weird things are you thinking again? I tie a lot of knots in the official papers, also i know that our future empress can¡¯t tie a knot... So, i learnt it.¡± Eleanora turned her head and her gaze meet his red eyes. Somehow, they don¡¯t look scary anymore. ¡°Where did you hear that from?¡± Eleanora asked as she felt embarrassed about bot being able to tie a knot. Just who dared to expose this? ¡°I once saw you opening a paper of your father secretly... then struggling to tie it back. Umm, You was ten at that time.¡± ¡®Ten?¡¯ Eleanora remembered this was when she first started to follow her father around the imperial pce. She thought no one discovered her following Alexander but now it seems like everyone knew and pretended not to see her... ¡°Okay...Okay, No one saw our little empress following her father around with two ponytails and walking around with a doll as big as her. Eat your breakfast now.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Everyone saw everything!¡¯ Eleanora quitely eat her breakfast and observed Cathain. The more she looks at him the more she thinks of Ain. ¡®Is it because i miss him too much? and this guy is the only guy around me except him?¡¯ After finishing her breakfast, Cathain took Eleanora¡¯s hand into his and started to walk towards the meeting hall with Brayden following him behind. Along the way, Cathain kept staring at Eleanora, which she decided to ignore. It has be a normal thing to her because most of the time they spent together, he spents most of them staring at her. ¡®It was good to learn tie the knots, dismissing those maids and picking a dress with a knot.¡¯ While Eleanora was sleeping, Cathain choosed her dress himself and dismissed the maids after preparing necessary things for her getting ready. ¡®One have to be shameless while chasing.¡¯ She red at him as she heard him chuckling for no reason. ¡®Have he gone mad?¡¯ Soon, they reached the main pce meeting hall. Therge doors of the meeting room opened and everyone¡¯s gaze fall on them. Specially on Eleanora, who was not only a crown princess but also a Saintess. ¡®Even at such a young age, she is so beautiful.¡¯ Cathain realised those gazes and felt a jealous. So, he released her hands and put them on her waist to bring her more closer to him. Eleanora res at him, signalling him to take away his hands which Cathain ignored like he didn¡¯t understand her gazes at all. ¡®Huh! Now watch! Why don¡¯t you stare now? She is mine, so you people can only stare at her and watch me marrying her!¡¯ Eleanora sighed and felt the awkward atmosphere around her. Even Brayden was speechless. ..... Cathain was always someone who didn¡¯t knew emotions and only worked. Brayden even thought that Cathain was only interested into Eleanora to take her down as he was always annoyed at the mention of her. But as days passed by, He be the sole witness of Cathain¡¯s love for her. Even things from before started to be clear to him. Cathain was annoyed at the mention of her name, because the other party never paid any attention to his works. Even if he was the crown prince and her fiance, she didn¡¯t even tried to befriend him or visit him. Although he was annoyed for being engaged to her, but deep inside he was looking forward to it. But she was always busy with her parents or the crowd around her, where he kept staring at her from afar. So, he didn¡¯t attended the engagement ceremony to annoy her. Which he regrets now. It was childish of him. He begin topet against her or stalk her, when he was six and she was only two years old! How can a two year old child understand his feelings?! He kept thinking her as a rival, but didn¡¯t realised when he fall in love while stalking her. He was annoyed because the other party kept improving without even noticing that he waspeting against her. Where he didn¡¯t mind that he failed against her, but because he failed to caught her attention again and again. If three years ago, Cathain didn¡¯t realised or intended to chase her, Brayden would still think that Cathain hates her out of jealousy. But now Brayden understood that, From the very start, Cathain¡¯s gaze never left Eleanora. Either it was the two year old Eleanora or the thirteen year old Eleanora now. His gaze was always on her. To fix the atmosphere Melendez, the king of Rua came forward to greet Cathain but he narrowed his eyes when he saw Eleanora. ¡°Crown Princess... Why are you here?¡± Chapter 68 68 Chapter 68 ~ ¡°Negotiation¡± King Melendez¡¯s question caught Eleanora in surprise. In the empire, she was thedy with the highest authority. Specially after her father left and she be the representative of the duchy for the time being. So, her past habit to attend meetings stayed even in this life. ¡®Gosh! I forget that woman¡¯s can¡¯t attend the official meetings yet at this time!¡¯ In her previous life, After Cathain be the emperor, he changed the rules. Where noble woman¡¯s can also be the heir, work along with males and support their family like everymon family. But this was yet to happen in this life. She forgot about this and came along with him. ¡®How could he forget this too and bring me here?¡¯ Eleanora nced at Cathain but was terrified to see the look on his face. He was frowning as disgust filled up his red eyes. ..... She wanted to take a step back but Cathain kept holding onto her firmly as he spoke. ¡°Do i need to ask you about either i can bring my wife, the future empress here or not?¡± Cathain questioned King Melendez with a superiority tone that left the meeting hall room silent. Eleanora looked up at him with a curious gaze. Even King Melendez, a lot older man then him was forced to step back and shuttered as he spoke. ¡°C-Crown Prince, She is ady...¡± ¡°So what if she is ady? Is it written anywhere that ady can¡¯t attend the meeting?¡± Cathain¡¯s voice echoed through the silent hall. The people kept quite but deep down in their hearts, they also had the same mindset as the king. To them, nobledies only needs to sit at home and look after the house. From father to husband, they could either lean on anyone of them. Eleanora gestured him that she is okay and it¡¯s better if she leaves but Cathain just gently smiled at him, eyes full of warmth. Unlike the hatred gaze he gave the king. Eleanora was so close to his chest that she was able to hear his beating heart. ¡®So this is how being in his arms feels like. It feels warm and... safe.¡¯ Eleanora felt ridiculed again. Her situation is like feeling safe at the embrace of the grim reaper. Cathain¡¯s eyes scanned over the meeting hall before he sneered. ¡°If my wife can¡¯t enter then what¡¯s the use of me entering and discuss about peace? If the war is the cost for protecting my wife¡¯s dignity...¡± Everyone hold their breathe in, Even Eleanora looked up at him with anticipation. ¡°Then let it be. We will negotiate at the battle field then!¡± Everyone stood up from their sits and if it was possible, then king Melendez¡¯s jaw would have already dropped on the floor. Eleanora looked at him with disbelief. She didn¡¯t wanted a war but seeing him protecting her like this now, she felt a little happy. It¡¯s been long since someone stood up to protect her. Thest person who wanted to protect her was Alexander, who ended up in the prison in her past life. No, she can¡¯t let it happen like before. She can¡¯t let him risk the normal people¡¯s life just to protect her dignity. ¡®Am happy that you choose to protect me, that i never even dared to imagine in my dreams before. But i can¡¯t let you take this risk.¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s gaze be softer and she genuinely smiled at Cathain for the first time in this life. ¡®D-Dering a war just because i asked why is she here?¡¯ No one dared to look at Eleanora again. This man is just crazy! Dering a war because the king questioned her presence... Who knows what he will do if he notices someone looking at her? They can¡¯t afford it. But still, someone there dared to afford it, he took it as a challenge. ¡°My sincere apology, Crown prince and Princess. My father still have those old fashioned thoughts, thus he asked this unreasonable question. Princess is wee to enter and join us. It will be a honour for us.¡± The seventh prince, Mendel came forward with a bright sinistral smile and Eleanora subconsciously got more closer to Cathain. Mendel was the real crazy bastard here. Under his friendly smile was devilish thoughts. She still remembers how he had tried to harass her even in the battlefield. They seemed like fighting but only she knew that he was actually ying with her, trying to touch her. He was taking advantage of his physique over her. Sensing her feeling uneasy, Cathain ignored them and took his seat, made her sit beside him as he gripped her hands into his to calm her down. Eleanora sighed in relief as she started to speak in a low voice. ¡°What was you doing, Your highness? It wasn¡¯t their fault...¡± She slightly nced at him as she spoke but what not only she didn¡¯t got a reply but got to see his solemn face. ¡®What are you fusing about? You shouldn¡¯t have bought me here at the first ce as you knew it would happen?!¡¯ But, Eleanora also knows the another reason of him acting like this. It¡¯s because she still called him formally. It isn¡¯t easy for her to calm him by his name. It¡¯s something that she didn¡¯t got even after bing the empress. So either calling him by his name or hearing him calling her as his wife, she is still ufortable with it. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to really go for war. I knew this bunch of old idiots would be easily feared. All of them are from a bunch of small, barely on the map like countries.¡± Eleanora lowly chuckled at his words and kept on conversing with him. Cathain felt a little good as she was finally willing to talk freely with him, like she did with Ain. But then, he felt a sinister gaze towards Eleanora and immediately looked up to meet Mendel¡¯s eyes. He slightly moved towards and brushed his lips against her cheek to her ear. Her eyes widened in surprise and she thought if it was just her imagination or was he deliberate? Cathain made it seem like a ident but what he wanted was just to give a warning to Mendel, To know his ce and back off. ¡®Does he thinks Ele will like him? Ele likes rich, powerful and handsome guys like me!¡¯ [A/N: Only ording to him...-_-] Seeing them being close to each other, Mendel retained his gaze and clenched his fist in anger. Then the meeting finally began... ¡°If we can request a forty percent decrease to our friendly alliance tax just for the next five years, I believe this amount will help us grow exponentially and we will fill up the missed tax fully.¡± King of Rua spoke with great confidence as he was sure it would work. Cathain took a moment to consider before he finally started to speak. ¡°I can allow that...¡± A smile sh across Melendez¡¯s face as he thought he seed into the negotiation, till he heard Cathain¡¯s next words. ¡°But i want an increase of trade goods toe through Valentino Empire during the contract period. This will assist both of our economic. I can¡¯t starve my people while waiting for your goods and tax. So, We will also add the condition where, if you fail to increase your total gross ie after five years, we will have the right to im the amount of your missed taxes.¡± King Melendez¡¯s face turned dark as he heard Cathain. He thought a teenager, who had yet toe of age won¡¯t understand much about this. But unexpectedly he was stunned by his brilliance and negotiations. The more Cathain acted like that, the more wary he be. Seeing his pale face, Cathain narrowed his eyes and smriked. ¡®Dare to insult my empress and then want to take advantage of me being underaged? This is just the beginning...¡¯ Eleanora just sit quitely, listening but not to attentive. It was already bad enough toe to the meeting room, A underaged girl with the most highest official powers among otherdies. She keept thinking about how the others viewed her as. She just can¡¯t help but care a little about them. Cathain kept negotiating, he was far better then his other peers of the same age. Seeing the flow of their conversation, Eleanora understood why Kingdom Rua had upper hand in the negotiations in herst life and the empire had no choice but to start the war. Duke Raven supported Kingdom Rua and ignored the upbringing of the empire, to be precise, he didn¡¯t cared about the public at all. Where, Cathain is thinking about the empire and it¡¯s people. No matter how she was treated by him in her past life, Eleanora had to admit that Cathain was really good to his people as their emperor. While Eleanora was lost in her thoughts, something suddenly caught her attention and unexpectedly intrupted as she called him loud. ..... ¡°Your Highness, Please reconsider...¡± Chapter 69 69 Chapter 69 ~ ¡°Trap¡± ¡°The Republic¡¯s main force is now busy in conquering the Darknds. If we take this chance and attack the Republic Kingdom, then the empire can easily defeat them and take control over the dark sea!¡± King Melendez¡¯s started the topic and Cathain began to think. Although the empire is big enough but conquering another Kingdom doesn¡¯t seem to be a problem. The relief delegation will be back shortly and the imperial fund has a little shortage. So, attacking the Republic Kingdom now with the help of Rua doesn¡¯t seem like a bad idea. It will also help the imperial fund. Republic Kingdom has been always on bad terms with the other two kingdoms and specially the Valentino empire because they worship Dark magic. All kind of dark and illegal buisness happens there and there is no rules orw there. They want to summon the devil, thus they are trying to conquer the forbidden darknd and control the dark sea. ..... ¡°Almost all of the knights are working in the relief delegation. They will soon return, but we can only sent 50,000 mens as sending more might stain our finance.¡± ording to them, 50,000 knights are enough because the imperial army are the best in their strength. Not to mention the Dalton and Heartz Duchy knights. Eleanora kept hearing the discussion and sighed. In herst life, this was the first battle she participate at the age of 13. ¡®This expedition will ultimately fail...¡¯ After Duke Ravens negotiate with the Kingdom Rua, he informed them about the uing war to fight the Republic Kingdom for Dark Sea. There was a information that there was a lot of hidden treasure¡¯s there, only to find nothing after spending a lot time to dig the sea side. The other kingdom¡¯s seem to support the Valentino Empire but actually, they was just waiting for the imperial knights to break down... Then they helped Rua and even if Eleanora won the battle, the imperial army suffered heavily during the battle. If she says this now, people might be wary of her, the peaceful life she wanted to lead mighte to an end... But if she doesn¡¯t says anything despite knowing the truth, the knights will suffer just like before. No, she needs to save the people and empire. This is the only purpose of her this life. Eleanora mustered up her courage and clear her throat as she spoke seriously. ¡°Please reconsider, Your highness.¡± The hall again fall silence and Cathain looked at her with a sly smile. His prey has finally fallen into the trap. ¡°Do you have something to say, My wife?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Just what does he want to prove by calling me his wife?¡¯ Eleanora decided to let it go this time and started speak, ignoring the hateful stares of the people around her. ¡°Well, this is only my opinion...¡± ¡°Go on... My-¡± ¡°There are two things to be wary about in this war. King Melendez¡¯s, Don¡¯t tell me you forgot about Kingdom Moncton in the east?¡± Eleanora had intrupted Cathain before he could utter the word ¡®Wife¡¯ again. Her question had taken Melendez aback. He didn¡¯t expect her to realise this, where even Cathain ignored this. The silent meeting hall started to murmur among themselves. What Eleanora said made sense. ¡°But the Moncton Kingdom is known for being neutral and has no ties with the Republic Kingdom. They are closed geographically, So they have no reason to help the Republic Kingdom to control the Darknds.¡± King Melendez¡¯s spoke with great seriousness, how dare a mere underaged girl ruin his ns? Mendel stayed silent the whole time and was amazed by Eleanora. The more he couldn¡¯t get it the more he wanted it. ¡°Crown Princess, Can you tell us why we shouldn¡¯t be wary about Francisco Kingdom?¡± Mendel finally spoke after being silent for a long time. Eleanora took a deep breathe and Cathain patted on her hand to reassure her to speak confidently. ¡°King Melendez is right. Technically the Moncton Kingdom has no reason to help the Republic. But... The current king of Moncton is yet to secure his position and thus he needs the help of Republic.¡± ¡°!!!!!!¡± The whole meeting room started to discuss among them as Eleanora continued to speak. ¡°The Moncton king can exchange their troops for help the Republic Kingdom to secure his position. If that happens, then with the Moncton force, the total army will be more then 100,000. Even with Rua¡¯s help, Our army won¡¯t be more then 70,000. If that happens, We will lose even before we start.¡± Cathain was truly proud on Eleanora and his love for her even grew more. ¡®As expected from my wife.¡¯ ¡°My wife is right... It was indeed negligent of me to not notice this before. So what should we do then, My wife?¡± Eleanora and even all the present people was truly disgusted on Cathain for calling her ¡®his wife¡¯ in literally every word he spoke. ¡®We all know she will be his wife. But why does it seems like he is just trying to show off?¡¯ Cathain rested his head on his palm and kept staring at her with eyes full of love and admiration that gave Eleanora goosebumps. ¡®I should help my wife to boost her reputation a little more... Once those imperial fools get to know this, Even if her father starts a war with us, he can¡¯t stop our marriage.¡¯ ¡°My wife... Don¡¯t you trust our army¡¯s manpower? How can those weaklings can bepared with our army?¡± Eleanora clearly understood his words and gritted her teath. ¡®So this was this bastards purpose! He already knew this but pretended to not know, just so i could step into the trap myself! Damn sly fox!¡¯ Eleanora controlled her temper because she can¡¯t be lose it now. She has to be patient and exin. It¡¯s toote to step back now. ¡°Our army is best in the entire continent... no, in the whole world... Only if we fight them face to face. ...But what if that¡¯s not the case?¡± Chapter 70 70 Chapter 70 ~ ¡°Cancel The Deal¡± ¡°The Dark sea and the Dark mountains of the Dark Land. If the Moncton Kingdom decides to strike for helping the Republic Kingdom, they won¡¯t march towards the imperial army¡¯s head on. Instead, they will head towards the dark mountains by crossing the Dark River, which will help them to reach the mountains directly from their Kingdom. The Dark mountain is the only entrance to the Darknd from the Valentino Empire¡¯s region in the west. If they take the isted dark mountains route, The imperial mens will be isted without any supplies by the Moncton Army. It that happens, There is only one oue... Complete Annihtion of the expedition!¡± Eleanora smriked at King Melendez right after she finished speaking. The old man didn¡¯t saw thating. ¡®So Duke Ravens colluded with Kingdom Rua long before to take down the imperial family.¡¯ ..... Eleanora can guess that her tragedy wasn¡¯t because of Cathain and Jena anymore. There seem to be more people involved on it then she thought. But that wasn¡¯t the end... ¡°As i mentioned two causes, the first one is Moncton Kingdom, geographical disadvantaged. Where the second one is, Disease...¡± ¡®D-Disease?¡¯ King Melendez¡¯s face turned more pale after hearing her. This girl is really running his all ns! ¡°The Darknds environment and temperature is different from ours. It will be very hot and humid there. Specially for swordmaster¡¯s, who possess fire magic. It¡¯s full of dark energy and mosters with unknown origin. If they encounter any monsters that are able to spread contagious disease... it will bring down the whole empire. So, does it worth to fight for a uselessnd full of uncertainty and risk our mens?¡± As soon as Eleanora finished speaking, Cathain leaned on his chair and apused for her, ignoring the embarrassed Eleanora and awkward look on the audience. ¡°My wife is too brilliant and right... I don¡¯t think we should risk our mens for a uncertainnd tressures and suffer the risk. I hope you understand, King.¡± King Melendez gritted his teeth as he clenched his fists. ¡®No, I can¡¯t give up so easily.¡¯ Melendez stood up from his seat as he yelled at Eleanora. He really couldn¡¯t take this anymore. How can he be defeated by a mere 13-year-old girl? ¡°Nonsense! Did she went there to see this by herself? How can she be so sure of it?! Crown prince, I hope you think it wisely for your own profit rather then listening to some underaged girl!¡± As Melendez finished speaking, everyone sighed. ¡®He is dead today. How did he failed to notice that the Crown Prince is already a wife ve?¡¯ The look on Cathain¡¯s face instantly switched as he narrowed his eyes. ¡®How dare he insult my empress again?¡¯ Eleanora mentally shield herself away as she recognised the look on his face. If they thought Cathain was only a teenager boy who was head over hills for his fiancee, they are terribly mistaken. Eleanora knows Cathain doesn¡¯t like it when people forces something on him or tries to dominate him, which King Melendez has been doing from the very beginning of this meeting. He didn¡¯t cause trouble because Eleanora was with him and wanted to leave a good impression on her mind about him. But, they have taken his silence for granted and acting however they liked. Cathain didn¡¯t even have to stand up and merely leaned forward to his table as his killing stare fall on Melendez. It was enough for everyone in the meeting room to gulp in fear and instantly flinch backwards. The sharpness of his bloody red eyes was a threat within itself and for a split second, Eleanora could see the old Cathain inside him. Not just him, But also herself. Empress Eleanora standing beside Emperor Cathain in meeting rooms, attempting to force them obey to the alliance by means of tricks and violence. Eleanora could see herself holding her blue jeweled sword again as she stood in the pile of blood and corpse. She felt sick in her stomach just by the thought of that. King Melendez was afraid but he didn¡¯t believed a mere teenager can refute him infront of this many people as witness. He just needs to attack on his pride as a man because, There is no way that a Crown prince like Cathain would abandon his pride for a girl. ¡°Crown Prince, are you really willing to go so low, as to let a underaged girl who isn¡¯t even your official wife yet to decide about such an important matter? She might not even be the empress...¡± Hearing Melendez¡¯s words, Cathain kicked the wooden table infront of him and the table cracked downpletely. His burning fire magic aura was so strong that everyone shuddered and stepped back. ¡®Who dares to take my empress away from me? I will destroy any possibilities that might stand in my way from getting her back!¡¯ A killing intent was seen in his bloody red eyes, which was ready to bath in blood. ¡°King...¡± Cathain gritted his teeth as he addressed King Melendez and paused. That one word was enough to make a shiver go down everyone¡¯s spine even if it wasn¡¯t directed at them. Eleanora could feel her legs go weak. She kept reminding herself that she can¡¯t copse again like before. She promised herself to let go of the past shackles and solve the past mystery, to live a new life with the people she cherishes. But still, she can¡¯t control her past fear. ¡°Do you want to die?¡± Cathain coldly asked and red at him. He was so angry that, he failed to control his magic powers and all the sses of windows immediately shattered into pieces because of his raging mana. Eleanora widened her eyes in shock and before she could react, He grabbed her hand and proceed to leave the meeting hall. She let him drag her and unlike before, his back view didn¡¯t remind her of the past this time. Eleanora was still frightened but also felt happy because of his protection over her. It was a warm feeling that her cold heart seldom felt... As Cathain reached the door, he suddenly stopped and turned back to look at the kings face. ¡°King, I think it¡¯s time for you to choose a sessor for your throne... you might get killed off anytime because of that damn mouth of yours. And... You can also forget about today¡¯s deal. We, the empire people doesn¡¯t want to deal with someone who doesn¡¯t even know about how to respect a woman. How can we trust him with our buisness then?¡± The entire meeting room was shocked and started to curse at King Melendez. If it wasn¡¯t for him, today¡¯s negotiation waspletely sessful! Brayden, who was standing outside had already informed the knights to prepare to leave the moment he realised Cathain¡¯s anger. He knew, Cathain wouldn¡¯t want to spent a more moment here. And to his surprise, almost everything was ready just in half an hour. Cathain kept walking fast as he dragged Eleanora with him. He was angry, devastated and fearful... How dare a mere king say that she might not be the the empress? If she isn¡¯t the empress, that means she will marry someone else. How can he bear to see herughing with another man, smiling and embracing that man infront of him? He can¡¯t just seat and watch as she vows her love and loyalty to someone else. ..... Even if she hates him, doesn¡¯t promises to love him, But as long as she stays with him, that¡¯s enough for him. ¡°Your highness... slow... slow down.¡± Hearing her voice, Cathain stops on his tracks and turns around to face her. But even before Eleanora could see his face, he bents down and burried his head into her shoulder. He was afraid to let her see his devastated face right now. The surprised Eleanora wanted to push him but he hugged her more tightly. In the end, she had no choice but to let him lean on her. ¡°Your highness...¡± Eleanora called him awkwardly and wanted to talk about the negotiation. This was the thing they came here for, now it was cancelled because of her. But Cathain didn¡¯t cared about the negotiation at all as he had something else in his mind... ¡°You will be my empress, right?¡± Chapter 71 71 Chapter 71 ~ ¡°Scared¡± Cathain suddenly started to feel very scared and insecure. What if she chooses someone else because of the past that he can¡¯t remember? What if she leaves him? He doesn¡¯t care about the past but she does. There must have happened something terrible in the past for her to be like this. And the problem is, he can¡¯t even remember it... Cathain feels like the more he is trying to reach her, the farther she is getting away from him. ¡°Y-Your highness?¡± Eleanora didn¡¯t knew how to answer his question. She just stood still and felt his racing heartbeat. One part of her still wanted to hug him back even if she didn¡¯t wanted to. ..... It¡¯s already toote for them... She could have considered if he hadn¡¯t killed her, ignoring her words to investigate the death of her children¡¯s. His negligence towards her has cost the life of her and their children¡¯s. She doesn¡¯t dare to fall for him again. Eleanora felt pathetic again for not being able to push him, lose her temper at him. Telling the brutal truth in the face of his. How he ignored her, neglected her, gave his love to another woman which should have been hers. In the end, She got killed by his own hands... But it¡¯s not the time yet, she needs him and his power to investigate the truth. Running away isn¡¯t an option for her anymore. She can¡¯t hide forever... When Jena will appear infront of him again, She will be thrown away by him in this life too. ¡®Jena is the one he loves and the empress that he wanted in our past life. It will be the same in this life too.¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t fall for it Eleanora, he doesn¡¯t deserves it.¡¯ ¡°Your highness...¡± Eleanora was about to deny when he intrupted her with his words. ¡°No- Don¡¯t answer. It¡¯s okay, Am sorry... Am sorry.¡± Cathain released her from his grip and kept murmuring sorry... reassuring himself to believe his own thoughts, ignoring the truth. His head was hanging down and he refused to make an eye contact with her. He didn¡¯t wanted to hear the answer anymore. It was like he deliberately choosed to believe the lies. It¡¯s better to stay in his own thoughts then hearing her refusing him. He is scared that he might end up getting mad and lock her up if she says no to him. Recalling all the crazy things he did just to get closer to her, he can¡¯t deny the possibility to use force to cage her with him. Which he doesn¡¯t want. So, Cathain choose to believe the lie. ¡®Yeah, She was my empress and can only be my empress!¡¯ He hurriedly turned away, leaving the dumbstruck Eleanora in the long corridor hall. She could hear the steps of knightsing closer and closer. They have to leave now. But her heart is in a mess. She doesn¡¯t know anymore about what she wants. Is the present three years with him is worth to believe the current him and forget the past tragic 12 years? Eleanora sighed, The answer was clear in her mind. ...No, She can¡¯t believe him. She can forgive but not forget... She turns around too and both of them walked in the opposite way. Seems like two different paths really can¡¯t be one. When i loved you, you took me for granted... When i let you go, you beg me to love you again... Eleanora thought as she ride her own carriage, she needs to calm down for real. She can¡¯t do anything with this mentally of hers for now. She have to calm down and n for her future. ¡®Take the knight test, be a official knight, stop the war, cherish the people i love now and... Be the duchess!¡¯ Emperor Valerian has given her time till she will turn 16 to break of their engagement. So, she must find out the truth within that time and cancel the engagement. Be a knight, help the people and rule over her territory as the Duchess of Dalton. She might as well keep Ain with her as a knight. As the time passed by, he have be a really good friend of hers. He is young but promising. ¡®I miss you and ourte night conversations, Ain.¡¯ __ Cathain and Eleanora once again be awkward with each other. They passed by each other like strangers and it was only Cathain, who looked back at her. Just like how the past Eleanora kept following his shadow and stare at his back. She didn¡¯t dared to approch him thinking he might hate her even more if she does that. Like how the present Cathain doesn¡¯t dare to approach her in the same fear. Cathain returned to their tent where Eleanora was already sleeping. Because they had to prepare to go back in a hurry, they only bought a single tent for them as both of them had previously shared a room too. Eleanora¡¯s back was facing him and her shiny silver hair was spread all over the pillow. He subconsciously started to y with her hair and kissed it with a dejected sad eyes. It was killing him to stay away from her. Everytime she passed by him, it broke his heart into pieces to control the urge to run towards her and hug her. Asking her about what he did in the past that he couldn¡¯t remember yet. But he also feared her answer. What if she turns away from him and neveres back after she tells the truth? He rather kept believing her lies to keep her with him, then letting her go after telling the truth. Cathain couldn¡¯t stop his hands from moving and taking her into his arms gently to not wake her up. Eleanora¡¯s sleeping face came to his view and he smilled gently at her. ¡®You are finally in my arms without any struggle, no attempt to push me away... But i don¡¯t want it like this. I know am being selfish but i can¡¯t help it when ites to you... I just kept wanting for more and more. Just what should i do to keep you with me, My empress?¡¯ Cathain¡¯s eyelid¡¯s started to feel heavy but he still couldn¡¯t supress his fear about losing her. He can¡¯t help but think, What if she disappear again? ¡®Again?¡¯ As he was about to finally fall asleep, he felt sharp pain in his head. Like something was about to get into it. ..... Soon, Cathain found his vision go white from blurred and then finally a scene appeared in his mind. Chapter 72 72 Chapter 72 ~ ¡°Vision¡± Cathain slowly opened his eyes and found himself in another vision. As always, he is a spectator again. ¡®The surrounding looks familiar...¡¯ Soon, he recognised this ce. It was the emperor¡¯s room where his father stays now and he will stay in the future. It¡¯s design is updated and changed a little, so it took him some time to recognise this ce. Then, the sleeping twenty two year old Cathain came to his view. Beside him, a maid was cleaning the room. The maid looked rather familiar to him but he can¡¯t remember who is she. The maid looked around cautiously before she sat beside him and stroked his hair. Cathain was furious. How dare a mere maid touch him and why the older him isn¡¯t responding either. But then he noticed something was wrong. The maid wasn¡¯t just simply stroking his hair, she seem to put some magic spell on him. ..... Cathain moved a little closer to examine the maids face when he heard a little noise and turned his face around. ¡®Ele?!¡¯ Eleanora was standing at the door as she watched the older Cathain and maid being intimate. Without waiting for a moment, she turned around and left. Even if it was just a vision of the older him, Cathain felt his heart stop it¡¯s beating. ¡®No-She has misunderstood the situation...¡¯ At the same moment, the older Cathain had woken up too as soon as he felt Eleanora¡¯s presence. The maid who was sitting beside him was no where to seen either that Cathain was dumbstruck. ¡®She was right here- Where she is?¡¯ But it wasn¡¯t the time to think this, Along with the older Cathain, he rushed to Eleanora. Cathain was a little surprised when he finally saw Eleanora up to close, who had a huge belly. ¡®S-She is pregnant?¡¯ ¡°Empress! Walk slowly!¡± The older Cathain chased after her and caught her upper arm to stop her. Eleanora had tears filled up her beautiful blue eyes as she turned around to face the older Cathain. ¡°Please forgive me for disturbing your peaceful time, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Do you need anything? Why are you here at this time?¡± The older Cathain asked in an annoying tone as he couldn¡¯t understand what Eleanora meant. But the younger Cathain understood as he saw the scene earlier. To Eleanora, the older Cathain was with the maid where to older Cathain, he was resting alone. ¡°No... it¡¯s nothing. I will take my leave.¡± ¡°Empress, Don¡¯t be childish...¡± ¡°Yeah... Am the childish, unreasonable one!¡± Eleanora said with a expressionless tone and she was trying her best to control her emotions. ¡°Why are you reacting like this, Empress?!¡± The younger Cathain could feel something was wrong with both of them. Their magic aura wasn¡¯t stable and... both of them was aggressive. He couldn¡¯t understand the reason for both of them being so weird, they was getting annoyed and arguing over such a silly matter. Specially the older Cathain, there was something terribly wrong with his behaviour. ¡°There is no one with me and i was resting alone, Why are you making up things just to piss me off?¡± ¡°Yeah, I always make things up. Do you think i don¡¯t know about anything?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about what you are talking about. I think it¡¯s better you go back and rest!¡± ¡°So that you can continue to rest with that maid?¡± ¡°Empress! How dare you talk with me like this?!¡± ¡°I dared! What will you do with me? Put me in jail?¡± ¡°Empress... I order you to go back to your pce!¡± ¡°Go back to that abandoned pce? You don¡¯t let me stay with you so that you can continue to cheat on me, right?¡± ¡°Watch yournguage, Empress!¡± As the younger Cathain continued to watch them arguing, he reached a conclusion... ¡®There is someone who is trying to cut a sword with another. When both of them are fighting with each other, the third party will be benefited. But, how is it beneficial to someone by making a couple fight with each other?¡¯ Then a sudden realisation hit Cathain. ¡®Wait... She is pregnant! So, rather then using other methods which can be discovered... it¡¯s useful if they use the emperor, who won¡¯t be investigated!¡¯ Cathain was rather terrified by the master mind¡¯s n. Just how can someone be so cruel to make a father kill his children with his own hand? As the younger Cathain was lost in thoughts, he noticed a shadow behind the piller, who was watching as the older Cathain and Eleanora was arguing. The whole scene was full of loopholes. This is the emperor pce, so why is there no knights or maid at this time? Seems like someone deliberately staged this ce for something. The younger Cathain was about to see the face of the person behind the piller when he heard a yell. ¡°Aaah!!¡± ¡°Empress?!¡± Cathain¡¯s eyes widened in shock and he reacted earlier then the older Cathain to grab the falling Eleanora. But, he forgot that he was only a spectator. No one can see him and he can¡¯t change anything here either. What is supposed to happen will happen for sure. Cathain couldn¡¯t grab Eleanora and he could only watch as she rolled down from the stairs. Sheid in pool of her own bloods with a terrified expression on her face. The older Cathain was still too shocked to react as his whole body started to tremble. ¡°E-Empress...¡± ¡®Eleee!¡¯ The younger Cathain had tears in his eyes as he reached theying Eleanora. He tried his best to touch her,fort her but he couldn¡¯t. The older Cathain rushed to her and called for maids but no one answered. ¡°Empress... H-How... I didn¡¯t meant to... Hold-Hold on! Empress! Am calling for help right now!¡± He carried the Eleanora, who was crying in pain to his room. Her hands was protectively wrapped around her belly. Eleanora grabbed his shirt and was scratching his neck with her nails very sharply because of the pain. She was whimpering and The older Cathain gritted his teeth in helplessness. Earlier before he went to rest, He dismissed all the maids and knights for no reason. He doesn¡¯t even know why he did that and why Eleanora came to him right at this moment. Her scratching was so sharp that his neck was full of faint bloods but he didn¡¯t cared about that. All he had on his mind was how to help her and then finally some maid came. The maid that disappeared before was among of those helping maids too. The younger Cathain knew this maid was up to no good as she went in to help Eleanora. But there was no choice except watching that maid go in. As a spectator, he can¡¯t do anything here. The older Cathain stood outside of the door with a solemn face. The younger Cathain gritted his teeth and grabbed the older Cathain by his coller as he yelled at him. ..... ¡°Why? Why are you so cruel to her? Why can¡¯t you see their scheme?¡± The younger Cathain kept yelling at the older version of him, who didn¡¯t reacted to any of his words. Or because he couldn¡¯t react as he didn¡¯t heard any of his words. Cathain only stopped when he saw the maid came out with a sorry face. ¡°Your Majesty, Am sorry for your lose. The empress had miscarriage.¡± Both Cathain¡¯s eyes widened in shock. The younger Cathain fall on his knees where the older one kept standing. The older Cathain sighed a heavy breathe as he stepped into the room. ¡°Empress...¡± His voice was sad and heavy, he didn¡¯t knew how tofort her or say to her. Eleanora¡¯s eyes was lifeless and she didn¡¯t even looked at Cathain as she spoke. ¡°There is something wrong... My child wasn¡¯t dead until that maid feed me some medicines. She killed my child.¡± ¡°Empress, I know it¡¯s hard for you to ept this...¡± ¡°No, Your Majesty!! She killed my child!¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s better if you rest first. I will see youter.¡± Seeing the older Cathain turn back and leave the room, Eleanora stopped yelling andughed. ¡°So, you rather trust a maid then my words?¡± The younger Cathain couldn¡¯t see this anymore. His heart was heavy and he felt like he couldn¡¯t breathe anymore. ¡®Ele... Am sorry... Am sorry... I couldn¡¯t help you...¡¯ He left the room along with the older Cathain. The younger Cathain couldn¡¯t stop his tears. This must be the memories that Eleanora remembers and he forgot. This is why she hates him so much. There is no way he can make it up for her, no apology andpensation can bring back their dead child. Tears kept falling from his eyes and then he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. Cathain was shocked. Because, in his visions no one can see him and he can¡¯t be touched. Then how could the older Cathain touch him? The younger Cathain looked up and meet the sad red eyes of the older Cathain. Same sad red eyes that he once saw in his mirror along with the dark shadow. ¡°I couldn¡¯t see their scheme, this is why am letting you see this. Don¡¯t repeat my mistakes, Be good to her and cherish her... ...Which i failed to do.¡± Chapter 73 73 Chapter 73 ~ ¡°Substitute¡± In the middle of the night, Eleanora sensed Cathain¡¯s trembling body because he was hugging her to sleep. His grip was bing tighter around her body as he continued to frown in his dream. ¡®Is he having another vision?¡¯ Eleanora tried to move his hands away from her waist to weep his sweat but he held her more tightly. ¡°Am sorry... Am sorry... Ele.¡± Eleanora frozed and stayed still in his grip. She doesn¡¯t know why but every time Cathain address her as ¡®Ele¡¯, she recalls Ain. ¡®No, they can¡¯t be the same person. How can a crown prince like him disguise himself as a merchant just to teach me?¡¯ Eleanora sighed and managed to ce her palm over her head as she tried to calm him down. She stroked his ck hair untill he stopped frowning and sweating. ..... Her chilly ice magic aura soon calmed down his trembling hot body and his breathing be stable again. Cathain started to fall asleep and Eleanora felt sympathy for him. It was true that she suffered a lot because of him, but he is also suffering a lot now. Not remembering everything clearly... Bearing her hatred and pretense, where he knows she would just use him to discover the past as well cancel the engagement after that. And the most cruel part is, his feelings won¡¯t be returned back by her to him. At least for now... Struggling as he remembers the tragic past that he has no memory of... trying so hard to change. Make her believe in him again where she doesn¡¯t dare to trust his words even when she witnessed how changed he ispared to the past. Cathain was pathetic to Eleanora. A poor soul which have to bear the sins that he never did. Eleanora can¡¯t even forget the past or embrace the new future. If the past Cathain is someone who crushed her all hopes and dreams, then the current Cathain is someone who is luring her to dream again. Eleanora closed her eyes, she can¡¯t let him harm himself like this. She is no longer the 13-year-old innocent Eleanora that she was supposed to be. Her 22-year-old heart has tainted this young soul with hatred and coldness. The current 17-year-old Cathain is still pure and innocent, this is why he had to stay away from her. Otherwise, She might unknowingly change the past and drag him into her darkness. He is already having a hard time because of those past memories. ¡®What would he do once he remembers everything clearly? Or what does he want to do?¡¯ This was something Eleanora wanted to ask him everytime they meet but couldn¡¯t. Finally she fall asleep too... In the morning, they had to ride the carriage again to go back to the empire. Eleanora couldn¡¯t sleep well the previous night after she helped Cathain to sleep. She kept remembering about the past till morning, so she fall asleep right after she got into the carriage. The royal carriages stopped infront of the Dalton Duchy and Cathain got off from his carriage first to help Eleanora to get down. But seeing no oneing out from the carriage, he politely knocked. ¡°Eleanora... We have reached.¡± There was still no response, he knocked again before he opened the door to get in. What he saw after opening the door was her leaning over the window with her eyes close. She was tired because of the long journey so she was in a deep sleep. ¡°Your Highness... should we call a maid for help?¡± ¡°Sush!¡± Cathain gestured everyone to quite down as he get into the carriage and sat beside her after carefully closing the door. Rather then intending to wake her up, he want to wait and watch her sleeping peaceful face. Ain have seen her sleeping face quite a time, but it was the first time for Crown Prince Cathain see the sleeping face of his fiance. It was slightly dark inside the carriage as the curtains was down and all he could hear was her peaceful breathing and his fast beating heart. He carefully looked at her face and then his heart sank a little. The amount of time Ain had seen her face properly can¡¯t evenpare with the number of times Emperor or Crown prince Cathain has saw. Even though they were married, but the past him never once took a proper nce at her face like he does now. When they were in bed, all he could see was her white skin and his mind to calm down. Thinking of it, why did he always felt better when he was with her? Cathain was lost in thought when he suddenly felt Eleanora¡¯s body move andy on hisp instead. ¡®H-Huh?¡¯ Cathain couldn¡¯t breathe properly as she rested her head on his thigh and rubbed her face a little to feel morefortable. Cathain turned his eyes away with his hands wrapped around his red face. He gritted his teeth and groaned softly. He couldn¡¯t believe he could feel hot all over his body just by this. He felt his blood boiling as her breathe continued to fall on his skin. Sending a cold sensation which increased the heat in his body. After taking some few deep breathe and managed to regin hispuser as he looked at the small figure resting on hisp peacefully without having the slightest idea what she caused him. ¡®This is real tourture!¡¯ The sun shone through the crevic of the small window, and the cold made her tremble slightly. Eleanora¡¯s lips parted a little as she let out a heavy breathe in annoyed. Cathain smiled gently and started to stroke her hair as he continued to warm up her body with his mana. As her body be warmer, Eleanora started to sleepfortably again. ¡®Am sorry for everything, Ele... either i remember or not but because if it you have suffered a lot.¡¯ There was not a single vision of his where he found himself treating well like he does now, he didn¡¯t saw her smiling either... Cathain himself wanted to choke his older self to death in disgust and anger, not to mention the person who actually suffered all this. It¡¯s normal that Eleanora hated and loathes the current version of him. Because he is totally different from the past one. Maybe she remembers the past one everytime she sees the current him. ¡®Is there no way to make her forget that bastard and only remember the current me? I don¡¯t want her to remember orpare me with some other guys, even if it¡¯s my past self. Even if it¡¯s you hatred, i want to be the one who will recieve all of yours emotions. Hatredes from love and i don¡¯t want you to love the past me. I can ept your hatred and the fact that you might never love me again... but i can¡¯t ept the fact when i see your blue eyespare me with my past self.¡¯ Because it makes him feel like a substitute for his past self. But that doesn¡¯t mean he can let her go and find her happiness with another man. He will try his best to exceed her expectations about the type of man she likes. There will be no one but only him, who would suit her and he will make sure to do it. Eleanora can only choose the present Cathain, He won¡¯t allow her to dwell in the past, holding the past him in her heart in the name of hatred. ¡®I will save you in this life and chase you like you did to my past self. I will make you fall for me again.¡¯ Finally, Eleanora felt like someone was stroking her hair and subconsciously smiled as she called him. And the hands that was strocking her silver hair frozed. ¡°Ain... stop it, it¡¯s ticklish.¡± Chapter 74 74 Chapter 74 ~ ¡°Brother-In-Law¡± Everytime Eleanora used to fall asleep during her training time with Ain, he would stroke her hair like this. Eleanora liked the warmness that came from his fingertips, spreading throughout her whole body from her scalp. So in her sleep, she didn¡¯t thought much and subconsciously blurted out his name. Cathain¡¯s hands stopped and he wanted tough at himself. The current him can¡¯t evenpare to the random boy she befriended with... how will he make her forgot about the past him and ept the current him? ¡®Why my heart is aching...¡¯ ¡®...Stop it, I don¡¯t deserve to feel sad considering the amount of time i made her heart ache in the past.¡¯ Cathain pressed his palm on his aching heart and turned around. It really hurted... Meanwhile, Eleanora slowly opened her eyes and she was a little surprised to see him beside her, not knowing that she had subconsciously called out another man¡¯s name infront of him. ..... The warmth of her body from hisp soon faded away and Cathain was forced to face the reality once again. He hide the pain of his heart and cleared his throat to inform her that they have reached the duchy. ¡°We have reached the duchy...¡± ¡°Is that so? I bid you farewell then, Your Highness.¡± Eleanora bid him before she rushed to open the door and jump down. She looked d and happy. Jennie, Maria and other maids was waiting for her at the entrance. Even Dominic and Liana was with them. ¡°Lady, Wee back!¡± ¡°Elee!¡± The maids and Dominic called out for her and she happily ran into their arms to hug them. There was a bright genuine smile on her face, rather then the fake smile she shows to Cathain. Then Eleanora stood infront of Dominic, as she was waiting to be patted by him. In herst life, Eleanora never felt the family love. But now, Dominic and Liana is like a older brother and sister to her. ¡°Dom... Am back!¡± ¡°Yeah, Our little Ele is a year older now...¡± ¡°Y-You? you all remember my birthday?¡± ¡°Why won¡¯t we? Let¡¯s go, we have a surprise for you.¡± Dominic and Eleanora happily talked, not knowing the death res from Cathain. ¡®Dom? Ele?¡¯ ¡®Dare to pat my empress¡¯s head?¡¯ ¡®If i didn¡¯t knew you were cousin¡¯s, even i would think otherwise...¡¯ ¡®Wait, marriage between cousin¡¯s isn¡¯t banned in our empire...¡¯ If Cathain was hurting because of pain earlier then now he was burning in jealousy. In the end, Cathain couldn¡¯t help ande down with a smug look on his face. ¡°Birthday Party? How can i miss my empress¡¯s party as her one and only future husband?¡± Everyone¡¯s surprised gazed fall on him, specially the duchy¡¯s maid. ¡®One and Only husband?¡¯ How did the crown prince be so thick skinned after this trip? He already had a thick skin but it be more thicker now! Does this man not know that theirdy doesn¡¯t like him? Even they can feel it, then how can this man not? But, can they say no to him? Absolutely not till they want their head to be separate from their body. So they left the decision upon Eleanora. ¡°Your highness... Do you want to join us? Hearing Eleanora¡¯s question, Cathain came forward to her and bented down to meet her blue eyes. Eleanora was a little stunned because Ain used to do this too. He would always talk with her while bending down because he was too tall then her. ¡®Does this guys thinks am short?¡¯ The answer was clear, indeed she was shorter then them. She could hardly reach their shoulder with her head. ¡°Does my empress doesn¡¯t want me to join?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that... and am not-¡± ¡°Okay! Everyone except Brayden go back. I will go back after i spent some time with my wife!¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora clenched her fists and she badly wanted to punch this shameless man infront of her. ¡®So you will call me wife if i don¡¯t let you call me empress?¡¯ Cathain ignored Eleanora¡¯s res with a smiling doting face and then Dominic stepped in to greet him. ¡°I, The second prince of the Arendell, Dominic De Caisson Arendell greet-¡± Dominic couldn¡¯t finish his sentence as Cathain suddenly squeezed in between the empty space of Eleanora and him. He wrapped his hands around Eleanora¡¯s waist and looked at Dominic with a proud look. Dominic was stunned. Is this guy showing off because he jealous? Jealous of him... her own cousin? Does this dumbass crown prince thinks he loves his own cousin? ¡°No need to be so formal... Brother-inw.¡± ¡®B-Brother inw?¡¯ Everyone around Cathain was once again turned into stones. But Cathain didn¡¯t mind their gazes and gave a very big bright smile to Dominic as he dragged Eleanora inside the house. ¡°Does this guy sees me as a rival?¡± Dominic spoke to himself and Liana patted his shoulder and nodded. ¡°Indeed... he thinks you like Ele.¡± ¡°But am her... Wait, how did you knew what i was thinking?¡± ¡°If you speak so loudly, Everyone will hear you for sure, Second Prince.¡± Dominic looked around and was relieved to see no one else. Nobody heard him. ¡°Let¡¯s go in, Prince.¡± ¡°Wait...¡± Dominic caught Liana by her wrist and Liana looked at him with her confused caramel brown eyes. ¡°...Yes, Prince?¡± ¡°I told you to call me by my name when we are alone... Lennie.¡± Liana felt her breathe bing heavier under the prating gaze of Dominic¡¯s golden eyes, which seem to burn her up. Liana¡¯s head dropped down and she slowly removed her hands from his grip. ¡°I can¡¯t... I don¡¯t deserve it...¡± Right after saying this, Liana ran inside the mansion and hide herself in a corner. And Dominic kept staring at his empty hands. Just why she doesn¡¯t trusts him a little more and open up to him? Everything he is doing is for her. Was it only him who felt the chemistry between them? After closing the room door, Liana removed the veil from her head and her sparkling light blonde hair came out. ..... There was a mirror infront of her and seeing her own blonde hair, Liana felt disgusted. ¡®Only if i didn¡¯t had this hair colour then that man wouldn¡¯t recognised me, bring me back to ruin their happiness!¡¯ ¡®Only if i wasn¡¯t that man¡¯s daughter!¡¯ Tears kept dropping from her caramel brown eyes and Liana clenched her fists. She obviously knows how Dominic feels for her and can¡¯t deny that she have feelings for him too. In her past life, she spent her most of the time with Cathain, but she never genuinely liked him. She only saw him as a pawn toplete the dukes mission and avenge her sister, all the ves. Because to her, it was Eleanora and duke of Dalton who captured and killed the ves, including her sister. Only to know that she, herself was also a pawn to her father the duke. But everything was toote. The Dalton duchy was destroyed and Eleanora was executed, along with her baby. She couldn¡¯t fix it anymore or ask for forgiveness as the person no longer existed. In this life, she only wanted to help Eleanora and Cathain as she promised. She didn¡¯t wanted to see him miserable anymore because of her mistakes. Only the past Jena knows how pathetic Cathain was after Eleanora died. So, Liana never thought of her own future this time. She came to gave everyone there happy endings that they deserved, which she had previously snatched away because of her foolishness. Liana put on her veil and looked into the mirror with sorrowful sad eyes. ¡®Will you love me if you know about my horrible past?¡¯ ¡®Will you still love me if you know that... I killed you in my past life?¡¯ Chapter 75 75 Chapter 75 ~ ¡°Liana To Jena¡± As long as Liana could remember, she always roamed around the street, doing little works just for a piece of bread. Then suddenly one day, she was caught as a ve and had to work in a farm. She was not the only one, there was many more girls like her. It was where Liana meet her sworn older sister Jena. Liana and Jena be each others Lennie and Jennie as they started to spent more time together. Till one day, Jena was sent to the viscounts estate to work forcefully. Liana knew they wasn¡¯t taking her just as a worker. Liana promised Jena that she wille and find her again. While looking for her sister, her biological father, Duke Evan Raven found her. She only had one wish from her father, help her to find Jena. But it was toote... when she finally found Jena again, she was killed long ago as the ban for vesw was created. ..... She got to know from her father that it was the empress who proposed thew of ban ve system from this empire. As for those who was already a ve, Duke of Dalton killed them all under the emperors order. Obviously, Liana who never knew how politics worked trusted and believed her father¡¯s words. She wanted to avenge Jena and the other ves who was killed unjustly. From Jennifer Liana Raven, she be Jena; The mere pce maid. Unlike her older brother Cedric Raven, who had nature power as the duke; Liana had dark attribute powers. The duke had pampered her, loved her... she thought it was because she is his daughter. But the truth was cruel. He only liked her because of her usefulness, who trusted her father blindly. Jena started to control Cathain¡¯s mind and emotions, it was more easy as he was already poisoned for a long time. Duke Raven had colluded with Kingdom Rua and got a poison which had no antidote. Only pure holy powers could suppress it but not heal fully. Jena found it weird but as she continued to see how cruel Cathain and Eleanora was during meetings, she was sure her father had reasons. How can they threaten others to give in? Jena continued to control Cathain¡¯s mind as the duke kept mixing poison in both Cathain and Eleanora¡¯s food with the help of Eleanora¡¯s maid Rena. Eleanora suffered two miscarriages and Cathain¡¯s temper started to get worse. Finally the duke ordered Liana to sleep with Cathain to take advantage of the situation and get Eleanora out of their way. She killed her sister, so many people, it¡¯s only justify to redeem with her death. But no matter what, Liana found it disgracing to sleep with someone else man. She is doing it to avenge her sister but she can¡¯t disgrace her morals by this. In the end, Liana schemed up with duke to kill the Arindell kingdom¡¯s second prince Dominic and make the first princee to their side. Then fake a pregnancy and pretend to miscarry, make Cathain kill Eleanora so that no matter what, they won¡¯t be involved. The Dalton duchy will be destroyed too and then without any support, Cathain will fall from the throne. And after that? Her father will be the new emperor who will help the people, not forcing to ept like Cathain and Eleanora. But in the end, everything was just her father¡¯s n. She was no different from Cathain and Eleanora, she was also just a pawn like them. Eleanora was no more... Cathain had lost his mind... but what about her? How can she atone for her sins? What she thought of avenging was actually a clear murder n from the very beginning. Her father wasn¡¯t happy to see her, he was happy to find a solid pawn for his n. Because, like how she controlled Cathain, her father controlled and poisoned her too. Karma was really justified... she suffered the same pain that she gave them. After Eleanora died, Cathain pretend to be happy at first, only to slowly go crazy. Crazy to the point he frozed Eleanora¡¯s body so that he can see her. ... ¡°Your Majesty!! You need to escape! My dad is plotting to kill you!¡± Liana shouted at Cathain, who wasying beside the frozen body of Eleanora. It was not a new scene to Liana, so she wasn¡¯t shocked. ¡°Ele... what do you want to eat? Should i make you some hot soup? Your body is so cold!¡± ¡°Your Majesty!! Wake up!! You don¡¯t have the time to act crazy!¡± Liana yelled at Cathain as she grabbed him to get up. But he pped her away and Liana fall on the ground. Cathain¡¯s hair grew long as he didn¡¯t cut it since Eleanora died three years ago. He was still handsome, did his all works carefully like a sane person. So that afterpleting his work, he can spent time with Eleanora. Liana clenched her fist but before she could react, Cathain suddenly reached her neck. ¡°Wait... isn¡¯t this the empress ruby ne?¡± Liana stared at him and sighed. He has started to forgot things, he gave it to her the day he killed Eleanora. Without unlocking it first from her neck, Cathain just snatched it with a powerful force which made her neck bleed. But Liana didn¡¯t mind, it¡¯s nothingpared to the pain he is suffering now because of her mistakes. Cathain happily rushed to Eleanora with the ne in his hands. He gently put it on her neck which was attached with her body again by magic and admired how good it looked on her. ¡°Didn¡¯t you always wanted this, Ele? Am sorry... I didn¡¯t give it to you before. But now that i have give it to you... Can you please open your eyes?¡± ¡°Ele... Please?¡± ¡°Let me see your blue eyes one more time?¡± ¡°Last time?¡± Cathain¡¯s voice dropped and he kneeled down beside Eleanora¡¯s body as he gripped her hands. ¡°...I was wrong, Can you please pat on my head one more time? I have a terrible headache which never goes away...¡± ¡°Ele... Call my name onest time?¡± ¡°Please? Just once...?¡± Liana couldn¡¯t bear to watch it anymore, she turned her head around and wished she won¡¯t hear Cathain¡¯s beggings to a dead person anymore. But she can¡¯t avoid it either, it¡¯s her punishment for killing four innocent life¡¯s. Seeing that Eleanora was still not responding, Cathain put his hands on her slightly bulging belly. ¡°Baby? Can you tell your mom that dad is sorry?¡± ¡°Tell her to not be angry anymore...¡± ¡°Daddy won¡¯t ignore your mommy anymore. I will y with you after you are born, Okay?¡± ¡°Baby? Are you angry with daddy too?¡± Cathain kept talking nonsenses and Liana finally got up. She can¡¯t lose her mind now too. Liana reached out to grab Cathain, who was now kneeling beside Eleanora¡¯s dead body and pped him hard. ¡°Cathain De Valerian Valentino!! Wake up!! She is dead!! Your child is dead!! You killed them with your own hands!! I made you kill her!!¡± ¡°No-No-No, Ele is alive with our baby. She was talking with me even in this morning. She is just upset that i came back a littlete...¡± Liana gave him another hard p and shook him by grabbing his shoulders. ¡°I can¡¯t revive the death but i can at least save the living one. I have sent someone to release the duke. Now only you are left.¡± As soon as Liana mentioned about Alexander, he froze as he suddenly remembered everything. ¡°Yeah... Ele is dead... I killed her... Yes, I killed her with my own hands... hahhaahhaa! how could i forget this? I tortured and killed my own empress and child... how did i forgot? How dare i to forgot what i did to her?¡± ..... Cathain started tough as he finally remembered the cruel truth once again. Liana sighed, she doesn¡¯t have much time. Her father has already suspected her betrayal, so he rised the amount of poison she takes. Despite knowing that the food was poisoned, Liana kept taking it as her atonement for what she did to Eleanora and her babies, also to Dominic. It was her n to kill the already sick Dominic, destroy the duchy and kill Eleanora. She wanted to take revenge but ended up helping the culprit. ¡®I just need to make him get out of here safely and then... kill myself for atonement. I souldn¡¯t live... i don¡¯t deserve to live and be happy.¡¯ But then suddenly the door burst opened and hair like ming red firee to Liana¡¯s view. Chapter 76 76 Chapter 76 ~ ¡°Go Back To The Past¡± The man wore a ck cape, which covered his face and beside him, stood another person. Alexander¡¯s handsome face has aged a lot in just three years, he be thinner and weaker as he didn¡¯t had any will to live anymore. He felt like aplete failure, who couldn¡¯t save his wife or daughter. The moment Alexander¡¯s eyes fall on Eleanora¡¯s dead body, his body started to tremble. Eleanora was lying in the emperor bedrooms big bed where she couldn¡¯t even enter when she was alive. The room was filled with the flowers she liked. Laying peacefully wearing a gorgeous dress that she used to wear before she died. Her hair was neatlybed up and if Alexander didn¡¯t knew that she is dead, he would think that she is just sleeping. Alexander knelt down beside Eleanora as tears kept pouring out from his eyes. ..... ¡°Ele... Dad is sorry, Dad couldn¡¯t save you... Don¡¯t forgive me... Only if i had protected you better and earlier... take you out from here...¡± Alexander¡¯sst words made Cathain shiver. Take her out from here? From him? No, he can¡¯t allow that, but he is also too guilty to say that out loud to Alexander. He is the one who imprisoned him, killed his daughter and grandchild. It¡¯s normal that he won¡¯t want to keep her daughter near the person who murdered her. But Cathain can¡¯t help but feel heavy in his heart. After Eleanora¡¯s execution, he didn¡¯t let anyone to bury her or held her funeral. Everyone questioned him but he shut them all. At that time, he only wanted to keep her body in a corner for no reason. He didn¡¯t even visited the room where she was kept for the first few months. But gradually he started to look for the tiniest bit of things that proved the existence of a dead person. He would often talk to himself, thinking Eleanora was beside him. Or go to the abandoned pce which looks like aplete hunted house, full of darkness and spiderwebs. He moved her all belongings to his room and finally, moved her dead body to his room. Liana watched Cathain¡¯s all craziness, frustration, guilt and love for Eleanora. She saw how he used to cry like a madman in every night, screaming Eleanora¡¯s name. The more Liana saw Cathain going crazy slowly, the more guilty she be... it was a heavy feeling that she neither could take out or keep in. Liana had to live even if she didn¡¯t wanted to, where Cathain was living but no better then a dead person. Alexander wanted to see the ends of the people who ruined his daughter and wife, So despite wanting to die, he had to live too. Three people, who only wanted to die had to keep on living like a death person for years. They all had the same regret, if only they could save her... Then the person who was wearing the cape took it off and ming red hair came to Liana¡¯s view. ¡°D-Duke Richardo?¡± Alberto Dion Richardo just look at Liana with an empty gaze. He didn¡¯t wanted to talk much so he directly started the main point. ¡°Do you people want to save her?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Three people answered at the same time and Dion smilled. ¡°I can save her but i will need sacrificial souls... to turn back the time before it all happened.¡± Everyone¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, he can turn back the time? ¡°But... if we turn back the time without any memory, wouldn¡¯t we end up doing the same thing again?¡± Liana asked as she was unsure about this process. ¡°Only the one with strongest mana and power would be able to keep their memory. As an example, if you people turn back time, it will be Sir Alexander who will remember everything for sure. Try your best to not change the future much...¡± Dion exined but Liana still had her doubts, why would the duke of south wants to help them saving Eleanora? ¡°Duke... Why are you helping us?¡± ¡°Indeed, you are the only sane person here.¡± ¡°Tell me, whatever the price is, i will give you... including my life.¡± Dion¡¯s voice dropped as his eyes be full of sorrow and guilt. ¡°I don¡¯t want your life, Just... save my sister who was locked up with your sister too... she was abused and harmed,ter she...killed herself.¡± Dion¡¯s little sister, Diana Richardo was also locked up in the viscount ce along with Liana¡¯s sister Jena. Diana was abused and raped... after Dion found her, she was unable to be normal for years. And finally two months ago, she seed in her suicide attempt. Liana felt her heartache as she remembered about Jena... Yeah, she have to save her too and also, Dominic De Caisson Arendell... The man she schemed to kill so that her father would get Arendell¡¯s support. She have to save him this time too. Dion heavily sighed as he started to draw the magic circle and ced Eleanora in the middle of the circle. The next view shocked them, Dion had shifted to a wolf form and turned back to normal in the next second. So, the Richardo Dukedom of South never used their magic powers because they didn¡¯t had any attribute of magic powers from the beginning. Instead they were werewolves, blessed by the goddess of Moon, Selena. ¡°I won¡¯t have any memories of this but i will know for sure that i have used up my powers to turn the time back. So, i hope you will keep your promise to save my sister, My Queen.¡± Liana didn¡¯t liked when she was called queen but she just nodded in response. Then Dion started to talk about some details with Alexander when Cathain suddenly grabbed Liana in a corner. ¡°Your Majesty... what are you doing?¡± He had kneeled down infront of her with his head hanging low. Liana tried to stand him up but he didn¡¯t. ¡°Can you do me a favour?¡± ¡°Stand up first!¡± ¡°No, If the duke remembers everything, he will for sure keep Ele away from me... he will take her away. I know i sound unreasonable to want her again after how i have treated her, i will try my best to help myself but can you please at least help Ele?¡± Liana felt even more guilty as she remembered that she have a hand in for their tragic ending. If it wasn¡¯t for her, they would sure be a happy couple with their kids, right? Liana made Cathain stood up and patted his shoulder. ¡°Of course i will help you... this is what i should do. I am the one who snatched your love away, i will return her to you and also help you... I know i don¡¯t deserve to ask for forgiveness but i want to atone by this.¡± After saying this, Liana turned her head back... she couldn¡¯t face Cathain anymore, she is too guilty to even ask him to consider her as a friend at least. When they returned, Alexander looked at them with clear disgust and hatred. ¡°Let¡¯s start the process...¡± Alexander asked Dion as he stood in the magic circle and he informed them about the beginning of the destruction of this world. But then, Dion suddenly paused. ¡°Wait... we need total five sacrificial including me...¡± They were only four persons... so where could they find another person right now? They also need to hurry up in case the Duke¡¯s peoplee in and catch them. But then suddenly someone came in and everyone was shocked because they didn¡¯t expected that person. That person¡¯s eyes fall on the magic circle and a smile was seen on his face. ..... They be terrified as they thought he was here to expose them and be wary. The person sighed as he saw the wary look in their eyes and started to speak in a cold but serious voice, which presented his firm will to save Eleanora. ¡°I will be the fourth sacrificial... Let¡¯s go back to the past to save our abandoned empress.¡± Chapter 77 77 Chapter 77 ~ ¡°Awkwardness¡± Right after returning home, Eleanora started to prepare for everything more urately as The Crown Prince was here with them also. Who knows that he will not execute them if the food isn¡¯t to his likings? So Eleanora personally watched over everything, where Cathain was taking stroll across the garden like it was his own home. Cathain paced back and forth in the garden alone and Brayden was feeling dizzy because of it. He recalled Ain, the person she called in her dreams. How can he solve this? The current him even ranks low then the past him in her heart. At least she hates that Cathain where she treats the current him like air. Where Ain is a especial existence to Eleanora. The way she called his name in her sleep with a natural smile showed that she cared and held deep affection for her. ¡°Your highness, Are you still thinking about that? Just be honest with her.¡± ..... Brayden knew Cathain would be caught one day like this. He doesn¡¯t understand just why Cathain disguise himself to get close with his own fiance? Cathain started scratch his neck again... If he tells the truth what will happen? In the worst case of scenario, Alexander will cut his neck off because he made his daughter cry. ¡®Wait... The duke ising back soon!¡¯ Cathain almost forgot that border relief delegation will being back at anytime soon. He had used the duke as an excuse to get close with Eleanora. When the duke returns, his disguise will be exposed too. ¡®No, I need to hurry up and think something.¡¯ ¡°Brayden! Go back to the pce.¡± ¡°Okay... Wait, Aren¡¯t youing?¡± Brayden looked at Cathain in disbelief. This man isn¡¯t thinking about doing that again right? But Cathain¡¯s firm and serious face told him that his assumption is true. ¡°Okay. Your highness.¡± ____ ¡°Mydy!¡± ¡°What Jennie?¡± ¡°The Crown Prince went back!¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora clenched her fist to controll her anger. If he wanted to go back then why did he stayed at the first ce? Just to make her prepare everything in vain? Dominic who was secrectly tasting Eleanora¡¯s dishes put down his te and sighed. ¡°Calm down, Ele... We can just eat it all.¡± Hearing Dominic¡¯s words, Eleanora calmed down a little. She just felt a little unhappy because she prepared everything just for him. Cathain had helped her so much and also protected her in the Rua Kingdom. ¡®I just wanted to pay back his favour, nothing else.¡¯ After finishing her cookings, Eleanora went back to her room to take a bath and change her clothes. But as soon as she closed the door, she felt a hand wrapping around her waist and be surprised. ¡®Cathain?¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s heart skipped a beat as she heard him uttering her name. ¡°Ele...¡± ¡°...Ain?¡± ¡°Who else if not me?¡± Eleanora sighed, how could she mistook this two person always? ¡°How did you knew that i was back?¡± ¡°Heart to Heart connection. You came to my dreams and informed me about your arrival.¡± ¡°Eww, So cheesy...¡± Eleanora spoke as she patted Ain¡¯s cheeks and he burried his face on her neck. ¡°Go away, Pervert! Am sweating.¡± ¡°No, you smell good.¡± ¡°You mean my sweat?¡± ¡°...¡± Ain reluctantly let go of Eleanora and she turned back to face his blonde hair again. But for a moment, what Eleanora saw wasn¡¯t Ain¡¯s blonde hair but Cathain¡¯s ck hair and red eyes. Eleanora immediately backed off and blinking her eyes, she saw Ain¡¯s worried face. ¡°Ele, What¡¯s wrong?!¡± ¡°Nothing... Wait for me, I will take a quick shower.¡± ¡°Umn, Okay.¡± After Eleanora left for shower, Cathain stared at his empty hands and clenched it. ¡®You epted Ain so easily, So why can¡¯t you ept me? I won¡¯t be the same person anymore. Am different from the man who hurted you...¡¯ Cathain felt a throbbing pain in his chest andughed at himself for bing so low. Never once he thought that he will be like this one day because of a girl. Eleanora finished her bath quickly and came out to chat with Ain, but he had disappeared once again. As usual, Eleanora found the little note which Ain left and a sudden realisation hit her. She doesn¡¯t know a single details about Ain except his name and that he is a merchant. It¡¯s always him whoes to her first and she was so lonely at that time that she didn¡¯t cared about his identity. Eleanora wanted to ask him more about him, but she is also afraid what if he doesn¡¯t likes it and doesn¡¯t talk with her anymore? What if he finds her noisy and boring? ¡°Mydy?! Are you done?¡± Jennie¡¯s sudden call bought back Eleanora¡¯s sense and she kept the little note left by Ain into her drawer. During the whole house party, Eleanora could feel the awkwardness between Dominic and Liana. And this went on for the next few days too. Then Eleanora received a letter from the emperor to visit him. ¡®Does he want to ask me about the failure of negotiations with Kingdom Rua?¡¯ After thinking a while, this is the only conclusion she could reach. A sudden ne to Eleanora¡¯s mind and she whispered her n to Jennie. The entertain lover Jennie could never miss the opportunity to take part in a drama, so she agredd with Eleanora¡¯s n. ¡°Brother Dom!!! I wanna go to the market!!¡± ¡°Why so suddenly, Ele?¡± ¡°I have to buy something for the emperor!! He called me to the imperial pce tomorrow!¡± ¡°About Kingdom Rua?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know... Let¡¯s go!!¡± ¡°Okay... Am idle now anyway.¡± ¡°Then am going to get ready a bit... how about you call Lennie in the meantime?¡± ..... ¡°...¡± Eleanora winked at him and there was no way Dominic couldn¡¯t understand her hint. He sighed before he went upstairs to Liana¡¯s room. ¡°Ahem... Liana? We are going to market, Do you want toe?¡± He knocked twice but there was no response. Then he suddenly heard a loud sound. ¡®Did something happened to her?¡¯ Without thinking twice, Dominic broke into her room with an anxious feeling. ¡°Liana?! Are you okay...¡± Both Dominic and Liana stared at each other with a dumbfounded look. Liana¡¯s body was wrapped in a bath towal and she was bending down to pick the lotion bottle that she dropped. She just had a bath so she didn¡¯t put on a veil either, her light blonde hair was shining like gold under the faint sunlight that came from the window behind her. Dominic couldn¡¯t take away his widened golden eyes from hers and gulped his saliva. His bing more redder and redder. It was the first time that he clearly saw Liana¡¯s face and hair. She always dressed up conservatively, so he never saw her skin this much. ¡®S-She is so beautiful...¡¯ But then Liana grabbed the lotion bottol and throw it on Dominic¡¯s direction. ¡°Pervert!! Where are you staring at!!¡± Chapter 78 78 Chapter 78 ~ ¡°Crown Princess¡¯s Man¡± ¡®Why did the atmosphere be more awkward now?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she saw the two person beside her behaving weird. The two royal guards who also followed them to the market felt it too. ¡°Ahem! Lennie?¡± Liana, who was in a daze because she felt embarrassed to face Dominic, panicked at the sudden call of Eleanora. ¡°Y-Yes? Princess?¡± ¡°Umm... Jennie gave me a list of things she wants you to buy for her.¡± ¡°What does sister wants? It will be time waste if you guys continue to follow me, So how about i go alone and buy it?¡± Liana suggested as all she wanted was to stay farther away from Dominic, who stayed silent all the way. ..... ¡°You are right but i can¡¯t let you go alone, Dom should apany you! What do say?¡± ¡°I-I... Of Of course i can!¡± Dominic was hesitating for a moment before Eleanora stomped on his feet to agree. Thus, Eleanora and the royal knights went in one way and Dominic, Liana went in anothet way. Eleanora kept on walking as she particrly had no interest to buy something for the emperor, lest he thinks her as a perfect daughter inw. But then she heard amission which wasn¡¯t too far away from her. The two royal guards wanted to stop her and tell her to avoidmission¡¯s but Eleanora moved before they could stop her. ¡°How dare you to dodge a noble¡¯s punishment?!¡± ¡°Apologise right now!¡± Eleanora was a little stunned to hear such a loud yell. Why does she always encounter noble bullying themoners everytime she wents out? But as always, she couldn¡¯t ignore this and decided to take a look. ¡®Who is so stupid? Hit them first and then tell them to apologise?¡¯ As Eleanora nced at the pot bellied man who fall on the ground, she immediately recognised him. ¡®Another corrupted noble under Duke Raven.¡¯ The squatting pot bellied old man was Baron Gold, who worked under Duke Raven. But then a chilly yet familiar voice caught Eleanora¡¯s attention. ¡°Didn¡¯t you fall on your own? Why do i have to apologise?¡± The tall young man whose half of the face was covered because of his long ck cape was no other then Cathain in disguise of Ain. Eleanora was taken aback a little because of Ain¡¯s chilly cold voice, which she have never heard. Ain was always gentle and soft in her mind. So, suddenly hearing his chilly voice somehow reminded her of the past Cathain. Cathain spoke haughty words like baron Gold, the word of someone who looks down on others. ¡®Your child will never be my heir, Empress...¡¯ Eleanora shuddered as she recalled the past and immediately shook her head to remove those memories from her mind. ¡®Why is Ain here now?¡¯ Cathain was mixed up in his emotions. He wanted Eleanora to love Cathain not Ain, but he also didn¡¯t had any rights to say that. If he tells her now that he is Ain, he might lost hisst hope to stay with her but as soon as the dukees back, he will be terribly exposed. With everything in his mind, he didn¡¯t dared to face Eleanora thinking he might lost his sense and do something which he might regret. ¡°You... You lowlymoner!! How dare you to speak to a noble man like this?¡± Baron Gold¡¯s shout took out Eleanora from her daze and she focused on the situation. Either It¡¯s height or physique, Both Cathain and Ain are really familiar... but their appearance, status and behaviour is not. Ain is friendly, funny, supportive, easy to get along, also a little cheesy and flirty. Where Cathain is possessive, ruthless, domineering, cold, hard to understand and also supportive. Eleanora felt a weird emotion as she recalled how Cathain had defended her at the negotiation meeting. But then she sighed. ¡®Don¡¯t let it move you again, lest it hurt you again.¡¯ Seeing the unbothered Cathain, Baron Gold¡¯s body started to shake in anger as he spoke. ¡°You inferior! What can you do to me?¡± ¡®Should i just kill him?¡¯ Cathain coldly looked at the shaking Baron and thought to himself as he didn¡¯t noticed Eleanora¡¯s arrival at the scene. ¡°Seize this insolentmoner!¡± ¡®It will be hard to kill him once i put him in jail.¡¯ Cathain was lost in thought as he recognised this man from his dream, Baron Gold who wouldter try to steal money from the treasury and me Duke Dalton for it. Baron Gold¡¯s guards was about to rush in to catch Cathain but they suddenly couldn¡¯t move. ¡°STOP!!¡± All of them be surprised at the sudden shout and as they looked down, they was even more stunned to find their feet frozen. ¡®I-Ice magic? But Duke Dalton isn¡¯t here...¡¯ The guards looked up and their assumption was true. It was the duchy¡¯s one and only Princess, The only saintess of this empire as well the future empress. Eleanora Ariande La Dalton. The only person who have this rare ice magic after Duke Alexander Dalton. Eleanora stood infront of Cathain, who stood a fit taller then her and bearly reached his chest. ¡°You...¡± Cathain murmured lowly as he was taken aback because of Eleanora¡¯s sudden appearance. Eleanora heard his soft murmuring and turned her head back. With a smiling face, she reassured him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will protect you.¡± Cathain felt his heart skip a beat at her smiling face and gentle blue eyes that he rarely sees as the crown prince and clenched his fist. ¡®Don¡¯t be happy... this smile is not for you but for Ain. Her one and only friend.¡¯ ¡°Y-You are crown-crown princess?¡± Eleanora frowned a little. She didn¡¯t like being called the crown prince but she have to take advantage of this for now. ¡°Yes I am and also¡± Eleanora replied in a cold and chilly voice which exactly sounded like Alexander, then suddenly paused in the middle of her sentence. The crowd shuddered in fear amd started to talk among themselves. ¡°I am Eleanora Ariande La Dalton, The daughter of Duke Dalton and the Only Saintess of this empire.¡± ¡°Y-Yes... I-I greet the crown p-princess, the saintess of this empire, Lady Dalton.¡± ¡°I know you Baron Gold, raise your head up.¡± ¡®Huh? The Crown Princess of this empire knows me?¡¯ A smrik appeared on Baron Gold¡¯s face as he thought about something. ¡®Ah ha, this should be fun if i know how to use my words cleverly... she is only a 13 year old kid.¡¯ ¡°This is truly an honour to meet herdyship here... this must be fate.¡± Baron Gold extended his palm towards her to ce her hands on his for a greeting kiss which was very normal at the empire. Eleanora was also aware of this custom so she was about to ce her hands on his palm when she suddenly felt a strong grip over her palm from behind. As Cathain was taller then her, so no one saw him gripping her hands tightly as he entangled their fingers together so that she won¡¯t be able to break free. He lowered his head a little and whispered lowly. ..... ¡°Don¡¯t give your hands to anyone to kiss it. I don¡¯t like it...¡± Eleanora¡¯s ears instantly turned red as he finished his whispering and stood still like he has done nothing. ¡®Why is my heart beating so fast...¡¯ But soon Eleanora remembered the day when she was about to ce her hand on Rua¡¯s prime minister¡¯s hand to kiss, Cathain did the same thing. ¡®Why both of them are so familiar.¡¯ A unknown pain and fear started to grow inside of her heart but she shook the idea off. It was fully impossible. ¡®They are not the same person. They can¡¯t be.¡¯ But unknown to Eleanora, her act looked like she was looking down on the Baron by not giving her hand to him. Baron Gold took away his hands and gritted his teeth in anger. A mere child dared to disrespect him? ¡°Yourdyship... why are you here?¡± Eleanora, who was currently annoyed because of the risen suspicions about Ain in her heart red at the Baron coldly and started to speak. ¡°Because am very PISSED OFF on your behaviour.¡± ¡°W-What do you mean...mydy ship?¡± Baron Gold was stunned because of the sudden change in Eleanora, who looked no lesser scary then Alexander himself. ¡®Am very angry now... he is a bad person so, i might as well vent my anger on by teaching him a lesson to not trample on the weak anymore.¡¯ ¡°You... A mere Baron, Dare to disrespect and harm MY MAN?!!¡± ¡®... Her Man?¡¯ Cathain¡¯s face instantly turned red as he heard Eleanora dering him boldly as her man, where the crowd fell speechless. ¡®T-The crown princess¡¯s Man?¡¯ Chapter 79 79 Chapter 79 ~ ¡°Obsessed Eyes¡± Cathain felt his cheeks burn and his heart beating faster after Eleanora¡¯s bold deration. ¡®Being her man, doesn¡¯t sound bad....¡¯ ¡°I lied about you being my servert... in order to save you, hope you won¡¯t mind.¡± Eleanora lowly whispered to the blushing Cathain, who felt like he has been crush by a rock after hearing her words. ¡®Ah... her man as a ¡®servant¡¯, not as a ¡®lover¡¯...?¡¯ ¡°Got it?¡± ¡®I misunderstood again...¡¯ ¡°The man you just picked on is the knight my father arranged for me before he left, to protect me secretly in crowd!¡± Both Baron Gold and Cathain was shocked upon hearing Eleanora, not to mention the dumbfounded crowd and the royal knights who knew nothing about this. ..... ¡®What the?¡¯ ¡®Herdyship the crown princess had a secret knight?¡¯ ¡®Huh?¡¯ ¡®Seriously?¡¯ Both Sir Anthony and Sir Raymond was shocked upon hearing this. They had been beside her for almost three years but never once they have noticed this young secret knight. Then where did this secret knight came from? But Baron Gold, who didn¡¯t knew about this was easily fooled by Eleanora and started to shiver. ¡°Do you think you can mess around with Dalton knights, Baron Silver or whatever?¡± Eleanora spoke in a cold and intimidating voice but didn¡¯t noticed the upset Cathain behind her who let out a pitch ck aura from him. ¡®A guard??!!¡¯ ¡®I was hoping she would say am her lover, Ah no, Man... Ugh! Whatever...! What¡¯s wrong with me nowadays?!¡¯ But Baron gold wasn¡¯t someone to let it slight easily, especially after he was being humiliated by a mere girl! How dare a girl talk back against a man like this?! ¡°Who... messed with who? Huh! He should be punished as he pushed a noble!¡± Both Eleanora¡¯s and Cathain¡¯s eyes turned dark as they saw Baron Gold running off his mouth where he should have just stayed silent. Actually, The one who picked a fight first was Baron Gold. ¡°Did you see that blonde man?¡± ¡°Kya!! Even his cloak can¡¯t hide his beauty!!¡± Baron Gold couldn¡¯t ept the fact as a noble that amoner can be this attractive to take away the attention of a nobles arrival. So he used his status to bully Cathain who was in disguise of Ain. Of course Cathain wouldn¡¯t let him bully him, so he wanted to teach him a lesson but Eleanora came to protect him. Or actually worsen the situation a little bit? ¡°Youdyship, how can you ask me to apologise to amoner like him?¡± Baron Gold expressed as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly. ¡°This brat is obviously rebellious!!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Can¡¯t we just solve it by putting him in prison and torture him to get some information?¡¯ ¡®There is no point of quarreling with this fat pig.¡¯ Cathain thought in his mind but Eleanora just kept silent as she narrowed her blue eyes. Haizz... Eleanora sighed and finally decided toy low as the crowd was getting bigger. ¡°Can you let it slide this time? My knightes from the countryside, so he doesn¡¯t know much about manners.¡± ¡°??!!¡± Cathain was dumbstruck as he was forced to have another background as a country boy... who seem to have sell apples and cow milk?! ¡°Of course, it¡¯s my fault to not teach him properly.¡± Baron Gold felt proud as he thought Eleanora was finally being humble... if he could get some money from her... But soon his dreams to get money was crashed by Eleanora as she started to speak again. ¡°Abuse me then!¡± ¡°Abuse me the way you did to my guard!!¡± ¡°?!¡± Cathain waa stunned. Was she... sharing good and bad with him... like how husband and wife do? Where Baron Gold Panicked. ¡°How... How can i do that to yourdyship?¡± ¡®She is more dangerous then she looks... One that people would choose to not mess with. But weirdly that attracts me more towards her...¡¯ Cathain nced at Eleanora who spoke in a way that made the crowd think that it was Baron Gold who is making it hard for a little girl. Where she is the actual one who is pushing him to surrender. ¡®This little bitch! She knows i can¡¯t do that to the crown princess, let alone her being thedy Dalton and the saintess!¡¯ ¡®Damn it!¡¯ But Baron Gold had no choice but to give up and surrender to Eleanora. Like he did before with Ain because he was the superior. Eleanora was the superior of him here despite her being younger. ¡°I have made a mistake, Please forgive me mydyship, the crown princess.¡± Baron Gold apologised but Eleanora wasn¡¯t satisfied with it. ¡°The one you should apologise to is my guard, not me...¡± Baron Gold put on a dumbfounded look while clenching his fist like he had misunderstood Ain. ¡°Haha... I think it was only a misunderstanding of mine... Hahaha...¡± ¡®Damn it! Why do i have to apologise to a Commoner?!¡¯ ¡®He¡¯s insolent since he has this little bitch backing up for him! This bastard!¡¯ But then he was surprised as Cathain¡¯s killer gaze fall on him, which seem to pierce him into pieces. ¡®What¡¯s with those eyes...??!¡¯ ¡°Please...please excuse me...¡± ¡®You are Baron Gold right? I will remember you, dare to make my girl talk so long?¡¯ Cathain was fuming in anger and watch as the baron fleed in panick. ¡°Ain... my hand hurts...¡± Eleanora spoke in a low voice and Cathain finally remembered that he was holding her hands. ¡®Oh shit!¡¯ ¡°Am... Am sorry, Are you okay?¡± ¡°Yeah am okay. You must have been very scared.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I thought something might happen to you...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Did she thought i was bullied by that man?¡¯ ..... Although it was a little disgrace for him if he let her think of her as a weak man... but being protected by her feels good too. And... one should take advantage of the situation, Right? Eleanora was a little stunned to see him staying silent, which Ain rarely does. ¡®Why is he silent so suddenly? What is he thinking?¡¯ But then she felt goosebumps as Cathain narrowed his eyes and took her hands into his hands again. Cathain removed his cloak from his head, revealing his handsome face and moved closer to Eleanora. Eleanora, who was dumbstruck, took a step back but Cathain wrapped his hands around her waist to prevent her falling down. ¡°Yourdyship, Thank you for saving me.¡± ¡®Oh...?¡¯ ¡°Ohhh myyy!!! Kyaaa!!!¡± Their scene was like a romantic scene about ady who protected her knight, to the onlookerdies. But Eleanora was shocked to find Ain being so obedient all of a sudden. ¡®Is this the same man who goes around calling me Ele all day?¡¯ For the first time, Eleanora felt like she was getting dragged into something... which is going to devour herpletely. ¡°I was confused a little because i am a lowlymoner, Fortunately yourdyship has shown up.¡± ¡°...Okay, Okay, Stand up...¡± Eleanora retreated her eyes from him and wanted to take away her hands from his grip. But then Cathain¡¯s lips curled up as he loosened his grip a little from her waist to let her sway a little then tighten his grip over her waist again. ¡°Ah... Oh, Thank y-¡± Eleanora froze. Seeing Ain up so close, she finally found what was the only simrity in Cathain and Ain. ¡®Their gaze...¡¯ Both of their gaze was the same... which wanted to possess her, have her and devour herpletely into them. Full of obsession and desire to possess her. Chapter 80 80 Chapter 80 ~ ¡°Jealous¡± Eleanora quickly pushed off Ain as she felt her heart stopped it beatings. She feared that her suspicion mighte true if she kept looking into his eyes. ¡®No it can¡¯t be true... it can¡¯t happen with me. I finally found a friend whom i can talk to, share my opinions with. Ain and i share same thoughts, which the crown prince and i didn¡¯t...¡¯ Eleanora suddenly paused in her thoughts as a sudden realisation hit her. ¡®Did he and i really shared no familiar thoughts?¡¯ In the past, no matter either it was a war strategy or a border negotiation, Eleanora and Cathain shared the same thought. Make the other party submissive... Obey willingly or forced to obey. First, use negotiation as an excuse to make them obey...if it didn¡¯t worked then, use force to make them obey with superior power. Although it bought prosperity for the empire and good life formoners, but it made their, especially Eleanora¡¯s charecter as a tyrant empress who was cruel in both battlefield and strategy to the people. ..... Eleanora felt her body go numb and Cathain clenched his fist when he saw the rejection look in Eleanora¡¯s eyes. But before he could do anything, the rushing Liana and Dominic called out for her. ¡°Eleanora!¡± ¡°Brother Dom? Lennie?¡± Eleanora approched them and Dominic looked around as he found something was not right. ¡°What happened Ele? Are you allright?¡± ¡°Yeah Brother. It was just some fly¡¯s causing trouble here and there.¡± ¡°...¡± The royal knights was speechless. The scene which happened here just now was no normal scene okay? You almost cheated on our crown prince with this countryside secret knight in broad daylight! But they can¡¯t speak that out loud, so they choosed to stay silent. Their crown prince, who asks for a report everyday about the crown princess might kill them if he heard this. But they also can¡¯t hide it right? So one of them have to go forward to ask her about this apple selling countryside boy. ¡°Ahem... Your Ladyship, Can you please exin this to us?¡± ¡®So that we can save our head from the crown prince¡¯s sword?¡¯ ¡°Yeah, Your Ladyship, what is the whole thing about?¡± Both Sir Anthony and Raymond asked one after one to Eleanora. Then Dominic and Liana also noticed the boy who was standing behind of Eleanora, He didn¡¯t looked like a normal mercenary at all. They narrowed their eyes as they started to examine Cathain. ¡®This guys doesn¡¯t have magic powers? But why does this normal thing feels weird?¡¯ Dominic thought. The magic stones that Liana, Dominic and Eleanora used was great but it wasn¡¯t as pure as the red magic stone which Alexander gave to Cathain. [At first when Cathain saved Eleanora from theke after Eleanora¡¯s rebirth, Alexander had ordered his aid Raynor to sent a gift to Cathain, thanking him for saving Eleanora. So that magic stone was the gift which Alexander sent to settle scores, but ended up giving Cathain an opportunity to get closer with Eleanora] ¡°Let¡¯s go back first, i will exinter.¡± Seeing the crowd around them and her previous intimate posture with Ain, which was easy to misunderstand... Eleanora got into the carriage first as she spoke. ¡®But... why are you all here?¡¯ Eleanora nced at the two people infront of her whose face was like ¡®tell us now¡¯ and the person beside her who was like ¡®it has nothing to do with me¡¯. ¡°Ele... tell us now.¡± ¡°Hahaa... Can¡¯t we wait till we reach home?¡± ¡°No!¡± Both Dominic and Liana spoke in unison, making Eleanora fell speechless. After reaching the duchy in a short time, Eleanora was once again crowded, who demanded an exnation. ¡°Well Sorry... i didn¡¯t introduce him sooner to you guys.¡± Eleanora started to speak and the four people infront of her was so concentrated on her that she felt goosebumps. ¡°He is the guy whom father decided on to help me train swordmanship before he left...¡± ¡°...¡± Both Anthony and Raymond felt like their soul left their body. Anthony, the usual quiet guy burst out for the first time in his life because he didn¡¯t wanted to die yet and Raymond caught him so that he doesn¡¯t fall. ¡°It¡¯s impossible!!! We guarded you for the past three years but we never once saw this guy before!! Where the heck this man came from? Our crown prince is more handsome then this guy!!¡± ¡°Wait, Mydy... are you telling us this guy helped you to train for the past three years?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not the point... you were really learning swordmanship?¡± ¡®We are dead today...¡¯ How are they supposed to report that, theirdy has been training swordmanship for the past three years in secret, not to mention the mentor being a young handsome guy? The crown prince has ordered them to keep away even male animals from the crown prince, where she meet up and train with an actual male for the past three years? And that too amoner who doesn¡¯t look like one? Unlike the two overly stunned knights, Dominic and Liana was different. ¡®Even though he dresses like a mercenary but his aura is really different and elegent. Just who is he?¡¯ Dominic was busy in sizing up Ain where Liana narrowed her eyes in suspicions. There would be no way Cathain wouldn¡¯t know that a guy was training Eleanora and let it continue. Even if the present Cathain doesn¡¯t remember anything but knowing how possessive and obsessed the past Cathain was... even if the world changes, but his personality wouldn¡¯t. [To Liana, The current Cathain doesn¡¯t remember anything as when they was doing the sacrificial, Duke Richardo had said only the person with most magic power would remember everything. At that time, because Cathain was using his own magic powers to keep Eleanora¡¯s dead body froze and her head attached with her body, his magic power was lesser then Alexander and Liana.] Liana was lost in thought where Raymond was holding the almost fainted Anthony, Dominic trying to understand the situation and Eleanora was trying to exin. ¡°Okay okay... let¡¯s go in first and the discuss!¡± Eleanora said as she went inside first to get out of this mess. The knights looked at Ain with disdain but they was shocked to find the powerful superior aura that wasing out from him. ¡®We have to report this to the prince...¡¯ Anthony and Raymond followed Eleanora in along with the Dominic who was curious about the guy who was aiming after his cousin. So it was only Liana and Cathain left at the entrance, with an awkward silent. ¡°I didn¡¯t expected to meet you here like this, Your highness the... Crown Prince.¡± Hearing Liana, Cathain smriked and looked into Liana¡¯s caramel brown eyes and spoke in a low voice that only Liana could hear. ¡°Yeah... i also didn¡¯t expected to meet the dead ducal daughter, Jennifer La Liana Raven.¡± Liana¡¯s eyes widened in shock and her heart felt like it stopped it¡¯s beatings. How did he figured out her real identity? Her hair is hidden and changed coloured, even her father didn¡¯t found her yet in this life and there is also no record about her. Then how did he found out? Does he remember the past? But that seems impossible. But she can¡¯t deny that possibility either. Seeing the dumbstruck Liana, Cathain was satisfied as he avoided the danger. ¡°I hope a happy corporation with you, Lady Raven.¡± Cathain spoke before he entered the mansion with a carefree mind. Now that both of them knew each other¡¯s secret, he doesn¡¯t have to think much about her exposing him to Eleanora. But then he was suddenly pulled into a side with his back pinned down against the wall. He looked down and meet Eleanora¡¯s angry fierce blue eyes. ..... ¡°What were you talking for so long with Lennie?¡± ¡°Pfff-¡± Cathain was stunned for a moment but then he chuckled a little. He liked this feeling and look in her eyes. ¡°Why are youughing?¡± ¡°Nothing...¡± ¡°Stay away from Lennie... My brother likes her. You better forget about her!¡± Cathain¡¯s lips curled upward as he observed Eleanora¡¯s facial expression and feel the change of emotions on her because of their magic bond which Eleanora doesn¡¯t feel yet. Eleanora was getting more angry because of hisck of attention. She was about to yell at him again when Cathain suddenly bend down to meet her eyes and whispered to her in a low husky voice. ¡°...Are you jealous, My empress?¡± Chapter 81 81 Chapter 81 ~ ¡°Eyes Never Lies¡± On the other hand, Liana was absorbed into thinking how Cathain caught her identity. Even if he remembered the past, it wasn¡¯t easy to find her real identity this soon. Liana nced at the mirror infront of her and was lost in it for a long time, then sighed. ¡®As expected of him, eyes never lies.¡¯ The only thing that was simr to her past self was her physical appearance. She hide her face and hair but she can¡¯t hide her eyes. Just like how the past Cathain was poisoned and controlled by the Duke Raven but still, his consciousness tried it¡¯s best to fought against it. But in the end, he couldn¡¯t win. No matter how heavily he was controlled and his mentality broke down, his red eyes always searched for Eleanora. Either dead or alive, Eleanora was everything in his bloody red eyes that one can unsee. This is why Liana¡¯s guilt was bigger then Cathain because if it wasn¡¯t for her, then they might have lived happily as a good rulers along with their children¡¯s. If it wasn¡¯t for her, then Arendell wouldn¡¯t be destroyed at the hands of the first prince, Dominic would be alive and rule his Kingdom wisely. ..... He might even find a good girl and fall for her, starting a family. She is a sinner, who destroyed everyone¡¯s happiness because of her foolishness. She is someone who doesn¡¯t deserve Dominic¡¯s warmth and love, because she nned to kill him. Even if she didn¡¯t did it with her hands, Dominic was already in dead bed... but he might live a little longer or perhaps even got better if she didn¡¯t nned to kill him. It was all toote by the time she understood everything, she could only continue to protect Cathain who had gone crazy because of poison and dark magic. If it wasn¡¯t for Liana, then Cathain would be long killed because of Duke Raven¡¯s rebellion. She continued to steal time and asked help from Alexander as she had no one to ask for. ¡°Duke... Help me... I have no one now except you.¡± ¡°Duke? Dalton Duchy doesn¡¯t exists anymore, which duke are you referring to, Your highness the queen Jennifer?¡± Liana clenched the prison steel handle. It was her scheme to destroy the Dalton Duchy, frame his daughter. Now she is here, begging him to help her. But she has no other choice either. She has to stop her father, save Cathain. Liana kneeled down infront of the prison cell but Alexander just stare at her with no emotions in his eyes. ¡°Please help me... I was wrong. It was all my fault. Am begging you, i can help you escape this prison and built the duchy back. Just help me to stop my father.¡± ¡°I can help you, Also forgive you...¡± Alexander spoke and Liana looked up as she finally found a ray of hope to make things a little right. ¡°Can you bring back my daughter and her children¡¯s?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Can your apology and regret bring back my wife who was also killed because of your father?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I can help you... but i will never forgive you people unless you bring back my daughter to life again.¡± Liana was silent, she couldn¡¯t refute Alexander¡¯s single usations. Everything he said was true. ¡°Do you know why am still alive?¡± ¡°W-Why?¡± Liana was taken aback a little because of Alexander¡¯s words. The reason he is still alive? ¡°Because i want to see how the people who killed my daughter ends up. I want to see you people being hunted by Eleanora, as what she said before she died. I want to fulfil herst wish.¡± Once again, Liana couldn¡¯t say anything and remembered Eleanora¡¯s words before she died. ¡®There is nothing I can do anymore to prove myself not guilty against the pile stacks of false evidence you have brought forward, but deep down... I hope you all suffer. When I am gone and you are alone, I hope I haunt you. I hope my face is what you see when you finally meet your demise. My only mistake was ever loving anyone.¡¯ Liana let out a guilty sneer. What Eleanora said has already came true. She is suffering, Cathain is also suffering because of her. She sees Eleanora¡¯s face every night, looking at her coldly and remembers her sins. Cathain has gone crazy to the point he sleeps with a dead body everynight like he is sleeping beside a living person. And this is all because of her, Jennifer Liana Raven. ___ ¡®E-Empress?¡¯ ¡®Only he calls me like this...¡¯ Hearing his words, Eleanora, who was trying to avoid Ain¡¯s gaze abruptly turned around to look into his calm gaze. She was about to back off but Cathain caught her both wrist and twirled her around. Their position switched, it was Eleanora who was pinned against the wall now. ¡°W-What?¡± ¡°Why are you so surprised? Didn¡¯t you boldly decleared that you are the crown princess of this empire... so of course it¡¯s natural for me to call you our empress.¡± ¡°...Am not the empress yet-¡± Eleanora didn¡¯t liked being called empress by him and was about to refute but Cathain suddenly got closer as he whispered to her ear. ¡°Today or tomorrow... It¡¯s only you who can be this empire¡¯s empress.¡± ¡°?!¡± Even if Ain and Ele was particrly close, Ain often hugged her from behind but he never came this close. Eleanora felt her ear bing hot and her cheeks burn. Moreover, she felt embarrassed. Seeing the blushing Eleanora, Cathain chuckled again. ¡°If our empress doesn¡¯t like the crown prince to get married... then how about keeping me as your concubine?¡± ¡°...?!¡± ¡°Hahhaah... Ele looks so cute now!¡± ¡°Go away... Ain!!¡± Eleanora was embarrassed because Ain got to close and she couldn¡¯t push him back, but then his words made her stunned and speechless. Only Ain can crack jokes like this. Although she still has her suspicions about his identity but she wishes for her suspicion to note true. Eleanora would be lying if she said she didn¡¯t had any feelings for Ain. He was everything that she wanted from Cathain previously. She even dreamt of a future where she will be a knight, Duke of Dalton and live happily with Ain. But she can¡¯t let go of her suspicious feelings either. Eleanora sighed and put her hands on his chest to push him away as she spoke gently. ¡°Stop messing around. I wasn¡¯t jealous and why i would be? i was worried Dom might think otherwise so i warned you.¡± ¡°Yeah, We understand...¡± ¡°...¡± The situation was only getting more awkward for Eleanora as no matter how hard she pushed him, he didn¡¯t moved an inch. ¡°Let¡¯s go, lunch should be ready by now...¡± Eleanora tried to get away again but then Cathain suddenly pulled her closer by grabbing her waist and she wrapped her hands around his neck to not fall. Eleanora was surprised because of his sudden action and red at him, only to find him whispering huskily in her ears. ¡°I rather have you then eating three meals a day...¡± Chapter 82 82 Chapter 82 ~ ¡°Letting Go¡± ¡®W-What?¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s face was flustered because of embarrassment. ¡®How can he say such words with this kind of calm tone, like he is telling me the time of the day?¡¯ Seeing the embarrassed Eleanora, Cathain chuckled and loosened his grip on her waist. ¡°This youngdy... What weird things are you thinking? Huhh?¡± ¡°If you say weird things then of course i will think weird things...¡± ¡°Youngdy... I meant having you apany me all day is better then eating three meals a day.¡± ¡°.......¡± ¡°Now say, who have unholy thoughts?¡± ..... Eleanora was liptied. She can¡¯t possibly admit that she really had unholy thoughts right? ¡°G-Go Away! I didn¡¯t had any thoughts like that!¡± Eleanora spoke as she pushed Ain and ran away from him. Where, Cathain just stood still with his arm folded and watched Eleanora running away like a flushed little rabbit. Cathain¡¯s eyes narrowed as he ced his hand over his fast beating heart and then he looked at his hands which held Eleanora just now. The hallway had still Eleanora¡¯s lingering fragrance as well as on his hands. He moved his hands from his heart to towards his nose, to sniff her smell. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t have... But i have unholy thoughts everytime i see you, My empress.¡± Even if the Eleanora infront of him is only thirteen but the Eleanora in his mind is a adult, his wife and his empress. Who waits for him in their bedroom with a shy face and looks away when he enters. Her thin white nightgown and her open silver hair which shines more brightly under the faint moonlight in their dark bedroom. Her blue eyes avoiding his red eyes because of embarrassment as he bites her trembling white shoulder and ces a hickey to warn every guys that she is his. Her little hands wrapping around his neck with tears filling her blue eyes as she looks at him. His big hands stroking over her snow white body as he smells her milky scent spreading from her. And then finally tasting her sweet pink lips, which tastes better then honey to Cathain. Twirling his tongue with hers... making her out of breathe and panting hard under him. Her soft lips looking more fuller and a little drenched because of him. Then he will slowly took of her clothes and she will unbutton his shirt for him, cing her tiny hands over his beating heart and then slowly sliding it from there to till his lower abdomen muscles. Her cold touch will give his hot burning body a thrilling pleasure that no matter how much he gets, it will never be enough for him. Twirling her body around, her naked white back will face him and tremble as he showers it with his hot kisses. Eleanora clenches the bed shit and tries to hide her moans but soon she gets defeated, letting out a soft low moan. Grabbing her slender thin waist, Cathain makes her face him and takes her palm into his hands. As soon as his hot lips touches her cold palm, she feels a shiver down her spine, warming up her whole body to an unknown new pleasure. Cathain keeps kissing her hands till he reaches her neck and then kisses her in her chest, which makes her back arching into a beautiful curve. From her chest, he keeps kissing her waist area to her t stomach. Her tiny hands grabs his shoulder, digging her nails into his naked back. Cathain¡¯s red eyes looks up and meets her blue eyes full of faint tears. Seeing her like this under him, Cathain felt a incredible warm and pleasure feeling in his heart which he never felt before. He climbs over her and licks her tears as he kisses her face. Eleanora pulls him more closer for another deep kiss and Cathain bes lost into it. Her soft lips moving with his hot lips which can never get enough of her kisses, her clumsy tongue moving with his and wrapping it around his tongue like a snake. Her long fingers stroking his ck hair and her another hand hugging his back tightly. Their lips parted but a thin line of their saliva will keep them as one. As he makes her ready for him and finally bes one with her, she will fully cry out in pleasure under him and whisper slowly to his ears. ¡°I love you, Cain... My emperor.¡± And then, Cathain will wake up as usual from his dreams. How he wished that she could really hug him tightly like this for real one day. Tell him that she loves him. But he also knows he doesn¡¯t deserves it from her, it¡¯s a luxury for him to think that she might ever tell him this. As long as she doesn¡¯t pushes him away because of their past, as long as she just keeps being with him for her ulterior motives to solve the past... He can bear it even if she hates him, doesn¡¯t loves him anymore. Seeing the hatred in her eyes is better then seeing her emotionless, who have no reaction on no matter what he does. Even if it¡¯s not love... As long as she just stays with him can stop him from going crazy. At first, he was only curious about the fiance everyone praises infront of him repeatedly. He started to stalking her whenever he found the chance since he was only five years told. His curiosity had turned into jealousy because the one he keptpeting against, never once bothered to know about her secretpetitor. And he didn¡¯t realised when that jealousy had crossed the love level to turn into obsession and possessiveness. When he realized that she have romantic feelings for him, he was overwhelmed. She has never once looked at him before, how can he let her be satisfy so easily? He has tried to hard to get the recognition of everyone where she got that without even doing anything. How can he let her be happy and get what she wanted so easily this time too? Cathain ignored her, looking at her displeasure, he found pleasure. Finally she is feeling and getting the taste of what it felt like to be ignored. But their ending wasn¡¯t what he wanted. Cathain doesn¡¯t know where it started to go wrong. Both of them changed drastically. He lost his temper easily and Eleanora started to be more cold. He doesn¡¯t want to walk with the other woman but he founds himself walking with that woman. He wants to run to Eleanora to save him, because she is the only one who can make him stay sane. Embracing her takes his all worries and pains away. The nausea and headache he feels all days goes away everytime he embrace her but her touch also makes him go crazy. He felt like his heart and mind starts to sh against each other everytime she gets close. So, Cathain never let Eleanora touch him... left after he finally felt okay to go on. When he learnt about her pregnancy, he was the most happy but he doesn¡¯t know why he couldn¡¯t celebrate this happy news with her. He felt like he forgot about this matterpletely till Eleanora suddenly visited him one day and fall down the stairs. She fall down because of him and he just watched her fall,ying down in a pool of her own blood. Eleanora¡¯s words make him suspicious for a moment but then he doesn¡¯t know why he didn¡¯t investigated it. He wanted to visit her but was too guilty to visit her. He killed their own child. He doesn¡¯t even remember when he ordered Eleanora to move into the abandoned pce and how the mere pce maid be his mistress. Cathain felt like he was being controlled, just like a pawn into a cheese game. Moving as the yer wanted him to move. And then, Cathain finally found himself to kill the girl he loved by his own hands. Not only the girl whom he fall in love at first sight but also the woman who was bearing his child in her stomach for four months. It didn¡¯t took him even four seconds to kill them where she kept their child alive and healthy for four months without anyone knowing about it. Just how helpless and scared she was to lose their third child that she kept this big news hidden to keep the baby safe? Just how heartbroken she was when he dered that he has gotten another woman pregnant infront of her? Just where did things went so wrong and they turned out like this? One by one, Cathain got his every answers which was like a p in his face to remind of his stupidity and foolishness. ..... No matter how many times he regretted, she can never came back... their child won¡¯te back. Can they? The amount of poison increased in his food and he kept taking it even after knowing about it. He knew he was being controlled and who was doing it... but he didn¡¯t took any action. What if he catches them now and punishes them? Will Eleanora and their child will be back to him? No, They won¡¯t. So, he will just go to them. They want the empire? They can take it. He doesn¡¯t cares about it anymore. Everynight when Cathain enters his bedroom and sees the dead Eleanora on his bed, his heart aches so badly that he wants to take it out. He wants to yell out loud and cry, but he can¡¯t do that. She sure wouldn¡¯t want to hear him saying that he loves her after killing her with his own hands. He silentlyys down beside her and activates his magic powers into her body to keep it warm. His condition was bing more weak because of the poisoning and dark magic controlling his mind but he doesn¡¯t care about it anymore. As long as he can built back the duchy back for her and keep watching her sleeping peacefully with their child in her stomach. He doesn¡¯t mind dying beside her while holding her tightly, so that in their next life, he won¡¯t make the same mistakes. There must be a afterlife or next life, right? As soon as Cathain activated his magic, the thick cut mark on Eleanora¡¯s neck fades away and bes smooth like before. And then, he finally got the chance to sacrifice himself to make her alive again. Even if the younger him can¡¯t remember everything like how Alexander and Liana will, but he can still help the younger Cathain by appearing in his dreams and showing him visions of his tragic ending with Eleanora. He is sure that the younger him would be smart enough to understand the situation and moreover, he had feelings for Eleanora since he was a child. So, as long as he triggers the younger Cathain¡¯s emotions for Eleanora and shows up in his dreams to warn him to not make the same mistakes as him, he can change the future. Even if it¡¯s not him, who will be with Eleanora in the future but as long as she knows that he always had her in his heart and never wanted to harm her willingly, he will be satisfied. He watched her speaking her mind, doing what she likes, how it would be if she didn¡¯t loved him back then... what it would be if he let go of his jealousy and pride, hold her hands to walk the path with her. He watched the younger him confessing to her and bluntly get rejected by her repeatedly... How hard she is trying to run away and how hard the younger him is trying to chase her. He is now relieved. Even if he isn¡¯t happy because he isn¡¯t the one beside her, but at least the past tragedy won¡¯t happen again now. Sometimes loving means to let go... ...As long as she is happy. He doesn¡¯t mind walking the rest of his path alone. Chapter 83 83 Chapter 83 ~ ¡°Helpless¡± A few months passed by in a blink to Eleanora. It¡¯s already the crown prince¡¯sing of age ceremony. As the time passes by, Eleanora is bing more and more afraid of thepletely changed future from the past. ording to the past, she should be in battlefields now. Fighting with Republic Army¡¯s in the darknds. But this time, she has stopped that war from happening and currently resting at her house. ¡®It¡¯s been more then three years since ist saw father...¡¯ Dominic and Liana often keeps her apany, Ain visits her almost every night too. But since she started to get suspicious about Ain¡¯s identity, she can¡¯t help but be on guard while staying with him. Eleanora has been busy in learning about her new saintess powers from Liana. Blooming flowers, reviving nts, cure mild illnesses like headache and much more. ..... Eleanora bes astonished everytime she finds a new way to use her powers. Nowadays, she misses Alexander a lot. How she wishes that she could share her newly found powers with him. Her ice mana is getting stronger too. As long as she gets a suitable sword, she can fuse her magic powers with that sword and fight. ¡®If father knows this, he would be proud, right?¡¯ ¡®Maybe he will hug me and stroke my hair like before.¡¯ Eleanora was immersed in learning swordmanship and holy powers... chatting with Dominic and Liana. After learning that Eleanora was learning swordmanship from Ain, both Dominic and the royal knights sticked with her. In the end, she just decided to learn from them and it was less stressful because Eleanora just couldn¡¯t shake off her suspicions over Ain. ¡°I must say... The Duke and that brat teached you quite well.¡± Dominic spoke as he sat on the garden chair to rx and Liana came over with cold orange juice for them. ¡°Thanks Lennie.¡± Dominic deliberately brushed his hands above Liana¡¯s hand while taking the ss, to let her know he won¡¯t give up so easily. ¡°This is what a lowly servant like me should do, Your Highness the Second prince.¡± ¡°...¡± The atmosphere always be silent because of Dominic and Liana¡¯s awkward conversations. At that moment the butler came in while running and gave Eleanora a letter. ¡°M-My...Lady, this is for you.¡± ¡°Take it easy, Why did you run so fast?¡± Eleanora asked as she couldn¡¯t understand why the butler would run like this to just deliver a letter. ¡®Perhaps it¡¯s from father?¡¯ But soon Eleanora¡¯s excitement fade away when she received the luxurious white envelope and her eyes fall on the roaring lion crest, imprinted on the envelope. Eleanora stiffened unconsciously. She felt as if her heart stopped. ¡°Ugh, it¡¯s an imperial crest, isn¡¯t it?¡± When Dominic spoke with a suspicious look, Liana took her eyes off the book. Looking at the crest, she looked at me with concern. ¡°Are you okay, Yourdyship?¡± ¡°Oh, yes. I¡¯m fine.¡± Then i noticed everyone¡¯s concerned gaze. It¡¯s not a new thing to the duchy¡¯s people that theirdy doesn¡¯t like the imperial family, specially her fiance the crown prince. After taking a deep breath, Eleanora decided to opened the seal. She bit her lip while reading the long letter. She have been preparing for it since they returned from the Rua Kingdom and meet the emperor, but she became hopeless when she realized that the day was approaching. That day, the emperor talked about the failed negotiation with Rua Kingdom and Eleanora couldn¡¯t let Cathain take all the me because he did it for her. In the end, the emperor made her promise that she will give the answer about her marriage with the crown prince on hising of age ceremony instead of hers. [The emperor had told her that they will think about the royal marriage after Eleanora¡¯sing of age ceremony but now the emperor slyly made it three years earlier] Eleanora was really angry but infront of the emperor, she can¡¯t refuse. Moreover her father isn¡¯t here too. ¡®What should i do now? Now that my father is away, how can I get out of this mess?¡¯ ¡°Why do you look pale? Any bad news?¡± ¡°No, nothing like that, but...¡± ¡°Then, what is it? What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Are you sure you are okay?¡± Unlike the calm Liana, Dominic was anxious seeing Eleanora fall silent like this. Liana already knows how sly Cathain is. He must have already realised that Eleanora is suspecting him so he made a move before Alexander could return and mess up his n. So, she wasn¡¯t that surprised at all. Nothing surprises or shocks Liana anymore since she saw a living person sleeping and talking with a dead person all night. Eleanora handed the letter to Dominic, who quickly grabbed the letter to read. After reading it silently, he sighed and put it down angrily. ¡°What the heck is this? You have to attend the crown prince¡¯sing-of-age ceremony? Besides, they are sending a royal tailor to measure you and make a dress. You¡¯re only thirteen, Why do you have to go there?¡± ¡°Because I am the crown prince¡¯s fiance.¡± ¡°Am telling you as your big brother and also as a man. There is something wrong with that crown prince and the brat that hangs around you. Both of them are insane and weird! You don¡¯t know how that Crown prince fought with me for carrying you as he didn¡¯t knew that i was your cousin...¡± ¡°Huh? Carry me...?¡± Dominic gulped in fear as he could already feel his uncle¡¯s killer cold gaze. He has unconsciously blurted out the truth. Alexander has threatened him to not say that it was Cathain who carried her into his room when the prophecy was given and she be sick after seeing Cathain. And the reason for that? Simply because Alexander doesn¡¯t want for Cathain to get some brownie points in Eleanora¡¯s heart. What if his innocent daughter falls into his trap once again? ¡®Damn it.¡¯ ¡°N-Nothing... who carried who?¡± Dominic remained silent after murmuring something inaudible. Eleanora didn¡¯t paid him much attention and closed her eyes to block out everyone¡¯s worried expression. The crown prince¡¯sing-of-age ceremony was the day she promised to give her answer to the emperor a few months ago was fast approaching. She still need the crown princess position even if she doesn¡¯t want to. If she agree, she will be trapped with Cathain forever. But if she refuses now, then it would be an dead end for her to investigate duke Raven. Eleanora felt like she was falling into hell as darkness started to block the light from her eyes once again. She felt helpless infront of the emperor, Cathain and the royal family without her father around her. Why now, when her father was away? Chapter 84 84 Chapter 84 ~ ¡°Expose¡± As the day of the crown prince¡¯sing-of-age ceremony was approaching, the capital city of Valentino became crowded with iing nobles. It was the one and only chance for them to attend the royal ball which helds during the future emperor¡¯s birthday with the mindset of finding a wife for him. Even if Cathain was already engaged with Eleanora for a very long time, some people still dreamt of making their daughter¡¯s a royal concubine or queen. Where some noblemanses from all over the empire to attend so that they can find a suitable groom for their daughter in the capital city. Young unmarried girls and boys meet and gets to know each other, thedies talks, gossips and unt about their wealth where the mans talk about buisness while drinking wine. The boutiques specializing in dresses for nobles were booming, and the people were satisfied with the emperor¡¯s rule thanks to the release of the massive reserve grains. Some of the nobles talked about the luxurious ceremony at a time when the empire was suffering from famine. But the emperor was determined to have the ceremony proceed in a splendid manner even if the imperial family was financially strained because of the poor crops. Moreover, the person who came of age would be the next emperor. ..... This is the image of the royal ball to Eleanora, who remember this things from her past. Everyone was in a cheerful mood, but Eleanora couldn¡¯t be. Alexander didn¡¯t replied to any of her letters for a long time. Eleanora knows he is very busy but she can¡¯t help but get anxious, often afflicted with despair and hopelessness. Because in her previous life, Alexander had already returned aroud this time. As the day wasing nearer day by day, she got more and more nervous. Eleanora was standing in her balcony, wearing a white nightgown and watching the moon shine brightly in the dark sky. She nced at the royal engagement ring in her ring finger which Cathain had made her wear forcefully during their trip in Rua Kingdom. The ring had shiny gold design and a red diamond in the middle of it, just like Cathain¡¯s eye. She should take it off and threw it away but she couldn¡¯t do it for some unknown reasons. Everything in her life is bing dark again slowly, the present she is seeing is different from the past she lived in. It¡¯s so different that sometimes she thinks if the past she saw was only a mere nightmare. Eleanora has never saw the hatred and loathing in current Cathain¡¯s eyes, instead they looked annoying to her now. Because they was full of gentleness and love, that makes her want to forget the past and embrace the new future. Eleanora sighed as she closed her eyes and lifted her chin higher to breathe the cold breez in. Then again a sweet and familiar voice rang in her ears. ¡°Ele...¡± Eleanora opened her eyes when she heard Ain calling her with a subdued voice. She nced at her right side to meet Ain¡¯s silver eyes and gave him a exhausted smile. She wanted to call him but no words left her mouth like before. With a bitter-looking smile, Ain pulls the gloomy looking surprised Eleanora in his arms silently. ¡°What is disturbing you?¡± Ain asked andforted her by gently patting her back and holding her in his arms warmly. Eleanora kept silent and then finally decided to hug him back with a heavy sigh. Cathain kept looking at her silently. Although Eleanora could not find the absolutefort in him that she found in her father, she felt consoled by his gentle patting on her back. Carried away with his warm touch, Eleanora slowly burried her head on his embrace. It felt like some of her despair disappeared when she was held in his arms, smelling his unique body odor. As she felt much better, Eleanora breathed deeply as she looked up to meet Ain¡¯s eyes again. She caught Ain looking at her deeply. ¡®Those eyes again...¡¯ Either this eyes was red or changed into silver by magic, the emotions remaind the same. It was the same as the past Eleanora¡¯s eyes that hunts her everynight. The past Eleanora¡¯s eyes would look despair like this, who wanted something and got it but still it didn¡¯t belonged to her. Eyes that want to get close, want the same affection, anger, frustration, obsession, everything is the same as the past her. Like their roles has been reversed. Cathain was exactly feeling the same. It¡¯s been a few days since he stopped having visions. He just knows that ¡®Cathain¡¯ didn¡¯t treat ¡®Eleanora¡¯ well, there was conspiracies... but what he wanted to know was their ending. What happened to them in the past? How did they died or how Eleanora remembers everything... And Liana, she is also changed. Does she knows about the past too? What exactly has happened? Cathain had many questions but didn¡¯t had any answer. He just feels helpless infront of Eleanora. He is suffering for sins that he didn¡¯t even done but can¡¯t even deny that he really didn¡¯t did it. ¡®Just what should i do, Ele?¡¯ The past traditions says if you spent the first moment of your 18th birthday with the person you love and have your first dance with that person at youring of age ceremony... then you will be with that person till yourst moments. He have seen Eleanora¡¯s face first at the exact moment, so she would be always with him from now on right? She would also have to dance with him tomorrow at ball. They must always stay together. He can¡¯t give her up. For some reasons, Cathain was feeling anxious like he was about to lose Eleanora. And then he felt Eleanora sigh heavily as she spoke in a low voice in his embrace. ¡°Was it fun to mess with me, Your highness, The crown prince...?¡± ¡°?!!!¡± Cathain¡¯s eyes widened in shock and panicked. How did she guessed? ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are talking about...¡± Cathain spoke in a trembling voice as he scratched his neck and looked away. ¡°This is what the crown prince does too... When he lies.¡± Eleanora spoke in a cold voice without even looking into his eyes and Cathain¡¯s hands stopped moving. He never realised just a tiny habbit of his would make him expose. ¡°I-Is that so? It must be coincidence... you must have been mistaken.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Eleanora let go of him and took a few steps back as she kept her head hanging low. Cathain took a step forward in panic and tried to held her hands but Eleanora pped away his hands. ¡°Then lets ends things here, I don¡¯t need anymore training. My father would be back shortly and everything will get clear by then...¡± Eleanora speak as she turned away to leave her balcony, leaving the terrified Cathain. ¡®End here? No...this isn¡¯t what i wanted... it can¡¯t end here!¡¯ ¡°No! Ele, wait!¡± Cathain grabbed Eleanora¡¯s hands to make her stop on her tracks and she stood still, her back facing him. ¡°You know... tomorrow, i thought of calling off my engagement with the crown prince. If things got messy, i thought of running away with you...¡± ¡°!!!!¡± Cathain¡¯s heart felt like stab with a sword. She wanted to leave everything behind and run away jut to not marry him? But the person she wanted to run away with was also him... ¡°But see... I thought of running away with the same man whom i hate and want to escape!¡± Eleanora finally turned back, her silver hair shining under the moonlight as tear drops fall like some crystal clear diamonds from her eyes. Cathain froze. He wanted to wipe away her tears but couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it. He felt like his brain has stopped working. Eleanora felt betrayed, hurt, anger, sadness and all emotions at once. ..... She didn¡¯t knew either tough or cry... Eleanora gritted her teeth as she grabbed Cathain, who was in disguise of Ain by his coller and spoke in a aggrieved voice. ¡°I trusted you, Ain!¡± Eleanora yelled at Cathain, who just stood still because he had nothing to say, for defending himself. ¡°Why did you did that to me?!¡± ¡°WHY?!!!¡± No matter how much Eleanora spoke, Cathain just remained silent and let her vent which made her feel more disappointed. It would be better if he just ignored her and did nothing like before. The weekends training, exploring resturents,te night meetings, talk about books... everything was just a lie. From the very beginning, it was all him... the person she wanted to avoid at any cost. Before the national founding day and Rua Kingdom trip, she thought Cathain was still the same as before. But nothing was same as the past from the very beginning, everything had changed but she failed to see it. Eleanora¡¯s hand released his collers and gradually dropped as she also looked down. In a low voice, words which Eleanora never wanted to speak off came out with a heavy heart. ¡°...I loved you, Ain.¡± Chapter 85 85 Chapter 85 ~ ¡°Believe¡± Eleanora¡¯s words made Cathain dumbstruck and he got distracted from maintaining his magic to keep his fake appearance. Under the shiny moon light and cold night breeze, Ain¡¯s blonde hair changed into Cathain¡¯s ck hair as his silver eyes changed into bloody red eyes again. Seeing his bloody red eyes again, Eleanora felt heavy in her heart and sneered. ¡°Heh... You still want to deny it? Your highness the crown prince?¡± Eleanora felt funny. She fall for the same guy twice. ¡°Is it also a coincidence for a merchant to have the same red eyes and ck hair of the imperial family members?¡± Cathain couldn¡¯t hear anything Eleanora was saying and felt like he was struck by lightings. His grip over Eleanora¡¯s hand started to tremble. ¡®I loved you, Ain.¡¯ ..... ¡®Ain...¡¯ ¡®She loves Ain but not Cathain...¡¯ ¡®Not Cathain...¡¯ ¡®She hates Cathain...¡¯ ¡®She will never love me...¡¯ Different kind of negative words started to ring in Cathain¡¯s ear, which he couldn¡¯t bear to hear anymore. Eleanora also didn¡¯t knew why she said that she loved Ain; but it was kind of true. She felt like Ain was everything she needed and wanted in the past Cathain. She felt safe, happy and moreover she didn¡¯t needed to try hard to get along with Ain. She could share her thoughts and opinions openly with him. Thus to Eleanora, if it was Ain then she could spent the rest of her life with him. At least Ain understood her... Even if she didn¡¯t loved him the way she loved the past Cathain, but she knew she wouldn¡¯t meet her tragic ending if she stays with Ain. She wasfortable with Ain... she felt her heart racing for him, she trusted him... In the end she got betrayed again. Eleanora tried to shook off her hands from his grip but the more she tried the more firm his grip be. At one point, Cathain pulled her into his embrace once again and hugged her tightly. Eleanora got angry and punched his chest a few times to get away. She was not only angry but also sad. ¡°Let go of me! You Liar!¡± ¡°Ele... Listen to me, Please.¡± ¡°No! I won¡¯t! Let me go!¡± ¡®Even after i asked you about your identity you still stayed silent. In that case, there is nothing to talk between us.¡¯ ¡°Ele... I was just afraid that you would push me away right you are doing it now. I just wanted to stay closer with you.¡± Cathain spoke in a anxious voice. Eleanora¡¯s reaction was something he never imagined. Who would think that she would fall for Ain, a meremoner where she was engaged to the next emperor? ¡°But you still lied to me till the end... deceived me.¡± Eleanora spoke in a cold voice and used all her strength to push away Cathain. As Cathain was emotionally unstable, Eleanora seed in pushing him away. ¡°I will get going now, Crown Prince. I will pretend like nothing happened today.¡± Right after speaking, Eleanora turned away to leave the balcony but to her surprise, she suddenly heard a low sound of something dropping. She looked back and found Cathain fall on his knees to kneel down infront of her. Eleanora¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡°I was wrong. I really didn¡¯t meant to hide it from you, Ele... please believe me.¡± ¡°Ain- Your highness!!¡± Before this, Cathain was just a normal friend to Eleanora whom she could hit and rebuke but now infront of her is the crown prince of the empire. How dare a ducal daughter make the crown prince of the empire who is no less then their emperor kneel down infront of her? ¡°I knew how afraid you was of me... At first i didn¡¯t wanted to use this trick butter when i saw you wasn¡¯t afraid of ¡®Ain¡¯ at all... i be greedy to stay by your side, even if it was lying.¡± Eleanora felt heartache as she heard his words. Just how did things turned out to be like this? Why are they like this now? ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell you the truth because i was scared that you might leave me once you know the truth and who i really was.¡± Cathain¡¯s head was hanging low, so even if Eleanora couldn¡¯t see his expression but from his voice, it was sure that he was hurting very much as he spoke. ¡°Please reconsider our engagement, Ele... Let me protect you for the rest of your life...¡± Cathain spoke in a sorrowful voice as he was going to bow down infront of Eleanora but she stopped him. ¡°Ain! Don¡¯t do that! Stand up!¡± Eleanora was going to grab his shoulders but Cathain took her hands in his palm as he finally looked up to meet her blue eyes with his tears filled red eyes. ¡°Please... Don¡¯t run away from me anymore, Ele.¡± Eleanora¡¯s eyes widened in shock as she finally saw Cathain¡¯s face. ¡®H-He is crying? Because of me?¡¯ ¡°Please forgive me, Ele... but don¡¯t turn your back on me anymore.¡± Cathain can¡¯t bear to see Eleanora turning away from him anymore. It really hurted and pierced his heart into pieces. ¡°Please believe me, Ele.¡± ¡®Please believe me, Your Majesty!¡¯ Eleanora found her past self in the current Cathain again. She kneeled down and begged to him for believe her that day. She held all her hopes into him to believe that she didn¡¯t did anything to harm Jena or their baby. She was backing off quietly. But that day, he didn¡¯t believed her. How is she different from the past Cathain in any way? She is treating the current Cathain, who did nothing wrong but still suffering for the sins he never did. Like how the past Eleanora suffered. How good it would be if their was no past between them and the past Eleanora who loved him and the current Cathain who loves her would meet? They would fall in love and live happily. And if the past Cathain and the current her could meet, she could hate and get her revenge on him without any guilt. ¡®Why are you doing this now?¡¯ ¡®Why?!¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t know what part of his words are true... I don¡¯t want to know what is happening anymore.¡¯ ¡®Am feeling so messed up... infront of me is the guy who saved me and apanied me for three years and also the guy who had neglected me for twelve years, then killed me.¡¯ ¡®How am i supposed to trust you?!¡¯ ¡®How can i love you again?!¡¯ ¡®I should keep on hating you!¡¯ ¡®But i also can¡¯t seem to do that properly...¡¯ Then Eleanora felt her tears pouring out from her eyes as she unconsciously kneeled down infront of Cathain too. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything... I don¡¯t know...¡± ¡°Ele, Don¡¯t cry....¡± Cathain stroked her cheeks with his hands as he pulled her face closer too him to rest his forehead against hers. Eleanora weakly grabbed his hands as she closed her eyes, because her tears seem to not stopping. ..... Their breathe mingled with each other¡¯s and Cathain closed his eyes too. ¡°Just trust me and leave everything up to me. I don¡¯t clearly know what really happened in the past but i want you to just think of the present me and our present life...¡± Cathain paused in his words and both of them slowly opened their eyes too meet each other¡¯s. ¡°Can you please give the present me a chance to love you, Ele?¡± Eleanora didn¡¯t replied and kept staring at his gentle eyes which was fill with despair and longing. ¡®If Ain is the past Cathain who killed me... can i still trust him?¡¯ Eleanora couldn¡¯t understand her heart or what she exactly wanted. ¡°Push me away if you don¡¯t want this and if you don¡¯t...¡± Cathain spoke in a low but firm voice and before Eleanora could react to his words, she felt his cold lips on hers. ¡°Mmh-¡± Eleanora eyes widened in surprise and her grip over Cathain¡¯s wrist tightened. She never saw Cathain up so close. They had identally kissed once, when they was in the carriage but this was the first time that they really kissed. Eleanora could see Cathain¡¯s longshes as he had his eyes closed. His lips didn¡¯t moved much, he just gently kept his lips on hers. His gentleness made Eleanora wanted to trust him once again... forgetting about the nightmare she had about him. Cathain slowly moved away his lips away from hers as he cupped her face in his hands. ¡°Give me a chance to prove myself, okay?¡± Cathain spoke and Eleanora still kept silent as she didn¡¯t knew what to say. She couldn¡¯t push him away or ept him. Just what is she supposed to do? Cathain took her into his embrace and hugged her tightly as he walked into her bedroom while carrying her intk his arms. He gently put her down on the bed and tucked her in the nket. ¡°Sleep. I will leave after you sleep, Don¡¯t worry.¡± Cathain gently stroked her hair like he used to do it as Ain. Tonight was quite heavy for Eleanora, so she soon fall asleep. Seeing her sleeping soundly, Cathain smiled at her and kissed her forehead. ¡°Goodnight, My empress.¡± Chapter 86 86 Chapter 86 ~ ¡°Threat¡± Cathain was about to leave when he suddenly felt a force pulling his sleeve and turned out in confusion. ¡°...Happy Birthday.¡± Although Eleanora¡¯s eyes was still closed and she went back to sleep like she didn¡¯t murmured anything just now. Although her wish was rather cold without much emotions but Cathain felt very warm and happy in his heart. ¡°Thank you, my empress. I hope i can spent my every birthday with you till myst moments of life.¡± Eleanora didn¡¯t replied and but Cathain was sure that she have heard him. To Cathain, his this birthday was the most meaningful because this was the first birthday that he celebrated with her. Eleanora used to attend his birthday banquet before this too but she was always crowded with people no matter where she went. Where, even after closing her eyes, Eleanora couldn¡¯t fall asleep. ..... Everything was feeling like a joke. The man who killed her and might kill her again in this life is asking her to trust the current him. She was betrayed again and again in her past life, how can she trust his words so easily? Eleanora is no fool in this life... ... ¡°Where¡¯s my sapphire pin?¡± ¡°Umm... put on a little more foundation under my eyes.¡± Eleanora was busy since morning to get ready for Cathain¡¯sing of age ceremony. She have to prepare well because this life is different then the past she remembers. That ceremony was simple... Eleanora, who had just be a knight at that time attended the ceremony during the war with Kingdom Republic. But there is no war now. Also at that time, she didn¡¯t had to give the emperor her answer about her engagement with the crown prince. Eleanora heavily sighed as she turned her eyes away from the messy stuff infront of her dressing table. As the crown prince¡¯s fianc¨¦e, she had to enter with him at the ceremony today, so all eyes would be on the crown princess, the only saintess of the empire. Of course, many would try to find faults in her like she remembers from her dream. At that time, because of excessive training, Eleanora had scars, calluses and tough muscles unlike otherdies. Also as she had stayed in battle field, she was slightly not dolled up like them. So this time, Eleanora isn¡¯t going to make any mistakes. She was afraid of the arrival of today¡¯s ceremony until yesterday, but she wasn¡¯t scared anymore. Perhaps, it¡¯s because Eleanora already found her answer that she will give the emperor tonight. Eleanora wouldn¡¯t care even if things went wrong. Now that her father would return soon and everything regarding Cathain was messed up, her mind was nk. ¡®This time... I won¡¯t let anything go wrong.¡¯ Eleanora examined her outfit and look for thest time and she felt like perfect. ¡®Be brave and courageous even in dead. Don¡¯t bow your head for mercy and don¡¯t show mercy for them who wronged you.¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s mother, Eunicelia¡¯s words kept ringing in her mind and courage filled her anxious heart. Eleanora puffed her chest high as she exhaled a heavy breathe and smiled in the mirror. ¡®I will get you justice and also... i won¡¯t forget to live the way i want in this life, without mingling the past affairs.¡¯ Eleanora spoke to her past self as she thought she had seen the adult Eleanora smiling at her in the mirror for a brief moment before she disappeared like she appears suddenly. As if the past self was telling her that she believes in her, she is doing great and... right thing. ¡®I believe in you. Punish the person who made us like this and... live your own life happily.¡¯ Eleanora felt like she was floating in her dreams again, conversing with the adult Eleanora until she got in the carriage. ¡°Are you okay,dy? You look distracted.¡± Sir Raymond spoke with a worried look as Eleanora got out of the carriage with the royal knight¡¯s help and she could hear faint whispering of people¡¯s about her. Eleanora finally snapped back into the reality as she nced at the people around her and she recognised most of them. ¡®How pathetically they live... all of their life, they just kept going on whispering about others and then die... as others starts to whisper about them.¡¯ Eleanora tidied her pastel white coloured dress with gold embroidery and shiny jewels used as decoration. The bare shouldered pastel white dress and her silver hair made her skin look more milky white and her cheeks pink because of the cold breeze. Her dress was undeniably the most umon and expensive dress that one would need to think twice before buying. But then suddenly she felt a murderous gaze on her among the crowd and stopping on her tracks she smriked. ¡°I, Evan De Henrich Raven, am honoured to greet you, the holy saintess and the future moon of the empire.¡± Duke Raven gritted his teeth as he bowed his head a little to greet Eleanora, who was his superior even at this younger age. But then Eleanora noticed that the duke bent his elbow to hit something behind him and a person slowly tilted his head to meet Eleanora. His light blonde hair looked dazzling under the bright light as he finally looked into her blue eyes with his deep forest like green eyes. ¡°I-I, Cedrick De Evan Raven, am honored to greet you, the holy saintess and the future moon of the empire.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Duke Raven and the young duke.¡± Although Eleanora¡¯s voice sounded like a fourteen years old but her tone and superior aura was unbeatable even to an adult. Eleanora had her all attention on Cedrick. He was always a little shy and he used to back off right after he finished his greetings every time they meet in their past. Cedrick Raven was nothing like his snake like father and sister. By this time, the duke should have founded his daughter Jennifer right? Is she already working in the pce? Would the current Cathain change like before too once he saw Jena again? Eleanora felt heavy in her heart as she thought of going through the past incidents again. But unknown to her, Eleanora was subconsciously staring at Cedrick for a long time as she was lost in her time. ¡°Wife!!¡± ¡°...!!¡± The sudden calling made Eleanora surprised and she doesn¡¯t even have to look up to see who it was... Eleanora wanted to dig a hole and hide! A big hand possessively wrapped around her waist and looking up, Eleanora found Cathain smiling. Seeing his smile... Eleanora felt disgusted. ¡®Does he thinks i don¡¯t know this?! This is his smile when he doesn¡¯t like something. Just who got on his nerves this time and made me suffer?¡¯ Cathain was also wearing a pastel white suit which was made in pare with Eleanora¡¯s dress. Unlike Eleanora, who looked more soft and innocent in white because of her silver hair; Cathain looked more fierce and ruthless as the white suit not only highlighted his ck hair and red eyes more, it made him look powerful and domineering. He was dressed up very handsomely, not a single w could be found in him. Hearing the Crown Prince calling Eleanora ¡®Wife¡¯ in the midst of the crowd, the whispering became louder. Despite the great shock, Duke Raven and Cedrick quickly maintained their posture and greet him where Cathain was like there was no one around him except Eleanora. ¡°Wow... you look so pretty that i think my heart is going to jump down.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think we look very good with each other... Young Duke?¡± Cathain tilted his head and put his chin over her head as he hugged her from behind more tightly, where Cedrick was dumbfounded as he heard Cathain¡¯s words. ¡®What does that have anything to do with me?¡¯ Eleanora was really embarrassed and because of this, her cheeks be more redder. ¡°...I think we should head in now, Your highness the crown prince?!¡± ..... Eleanora spoke as she gritted her teeth and her expression told Cathain that she was angry. ¡°You... okay, let¡¯s go.¡± Eleanora felt that Cathain was acting strange. She also didn¡¯t like his possessiveness but she can¡¯t dislike it either. The huge insecurity she has in her heart could only feel safe by Cathain¡¯s endless possessiveness and obsessive personality. In the end, Eleanora could only sigh. Cathain¡¯s hand was still wrapped around her waist and Duke Ravens gestured him to walk ahead. ¡°After you... Your highness.¡± Pulling Eleanora in his arms, Cathain started to walk but he briefly paused for a moment and whispered something to Cedrick Raven. Then patted his shoulder before he walked way, leaving the dumbfounded Cedrick and the curious public. No matter how much Cedrick ran his thoughts but he couldn¡¯t understand Cathain¡¯s hidden meaning behind his words. ¡®Don¡¯t even dream about it...¡¯ Just what he meant by this?! Was it a threat?! But for what?! Chapter 87 87 Chapter 87 ~ ¡°Crazy Jealousy¡± ¡°What did you whisper to him, Your highness?¡± Eleanora asked curiously. ¡°Nothing much. I just told him to eat more... he looks so weak and vulnerable.¡± ¡°...huh?!¡± Hearing Cathain¡¯s words, Eleanora looked behind to look at Cedrick one more time. Because to her, she didn¡¯t find Cedrick to be weak or vulnerable in any way. He might not look that strong and manly like Cathain but he doesn¡¯t look weak at all. Just as she was about to turn her head she felt a sudden pain in her ears. ¡°Y-Your Highness! Why did you bite me?!¡± ..... ¡°Stop looking at others guys. Is that weakling more handsome then me? You was staring at him so deeply earlier too!¡± ¡°When did i did that?¡± ¡°Forget it... You are only allowed to stare at me.¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora was speechless. Cathain seem to be more bolder after his identity as Ain got exposed. ¡®I shouldn¡¯t have let him go so easily for deceiving me, let alone kiss...¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s face turned red the moment she thought about their kissst night and touched her lips unconsciously. And Cathain¡¯s lips curled up as he saw her actions. They was standing infront of the entrance and Eleanora was checking her dress briefly, when Cathain suddenly whispered to her. ¡°Wanna try again?¡± ¡°Huh? What?¡± Cathain¡¯s was bending down to meet Eleanora¡¯s dumfounded blue eyes as she still couldn¡¯t get use to his flirtings. Ain was different but seeing Cathain like this felt a little weird to her. Then Cathain once again took his mouth near her ears and Eleanora felt ichy in her ears as his hot breathe fall on them. ¡°I thought you wanted to try it again... the way you was touching your lips...¡± ¡°Am-Am not! ...It-It was horrible!¡± ¡®W-What? My kiss was horrible?!¡¯ Cathain felt like he has been hit by the lightings. It was his first kiss but his girl said that his skills was horrible? Where, Eleanora¡¯s face wasplete red because of embarrassment. She wanted beat him up like she used to do when he was Ain to her. But she can¡¯t do that now. In the end, Eleanora could only supress her anger and re at Cathain, who avoided her re because of embarrassment. ¡®Just you wait and grow up a little more... then i will let you know how horrible my skills are.¡¯ Seeing them cussing with each other, which seem no end, the guard coughed a little to get their attention. It was time for them to enter the banquet hall. Eleanora put her hand lightly on Cathain¡¯s cold hand but Cathain entangled their fingers with each others, ignoring Eleanora¡¯s protest. After clearing his throat, the chief attendant shouted loudly. ¡°The Little Sun of the empire, Crown Prince Cathain De Valerian Valentino and the Moon of the Future, Eleanora Ariande La Dalton, are entering the hall!¡± The door slowly opened and Eleanora smiled consciously with her back straight. Slowly moving, they saw nobles bowing to show their manners to the next emperor and empress. As they walked along the red carpet, they stopped in front of the tform and bowed to the emperor sitting on the throne. ¡°I¡¯m honored to see you, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°I¡¯m honored to see the emperor, the Sun of the empire.¡± Both of them bowed to the emperor to show their respect. ¡°Raise your heads, Crown Prince and princess. I am very happy to see you, Eleanora. You look really beautiful today.¡± ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty.¡± Although Eleanora thanked the emperor but in her mind was something else. ¡®Why this father and son pair says the same thing?¡¯ After Eleanora and Cathain was done with their greetings to the emperor, Emperor Valerian ordered the nobles, who was still bowing to him to raise their bodies. When everyone fixed their eyes on the emperor, he said with a solemn expression. ¡°Today is the day when the crown prince grows up andes of age. I hope you all will enjoy the banquet and bless the crown prince.¡± ¡°Congrattions, Your Majesty. Congrattions, Crown Prince.¡± Everyone bowed toward the tform at once. After letting go of Cathain¡¯s hand, Eleanora also stepped back a few steps, spreading the skirt with one hand, and congratted him politely. ¡°In ordance with the imperial tradition, I give the crown and sword to the crown prince Cathain De Valerian Valentino, who hase of age.¡± Emperor Valerian spoke as he took out the shining crown from the box that the servant brought. It was slightly lesser in size and splendor than the emperor¡¯s crown, but it was exquisitely elegant thanks to the delicately crafted jewels. Cathain kneeled in one knee and bowed down as the Emperor put the shining crown on his head and hand him the decorated royal sword. Emperor Valerian smiled faintly as he helped Cathain to stood up but Cathain stood emotionless. ¡°Long live the Crown Prince!!!¡± He faced the crowd and his red eyes searched for Eleanora, who was pping with others to celebrate his official crowning ceremony. After spotting Eleanora, Cathain smiled towards her and she had no choice but to smile back bitterly. Eleanora thought as long as she didn¡¯t draw his attention, she could avoid her uing fate. Unlike the old Eleanora, she was not receiving any education as the next empress. So, she thought that if she was intentionally keeping a low profile, there was less of a possibility that Cathain would take her as his wife instead of Jena. Because Jena is not a mere pce maid like everyone knew at first. She was the daughter of Duke Raven. Even when her identity wasn¡¯t exposed, everyone liked her. She was like warm sunlight, where Eleanora was full of coldness. Mimunication with her father, obsession for Cathain and not getting his attention had made Eleanora more colder. So, In this life, Eleanora wanted to keep a low profile as much as she could. She made sure her middle name, given as the God¡¯s prophecy, did not draw any unnecessary attention. Eleanora was waiting for Jennifer¡¯s appearance. Because she was sure, Cathain would fall for her in this life too like her previous one. When that happens, Eleanora would step back willingly and live her life as themander and Duchess of Dalton. But Cathain remembering the past to some level and his newly grown love for her has messed up everything. Specially him being Ain. Regardless of everything, what Eleanora really feared was going through the recurring memory of her past. Even if he loves her now and she bes his wife, the fact that Jena wouldeter to take her title wouldn¡¯t disappear. There was no guarantee that she would not follow her past fate just because he loves her. It was today, thest day that she promised to the emperor to give him her answer. Eleanora held her hands to hide trembling and kept staring at the man infront of her. The crown brilliantly reflected the light of the chandelier on Cathain¡¯s ck hair. After looking back at those who bowed deeply and paying respect to him, the emperor spoke again. ¡°Raise your heads. I am so happy that so many people here celebrate hising of age. I would like to thank you all. Let¡¯s begin the party.¡± ..... ¡°We¡¯re honored, Your Majesty.¡± Cathain hurriedly hands the crown and sword to the servant as he approached Eleanora and reached out with a light smile on his face. ¡°To you.¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora nkly stared at him for a moment as she was lost in his smile. ¡°Can I ask you for a dance to celebrate mying of age?¡± Cathain spoke and suddenly, a scene from her past came to Eleanora¡¯s mind. Back then Eleanora, who went to the battlefield without even being an apprentice knight just because he told her to do so had came back from the battlefield to attend hising of age ceremony. Among all the brilliant and beautiful looking girls, Eleanora was hiding in a corner sadly, when a hand suddenly reached out for her. ¡®Can I ask you for a dance to celebrate mying of age?¡¯ Cathain had asked the same thing back then too. The reason as why the past Eleanora had offered her heart despite him being cold to her was because he asked her hands for dance at theing-of-age banquet like this. He was the only one who, if perfunctorily, smiled at her among the people as she looked unfit as ady in the banquet hall. As he reached out to her who was always lonely, the past Eleanora gave him her whole heart on that day. But now... ¡°It is an honor, Crown Prince.¡± Eleanora shook off her idle thoughts and held his hand. Hising-of-age ceremony was the same as in the past as was his asking her to dance and his cold hand. She wondered if her fate was again destined to be the same as the past. Maybe the name of ¡®Saintess¡¯ was of no use to me. It only bound her with him more tightly. The crowd took steps back and it was only Eleanora and Cathain in the middle of the banquet hall. When they arrived at the dancing floor, they stood face to face on the dance floor and pretty close to each other as she felt his strong grip around her waist. The chamber orchestra members picked up their instruments and they started to moved slowly. Cathain hold Eleanora right hand with his left hand and entangled their fingers together. As Eleanora¡¯s left hand rested on his right arm because she couldn¡¯t reach his shoulders, their slow dance started grandly. Only the man who came of age and his partner could dance the first dance. Because of this, Eleanora and Cathain were dancing under the attention of numerous guests. They was dancing quitely when Cathain suddenly spoke with a cold voice. ¡°I should change your dress designer.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Eleanora barely replied, struggling to pull herself together from her concerns. ¡°I¡¯m talking about your dress.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Cathain asked coldly, pulling her toward him when Eleanora was stepping a bit away from him. ¡°I can see numerous guys staring at your white shoulder and it makes me want to bite it, leave my mark for them to see.¡± ¡°What are you even saying? Have you gone crazy?¡± ¡°Really...¡± After snorting withughter, Cathain pulled her towards him tightly as he grinned strangely at her. He put his lips close to her ear and whispered after sniffing her body smell. ¡°I have gone crazy for real... This is what you made me, Eleanora Ariande La Dalton. You made me a crazy jealous guy who want to kill every guy who is staring at you right at this moment.¡± Saying this, Cathain turned his gaze on someone and as Eleanora also turned her head along his gaze, a boy with light blonde hair came to her view. ¡°... Today is the first time i have meet him.¡± ¡°First time? I remember you dly ate his candy which he offered you during my sixth birthday.¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora was speechless because she was only two at that time. How can she remember those? ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t like him...¡± Hearing Eleanora¡¯s reply, Cathain once again looked at Cedrick and smiled in satisfaction this time. ¡°...??¡± Eleanora raised her blue eyes and looked up at him with surprise and confusion. Why is he so happy? Eleanora felt goosebumps. Why did does she feels that Cathain always takes every guy around her in the wrong way? Suddenly, As if somebody threw cold water over her body, Eleanora felt cold and nervous. The blood flowing through her heart seemed to have frozen, and her whole body began to tremble as she noticed a girl with light blonde hair, wearing maid clothes at the second floor of the banquet hall. ¡®Jennifer?!¡¯ Chapter 88 88 Chapter 88 ~ ¡°Annulment¡± The girl disappeared instantly from Eleanora¡¯s view but it made her tremble in fear. ¡®I was right... even if he loves me, even if i try hard to change the past... i can¡¯t stop her from appearing and take away my everything...¡¯ At that moment, the music stopped and a thundering apuse was heard. But Eleanora couldn¡¯t take a step forward from the spot and kept looking down. Cathain, who was staring at her, also did not intend to move. Eleanora¡¯s mouth was bing dry. People¡¯s whispering was getting farther away. Cathain took his eyes off of Eleanora after a long time and let go of her hand as he smiled casually like nothing had happened. ¡°Thank you for dancing with me first at mying-of-age ceremony.¡± ¡°It was an honor for me...¡± ..... Eleanora replied, barely calming down her trembling body but Cathain suddenly reached out to grab her wrist without any politeness. Almost dragged by him, Eleanora was headed to the tform where the emperor was seated. After bowing to the emperor, Eleanora was about to go to the second floor when Cathain stopped her agaon and walked to the tform. ¡®What the heck is he doing?¡¯ Although she looked up at him in surprise, they was already on the podium. Only then did Cathain look back at Eleanora and gestured at her to sit down. There were two chairs ced side by side just below the emperor¡¯s. Eleanora¡¯s heart sank and she looked around hesitantly, but suddenly he put his hand on her shoulder and pressed it hard. When she came to her senses, she was already sitting next to Cathain. Eleanora grew more and more nervous as she thought about Jennifer¡¯s appearance. The messengers from each country lined up to offer him gifts and congrattions, and Eleanora just watched the emperor expressing gratitude to them silently. Even Dominic was here but she didn¡¯t saw Liana beside him. Where was she? Eleanora felt confused with mixed feelings of fear and tension. ¡°Ele?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± When Eleanora responded in surprise to his sudden call, Cathain frowned. ¡®Do you have to be so surprise when Cathain calls you by your nickname? You was always so rxed and happy with Ain...¡¯ Cathain put his lips to her ears and spoke as if he was whispering to his lover. ¡°Are you nervous because you have to answer my father today... about our marriage?¡± ¡°Howe you....?¡± ¡°Did you think I didn¡¯t knew it?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Although there is little possibility, you have the right to seed the throne, and that you can¡¯t give it up because it was given by God¡¯s prophecy. For the emperor and some nobles, your right is like a thorn... so they want to tie you down with me in case you be a threat one day.¡± Hearing his words, Eleanora kept silent for a moment and then finally spoke. ¡°What are you going to do to me, Your Highness?¡± If Cathain wanted to have a different woman, he could take her as the next empress, but the imperial family would not let Eleanora go as long as she had the God-given right to the throne. If that¡¯s the case, Eleanora thought she had better draw as little of his attention as possible until she found the way to deal with her session right. Eleanora have been struggling to find a way to get rid of her entanglement with the imperial family and free her from the fetters of the past for the past few years, but time was running out. ¡®Will i die and our duchy copse again?¡¯ Eleanora was freaking out. After she knew Cathain was Ain and attended hising-of-age ceremony, she thought she wouldn¡¯t care whatever happened to her. But when she was faced with the situation now, specially Jennifer¡¯s appearance, she was scared. No matter how hard Eleanora tried to escape, she felt like she was devoured by the deep swamp that she could never escape. But then Cathain¡¯s voice draw her attention again. ¡°If you ask the Crown Prince, he should take you as his empress right way. Either by force or power.¡± Hearing his reply, Eleanora¡¯s heart sank. Then why didn¡¯t the past Cathain did so? ¡°But if you ask the Cathain, who loves you... I will give you time to prove yourself, show your talents and then marry you when you are finally an adult.¡± Eleanora raised her head to look at Cathain, who didn¡¯t seem like to be joking at all. Then she seem to conclude something. If the past Cathain didn¡¯t sent her to the battlefield instead of learning empress duties, would she ever be a knight? If it wasn¡¯t for his support and fight with the other nobles to acknowledge her talent, could she ever be the first female knightmander in the history of the empire? If what the current Cathain said was truth, then the past Cathain should have married her right away instead of making her more powerful. In her previous life, she didn¡¯t got the direct prophecy like this time... but she was regarded as thedy of the prophecy. So her existence was still a threat to the crown prince¡¯s session and the reason as to why they was engaged at the first ce. He only married her after she was an adult and sessfully be the knightmander. So, Did the past Cathain, loved the past Eleanora? At that moment, there was fanfare, which made here to her senses. ¡®No, that¡¯s not possible. He wouldn¡¯t kill me or make another women pregnant if he loved me.¡¯ After the foreign messengers were done offering gifts, it was time for the nobles in the empire to offer congrattions to the emperor and the crown prince. ¡°Next is Duke and the Young Duke of Richardo!¡± The cheif attendant spoke and ming red hair came to Eleanora¡¯s view. ¡°I¡¯m honored to see Your Excellency, the Sun of the empire. Congrattions on youring of age, Crown Prince.¡± ¡°Thank you, Duke.¡± The south was always in odds with the imperial family. They was neutral and never mingled in any official works. So, after a brief greeting, Duke and his son Alberto Dion Richardo walked out. On the left and right sides of them showing due manners, there were other nobles standing in line ording to their ranks. There are four duke families in the whole empire, but there was hierarchy even among them. The first in the hierarchy of the duke families was Duke Dalton, Duke Heartz, Duke Richardo and the fourth was... ¡°The family of Duke Raven is here to greet His Excellency.¡± ¡°Greetings to the Sun of the empire, His Majesty and the Little Sun, the Crown Prince. I would like to congratte the crown prince on hising of age.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Technically, Duke Dalton would be the first and then Duke Heartz to greet but as they was absent for the border relief, they had to skip them and proceed with the others. Eleanora fixed her trembling eyes on the floor. Seeing Duke Raven and how he might have a hand in killing her and the copse of the Dalton Duchy, She couldn¡¯t help but be afraid. ¡°What are you doing now? Pull yourself together!¡± Cathain spoke in a sharp voice. Because to him, she was avoiding her gaze shyly at the sight of Cedrick. Eleanora exhaled a heavy breathe and looked up as her eyes met Duke Raven¡¯s, who was the fourth in rank. The old man who looked very stubborn was staring at her sharply. As Eleanora turned away from his sharp gaze, she suddenly heard some noise. Eleanora¡¯s heart was beating fast as she heard his footstepsing closer at regr intervals. Her eyes widened in surprise and expectations as her blood that became cold in despair because of the crown prince sitting next to her began to circte quickly. ..... Soon, A shiny silver armour with a long blue cape flying in the air as the person walked came to everyone¡¯s view. After a long wait, Eleanora could finally see his silver hair scattered under the light and hear his voice which she missed so much. ¡°I¡¯m honored to see Your Majesty, the Sun of the empire, and the Little Sun, the Crown Prince. I sincerely congratte the crown prince on hising of age. Please punish me for beingte.¡± Alexander spoke as he kneeled down infront of the podium to pay respect to the emperor and crown prince. ¡°Duke Dalton, you¡¯re finally back. Do you know how worried I was when I was told they lost track of you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Majesty. I couldn¡¯t keep in touch with them timely since I was in a hurry to arrive here in time for the crown prince¡¯sing-of-age ceremony. Please punish me.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t say that. How can I punish the sword of the empire unless I go crazy? Thanks foring all the way. Let me hear moreter.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. I¡¯d like to congratte you, Crown Prince...¡± Before Alexander could finish his words, Eleanora had already run into his embrace and he wrapped her in his arms warmly. ¡°How are you doing, Ele? I think you grew up a lot more while I was away.¡± ¡°Papa...!¡± Infront of the emperor and everyone, Eleanora broke into tears suddenly at his warm and familiar touch. She didn¡¯t cared about anything else except him. ¡°You¡¯re a grown-updy, so don¡¯t cry. Others might me you for that.¡± Alexander reached out and wiped her wet cheeks with tears. Tears kepting out when Eleanora saw his affection for her reflected in his blue eyes. The tension that had been seizing her until now melted. ¡°I don¡¯t feel good since you are crying. It¡¯s been a long time I have seen you, honey. Can you stop crying and smile at me?¡± Alexander, who kept wiping her tears for a while, whispered. Eleanora tried to smile brightly as he looked sad, but she couldn¡¯t because of the tears that kept flowing. ¡°Duke, your daughter is still young.¡± Eleanora looked back when somebody spoke with a smallugh. She saw the emperorughing pleasantly and Cathain frowning a bit. Alexander, who put his hand lightly on Eleanora¡¯s shoulder, answered in a calm tone. ¡°As you said, my daughter is still young, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Too young for her to serve the crown prince who hase of age.¡± ¡°So, what would you do?¡± Tilting his head, the emperor asked and Eleanora suddenly saw fear in Cathain¡¯s widened red eyes. ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to decide on the sessor of my family sooner orter.¡± ¡°Really? Are you going to marry again?¡± ¡°Oh, no, Your Majesty. I already have one for that.¡± ¡°Huh, are you serious? Are you sure you¡¯re going to do it?¡± There was a faint smile on Alexander¡¯s mouth, while the emperor showed surprise. But Cathain¡¯s reaction was more surprising. He was clenching his fist tightly as Eleanora realized him being very angry. Cathain, who was listening to their conversation murmured with a frowning expression. ¡®So... this is how he is gonna separate her from me? Heh... that would happen only in his dream!¡¯ Eleanora looked at Alexander with surprise. Didn¡¯t he said it was impossible for her to not be the next empress? (A/N: Just another misunderstanding between father and daughter, Alexander never meant that and Eleanora misunderstood his words -_-) ¡°Well, for now, i will train her to be the next duchess of Dalton and annul....¡± Alexander couldn¡¯t finish his words as Cathain had stopped him in his words. ¡°Duke... I think you better find another sessor for your duchy or it would be best to wait for our child to be your sessor. No matter what others say, she is my partner as given by God, isn¡¯t she? But you are talking about snatching her away from me all of a sudden. Do you perhaps don¡¯t believe in the prophecy?¡± Chapter 89 89 Chapter 89 ~ ¡°Confession¡± Cathain had hit on the nail, which Alexander never expected or see it¡¯sing. He indirectly questioned Alexander¡¯s trust on the temple to pressure him publicly. ¡°I have nothing to say about that. But...¡± ¡°But what? Duke?¡± The atmosphere was so intense that nobody even dared to open their mouth. ¡°Am serious about making my daughter the heir...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about your heir or not, but your daughter will be the next empress for sure!!¡± Seeing them both arguing like they was just casually talking, Emperor Valerian sighed. If he doesn¡¯t stop them, they might even get into a physical fight. ..... ¡°Stop both of you! One is the crown prince where the other is the sword of the empire! How could you two fight like this infront of everyone?!¡± Hearing the Emperor¡¯s words, both Cathain and Alexander be quite. They had be so aggrieved that they forgot about the people around them. ¡®Indeed it was reckless... it might even affect Ele¡¯s image in the society.¡¯ ¡°Duke! Youe with me and present your report and Crown Prince you...¡± ¡°Okay... As the duke is going away then i will take care of my fiancee for the time being. Come with me, Ele...¡± ¡°...¡± Originally the emperor wanted Cathain to socialize in the party but he had already interrupted his father¡¯s words. Cathain stood up from his seat with a victorious smile and walked towards Eleanora, who was wrapping her hands tightly around Alexander¡¯s neck. To Eleanora, Cathain seemed like a angry beast which wasing to devour her. But as she nced around and saw the curious expression of everyone, she couldn¡¯t even reject him. It would only add fuel to the fire if she rejects the crown prince right now. So, Eleanora slowly loosened her grip from her father¡¯s embrace and got down. Alexander narrowed his sharp eyes as he red at Cathain, whopletely ignored his threats. Eleanora felt Alexander holding her hands tightly as he didn¡¯t wanted her to go with Cathain. Her one hand was firmly gripped into Cathain¡¯s hand where the other one was gripped into her father¡¯s hand. Alexander was unwilling to let go where Cathain was firm to snatch her. Seeing his strong protection over Eleanora, Cathain smriked and pulled Eleanora towards him with a brutal force as he was moking Alexander¡¯s failure to annul the engagement. Eleanora fall into Cathain¡¯s embrace and her wrist was tightly gripped into his hands. ¡°See you again... Father-inw!¡± ¡°!!!¡± ¡®This bastard! Who is his father-inw?!¡¯ For the first time, everyone finally saw Alexander¡¯s angry expression. No matter what happened, he rarely showed any expression. But today, everyone could clearly feel the raging cold manaing from Alexander as Eleanora was dragged into a balcony by Cathain. ¡®What¡¯s happening? The Dalton¡¯s want to annul the royal marriage and the Crown Prince doesn¡¯t want to annul it? It was clear that the Crown Prince likes the Crown Princess, Then what¡¯s the problem?¡¯ Alexander clenched his fists angrily as he never thought that Cathain would be so sly to use public opinion to force him to retreat. And Ele... she didn¡¯t seem to be against the marriage as she was before. ¡®Just what happened in this three years?!¡¯ ... ¡°Your highness! please slow down!¡± Eleanora yelled at Cathain who was walking so fast that she couldn¡¯t keep up with him as she was wearing a dress. He was walking so fast that Eleanora couldn¡¯t even tell where he was taking her. ¡°Your Highness!¡± Eleanora kept calling him but Cathain seem to not hear anything. ¡®Why? Just why is everyone against us? Just why can¡¯t i be with you?¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t even demand for you to love me... I just want you to stay with me because if you are not mine then nothing else means to me!¡¯ Entering a balcony, Cathain shut the door with a loud noise and Eleanora¡¯s back hit the closed door as his both hands stopped her from moving. ¡°Your highness! What are you doing?¡± ¡°Am finally doing the right thing.¡± ¡°What do you even mean? How could you talk to my father like that?¡± ¡°And then how i was supposed to talk like?¡± Cathain asked and Eleanora flinched in fear. She was terrified of the raging man infront of her. His face was so close to her that his every hot breathe was falling on her face. ¡°Was i supposed to say... Yeah, Annul the engagement and take away my empress from me?¡± Hearing his sarcastic tone, Eleanora felt a sudden fear in her heart and tried to unlock the door behind her by leaning on the door more closer. ¡°Aah!¡± Eleanora eximed in shock as Cathain pulled her closer to him by grabbing her waist and pinched her jaw. ¡°Still trying to escape?!¡± ¡°Release me... It-It hurts!¡± ¡°Oh? So now you know it hurts? It also hurts when you turn away from me Eleanora Ariande La Dalton! It hurts! When you shiver by seeing me and run away from me! It hurts when am suffering for the sins that i didn¡¯t even did but have to bear it!¡± Cathain yelled at Eleanora and then finally took away his hands away from her jaw and pulled her hands to ce it above his heart. ¡°It hurts here, Ele... It really hurts. Please don¡¯t run away from me anymore... Give me a chance to prove myself... Let me prove my love.¡± Eleanora tried to take away her hands from his fast beating heart but Cathain pressed her hands more harder on his chest as he burried his face on her neck. ¡°Calm down, Your highness...¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t... Everyone wants to snatch you away from me.¡± ¡°Am not going anywhere... Please calm down.¡± Eleanora spoke gently and stroked his hair. She was feeling lost. ¡®Jennifer has already appeared and he might fall for her again, then toss me way like my past life. Am too afraid too trust you again...¡¯ Eleanora doesn¡¯t want to face death again but she can¡¯t push away the current Cathain either. How can she get away from this mess? Eleanora looked up at the bright moon and closed her eyes, still stroking Cathain¡¯s ck hair as her other hand rested on his shoulder. Where Cathain had his both arms wrapped around her waist. But then, Cathain suddenly spoke again in a low voice. ¡°I love you, Ele. I really love you so much...¡± Eleanora opened her eyes as she heard his calm and gentle voice but her eyes widened in shock as she saw the scene infront of her. Under the bright moonlight, The light reflected on the arrow¡¯s sharp steal and looked like a shining light as the arrow was shot. ¡°Your Highness! Move!¡± But before Eleanora could push Cathain away to avoid the arrow, the door suddenly unlocked and she fall backwards. Eleanora stared at Cathain with her widened surprised eyes, who was just smiling at her and then his body finally tilted a little as the sharp arrow pierced through his heart. ..... ¡°Your highness!!¡± ¡°This-This is how much i love you... Ele. I can even die for you...¡± Cathain couldn¡¯t finish his words as he be unconscious and fall on the ground in a kneeling posture. ¡°Your highness!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t push me away anymore...¡± Eleanora couldn¡¯t stand up as her legs went numb because of the shock, so she just decided to crawl toward the kneeling Cathain with a arrow in his chest. Cathain had his eyes closed and his white suit was already dyed in red because of his blood. Eleanora cupped his face into her trembling hands as tears kept pouring out from her eyes. ¡°Y-Your highness?!...Cathain?¡± ¡°H-Hey...Wake up!¡± ¡°Why? Why did you pushed me? Why didn¡¯t you avoided the arrow?¡± With Cathain¡¯s skill, he could easily dodge the arrow. But if he did, there would be more attempts where Eleanora could get hurt in the process. Cathain knew what they thought was, realising the attack, he would dodge the arrow and Eleanora would be shoot in the process. Their main target was Eleanora! Thus, he didn¡¯t dodge it and let them shoot him. It was still unclear as why their target was Eleanora and not the crown prince. Eleanora kept crying as she strocked her fingers over his unconscious face. ¡°No... I can¡¯t cry... I have-have to save him...¡± From the ruckus downstairs, Eleanora was sure there was an sudden attack but she couldn¡¯t care less about that as the dying Cathain was lying on herp. Eleanora hugged him as she reached the arrow beside his back to pull it out from his chest. Right after she pulled the arrow out, more blood started to flow out from his chest. Cathain¡¯s breathing and pulse was bing low even after Eleanora tried to stop the blood by freezing the hole in his chest. But it was no use. ¡°Is someone there?! Please help us!!¡± Eleanora kept on calling for help but soon the power was cut off and everything be dark. She could only see Cathain¡¯s face because of the faint moonlight. ¡°Please... Help him... Somebody please...¡± Eleanora kept crying out loud as she hugged the motionless Cathain. ¡°I won¡¯t push you again, Okay? Please wake up!¡± ¡°Cain... Please... Don¡¯t prove your love this way...¡± No matter how many times Eleanora spoke to him, Cathain had no response. There was sword shing and fighting soundsing from downstairs but instead of running away to a safe ce, Eleanora kept sitting on the floor with Cathain in her arms. ¡°Goddess, please help me save him. Please!¡± Eleanora pressed her hands above his chest to use her holy powers as saintess. Till now, she could only heal some minor injuries. But right now, she have no other choice except trying this. She kept trying again and again but there was no reaction from him. ¡°Even if you have killed me in my past life wrongly but i don¡¯t want you to die for me! I don¡¯t want to owe you! Wake up! Please wake up!¡± Eleanora¡¯s tears kept falling on Cathain¡¯s cheeks but there was still no response. Under the moonlight, they looked like a couple where the boy was resting on the girlsp and the girl was stroking his hair. ¡°Please... Wake up... Please help me to heal him goddess. I don¡¯t want him to die...¡± After a long time, Eleanora lowered her face and kissed Cathain¡¯s lips gently. ¡°I love you, Cathain...¡± Chapter 90 90 ¡°Eleanora Saves Cathain¡± The ce where people was dancing happily not to long ago was now full of shing sounds of swords and people¡¯s terrific screams to save their life. Everyone was dumfounded at first when a chandelier suddenly fall off, which Duke Richardo managed to pull in time to prevent it from dropping. As they were werewolves, they had much more physical strength then others; even without any weapon, theire bare hands was enough. At the same time, Alexander managed to block the arrow which was shoot towards Emperor Valerian with his sword and ordered all the knights to protect the emperor as he wanted to go and find Eleanora. ¡°Protect The Emperor!!!¡± The emperor suddenly felt weak and fall on the ground, almost losing his consciousness. The knights surrounded Emperor Valerian with Alexander, who also had his sword unsealed and nced at the second floor with worried eyes. ¡®She is at the second floor... hopefully nothing is wrong with her-¡® Suddenly, Duke Richardo approached and stood by Alexander as he spoke. ..... ¡°Duke Dalton... You daughter is alone at the second floor. If you want, you can go to her. Am here.¡± Duke Richardo could feel Alexander¡¯s concern as he knew how it felt like to worry about daughter¡¯s. His own daughter kidnapped for three whole months and was found during the border relief. ording to his daughter, A mysterious sister had saved her and nagged him to find that sister. His daughter wanted to marry off his son to that sister. And he also wanted to find that person to thank her thus he sent his son to attend the annual banquets to find that girl, only to fail everytime. This is why he came this time. Even if a long time has passed and his daughter has be normal again, still he can¡¯t help but worry about her safety measures. So, even if Alexander lools cold, but how can he not worry about his daughter at this moment? Alexander knew that Duke Richardo was a neutral person who never meddled into any affairs that didn¡¯t concerned him. ¡°Thank you, Duke Richardo... I will talk to youter.¡± ¡°I also have a daughter, So Lady Eleanora is like my own daughter too...¡± Alexander politely nodded and as he was about to go, Emperor Valerian, who was not so conscious suddenly coughed a mouthful of bloods. ¡°Your Majesty!!¡± Alexander¡¯s eyes widened in shock as he rushed to hold Emperor Valerian who was vomiting bloods. But his blood colour was little strange... It wasn¡¯t red but it was so deep in red colour that it almost looked like ck if one didn¡¯t noticed carefully. ¡®Poison?!¡¯ ¡®What¡¯s happening? How is this possible?!¡¯ It wasn¡¯t hard for Alexander to recognise poison as this was something he already knew about. From hisst life... Before turning back the time, Liana had told him that the duke used a kind of poison which makes a human fall weak at first, gradually vomiting bloods or mild headache, making their body ache in pain. Finally making the pain worse and go crazy because of it. ¡®It was the poison which was used on the crown prince in the past life... Why the emperor has the same effects?¡¯ Now, Alexander couldn¡¯t leave the emperor at this state at all. He had to stay back and observe the situation as well make an antidote for it in case one day Eleanora needs it. The lights also went out and the whole banquet hall be dark. People started to scream and run in fear more terribly. The whole pce be chaotic. Alexander made an eye contact with Duke Richardo, who was beside him and he immediately understood Alexander¡¯s hidden words in his gaze. ¡°Imperial Army! Follow Duke Richardo to fight!¡± Alexandermanded his subordinates as he carried the emperor away first. Rather then carrying a whole army to catch the enemies eyes... it was better to move alone in dark to not alert them. They still don¡¯t know who the enemies are and who is the main target. The emperor...Or the crown prince? Alexander¡¯s heart sank in fear as he thought about thetter possibility. Duke Raven and Marquise Roselia took charge of escorting people out safely, where Duke Dalton took charge to protect the emperor and Duke Richardo to fight against the enemy. Alexander gritted his teeth as he didn¡¯t felt something right and very wrong about the emperor being suddenly poisoned. ¡®Ele... Be safe and wait for dad!¡¯ ... Meanwhile, Dominic was walking really fast as he dragged Liana with him. He felt like she was losing hisst bit of patience with her, so he just pinned her down in a corner where he could see her face because of moonlight. ¡°What are you doing here in a maid cloth?¡± ¡°Your highness, i will exinter... we don¡¯t have much time-¡± Liana couldn¡¯t speak anymore Dominic suddenly pulled out his sword and pointed it at her neck. ¡°You forced me to do this, Lennie... You always wear veil to hide your hair colour that matches with the duke of Ravens, Right?¡± Liana couldn¡¯t reply and only look at him nkly as she had no answers to give or deny it. ¡°Hah... No wonder... No wonder you never told me anything about me... You never trusted me from the very beginning!!¡± Dominic spoke in a dejected tone as he withdrew his sword from her and took a few steps back. ¡°No- It¡¯s not like that-¡± Liana tried to approach him but seeing him stepped back, she stopped on her tracks. ¡°I always trusted and felt that you was the closest person to me... in the end, i just got deceived.¡± ¡°Tell me... Did you already knew about today¡¯s attack? or did you came here to help someone?¡± Liana just stayed silent. Indeed she had came here to help someone and knew about today¡¯s attacks because she knew her father too well. Now that he had failed to negotiate with the Rua Kingdom, They will collude with Republic Kingdom. She doesn¡¯t want him to know because she doesn¡¯t want to danger his life in this life too. She knows how vicious her father and Dominic¡¯s older brother can get to get rid of him to get power. The Arendell needs a ruler like their second prince, Dominic De Caisson Arendell, to help to grow and prosper. Not a power hungry man like his older brother... And this empire and Cathain needs an upright empress like Eleanora Ariande La Dalton. She can¡¯t let Cathain to be separate from his love again in this life, she can¡¯t let Eleanora get wronged again and Alexander to lose his everything... She also can¡¯t let Dominic die and see a peaceful Kingdom like Aredell to fall down. But during the process, have she ever thought about what she wanted or what those persons wanted? Cathain wanted Eleanora like before but Eleanora was escaping from him, Alexander wanted to keep Cathain away from her but somehow they still ended up spending three years together. She just wanted to save Dominic but in the end, he fall for her, A person who was used to kill innocent lives because of her own foolishness. ¡°Just help me this time... I promise to tell you everything after this- Please, just help me onest time, Dom...¡± Liana finally called Dominic by his nickname, but he wasn¡¯t pleased to hear it. Because she didn¡¯t called him that willingly. But looking at the chaotic situation downstairs, Dominic had no choice either. ¡°Tell me...What do you need?¡± ... On the other hand, The moment Eleanora¡¯s trembling lips touched Cathain¡¯s cold lips, her ice magic that was blocking his blood to flow out from his chest broke. Eleanora be terrified and fear took over her heart. ¡®W-What¡¯s happening?¡¯ But soon she realized that was not the case. Without her ice magic blocking it, faint golden light sparked around his wound as it started to heal automatically. ..... Cathain felt a stinging pain on his chest, like someone was sewing him alive. But it was also a warm feeling. He slowly opened his eyes as he looked at the trembling crying Eleanora. After a long struggle, his voice finally came out of his throat and weakly called her name. ¡°Ele...¡± Eleanora¡¯s eyes was on his healing wound, so she didn¡¯t realised that he has already awaken up. Seeing him conscious, Eleanora couldn¡¯t help but cry out more loud while hugging him. ¡°You! Who told you to die for me!! Did i ever said i will forgive you or ept you if you die? What do you think of yourself?¡± ¡°C-Calm down, Ele...¡± ¡°How-How could you do that to me?!¡± Eleanora kept on crying as Cathain tried tofort her. He don¡¯t want to make her frightened by telling her she was the main target of them. It¡¯s lucky that he is alive because of her. If it was her, who was injured... just thinking about that make Cathain¡¯s heart clench in fear. But why they targeted her? ¡°Am sorry... I won¡¯t do that again, Forgive me... my empress.¡± ¡°You-¡± At the same time Cathain sensed someone approaching them and he hugged her more tightly. Cathain grabbed his sword but because the arrow contained some kind of poison, he felt like his magic has stopped flowing through his blood. ¡®What¡¯s happening... Why would someone want to poison Ele like this?¡¯ He doesn¡¯t have his magic and also so weak that he can¡¯t move, Cathain be nervous and worry of the approching persons and moved Eleanora behind him to protect her. Eleanora also understood something was wrong and she was on her guard too, when that approching person turned out to be someone unexpected. ¡°It¡¯s me...¡± Chapter 91 91 ¡°Feel The Pain To Remember¡± Under the darkness and faint moonlight, Alberto Dion Richardo¡¯s ming red hair and pitch ck eyes came to view slowly. Both Cathain and Eleanora was shocked to find Young Duke Richardo there. ¡°Young Duke Richardo?¡± Cathain asked in a cold tone, his hands still grabbing Eleanora tightly. ¡°Greetings, Crown prince and princess... I was looking for Duke Dalton, didn¡¯t expected to meet you here.¡± ¡°He is fine, right?¡± Eleanora asked in worry. Her father must be tensed when he didn¡¯t find her. ¡°Duke is okay... It¡¯s just, the emperor-¡± ¡°What happened to my father?!¡± ..... Cathain asked in an anxious tone and it was the first time that Eleanora heard him calling the emperor father. So she was a little surprised. ¡°I can¡¯t tell, My father just sent me to help the duke and emperor.¡± ¡°Take me there!!¡± Cathain spoke as he proceed to get up with Eleanora¡¯s help but he couldn¡¯t stand up. ¡®What? Why can¡¯t i walk?¡¯ ¡°Let me help you, You are still weak.¡± Seeing him like this, Eleanora felt guilty. She ced her one hand under his shoulder de to help him walk but he still couldn¡¯t. In the end, Dion couldn¡¯t watch their romance like some old couple who was saying- ¡®I got you, my love. I will help you to walk and you help me to see.¡¯ He stood infront of Cathain and in a swift motion he carried Cathain on his back. ¡°H-Hey!! What are you doing?¡± ¡°Taking you to the emperor.¡± ¡°Put me down!!! You don¡¯t have to carry me like this!!¡± ¡°Keep quite and stop struggling, Crown prince. Am just helping myself to reach them earlier.¡± In the end, Cathain had no other choice then putting his hands on Dion¡¯s shoulder awkwardly. He didn¡¯t wanted to show his humble and weak actions infront of Eleanora. ¡°...¡± Where, Eleanora felt like the scene infront of her was inappropriate for her to watch as a not grown up yet. Cathain had his full face turned red because of embarrassment. Dion was physically really strong so carrying Cathain was nothing to him. As they was walking, Dion stopped and turned to Eleanora, ignoring the Cathain who was ring at him to maintain distance from her. ¡°Oh! I forgot something!¡± ¡°Your brain?¡± Cathain smriked as he spoke and Dion felt the urge to drop Cathain from his back. ¡°Crown Princess, grab the blue thing... hanging on my waist.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Why should my fiancee have to grab your waist?!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Crown prince... I told her to grab the sword not my waist!!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same!¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain and Dion kept on bickering with each other where Eleanora had already took the sword from him. The sword was wrapped in a blue cloth, but it gave Eleanora a familiar feeling. ¡°Did my father gave it to you, Young Duke?¡± Finally, Dion and Cathain stopped bickering and turned their attention to the sword in Eleanora¡¯s hand. ¡°Yes... Your father gave it to me to give you.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Eleanora¡¯s eyes got wet as she unwrapped the cloth and finally the shiny silver blue coloured beautiful sword came to her view, with a little note inside of it¡¯s. ¡®Happy 13th Birthday, My princess.¡¯ It¡¯s handle was decorated with blue and silver jewels beautifully but it was so sharp that it could cut of flesh in an instant. It was the same sword from her previous life that apanied her to countless battles to win. Which was also used to execute her... The little feelings and sympathy Eleanora felt for Cathain turned sour in an instant as she recalled the past as a cold smrik was seen on her face. ¡®Am really pathetic... i just confessed to the guy who killed me instead of taking revenge on him, saying they are not the same.¡¯ Eleanora felt emotionless again as she grabbed the sword tightly and stared at it coldly. Right then, they heard some approching footsteps. The three of them be silent as they tried to guess how many people wereing at them. ¡®There are more then ten mens.¡¯ Dion felt a little nervous as Cathain couldn¡¯t fight and he had to protect Eleanora too. At the same time, Cathain got down from Dion¡¯s back and tried to walk again. This time, he was able to stand on his feet only. Then suddenly Eleanora turned to Cathain and seeing her emotionless cold eyes again, he felt fear in his heart. ¡°Give me your hand, Crown prince...¡± ¡®Crown Prince...¡¯ Cathain repeated in his mind as he extended his hands towards her. After taking his hands, Eleanora briefly touched them and a faint golden light shone brightly. Cathain could feel his strength return a little but not his magic powers. ¡°Young Duke Richardo, take the crown prince away and sent reinforcement as soon as possible...¡± ¡°N-No away!! How can i leave you here?!¡± ¡°Have you gone mad, Ele? How can i leave you behind? What if you get hurt?¡± Eleanora just coldly stared at them as looked at Dion with a straight face. ¡°I will block them while you take the crown prince away. If three of us fleed together, it will be hard to fight against. So while i steal the time, You go and find my dad.¡± ¡°No, we will go together, Crown princess!¡± ¡°This is an order from the Saintess of this empire!¡± To their surprise, Dion unwillingly kneeled down on the ground as he bowed down his head. Words that he didn¡¯t wanted to speak came out from his mouth. ¡°I understand, Your holiness!¡± Eleanora felt an unknown emotion... Was she pleased or scared that she could make people obey like this? She felt weird with her newly awakened powers which make her body feel more lighter as she moved. Her both mana have finally been mixed together, so her mana is at the highest-level now. She clenched the sword in her hands. ¡®I don¡¯t know what disaster this powers will bring me... but i don¡¯t have time to think now.¡¯ Seeing Dion, who was forced to obey Eleanora, Cathain was dumbstruck and looked at her with his widened surprised eyes. ¡°Ele...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that... Am used to left behind and get hurt. Your safety is our priority now, Crown Prince.¡± Cathain couldn¡¯t say anything else as no words left his mouth. Every time she called him with his title, he felt like the distance between them kept growing. ..... ¡®Can i really never erase the distance between us as well the pain from your heart?¡¯ They was getting separated by an invisible wall, which Eleanora kept making it higher and higher for him to break. Dion proceed to take away Cathain with him but he started to struggle despite not having much strength. ¡°I won¡¯t go!! I won¡¯t go without you!!¡± In danger, this are the words that could melt down any person. But Eleanora felt nothing. She felt empty inside as her death scene kept repeating in her mind to warn her from falling into the trap again. The footsteps was getting more closer as time passed and suddenly Eleanora pulled Cathain toward her by grabbing her neck. Her face was so close to Cathain that her every breath fall on his face as she spoke. ¡°Crown Prince... Don¡¯t be stubborn. You will only hold me back if you stay in this condition.¡± Before Cathain could react, Eleanora had already hit him on his neck lightly to make him unconscious for some time. ¡®Ele... How can i let you fight alone and go away... Just how can i make you believe me?¡¯ Cathain felt his eyelids be heavier and his mind went back. Everything looled blurry to him. ¡°Take him away!!¡± ¡°Yes, Your holiness.¡± Despite his rejections to leave Eleanora behind, Dion couldn¡¯t control his body which acted as she wanted and took the unconscious Cathain away. ¡®Please be safe, Crown Princess!¡¯ As Dion and Cathain¡¯s figure disappeared in the darkness, Eleanora lifted her sword up again with a heavy heart as she exhaled heavily. ¡®Nine...Ten...Eleven...¡¯ Their was total twelve people whom she had to deal with now. She could tell they are not weak at all. Eleanora closed her eyes as she tried to manifesting her mana with her sword. Her mana was no longer blue in colour, it was now golden light mixed with it; making her mana look more beautiful and eye catching. ... As the assassin finally approached, they saw no one. But they could feel someone with higher mana present there, which someone panicked them. ¡®How¡¯s this possible?¡¯ ¡®Why can¡¯t i feel but not see any presence?¡¯ As they was lost in thoughts for a moment, their mens sudden yelling caught them in surprise. ¡°Aaaah!¡± Instantly, three of the assassin was kneeling on the ground unconscious. They wasn¡¯t dead but they looked like some dead person. ¡®What happened?¡¯ ¡®Who is it?¡¯ Just then, Another three men fall on the ground and they finally managed to see the person. ¡®A-A girl?¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s silver hair flew as she moved under the moonlight with her sword, her blue eyes as cold as ice, with a terrifying presence. Like she was born to use sword and dominate the war field. Someone who was born to rule, make people admire and bow to her. But that wasn¡¯t the time to dwell on her and the remaining five assassin made their move. They confronted Eleanora head to head but there wasn¡¯t a single hint of panick in het face. It remained straight and emotionless. Where in reality, Eleanora was lost in her past once again. Feeling the past and cutting her heart, which finally started to heal again. Feel the pain, Remember the betrayal... Then suddenly, Eleanora missed a chance to strike and the assassin¡¯s sword was about to hurt her when a cold voice rang as the sword which was about to strike her flew away. ¡°How dare you to attack my daughter?!¡± Chapter 92 92 ¡°Highest Authority¡± Eleanora looked up and found Alexander¡¯s shadow fall on her, protecting her from everything. ¡®Father...¡¯ Alexander moved his hands to cover Eleanora eyes as he created a sheild to protect her at the same time. With one swift movement of his sword, the remaining five assassin was killed at once but their blood and screams didn¡¯t reached Eleanora because of the protecting sheild. ¡®What is he doing?¡¯ Eleanora was eager to find out what Alexander was doing but in the end, before she could remove his hands to see, Alexander had carried her on hisp and walked away from the scene. After some time, when Alexander made sure that there was no one behind them, he gently put down Eleanora to observe her. ¡°Am fine... Papa.¡± He twirled her around and examined her carefully to only find some calluses on her hands for using the sword. ..... Alexander sighed and kneeled down while blowing on her wound like he used to do when she was little. ¡°You did well, Ele...¡± Alexander spoke as he stroked her head with a gentle warm gaze. ¡°You are not angry?¡± ¡°Why should i?¡± Eleanora was a little shocked because she thought Alexander would be mad because she risked her life but seeing the proud look on his face, she felt proud too. ¡°This is what we Dalton¡¯s are. We will never be afraid or run away from danger and face them bravely. This is what a true knight and the heir of the Dalton should do...¡± ¡®Heir of Dalton?!¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as she heard her father¡¯s words. That¡¯s mean her father is determined to cancel their marriage and make her the Duke of Dalton! But at the thought of breaking of her marriage with Cathain made her feel upset for some unknows reasons. The smiling face of the crown prince who took the arrow for her while begging her to give him a chance to prove his sincerity kept lingering in Eleanora¡¯s mind. ¡®What are you thinking, Ele? Jena is here, it would take him no time to fall for her like before again. He loved her so much that he executed me for her unborn baby, made our duchy fall... He might be changed now but i didn¡¯t thought that he kill you in the past right? So what gives me the possibility that he won¡¯t change in this life?¡¯ ¡®I gave him my everything but never gotten a single ounce of love or warmth from him, how can i get it without doing nothing in this life?¡¯ As Eleanora was lost in thoughts, she didn¡¯t realized when she walked all the way to the emperor¡¯s room with Alexander, who was feeling low inside by seeing Eleanora emotionless again. But as she was about to step in the room, Eleanora paused for a moment. This is the room which she wasn¡¯t allowed to enter even after being the empress. This is where she stood in the past and watched Jena sitting beside Cathain, while he slept soundly. This is where the past Cathain had bought her back after she fall down the staircases and lost her first baby in this room. How she begged the him to believe her that something was wrong with that maid and the medicine they gave her. But, he just quitely closed the door, telling her to rest without any mourning or remorse for their lost baby. No one remorse for her child where she was executed for a miscarriage, it was clearly a framing trap but he didn¡¯t believed her. ¡°Ele?¡± Alexander¡¯s voice bought her back to the reality and she stepped into the room with a heavy heart. Cathain had already woken up and as she saw Eleanora¡¯s dark expression again, he knew what was on her mind. He knew what happened in this room with ¡®Empress Eleanora¡¯ from his visions. He clenched his fists into a ball tightly as he couldn¡¯t look into her cold eyes again. ¡®Am sorry, Ele...¡¯ ... In the room, Four dukes of the empire and Marquis Roselia was present beside the emperor. Alexander knew this was all plotted by Duke Raven. The assassination must be sent by Republic Kingdom. When Duke Raven failed to use Kingdom Rua to start a war against Republic to make the empire weaker in army, he used Kingdom Republic directly to start a war. In their previous life, The negotiation and War against Republic had terribly failed even if they won the war. Their was no tressure in Dark sea and they suffered a heavy lose in financial, not to mention the sacrifice of one third soldier knights. Their was three knight squadron at that time. The first knight squadron leader, Duke Alexander Dalton, who trains the first royal knights team. The second knight squadron leader, Duke Keiran Rupert Heartz, who lead the second royal knights team. Then finally, The third knight squadron leader, Eleanora La Dalton, who specially trained the war soldiers. During the war with Republic in their previous life, more then half of the knights from the second team died or suffered from serious injury. So when the war with Rua Kingdom started, There was only first team and Eleanora¡¯s third team left to fight. They couldn¡¯t left the capital unguarded either, so Eleanora only had half of the first team¡¯s knights along with her own small team. Even after winning the war, it made the empire suffer a heavy loss, which was very hard to recover. With the weak army and poisoned emperor, Duke Raven had cunningly removed Dalton Duchy and the empress to sessfully covet the throne. After Eleanora¡¯s death and Alexander¡¯s imprisonment, The other two dukes of Heartz and Richardo, including marquise Roselia also stopped helping their emperor. Together with Cathain¡¯s madness over the dead Eleanora, the fail of the empire was given for sure if they hadn¡¯t sacrificed their souls to return in the past. Alexander doesn¡¯t think that Jennifer La Liana Raven would choose to help her father this time too, but that doesn¡¯t mean the duke will sit back while doing nothing. He must have made some deal with Kingdom Republic to start this war. While he was lost in thoughts, the knights who was sent to investigate the assassin¡¯s had returned with a panicked face. ¡°It¡¯s Kingdom Republic! This is a war deration!¡± The room fall silent. Alexander had expected this since earlier, where Eleanora clenched her fists. ¡®In the end, I still couldn¡¯t stop the war...¡¯ But Eleanora was determined to make people suffer less then before. She can at least do that even if she couldn¡¯t stop the war. The difference is, in their past life, it was the Empire which dered war and now it¡¯s the other party. ¡°But why would they suddenly dere war on...us¡± Cedrick Raven spoke but also be quite as the Duke¡¯s warning gaze fall on him. ¡°What will we do? The emperor is in this state...¡± Duke Raven spoke with a concerned tone even if he was smiling inside as his n worked out. Except the thing that Eleanora is okay. He made the deal to help them to get the saintess to Kingdom Republic to do their research on holy powers. So they developed a poison which could stop one from using their magic powers for some days and make them weak, in that way they won¡¯t even able to ran away. But he will have more chances. At least the emperor is injured now, so the powers will go to the crown prince and as long as he keeps feeding him the mind controlling magic poison, he will sedd. Duke Heartz will go the war for sure as the first squadron leader has to stay to protect the capital. So he can also poison Alexander and Eleanora at the same time and the emperor would die soon too. ¡®Everything is perfect...¡¯ But soon, his perfect n was broken. When everyone was discussing about the war, Eleanora kneeled beside the emperor and tried to heal him, which she sessfully did. ¡°Father!!¡± Sensing Emperor Valerian¡¯s movements, Cathain rushed to him weakly and sat beside him. ¡°Are you okay? How are you feeling?!¡± But Emperor Valerian was feeling so weak that he couldn¡¯t speak. ..... He weakly took of his magic heirloom ring which represented the person with the highest authority in the empire. ¡°Father!! What are you doing!!¡± Emperor Valerian put that magic ring into Cathain¡¯s finger slowly, which would fit into the wearers finger automatically and tried to smile at him gently for the first time. Cathain grabbed his hands tightly as he ced his forehead on his hands while trying to hold back his tears. The father and son never shared a good rtionship or had any proper conversation. But right at this moment, Cathain could feel his love and trust for him. He was always mad at his father, the emperor because he trained him harshly. He wasn¡¯t allowed to sulk in anyway from studies or training. The emperor made the crown prince strong, so strong that almost nothing could make the crown prince react anymore. He couldn¡¯t express his feelings to the girl he loved and got mislead by people. Finally ended up killing her, then regret it to the point he didn¡¯t cared about the empire he was supposed to protect anymore. But in this life, he was different. He felt emotions and know how to love the girl, except how to make her forgive or ept him. But it won¡¯t hold him back from getting her. ¡®I will be the son, the emperor, the husband and father that everyone wanted me to be this time. Please bless me so that i can do that, Father...¡¯ ¡®I will protect our empire and my love... as well our child¡¯s this time.¡¯ Emperor Valerian tried his best tofort Cathain and after a long time, he finally spoke. ¡°From now on, whatever the crown prince says is my words... he is the person with the highest authority and will raise to throne right after i die...¡± Chapter 93 93 ¡°The Emperor¡¯s Regret¡± ¡°Father! Don¡¯t say that! You will live a long live with me!¡± Cathain spoke but Emperor Valerian just looked at him with a smile. ¡°Everyone except Duke Dalton and the crown princess go out.¡± Eleanora¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. What does the emperor want to say that he needs everyone except them go out, as well the crown prince? Cathain was reluctant to go but he had no choice other then going out. It was the emperor¡¯s order so no one could deny it and had to go out. Eleanora felt heartbroken when she saw the emperor¡¯s lifeless red eyes. Tears pricked her eyes when she saw him trying to cling on to life to thest minute. Unlike the old him, who kept a certain distance to preserve dignity as a ruler, he treated Duke Dalton as his close friend even if he was older then the duke, which made her heart ache all the more. After that, The elderly man, who was leaning against several pillows, smiled faintly and spoke. ¡°Lady Dalton, I¡¯m so d you are well and safe.¡± ..... ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Majesty. I¡¯m so sorry... the crown prince is hurt because of me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t me yourself. It¡¯s what he should do and you also saved him. So, focus on yourself from now on. It¡¯s a pity that i won¡¯t be able to see you growing up.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that, Your majesty! You will live long.¡± Tears now dropped from Eleanora¡¯s eyes. Wiping her tears, she spoke to the emperor whom she had always respected. ¡°If I may say, I also have always regarded you as my father. I will never forget your so many favors and benefits.¡± Hearing Eleanora¡¯s words, Emperor Valerian smiled. ¡°Sometimes, I was harsh on you, but I also always regarded you as my daughter. When you were a baby, I kept being worried about you. After I am gone, I feel you¡¯re going to have great hardship... I should have held out until I resolved this matter, so I¡¯m so sorry.¡± Emperor Valerian was talking about her engagement with the crown prince which was hanging on a thread. ¡°You don¡¯t have to say that... Everything will be fine.¡± ¡°I hope so...¡± spoke the emperor, getting his breath back. ¡°I know you are sick and tired of this story, but listen to me for thest time. So, are you still determined to be the sessor of your family?¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora couldn¡¯t speak. She herself was in a mess. She desperately wanted to run away from the crown prince but now she is having second thoughts. She can¡¯t deny that in some corner of her heart, the current Crown Prince has made a new space for him which is stopping her to break the engagement. But she is also afraid of the history repeating itself. Emperor Valerian also understood her concerns as he already knew what his foolish son had been doing for the past three years. ¡°It must be a very difficult choice. I didn¡¯t say that because I am greedy. I still think the position most suitable for you is not the sessor of your family, but the empress. I sincerely hope you can keep it in mind.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why you desperately keep running away from the crown prince but i hope you will follow your heart and not regret your decisions.¡± Eleanora still kept silent and finally spoke. ¡°I will keep that in my mind, Your Majesty.¡± Emperor Valerian¡¯s sick face lightened up as he heard Eleanora¡¯s answer. Which meant she didn¡¯t rejected the crown princepletely. ¡°Really? Thank you. Can I ask you a favor for thest time?¡± ¡°Please go ahead, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Do you remember what I told you in the past? Even if you realize your dream...¡± ¡°Yes, I remember, Your Majesty. I will keep it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you again.¡± ¡°Yes. I swear i will keep it.¡± Alexander wondered as what the emperor had asked Eleanora to do. Eleanora had pledged to the emperor, when she had went to the pce to exin the Rua Kingdom¡¯s negotiations to the emperor. He told her that he would like to ask her a favor. He asked if she could stay beside the lonely crown prince even as a friend when she became the sessor of her family as she wanted. Maybe deep down in his heart, Emperor Valerian knew about the conspiracy of Duke Raven but could do nothing about it without any evidence. When Eleanora shed tears, recalling their past memories at the time, the emperor smiled faintly and spoke. ¡°Finally, I give you a small gift. I hope it can be useful to you. Now, please leave the duke and me alone.¡± ¡°Pardon, Your Majesty? What do you mean...¡± However, the emperor kept silent, with his eyes closed. He didn¡¯t say anymore. Eleanora rose from the seat. Now it was time to get out, Alexander smiled at her to not worry and wait for him. Eleanora took one step then looked back, and again and again. Her eyes were blurred as he gradually faded away from her eyes. She felt like she was about to cry anytime soon, so she took onest look at the emperor, then went out the room. ¡®It was all because of me. The emperor wasn¡¯t attacked like this in our past life. He was healthy. It all happened because i changed the past. The war i desperately wanted to stop will also happen. I have be aplete mess now.¡¯ ... After Eleanora left, the emperor¡¯s bedroom be silent as none of them spoke. As if it was too hard, emperor Valerian remained silent for a while, then continued as it was only Alexander and him left in the room. ¡°Duke, I truly believed and relied on you. Even without your oath of blood, I would have given you my full trust and confidence. Out of the total three dukes, I¡¯ve always liked you most.¡± ¡°I am very grateful, Your Majesty. How can I repay your favor?¡± ¡°This is my request, Duke. Please help the crown prince build the empire that you and I dreamed about together in the past...Lend him your power.¡± ¡°Yes, I will, Your Majesty.¡± Alexander replied solemnly as he remembered how the crown prince he would be helping now would turn into a puppet of Duke Raven and destroy not only the Dalton Duchy but also this whole empire. ¡°Thank you. Now I can feel a little rxed.¡± ¡°Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Thanks to your daughter, I can say myst greetings to you.¡± ¡°Oh no, please don¡¯t say that, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Duke, you already know my condition. So, let¡¯s not waste time. I don¡¯t have so much time now.¡± ¡°What do you want me to do about them, Your Majesty?¡± Alexander was talking about the Duke Raven and the other rebel parties. ¡°They must have been nning for a long time and they be sessful into poisoning me even after the heavy security. Am afraid what they would do once am not here anymore with him to guide and protect.¡± Emperor Valerian was always worried about his son, who was rebellious. The emperor purposesfully had to keep the crown prince at a distance so that no one would target the crown prince for the time being. Thinking the crown prince is useful for them. It also worsened the father-son¡¯s rtionship but the emperor didn¡¯t wanted to lose his son after his wife. His situation was simr to Alexander, when he had to keep distance to keep her safe after his wife died. Sometimes Alexander thoughts what if they could protect them more firmly rather then push them away to keep them safe. Would the ending be different for them, if they had grown in a healthy atmosphere with their father¡¯s love and protection, knew how to love properly? But it¡¯s toote for it. ¡°I will protect him, Your Majesty.¡± Alexander spoke with a firm voice. He doesn¡¯t want anymore tragedy and only wants his daughter to live happily. With the emperor being poisoned, he also knows that the emperor wouldn¡¯tst long and Duke Raven would try to poison while misleading the crown prince for his own benefit. If it happens, then there would be no way to prevent the past from repeating. ..... ¡°Alexander... sometimes i wonder, if i had let go of her, would she be more happy? She was so carefree and happy when she wasn¡¯t in the pce. I feel like a murderer who killed her for my own happiness.¡± Emperor Valerian was talking about his wife,te Empress Catherina Valerian Valentino, who died right after the birth of the crown prince. Catherina was actually a carefree princess of a small kingdom, who meet the emperor when he was thirty five years old. At first, they had a long and deep rtionship, as she thought he is also a prince of a small kingdom like hers. Never she imagined him to turn out be the Emperor of the great Valentino Empire. Despite everything, Catherina had fall harder for Valerian, so in the end, she choose to struggle and be with him. There was many times when she wanted to give up but Valerian, who loved her dearly couldn¡¯t let her go. He was working day and night to bring down those nobles but, in the end, she couldn¡¯t wait or fight those power hungry nobles anymore and died right after giving birth. ¡°I can¡¯t say anything because i feel the same, Your Majesty.¡± Alexander spoke as he also felt the same as the emperor and sighed. His Duke is also the same as him, maybe this was why they both feltfortable with each other because of the same kind of personality. This is also why, he can trust his son and empire to Alexander. ¡°The crown prince isn¡¯t heartless or cold like he looks... if you guide him correctly, am sure he will be a great ruler and cherish you daughter. I can see how much he loves your daughter.¡± It wasn¡¯t that Alexander didn¡¯t knew this. He knew how much Cathain loved Eleanora even in the past. But it¡¯s also his love that turned out to be a poison for his daughter, which ended up killing her and destroying everything. A tear drop left the emperor Valerian¡¯s eyes and after staying silent for some moment, he spoke again as he closed his eyes. ¡°I really wanna see you again, My empress...¡± Chapter 94 94 ¡°Cathain¡¯s Obsession¡± Aftering out from the emperor¡¯s bedroom, Eleanora wanted to get some fresh air so she went to the balcony near the emperor¡¯s room. When she raised her head, wiping her tears, she saw Cathain staring into the night sky nkly in the balcony. He was sitting on the floor in the white robe, which he wore to celebrate hising of age ceremony without any agitation. Lots of people misunderstood from hisck of sorrow that the rumours of the bitter rtionship between the crown prince and emperor is true but his empty eyes clearly told the truth. His red eyes looking up at the sky were empty. ¡®Is he okay?¡¯ Even in her past life, Eleanora had heard lots of people whispering that he had no close rtionship with the emperor as father and son, but she was still worried. He was a human before the crown prince. Could he stay indifferent when his only family member was in a death bed like situation? ..... When Eleanora, who isn¡¯t tied directly to the emperor by blood, is so sad, how hard it is for him now! Because of his status as the crown prince, he wouldn¡¯t be able to express his sadness openly, so he would be sitting alone and swallowing up sadness. The future ruler is supposed to be like that by nature. Eleanora couldn¡¯t just stand by and watch anymore, so she decided to go to him and sat beside him on the floor. ¡°Your Highness!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Your Highness!¡± ¡°... Ele?¡± Cathain was not a man who responded slowly, specially if it was Eleanora, but this time he turned around slowly after she called him twice. At that realisation, Eleanora¡¯s heart sank. His red eyes were empty as expected. ¡°Why did youe here? Why don¡¯t you go back and take a rest? It¡¯s almost midnight...¡± ¡°Your highness...¡± ¡°Oh, look at your dress. You must be cold. Should i help you get a room here to change?¡± When he said that lightly, unlike the old him who always buried his feelings, the current him was still trying tofort her despite his sorrow. Eleanora felt heartbroken. Obviously, he was so stricken by the sorrow of almost losing his father that he forgot the imperial etiquette deeply embedded in his mind. Cathain was a man who knew how to control his words all the time. As he was in a position to take responsibility for each of his trifling words and actions, he always refined his thoughts and expressed them in well-refined words when he talked about something. Unless he was Ain or with Eleanora. ¡°Your highness... Pleasee to your senses!¡± Although Eleanora knew she was rude, she spoke to Cathain loudly for the first time. Previously, she didn¡¯t knew Ain was him but she had never talked like this to the crown prince. ¡°Am okay, Ele...¡± Cathain looked more serious ad tough than Eleanora thought, which tore her heart out. She took a deep breath and knelt down on the floor beside him to seat. Then she hesitated for a moment before reaching out to him. ¡®Is it because of my memories of him in the past?¡¯ Eleanora found herself still reluctant to contact him unconsciously. It was okay for her to hold his hand for an escort or dance at official events, but she felt uneasy about contacting him physically in private ces. She was okay with Ain and kissed him but it was because she wasn¡¯t thinking straight at that moment. However, she wanted tofort him for some reason now. Eleanora couldn¡¯t see Cathain crumble like this. She hesitantly touched his fingers with her fingertips. His hand that she held first for the first time was very cold, as usual. Eleanora thought she might feel creeped out, but she didn¡¯t. Rather she felt sympathetic, didn¡¯t feel scared or tremble. Now she took a little more courage and carefully wrapped his hands. When she patted the back of his hands as if tofort him, Cathain said with a surprised voice as it was the first time that Eleanora had taken the initiative to touch the crown prince. ¡°...Ele?¡± ¡°Your Majesty, please harden your heart!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Everything will be alright!¡± Eleanora spoke to him with a low voice. He was always a level-headed man in her memories, so she didn¡¯t want to see him crumble helplessly. ¡°I know how hard it is for you now. It¡¯s natural that you are so sad because the emperor, who was your only blood, in this condition.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Please ovee your sorrow. The emperor would not want you to crumble like this.¡± ¡°Would he even care...?¡± While listening to Eleanora silently, Cathain spoke in an unstable trembling voice. ¡°Maybe even now, he is only concerned about the empire and discussing about border affairs with the duke.¡± ¡°...Your Highness.¡± ¡°He would be more worried about the empire than me, his only son.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not true. The emperor loves you from the bottom of his heart.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. He thought of me only as his sessor, and he is worried about the empire, as i still couldn¡¯t be the crown prince he wanted.¡± When Eleanora saw his wounded feelings in his eyes, she was really emotional as it was the same thing she used to thought about her own father in her previous life. ¡®Ah, Your Highness. You shouldn¡¯t think so... but i also think you have no choice but to think so as my past self.¡¯ Eleanora sighed unconsciously, thinking about the bedridden emperor. ¡®Why did you sadden son who craved your love so badly? Why didn¡¯t you love and care about him? You were so mean. Why didn¡¯t you say some kind words to him which wouldn¡¯t make him think this?¡¯ Cathain was still staring at the sky as he spoke. ¡°You know... Once i hated you. I couldn¡¯t even bear to hear your name at that time.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°It started when i saw my father smiling and ying with you when you was very little. At my fifth birthday party, when i first awakened my magic powers, he was teaching you how to make little figures with magic instead of me. Which made me very angry. That was my birthday and magic awakening ceremony but everyone¡¯s attention was at you, even my father who is always distant with me was praising you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s not your fault. But i couldn¡¯t control my emotions and not knowing how to control this, i started to hate you,pete with you. I started to follow you to do better then you, but never knew when it turned into a habit to follow you around.¡± Eleanora didn¡¯t knew what to say. She never knew anything about this even in her past life. ¡°When i got to understand that, you don¡¯t even know about my efforts topete with you... I got more angry, maybe jealous as i, who kept following you around, didn¡¯t even noticed me at all.¡± After being silent for a moment, Eleanora finally decided to ask. ¡°...For how long did you followed me?¡± ¡°More then eight years. I started to sneak out to follow you when i turned ten and you was five. I was jealous of you, who had a loving mother and a caring father. The duke was always cold infront of everyone but as soon as he meets you, he turns into a different person. I used to always watch you from afar and envy you...¡± ..... Eleanora was really speechless to know this. Never once she thought that he had his eyes on her from the very beginning. Then why did things turned out to be like that in the past? Her heart ached in pain. ¡°Your highness...¡± Eleanora was a little shocked as Cathain suddenly leaned down and put his head on herp. ¡°I don¡¯t know when my jealousy of you changed into something else. At the duchess funeral, when i gave you my handkerchief after mustering a lot of courage and you finally looked up at me with a smile, maybe i had fallen for you genuinely at that time.¡± Cathain stopped for a moment before he started to speak again after some hesitation. ¡°...But then as soon as you saw the duke, you left me and run after the duke and then, you kept chasing him secretly to the imperial pce while i chased after you too. I had to stay awake all night to work as i used to spent the day after chasing you secretly.¡± Cathain chuckled a little at the end of his words where Eleanora¡¯s hands, which was stroking his hair stopped for a moment. ¡®Was the past Cathain like this too?¡¯ ¡°We asionally meet for a few times after that and you started to smile at me more often. I acted like i didn¡¯t liked cared but i can¡¯t tell you how happy i felt from inside... then one day, you changed suddenly.¡± Eleanora guessed it was the time when got reincarnate in her ten year old body. ¡°That day, You was standing near theke and seeing you look all gloomy, i thought you was about to do something so i went to pull you back. But identally i pushed you in theke. After i got you up from theke, you started to cry out loud as you cling to the Duke.¡± ¡°Wait! It was you, who saved me?¡± Cathain finally looked at her with a smile, which made Eleanora sure that she was right. Then why did her father lied to her? ¡°After that, in our next meeting, you was so afraid of me that you passed out. And you continued to be afraid of me like i was about to kill you...¡± Eleanora kept silent. He was right about that. He had indeed killed her in their past life. But she doesn¡¯t want to me it on a person who didn¡¯t did it yet and ispletely different from before. The Cathain in the past would never open up to her like this. This is the difference between the past and the present. ¡°I realised at that time, i wanted you, i don¡¯t like you seeing with anyother man even if it¡¯s your own cousin, I want you all for myself... but i didn¡¯t knew how to approach you either or tell you my feelings. After i sedd into changing my appearance, i had the idea to approach you but i didn¡¯t wanted to deceive you. Then i coincidentally meet you at the streets, where i realised you could ept anyone except the crown prince. I got greedy for more. And as time passed by... i started to have visions about our past life and understood why you was so terrified of me.¡± Eleanora could feel Cathain¡¯s voice shaking and hesitating a little at this point. It wasn¡¯t easy for one to open up. ¡°I reminded you of that man... i was angry how you always seem topare me with him, everytime you looked at me. How he had you even after all the things he did but i couldn¡¯t even get close to you with my real identity.¡± Cathain spoke with a low voice but Eleanora could feel his pain. She knows how it feels like to see your love one, loving another person. ¡°Yes... You used to remind me of him, your unusual and unpredictable actions always made mepare the both of you... He had treated me very bad, never spoke gently, gave me respect or any love... but despite everything, i still loved him very much till i couldn¡¯t afford to love him anymore...¡± Eleanora spoke in a low sad voice and saw Cathain clenching his fist tightly at her answer. But then a faint smile appeared on her face as she spoke, which made Cathain¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. ¡°There is no doubt that i loved and hated the past you very much... but, I don¡¯t hate or fear the current you anymore.¡± Chapter 95 95 ¡°Eleanora¡¯s Story¡± Cathain turned his face abruptly as he heard Eleanora¡¯s words to see her expression. ¡®Doesn¡¯t hate or fear me anymore? Does that mean-¡® But Eleanora was just staring at the sky nkly... her blue eyes wasn¡¯t cold anymore. The atmosphere was cold, the moon was shining brightly in the dark sky... Eleanora felt like she and the night was always alike. They are cold and dark. Even if the moonlight brighten the sky, it can¡¯t remove the darkness and bring light forever from her life. Even the moon can¡¯t remove the loneliness and darkness of the night sky, how can she remove it from her own life? Just how long is she going to keep living in the darkness? But she is also afraid of ept the new changes... ..... What if when she thinks the darkness and loneliness has gone away from her life just like the past, and then ites back again? ¡°Let me tell you a story... Once there was a girl, Everyone always liked how perfect she was, how beautiful and suitable she was for the empress position. They never pointed out her mistakes and made her feel too proud upon myself. But everything changed after her mother died while protecting her. She thought her father med her, where the father thought it was his fault that he wasn¡¯t able to protect his wife and daughter. Because of the political reasons, the father and the girl grew apart and she started to grow more fond of him...¡± Cathain understood who was the ¡®girl¡¯ and ¡®he¡¯ Eleanora was referring too. It was the story of her past self. ¡°The girl couldn¡¯t ept the sudden change around her. The people who loved her turned their back and talk behind her back. Her once lovely familypletely shattered down. At that time, the girl found the ray of light into him as he gave his handkerchief to wipe her tears and then the obsession she had towards her father was all given to him as she started to live in the imperial pce, when her father went to the border relief.¡± Eleanora no longer felt sad while remembering those memories, maybe because Cathain opened up to her first, so she is no longer hesitating anymore. ¡°That girl took his cold treatment towards her as granted and epted him as the only man and love of her life. Maybe because he didn¡¯t liked her being around him, he told the girl to prove her worth to him. She happily gave up the empress lessons and picked up the sword at the age of barely thirteen for him and went to the battlefield. After a while, she came back to attend hising of age ceremony, where she felt like she don¡¯t belong to there anymore...¡± Eleanora¡¯s voice be a little low and she leaned back while putting her body weight on her palm. Cathain keptying on herp and kept listening to her story silently. ¡°Because she wasn¡¯t experienced and trained much, she had to take intense training for which she grew strong and tough, no longer all soft and slim like those other noblesdy. At that party, everyone was keeping their distance from that girl and it was only him who asked her hands to dance with a smile. That was the moment she gave her full heart to him.¡± Cathain felt like his heart was clenching in pain. The girl he loved was telling him her past love story like it is nothing but a story. ¡°They got married just by signing marriage papers, didn¡¯t hold a wedding. Maybe he just didn¡¯t wanted to hold a wedding ceremony with her. She thought if she help him grow more stronger, he will love her, realise how much she loves him. But in the end, that girl saw him smiling at another woman, cherishing that woman like she is the only one, giving that woman everything that was supposed to belong to only her.¡± Cathain was literary shocked this time as he heard about another woman. Was the past him lose his mind? How could he keep another woman? No wonder Eleanora doesn¡¯t believe and epts him now. He has been such a trash in his past life. He not only treated her bad but also had another woman! Cathain felt like travel back in time and beat the shit out of his past self. How dare that bastard to treat his empress like that?! ¡°That girl lost their two child because of his other woman, but he never trusted that girl... she kept begging him to believe her but he never even looked back. He destroyed her everything till she was left with nothing... This is how her love for him had turned into hatred and when she finally thought everything was finally done, she can now rest in peace, unexpectedly she got another chance to change everything...¡± Eleanora closed her eyes as she finished speaking to stop the tears dropping out from her eyes. ¡°But that man also changed... What do you think the girl should do, Crown prince? Should she give that man who hurted her a second chance where she might suffer from the same fate again?¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain wouldn¡¯t give her an answer. Eleanora understood why he couldn¡¯t gave her an answer. He was no fool. He must have understand that she was telling him her own past story. With this, Cathain finally understood why it¡¯s hard for Eleanora to ept him but he also had another thing in his mind, What was their ending? He heard the starting but the ending is still unclear to him. Eleanora isn¡¯t someone who would hate someone to this extent to fear just for another woman. And her fear wasn¡¯t some normal fear. It was the fear of a prey who was about to hunt down at any moment. But before Cathain could say something, an knighting to them while running. ¡°Crown Prince... The emperor has summoned you everyone...¡± Both Eleanora and Cathain¡¯s heart sank in fear and the abruptly stood up. ¡°What happen to father?!¡± ¡°He is alright...he just have something announce.¡± ¡°You go ahead, we areing.¡± ¡°Yes, Your highness.¡± With that the knight left and Cathain turned around to meet Eleanora¡¯s eyes. Both of them kept standing without speaking and kept looking at each others eyes. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t forgive him so easily, but what can i do... Am selfish and greedy for you my empress.¡± Then suddenly Cathain extended his his hands towards her. ¡°The present him ispletely different from his past self, he is him the past is past. Can you ask the girl if she is willing to give the current person a chance to help her to fix her broken heart and make her happy in this life?¡± Eleanora kept staring at Cathain¡¯s extended hands with a shocked expression. She never thought of an answer like this. ¡°Can you give the current me a chance, Ele?¡± Cathain spoke again and continued with a low voice as Eleanora still didn¡¯t had any reaction. ¡°Just don¡¯t reject me, take advantage of my status to investigate what you want, take my help to punish those who wronged you... Just don¡¯t turn away from me anymore and stay with me.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®My past memories deep inside my heart has already started to fade away because of you... they are hiding behind the clouds now. All the pain that i keep inside my heart... has started to melt down, disappearing from my mind. So long... I have walked this dark paths all alone, but only you have offered me your hands to walk the path along.¡¯ Even after a long time, when Eleanora stood still without any movements, Cathain felt heartbroken and was about to retreat his hands when he felt her soft hands touching his hands gently. ¡°Ele...?¡± Eleanora looked at him with gentle eyes and finally, she genuinely smilled at the crown prince. ¡®Maybe, you are the one i have been waiting for all of my life... You were the moonlight who can make me out of this dark ce with your light.¡¯ ¡®If it¡¯s the Ain i knew for thest three years, who suppprted me and kept protecting me even after knowing everything... Am willing to give him a chance. I can¡¯t avoid him all of my life. It¡¯s better to stop hesitating and ept the reality. We can atleast be friends and the current him deserves a chance.¡¯ Cathain¡¯s eyes widened in shock, surprise and happiness. He have finally gotten a little ce in her heart. None of them spoke but both of them could feel each others emotions. ¡®I promise, Ele... i will never let go of your hand until death separates us. You can only be mine and mine only. I will make you so happy that you will never remember those painful past memories and that man again. You will only remember me and my love.¡¯ Cathain gripped her hands more tightly and entangled their fingers together and spoke shyly with his eyes so gentle that Eleanora blushed. ¡°Thanks for giving me a chance, My empress.¡± ..... Chapter 96 96 ¡°The Curse Of The Imperial Family¡± When, Eleanora and Cathain reached the emperor¡¯s room, there was only Alexander and the sleeping emperor. As emperor Valerian felt the crown prince¡¯s presence, he slowly opened his eyes to look at them. Alexander narrowed his eyes and a frown appeared on his face as he saw them holding hands. He felt a raging storm inside of him, which wanted to separate them right instant and pull back his daughter on his arms. Even Cathain could felt the hostility in Alexander¡¯s eyes and Eleanora tried to break free their hands but Cathain hold them more firmly. ¡®What is he trying to do?!¡¯ Emperor Valerian eyes lit up a little as he saw Cathain and Eleanora standing together while holding hands. He knew his son well. The crown prince always pretended like he had a gurge against the crown princess but the emperor could feel his hidden emotions behind of it. ..... He alwayspete against her and what he didn¡¯t liked wasn¡¯t that Eleanora was always better, but she never noticed his efforts or his presence. Even though they was engaged, the couple never spent time together before like other kid couples. Once, Cathain had overheard Eleanora¡¯s conversation with another nobledy about her ideal man, where Eleanora said she want someone like her father. Who will protect her, love her and will be much stronger then her. But hearing it, Cathain felt like she was saying she didn¡¯t liked him. Everyone praises her for being so brilliant and genius, saying the crown prince is so lucky to get her. Was she mocking him? Couldn¡¯t she just say that, she liked someone like him? In furry, he didn¡¯t even attended his own engagement ceremony that he was looking forward. ¡®Am not good enough for you, not strong to protect you... then just stay with your father who is strong enough to protect you for the rest of your life!¡¯ But soon, he regretted his decision when he heard Eleanora carried the whole engagement ceremony all by herself instead of calling it off. She be aughingstock because her fiancee refused to show up, in other words, rejected her. He wanted to apologise many times but couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it and kept hesitating. ¡°Duke, Go and dere my will.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Emperor Valerian¡¯s words bought back Cathain and Eleanora¡¯s attention to him again. ¡°Cain... Come here.¡± Cathain was a little shocked as emperor Valerian called him by his nickname after a long period of time. Eleanora slowly loosened his hands and step back with her father to gave them some privacy as they closed the door. Cathain went forward and sat beside the emperor slowly as both of them was awkward with each other. A heavy silent stayed for a long time and after a heavy sigh, Emperor Valerian started to speak. ¡°You have grown up really fast... You know, this is the room where you were born. I still remember how small you was that it made me afraid to hold you...In fear that i might crush you.¡± Cathain chuckled but he was also a little shocked to know this information as, usually the birth of the baby happens in empress pce. Then how could he be born in emperor pce? ¡°I had imprisoned you mother in my room... because she kept talking about leaving me and went back to her parents.¡± A tear left emperor Valerian¡¯s eyes as he continued to speak, ignoring the shocked expression of Cathain. ¡°I didn¡¯t had much power back then. I was the fourth prince whose mother had no backings. Your grandmother was the third concubine of the emperor, who had fallen for my countryside countess mother at first side. He bought her to the imperial pce, full of danger which eventually took her own life. Because, out of the five children¡¯s of the emperor, I was the only one who had both ck hair and red hair, presenting the royal family. They tried to kill me but my mother got in their way to protect me. Father couldn¡¯t bear the pain of losing her, he had failed to protect her and soon he followed her to the afterworld. I killed my all five half siblings and rose to the throne with the current duke of Dalton.¡± Cathain looked at his father and he could feel his pain and regrets. ¡°You know, why Duke Dalton, who had no reason to help me did that?¡± ¡°...Why?¡± ¡°Because it was duchess Eunicelia whom i was engaged at the first ce. He had fallen for her when he went to Arendell to confirm our engagement. But her carefree nature had attracted him towards her. So, in return of my annulment with her, i asked his help to rose to the throne, using the blood oath that every Duke of Dalton has to take.¡± Cathain never thought of something like this. He knew the story but never knew things were so deep. ¡°What happens if someone brokes his blood oath?¡± ¡°Tragic Death.¡± Cathain felt a little shiver as, just how much love had forced the duke to take the blood oath even at the risk of his own life? ¡°Cain... our imperial family has a curse. We don¡¯t get to protect the person we love and lose them.¡± Emperor Valerian spoke in a low voice. Neither his father, or him could keep the woman they loved safe. Instead, they indirectly became the reason of their death. ¡°And... Why is that?¡± Cathain¡¯s heart sank at that thought. The dream of his first life and visions of his second life seem to prove the curse existence. He couldn¡¯t kept her happy or safe, even if he loved her, he ended up the one who hurted her the most. ¡°There is a tale that, it¡¯s because the first emperor failed to save the first empress, saintess Ariande, who sacrificed herself to protect the human kind. He couldn¡¯t ept that fact and med everything for taking her away from him. His vengeful sprite still searches for her soul and when he fails, he tries to destroy everything to make her show up again.¡± Emperor Valerian¡¯s words helped Cathain to realize that his dream was really his first life. So, is he- ¡°Unexpectedly, i named you after your mother which ended up as the same name as the first emperor. Then the prophecy of your bride... When the duke didn¡¯t kept her name as the first saintess like priest wanted, i was somewhat relief. I don¡¯t want you to suffer the same fate like us. But as you grew up, you started to resemble the first emperor more and more, which made me feel afraid and train you more strictly.¡± ¡®Maybe I have already suffered the same fate as you all in my past life... by losing her. But i won¡¯t lose her again in this life!¡¯ ¡°Cain... You are a human before everything. And think of her as the only one where you can be yourself. Instead of thinking what she or everyone might feel, express yourself to her, tell her your concerns. She wouldn¡¯t look down or think that you won¡¯t be able to protect her. Two is better then one. Husband and wife should help each other... this is what one really should do. This is what marriage really means. Don¡¯t repeat our mistakes and... live happily my son.¡± ¡°I promise... I will make her ept me willingly and never hurt her. I will protect and cherish her, Father.¡± Cathain spoke in a serious tone as he looked at the sick emperor. ¡°Your mother loved you very much... when she first knew she had you, she was very happy. I had saw the brightest smile on her face that day. But i failed to protect that smile. I thought locking her down with me will help me to keep her with me, but in the end, i made it easier for them to harm her. I am dying to meet her again, Cain. I really want to see her and tell her that how much i love her and missed her. I regret treating her like that. If it wasn¡¯t for me, maybe she could have married a prince of another kingdom which had no fight for powers like here. But even if i got a second chance, i will try my best to cherish her properly, i can¡¯t let her go and see find happiness with another man.¡± Emperor Valerian¡¯s heart clenched in pain as he remembered the past scene as to why he had imprisoned Empress Catherina. ... ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for you... i might have married a prince of a small kingdom like us and live happily without worrying about assassination every night!¡± Empress Catherine, who was six month pregnant spoke as she slowly slipped down on the floor. ..... Infront of her was Emperor Valerian, who was standing with a sword, full of blood from the assassin he just killed. ¡®Cathy...¡¯ He took steps towards her but Empress Catherine be terrified of him. ¡°Stay Away!! Don¡¯te closer!!¡± Emperor Valerian stopped on his steps for a moment before he walked towards her as he threw the his bloody sword away. ¡°D-Don¡¯t...¡± Empress Catherine kept on crying as she was afraid. Emperor Valerian hold her cheeks with his bloodied hands to wipe away her tears while cupping her face into his hands. ¡°Cathy... Why are you always like this? Why don¡¯t you just understand me? Am trying my best to protect you...¡± Hearing Emperor Valerian¡¯s words, Empress Catherine pped away his hands from her face. ¡°Protect me?! You know this empire would never ept a small kingdom princess like me, you still need power to grow up to protect this empire. But what about me and my child?! am even afraid to sleep now, Vale!!¡± Emperor Valerian kept kneeling infront of her and both of them kept silent. The room was filled with Catherine¡¯s sobbings. ¡°Let me go back to my Kingdom, Vale... I will return with our child after you have solved down everything here-¡± ¡°Impossible!!¡± Chapter 97 97 ¡°The Rise Of The New Sun¡± Emperor Valerian cut off Empress Catharine¡¯s words and red at her dangerously. ¡®What? You want to leave me?...just why?¡¯ As Catherine was someone with low magic powers, Valerian¡¯s dominant pure fire magic power forced her to submit to him and shiver in fear. Realising this, Valerian immediately controlled his mana powers and wanted tofort Catherine. ¡°A-Am sorry... i didn¡¯t meant to-¡± Catherine backed off and Valerian¡¯s hands which wanted to touch her face was left hanging on air. ¡°Heh... isn¡¯t this how it has been going on from the very beginning, Vale? This is how you forced me to marry you after i refused to marry the emperor. Now my homnd doesn¡¯t even exists on the map because of your love! I be someone who destroyed her own country¡¯s fate because of you! My father wasn¡¯t good, i was abused by my stepmother, my stepsisters mocked me but still i never felt so helpless and terrified like now, Vale! ..... I loved Vale, who was a prince of a small kingdom, not the Emperor of Valentino Empire, who bought me as some victory trophy from my kingdom!!!¡± ¡°We are the same person-¡± ¡°No, you are not the same person. The person i meet at my garden after getting beat up by my stepmother was a warm and innocent person. He wasn¡¯t cold like you, Emperor Valerian-¡± Before Catherine could say something else, Valerian had sealed her lips off with his. Catherine punched him a few times but she couldn¡¯t even resist him. He was the man she loved and the father of her child. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about leaving me, Cathy... I can¡¯t live without you.¡± Valerian spoke as he kissed her bare shoulders and hugged her tightly in the bed, running his fingers on her bulged belly where the child was growing. But Catherine just stayed silent and let him do whatever he wanted. There was no use of talking with him. After calming her down a little bit, Emperor Valerian ordered the empress to stay in the emperor pce till the delivery and wasn¡¯t allowed to step out or have any visitor. Catherine didn¡¯t stepped out of the emperor pce and stayed there obediently till her due date. And when she came out, it was only her exhausted cold death body. She had given Valerian the greatest punishment ever by leaving him all alone for the rest of his life. Which Valerian could never even think in his dreams. He was desperate, trying to warm up her body but there was no use. The poison might have killed her physically but he had killed her... soul. She was tired to the point she just stopped talking with him. Valerian desperately wanted to follow her. But if he also followed her, wouldn¡¯t he be just like his own father? Isn¡¯t this was the reason he had to struggle so hard to make him stronger, to the point he failed to notice her pain? He can¡¯t let the child, Whom Catherine loved so much, to struggle all alone like him in the imperial pce. It was only Cathain, for whom he had the courage to live till now. How the child cried on his arms, how the child smiled at him, hugged him to sleep, called him father with that child¡¯s tiny hands caressing his face. Valerian had vowed to cherish the child and gave him all the happiness, until when Cathain turned three and he had to break his own vows. Emperor Valerian was running after the little prince as always to feed him and then the little prince finally got exhausted. Valerian took the little prince on hisp and sit on a chair to feed him some more. He had a warm and gentle look on his face as he kept staring at the little chubby bun like Cathain, who was eating happily as he finally got hungry. But then, suddenly Valerian felt like Cathain¡¯s mana level dropping then usual and his body started to get cold. ¡®Huh? Cain?¡¯ Little Cathain¡¯s head was hanging low and Valerian turned him to see his face but he felt like his heart had stopped for the second time after Catherine¡¯s death. ¡°Cathain!!!¡± Valerian stood up from his sit as he run towards the main pce while ordering the guards to catch every maid and call for a doctor. Little Cathain had his eyes closed and blood in his mouth as he leaned peacefully on his father¡¯s chest. ¡®Please, God... He is everything i have left right now. Don¡¯t take him away from me... I beg you...¡¯ Several doctors came in but none of them was useful. They failed to diagnosis the little prince. Just as everyone was losing their hopes for the survival of the crown prince, Valerian¡¯s shshattered hopes came back. ¡°Summon Duchess of Dalton, Right now!!!¡± In a short period of moment, Alexander came in while he helped Eunicelia, who was at the middle stages of her pregnancy came in. ¡°Your Majesty! What happened to the crown prince!¡± Eunicelia ignored the imperial customs and hurried to the bed where little Cathain wasying down in worry. ¡°Everyone get out.¡± As per Valerian¡¯s order, all the maids and knights got out while closing the door. And to Eunicelia¡¯s surprise, Valerian had actually kneeled down infront of her. ¡°Your Majesty!¡± Even Alexander was surprised to see Valerians action. ¡°Duchess... I know i shouldn¡¯t ask you this considering you health but i can¡¯t see my only son dying like this... Please help me.¡± ¡°Your Majesty... you don¡¯t have to say this. And please stand up.¡± But Valerian kept on kneeling, even Alexander couldn¡¯t make him stand up. ¡°No... it¡¯s a request from a father to save his son. I will do anything you want. Even the throne... but please save him.¡± Eunicelia didn¡¯t spoke anything and sighed before she finally decided to speak. ¡°Maybe my daughter is really fated with your son.¡± After Eunicelia got pregnant, they got the prophecy of the saintess being reborn again, who will be the prince¡¯s bride. At first, Eunicelia didn¡¯t believed it. But then when one day she identally cut her hands and saw it healing itself, she knew it was the powers of the child inside her belly. This matter was only known between the emperor and the ducal couple as it was better to kept it a secret. And coincidentally, now this can help this little prince. But she can only heal him, the poison inside of him was so strong that no holy powers can fix it. ¡°Your Majesty, i can heal him but i need someone to take the poison inside of his body. He hasn¡¯t awakened his magic powers yet so it¡¯s possible to transfer the poison with someonepatible. If the poison kept mingling with his magic powers and grows more, it would be hard to control it.¡± ¡°Exchange it with me!¡± Valerian replied in an instant without thinking twice. As long as he can protect their son, everything is fine even if he have to take poison for him. But seem like his time is up too. That day, Eunicelia had asked her to look after her daughter and he have already prepared the gift to help Eleanora. With this, he have no more tasks left except seeing his little prince grow up a little more. Cathain couldn¡¯t me his father as he was the same in his past life. At least to him, his father was better who had no one else except her mother, but what he got to know from Eleanora... Cathain sighed as he looked at his sick father, kn a day, he has aged like ten years. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, mother will forgive you.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Both father and son smiled at each other as emperor Valerian thought his son has really grown up. He could finally close his eyes to fall into a peaceful deep sleep. ¡°Forgive me for being strict with you all this time but I have always loved you, son.¡± A tear drop left Cathain¡¯s eyes as he also closed his eyes bear the pain. ¡°I love you too, Father.¡± ... A littleter the tightly closed bedroom door opened, and the crown prince walked out without expression. ..... The whole night has passed and the morning sun was rising up slowly, the dark sky was fading away in bright sunlight. Everyone standing outside had held their breathes in and from the crown prince¡¯s expression, they could guess what has happened. When everyone stiffened at the realisation, there was the sound of a bell ringing somewhere. The bell was resonating grandly throughout the Imperial Pce. It was the bell that announced the emperor¡¯s death. ¡®His Majesty has passed away?!¡¯ Eleanora stared at Cathain¡¯s cold face and felt pain in her heart. Just how strong he is for staying calm like this? People in the hallway, came to their senses at the repeated ringing of bells. In an instant, Everyone present in the hallway dropped their swords as they all kneeled down in unison infront of Cathain. It was their homage to the new ruler of the empire, the new sun of the empire. Eleanora was feeling the most guilty as she kneeled down along with Alexander infront of their new emperor. The emperor has died when she was eighteen in her previous life, but because of her... he died early. Everyone was feeling hurt and sorrowful, for sure, except some people. But most of the people, who were close to the emperor was trying their best to keep up their emotions in, as they yelled at unison in a emotionless voice because they had to. ¡°Hail to the new sun of our empire... Long live, Emperor Cathain De Valerian Valentino.¡± Chapter 98 98 ¡°New System: Fulfilling Her Dreams¡± The whole world looked ck and white to Eleanora. Although the surroundings were very loud with some people celebrating the session of the new emperor, where the rest was mourning the emperor¡¯s death silently like Duke Dalton. Eleanora seem to heard nothing. She felt as if she was falling into the endless abyss and standing in a remote ce. As she remembered the time before returning to the past again, how she and the emperor spent their time together in the garden when her father was at the borders. The emperor had always supported and loved her whole heartly, either it was the past or present. He might be annoying some times but he has loved her equally at the same time, to the point his own son be jealous of her. The emperor couldn¡¯t show his love to Cathainpletely, so to endure his loneliness, he used to shower Eleanora with that love. As just like him, Alexander couldn¡¯t show his love to his daughter and protected the crown prince, the young emperor with everything he could. Even if Eleanora in this life didn¡¯t spend much time with thete emperor, she was still grateful for his support and love from her past life. ..... ¡®It¡¯s only a little while ago that the emperor passed away. How can they express joy about the new ruler instead of expressing condolences over his death?¡¯ Eleanora knew the practice reflected the customs of the empire, but she couldn¡¯t ept or understand it. In the past, she couldn¡¯t make it to thete emperor¡¯s deathbed like this and in this life, she caused him to die earlier then before. At that time, she was in battlefield, fighting against the Republic Army along with her father as a knight who had yet to take the knight oath. Eleanora was seventeen at that time, who didn¡¯t celebrated hering of age ceremony during her sixteen birthday because of the war. So, Eleanora at that time, just got a piece of paper on which just one line ¡®His Excellency, Emperor Valerian De Xavier Valentino has passed away¡¯, was written. Even if Eleanora was sadden by the fact, she had to focus on ending the battle to return. If the crown prince has be the emperor, then as the crown princess, she has to return soon to his side and be the empress to support him. She also had to focus on imperial duties and custom from then on. When, Eleanora returned, thete emperors one year death anniversary was already near and the new young emperor had be more cold and hard to approach. ording to the customs, she had to celebrate the new emperor¡¯s rise, but Eleanora didn¡¯t have the nerve to open her mouth to congratte him at this moment of his father¡¯s death. As she felt her eyes were blurred with tears, Eleanora hastily lowered her head to avoid being caught by the noble faction. It seemed she saw the crown prince¡¯s bloody red eyes, but she couldn¡¯t clearly see him because of her blurred vision. ¡®Was he looking at me?¡¯ After wiping her welled tears, she raised her head while controlling her expression. Eleanora saw the new emperor standing, escorted by the royal knights including the captain. Apparently, his poker face was the same as before, but he looked a bit different to Eleanora. As if it was only her who felt that way, people around her were celebrating the birth of the new sun of the empire. And the loyal subjects of the empire kept silent. Everyone except the four dukes and the main captain of the pce royal guard moved to the garden infront of the imperial pce, where evenmoners was standing. The death news of thete emperor has already spread in a short time, so people have came here to confirm the news. The new emperor moved towards the main balcony, from where one can see the whole imperial garden, as it was the highest ce in the whole empire. Eleanora, who had the right to stay as the crown princess was walking with her father stopped at a distance from their new emperor, as the tradition. Cathain had to change into a new outfit, as his previous one was full of blood stains. He had a long red cape on him, as he wore a ck suit under it and carried his sword in his left hand. The new emperor raised his head as his eyes fall on the crowd in the garden and the people had silenced just by his presence. Eleanora felt a little overwhelmed. His presence had always demanded attention, either in past or present. After her father, the crown prince was the only person who gave her the feeling of being protected. His strength was something which Eleanora always liked the most. To her, Cathain looked the best when he was working seriously. She liked how he ruled over his people, how scary he was when he used to unfairly negotiating with the cruel nobles using his powers. Eleanora used to like every single details about Cathain, until those traits of him was used upon the innocent her cruelly. Right then, Cathain¡¯s cold voice bought her back to the present again. ¡°His Excellency was great. Under his rule, the confused empire regained stability and made remarkable progress. In addition, His Excellency cherished and loved the people so much that he was called the Sacred Emperor. Now, I wish him the blessing ofsting peace as he went back to the ce to rest forever, and I, Cathain De Valerian Valentino, proim that I will lead the empire by taking over and keeping His Excellency¡¯s will.¡± In the garden, after a moment of silence because of the emperor¡¯s death, everyone cheered at the same time. ¡°Hail to the new sun of our empire!!!¡± ¡°Long live, the new emperor!!¡± And this was how the rule of the 34th emperor and the new sun of the Valentino empire, Emperor Cathain De Valerian Valentino begin again. Eleanora looked up at the new emperor, who announced thete emperor¡¯s achievements in a calm voice. Eleanora could read nothing from his red eyes and expressionless face, but she kept staring at his side profile as he spoke. Apparently, he was calm, but he seemed to be empty somewhere to her. ¡°Prime Minister!¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. Please give me your order.¡± ¡°It does not matter how long it takes, but ording to His Majesty¡¯s will, he doesn¡¯t want a grand funeral and want to rest at the same ce as thrte empress.¡± ¡°W-What? How is this possible, Your Majesty-¡± ¡°This is thete emperor¡¯s order in Duke of Dalton¡¯s presence.¡± The prime minister, marquise Roselia had no other words to refute and obey to the new emperor. ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Tapping Marquise Roselia¡¯s shoulder once, he turned to the crowd again. Although he was praised by everybody, he looked too lonely as she could sense he was feeling empty. Suddenly, seeing him like this, Eleanora¡¯s heart began to ache as he spoke again. ¡°The assassination attack fromst night, which eventually lead to the early death of his excellency was from Kingdom Republic.¡± Everyone was shocked to hear that. How can a small kingdom like them dares to attack an empire? But despite the shocked crowd, Cathain continued to speak. ¡°Therefore, ording to the orders of his execellency; I, The new sun of the empire dere the war against the Kingdom Of Republic!!!¡± Cathain¡¯s loud majestic voice echoed in the silent crowd and they started to cheer up as the deration of the war was official. Duke Raven¡¯s lips curled up as his n to start the war has been sessful. But he frowned as Cathain opened his mouth to speak again. ¡°The war will be lead by the firstmander of imperial knights squadron, Duke Dalton. And... from now on, woman¡¯s are also allowed to train and be an official knight!!¡± ¡®W-What?!¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Declearing this right now was a very risky move for Cathain, who have be the emperor for less then six hours! In her past life, the emperor didn¡¯t agreed right way but she was told to wait for the imperial letter. So, she never knew how much struggle the past Cathain had to do to make her dreams of being a knight came true. It was also truth that, the past Cathain told her to prove her worth, but actually he didn¡¯t wanted Eleanora to waste her talent and keep taking empress lessons. Finally, Eleanora understood the past Cathain¡¯s real intentions. He never wanted to sent her away because he didn¡¯t liked her but he just wanted her to do what she liked. Eleanora clenched the hem of her dress to suppress her emotions. ¡®Why did you never told me this...?¡¯ Finally, Eleanora¡¯s dream to change the system be also true. [A/N: Reference to the ch 38, where Eleanora wanted to change the system of the world by ending very and discrimination ending] Meanwhile, Everyone was uttered speechless by this. A female, bing a knight? Is this possible? ..... Even Alexander, who thought of using his blood vow to pursue the emperor to let Eleanora be a knight like hisst life was shocked. Above everyone, it was Duke Raven, who disliked this idea the most. ¡°This- how is it possible, Your Majesty?¡± Duke Raven got closer and asked to the new emperor. In his mind, he waspletely furious as he had previously thought, it would be easy to coax a teenage young emperor who never got his father¡¯s love. He wanted to take this chance and sent Duke Dalton away to the battlefield. Where he would manipte the young emperor and provoke him against Eleanora and Duke Dalton. But Cathain easilt understood Duke Raven¡¯s mind in this life and only cast him a nce as he sarcastically replied with a cold voice... Which forced Duke Raven from asking anymore questions. ¡°Because i said so... the new sun of the empire whom you were cheering for so much earlier.¡± Chapter 99 99 ¡°Late Emperor¡¯s Gift¡± Duke Raven was furious because of the new emperor¡¯s attitude and got the feeling that it won¡¯t be easy to trap him. ¡®I need to think of something else, otherwise it would be hard to control him...¡¯ Ignoring the duke, Cathain once again looked at the crowd, where everyone was debating about the fact. ¡®How can girls be trained with boys at the same ce?¡¯ ¡®Who will take care of the house and kids?¡¯ The discussion was endless, which made Eleanora felt a little fearful and she looked at Cathain with a sympathetic gaze. Is he... Okay? But to her surprise, he turned his head at the same time and smiled at her to reassure her. ¡®Everything will be okay.¡¯ ..... At that time, Eleanora felt like everything around her has been paused. As Cathain¡¯s smile was just like Alexander in the past, who smiled at her exactly like this before going into the prison. Eleanora felt like crying. Why everytime, she always somehow ends up rying on this man? She also wants to help him, share his burdens, like she did in herst life, but he always tries to endure everything all alone. She thought she was always helping him in the past, but never knew what he did for her in secret without even telling her once. Where, she just misunderstood his intentions. Turning his head as he faced the crowd, Cathain heavily sighed before he opened his mouth to speak again. ¡°If a woman can cook, look after your house and your kids... she can also fight for her mothend. If a woman can make a monthly budget for her house, she can also make a montly budget for this empire. She can also took the charge of her household and fight for her mothend, instead of hanging between her father and husband¡¯s orders. There are no rules in the empire where it says that, woman can¡¯t be officials. But, we have made it like some unspoken rules.¡± Eleanora was surprised as this are the exact same words she had once casually spoke to Ain. Ain had asked her to tell him her three wishes... this was her first wish. She didn¡¯t expected him to remember those so clearly, also help her to achieve it. ¡®His Majesty is right. There is no such a rule.¡¯ ¡®We can work and support the family instead of keep beaten up by our husbands.¡¯ ¡®We can protect ourself now!¡¯ ¡®We don¡¯t have to rely on our father¡¯s or husband¡¯s anymore and be ourselves.¡¯ The crowd downstairs started to murmur between them and most of them agreed with their new emperor, except some nobles like Duke Raven. To them, it was an insult to their male ego to work along with a woman or give them the chance to have more power then them. But they can¡¯t fight the emperor or the crowd of themoner¡¯s who agree with the new system publicly. They could only stand and clench their fists in anger, looking for an opportunity to protests. Eleanora kept looking at Cathain in amusement, as there was no one else but him in her eyes. She knew, Cathain never liked gender discrimination but never thought he would start working on it so early in this life. Is this change, also because of her? ¡°So, from now on, there will bemon institutions where everymoner children can attend without any fees and they will be provided with foods if they attend.¡± ¡®Free learning and food?!¡¯ The poor families often had to struggle to feed their children, so if they can get free food just by attending and learning, who want to protest it? Even if some men had problem with this new system where woman can work, but this just made them force to ept the new system. Cathain knew very well that only by using people¡¯s weakness, he can achieve what he wants. ¡°But we need someone to lead the way, Your Majesty. You are still young so you don¡¯t understand, but which noble family will allow theirdy to work or be a knight? They are delicate and soft, none of them can wield a sword...¡± Some nobles spoke up as they got orders from Duke Raven and got the courage to protest. Cathain had been doing exactly what Eleanora wanted to do in the future like creating institutions formoner children¡¯s. As she thought of the third wish she had shared with Ain, Eleanora¡¯s heart sank. She looked at Cathain, whose lips had been curved up devilishly after hearing their words. ¡®He isn¡¯t going to do what am thinking... right?¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s a very risky move... if he does that now-¡® Even Alexander, who always kept a poker face no matter what happened, felt tensed and tighten his grip over his sword. But that was exactly what Emperor Cathain was going to do. ¡°Good question... To train the girls, we will open a third squadron knight unit. They will be trained under a female leader.¡± ¡°But... Your Majesty, There is no noble woman who is a sword master in our empire.¡± ¡°Can you shut up for a moment, Duke Raven?¡± ¡°...¡± Emperor Cathain was really bing irritated with Duke Raven¡¯s continued interruptions. He red at Duke Raven onest time before he continued to speak again. ¡°So, the first one to end our discrimination system will be no one but, the future moon of our empire, Eleanora Ariande La Dalton... Who will be the first female knight in our empire¡¯s history by bing the leader of the third squadron and participate in the uing battle with Kingdom of Republic!!¡± Everyone fall silent again. ¡®The future empress, will go to the battle?!¡¯ ¡®A barely fourteen year old girl?!¡¯ ¡®Does the emperor wants her death?¡¯ ¡®This doesn¡¯t makes sense!¡¯ ¡°Your Majesty!!! This has gone to far!! Think about the decreasedte emperor! How sad he will be-¡± Cathain raised his fingers and put them on his mouth to gestured as he red fiercely at the duke to shut up again. ¡°Prime Minister!! Announce his execellency¡¯s will!¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Marquise Roselia took the red envelope from the knight beside the emperor and with a cough, he read thete emperor¡¯s will loudly. ¡°After a long consideration, I, the 33th emperor of the Valentino Empire, Valerian De Xavier Valentino, permit the crown princess, Eleanora Ariande La Dalton to learn swordmanship and be the first female knight in the future to take our empire into a new level.¡± ¡°!!!!¡± ¡®T-This is the gift, thete emperor has left for me?¡¯ Eleanora felt a rush of warm emotions, filling up her empty heart. It was more for Cathain then thete emperor. Without him, it wouldn¡¯t be easy or possible to make thete emperor agree or write something like this. Only god knows, how many times Cathain had pestered his father for this... Where the emperor had to agree in the end to make his son stop him to annoy anymore. Marquise Roselia stood at the back again after announcing the will and Cathain spoke again. ¡°I can vouch for Lady Dalton. She has been trained under the duke since she was small and... i personally trained her for thest three years. She is capable and she will prove herself to everyone during the uing battle. I trust her.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Hail the future moon of our empire!!¡± ..... ¡°Congrattions!!! Princess Dalton!!¡± ¡°Hail His Majesty and Her highness!!¡± A tear left Eleanora¡¯s eyes silently as she felt the world has stopped around her. She never thought the man she would fear and hate so much would go this far, for her dreams. ¡®I trust her...¡¯ This words was something Eleanora badly wanted to hear in herst life from him. When she begged him to believe her... He didn¡¯t believed her when she needed his trust the most. He left her, abandoned her, killed her. But now, he says he believes her. She finally heard those words when she no longer expected them to hear. In her past life, he took her out from the dark world where she originally belonged... He made her rush out from her original ce with a hopes to run into his warmness. Wherever he was, she passed all the obstacles to reach him, chasing after his light. To that Eleanora, she was sure that her Cathain was standing with his arms wide spread for her. To hold her into his strong arms. Only to crush her all hopes into pieces as she saw another woman passing her one step ahead and rush into his arms before her. He embraced another woman who was not her. Making her lost into the darkness forever... Eleanora doesn¡¯t know how many days or years she was into abyss, before she got reborn again. She kept wandering into the darkness, which only made her wounds more deep, till she opened her eyes and felt the sunshine again. Her father¡¯s warm embrace and everyone¡¯s love. The past shadows kept trying to devour her and She kept running from her nightmares, fear to face the same fate again. But then she stood up strongly to face them rather then running away like a coward. Face what she is meant to face... But it made her run into his embrace eventually again, forcing her to ept the light that might crush her into pieces again. Under the morning warm sunlight, Cathain looked like a shiny light, which was knocking on her darkness again. Like the sun above her head, wanting to light up her dark world again... Eleanora closed her eyes to feel the cold breeze inside and looked at Cathain again. ¡®Will you be there untill the end...?¡¯ Chapter 100 100 ¡°Lose Her To Him, Again.¡± The third day of the second month in 1647 by the imperial calendar, Thete emperors funeral ceremony was held very quietly as he wanted. Except the high ranking officials and nobles, no one else was allowed to attend. Even the coffin was sealed up tightly to not let anyone see thete emperor¡¯s face. Everyone protested for this but in front of their new emperor, who was stubborn, they had no choice but to give in. There were refreshing yellow green lights lit in the streets under the golden sunshine. The Central Pce was quieter than expected, although all the nobles of the empire arrived in the capital for the ceremony. Those who could carry thete emperor¡¯s coffin were limited to the great nobles with the rank of marquis and above, so most of the nobles already moved to the great hall of the temple. In the central hall, where the emperor¡¯s coffin was temporarily ced, bells continued to ring softly. People on standby had a solemn expression, ready for the uing ceremony. ..... Eleanora was lost in thought, looking at the emperor¡¯s stone coffin, a blonde man who stood out among those in ck came to her to speak. ¡°I, Cedrick De Evan Raven, greet the future moon of our empire.¡± ¡°...I, Eleanora Ariadne La Dalton, greet the young duke of the Raven duchy.¡± After the brief greeting, both of them stood awkward as it was the first time they was talking with each other. ¡°Well, Am going to the war too. We will be meeting each other very frequent from now on. So I thought of...¡± ¡°Oh, So are you going to represent the Raven Duchy?¡± ¡°Yes, Mydy.¡± Eleanora sharply nced up at the man who slightly bowed. Isn¡¯t his father the core members of the noble faction and their families doesn¡¯t get along too? Why is he trying to approach her and show interest? ¡°I heard that you were trained by his Majesty himself. Is that true?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± ¡°Then, you must have very high skills... ¡± ¡°The Sun of the empire, His Majesty, is entering now!¡± When Eleanora was wary of Cedrick, who kept talking to her, They heard the protocol officer announcing the arrival of the new emperor. People talking in small groups of two and three bowed all at once. ¡°We¡¯re honored to see the Sun of the empire, Your Majesty!¡± ¡°Everybody, please stand up.¡± As Eleanora raised her head, She saw him in ck formal dress. His face was expressionless, as usual. ¡°Start the ceremony.¡± When the emperor ordered coldly, the royal knights in ck uniforms instead of the usual white ones escorted him to thete emperor¡¯s coffin. Some of them carried the coffin covered with a red cloth on which a roaring golden lion engraved on their shoulders. When they reached the main gate of the Imperial Pce andid down the coffin in a carriage drawn by six horses, the official knights of the 1st and 2nd Knights got on the horses. The 1st Knights, who saluted the new emperor, departed first, followed by the new emperor and great nobles in ck robes, escorted by the royal knights. Finally, the 2nd Knights in ck uniforms stood at the end of the procession. The streets of the capital were crowded with people. Unlike the knights¡¯ inspection ceremonies, most of the people in the capital filled the streets in an orderly atmosphere. When they saw the procession carrying thete emperor¡¯s coffin, their cries were heard all over the streets. Eleanora looked up at the sky for a moment through the ck veil hanging under her hat. ¡®Are you watching, Your Majesty? So many people are grieved that you were held in Goddess arms.¡¯ Eleanora felt like tears were about to drop, so I quickly blinked and silently drove a horse. On the streets where everyone was silent, only the sound of cries, horse hoofs, and rolling wheels were heard. When the procession went around the capital¡¯s streets and reached the border between the noble andmoner districts, the pure white temple under the blue sky came into view. Hymns were resonating through Temple, which was shining brightly with the bright sunlight. After the process arrived at the entrance of the temple through the huge arched gate, the High Priest and the top priests from Kingdom Arendel wearing blue ceremonial cloaks over white vests greeted them. ¡°May the blessings ofsting peace with him!¡± People followed the priests spraying holy water, climbed the six stairs, which symbolized perfection, and went into the great hall. The pirs towering under the tall ceiling were colored golden, and the colorful stained ss was shining beautifully in the sunlight. The altar installed on the six steps was covered with pure white fabric embroidered with geometric patterns in gold thread, and the wall above the altar was borately carved with various shapes of wood branches. When the orchestra yed, the lower priests, began to sing a requiem. As the nobles lined up on both sides bowed their heads, the High Priest leading the procession walked toward the altar slowly. Thete emperor¡¯s coffin was ced on the altar covered with pure white fabric, and the new emperor in a ck dress stepped forward. After receiving a wreath made of white flowers from an apprentice knight, the emperor slowly approached the altar. Cathain kept staring at the coffin without any movement, Which made Eleanora worried. After the emperor¡¯s death, Cathain handled state affairs without any agitation and hold a private funeral like this. ¡°Pleasey the wreath.¡± When the protocol priest said that, all the nobles, starting with Duke Dalton, approached the altar andid down the flowers infront of the sealed coffin. While silently looking at the crest of a roaring lion embroidered on the cloth covering the coffin, Eleanora alsoid down a white flower and said goodbye to him. The area underneath the altar began to be covered with white flowers gradually. The ceremony was finished rather quickly as there was less people. As thest person finishedying the wreath, the sea of flowers spread around the coffin. The requiem grandly echoing throughout the temple and the delicate floral scent wafted around the temple. ¡°...The Sun of the glorious Valentino Empire, please rest in peace from now on!¡± Eleanora also said goodbye to him deep down, timed with the high priest¡¯sst words. ¡®Your Majesty, the people have regained the hope of living during your rule. Before my return, You said that since everything we enjoyed was from the people, we should know how to take responsibility for it, and that it was our duty as the ruler of the empire. Although I can¡¯t be the new emperor¡¯s wife as you wished, I will do my best to create the empire you were longing for.¡¯ When Eleanora raised her head, wiping her tears, she saw the new emperor staring into the air. He was standing nkly in a ck robe without any agitation. Lots of people misunderstood from hisck of sorrow that he was displeased with this ceremony, but his empty eyes clearly told the truth. His red eyes looking up at the sky were empty. While the High Priest recited the prayers of rest for thete emperor and blessings for the new emperor, Eleanora looked at the new emperor with her hands resting on her chest. She couldn¡¯t take her eyes off him who looked very sad, who fought against everyone to make her dreamse true. ¡°... May thete emperor rest in peace, and the blessing of The goddess be bestowed on the new emperor!¡± When the High Priest was done praying, a requiem rang through the temple again. The royal knights who approached the altar carried the coffin on their shoulders. The procession passed out of the huge hall following the High Priest, and the top priests. After burying the sealed coffin as per thete emperor¡¯s wish, Everyone stepped out of the cemetery, leaving the new emperor alone. Eleanora hesitated alone among the nobles who climbed the stairs, whispering among themselves. She didn¡¯t feel good as she was bothered by the new emperor. ¡°Oh, you are here, Ele.¡± ..... ¡°...Daddy.¡± Alexander held Eleanora¡¯s palm into his as he started to climb the stairs. His dark blue subdued eyes looked at his daughter anxiously. ¡®You can¡¯t be soft for him again, I can¡¯t bear to see you walk towards your death willingly...¡¯ Alexander faked a cough for his daughter¡¯s attention, who was looking gloomy. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for you as I didn¡¯t know where you were. Do you have anything to do here?¡± ¡°Oh, no.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go back.¡± ¡°Yes, Daddy.¡± Eleanora climbed the stairs, without looking back. As she stepped on thest staircase, Eleanora suddenly recalled Cathain¡¯s empty eyes. The moment she recalled his empty red eyes, Eleanora found herself already walking back downstairs. ¡°I have forgotten something!¡± ¡°Ele!!¡± ¡®Don¡¯t go...¡¯ After lying to her father, who called her with a surprised voice, Eleanora ran down without looking back, grabbing the hem of her skirt. Alexander kept staring at his daughters small figure till it gradually disappeared from his eyes and he clenched the hands which was holding her hands tightly into a ball. Back in the past, he also looked at his daughter who was dragged away by knights from the prison to her trial grounds like this. And she never came back again to call him ¡®Daddy¡¯ again. She had came, but it was only on his dreams. He kept holding on to see the ends of the people who killed his daughter. His daughter finally got the love from the man she always wanted, after her death. She got to wear the crown again, the ne that represents the empress that she couldn¡¯t get when she was alive. That man went crazy because of his love and guilt. Everyone got their punishments... but his daughter was innocent, her unborn babies was innocent. She didn¡¯t looked back that day too and went to embrace the death with her unborn child in belly. Where he could just look at her with a heavy heart from, behind the prison bars. ¡®Am I going to lose you to him again, Ele?¡¯ Chapter 101 101 ¡°Going Back With Him¡± Holding the hem of her dress, Eleanora ran fast as her eyes looked for Cathain. ¡®He has helped me so much in this life... i can¡¯t leave him be.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s why am looking for him! Nothing else!¡¯ ¡®I just don¡¯t want to owe him something.¡¯ Passing the staircase and the temple garden, she finally reached the cemetery. Some royal knights stood at the entrance of the Imperial Cemetery, but they gave her a pass without stopping her. Thanks to this, Eleanora could step inside rtively easily. When she looked around, gasping for breath, She finally saw a Cathain sitting in front of the grave of thete emperor and looking at it. ¡°Your Majesty!¡± ..... ¡°... Eleanora?¡± Eleanora was breathing heavily as she ran all the way here, where Cathain was shocked to see her. ¡°Why are you here...¡± ¡°Your Majesty! You have us! Thete emperor would also be watching you from heaven!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°So don¡¯t be too sad! Get a hold of yourself... Am sure, this sorrow will pass quickly.¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain thought Eleanora has gone back with her father, the duke, but never thought she woulde back for him. ¡®Did the current me, finally made some space in your heart?¡¯ Cathain finally felt a little warm in his heart. But for the veil on her head, Cathain couldn¡¯t see her face carefully. So, he stood up as he took off her hat from her head and bent down to meet her eyes as he opened his mouth to talk. ¡°Are you concerned about me? My empress?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®I shouldn¡¯t havee here. I was concerned about him where he is cracking jokes with me!¡¯ But still Eleanora felt happy as he didn¡¯t looked that sad and empty anymore. ¡°We¡¯re much dyed. Let¡¯s go back.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Cathain instructed the guards and Eleanora felt a bit relieved to see him giving instructions, but he looked back at her as he spoke again. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± ¡°I said we should go back. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Ah...it¡¯s nothing, Your Majesty.¡± Thinking he was just going to meet her father and then go back alone, Eleanora was escorted up the stairs by Cathain. At the final step, Cathain suddenly stopped and Eleanora wanted to retract her hands to go to her father. Alexander, who was standing at the entrance of the stairs, looked at his daughtering out with the new emperor and frowned a bit. ¡®Why aren¡¯t you letting go of her hands?¡¯ Three of them kept silent, where Eleanora didn¡¯t knew what to do as Cathain and Alexander kept looking at each other intensely. Like some battle was about to start. After a while, Alexander decided to go on with the imperial custom and bowed down silently and Cathain did the same to return his greetings. ¡°Pardon me, Your Majesty. But we have to go back.¡± Alexander spoke as he caught Eleanora¡¯s other hand and proceed to leave. Eleanora also heaved a sigh in relief thinking Cathain would finally let go of her hands. But as she took two steps ahead, she realised Cathain was still holding her hands with his head hanging low. Both Alexander and Eleanora looked at Cathain with a questioning look. ¡°Duke, may I talk to her for a moment?¡± ¡°Sure, Your Majesty.¡± Cathain raised his head again and looked into Alexander¡¯s eyes with firm determination. ¡°No, I can¡¯t talk with her here at the here. I think I have to move to the Imperial Pce.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Huh? What does he want to talk to me about?¡¯ Alexander¡¯s aura was so cold that Eleanora thought it might freeze her, as he gritted his teeth and finally replied. ¡°...I got it, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Eleanora was a little sorry for her father who seemed puzzled and reluctant, but once she bowed her head to her father, Alexander reluctantly loosened his grip from Eleanora¡¯s hand. Alexander turned his head and watched as Cathain helped her got in the carriage first then got in himself, finally head out from the temple graveyard. ¡®What can i do... for stopping you to be soft for him again? He isn¡¯t as pitiful as he is pretending to be, my innocent Ele. A wolf will never be a sheep, no matter how great it¡¯s disguise is...¡¯ Alexander sighed as he looked at the sky nkly. ¡®Guide me, Lia... to protect our daughter this time.¡¯ Right then, Alexander¡¯s eyes fall on a shadow beside the pirs and a frown appeared on his head as he approched that person. ¡°You shouldn¡¯te here like this, what if someone saw you?¡± ¡°No one saw me. I was careful enough.¡± ¡°Have you bought it?¡± ¡°Yes, Here.¡± The person in the cloak spoke lowly as he took out a small ss bottle with a blue coloured liquid inside of it and handed it to Alexander. ¡°Just one drop of it is enough to work. Mix it on his tea everyday.¡± ¡°Got it. Return safely, Don¡¯t get caught.¡± ¡°Goodbye, Duke.¡± Alexander replied with a humming sound in agreement. The mysterious person disappeared soon and Alexander looked at the ss bottle in his hands. ¡®With this, Everything will be normal again. I will protect you this time, Ele... No matter what price I have to pay for it.¡¯ ¡®I will not spare anyone who have harmed you.¡¯ ... Time already passed quickly, and it was quite dark outside. Although Eleanora was bothered by the fact that it was toote, she couldn¡¯t retract her decision to go with him. ¡®I guess everything will be alright.¡¯ Eleanora swallowed a sigh and looked outside from the window, where Cathain was sitting at the opposite of her motionlessly. The carriage ran smoothly and arrived at the Imperial Pce, then passed through the main entrance and stopped in front of the Central Pce, where thete emperor used to reside. When she saw the towering pce, she murmured unconsciously. ¡®He seems to have already moved in.¡¯ ..... Somehow, Cathain looked a bit gloomy. ¡®Maybe he might not have felt good about moving to the Central Pce, histe father¡¯s ce, as soon as the state funeral was over.¡¯ After the carriage stopped, Cathain got out first and helped Eleanora to get down. Although she felt a bit sorry for him, but as they walked inside, Eleanora¡¯s heart started to tremble again because of the memories of the past. Specially when she realised that, they was heading to the library. Cathain felt Eleanora¡¯s hesitation, so he grabbed her palm more tightly as he took big steps towards the library to reach soon. The same library, where Empress Eleanora used to work hard day and night for gaining the emperor¡¯s affection. The same stairs where she fought with Jena after she was dered as queen and no one took the empress¡¯s side. At first nce, the study of the Central Pce seemed muchrger than that of the crown prince¡¯s pce, but Eleanora couldn¡¯t afford to appreciate it. Her gaze fall on the big working desk and chair, where she previously used to sit and work, where the emperor took the empress¡¯s body countless time. No warmth, No affection... like he was just fulfilling some duties instead of making love. Eleanora shaked her head to stop thinking about the past and watched him who was remaining silent all along. She opened her mouth carefully as she thought she had better say something to him first now. ¡°Your Majesty. Well... Would you like a cup of tea?¡± ¡°Will you make it?¡± ¡°If you allow... i will.¡± Eleanora was a little surprised to see the delighted expression on his face. She blinked a few times to get a hold of herself as she pulled the string and asked a maid to bring a tea set. Shortly afterwards, the maid who came in, disyed all kinds of tea with tea pots. Eleanora pickedvender from among them. Although she knew he didn¡¯t like the strong scent, I thought thatvender with a neuro-stable effect might soothe him, who was somewhat unstable now. But he put down the teacup on the table after lifting it. ¡®Didn¡¯t he like it?¡¯ ¡°As I felt you needed stability, I brewed it strong... Should I make it again?¡± ¡°Oh, no, you don¡¯t have to...¡± Eleanora tilted her head in confusion. Why did he put down the teacup if it were not for the strong scent? Then she finally remembered and chuckled a little as she put two sugar cubes into his tea cup to mix. ¡°Forgive me, i forgot that you don¡¯t like bitter tea.¡± ¡®But you always remember that Ain likes sweet things.¡¯ ¡°...It¡¯s okay.¡± Cathain thought in his mind and replied in a low voice. But his reply somehow made Eleanora anxious. When she raised her cup with an anxious look, Eleanora suddenly saw his hand holding the mug trembling. She stopped putting the mug to her mouth. She thought he felt a little better because he was calm, but he didn¡¯t. Is it because he recalled histe father when he came back to the Central Pce? As she felt sorry, she put down the mug quietly. When Eleanora was carefully choosing words tofort him, Cathain hesitantly opened his mouth after pondering over something. ¡°...Ele.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°In fact, I want you to do me a favor.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Eleanora looked at him with a puzzled expression. Why is he so hesitant? When she was waiting for his reply with a bit of anxiety, he said, looking at her, as if he made up his mind. ¡°If I am alone here... I think it will be too hard for me to endure tonight. So...¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± But his next words made Eleanora froze... ¡°Would you stay with me tonight?¡± Chapter 102 102 ¡°I Will Always Wait For You¡± ¡°P-Pardon?¡± Eleanora asked with a red face, startled. But Cathain had no answer. He was just staring at her with deeply subdued eyes. ¡°Your Majesty...¡± At that instant her memories of the past shed through her mind. When she looked at his red eyes with her trembling blue eyes, She saw herself reflected in his sunken eyes. Widening her open eyes, Eleanora¡¯s face that turned white, and terrified look. Cathain, who was silent for all the time chuckled, while staring at the freaked out Eleanora. ¡°What are you thinking with your tiny dirty brain... My innocent empress? ..... Cathain spoke as he flicked on Eleanora¡¯s forehead. Where Eleanora was dumbfounded as she ced her hands on her forehead in pain. ¡°...I don¡¯t have any intention of ¡®that kind¡¯ of sleeping with you as you have note of age yet.¡± ¡°Ah...¡± ¡°I said that because I just wanted you to stay with me, though I knew I was forcing you...¡± Cathain spoke in a low voice as he thought when Eleanora didn¡¯t even used to think this much before falling asleep beside Ain. But now she is taking the same thing at a exact opposite side, because he is not her friend Ain anymore. When Eleanora barely calmed down her pounding heart, she saw him staring at her with an unstable expression. Suddenly, She felt sorry because she hurt his feelings, who was going through a hard time now. ¡®What can I do? What should I do?¡¯ Eleanora closed her eyes tightly. Although she knew she would be in trouble if something went wrong, she could not refuse his request. Eleanora knew he would crumble if she left him alone. Besides, she had to tell him about thete emperor a little more. There were only a few who experienced thete emperor¡¯s affection for him, and she was one of them. Perhaps she was the only one who could tell him. When Eleanora got up with a sigh, Cathain looked agitated and spoke with a subdued voice. ¡°I knew you would refuse...¡± But right then, Eleanora¡¯s palm came to his view. ¡°Your Majesty, I would like to walk in the garden with you.¡± ¡°Oh...¡± Cathain was startled for a moment as he kept looking at Eleanora, whose body was stopping the moonlight toe to his view and her silver hair was shining as the moonlight reflected on it. Her blue eyes was bright as it was ever and the smile on her face was genuine. ¡°The weather is good these days, so I think it would be good if you took a walk at night.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°...Thank you.¡± Cathain whispered to her as hee got up and hold her hands tightly with a smile. Which made Eleanora froze for some moment. Her shadow was blocking the light to fall on him, but still it couldn¡¯t hide the joy in his red eyes. Eleanora abruptly looked away and this time, she escorted Cathain to the garden. She walked ahead as Cathain simply followed, holding her hands tightly. The imperial pce garden, which was shrouded in darkness had a charm of its own, different from what one see during the day. As they passed the arched door decorated with wisteria and entered the promenade, various colorful flowers greeted us. Under the moonlight, the flowers waved gently in the wind. The scent of flowers tickled the tip of Eleanora¡¯s nose in the spring breeze and disappeared. It reminded Eleanora of the night of Jennifer¡¯s pregnancy announcement, where she ran out and cried in this garden for hours. But she didn¡¯t feel as sad as she thought she would feel, maybe because she had finally opened up to Cathain that day. Which took out some burden from her heart. Walking silently while hearing the sounds of bugs, Cathain asked in a low voice. ¡°How is your preparations for the war?¡± ¡°All necessary preparations have beenpleted by my father, Your Majesty. As you have decided, I will prove my skills during this war and then pledge the knight oath after mying of age ceremony.¡± ¡°Your father loves you a lot. He almost cut off Duke Ravens head during the meeting when he opposed of you taking the knight oath.¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora sighed in her mind. As she felt the need of correcting Alexander¡¯s this sudden outbrust nature. This time, it was Duke Raven; who knows when he goes to cut off their emperor¡¯s neck and lock up again like her previous life. Cathain looked at Eleanora, smiling gently, he spoke again. ¡°It¡¯s rare to see noble family members having a solid family bond, but you must be very close to your father.¡± ¡°...Yes¡± A gentle look appeared on Eleanora¡¯s face as she thought of her father. ¡°It was surprising. As you know, your father was always blunt, so I never thought he loved you so much. Well, I now know why he used to be called the romanticist of the century.¡± Eleanora was surprised. Although the way he spoke was still the same, Eleanora could feel that he was obviously envious of her father. Specially hisst sentence. Suddenly, Eleanora was reminded of herself who realized her father¡¯s love at thest minute before her return. As she felt the emperor still failing to realize thete emperor¡¯s deep affection for him even though he actually received it. When she think about it now, her father at the time loved her even though he didn¡¯t express it. Of course, she didn¡¯t realize it out of self-usation at that time. ¡°In fact, I wasn¡¯t close to my father at first.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. I once thought my father didn¡¯t love me because he was blunt and reticent. So I always kept a cold rtionship with him.¡± ¡°But how are you so close to him now?¡± ¡°...I¡¯m sure thete emperor must have loved you, just like all parents in the world, even if he had failed to express it.¡± Eleanora spoke but Cathain was still silent. She sighed low and traced her memory to tell him some episodes about thete emperor. ¡®Can I tell him about this?¡¯ Eleanora hesitated for a moment, but when she noticed his serious expression, she didn¡¯t hesitate anymore. As someone who heard what theter emperor had candidly told her about the crown prince, she had a duty to convey it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to say this, but you didn¡¯t look very good when I saw youing out of thete emperor¡¯s room; The day when the emperor summoned us to ask about the failed negotiation. I was bothered, so I dared to ask him why he was so strict to you when he trusted you very much.¡± ¡°...So, what did he say?¡± ..... ¡°He said although he felt heartbroken, you were the only one to take his ce. He said if you had been born into a noble family, he would have loved you so much, but as you would rule the empire as the next ruler, he could not have done so. He also said he scolded you even when you did a nice job because he wanted you to do a more nice job by improving your skills.¡± ¡°....¡± After hearing her out, he got lost in thought silently. Eleanora walked cautiously in order not to disturb him, with her mouth shut. ¡°By the way, I think we walked for some time. Why don¡¯t we sit down and take a break?¡± Sitting first under a tree, Cathain pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and spread it on the ground. Surprised, Eleanora looked at him. Regardless of whether it¡¯s dirty ground or not, how dare she sit on the emperor¡¯s handkerchief? ¡°Sit down.¡± ¡°Your Majesty, how dare I...¡± Cathain frowned a little when he saw Eleanora hesitate to sit on his handkerchief. ¡°You even used to ride on my back or pull my hair, when i was Ain to you. Do you want me to say it¡¯s the emperor¡¯s order now?¡± ¡°...I¡¯m grateful to you, Your Majesty¡± Feeling ashamed of her dark past with Ain, she thanked him in a small voice, and sat cautiously on the handkerchief he had spread out. With his back against the tree, Cathain raised his head and started to speak while looking up at the sky. ¡°Come to think of it, I think I had many memories about you in this ce.¡± ¡°I guess so, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°...Thanks to that, I¡¯ve changed my perception of you a lot.¡± ¡°Pardon, Your Majesty?¡± ¡°Well...¡± He hesitated for a moment, then turned his eyes away from her and stared into the air. ¡°As i told you that day, in fact I hated you until a few years ago.¡± ¡°...Yes, Your Majesty. I know that.¡± Eleanora heart ached because she could feel how much he had been hurt as a child, even if that doesn¡¯t forgive the fact as to how he treated her in the past. Cathain nced at theke beside the garden as he spoke. ¡°This is where i had identally pushed you on theke and after a few days, you copsed after seeing me.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I was shocked when you kept crying while clinging to your father. Because you was someone strong and noble who always behaved elegant. I didn¡¯t expected you to cry like that. Also, i realised then the girl am envious andpeting against is only 10 year old.¡± Cathain smiled bitterly, staring into the air, then continued to speak. ¡°That was the first time, i felt something changing in my heart for you...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I was afraid when i heard that our engagement might get cancelled. Specially when i learnt that you don¡¯t wish to have any political involvement.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I was annoyed at how scared you were of the crown prince but how easily you epted Ain.¡± Eleanora felt heartbroken to hear that. ¡®The old him must have tried harder than me. Back then I knocked myself over to be the perfect empress. If what he said that day and today was true, the old him might have continued topare himself with me.¡¯ Eleanora breathed out as if to throw out something stuck in her chest, Cathain also took a deep breath and continued in a much morefortable voice than before. ¡°I couldn¡¯t understand your behaviour till I started to have visions, where I saw how cruelly the past me treated you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t even see our past clearly and fully but I felt so angry over him, not to mention you, who remembers everything from the past.¡± ¡°...It was painful, but not anymore.¡± Both of them kept silent, then Cathain broke the silence once again by speaking first. ¡°Thanks for telling me. If you hadn¡¯t told me, I would have misunderstood thete emperor a lot.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee, Your Majesty. I feel it¡¯s fortunate that I can tell you about how he genuinely felt and thought about you.¡± Cathain smiled at her but even after a long time has passed, he kept staring at her, which made Eleanora avert her eyes as she felt shy. Then she was even more startled as Cathain¡¯s cold lips touched her cheeks, which had turned red because of embarrassment. ¡°I will wait for your glorious return... My empress.¡± Chapter 103 103 ¡°Cathain¡¯s Dream¡± The white petals fluttered off in the wind. The gentle scent of flowers and the scent of the earthy scent tickled the tip of Eleanora¡¯s nose. The sound of unknown grass bugs was heard from everywhere. Cathain looked away as he also felt a little embarrassed, not to mention Eleanora, who had turn tomato red. The atmosphere felt very peaceful and calm as if it could free one from the troubled world. When Eleanora got carried away with the atmosphere for a moment, Cathain¡¯s cold voice broke the silence. ¡°I decided to help you fulfil your dreams... As a redemption for my past behaviours, also the past life which I don¡¯t remember clearly... Am sorry.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this...¡± ¡°It¡¯s not even enough to erase the pain in your heart. This is what i can do at least.¡± ..... ¡°...Thank you.¡± Eleanora thanked Cathain in a low voice, wanting to not feel the warmth which he wanted to spread in her heart. ¡°No matter how long you take, this emperor will always wait for his empress to return with a glorious victory and ...ept him willingly.¡± Although Cathain is sure because of his visions that Eleanora would be safe but he was still ufortable. If he could, he wanted to apany her to the battlefield, but he has to look after the empire now. With his back against the tree, he looked up silently at the sky. As Eleanora didn¡¯t want to disturb his thoughts, she just gazed at the sky, too. The twinkling starlight in the ck sky was so beautiful. ¡®It is said that when a person dies, they bes a star. If so, are they shining so brightly because they miss someone left on earth so much? Mom, are you also there? Do you miss father and me?¡¯ The moment Eleanora eximed in amazement at a shooting star, she felt something touching heavily on her shoulder. Eleanora turned her head around in surprise. She found Cathain leaning on her shoulder in no time, with his eyes closed. When she saw him asleep with a rxed expression, she had mixed feelings. ¡®How did all this happen?¡¯ Their rtionship was star-crossed from the beginning, and even now. Eleanora longed for his love so much in the past, but she was hated by him. Even though she have won over his heart now, she can¡¯t ept him or his love. This is the essence of her contradictory rtionship with him. Eleanora sighed deeply. She pounded her stuffy chest when suddenly something fell on her arm. ¡®What is this? Is it raining in this nice weather?¡¯ ¡®But it¡¯s February...it shouldn¡¯t be raining now.¡¯ Eleanora looked up, but the sky was clear without any clouds. In all possibility, it won¡¯t rain. When she looked down, tilting her head, a drop of water fell again. Eleanora felt she had to wake him up, so she bent down a little to see his face. But she was surprised to see tears flowing under his thick eyshes. ¡°Your Majesty...¡± Eleanora hurriedly closed her mouth instead of speaking as she felt it would be inappropriate to disturb him now. Teardrops were falling from his eyes, but he smiled as if he were happy instead of being sad or in agony. Eleanora was so heartbroken to see it that she also began to cry. She doesn¡¯t know why she was crying, but she felt better as tear drops silently left her eyes as she felt the past agony again. ¡®Why am the one who keeps suffering because of the past, instead of those who actually harmed me?¡¯ Eleanora quickly blinked her blurry eyes. Hesitating for some time, she carefully ced her hand on his shoulder. ¡®He would be ufortable in this posture.¡¯ Eleanora carefully put his head on herp while trying to not wake him up. Then, she tied up his disheveled hair and wiped his tears as she used her healing powers on him to rx. ¡®Let me help him have a happy dream.¡¯ She felt her frozen heart melt away at the warmth of his tears. Eleanora looked at his smiling face for some time before slowly leaning against the tree. She kept blinking her eyes slowly because she felt sleepy. While tilting her head, Eleanora closed her eyes unconsciously and fell asleep. But on the other hand, Cathain be rxed because of Eleanora¡¯s powers but he wasn¡¯t having a happy dream. ... ¡®Where am i?¡¯ Cathain thought as he found himself in a dark ce, where he couldn¡¯t see anything. He was wearing a pair of white shirt and ck pants, unlike the ck suit he was wearing before he fall asleep beside Eleanora. ¡®Another vision?...Dream?¡¯ He was lost in his thoughts, till he suddenly heard children¡¯sughing sounds. ¡®Children¡¯s?¡¯ His surrounding be full of warm light, and the darkness started to fade away slowly. Cathain looked around again as he ran, finally found Eleanora, whose back was facing him. Her silver hair was beautifully tied up as she wore a elegant sky blue dress. She had the empress crown on her head as the ruby ne of the imperial family on her neck. Then he noticed two little boys circling around Eleanora happily andughing as they ran. She was also smiling. The eldest child was a four year old boy, who had ck hair and red eyes just like him. He was wearing the imperial uniform, which helped Cathain to understand that boy would be the next emperor. ¡®So he is the crown prince?¡¯ Then his gaze fall on the second child was also a boy, barely three years old, who had silver hair and blue eyes just like Eleanora. He was wearing a silver blue uniform as he hold a sword. ¡®The next duke of the Dalton¡¯s?¡¯ Cathain felt warmness in his heart as he watched the two boys ying happily. Both of them was circling around Eleanora as she hold something in her arms. ¡®What¡¯s she doing?¡¯ Cathain got closer to see them more clearly and his eyes widened in surprise. ¡®A princess?¡¯ There was a little baby girl, who was trying to walk while holding her mother¡¯s hand as she giggled. The little baby girl had silver hair and red eyes, inherited from both parents. ..... A beautiful tiara was shining on her head, as she was the first imperial princess born after the second emperor of the Valentino empire, the daughter of the first emperor. There was no girl born in the imperial family after her. The little princess was the first one to notice him, but her smile stopped as she saw him and started to cry. ¡®Empress? Are they our babies?¡¯ Cathain asked, as they looked exactly like her and him. They looked very cute and adorable. It was no doubt that they was his children¡¯s with Eleanora. But suddenly their distance berger, separating him from them. ¡®Huh?¡¯ Seeing them standing far away from him, Cathain took steps toward her with a smile, but he froze after she turned her face to him. The imperial ruby ne disappeared from her neck, revealing a huge hideous cut mark on her neck. The empress crown fall from her head as her tied up silver hair loosened up, her elegant sky blue dress be a shabby white dress. Blood was flowing out from her blue eyes, which was gradually turning lifeless as she stared at Cathain with a cold expression. Despite his horrors, he tried to touch her with his trembling hands. ¡®E-Ele... w-who did this to you?! J-Just how?!¡¯ But they kept staring at him coldly without any reply. Cathain could feel the little two boys hostility against him as they clenched the hem of their mother¡¯s shabby dress. But the moment he tried to touch her, she turned into a blue butterfly and vanished along with the babies that was circling around her. ¡®Eleeee!!!!¡¯ Then several butterflies surrounded him and the bright room be pitch ck again. He could no longer identify which blue butterfly was her. ¡°Eleeee!!¡± Cathain kept yelling her name as he ran but she was nowhere. Then he suddenly heard her chuckle. ¡®Hahhaaahha... Am here... Your Majesty!!! Catch me... Am here...¡¯ Cathain kept running to wherever the sound came from but no matter how long he ran, he couldn¡¯t understand which butterfly was her. ¡®Papa...Am in so much pain... Papa... Save mee¡¯ Cathain suddenly stopped as he heard a child¡¯s painful cry, he turned back and tried to find where the sound wasing from... But then he heard her voice again. ¡®Your Majesty... I didn¡¯t did this... Am innocent... Believe me..¡¯ Then he again heard another baby¡¯s voice. ¡®Papa... They are killing me... it hurts... Save me...¡¯ Cathain kept running like a madman as he couldn¡¯t decide to whom he would go first. He fall on his knees as the voices around him grew more loud and stronger. ¡°I HATE YOU CAIN!! I HATE YOU!!¡± ¡°WE HATE YOU PAPA!! WE HATE YOU!!¡± ¡®Stop it...stop saying...¡¯ Cathain put his hands on his ears as he couldn¡¯t bear to listen to those voices anymore. It was killing him. ¡°WHY DIDN¡¯T YOU BELIEVED ME?¡± ¡°WHY DIDN¡¯T YOU SAVED US, PAPA?¡± ¡®Stop...shut up...¡¯ ¡°WHY DID YOU KILLED ME CAIN?¡± ¡°WHY DID YOU KILLED ME PAPA?¡± ¡®Am sorry... Am sorry... I didn¡¯t did it... It wasn¡¯t me... Am sorry...¡¯ Tears kept pouring out from his eyes as he kept apologising at the same time. Then finally the past Eleanora appeared infront of him again. Who strocked his hair gently but she kept emotionless. ¡°Yeah, it wasn¡¯t you who did this to us... But that doesn¡¯t mean you was not involved.¡± Cathain moved his hands as he hugged the older Eleanora tightly and she kept stroking his hair. ¡®Am sorry...¡¯ ¡°Punish those who made us like this... I want justice for my children¡¯s, for my innocence. Only then you can deserve her.¡± ¡®I will... i won¡¯t spare anyone, I promise.¡¯ ¡°Go back, You don¡¯t belong to here... Go back to her.¡± The young Cathain vanished from the dark abyss as the older Eleanora kissed his forehead. She sighed heavily as she looked around the dark abyss. ¡°...I hope, your fate will be different from mine.¡± Chapter 104 104 ¡°Night At The Emperor¡¯s pce¡± Cathain opened his eyes in a shock as soon as his dream ended and found himselfying on Eleanora¡¯sp. He slowly got up as his eyes kept staring at the sleeping Eleanora with a guilt feeling. She was sleeping so peacefully that it made Cathain¡¯s heart ache in pain as he thought of the older Eleanora whom he meet a few moments ago. He took Eleanora¡¯s shining silver hair on his hands to kiss as he vowed in his mind. ¡®I promise to give you justice, My empress.¡¯ ¡°Your Majesty; should we wake her up?¡± Brayden, who was waiting at the entrance of the garden had came in to look for them as his superior hasn¡¯t came out for a long time with other escort knights. But as he found them, both of them was sleeping. So, he didn¡¯t dared to wake them up and only wait for them to wake up. ..... ¡°No need... I can manage.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Cathain carefully carried her up on his arms and headed towards the emperor¡¯s pce. Where maintaining a proper distance, Brayden kept following them. As he went through another way to reach the emperor pce so that Eleanora would be on his embrace for a long time, Cathain suddenly stopped as his eyes fall on the abandoned mansion of the imperial pce. A frown appeared on his face as he felt some mixed feelinging from that ce. Cathain walked out without waiting there anymore and soon, he stood infront of his new room. Eleanora frowned a little in her sleep as she felt some movements but as soon as she was tucked into the nket by Cathain, she be rx and continued to sleep. Seeing this, Cathain couldn¡¯t help but poke her cheeks. ¡®Why are you so cute?¡¯ Cathain thought on his mind and left the room happily after cing a kiss on her forehead. But his happy mood ended as he heard a cold voice from behind. ¡°...Your Majesty.¡± ¡°...¡± Turning his head back, Cathain¡¯s eyes fall on Alexander, who was waiting outside of the emperor¡¯s bedroom. ¡°Duke Dalton.¡± Alexander took some steps towards him and his face rxed a little as he saw Eleanora sleeping in the bed. But then his facial expression darked again as he looked at his new emperor and spoke. ¡°Am here for my daughter. Thanks for taking care of her, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°This is what i should do as her future husband, don¡¯t you think so? Father inw...¡± ¡°...¡± Alexander clenched his fist at Cathain¡¯s words. He only agreed to not cancel the marriage agreement for now to help Eleanora be a knight. Which would be hard if he didn¡¯t took Cathain¡¯s help. But that doesn¡¯t mean he will agree to their marriage. ¡°It¡¯ste now, Your Majesty. We should return.¡± Alexander spoke as he wanted to get in to carry out Eleanora but he was shocked as Cathain suddenly stood infront of him. ¡®What does it mean?¡¯ Alexander was furious because of Cathain¡¯s actions. ¡°Let her rest here tonight.¡± ¡°...Thanks for your offer, but i have to reject it, Your Majesty. She needs to prepare for the crowning ceremony of Your Majesty in the morning and then also depart for the war.¡± ¡°She can do that from here too.¡± ¡°...¡± If Alexander was a white winter wolf then Cathain would be the furious ck panther. None of them wanted to back off, making the people around them shiver in fear. ¡®Thank god... the duke doesn¡¯t know that our emperor used to climb on herdyship¡¯s window and spend time with her every night. We have to look for a new emperor, once the duke knows this.¡¯ Brayden thought as he stood like an invisible wall beside them. ... In the morning, Eleanora was tossing and turning her body, rubbing her sleepy eyes. She found herself in a ce not familiar to her. ¡®Where am I?¡¯ Eleanora was still sleepy so she couldn¡¯t see clearly but she could tell that it wasn¡¯t her room. The window in her room is infront of the bed, but she could feel the lighting from beside the bed now. So she was certain that she isn¡¯t in her room. Someone approached her while she was wondering what happened, and bowed deeply. The badge of the pce affairs office on her chest was clearly visible. ¡®Huh? Am I inside the pce now?¡¯ The startled Eleanora immediately got up from the bed. This time the crest of a roaring golden lion engraved on the carpet caught her eye. ¡®Oh my God!¡¯ Eleanora asked the maid with a trembling voice, trying hard to open her mouth. ¡°Where am I now?¡± ¡°It is His Majesty¡¯s bedroom, Lady Dalton.¡± ¡®...¡¯ ¡®I hope daddy didn¡¯t killed him yet.¡¯ Eleanora felt goosebumps. She clearly felt her father¡¯s possessiveness over her yesterday. All kinds of thoughts passed through her mind. Now that she didn¡¯t returned for a whole night, she can only imagine how angry her father will be. Let alone the fierce bickering between the imperial faction and the noble faction over her overnight stay at the Emperor Pce. It didn¡¯t matter that nothing happened. Politics was a battle for justification. ¡°Why am I here?¡± Eleanora asked the maid infront of her. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I was ordered by His Majesty to serve you when you woke up.¡± ¡°I see... Where is he now?¡± ¡°He is in the meeting room.¡± ¡°Meeting room?¡± The maid bowed deeply to her when Eleanora was tilting her head and spoke. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I heard that he called the heads of the dukes familiesst night and spent the night with them.¡± ¡°Huh? Did he summon all of them?¡± ¡°Yes, I heard so. His Majesty asked to serve you breakfast and get ready to attend the crowning ceremony when you are awake. It¡¯s alreadyte, so you had better hurry up...¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Eleanora stood up with a sigh of relief. ..... As he was with the noblesst night, there was no possibility that any weird rumors about her would spread in the capital. When Eleanora stepped down from the bed, she was bothered by her costume as she was dressed in the same ck satin dress, corset, and petticoat. But it be a little revealing as she slept while wearing it. ¡®I wonder if he saw my outfit.¡¯ Hiding her blushing face, Eleanora washed her face and changed into the clothes the maid gave her after having her breakfast. The light water-colored dress fitted her perfectly as it was tailored for her body. Even the light jewellery and makeups was ording to her taste. Eleanora was a little puzzled because it was her first time wearing it, but she went out as the maid was in a hurry. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Lady Dalton.¡± ¡°Hello, Sir Anthony, Sir Raymond. Long time no see!¡± As Eleanora left the room, the two knights standing at the door bowed to her, including The emperor¡¯s aid Marquis Hill¡¯s heir Brayden Hill. Sir Raymond started to spoke with a bright smile. ¡°I was ordered to escort you. Pleasee with me.¡± ¡°Oh, thank you.¡± Eleanora quietly expressed her gratitude and walked with the two knights. Although she wasn¡¯t that ufortable with Brayden anymore, but she wasn¡¯tfortable with him either because of the her past. As Brayden gave testimony against her which just proved her to be more guilty of a crime she never did. So, she just maintains the courtesy with Brayden by greetings and talk about necessary things only. ¡°Did you have a good sleepst night? It seemed like you were sleeping very well.¡± -Brayden asked. ¡°Pardon? What do you mean... ?¡± ¡°Well, I happened to be on dutyst night, so I have been keeping an eye on you since you arrived at the Emperor Pce with His Excellency.¡± ¡°Oh my...¡± Suddenly, her face blushed. It was only natural for the guards and the aid to follow the emperor, that was how they knew about it. But even though Eleanora understood it, She felt suddenly embarrassed to hear that he had seen everythingst night. In addition, Sir Anthony and Sir Raymond were close to her as they guarded her for the past three years. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen the emperor sleep sofortably. I am not sure if you know it, but his Majesty can¡¯t sleep because of insomnia. He often suffers from nightmare¡¯s. But yesterday he had a sound sleep. So, our opinion was divided over whether to wake up the emperor or not because it was cold at night.¡± ¡°...I see.¡± When Eleanora slowly nodded, Brayden continued in a very satisfied tone. ¡®I should help my superior to have a peaceful private life to get a peaceful working life for myself.¡¯ Brayden thought in his mind as for the past three years, he had to cover up for the crown prince, who was busy with his fianc¨¦ in a disguise to pursue her. Making Brayden do all the works. This was why he thought of letting Eleanora know of Cathain¡¯s problem to create a soft spot for his superior in her heart. ¡°So, after a long discussion, we approached the emperor to wake him up, but...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°When he noticed we were approaching, he quickly opened his eyes and told us to go back. So, we watched him at a distance. He looked at you for a long time, took off his robe and carried you in his arms.¡± ¡®What?!¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s eyes popped out. She thought somebody carried her to this ce because the ce she fell asleep was different from the ce she woke up. But she never thought the emperor would carry her in person. Not caring about her surprised look, Brayden continued. ¡°And then, heid you on the bed and looked at you for a long time, he came out with a deep sigh, only to find the duke standing at the door.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®My father didn¡¯t fought him, right?¡¯ ¡°If his majesty wasn¡¯t the emperor and the duke wasn¡¯t thedy¡¯s father, I was sure they would start fighting over you. In the end, our Majesty won and the duke forced him to start a meeting so that his majesty won¡¯t be in the same room as you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°This is why youth is good. Oh my, I wonder if I will ever have a date...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Sir Brayden, stop there.¡± Spoke Sir Anthony, who seldom talks. ¡°But...¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough, man.¡± ¡°Okay, okay. So stop frowning like that.¡± Sir Brayden and Raymond shook his head at Sir Anthony¡¯s warning voice, then remained silent. ¡°Mydyship...¡± Eleanora was walking silently, covering her blushing cheeks but stopped on her steps in horror as she heard that person calling her. Chapter 105 105 ¡°Biggest Betrayer¡± ¡®You are still okay and healthy, and that¡¯s all that matters.¡¯ ¡®No... am not!!¡¯ ¡®You still have me, My empress.¡¯ ¡®No, Everyone betrayed me!¡¯ ¡®Therefore it is with a heavy heart that I stand before everyone today, bound by my oath to the God, to inform you all of the atrocity she had me perform whilst under hermand.¡¯ ¡®No, I didn¡¯t!!¡¯ ¡®Eleanora, the former empress, ordered me to present Queen Jennifer a herbal tea. A tea I believe caused her miscarriage.¡¯ ¡®I said i didn¡¯t!!¡¯ ¡®She persuaded me to try and escape with her, but I know now she didn¡¯t tell me the whole story.¡¯ ..... ¡®No! You wanted to apany me on your own to trap me!¡¯ ¡®I thought I was going to be helping a poor girl who needed someone to care for her. Instead, I ended up abiding a criminal with something so heinous.¡¯ ¡®No!! You are the one who is doing a heinous crime by framing a innocent person like me!!¡¯ Eleanora felt her mind going nk as the voice inside her mind kept repeating, no matter how many times she denied. No one heard her. On the other hand, Everyone around her was a little surprised seeing her suddenly being so quite. ¡°My Ladyship...¡± Rena spoke as she took a step towards Eleanora but thetter abruptly step backed. ¡®Don¡¯te near me!!¡¯ ¡®Stay away... You biggest betrayer!¡¯ ¡®Why is she here?!¡¯ Fear shed through Eleanora¡¯s eyes as her memory of the trial ground kept repeating in her mind. Eleanora hated Rena more then Jennifer and the past Cathain. ¡°Are you okay, Mydyship? His Majesty called for you, the ceremony would start shortly.¡± ¡°...Yeah, I just felt a little dizzy.¡± ¡°Oh my, should i call the doctor?¡± Concern could be seen in Rena¡¯s face but Eleanora knew it was only a facade. She is actually working under Duke Raven. Eleanora didn¡¯t knew what to do. She was feeling lost and just then, another voice called for her... which rxed Eleanora. ¡°Lady Dalton!!¡± ¡°Priestess Liana.¡± Eleanora watched Liana rushing towards her like she knew her difort. ¡°Am also going to meet the emperor. The second prince and i will go back to our Kingdom after today. Who knows when i will be able to meet you again.¡± ¡°You people are going back?¡± ¡°Yeah, So let¡¯s go back together.¡± Eleanora nodded to Liana¡¯s words and turned to Rena, having Liana with her gave her a little courage. ¡°You can go back, i will go on my own.¡± ¡°But- As you wish, Mydyship.¡± Rena wanted to speak but Brayden¡¯s ring made her stop and retreat. Eleanora walked as she talked with Liana. She was feeling a little upset to part with Liana and Dominic as they have stayed together for the past three years. Their friendship started with saving the ves and continued till now. Both of them was a supportive friend of hers, Specially Liana. Dominic was like a second version of Alexander, who would kick out any men from approching his cousin. ¡°Where is brother Dom?¡± ¡°He is with the emperor.¡± ¡°Oh...¡± Hearing Liana¡¯s words, Eleanora was a little surprised. As far she knows, Dominic is the second person after her father, who sees the young emperor as an eyesore. ... Soon, they reached the waiting room where Cathain was waiting for Eleanora. After the official coronation ceremony in the morning, the knights will leave for the battlefield in the afternoon. The Republican knights have already started to make a mess at the borders, so they can¡¯t dely their departure anymore. Inside the waiting room, Cathain was sitting with Dominic and talking while taking small sips of tea. For some reason, Eleanora felt a little deja vu when she saw Cathain drinking tea. For the coronation ceremony, Cathain was wearing all white and a dark red robe above it. His sword, which was decorated with pure gold and red rubies was shining on his waist; making his white suit look more gorgeous. ¡°My empress...¡± ¡°Greetings, Your Majesty.¡± Eleanora greeted the emperor first and then she turned to Dominic, who stood up from his sit and hugged her. ¡°How are you, Ele?¡± ¡°Am fine, Dom. Won¡¯t youe to meet me after i return?¡± ¡°Of course i will try my best toe. You have to take care of yourself, okay?¡± ¡°If you can¡¯te, then i will visit you.¡± ¡°Anytime you want, you are always wee.¡± Eleanora and Dominic continued with their conversation, not noticing the dark aura filling up the room with darkness. ¡®Dom? Ele? Huh! My foot!¡¯ Cathain narrowed his eyes as he took a sip of his tea, watching the cousin¡¯s talking like it¡¯s thest time they are seeing each other. Unable to bear anymore, Cathain stood up from his sit and stood beside Eleanora. Where, Eleanora be surprised as she felt Cathain¡¯s hands wrapping around her waist. ¡°Of course, we will visit Aredell very soon... for our honeymoon. Right, My empress?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± Everyone in the room was speechless because of Cathain¡¯s ridiculous remark, where Cathain didn¡¯t even seem to be affected by this. ¡®Can he be anymore shameless?!¡¯ Eleanora thought in her mind as she tried to get away from Cathain¡¯s grip. Right then, the high priest enter the waiting room. Eleanora was about to greet him first but she was shocked as the high priest greet her before she could. ¡°I greet the holy saintess and future moon of our empire, Lady Eleanora Ariande La Dalton.¡± Eleanora politely bowed in response, as she didn¡¯t expected that her current position is even higher then a high priest, who only bows to the emperor. Eleanora clearly remembers the high priest sorry face when he dered the divorce between her and the emperor in her past life. ..... This old man was always someone, who helped Eleanora everytime. Either it was when she went to the temple to pray for Alexander¡¯s safe return from the borders or grief over her unborn dead child, the high priest always consoled her. So, the high priest was a man with high respect in her eyes. ¡°Ele.¡± ¡°Daddy?¡± Eleanora turned her attention to Alexander, who entered after the high priest. Behind him was his aid, Raynor, who had something in his hands. But Eleanora didn¡¯t bothered about that and walked towards Alexander as she hugged him. ¡®So you hug everyone while greeting except me?¡¯ Cathain felt his heart burning again as he looked at Alexander with an displeased expression. He would be able to sleep beside Eleanora if Alexander didn¡¯t forced him to start a meeting at night with other nobles. Alexander¡¯s expression be softer as Eleanora ran and hugged him with an happy face. Like how she used to do when she was little. The duchess would always wait in the garden with the little Eleanora on herp for Alexander¡¯s arrival. When he would get down from the carriage, the warm scenario of his daughter running to him as his wife was yelling at his daughter to run slowly is a scene that Alexander can never forget. This is the scene that he still longs for. This was also the reason why he went to the borders again after Eleanora got married in her past life. That way, he won¡¯t have to see the empty garden with no one to greet him, when hees back. He wouldn¡¯t have to stay in the big mansion all alone. Even if his rtionship with Eleanora wasn¡¯t good at that time, but she was still infront of his eyes at that time. Alexander shook his head toe back to the reality from his memories and strocked her silver hairs gently. ¡°Let¡¯s get ready. The ceremony will begin soon, we should leave now.¡± ¡°Mmn.¡± Eleanora nodded at her father¡¯s words but as she was about to walk, she felt her weightless for a moment. Her mind screamed in surprise and horror. ¡°Daddy!!¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Alexander had lifted up Eleanora on hisp as he proceed to leave the room, without even greeting the emperor properly. He narrowed his eyes as his eyes fall on Cathain¡¯s tea cup but there was no expression on his face as usual. Following Alexander, Dominic and Liana also takes their leaves, leaving only Cathain and the high priest in the room. ... ¡°Daddy, put me down.¡± ¡°No, i won¡¯t be able to carry you anymore after today.¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora didn¡¯t spoke anything and let her father carry her with an embarrassed face. What Alexander said was true, He won¡¯t be able to carry her in the battlefield. When they will return she will be an adult, so it will be inconvenient then. The hallway was empty, so there was no problem her father carrying her. Liana smilled as she watched the scene infront of her. She always thought Alexander and Eleanora was cold, but forgot why they was like that. It was because of her foolishness, her blind love and cravings for her father love which made her desdestroy everything. Her father was once loving and caring like this too, till she was obedient and listened to him. But once his goal was aplished after Eleanora¡¯s nned murder and the fall of Dalton Duchy, his true colours started to show up infront of her. Liana sighed deeply as she forced a smile under her veil. ¡®I will protect their smile¡¯s this time.¡¯ Where, Dominic kept stealing nces at Liana and thought in his mind. ¡®What are you nning to hide from me again?¡¯ All of them stopped infront of a room as Alexander stopped and put down the confused Eleanora. He took the bag from his aid Raynor and handed it to Eleanora as he spoke. ¡°Maria and Jennie is inside. Go and change.¡± ¡°Change? But am already wearing-¡± ¡°It¡¯s ugly.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®A dress embroidered with the finest threads and pearls are u-ugly?!¡¯ Alexander ignored Eleanora¡¯s questioning look as he pushed Eleanora into the room to change. ¡°You all head to the hall. I willeter with Ele.¡± Hearing him, Everyone else left for the ceremony. Leaving him and Eleanora behind. Where, Eleanora was shocked to see the dress Alexander prepared for her. ¡®W-What¡¯s this?! How can i wear this?¡¯ Chapter 106 106 ¡°Coronation Ceremony¡± Eleanora stared at the silver suit with a blue robe infront of her for a long time. The buttons was made from fine white jewels and the embroidery was done by silver threads which made the suit shiny. The top button of the suit was reced with her family crest design. ¡®Just how long ago you started to prepare for this, daddy?¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s eyes be a little wet as she hugged the official knight suit of the Dalton duchy. In herst life, she went to the battlefield wearing the imperial knight suit given by the emperor. When she returned, the new emperor made her the captain of the third squadron. She had her own offical ck suit from then on. So, Eleanora never got the chance to wear the knight suit of her own familly. ..... ¡®Thank you, Daddy.¡¯ Very soon, the closed door opened with a smiling Eleanora; who was wearing a silver suit with a blue robe above it. Her hair was tied up into a high ponytail with blue ribbons to match her outfit. She had also taken off all the jewelry she had on and hanged a sword on her waist. The decorated sword with blue and silver jewels and the knight suit made her look more elegant then the dress she had on. ¡°Daddy! How do i look?¡± Eleanora spoke as she twirled a little to show her outfit to her father. Alexander¡¯s eyes widened as he looked at his daughter. Her blue robe flew as she twirled, along with her silver hair. ... ¡°Honey! how do i look?¡± Eunicelia asked as she came out from the changing room, wearing Alexander¡¯s uniform. Her dark blue hair flew along with the big blue robe as she twirled to show her new look to her husband. Alexander, who was reading a newspaper looked at his wife in amusement. ¡°It¡¯s too big for you.¡± ¡°...You are really no fun! I heard that man¡¯s likes it when the wife wears their husbands clothes.¡± ¡°So you thought of trying that on me?¡± ¡°Is there anyone else except you? Unfortunately i don¡¯t have a second husband to show.¡± Eunicelia felt she has sessfully won against Alexander in the argument as he didn¡¯t spoke anything. But to her disappointment, Alexander has never lose a verbal argument even with his short response¡¯s. How can he lose so easily now? ¡°...You want another husband when you faint just by me?¡± Alexander spoke in a mocking voice to tease his wife. ¡°Y-You!!! Shameless!!!¡± Eunicelia¡¯s face turned red as she couldn¡¯t even find any words to keep arguing with Alexander. Seeing her stomping in anger, Alexander¡¯s lips curved up a little as he approached Eunicelia slowly. ¡°Why am shameless? It was you who tried to seduce me wearing this extrarge clothes.¡± ¡°Will it kill you if you just praise me?!¡± Alexander chuckled a little as he rolled up the sleeves of his uniform for Eunicelia, as he hugged her from behind. Eunicelia, who wanted some praise was still fuming in anger as she looked at the big mirror infront of her to see their reflection. ¡°You don¡¯t have to look best. If i can fall for a girl who had mud all over her face- Ouch!¡± ¡°Alexander Dalton! You dare mention that again!¡± Eunicelia used her elbow to hit Alexander on his stomach as he bought up her dark past. ¡°Okay, Okay... i won¡¯t!!¡± Alexander surrendered but Eunicelia still kept fighting with him with pillows, till the room was fill with feathers and no pillow for her to destroy. Eunicelia fall on Alexander¡¯s arms tiredly as she recalled their past. The day, when the twenty years old Eunicelia heard that her fiance (Emperor Valerian) wasing to meet her, she climbed up the wall to escape. Emperor Valerian was ten years older then her and moreover, Eunicelia liked to fight with swords rather then sitting on the throne and be a empress. But after climbing up the wall, Eunicelia, who didn¡¯t knew that there was mud on the floor jumped down happily. Only to fall on the mud and hear a lowughing sound infront of her. Eunicelia somehow managed to clear her eyes and was shocked to see a handsome young man with silver hair standing infront of her. Alexander, who was only twenty two at that time failed to control his cold facial expression for the first time in his life. But he was drown to her golden eyes at first sight. Seeing theughing young man infront of her, Eunicelia couldn¡¯t help but startughing with him too. ... ¡°Daddy!!! Where are you lost at?! How do i look?¡± Eleanora pulled Alexander¡¯s sleeve to get his attention as he didn¡¯t spoke anything after seeing her. Alexander, who was lost in the past blinked a few times to fix his eyes which felt a little wet, before he looked at Eleanora. Seeing Eleanora looking up at him, who had the same facial features of her mother even if her eyes and hair was like him, Alexander felt a stinging pain on his heart. ¡®Only if i could travel back a little more, maybe i could also save you...¡¯ Alexander suddenly kneeled down as he pulled Eleanora into his embrace to hug her tightly. ¡°You look great... Very beautiful.¡± ¡®Just like your mother.¡¯ A tear drop left Alexander¡¯s eyes silently as he burried his head into Eleanora¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Am sorry...¡± ¡®I am such a failure... i couldn¡¯t save you or our daughter. I will make sure to keep her safe in this life, i promise, Lia.¡¯ ¡°Daddy...?¡± Eleanora was a little confused to see Alexander like this. Specially when he apologised so suddenly. Alexander exhaled a heavy breathe before he stood up and wipe his face before Eleanora could notice something. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Eleanora asked in concern but Alexander just smiled at her before holding her hands to walk. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Mmn.¡± Eleanora happily hold her father¡¯s hands and walked with him to attend the coronation ceremony. Everyone they meet on their way was shocked to see Eleanora, who was wearing the same suit as her father. Usually, only the heirs of the family can wear a matching dress with the head of the family. But currently Eleanora is the future empress, so seeing her wearing her family suit during the coronation ceremony was shocking to them. ¡®Has the duke gone crazy?¡¯ ¡®Is this how Duke Dalton is going to protest against the royal marriage?¡¯ ¡®Only he can dare to do this!¡¯ ¡®Is Duke Dalton dering war against the royal family just to break the marriage?¡¯ ¡®He was called the most romantic husband in the empire, now he took the best father title too!¡¯ ..... Eleanora heard all kind ofments from the people around them as they walked. She knew Alexander didn¡¯t liked being gossiped about, so she looked at her father in concern. ¡°...¡± ¡®Why is he smriking?!¡¯ Eleanora was shocked to see the proud and satisfied Alexander, whose lips was curved up into a smrik. Because he was happy that everyone understood his meaning behind dressing his daughter up like this. So, he was in a happy mood. He wanted to let the young emperor know that, he isn¡¯t going to back off so easily. He will try with his all might to keep the emperor away from his daughter. Standing outside of the big door to enter the hall, Alexander coughed a little to clear his throat. ¡°Are you ready to face the change, Ele?¡± Eleanora looked up at his father as she nodded with a bright smile. ¡°Yes! I know that daddy won¡¯t let anything wrong happen with me!¡± Alexander was a little stunned to hear this from his daughter and he smiled at her gently. But deep inside, he was feeling guilty as he failed to protect her in theirst life. Alexander gestured the attendance to announce their arrival and hold Eleanora¡¯s hands more tightly. ¡®Yeah, Father will protect you this time.¡¯ ¡°The sword of the empire, Duke Alexander Dalton and the future moon of the empire, Lady Eleanora Ariande La Dalton, are entering!!!!¡± As soon as the chief attendant finished his announcement, therge door opened and the hall room which was filled up with guest came to Eleanora¡¯s view. ¡°Keep your head up.¡± Alexander spoke as he stepped into the hallroom, full of nobles, who was staring at his daughter. But Alexander¡¯s blue eyes was as cold as ever. Most of them was praising Eleanora but to Alexander, they were the people who cheered for his daughter¡¯s execution. They were the people who was responsible for Eleanora¡¯s weak mentality. They crushed her self esteem and pridepletely, making her feel low about herself. ming herself for her mother¡¯s dead and for not getting the emperor¡¯s love. Alexander remembers this path which lead to the emperor¡¯s bedroom after crossing it. How he had killed all the people at this exact spot before turning back the time, after Jennifer had helped him to escape with Dion Richardo. At that time, he didn¡¯t wanted to escape without punishing those who made his daughter like this. That was the only reason for him to keep living at the prison peacefully for three years, even when he had no will to live. He wanted to take away his daughter¡¯s body along with him, bury her beside Eunicelia before he suicides to apany them. He killed everyone who came to stop him in this exact hallway and reached the emperor¡¯s bedroom to see his daughter lying like she¡¯s just sleeping. How he wished that was the truth. But the high power magic stones all over the bed and the healing magic on her along with the emperor¡¯s low mana level was telling him that it was not the truth. Even if the emperor brings all the magic stones in the world, his daughter won¡¯t open her blue eyes and call him ¡®father¡¯ again. Then, he finally got the opportunity with the help of Dion to turn back the time. To save and protect her again. After a short moment of their entry, The attendance announced the emperor¡¯s arrival. There was no need to guess that the emperor was waiting for the future empress¡¯s arrival first. Right after the emperor entered, everyone kneeled down, dropping their swords on the ground. ¡°We greet the sun of the empire, Emperor Cathain De Valerian Valentino.¡± ¡°Stand up.¡± Everyone stood up as the emperor spoke and looked at him. Then, Cathain kneeled down in one knee as the high priest started to recite hymns. After a short wait, The high priest split a few drops of holy water on the emperor before stepping out. ¡®What¡¯s happening?¡¯ Everyone started to murmur as the high priest backed off without cing the crown on the emperor¡¯s head. Eleanora¡¯s thoughts was the same. Then, finally the high priest spoke to stop the gossip downstairs, Which ended up shocking everyone. ¡°The priest are always the goddess¡¯s favourite, but now we have someone who is more favourite to the goddess then us.¡± Eleanora¡¯s face turned dark as she heard the high priest. ¡®I just hope this stupid man doesn¡¯t do anything stupid anymore.¡¯ ¡°I hope Lady Dalton, the only saintess of empire to bless this empire by putting the crown on his Majesty by herself.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Damn you, Cathain!!¡¯ Eleanora cursed at Cathain as she felt ufortable from everyone¡¯s gazes on her. She looked up and felt more irritated as Cathain was smiling at her. She could also feel Alexander¡¯s killing gaze at Cathain as it was like he was epting the war against her father. ¡°Please,e up. Lady Dalton.¡± The high priest called for her again and rejecting it infront of everyone is impossible. Eleanora slipped her hands away from Alexander¡¯s grip as she walked the stairs to stand infront of Cathain. The emperor happily kneeled down infront of her again as a knight bought the bright red regalia with the royal crest embroidered on it with gold and the shining emperor¡¯s crown. Eleanora hadn¡¯t came of age and didn¡¯t m married the emperor either, so she couldn¡¯t get the coronation ceremony as the empress after the emperor. Which both Eleanora and Alexander was happy with. Eleanora sighed as she took the imperial ragalia first and ced it above the emperor¡¯s shoulders carefully. Then she looked at the shining crown and picked it up to put it on the emperor¡¯s head. As Eleanora was putting the crown on the emperor¡¯s head, Cathain murmured lowly with his head down. Which only Eleanora could hear. ¡°I swear to be a royal ruler, help my people and keep up the dignity of this crown.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Why is he taking his vows so early and in a low voice? Am sure no one else is hearing it except me.¡¯ Eleanora thought as she put the crown on her and was about to back off till she heard his vowpletely. ¡°My soul and body belongs to no one but only to you. If the crown can¡¯t get you as my empress, then... screw the crown and the empire. I only want you in my every lifetime.¡± Chapter 107 107 ¡°Crazy In Love¡± Cathain slowly looked up at Eleanora, who was also staring at him as she couldn¡¯t believe what she just heard. ¡®H-How can he say something like this for his coronation vows?! He must be joking!¡¯ But the seriousness of Cathain¡¯s red eyes told her that he was determined about the vow and didn¡¯t joked about it. His lips curled up a little but his smile felt terrifying to Eleanora. Like he has sessfully caught his prey. Cathain stood up but his red eyes kept staring at Eleanora, who was already a half foot smaller in height then him. ¡°Long live, the sun of our empire!!¡± ¡°Long live, his Majesty!!¡± The nobles in the hall was cheering for him, but both of them was lost in each others eyes to read the other one. ..... They couldn¡¯t even bother about the cheering of the nobles and retract their eyes from each other. ¡°Why are you doing this?¡± ¡°Because i need you.¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t need me...¡± ¡°Why are you so sure?¡± ¡°Because i know the future.¡± ¡°Then i will change that future.¡± Hearing Cathain¡¯s words, Eleanora hesitated for a moment before she finally asked him in a low voice. ¡°...Can you?¡± ¡°Just trust me.¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora retracted her gaze first as she thought that trusting him is the only thing she is unable to do. But Cathain was still staring at her. Seeing her dejected face and hesitation to trust him, His gaze be so intense that, it sent shivers down her sprains. His aura gave the dangerous vibe to her, which made Eleanora felt the urge to ran away from him and found her legs already moving. Eleanora hurriedly got down from the stairs as she hide behind her father. Cathain didn¡¯t stopped her either as sooner orter, he is going to take her away. So he decided to let Alexander feel a little happy before that. ¡®Just enjoy yourst vacation with your daughter, Father-inw... you think making her wearing the official knight clothes of your family can make me give up? Do you really think i care about the public opinion?¡¯ Alexander frowned as he looked at Cathain to warn him to not do anything more stupid things. But he was pissed off as Cathain ignored his warning gaze and kept looking at Eleanora. He stood infront of her to keep her to block Cathain¡¯s gaze, which made Cathain feel funny. The duke looked like a fierce wolf, trying to protect his pup from the danger. It was because, Alexander knows how crazy the man infront of him can be. If this man can sleep beside a dead body for three years, keep loving a dead person... Then he can guess what else this man is capable of when the person is alive and well. This is also what afraids Alexander the most, what if Cathain goes crazy again for Eleanora? He had already destroyed the whole empire once after going crazy in the past. He kept looking for traces of a dead person, transferring his own magic powers to keep her dead body warm and fresh. Is there anything more crazy then this? ¡®I can only hope for the medicine to work, I can¡¯t let him hurt my daughter anymore.¡¯ Cathain faced the crowd as his eyes scanned over the whole hall, before he took the usual vows as every emperor and the whole hall started to cheer for him again. After some moment when Cathain was busy talking with some nobles, he suddenly frowned. ¡®Doesn¡¯t the duke says all mens are dogs and keeps them away from her? then why is he letting this blonde dog approach his daughter now?!¡¯ He narrowed his eyes as he saw someone standing beside Eleanora and greet her. ¡®Ah, am sad. My father-inw understimates me... My wife keeps running away and attract flies from everywhere she goes.¡¯ Where, Eleanora who didn¡¯t noticed the burning smell of someone¡¯s heart, she kept talking happily with Cedrick. She never expected that Cedrick would be in the same squadron as their family doesn¡¯t get along. Although she hates the duke and his sister who will appear soon, she never disliked Cedrick. Because the he never did anything wrong to her. He was always polite and respectful in her past life. Now that both of them will spent a long time together in the battlefield, it would be better to be a little familiar with each other. This was why, Eleanora was talking with him and Alexander didn¡¯t stopped her either. Only watched from afar. Cedrick Raven was different from his father, this is something that Alexander knew very clearly because of hisst life. If he was like his father, he wouldn¡¯t have frequently visited Alexander in the prison and look after him. After Eleanora¡¯s dead, Cedrick had changedpletely. He colluded with Alexander to take down his father and destroy the Raven duchy. At first, Alexander didn¡¯t believed him. Why would someone want to destroy their own family? But right then, Cedrick took off his shirt to show Alexander the whipped marks on his body which shocked Alexander greatly. ¡°If this reason is not enough, then is avenging my mother¡¯s dead and making my little sister doing all this sinister works enough reason for you to believe me?¡± ¡°...Your mother?¡± ¡°My mother didn¡¯t died from childbirth... that man forcedly married my mother because she had high dark powers from Rua Kingdom. When the first born me didn¡¯t had any dark powers and the second born was a girl, he killed my mother and threw away my little sister. He kept beating me to vent his anger when he couldn¡¯t take you down or take the throne. But when he found Jennifer again and realised she had inherited the dark powers from our mother which could control mind and emotions of a person, he manipted her to remove the empress and destroy the Dalton duchy.¡± Alexander was silent for a moment before he finally opened his mouth to speak again. ¡°He was also behind the attack on my duchy while i was away 25 years ago, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Did he also poisoned my daughter?¡± ¡°...Yes, but his main target was always the emperor. He ispletely poisoned now. His mentality has already broken down, because... She used her all magic on him before dying, which broke Jennifer¡¯s dark magic control from him. This is why he is going crazy. My father used my sister and the emperor to get rid of the Dalton¡¯s.¡± Alexander didn¡¯t spoke anything but kept staring at the prisons cell, while Cedrick left as he felt someone else approaching. He came here without informing anyone, so he can¡¯t get caught. ¡°I hope you will consider about it.¡± Cedrick spoke but Alexander didn¡¯t replied. He was lost in thoughts. ¡®Even in the end, you thought for him... Why, Ele? You could escape using your powers, our duchy is already destroyed... i would happily die in your stead if that would make you live.¡¯ Alexander sighed heavily, every breathe he takes in feels like a burden to him. ..... ¡®I could escape... but Dalton¡¯s will never bow down and escape, this is what you and mom taught me, father.¡¯ ¡®We shouldn¡¯t have taught you that...¡¯ Alexander knew he was dreaming again, he often sees and talks with her like this. ¡®I helped him, because i wanted him to see the truth, father. I wanted him to suffer what i went through. I want them to see my face and remember what they did to me till the end of their life. They can be forgiven by us but they won¡¯t be able to forget their crimes. This is their retribution from me, Father.¡¯ ¡®Am happy to hear that... i thought you would get soft hearted and forgive him.¡¯ ¡®I won¡¯t... but i can give everyone a chance to change.¡¯ ¡®If i get a another chance, i will make sure too kill him first before he harms you.¡¯ Hearing him, Eleanora chuckled a little. Alexander also couldn¡¯t help but curve up his mouth a little. ¡®How¡¯s my grandchildren¡¯s?¡¯ ¡®They are really eager to meet you.¡¯ ¡®Me too. I also wanna see your mother so much.¡¯ ¡®...Don¡¯t be sad anymore, daddy. You will meet your daughter and grandchildren¡¯s soon.¡¯ ¡®I hope so.¡¯ Alexander woke up from his dream as he felt someone kneeling infront of him. It was no one else, but the queen Jennifer, who came to ask for his help like her brother. But Jennifer and Cedrick alone was not enough to take down Duke Raven, who was the born schemer. They soon got caught and Jennifer wanted to help them escape, when Duke Richardo offered his help to turn back the time. (Reference to chapter 75 & 76 events) Back to the present~ ¡°So you can even make a person fly if your magic power is suitable with them?!¡± Eleanora asked in amusement and Cedrick nodded. He had Wind type magic powers. So he could control the air and even help the people to fly if their mana waspatible with him. ¡°What is so special about flying? I can even burn down any person. Do you want to see it? My empress?¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora be irritated as Cathain intruppted her conversation, while he spoke as he looked at Cedrick. ¡®So if you don¡¯t get lost right now, i will burn you down! You blonde dog!¡¯ ¡°Your Majesty...¡± Eleanora felt all the nobles curious gazes on her as Cathain called her the empress. She didn¡¯t wanted to draw anymore unnecessary attentions so she called him politely to maintain a little distance between them. ¡°She is usually very shy. Am very thankful to the young duke to keep her apany instead of me.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®what is he trying to implying?!¡¯ Everyone had the same question in their mind. What did the emperor meant by this? Was he indirectly telling the young duke to get lost as he haspleted his task? ¡°Your Majesty, what are you saying?!¡± Eleanora whispered to Cathain in a low voice, which gave him a opportunity to show off. He bent down to reach Eleanora¡¯s ears as he whispered to her too. ¡°What I really wanted to say was, I want to make him disappear from your sight right this instant. I don¡¯t like it when you smile like that at other guys, except me.¡± Eleanora gulped as Cathain¡¯s hot breathe fall on her ears, making it itchy. So, she spoke in a irritated voice as she tried to move a little away. ¡°Have you gone crazy from overworking and sorrow?¡± Cathain chuckled at her words as he took his mouth more closer to her ear and whispered in a husky voice. ¡°Noo... it¡¯s you who have made me go crazy in love, My empress.¡± Chapter 108 108 ¡°Different Story¡± ¡°What are you thinking, Ele?¡± Alexander asked as he found Eleanora spacing out again. She has been like this since the coronation ceremony ended. Because Cathain¡¯s words kept ringing in her mind. ¡®You have made me go crazy in love, My empress.¡¯ Eleanora shook her head to get those words away from her mind and looked up to meet her father¡¯s worried gaze. ¡®No, don¡¯t be foolish Eleanora. Everything will change again when i return from the battlefield just like before. He will meet Jena again and fall for her in my absence.¡¯ ¡°Nothing, am okay, Daddy.¡± Alexander didn¡¯t said anything anymore and patted her head. They was currently standing on the imperial knight grounds, ready to depart for the war. ..... ¡°Raynor, bring it.¡± ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± Alexander¡¯s aid nodded as he went to bring the thing his lord asked for. Eleanora was a little curious about that thing too. As her father was being too mysterious about it. Soon, a very beautiful pure white horse came to her view which made her eyes widen in shock. This was the horse that her mother gifted her during her fifth birthday, the horse which died while protecting her in the war with Rua Kingdom. ¡°Eva!¡± Eleanora called the horse by it¡¯s name and in response the horse started to ran towards her. ¡°Eva...¡± ¡°neighh!!¡± The horse rubbed it¡¯s face with Eleanora, as she wrapped her hands around it¡¯s neck. Alexander watched his daughter with a satisfied expression. Finally he saw the bright smile of his daughter again. From the crown prince¡¯sing of age ceremony to the assassination attack, the emperor¡¯s death, funeral, the new emperor¡¯s coronation; Alexander didn¡¯t saw this bright smile of hers for more then three years. So seeing her being happy like this, he felt satisfied. ¡°His Majesty, the sun of our empire, Emperor Cathain De Valerian Valentino is entering!!!!¡± Everyone gathered up immediately at the imperial ground with their horses as the chief attendant announced the emperor¡¯s arrival. ¡°We greet his Majesty, the sun of our empire.¡± ¡°Raise your heads up.¡± Everyone looked up at the podium, where the emperor was standing after the emperor permitted them to raise. In the lines of thousand soldiers, Eleanora was the only woman there; standing at the first row with her father. The emperor took a deep breathe before he opened his mouth to speak. ¡°I, the emperor of the Valentino empire, Cathain De Valerian Valentino pray to the goddess for everyone¡¯s safe return, I wish you all to return with a glory and bring victory for our mothend. You people are the glory and pride of our empire, who is even willing to give up their lives to keep your family safe. We all will be waiting for you people to return safe and sound, then celebrate our victory. idents are inevitable during wars, but i hope everyone will also priorities their safety and help each other. While i will try my best to protect and support ypur families in your absence. When we are alone, it¡¯s hard to fight; but if you trust someone else and share your burden, it¡¯s easy win.¡± ¡°Hail the sun of our empire!!¡± ¡°Long live, Your Majesty!!¡± Everyone was pleased to hear the emperor¡¯s words, which touched their hearts. They wear genuinely cheering for the emperor. But Eleanora was a little stunned to hear his words, specially hisst words which seem to be indicating to her. ¡®When we are alone, it¡¯s hard to fight; but if you trust someone else and share your burden, it¡¯s easy win.¡¯ Cathain¡¯s words repeated again in her mind. ¡®But can i really trust and share my burden? Will you really not leave halfway and not turn away from me for her?¡¯ Eleanora felt her heart clenching. She had decided to trust the current Cathain. But still the possibility of seeing the current Cathain with Jennifer again breaks her heart. She can¡¯t endure the pain of seeing the person she loves with someone else, smiling at someone who is not her. She won¡¯t be able to handle the pain of breaking her heart again. The past Eleanora was too strong in emotionally, this was why everyone used to call her cold. But the current her who has gone through many betrayal isn¡¯t strong enough to handle all the pain again. This is why she was desperate to run away from her destiny and Cathain this time. Four years has passed since she came back to the past, Eleanora felt herself standing at the same point from where everything started to go wrong. Everything had changed after she came back from the war in the past. Her rtionship with the crown prince worsened, the empire was having a hard time to recover from the damages of the war. She be the empress without any crowning ceremony or any royal wedding. She got married and divorced just by signing her name twice. Empress Eleanora started to bring benefits after benefits for the empire as the priests had predicted from the prophecy. The biggest two kingdoms, Republic and Rua belonged to the empire because of their empress. Everyone praised and cheered up for the empress with no ending, making the young king who always felt inferior to the empress feeling more agitated. Not to mention the poison he was taking made it even more worse. The empress didn¡¯t expressed and the emperor didn¡¯t understood, they kept hurting each other like this. The empress was okay with the emperor¡¯s cold treatment, till she saw another woman beside him. The same woman whom she believed caused her first miscarriage. But what made her more angry was, why it can¡¯t be her beside him? She is the rightful wife of him, the empress of the emperor¡¯s. Why he won¡¯t look at her? What does sheck? Beauty, family, honour, capability, she have everything. Then why she is not the one he likes? Was he trying to insult her by loving a mere maid, instead of her? As time went by, the empress started to behave more cold as the poison she took increased in dose. She kept drinking the poisoned tea happily given by her most trusted maid, Rena. By that time, everyone knew about the mistress of the emperor. The tale of the empress who was discarded at the abandoned pce with no escort or knights. ¡®Isn¡¯t she a war hero? Does a person who killed thousands of soldiers alone needs someone to protect and escort her?¡¯ The empress silently endured the emperor¡¯s mockery and moved to the abandoned pce to live all alone, where the mistress started to enjoy all the privileges of the empress. Everytime the emperor wanted to see the empress, her face would always remain cold. Which didn¡¯t even reacted when he behaved roughly with her. ¡®Indeed you are colder then ice and stronger the stone. Others would scream by now in pain but only our empress can remain indifferent while doing it, even without any forey.¡¯ ¡®Like some lifeless doll...¡¯ ..... The emperor¡¯s fingertips moved on her delicate face, wiping out a single tear drop which came out only after he finished. Then he turn away with a mocking smile. Seeing her smiling was harder then finding a stick in mud. Everytime he touched her, it felt like she was waiting for him to get away from her. But he can¡¯t help but want to touch her... He only feels relief after he feels her warmth, which seems like calming him down. It was because of the undiscovered holy powers inside the empress. In that life, the prophecy didn¡¯t dered the empress¡¯s powers clearly. Which was why her powers remained hidden from everyone, except the duke Dalton and the empress. The emperor already didn¡¯t liked her, so if he knew it, wouldn¡¯t he only dislike her more? This was why the empress begged her father, who discovered her powers by ident to keep silent. As the emperor was controlled by dark magic for a long time, it had started to show side affects like sever headache. So as long as he touched the empress, her powers would unknowingly pass to him which used to make him calm down. But still, it couldn¡¯tst long because of the poison in his meals and the continued mind controlling to believe that he loved Jena the most. He should forgive her even if she does something wrong and protect her from it, no matter what he needs to do for it. She is the only one he loves and the empress is someone who looks down on him, who thinks he is not worthy of her love. The empress is cold and cruel, the duke is someone who thinks he can rule the empire more better the emperor. This was all the emperor could think of in his mind, despite his heart wanting the empress. Everytime the empress saw the emperor with her, all she wanted was to draw her sword out and kill the person beside him. She wanted the emperor all to herself. His love, hate, everything should only belong to her. She was going more crazy because of jealousy, which she kept hidden in her heart. Till she couldn¡¯t endure it anymore and decided to leave him. And then, killed by him along with their child. Will her destiny be different this time? Eleanora thought as she started to move with her horse for the battlefield, where Cathain kept staring at her till he could no longer see her blue ribbon and shiny silver hair anymore. ¡®It will be a different story this time...¡¯ Chapter 109 109 ¡°Four Years Later¡± ¡°Commander!! Something has happened!!¡± Alexander, who was currently discussing about their next attack n with the other high ranking knights paused on his words as he heard his aides loud yelling. ¡°What happened?¡± Alexander asked with a frown as he didn¡¯t liked being interrupted in the middle of his words. Where Raynor couldn¡¯t even speak as he ran out breathe and currently he was gasping for breathe to speak. ¡°Thest army of Republic is barbarians and suddenly attacked us in the middle of the war break!¡± ¡®What?!¡¯ Raynor¡¯s words made everyone shock and panicked. They have sent half of the knights back to the empire to rest and the new knights has yet toe. But the problem is how did the words of them changing knights got leaked? ..... There isn¡¯t enough knights to fight now, what would they do? At that time, another knight came running to them. ¡°We have a problem. They left without any knights to fight the republicans army! Just the two of them alone!¡± Bang! Hearing the knights words, Alexander got so angry that he punched the wooden table in-front of him. ¡®This girl! Am going to die sooner orter by heart attack because of her.¡¯ His chilly magic aura was making the other people tremble in fear. ¡°They left and no one stopped them?!¡± ¡°W-we couldn¡¯t stop them...¡± ¡°You all knights couldn¡¯t stop two teenagers?! How do you even fight in battlefield then?!¡± The knight felt like crying as he was being wronged here. ¡®Duke... they are literally the monsters of the battlefield! Where we are normal knights! How could we possibly stop them?¡¯ ¡®Moreover, They don¡¯t even listen to you; let alone us!¡¯ ¡®They fight like they are just ying chess, where the battlefield is nothing but chessboard!¡¯ Alexander clenched his fists as he picked up his sword with a dark expression. The blue robe over his shining silver armour flew as he walked in rage and ordered the knights to prepare to fight. ¡°Follow them! If a single hair of hers goes missing I will kill you all before the enemy does!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®That¡¯s not fair, Commander!!!¡¯ ... ¡°Hahhaaa!! What the? Is there no one else beside you two in the empire¡¯s army?!¡± ¡°There must be none, otherwise why would they sent two kids to fight hundred mens?!¡± ¡°Hahhaaaa!!!¡± ¡°Moreover one of them is a girl!! Hahaha!!¡± ¡°I will die because ofughing too much!!¡± ¡°This is hrious! As expected from a 22 year old emperor who sent two teenagers to fight us!!¡± The Barbarians army sent by the Republic Kingdom continued tough, who didn¡¯t even knew the persons infront of them. Where on the other hand, a young girl and a boy silently listened to them. ¡°Can we just start killing without wasting anymore time? I don¡¯t want to celebrate my birthday in the battlefield.¡± A cold but sweet voice came out as the girl opened her mouth to speak. Her shiny silver hair was more longer now, as a blue ribbon tied her hair up into a high ponytail. Wearing the Dalton¡¯s official knight suit, she hold her decorated sharp sword in her right hand as she watched the peopleughing at a small distance. Her beautiful jewel like blue eyes was full of irritation as she was getting bored. The girl was no one else but Dame Eleanora Ariadne La Dalton, the future moon of the empire; who will soon turn 18. The person beside her sighed before he started to speak in a gentle manly voice to calm her down. ¡°Calm down. We are here to waste their time anyway. They have stoppeding forward after seeing us. Themander will being soon with the knights.¡± The man with blonde hair and green eyes spoke as he patted her head softly. He was wearing pastel white imperial knight suit as he was already be a imperial knight. It was Cedrick Raven, Who is 22 now; same age as the emperor. But Eleanora was really getting pissed off because of the words of the Republic knights, who ridiculed her and Cedrick for being young knights. ¡°I really wanna separate their head from their body and then ask them, What¡¯s wrong with a woman being in the battlefield?¡± ¡°And like their heads will answer you- Ouch!¡± Narrowing her blue eyes, Eleanora red at Cedrick as she used her elbow to hit him on his belly. ¡°Keep your mouth shut if you don¡¯t wanna get frozen, Rick.¡± ¡°My bad, My bad. Don¡¯t get angry, it will wrinkle our Ele¡¯s beautiful face.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Why did I even bothered to befriend a guy like him?¡¯ At the beginning, Eleanora and Cedrick didn¡¯t talked much or got along with each other much. But then one day during the battle, Eleanora who was 16 at that time didn¡¯t realised that someone was going to attack her from behind as she was fighting three knights all alone from the front. Alexander was also at a little distance. At that moment when everyone thought Eleanora was about to get injured, A sudden blow of wind made the republican knights see nothing. But when they finally opened their eyes, they couldn¡¯t see Eleanora nowhere and before they could react, A piece of ice pierced through their chests. H-How? She isn¡¯t here... As they fall on the ground, their eyes widened in shock as they finally saw where she was. Eleanora was standing still on air and she also used her ice magic from above. This was why they failed to find her. Cedrick sighed in relief as he seeded into protecting her. As a wind mage, he couldn¡¯t fight with swords and only help a little. But who knew, he could be a assist mage? [A/N: Assist mage- Those who can¡¯t fight directly but help others to fight more powerfully. Like Cedrick can¡¯t fight with wind magic but if he helps Eleanora who is a ice sword master to fly with his magic, it will increase her attack efficiency.] Everyone else was shocked too after seeing this. Both of theme from rival family and coincidentally their powers is suitable with each other and can be merge together? From then on, Cedrick and Eleanora started to spend more time together as they studied their powers. As both of them stayed together most of the time to train, just by saying ¡®They¡¯ everyone would understand it was Eleanora and Cedrick. The owner of the ¡®Wind Sword¡¯. Cedrick¡¯s wind powers help her to fly and shoot her magical ice swords right at the aim. This is why after they sessfully merged their powers, they named it ¡®Wind Sword¡¯. They seeded into merging their powers together, which helped to end the fight with less lose. Their friendship gradually got stronger as they started to call each other by their first names to call the nicknames in private. The Empire¡¯s army was also fighting safely as the emperor and Duke Dalton nned. Eleanora also helped her father with her past memories of this battle, as she doesn¡¯t know her father remembers their past life even now. This had took longer time to win the battle but this reduced the death and injuries of the knights. ..... After four long years, this will be thest battle they will fight here. As Eleanora¡¯s eighteen birthday was approaching and also hering of age ceremony which she didn¡¯t celebrated in herst life, she was excited to end the battle and return to celebrate it. Return with victory, celebrating hering of age ceremony and then taking the knight oath. Everything seem to be going perfectly ording to her ns. But she didn¡¯t expected her mood to be ruined by this barbarian army sent by the Republic Kingdom. ¡°Augh... Hearing their horribleughter is giving me headache.¡± Eleanora spoke in disgust, where Cedrick just sighed while waiting for Alexander toe. ¡°Okay, Let me give you a massage after we go back.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t refuse your kindness, You massage is morefortable then my holy power-¡± ¡°Ele!!¡± Eleanora stopped on her words as a arrow passed right by her face and Cedrick screamed in horror. ¡°Heh- You bastards...Can they take responsibility if my face get a cut mark and I don¡¯t look good anymore?!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Indeed, A girls cares for her face the most.¡¯ A faint blood drop appeared on her face from the cut on her cheeks because of the sharp arrow. Eleanora brushed her thumb on her face and used her holy powers to heal it. The cut immediately disappeared from her cheeks and be smooth like before again. ¡®Wait... something feels wrong!¡¯ ¡°Ele, No!!¡± Sensing that she was about to burst out her magic powers, Cedrick tried to stop her but it was toote as she had already to ran towards the barbarian enemies. Cedrick sighed as he picked up the blue ribbon from the ground which had fallen from her hair after it got loosened. ¡®Why is she so reckless? Always making people worry for her. I better follow her too. The Duke will bury me alive if something happens to her.¡¯ Even Alexander can¡¯t stop her, let alone him. So there is no use of talking here. They made the first move and irritated her, also made a scratch on her most precious treasure; which is her face. So it¡¯s their fault but still seeing the big barbarian army in-front of him, Cedrick couldn¡¯t help but get a little nervous. He just hoped for Alexander toe fast. Shaking off his head to stop his useless thoughts away from his mind, Cedrick also used his magic powers to catch up with her for help. ¡°Well, there we go for nothing...¡± Chapter 110 110 ¡°Return With Victory¡± Every step that Eleanora took in the ground started to cover in ice as she walked. Where, her long silver hair flew with her long blue cape as she moved. Even while facing hundred barbarians at once, her blue eyes remained calmed and cold. With a low sharp sound, she draw her sword out and hold it with full confidence like the barbarians infront of her was nothing. Her sword movements was so swift and clear that, it looked like she was actually dancing with her sword rather then fight. Cedrick felt a heart skip as he looked at her. The cheerfulness and childish behaviour of her can only be seen by the people she is closed with. Like her father, her cousin and her friends, which included him now. She is aplete different person when she deals with others except those people. Either it¡¯s normal people or the enemy, she always have her guards up against everyone. ..... Like no one can break the hard ice walls of her. But inside those hard ice walls is a beautiful garden full of innocence. During the past four years, Eleanora¡¯s personality changed a lot. She has started to express her emotions and concerns, even if she looks cold in outside. In the battlefield, it feels like this is the only ppace where she can vent up her secret emotions. Pouring them all put with violence. Just like the scene infront of Cedrick now. Cedrick sighed as he started to use his magic to help Eleanora move more fast and lightly. ¡®Stop beating so fast for her, My heart. She can¡¯t be ours...¡¯ Even if Eleanora burnt down every letter sent by the emperor to her, Cedrick could see the hidden emotions in her cold eyes. The fear of rejection, the fear of epting a new change and the possibility of regretting it, Cedrick understood those emotions too well. Because once, he was like this too. He couldn¡¯t express his admiration for her, which started to pile up in his heart and then finally turned into an unrequited love. He knows it too clearly that she is just deceiving herself by thinking she doesn¡¯t like the emperor, even if they don¡¯t marry, she won¡¯t choose him either. She is just escaping from her own feelings. So, he rather just keep helping her from behind the shadows as always and watch from afar, finding happiness with someone else. ¡®Being her friend is already a luxury which i could never even imagine. One shouldn¡¯t eat more then he could digest. Get a hold of yourself, Cedrick. Once we return, our rtionship will change. She is the future empress and i can only bow to her, show her respect while hiding my emotions.¡¯ Where to Eleanora, she was finally feeling rxed. Battlefield is the only ce where she can unleash the madness of emotions inside her. The reason why she is so eager to celebrate hering of age ceremony is because it didn¡¯t happened in her past life. The ceremony was really simple, she got bleased by the priest and invite some close people¡¯s for a meal. As right after the ceremony, she got married to the emperor. So, by celebrating her ceremonyvishly this time, she will feel ease that the future has really changed. She be friends with the brother of the person who nned to kill her. Unlike before, Maid Jena didn¡¯t appeared this time. But, it was duke Ravens daughter Jennifer who has appeared this time. Why did their ns changed? It doesn¡¯t matter to Eleanora as long as she is not involved in it. ¡®He must have fallen for her already this time. He loved her when she was only a mere maid. But now she is Duke Raven¡¯s daughter, a nobledy.¡¯ Eleanora smilled bitterly as she thought about that. ¡®I should focus on my knight training and being themander of the third squadron like myst life, then be the duchess of Dalton. I have no ns to get married or something like that anymore. Only if i could get back my children¡¯s...¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s mind got distracted for a moment as she thought about her unborn children¡¯s from her past life. Which gave an opportunity to the Archer who was aiming at Eleanora for a long time. Cedrick, who sensed the sound of a arrow being shoot again waste too react. ¡°Ele!! Watch out!¡± He ran to her but he was still slow. This was the moment when Cedrick med himself for having such a useless power which can¡¯t protect her in time. She was surrounded by enemies and even if he pulls her up in air from the ground, she will directly get hit by another arrow. ¡®Huh?!¡¯ Eleanora who finally came back to her senses again didn¡¯t had time to react and closed her eyes tightly. ¡®It¡¯s okay, I can heal myself-¡® But before the arrow could touch her, it was sliced into two pieces and went on two different directions. Eleanora widened her eyes as she saw the arrow being sliced and then pass by her without touching her. ¡°Who dares to hurt my daughter?!¡± Alexander¡¯s chilly voice rang from behind and Eleanora¡¯s blue eyes brighten up as she saw her father. ¡°Daddy!!¡± In an instant, most of the barbarian¡¯s fall on the ground as Alexander¡¯s ice sword pierced through their bodies. Specially the archer, who had his arrow aimed at Eleanora started to tremble and couldn¡¯t even move because of Alexander chilly aura. ¡°Aaaugh!!¡± The Archer yelled as the ice sword shed off his neck and came back to Alexander¡¯s hands again. After it came to Alexander¡¯s hands, the ice sword be the normal sword like before slowly. As Alexander had a powerful amount of high mana inside him, he could easily turn his weapons into magic iteams by fusion them with his mana. Eleanora looked up at her father, who came in a white horse, while his silver hair shone like gold brightly under the sunlight. His shadow fall over her, protecting her from the bright sun and the dark world. He pulled the horse leash to stop it in-front of Eleanora and look at her gently. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Eleanora¡¯s brighten eyes lit up more as she smiled brightly while answering. ¡°Yes, because Daddy saved Ele.¡± Eleanora replied childishly like she used to answer when she was little. In the past four years, the major change of her behaviour was she be more frank with her words. She stopped hiding her emotions from her father and spoke everything that came to her mind and acted however she wanted. Without thinking what others might say, leaving the perfect image she always wanted to create in herst life. Because, it was the thing that ruined everything for her. She forgot her true self by creating a image that everyone liked. This is why, Eleanora broke that image and started to be her true self like her childhood again. As long as she stays true to herself, likes herself, it¡¯s enough. Her father loves her, the people of the Dalton¡¯s and the knights loves her, Dominic, Liana, Cedrick, everyone loves her the way she is. So, why does she needs to think about the society which licked her shoes in need and cheered up for her death once they found a new one? They will never love you truly, no matter how hard you try. They will keep finding faults, even if you do what they want, they will never be satisfied. So, she should just care about what she wants because the people who loves her will keep loving her without the need to please them. ..... ... ¡°Long live the Dalton¡¯s!!¡± ¡°Hail the future moon of our empire!! ¡°We won!! Yay!¡± ¡°All glory to our empire!!¡± The people on the street kept cheering up as the knights who returned with victory after four long years. The war hero, Duke Alexander Dalton was in-front of the parade while the others followed him from behind. Eleanora and Cedrick was right after Alexander, they had a smile on their face as they waved at the cheering crowd. Inside of a bar beside the streets where the parade was going on~ ¡°Don¡¯t they look kind of good together?¡± ¡°Who? The young duke and Lady Dalton?¡± ¡°But she is the future empress...¡± ¡°She is not yet. Didn¡¯t you heard that, the Dalton¡¯s wanted to break of the engagement?¡± ¡°But his Majesty went to meet her several times in the battlefield.¡± ¡°But we have heard she didn¡¯t meet him even once, moreover rumours says that she is close with the young duke as their mana ispatible with each other.¡± ¡°They can make a fusion of their powers?! It has been so long since someone could do a magic fusion.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what everyone is talking about.¡± ¡°But what about his Majesty then?¡± ¡°Currently, Duke Raven is trying to make his daughter the empress.¡± ¡°The lost daughter, whom they found a few years ago?¡± ¡°Yes. The whole upper ss is in chaos because of this.¡± ¡°But thedy and the young duke really looks good together. She is more rxed with him then the emperor...¡± Crack! A ss fall on the ground with a loud shattering sound before the person who was speaking could finish his words. Everyone¡¯s attention fall on the tall and muscr man in a ck cloak. Dark aura wasing from him as he looked at the guys who was gossiping before. They couldn¡¯t see his face but they could feel that man¡¯s killer gaze on them as he stood up. He put a gold coin in the table to pay for the damage and bill. Everyone sighed in relief as they thought the man was going out. But they gulped in fear as the man stood in-front of them and narrowed his bloody red eyes to warn them. ¡°The empress seat only belongs to Lady Dalton, No one can change that!¡± Chapter 111 111 ¡°Victory Banquet¡± After finishing his words, the young man in the ck cloak immediately left the bar, leaving the all the people stunned. ¡®R-Red eyes?! It was the emperor, Right?¡¯ ¡®Why was the emperor here? Not to see the parade... thendy Dalton?¡¯ ¡®Our neck will remain attached with our body, right?¡¯ The whole bar be dead silent and none of them dared to gossip again in fear. Outside of the bar~ ¡°Why did you left without informing me, Your Majesty?¡± Brayden spoke as he tried to catch breathe while speaking. While working, The emperor suddenly disappeared from his study room; leaving all his works behind. ..... After looking for a while, Brayden knew he must have came to the street to see the parade for Eleanora. He thought the emperor would be happy after she returned but what is this now? The aura around the emperor has turned more colder and darker. Although Brayden couldn¡¯t see Cathain¡¯s face but he was sure that the emperor¡¯s gaze right now could kill. As he wasn¡¯t understand why the emperor was like this, he looked around and finally understood why. Cedrick Raven was riding his horse right aside with Eleanora and both of them was talking about something, where Eleanora was chuckling a little in the middle of the conversation. ¡°...¡± ¡®Was it necessary for the emperor toe here and then get jealous for no reason?¡¯ Brayden couldn¡¯t understand the rtionship between the emperor and the future empress. Specially the firm rejection of Eleanora¡¯s to be the empress and Alexander¡¯s hostility towards the emperor. And why the emperor feels guilty for no reason? Brayden shakes his head as he knows he won¡¯t get the answers by thinking it. As he was about to open his mouth to speak, He was speechless as the emperor disappeared again! ¡®Where did he vanished now?!!!¡¯ On the other hand~ ¡°Am thinking of transferring to the third squadron.¡± Cedrick spoke as he continued to ride his horse slowly and Eleanora looked at him with disdain. ¡°What will you do there as an imperial knight? Hit on girls?¡± Eleanora mocked Cedrick by herst sentence. ¡°Well, I can only use my full power with you... So it¡¯s useless for me to stay at under the imperialmander and continue my knight training.¡± ¡°Yeah, Because there is no girls to show off your skills in the imperial army?¡± ¡°...Why do you always bring other girls?¡± ¡°Oh? I thought you liked to show off your skills and body to girls as every girl in the medical team would talk about how many packs you have, how muscr your body is, how cool you look while fighting-¡± ¡°Okay, Okay, stop it now! I don¡¯t want to hear it anymore.¡± Cedrick intruppted Eleanora in the middle of her words as his face be red because of embarrassment. Seeing him blushing like that, Eleanora couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. Seeing her chuckle like that, Cedrick couldn¡¯t help but alsough with her. ¡®Only if they knew how many whipping scars there are once the healing magic is taken off from my body. They wouldn¡¯t say that kind of words anymore.¡¯ While Eleanora was lost inughing as she remembered the past times with Cedrick during the war, where he would shutter while talking to a girl... Suddenly a red rose came to her view. Without thinking much, she subconsciously took the rose and turned her head to see who gave her the flower. But to her surprise, she couldn¡¯t find who it was. Then her eyes fall on a man, whose back was facing her as he walked. From behind, she could only see the long ck cloak of the man and his tall body. For some reasons, Eleanora felt like it was that man who gave her the flower but she couldn¡¯t say for sure as she didn¡¯t saw who gave it. Her focus was all on the red rose which suddenly appeared in-front of her eyes and took it without even looking at the person who gave it. Eleanora examined the flower for a moment before she took it near her nose to smell it¡¯s fragrance. The dark red rose made her remember about someone, and she be silent as her eyes turned a little gloomy. ¡®...Thank you¡¯ Eleanora thanked the person who gave her the rose in her heart. ¡°Wow, Our littledy is already so famous!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Is he taking revenge on me for making fun of him earlier?¡¯ ¡°I think i need to make an appointment first before meeting you from now on.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because from now on, there will be a line of young man¡¯s infront of your house to get a glimpse of your beauty.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®He is taking revenge for sure.¡¯ Eleanora sneered before she went a little fast, leaving Cedrick behind. ¡°Hey!! Wait for me!¡± Cedrick spoke as he also rode his horse a little fast to chase after Eleanora. Where, Cathain watched the friendly intimate scene of those two with an unexinable burning pain in his heart as he sneered and turned to leave. ¡®You have changed a lot, where am still standing at the same point, where you left me to be... still dreaming of you everynight, My empress.¡¯ ... The central pce of the imperial pce was full of nobles, who has came to attend the victory banquet which has been arranged for the knights. Among the crowd of the nobles, there was a girl who wore a beautiful pink dress which made her milky white skin look more beautiful. Her long shiny silver was opened, decorated with pearls and the dress swayed as she walked in while holding her father¡¯s arm. The crowd surrounded Eleanora, as they was astonished because of her beauty. Most of them thought Eleanora would look more tough now as she is a sword master, but to their surprise, she was still delicate. Eleanora in the past life had tried her best to slim down and be all delicate again, in order to please the emperor. So, in this life, Eleanora already knew how to train without being tough perfectly. Which girl disliked looking pretty? Eleanora was no exception either. A whileter, Cedrick found Eleanora and went to her, but both of them was stunned after seeing their oufits. Cedrick wore a white suit with silver embroidery, which matched with Eleanora¡¯s light pink dress with silver embroidery perfectly. The crowd started whisper, talking about either they wore matching outfits purposely or not. Both Eleanora and Cedrick felt awkward because of this. Right then, the loud announcement by the chief attendant took everyone¡¯s attention and all of them bowed down to pay respect to the emperor. ¡°The sun of the empire, Emperor Cathain De Valerian Valentino and Lady Jennifer De Liana Raven are entering!!!¡± Eleanora, who bow down while holding her dress felt her stomach crumbling as she heard Jennifer¡¯s name again. ¡®Finally, it¡¯s here... Meeting her again who took everything away from me.¡¯ ¡®He must have fallen for her again, right?¡¯ Eleanora felt bitter and pain in her heart as she tried to stay calm. ..... Then remembered about her friend Liana, who didn¡¯t sent any letter to her for a long time. ¡®Did something happened to her?¡¯ Eleanora, who was bowed down didn¡¯t realised someone¡¯s piercing gaze on her. Cathain kept at looking at her and looking at Cedrick, he clenched his fist in anger. ¡®So this is how much you guys have progressed? Wearing matching clothes, huh?¡¯ If Cathain would, he wanted to go down right this instant and grab Eleanora to ask why she never replied to his letters. Why she was always busy whenever he visited during the war breaks? Didn¡¯t she said she will give him a chance? Then why is she doing this? Everyone felt something was wrong when the emperor spoke nothing even after entering for a long time. Then finally, the emperor opened his mouth to speak in a cold voice which contained no emotions. ¡°Raise your heads, I thank everyone for attending the victory banquet for our honourable knights, who returned after long four years.¡± ¡°We are honoured, Your Majesty.¡± Everyone spoke after they got permission from the emperor to raise their heads and spoke in unison. Eleanora¡¯s eyes fall on the two people on the second floor, The man was wearing a ck suit with a long red cape as the young girl beside him was wearing a beautiful white dress. The girl had curly blonde hair and caramel brown eyes, her smile was sweet which anyone couldn¡¯t help but fall for her. But Eleanora knows how sly this sweet girl can be, who destroyed the three big kingdom from behind the curtains. Who schemed her murder n and the fall of her house. Cathain took the wine ss from an attendants to start the banquet, but anyone could be afraid because of his dark expression. Sensing this, Jennifer who was standing beside the emperor pinched his hands. ¡°Keep your jealousy in you for a moment and start the banquet, Your Majesty! My brother didn¡¯t did it deliberately, it was me who choose his outfit for today¡¯s party.¡± Jennifer spoke in a low voice, which made Cathain more angry. ¡°So, should i thank you for being the matchmaker for my wife?¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain spoke with his gritted teeth as he wanted to push Jennifer from the second floor for choosing Cedrick¡¯s outfit which matched with Eleanora. Where, Eleanora sneered as she saw them conversing with each other. ¡®Daddy was right, all mens are dogs. Their personality will never change like how dogs tails cannot be straighten! He has fallen for her again where he kept whispering sweet words to me, saying am the only one for him.¡¯ Chapter 112 112 ¡°Changing Dance Partner¡¯s¡± ¡°To all the knights who fought with their lives for our empire, This empire and it¡¯s people will always remember your sacrifices and efforts.¡± The emperor spoke as he raised his wine ss to toast everyone and with this, the banquet officially started. ¡°To the knights and our empire!!¡± Everyone raised their sses too and drunk it to start the celebration. Eleanora drunk the whole ss of wine in one gulp as she felt heartbroken amd anger at the same time. The adult image of Cathain, remembered her about the past Cathain who had raised his campaign ss as he announced Jennifer¡¯s pregnancy news. Jennifer bing the queen and her child bing the next heir of the throne. Where she was brushed aside to give the other woman her space to stand beside her husband. The more Eleanora thought about it, the more angrier she be. ..... If she could, she wanted to push Jennifer away from Cathain and then strangle him right at this moment. Didn¡¯t he said she was the only one? Then why is he talking so happily with Jennifer right now? ¡®I knew it would turn out like this... it¡¯s good that i didn¡¯t fall for his trap back then. He was just pretending to be nice and then threw me away like before.¡¯ Usually, the emperor and his spouse is supposed toe together at a banquet and have the first dance. But as Eleanora was in the battlefield and currently not married, this was why as an unmarried nobledy, Jennifer became the emperor¡¯s partner for today¡¯s banquet. The crowd slowly made space for the emperor and his partner to have the first dance. Jennifer came to the middle of the dance banquet as Cathain escorted her. The sweet melody soon echoed through the silent banquet hall as Cathain and Jennifer started to dance slowly. ¡°Do we really have to hold hands?¡± Cathain asked as he touched Jennifer¡¯s hands lightly as he moved slowly to dance. ¡°Then are you going to hold the air and dance with it?¡± Jennifer asked while pretending to be calm, as she couldn¡¯t beat up the emperor unless she wants to die. ¡°What if she misunderstood?¡± ¡°...Then you shouldn¡¯t have bought me at the first ce, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain and Jennifer kept on bickering with each other, without knowing that people around them misunderstood it as sweet talks. Specially, Eleanora. Who kept her eyes glued to them as she took another ss to drink. ¡°Ele, Don¡¯t drink anymore!¡± Cedrick spoke as he took the third ss of wine from Eleanora. ¡°Give it back! I wanna have another ss!¡± ¡°No! Your father will kill me if you get drunk!¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora be quite as soon as Alexander was mentioned. Her father has warned her to not drink at all where she already had two sses of wine. Suddenly there was an emergency in the duchy, this was why Alexander had to rush back without her. ¡®But still he didn¡¯t forgot to stick a guard with me.¡¯ Eleanora sighed as she narrowed her blue eyes to look at the couple dancing infront of her. As the first dance ended, Other people started to join the emperor and his partner to dance. Suddenly, Eleanora thought of something as she looked at Cedrick devilishly; making Cedrick look away in fear. ¡®Why do i think she is up to nothing good again?¡¯ Seeing Cedrick¡¯s reaction, Eleanora smirked as she grabbed his hands and pulled him on the dance floor. ¡°I can¡¯t dance!! Spare me, My Lady!!¡± Cedrick spoke in a low but terrified voice as he felt someone¡¯s burning gaze on him from the start of this banquet. So, if he dance with her now... he might be already killed before Alexanderes to kill him. ¡°Let me teach you dance then, My dear Rick!¡± Eleanora smiled at Cedrick as she called his nickname, which she only does when she is upto nothing good. Cedrick was stunned for a moment before he sighed helplessly. ¡®I can¡¯t even deny her...¡¯ Jennifer, who was hoping for the dance to end early was stunned as she suddenly felt so much pain like her waist was breaking. ¡®W-What are you doing?!¡¯ Jennifer stomped on Cathain¡¯s feets as she red at him, who unconsciously grabbed her waist hard as he saw Eleanora and Cedrick dancing together. As he also felt pain on his feet, he red back at Jennifer. ¡®What the heck is your brother doing?!¡¯ As Jennifer somehow understood his gaze, she turned her head only to see her brother dancing with Eleanora very happily. Even before she could react, she suddenly felt a little push as she twirled around and in an instant, she was shocked as well her brother. ¡®Huh?¡¯ Everyone in the banquet hall was speechless. In a single twirl, their partners changed. Jennifer be Cedricks partner as Eleanora be Cathain¡¯s. Both siblings was embarrassed as they didn¡¯t meet face to face for years till this morning, and now they are suddenly dancing together because someone got jealous. Eleanora was also too stunned to react and kept staring at Cathain¡¯s red eyes, which had be more deep red. His face had be more structured and moreover he has be too tall then her, which bothered Eleanora to reach his shoulders as he was a foot taller then her. ¡®I can¡¯t even p him now...¡¯ Cathain had pushed Jennifer while twirling her in one hand as he swiftly pulled Eleanora with the other hand. His both hand was rested on her waist as her hands rested on his chest as she couldn¡¯t reach his shoulders. Both of them keep looking at each other, as they was lost. Eleanora¡¯s hands trembled a little as she felt his fast beating heart. As his hands was on her waist, Cathain could clearly feel her curves now. Which made it clear that she has indeed changed. Her body wasn¡¯t all same like before, her waist got narrower as her chest and hips grew more; creating an hourss body shape. Her face didn¡¯t contained baby fat anymore, it has be more sharper as her round eyes became almond shaped. Her lips has be more plumper then before, specially now as she be surprised and widened her clear blue eyes to look at him. Which made her look seductive rather then cute like before. ¡°Y-Your Majesty?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Cathain replied with a humming sound as he was too busy to discover how much she have changed during the four years he haven¡¯t seen her. ¡®Even her voice has changed...¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s voice sound sweet and clear, unlike her past voice which contained a young tone. She sounded more mature and famine now. Cathain started to move slowly as he kept looking at her, which made Eleanora embarrassed to look at him anymore. She kept blinking her eyes to avoid his piercing gaze but the more she did that, the more he liked it. ¡®I wonder how she will react if i tease her now... Will her cheeks turn more red?¡¯ ..... ¡°Pink matches with ck the best rather then white.¡± ¡°Huh? What do you mean, Your Majesty?¡± Eleanora looked at Cathain with an confused gaze as she couldn¡¯t understand what he was saying. Seeing her bewildered look again, Cathain felt his heart beating more faster and he pulled her more closer as he entangled their fingers together. ¡®Oh my innocent empress... if you keep being this innocent then how am i supposed to control myself from eating you?¡¯ Cathain smriked as he brushed his lips on her ears and he whispered in a low voice, his hot breathe falling on her ear and make it look more red. ¡°I mean, Your pink outfit matches with my ck suit more well then that blonde dog¡¯s white does.¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain took his mouth away from her ear as he finished speaking to see her embarrassed expression. And as he had expected, her expression crossed his expectations. ¡®B-Blonde dog? He doesn¡¯t mean Cedrick, Right?!¡¯ Before Eleanora could ask for more, the song ended and she stepped back to bow down to him politely. And as she thought it has ended, Cathain suddenly wrapped his hands around her waist as he walked towards the Raven siblings. ¡°I, Jennifer La Liana Raven, Greet the future moon of our empire. It¡¯s my honour to meet with you.¡± Jennifer greeted Eleanora first, as she knew that Eleanora sees her like the viin she once was. ¡®I need to get close to her, to protect her. But i don¡¯t think she will want to befriend the person who snatched away everything from her...¡¯ Eleanora just stared at her and nodded in reply as she subconsciously clenched the hem of her dress. Sensing the weird situation, Cedrick spoke to ease the atmosphere. ¡°Greetings, Your Majesty.¡± He greeted Cathain first as this was his first time talking with him in this banquet. ¡°Please get up, I have to thank you again for looking after my empress for so long.¡± ¡®So from now on, don¡¯t appear beside her anymore.¡¯ ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Here we go again...¡¯ Jennifer looked away as she felt really disgusted with Cathain¡¯s crazy jealousy. She knows her brother likes Eleanora but also knows that her brother is too innocent and not insane to make a move on the future empress. Cedrick just simply admire and his feelings basicallyes from that. The way Eleanora handled everything and controlled her powers made Cedrick look up at her as he was someone who always obeyed to his father. He could never speak against the duke and when he saw how Eleanora did everything on her own; who was the same as him, craving for love and attention. He alwayscked behind because of that and she always excelled because of the same thing. Which made him admire her and finally developing little feelings. But he also knew his ce too well. This is why Jennifer wasn¡¯t worried about her brother but rather her insane power hungry father. Just thinking about the duke gave her headache. ¡°You siblings must love each other so much... wearing the same clothes to celebrate the brothers victory.¡± ¡°...¡± Jennifer¡¯s face twiched as she heard Cathain¡¯s words. ¡®So you mean, we siblings deliberately matched our clothes and thus, this has nothing to do with Lady Dalton?!¡¯ The whole banquet hall be cheerful once again as the people started to gossip about the ongoing drama. ... Alexander walked fast as he reached the duchy and walked towards his study room. He gestured Raynor to not follow him inside as he closed the door tightly after getting into the room. A tall man in ck cloak stood beside the window as he moved his eyes to look at Alexander, who just entered with a frown on his face. ¡°Why did you came here? Just how many times i have told you to be careful?!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Am careful enough.¡± The man spoke as he threw a ss bottol to Alexander for catch. ¡°Just how more longer will it take to start working?¡± ¡°It has been four years since he has been taking it. The medicine should start working soon. Am going now!¡± The man spoke as he jumped down from the window without even looking back. Where, Alexander kept ncing at the ss bottol and finally spoke after a while. ¡°I won¡¯t give you people the chance to harm her again anymore. The beginning of your new ending has started, Your Majesty the emperor!¡± Chapter 113 113 ¡°Drunk Emperor¡± ¡°Your Majesty! Watch out!¡± Eleanora spoke as she hold the emperor, who was about to bump into a wall in an drunken state. She sighed in relief as she caught him in time but then Cathain walked towards a mirror and stared at it for some time. ¡®What is he doing there now?¡¯ Which made Eleanora wonder what he was doing there and approached him. ¡°Mirror mirror on the wall, tell me who loves me the most in the world?¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora straightened her lips to notugh. She can¡¯tugh at the emperor no matter what he does. ¡®But talking with the mirror and asking that kind of question?! No wonder why he never gets drunk infront of anyone.¡¯ ..... She tried to conceal herughter and stare him to keep an eye, so that he won¡¯t bump into walls again. Where Cathain kept staring at the mirror with a solemn expression. ¡°Huh? You can¡¯t reply? Then let¡¯s change the question!!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Mirror mirror on the wall, tell me who hates me the most in the world?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Wait!! You don¡¯t need to say! I know this one!¡± Cathain spoke excitedly as he pulled Eleanora infront of the mirror. Wrapping her hands around her waist, he hugged her from the behind as he kissed her cheeks. ¡°My empress hates me the most...¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora, who had yet to react from his sudden kiss be more stunned as she heard him. She be silent and let him bury his face into her shoulder but soon she changed her mind as Cathain bite her shoulder. ¡°Agh! Your Majesty!!¡± ¡°Lemme eat my white cake...¡± ¡°That¡¯s my shoulder not white cake!!¡± ¡®I should have left him on the road!!¡¯ Sometime ago~ ¡°His Majesty is drunk, Lady Dalton.¡± ¡°...¡± Brayden, who was holding the almost sleeping emperor spoke as he came to Eleanora. Cathain¡¯s face looked pale as his cheeks be red because of the alcohol. But Eleanora looked at them with a poker face as she couldn¡¯t understand what that have anything to do with her. ¡®What am I supposed to do then? Dance?¡¯ Sensing Eleanora¡¯s silent criticism, Brayden couldn¡¯t help but give her an awkward smile. ¡®Why would his Majesty get drunk if it wasn¡¯t for you?¡¯ ¡°Where is his partner? Give him to her. I can¡¯t carry him.¡± ¡°...¡± Brayden was speechless. How could the future empress hand the emperor to someone else like he is nothing but some essory? No wonder, the emperor had to get drunk to get closer to her. ¡®If someone else touches me except her, I will turn your marquise Hill state into a mountain hill, My dear clever aid Brayden Hill...¡¯ Brayden gulped as he remembered the emperor¡¯s threat before he started to drink with all the nobles who toasted him. Normally he would refuse, but today he saw that as an opportunity. Seeing there was no other way, Brayden pushed the emperor into Eleanora¡¯s embrace, who was standing at a corner to avoid the crowd. ¡®Am sorry, mydyship!!!!¡¯ ¡°Agh! Hey, Sir Brayden!!!¡± ¡°I have some really important works to do, Mydy! Please escort him to his bedroom safely!¡± Brayden instantly fleed from the scene and went to inform everyone in the way to the emperor¡¯s pce to not show up. He felt really proud on himself and expected a pay raise because of his clever idea. There is no way that the emperor wouldn¡¯t praise him because of his hard work. Brayden doesn¡¯tck money but it doesn¡¯t stop him from making more money. Otherwise Eleanora might just dump the emperor to any knight and go back. Then the next day, the emperor will kill him as soon as he waked up. So hepletely ignored the Eleanora, who waspletely unseen because of Cathain¡¯s tall and muscr body over her. Only her hands, which was extended to stop Brayden could be seen. In the end, Eleanora had no choice but to carry a person who is a foot taller then her to the emperor pce. ¡®Augh! Why is he so heavy?!¡¯ She felt her body breaking up because of his weight that she rather fight another war then carrying him. And as Brayden thought, Eleanora indeed wanted to dump Cathain to any knights and then return. But because of his cunning head, Eleanora could only carry Cathain, who took a step forwarded and then swayed right and left. Making Eleanora feel dizzy, who only reached his chest. ¡°Where is your partner now?! You came with her, danced with her, So why didn¡¯t you let her apany you to your bedroom?!¡± Eleanora spoke in an irritated voice. There was no one on the way, which means she have to carry this burden all the way to the emperor¡¯s pce from the central pce. They have already entered the emperor¡¯s pce, which usually takes 10 minutes from the central pce but because of Cathain¡¯s swaying while walking, it took them one hour. But Cathain stopped as he heard Eleanora and turned to look at her with a serious face. ¡°...¡± At first Eleanora was a little stunned to see his serious expression but soon she started tough because of his pouting. ¡®T-This is the first time i have ever seen him like this! This is so hrious!¡¯ But soon Eleanora¡¯sughing stopped as he got closer to her. Eleanora lifted her head to meet Cathain¡¯s red eyes, which seem to get more darker. She unconsciously took a step back in nervousness, where Cathain took a step forwarded towards her. This time, Cathain wasn¡¯t swaying as he walked, which made Eleanora wonder if he was just pretending to be drunk before. ¡°Ouch!¡± Eleanora felt pain as her back hit the wall and she was even more stunned as Cathain bent down to meet her eyes as he ced his hands on the wall to trap her. ¡°Are you jealous, My empress?¡± ¡°...h-huh?¡± Eleanora was speechless. She brushed off the idea of Cathain being not drunk. ¡®Me and jealous? That too for him? It¡¯s simply impossible!!¡¯ Cathain¡¯s lips curved up a little as he got a little more closer to her, brushing his nose with her. Eleanora could smell the strong scent of alcoholing from him. ¡®So, he is indeed drunk.¡¯ ¡°Tell me, Are you jealous?¡± ..... ¡°No, Am not.¡± ¡°Too bad, because i was...¡± ¡°You was jealous?¡± Eleanora tried to move her face as she spoke. Because everytime his hot breath fall on her face, she felt weird. But right then, Cathain cupped her cheeks into his hand to stop her from turning away. She felt re sparkling on her skin as he touched her like always. Her neck started to feel burning because of his hot gaze on her. ¡°I wish i could chop of his hands which touched you...¡± ¡°Did i chopped offdy Raven¡¯s hands because she touched you-¡± Eleanora stopped on her words as she widened her eyes in shock, where a devilish smile appeared on Cathain¡¯s face as he heard her. ¡®Why does my words sounded like i was jealous? That¡¯s not true... I was just replying to him while using his own words!¡¯ Eleanora started to feel more ufortable in his embrace, so she tried to bent down and escape from the side but she was too slow. Cathain was used to her various tricks of running away, so he moved his hands and ced them on her thighs to lift her up. ¡°Kya! Your Majesty! Get me down! Get me down!¡± Cathain was already tall, so as he lifted her up straight, Eleanora felt like she will fall if he moves. She ced her hands on his shoulders to not fall and wrapped her legs around his waist as he pinned her down against the wall. ¡®This... Something is not right.¡¯ Eleanora felt nervous as Cathain kept staring at her with heavy eyes. Then he leaned on her chest with his head down as he spoke. ¡°I missed you so much...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®H-He missed me?¡¯ Eleanora was surprised to hear that from him directly. But that also exined his countless letters and visits during the war break. She always avoided him as she feared the uing future, specially when Jennifer appeared. She was afraid of seeing him smiling while thinking of someone else. She already thought of give them her blessing and protect herself and her duchy this time. So, she kept avoiding him till now. ¡°Why did you never replied? Do you know how sad i used to be when i saw him with you? When i heard his magic ispatible with you?!¡± ¡°...Calm down, Your Majesty.¡± Eleanora spoke hesitantly as Cathain¡¯s grip on her waist tightened up as he spoke. ¡°Why is your magic can be fused with his but not me?¡± ¡°Well, we have never tried to fuse our powers together.¡± Eleanora spoke gently as she somehow found his naggings cute, she feltughing when Cathain looked up in surprise after hearing her. ¡°So, you will try to fuse our powers together?!¡± ¡°Only if our powers ispatible then, we can.¡± A smile appeared on Cathain¡¯s face and his eyes lit up as he spoke. ¡°I will be the one to help you instead of that blonde dog!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Just when will he stop calling Cedrick the blonde dog?¡¯ Eleanora sighed as she opened her mouth to speak again, because magic fusion is very rare and moreover it has never happened between the imperial family and the Dalton¡¯s. Because both of them has exact opposite powers. It¡¯s not easy to mix fire and ice together and no one knows what kind of power it will be when they will bebined together. ¡°Magic fusion isn¡¯t easy...¡± Eleanora couldn¡¯t finish her words as Cathain twirled her around in excitement. ¡°Put me down! I will fall, your Majesty!¡± Eleanora spoke with her eyes closed as she feared that she might fall but Cathain spoke with a gentle voice as he smiled at her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I will always be there to catch you no matter how many times you fall, My empress...¡± Chapter 114 114 ¡°Alexander¡¯s Rage¡± The cold breezeing from the window made Eleanora feel cold, where the birds chirping sounds made her frown as it disturbed her sleep. In annoyance, she turned around and ced the nket above her head as it felt more warm andfortable. But something felt wrong... Why does her pillow feels so warm and heavy? Eleanora blinked a few times as she removed the nket from her face and tried to look around. ¡®Huh?¡¯ ¡®Why am seeing the emperor in my bed?¡¯ Eleanora rubbed her eyes again and then she was beyond shock. She wasn¡¯t seeing things but it was indeed the emperor infront of her and moreover, on the same bed. She was sleeping on his arms and his another arm rested on her waist. ..... After looking around a little, the royal crest came to her view and she gulped in fear. Not only she didn¡¯t informed at home about her night staying here, she also slept at the same bed as the emperor. ¡®Daddy is gonna kill me...¡¯ Last night, The emperor had twirled her around till she felt dizzy and only put her down once he reached his room. As Cathain was drunk, he couldn¡¯t keep his bnce and both of them fall on the bed together. Eleanora didn¡¯t knew if she shouldugh or not. She was about to get up, when Cathain hugged her tightly from behind and burried his face in her neck. ¡°Stop running away, Ele. I will fix everything... Stay with me.¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora be silent as she was lost in her thoughts. As long as Duke Raven doesn¡¯t gets caught for what he is doing, the past will be the same. He will try to harm her and the duchy again. His daughter will snatch everything away from her. Can the emperor really fix everything and different from the past? She didn¡¯t knew when she fall asleep on his arms with this thoughts in her mind. And then wake up beside him this morning. Eleanora sighed as she looked at the young man beside her, who was sleeping peacefully. His ck hair was messy as well his clothes. Eleanora¡¯s lips curved up a little unknowingly as she saw him sleeping but as soon as gaze fall on his muscr chest, her eyes widened in shock. She immediately got up and climbed up on him and spread his shirt to take a closer look. ¡®What¡¯s this?!¡¯ The emperor had the same crescent moon mark on his chest, the ce where he took the arrow for her; four years ago. It was the same mark that she have on her back on the right, where he have it on his left side chest. Eleanora trailed her fingertips on his mark gently to cheak if it was real or not. But she was a little shocked as her hands was suddenly grabbed. ¡°What are you doing, My empress? Can¡¯t wait till our weeding night?¡± ¡°H-Huh?¡± Eleanora who didn¡¯t understood his meaning at first tilted her head in confusion, but as soon as she understood it, her whole face turned red in embarrassment. ¡°H-How could you say that, Your Majesty?!¡± Eleanora asked as she shuttered while Cathain sat up with her on hisp. In the process, she backed down a little so she wrapped her hands around his neck as he hold her waist to keep her safe. ¡°Well, otherwise how do you exin your actions?¡± ¡°What actions-¡± Eleanora paused on her words as she finally realised their situation. It was her, who climbed up on his body. It was her, who spread his shirt with such a force that his buttons came out from the shirt. It was her, who touched his chest while he was sleeping. Eleanora looked away in embarrassment, not knowing how to exin. But she was shocked once again. ¡®Why does it looks like the dress i was wearingst night?¡¯ The light pink dress she was wearingst night was shattered on the ground as well her corset and the emperor¡¯s ck suit. He was wearing only a white shirt and the pants of his suits. ¡®No wonder i slept sofortably... Wait, what am i wearing now then?!¡¯ Looking down, Eleanora found herself wearing the thin white dress that she wore under the pink dressst night. Seeing the dumbfounded expression of her, Cathain wanted to chuckle but knew she will be even more embarrassed if he did that. ¡®Will she hit me with those tiny fists of hers, if i say i was the one who took off her dress...?¡¯ Last night, Cathain woke up a little whileter after Eleanora fall asleep. He couldn¡¯t sleep with his clothes on as he felt stuffy in those. He took off everything except his pants and shirt as he knew she will be frightened if she sees his upper body naked as soon as she opens her eyes. ¡®She is too innocent for a beast like me, who wants to eat her up everytime i see her.¡¯ Cathain kissed Eleanora¡¯s forehead and ced her head on the pillow, but she was frowning as she felt stuffy too. In the end, Cathain choose to take off her dress and corset, leaving the thin white dress on her. Cathain looked away as soon as he took a nce at her, the dress wasn¡¯t that transparent but seeing her sleeping so defenceless, he was afraid he couldn¡¯t control himself. ¡®Don¡¯t act like some beast now, Cain. The duke will skin you alive if you do something to her before the marriage.¡¯ So, he choosed to silently sleep as he took her on his arms and hug her tightly. Now, Cathain didn¡¯t wanted to tell her the truth and enjoy the scene infront of him but it felt a little weird. ¡®Why is she so silent?¡¯ Eleanora was about to yell when Cathain ced his hands on her mouth and pinned her down on bed. Eleanora widened her eyes in shock where, Cathain sighed in relief. ¡®So, this was why she was so quite. Luckily i stopped her on time, otherwise the whole empire would know about this.¡¯ As he felt that Eleanora had calmed down, Cathain slowly removed his hands from her mouth which has been bitten by her. ¡°Is this the way of yours to mark me as your own?¡± Cathain asked as he nced at the teeth mark on his hands. But hearing him, Eleanora¡¯s face puffed up in anger and Cathain chuckled as he stroked her hair. ¡°Okay, Okay, i won¡¯t tease you anymore!¡± Cathain spoke but then he froze a little before looking away shyly. Eleanora was confused a little at first, but soon he understood his shy gaze. The dress had a wide neck which exposed her cleavage a little, So Eleanora immediately put her hands on her chest to hide and gred at Cathain. ¡°Where are you looking at?!¡± ¡°Well, I am the only one who can see them...¡± ¡°Pervert!!¡± Eleanora spoke as she pushed him and wanted to get up but Cathain caught her both wrist by his hands forcefully as he whispered on her ears. ..... ¡°Only for you, My empress.¡± Cathain spoke as he kissed her earlob and loosened his grip over her. As soon as she was free, Eleanora didn¡¯t wait for another moment and fleed to the bathroom after picking up her dress from the floor. Where Cathain chuckled as he saw her running away like he was about to eat her. ¡®Let¡¯s see how long you can keep running and your father saves you from my ws, My dear empress.¡¯ Cathainughed at himself before he stood up from the bed and dressed up. He had actually waken up long before Eleanora did, but he choosed to close his eyes when she wake up to see her reaction. Cathain was dressing up and chuckling at the same time as he kept thinking about her cute reactions again and again. ¡®Am satisfied as long as she doesn¡¯t push me away...¡¯ ¡®Oh? Is that so?¡¯ Cathain froze as he heard another voice ringing inside of him. ¡®Are you really satisfied? You don¡¯t want to see her under you, crying while panting your name?¡¯ ¡®...No, i don¡¯t.¡¯ ¡®Stop lying to yourself, Emperor. Admit you want her to love you, desire you the way you do for her.¡¯ ¡®No, I respect her will. I will give her time to ept me.¡¯ ¡®But what if she doesn¡¯t want you? Can you say for sure there is nothing between that Duke¡¯s son and her?¡¯ ¡®No, I trust her! There is nothing between them!¡¯ ¡®Stop lying to yourself, You wouldn¡¯t get drunk or keep her with youst night it that was the case.¡¯ ¡®Stop it!¡¯ ¡®You should stop lying to yourself first, The 34th emperor... listen to me, i will help you.¡¯ ¡®No, i won¡¯t be fooled twice by you, The first emperor...¡¯ ¡®...¡¯ Cathain chuckled as the another voice finally be silent. He recognised it right. ¡®Or should i say, my deceased first soul who failed to express his love on his first life and then messed up my second life? The so called curse in the imperial family which makes every emperor hurt their loved one?¡¯ ¡®How do you remember?!¡¯ ¡®Because am not empty headed like you. I can get her without anyone¡¯s help. No one can snatch her away from me.¡¯ Cathain spoke in his mind as he opened the bedroom door to came out, but then he froze with an dumbfounded expression before he was pushed into an corner with a brutal force in a blink of eyes. ¡°What did you do did to my daughterst night, You bastard!¡± Chapter 115 115 ¡°Her Ideal Type¡± Alexander, who couldn¡¯t enter the emperor¡¯s bedroom to take away his daughrer waited outside of the emperor¡¯s bedroom door all night; Without closing his eyes for a moment. The guards outside stopped him and he also didn¡¯t wanted to make a scene atte night. If words goes out, it will only harm his daughter and ruin her reputation in the upper noble ss. Which is the only reason why he didn¡¯t break the door and take her out. ¡®Only if i had came earlier and take her away earlier in thest life...¡¯ Alexander thought as he stood outside of the room all night. So, as soon as the guards went to change their shift and the emperor came out; Alexander pushed him on a corner without thinking much. The emperor will put him into the prison again? He is not afraid of that! ..... Alexander grabbed the emperor¡¯s cor as he spoke furiously, but the emperor just let him do whatever he wanted and sneered. ¡°Woah, Calm down, Father-inw! Are you even cursing the emperor, your son-inw now?¡± ¡°Stay away from her!¡± Alexander spoke as he gritted his teeth. His daughter might be fooled and emotional but he is not. But Cathain just sneered again as it felt he has heard something funny. ¡°That¡¯s impossible, Father inw...¡± ¡°You!¡± ¡°I what? A bastard? Well, I don¡¯t mind being a bastard if it means I can get her...¡± ¡°You are going crazy again! Don¡¯t forget what you promised!¡± Cathain¡¯s hands tighten into a fist as Alexander mentioned the promise. If it wasn¡¯t for that, would some randome guy got the chance to get closer to her? Cathain took a deep breathe to control himself as the person infront of him is his father-inw, whose tressure he is going to steal. It¡¯s better if he sesses into coaxing his father-inw because the person who will interfere between them will be her father for sure. But seeing the situation, it doesn¡¯t seem like he can coax his father-inw. So he has only one choice now... Force! Cathain narrowed his eyes as he looked at Alexander with a cold face as he moved Alexander¡¯s hands away from his coller and whispered in a murderous tone. ¡°I remember my promise really well, but that can¡¯t stops me... You should be thankful that i have changed and respect your daughter¡¯s will as well you. Otherwise your daughter would already be mine, either willingly or forcefully... Father-inw!¡± Cathain spoke as he patted on Alexander¡¯s shoulder and left. Where, Alexander clenched his fists and punched the wall in frustration; making the wall crack a little. ¡®There is no way i will let the killer of my daughter take her away from me this time! Even if i have to be the viin of the story...¡¯ ¡°Daddy!!¡± Alexander¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as he heard Eleanora¡¯s voice, who came to him while running. ¡°Daddy! What happened to your hands?!¡± ¡°...Nothing.¡± ¡°You are bleeding! How could be this nothing?!¡± Eleanora spoke in an concerned voice as she blow on her father¡¯s wound with a worried face. Seeing her like this, Alexander¡¯s mind calmed down and he patted her head softly. ¡°Let¡¯s go back home first, Ele.¡± ¡®Huh?¡¯ Eleanora looked at her father, who was just saying some simple words but yet, they didn¡¯t felt that simple to her. But still, she happily agreed as that was her home and the person infront of her is Alexander, her father who loves her the most. ¡°Okay, Daddy.¡± Eleanora left the imperial pce happily without noticing someone¡¯s sinister gaze on them. Where, Alexander¡¯s eyes lit up a little as he sensed someone else¡¯s present and watching them. ¡®The game has finally began...¡¯ ... ¡®D-Did i took them off in my sleep,st night?!¡¯ ¡®How could i do this?!¡¯ ¡®Before i was younger so it didn¡¯t mattered if i slept beside him or not but now am also an adult... how could i fall asleep so easily and took off my dress?!¡¯ Eleanora wanted to hit her head on a wall but also knew it would hurt. So she just sighed and made up her mind to not do this kind of things again. As soon as she took off her dress for bath, her gaze fall on the littlr bruised mark on her shoulder. Which has been left by Cathainst night, when he bite her. ¡®I also forgot to ask him about how he did that goddess mark...¡¯ Eleanora was lost in her thoughts when she heard a knocking on the door. ¡°Mydy, The D-Duke...¡± ¡°What happened to my father?!¡± ¡®Father is also here?¡¯ ¡°Well, The duke and his Majesty are fighting! My Lady, please stop them!¡± Theb which Eleanora was using tob her hair fall from her hands, as the scene of her father being locked up in the prison from her past life came to her mind. Alexander¡¯s voice from herst life kept repeating on her mind and her heart sank in fear. ¡®What is the meaning of this?!¡¯ ¡®You think you can humiliate my family like this and I¡¯d just continue to loyally serve you? She¡¯s my daughter! The mother of our empire, your empress! And yet you let some mistress bear your child and name them heir?¡¯ ¡®No, I have allowed you to disrespect her for too long, Your Majesty! She is a daughter of the Daltons and deserves your respect, even if only purely for her Duke lineage. To think you would throw her aside as if she was trash and impregnate another woman is totally uneptable.¡¯ ¡®You dare disrespect my daughter like that? How dare you?!¡¯ Her father¡¯s manic blue eyes as heunched himself with his sword across the table towards the emperor shed like it was happening again to Eleanora. She immediately got up from the chair and ran outside, only to find her father with a bloodied hand. She smiled and pretended like she wasn¡¯t afraid but deep inside, she was terrified. ¡®Is this a warning for me that the past can repeat?¡¯ ¡®Is this a sign that¡¯s warning me to stay away from him?¡¯ Eleanora took a deep breathe and calmed herself down. ¡®Indeed, this is a warning sign for me... I shouldn¡¯t be like this. My fate can repeat again if i continue to be soft hearted for him just because he has changed.¡¯ ¡°Eat.¡± Alexander¡¯s voice echoed in the silent dining room, as he spoke and ced some food in Eleanora¡¯s te, who was in a daze. ¡°Yes.¡± Eleanora silently ate the food as it was awkward after they returned from the imperial pce. ..... She thought her father would scold him but he didn¡¯t did so. He just kept staring at her silently, Which made it hard for her to even sallow her food. Eleanora kept her head down and eat as Alexander continued to watch her. ¡°That bastard didn¡¯t did anything to you, right?¡± ¡®B-Bastard? The emperor?!¡¯ Eleanora was speechless. Why is their naming sense so weird? [A/N: What she meant is, the emperor calls Cedrick Raven the blonde dog, where Duke Dalton calls the emperor a bastard.] ¡°O-Obviously nothing happened! Daddy.¡± ¡°Stay away from him in the future.¡± Alexander spoke as he took a bite of his food and not getting any reply from Eleanora, he spoke again. ¡°...Reluctant?¡± ¡°N-No. I will keep that in mind.¡± Eleanora spoke in nervousness. She has never seen Alexander so serious in this life. But she also thought it was the best thing for her. ¡®He must think am pathetic, who is clinging to the emperor even after i wanted to break off the marriage and he supported that.¡¯ Because unlike herst life, Eleanora is not the dignifieddy who conducted her manners appropriately like a properdy. She boldly wanted to cancel the marriage with the emperor, didn¡¯t took any empress lessons, fought along with mens... In one words, she did everything that ady would never do. In herst life, the crown prince bore all the criticism by sending his fiance to the war but in this life, she volunteered to do that. After everything, now her actions seem like she still have lingering feelings for the emperor which would be a great embarrassing thing for her father, who wants to cancel the marriage. Eleanora took a nce at her father, who was eating delightly. The first duke of the empire, highest of all the nobles and the leader of the first squadron knights. The empire¡¯s greatest hero, who never lose a single war. Compared to that, as his daughter, Eleanora will only bring shame if she keeps being soft hearted for the emperor. She will be theughingstock of the nobles, socially inept with no friends. ¡°Ele...¡± Alexander¡¯s words once again bought her back to the reality from sulking. ¡°Yes, Daddy?¡± Eleanora asked but her heart was beating fast as she felt something was really wrong. ¡°Can i ask you something?¡± ¡°Of course, Daddy.¡± Alexander looked at her suspiciously without speaking as he put down his tea cup and waved at the maids to go out. The maids politely bowed downand left after closing the door. ¡°...¡± ¡®Why are you sending the maids out, Daddy?¡¯ Eleanora felt so nervous that she feared that her father might even hear the sound of her fast beating heart. ¡®Is he finally going to scold me for staying with the emperorst night?¡¯ ¡®Well, I can¡¯t me him. It was indeed my faultst night. If words goes out, our family and he will be aughing stock...¡¯ But her father¡¯s question, which he asked as he wiped his mouth and narrowed his eyes to look at her, shocked her so much that the fork fall from her hands directly on the ground. ¡°What do you look for in man, Your ideal type?¡± Chapter 116 116 ¡°Promotion¡± ¡®W-What?¡¯ Eleanora almost choked on the water that she was drinking because of her father¡¯s sudden question. ¡°Why are you asking me that so suddenly, daddy?¡± ¡°Just curious.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®You want me to believe that, daddy?¡¯ ¡®But why...?¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s eyes widened a little as a sudden realisation hit her mind. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me that he is nning to match me with someone else...!¡¯ ..... ¡®Is he trying to find a recement for the emperor and match me with that person?¡¯ ¡®Noo... I don¡¯t ept that!¡¯ ¡°Haha, What I look for in a man, you ask?¡± Eleanora¡¯s sudden chuckle made Alexander look at her with a confused gaze but Eleanora didn¡¯t cared about that. Alexander¡¯s attitude to break of the marriage between her and the emperor seems really firm. But even if the marriage agreement breaks, she still has to marry someone to continue the family. It¡¯s not like Eleanora doesn¡¯t want to marry someone else but right now, it feels a little hasty to her. If possible, she don¡¯t want to get married! ¡°Well, someone who is stronger then you?¡± ¡®Nobody is stronger then him, I just simply don¡¯t want to get married after getting rid of one.¡¯ ¡°Are you serious?¡± Alexander asked in a serious tone which made Eleanora wonder if her thoughts has been seen through by her father. ¡°Ahaha, That is what I would like but there is no one like that, My father is the strongest!¡± Eleanora¡¯s voice be lower as she saw the twitch on Alexander face and thought if she has pissed him off or not. Where, Alexander who has been taking notes in his mind about her daughter¡¯s preference didn¡¯t knew that his facial expression was so misleading. ¡®I need to pretend that I want an impossibly perfect man while not getting caught...¡¯ ¡°For me, it¡¯s looks, money, honour, family, ability. If the man doesn¡¯t have this all in the highest level- I won¡¯t get married!¡± Eleanora spoke in a serious tone. Except the emperor, none of the guys in the empire have all this five qualities. And the emperor is out of Alexander¡¯s list from the very beginning. Alexander pondered for a moment and nodded as he opened his mouth to speak. ¡°Hmm... I see.¡± Eleanora heaved a sigh as she thought she has sessfully passed the trouble. But soon she was even more shocked as Alexander spoke again. ¡°Let¡¯s go on an outing with me.¡± ¡®...Eh? Outing? With whom?¡¯ ¡°Why?!¡± Eleanora, who has never been to an outing with her father in her whole past 40 years jolted as she asked. [A/N: Eleanora¡¯s past 22 years + Present almost 18 years = 40 years] But Alexander got up from his seat as he looked at his surprised daughter. ¡°To get you a new dress, the dress you are wearing looks cheap.¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora was speechless. The dress she is wearing is from the imperial pce, which seem to always have a suitable dress for her to change into. Here, Alexander was saying the dress was cheap; which meant he was indirectly calling the imperial pce cheap. Or maybe the emperor¡¯s taste? Eleanora didn¡¯t knew anymore as she also stood up and followed her father outside. Central Street~ ¡°Come here! Discount on anything you buy!¡± ¡°Sale! Sale! Sale!¡± ¡°We have high quality fabrics here! Take a look!¡± It¡¯s been four years since Eleanorast visited the central streets but everything looked more upgraded and lively. The people¡¯s lives has been totally changed from her past life, where people was suffering from the war damages. But now people are living happily. So, Eleanora kept looking around as she walked behind her father. ¡°This one!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°That one!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°And all of those!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Why are you doing this, Daddy!¡¯ Eleanora became speechless as Alexander literally pointed at everything that she looked at even casually. Then her gaze fall on an ugly ck cat doll with red eyes, which she picked up as it looked like the emperor to her. ¡®Who would even buy such an ugly cat?¡¯ ¡°That one too.¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora flinched as Alexander pointed at the ugly cat doll in her hands. ¡®Why is he buying everything i look at?¡¯ Eleanora sighed and stopped looking at other things from then on as she walked, to prevent Alexander from buying unnecessary things. ¡®I wanna go home...¡¯ But then, someone brushed aside her and went to the duke to talk. The person had ck cloak she couldn¡¯t see the face but the body shape was a women¡¯s, who had a sword hanging on her waist. ¡®A woman with a sword? Did they already finished their training and also started to work?¡¯ As per Eleanora knows, currently she is the only known female knigh, who will be the leader after she takes her knights vow in this years knight ceremony. So who is this female knight? The girl wasn¡¯t that taller then her and as she approched the duke, Alexander turned around to look at Eleanora. ¡®Do they know each other?¡¯ ¡°Wait here, I will be back soon.¡± With that, Alexander immediately disappeared from the crowd with that female knight; leaving Eleanora¡¯s mind wonder in thoughts. Alexander returned sooner then Eleanora had expected, but she was also happy that he returned sooner. ¡°Who was she, daddy?¡± ¡°Someone who is not worth of mentioning.¡± ..... ¡°...¡± ¡®What a great way to introduce someone!¡¯ The next day~ Eleanora got ready to go to the imperial pce along with her father as a knight. Everytime Alexander sees Eleanora wearing their duchy uniform which is almost same as him, he feels proud. Both of them had the same shiny silver hair and identical blue eyes, so wearing the same uniform made them look more identical. Today, Eleanora would start her first day of working as a senior knight in the imperial pce. Even though she has yet to take the knight vows and ordination ceremony, she could start worling because of her contributions during the war. [A/N: Ordination ceremony is an event of ordaining or conferring holy orders on someone after they swears something on their name. Simply knight oath ceremony] Eleanora was not frustrated by the limitations of her physique, she tried her best and had spent more time training than anyone else. She had polished her strengths, but did not turn a blind eye to her weaknesses even during the war. Even those who ignored her because she was a female knight gradually changed their view of her, thanks to her efforts. The carriage with blue and white ge passed through the gates of the central pce, but kept travelling for a long time to reach the training grounds. As soon as Eleanora got off, she could see Cedrick running in the distance. He stopped in front of her with a gasp of air. ¡°Long time no see, The future moon of our empire; Dame Dalton. Have you been at peace?¡± Cedrick talked formally with Eleanora which stunned her as people was watching them before he turned to greet Alexander. ¡°Nice to meet you, Duke Dalton.¡± ¡°You too. I have something to do, if the young duke is not busy, can i trouble you with showing her around a little?¡± Alexander spoke as he had some important matters to discuss with Duke Heartz. ¡°You can be rest assured, Duke. I will show her around.¡± ¡°Yes, you do your works, Daddy. Am okay.¡± With a nodding is response, Alexander left after leaving Eleanora with Cedrick. ¡°Shall we go, Dame Dalton?¡± ¡°...You can speakfortably with me, Cedrick.¡± Cedrick didn¡¯t speak anything and just smilled at her as they started to walk. Although Eleanora was not officially appointed because she didn¡¯t had hering of age ceremony yet, she was still promoted to a senior knight. She would work under her father, the first Commander of the imperial army till she be themander of the third squadron of knights. Eleanora wrinkled her brows and showed difort as they walked around the training field. Next to her, Cedrick was also nervous. Eleanora felt the pricking sensation of gazes from everywhere. If she turns her head, she could see every human passing by as they looked at her. Some have evene from afar just to confirm seeing her face and that she really be a knight. They wanted to see how a female knight would look. In herst life, she was promoted during the war as she had the most contribution in that war with her ideas, which she revealed during the negotiation with Kingdom Rua. After she returned, she immediately be the empress and the leader of the third squadron as the war with Kingdom Rua started. Before that war, she was busy with the empress¡¯s duties and slimming down to look pretty to impress the emperor; so she didn¡¯t knew about the curiosity of the people¡¯s around her. Eleanora¡¯s patience was beginning to wear thin. She didn¡¯t like to stand out. The Emperor¡¯s fiance, the future moon suddenly be a knight and as soon as she returned from the war, she became a senior knight and then will be themander directly. But the problem was that she was not a pleasant sight for other knights to see because of this, especially since she was also a woman. A girl who has a great family background and who is also the future empress, thebination of those two things did not seem to be very good! Everyone has to finished their probationary period, then was promoted to junior knight and then senior knight, vicemander and then finallymander position which is like catching a star from the sky. But Eleanora got a promotion with an appointment as a senior knight directly from the emperor¡¯s orders without even going through all of them. As she was still one of their colleagues and the future empress for no less, nobody tantly said that they hated the news. The senior knights did not like to see a knight with insufficient qualifications and abilities rolling in. The lesser knights were angry that they had lost their chance. Where the apprentice knights did not doubt that Eleanora obtained her current position because of her family¡¯s power. As they didn¡¯t saw her fighting in the battlefield. To them, how can a girl who didn¡¯t even had time to pass the probationary period can be a senior knight without even taking her knight vows? The many eyes that looked at Eleanora filled with those emotions. ¡®The upper ss is full of duality.¡¯ Eleanora knows that they think she got her position because of the emperor and her family but she believes her ability would prove everything. Cedrick rolled his eyes and looked around. The lesser knights who made eye contact with him hurriedly left. Seeing people who couldn¡¯t congratte someone who returned from the war but were instead gossiping behind her back made Cedrick sigh. What¡¯s with those groups of stubborn, young elites who carried their swords around with pride but acted in contradiction to the code of knights that they had spent hundreds of days memorizing? Their work all seemed to have gone somewhere meaninglessly. Chapter 117 117 ¡°Don¡¯t Let Them Get Up Again¡± Every high ranking nobles have their own office in the imperial pce. So, Cedrick bought Eleanora to his office first to avoid the other people¡¯s gaze. But seeing the pile of papers on his desk, Eleanora sighed and Cedrick looked away as he got caught. ¡®So this is what he meant by not busy at all...¡¯ ¡°I will look around the rest by myself. Do your works first.¡± Eleanora suggested and Cedrick couldn¡¯t deny either. He doesn¡¯t know why but he feels that the emperor has targeted him for some reasons. Like the emperor would stare at him for some moment and the smirk for no reason. Then he would sent more works to him, making him work overtime. ¡®...The emperor doesn¡¯t like me, right?¡¯ ..... Cedrick shakes his head to drop all the weird thoughts away from his mind and brings out a box from his drawer. ¡°...The training ground should be empty by now. I practice there everyday. So, How about you go there and wait for me?¡± Cedrick spoke as he handed her cookies from a famous bakery. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Eleanora asked curiously. ¡°Congrattions on being promoted, Ele.¡± Eleanora smilled as she received the cookies. She liked Cedrick¡¯s gift most then the other expensive gifts she received. ¡°Thank you, Rick.¡± Seeing Eleanora smile so brightly just because of some cookies, Cedrick felt a stinging pain on his heart and turned around immediately to start working. ¡°Go now... Don¡¯t distract me into roaming around with you again instead of working.¡± ¡°Huh, am going!¡± Eleanora spoke as she followed Cedricks¡¯s instructions and headed to the training ground while enjoying the chocte chip cookies. Where Cedrick sat on his seat and closed his eyes. ¡®This is for the better. She isn¡¯t for me...¡¯ ... The training ground was empty as the other knights had a little break after eating. Which made Eleanora sigh in relief as no one was watching her now anymore. Eleanora drew her sword. A long, heavy sword was dancing as lightly as a butterfly moving. Sometimes it felt weightless, but at other times it came down heavier than a great mountain. Eleanora moved, breaking the silence that surrounded her. It was the basic sword technique of the empire. She drew her sword slowly as she pinpointed each movement of hers because using her mana would be a waste now. She is just doing it because she is bored. It was slow enough to make anyone feel ufortable, but her maneuvers were perfect. Eleanora¡¯s shiny silver hair in a high ponytail swayed under the sunlight. She unconsciously smiled slightly. The cool breeze felt good. An impurity, which had been moving for a while, entered Eleanora¡¯s senses. It was the gritty gaze she had been feeling all along sinceing to the Imperial Pce. Eleanora continued her swordsmanship practice and found the source of that gaze. In the distance, several tall men were watching her. From the shape of the epaulets they were wearing, one could tell that they were lesser knights. They looked at Eleanora and then put their mouths together to say something about her. They then snickered andughed. Eleanora looked at them coldly as she knew that the form of ¡®Laugh when you feel good¡¯ doesn¡¯t hold there. Those men were pouring out their nasty feelings towards Eleanora without even trying to hide it. They wanted to make a dent in her, and they were looking forward to the moment when that dent finally snapped. Nobles of the same empire, wearing the same clothes, and working together to protect the same empire, were hovering around Eleanora, hoping to bring her down somehow. Her nerves started to go wild. Eleanora¡¯s movements were still slow but became terribly sharp. The lesser knights who had been watching from afar as she practiced basic swordsmanship approached with heavy steps. Honestly, it looked dignified. Since they were not far away, they quickly arrived in front of Eleanora in the center of the arena. Eleanora felt they wereing, and she had to stop without finishing her practice. All of them put their fists on top of their hearts and saluted. A young blond man who was smiling while his mouth twisted to one side opened his mouth. ¡°I greet the future moon of our empire. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen you, Dame Dalton.¡± ¡°Please, stand up.¡± The young man raised his head as he he got permission as well the other¡¯s who didn¡¯t spoke anything else except greeting. ¡°Congrattions on being promoted to a senior knight.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Eleanora¡¯s cold and unbothered attitude got on the nerves of the young man, thinking she was looking down at her. [Well, she doesn¡¯t even look up at the emperor, not to mention side chicks like him...] ¡°Would you mind giving me some pointers? You see, when I think of the time we were in the same group before... Well... It was unimaginable for you to get really promoted so fast, so I didn¡¯t even think of sending a congrattory gift.¡± Eleanora was a very soft person on the inside despite her outer appearance. She was such a person who did not even think of reporting to her superiors even if lower-ranking knights said something she didn¡¯t like. Even if they yed strange jokes or argued with her in the past life, she would just keep silent. It was said that although she was already the empress, her attitude was still like this. She didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of bearing down on others using her rank. Instead, she would only stare at them when they made remarks that would have resulted in immediate punishment from other senior knights. Her sharp eyes looked a bit menacing, but the man knew. Originally, Eleanora was still a person like that, but she isn¡¯t someone who would stay quite now. The blonde man was Victor Sihorge, the second son of Earl Sihorge. He became an apprentice knight of the Knights of the First squadron around the same time as Eleanora went to the war. As an apprentice knight, Victor couldn¡¯t attend the war back then and only got promoted as a official knight a few months ago. So, in the eyes of Victor, Eleanora was a typical knight who filled hercking swordsmanship with her status. One can use a great tactician ifcking in tactical skills, so the most important thing for a knight is their swordsmanship skills. Victor increased his self-esteem byparing himself to Eleanora in every aspect. Victor was promoted to a lesser knight as he passed his tests and took his knight oath a few months ago. But by that time, Eleanora who returned from the war was directly promoted to a senior knight and then the n of making her the third squadron leader; his pride was crushed. It was uneptable for him to see a girl who didn¡¯t even take the oath to be his superior. ..... It was a moment when he questioned the eyes of the emperor, whom he admired for being so sensible at a young age. ¡®This bitch must have seduced the emperor!¡¯ A fire erupted inside of him as just like the other nobles, he also ignored the benefits ofmonersing becaus of the emperor¡¯s decision. The illiteracy rate in the empire lessened by half just in four years and most of the family are now stable as women¡¯s are allowed to work now. No children stays hungry anymore as well, they all can read and write now, making it easier for them to find a job in the future. The imperial army also got more manpower because of the creation of the third squadron and also a little helpful as there are some incidents where female knight¡¯s are needed. Like guarding the empress. There is no way that the emperor would allow any male¡¯s around her. But this is something that the nobles, who not only got no benefit from it but also suffer lose as the children¡¯s the used to use as ves was no longer avable. The childbour was banned by the new emperor. These past one or two days, Victor had been scoffing at the low-ranking knights who had a crush on Eleanora and admired every little thing she did. In contrast, as Victor looked at her, he only thought that she was getting more and more ridiculous. ¡®Couldn¡¯t she just stay at home and learn embroidery like other noblesdies?¡¯ Eleanora continued to repeat the basic swordsmanship that children of the knight families did when they were eight years old. Her movement was also many times slower than the original moves because she was being careful to not use her mana identally which could hurt people. But the people around her didn¡¯t got that, she was an Dalton, who had high ice magic powers to freeze the whole training ground after all. ¡®How shabby!¡¯ ¡®One shouldugh at such ability.¡¯ ¡®How could she get promoted to a senior knight with only that level of skill?¡¯ Victorughed. There was no such thing as superior knights losing to the lower-ranked knights. All of the senior knights were veterans of hundreds of battles, and there were no women within their ranks. It was not a ce for a woman with a fancy haircut to enter. Victor must make her realize the gap himself. And so he made up his mind. ¡°We will had each other¡¯s backs, so would you please teach us a few things, Dame Dalton?¡± One could see the lesser knights standing behind Victor barely swallowing theirughter. Eleanora had been watching them this whole time suddenly remembered Ain¡¯s words during their training time. ¡®Sometimes there are people who do not know their ces because they are blinded by jealousy.¡¯ ¡®In this case...¡¯ ¡®They will count on your weakness in physique to make you fall.¡¯ These were the words that came out of Ain¡¯s mouth after their fifth battle. Ain was breathing heavily while on his knees on the floor of the training ground, near a mountain where people seldom passed by. The field was surrounded with green grass and tall trees, making the scenario around them lively. On the nape of the left-side of his neck, Eleanora¡¯s sword shone coldly as she breathed heaviy. Ain let out a few yful chuckles before giving her a mischievous look. ¡®You may challenge or fight them, do whatever you want.¡¯ Eleanora be a little stunned as she remember that the emperor was Ain, on whose neck she had pointed her sword at. But then she recalled a few keywords. ¡®Do whatever you want...And what else did he say?¡¯ ¡®Crush them under your feet where they truly belongs and don¡¯t let them get up again... My empress.¡¯ Chapter 118 118 ¡°Please, Be Safe!¡± ¡®Ah yes, don¡¯t let them get up again!¡¯ Eleanora nodded her head as she agreed with Ain¡¯s words in her mind. Victors¡¯s body shook from the sudden rush of cold from somewhere, but he couldn¡¯t get why he was feeling so chill. ¡®Why do i feel that someone is watching me?¡¯ ¡°Okay, let¡¯s have a battle.¡± Victor raised one corner of his mouth and smiled as he heard Eleanora¡¯s words, not realizing that he was a fool rushing in where angels fear to tread. ¡®She became a senior knight, but so what? It¡¯s not like her swordsmanship skills will improve along with her rank.¡¯ ¡°Let¡¯s have some people as witnesses and make it a formal match. You never know what¡¯s going to happen during the fight, right?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ..... ¡°Sir ude, Sir Bastian. Please do us a favor.¡± Two of the knights standing behind Victor stepped forward. A formal match prohibits the use of incantations and is aprehensive battle of swordsmanship and martial arts, whichsts until one person deres surrender. No matter what happens during the fight, both parties will not be held responsible for each other. The two unfamiliar knights told Eleanora the conditions for the spar. Under the presence of the two lesser knights, the battle between Eleanora and Victor was ready. By the time Eleanora tied her disheveled shiny silver hair again, people had begun to gather in the training grounds one by one. They hade to practice, however, everyone¡¯s gaze was caught by this unexpected duel. Their enthusiasm only grew when they saw the faces of the two duelers. One was the future empress and the senior knight Eleanora, where the other was Victor Sihorge, who was said to have good sword skills despite being a mere lesser knight. The result should be obvious. Word spread within a short amount of time, and apprentice and lesser knights alike quickly surrounded the training ground. One could also see some senior knights in the crowd. Victorughed inwardly. It is all going the way he¡¯d intended. The more people present, the easier it will be to bring down Eleanora. Victor looked at Eleanora with gleaming eyes. Her wavy shiny silver hair, her considerably tall figure for a woman, and her extremely beautiful facial features, which could be called god gifted beauty. Not to mention the beautiful jewel like sharp blue eyes made everyone even more stunned for a moment as she drew her sword. Eleanora held the thin sword in front of her face. It was lying t and, over the top surface of the sharp de, she nced toward Victor, her eyes were still shining without no hint of fear. Her was body rxed without any reaction to themotion around her. It¡¯s a big deal if you get hurt by the de of a shattering sword, so the spectators kept their distance a little. Victor also drew his Bastard sword and held the body of his sword upright. The Bastard Sword was as wide as his face. [A/N: Any of therge, straight-ded European swords used with either one or two hands longsword is called a Bastard sword. It¡¯s not the typical ¡®Bastard¡¯ cursing word we use like greetings -_-] The sound of the des scraping through the scabbard echoed through the training ground. Both of them put their swords in front of their faces. Then, the tips of their swords faced each other. The contrast between the thin, long sword and therge, broad sword was striking. Eleanora closed her eyes for a moment and then opened her eyes again with a sharp movement as the match started with a loud sound. Although Victor was not tall like the emperor but he was also very quick. He was urate and moved naturally as if water was flowing. ¡®Faster, faster!¡¯ Victor¡¯s sword sliced through the air. An ominous force that seemed to be able to break a sword was directed towards Eleanora. ng! The friction between the metals resounded loudly, and one sword flung into the sky just after one strike. The sunlight reflected off the sword as it circled in the air. The sword¡¯s shadow could be seen for quite some time on the ground, showing that the sword was thrown pretty high up. It then crashed into the floor of the training ground. The surrounding knights began to roar. Letting go of the sword was an act that even trainees did not do. It was very shameful. Victor¡¯s face turned red. It wasn¡¯t Eleanora who lost her sword. Victor¡¯s hands trembled. His hand, which had suddenly received a great shock, trembled uncontrobly. It was like striking a sword against a stone wall. ¡®What is this? How could this happen? What do I do now?¡¯ Victor turned his gaze and looked at Eleanora, who remained expressionlss as usual but her blue eyes narrowed as her lips curved up into a mocking smrik. He recognized his current situation by looking into her eyes. ¡°W, What the hell is this...!¡± Vector turned his head and looked at his colleagues who were present. ude and Bastian¡¯s eyes were opened wide. The two men shook their heads at Victor¡¯s piercing eyes. ¡®No incantations present. She did not cheat.¡¯ After seeing that, Victor became even more confused. His ears soon heard a low-pitched voice. ¡°Did you learn our first lesson well?¡± Victor¡¯s face turned red as if it was about to explode. He felt that the many knights surrounding the training ground were also shaken by this result. It looks like Eleanora was lucky enough for her sword to strike right in the center of his, which caused Victor to lose his grip. But to be so proud of it is just-! ¡°...One more time, please.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Eleanora agreed to Victor¡¯s request for a second fight and put her sword into its sheath. ¡°?¡± ¡®She said ¡®sure¡¯, so why did she put the sword back in?¡¯ Victor¡¯s doubts were resolved as she untied the scabbard from her waist and threw it aside. While he was stunned, Eleanora clenched her fists into a fighting stance. To Victor, Eleanora was a much smaller and vulnerabledy. ..... However, he couldn¡¯t help but feel something. Victor, who had been trained for a long time, knew what it was. ¡®It¡¯s pressure from someone who has superiority in powers.¡¯ His instincts were genuinely wary of this woman. It¡¯s been a long time since he lost his smile. Victor took a fighting stance, just like her. The watching knights also swallowed their saliva at the tension between the two. The wind blew. As the air cooled down, Victor felt the bright sunlight fall on him, which was like Eleanora¡¯s shiny appearance under the sunlight. And that was thest scene Victor remembered and seem to hear someone¡¯s cold voice before passing out. ¡°Be thankful that i didn¡¯t killed you...¡± ... ¡°Sir Brayden!!¡± ¡°...?¡± Sir Raymond spoke up out of nowhere. Brayden, who was busy in work as the emperor disappeared again looked a little dissatisfied, but he listened without interrupting. ¡°It was so noisy outside.¡± ¡°So, should i give you some cottons to stuff them into your ear then?¡± ¡°...¡± Sir Raymond was speechless. Why no one is curious to listen to his gossips? ¡°The knights seem to have gotten a littlezy ever since the wae. We need to them train more.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Anyway, that sound seemed to being from the training grounds. So I went in that direction to see what was going on...¡± ¡°Were they doing some special training?¡± Brayden asked as he thought of taking a sip of water to drench his throat. ¡°Dame Dalton was beating Sir Victor like a dog. No, our future empress is unlikely to beat an animal, so we shouldn¡¯t use a dog as a metaphor.¡± Sir Raymond changed his words and Brayden seem to hear that the future empress is fighting, then he finally froze. ¡°She was beating him like a scarecrow full of water lilies.¡± ¡°Wait! Who was beating what?¡± Brayden opened his mouth, not caring about the water dropping from the corner of his mouth. ¡°Dame Dalton! Our future empress!¡± ¡°...¡± Brayden felt like the sky has fallen over his head. The future empress is beating people? ¡°Is the other person the lesser knight Sir Victor Sihorge?¡± ¡°His cheeks were so swollen, so it was hard to tell, but you should be right.¡± ¡°...¡± Brayden knew Victor well. He was a very low-profile guy who alwaysined about Eleanora being a knight in every way. As if in support of his rude behavior, his swordsmanship skills were quite good. As he knows, Eleanora would have usually pass by without showing any particr reaction to Victor. Perhaps because of herck of reaction, Victor thought he was better than Eleanora and was rather arrogant. The reason he could not be promoted this time was because a senior knight is not determined by swordsmanship alone. Even so, if someone objectively asked Brayden which of the two¡¯s would win today, he would naturally raise Victor¡¯s hand. There was such a clear difference because of their physique unless they battle while using mana. Eleanora Dalton should be the third person in the whole empire who have the powerful pure mana after Duke Dalton and the emperor. But did the future empress really beat Victor like a dog even without any mana powers with that soft body of hers? ¡°Did Victor... look like he was drunk? Or was it that someone grabbed and held him in front of Dame Dalton?¡± ¡°...You don¡¯t seem to have much trust in Dame Daltonpared to how much you care about her. We have seen how powerful her strikes are even without using her mana- Hey! Where are you going?!¡± Sir Raymond yelled as Brayden suddenly jump up from his seat and ran outside. ¡°To save my neck!!!¡± Brayden replied as he ran. If Victor was that heavily injured then as the person who beat him up, she should also be injured right? What if the empress is really injured? The emperor would ughter the whole empire if that happens. And the emperor would cut his neck first for not informing this important matter. Brayden looked for the emperor as he kept chanting on his mind the same thing. ¡®Please be safe for my neck¡¯s sake, My Lady...!!¡¯ Chapter 119 119 ¡°Only I Can Touch The Moon¡± [WARNING: This chapter contains little mature content in the end] Eleanora picked up her sword again as she watched the other knights to rush up and help Victor to the medical room. Her eyes turned cold as she watch the show infront of her. They was expecting her to lost, but now that she has won, they don¡¯t find it pleasing. No one is looking towards her anymore. As Eleanora walked down from the battle podium, she saw Cedrick whose green eyes was looking proud because of her victory. ¡®One friend with good will is enough then having ten friends.¡¯ Eleanora thought as she walked towards Cedrick to have a side hug that they always does after their each victory. A side hug is quitemon between knights, so no one will overthink anything. ..... But suddenly, Eleanora felt a hand wrap around her waist as someone hugged her from behind. ¡®Not again, please!¡¯ As Eleanora had expected, it was indeed the emperor who hugged her from behind and burried his face on her neck. ¡°Congrattions, My Empress.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora was too embarrassed to move, where Cedrick didn¡¯t knew either he should look away or keep staring. Cathain looked up a little as his red eyes stared at Cedrick, his lips curved up a little as he hold her hands and entangled their fingers together before kissing her hands. ¡®W-What is he doing?¡¯ Eleanora frowned because of Cathain¡¯s actions and turned her face to look at him but she froze. Cathain¡¯s sharp gaze was on Cedrick, like he wanted to kill him and Eleanora knew that he can really do that. The past Eleanora didn¡¯t feared the emperor for no reason. ... Once, the empress had worn a trending dress which had revealed her cleavage a little bit. Eleanora, who always dressed up conservatively had shocked everyone by her little revealing dress. The dress she wore was not that revealing as the otherdies wear more revealing which was quite normal and eptable. But when Eleanora wear it, she looked stunning because of her curvy body. Eleanora thought of going with the trend to please the emperor but he didn¡¯t gave her any reaction as usual. Everything was going well in the party when suddenly a drunk nobleman came to greet Eleanora, who was standing in a corner. ¡°Greetings, Her Majesty, the moon of our empire.¡± ¡°Please stand up...¡± Eleanora spoke as she took a few steps back because that man looked drunk to her. She can¡¯t even do anything in the party, so she maintained her distance. Seeing her steeping away, the man grinned as he looked up at her. ¡°Her Majesty is indeed the most beautiful moon of our empire...¡± ¡°Mind your manners!¡± Eleanora spoke in a cold voice as she looked around. She wanted to avoid the crowd thus she choosed a corner to stand, ordering all the knights to step away and guard the entrance. ¡®How did he get in?¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s mind kept busy as she thought either she should take action like knocking him up if he does something. Because even if nothing happens and she is unharmed, the upper ss nobles will take the news lightly. She doesn¡¯t want to add another reason for the emperor to hate her. As she was lost in thought, the man suddenly came closer and caught her hands with a sinister smile. Eleanora got shocked and before she could punch the man, a sword appeared infront of hers and she felt something sshed on her. ¡°Aagh!!! My hand!!! My hand!!!¡± Eleanora frozen as the man infront of her kept crying out loud in pain. Her body started to tremble as she saw the hands which was touching her a moment ago on the ground, separated from the body. The emperor stood still and bloods continued to drip from his sword as he spoke in a mocking voice. ¡°Too bad that you won¡¯t be able to even see the moon in the sky.¡± The emperor paused on his words as his red eyes was glued on the crying man on the ground. He raised his sword again as he took out the man¡¯s eyes. ¡°Let alone see the moon of the empire...¡± ¡°Aagh!!!¡± Eleanora fall on the ground in horror as she looked at the man infront of her. It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t killed anyone till now, but that was all on battlefield. But killing someone in such a brutal way just because he touched her, it was horrific to Eleanora. Cathain¡¯s red eyes coldly stared at the hands that he cut off and stomped on it. ¡®Only i can touch the moon...¡¯ Then he looked at the empress, who fall on the ground and kept on trembling. The man¡¯s cry had also stopped as he wasn¡¯t breathing anymore. Eleanora used her hands to step back as the emperor took steps towards her with a smile on his face. ¡°D-Don¡¯t...Come near me... Aaa!¡± Eleanora yelled as Cathain kneeled down on his knees to get closer to her and raised his hands to touch her face. She thought he was going to strangle her but to her surprise, he started to wipe her face with his handkerchief. Seeing her blue eyes trembling with fear and the tears on her face, The emperor¡¯s smile grew more wider as he spoke. ¡°Oh? The bravest woman in the empire is now trembling in fear? that to towards this emperor?¡± Eleanora hissed in pain as the emperor grabbed her chin and started to wipe the bloods of that man from her face gently. The more gentle he was, the more afraid Eleanora became. She knew that the emperor is only gentle and smiles like this when he is pissed off the most. ¡°Let¡¯s go back, this filthy bloods isn¡¯ting off like how this flies doesn¡¯t stop roaming around you.¡± The emperor spoke as took off his robe and put it on her before he picked her up in bridal style. ¡°Clean up the mess.¡± The emperor ordered his aid, who was also shocked from the scene infront of him. Without waiting for his aid¡¯s response, the emperor jumped down from the balcony with the empress on his embrace. If he leaves from the main door, there would be rumors for sure, which he doesn¡¯t want. In the whole journey, Eleanora didn¡¯t even moved an inch in fear and the emperor didn¡¯t spoke anything either. As soon as they reached the empress pce, The emperor got down while carrying her and directly went to her bedroom. ¡°Ah!¡± Eleanora finally reacted in pain as the emperor threw her on the bathtub and poured cold water on her before he grabbed the soap to wash her. ¡°WHERE ELSE DID HE TOUCHED YOU?!¡± The emperor yelled at her which made her cry in fear. ¡°Your Majesty... It¡¯s cold, please stop!¡± ..... Eleanora pledged to him but it seemed like he wasn¡¯t hearing it and kept washing her body hard. He kept washing her even after all the bloods was gone from her body. ¡°Cathain!!! You are hurting me!¡± Eleanora yelled his name as she pushed him away and stood up in the bathtub with her drenched body. As she pushed him with her mana, the emperor was forced to take a few steps back. Eleanora be afraid as she thought he might get even more angry but to her surprise, he was calm as he looked at her with his bloody red eyes. And then violently kicked the cab beside the bathtub which was used to keep necessary thing for bathing. ¡®I-I have to leave...¡¯ Eleanora thought as she saw how aggressive the emperor was but before she could step down from the bathtub, her chin was grabbed by him again. ¡°Yeah! Am the bad guy! It¡¯s always me who is hurting you!¡± ¡°It hurts... Release me!¡± ¡°AM HURTING TOO!!¡± Eleanora stopped struggling as she heard his words, which also stunned him too. But soon, his little stunned face turned into sinistral smiling face again as he trailed his fingertips on her body. ¡°The empress likes to follow trends, right?¡± Eleanora gulped in fear but she couldn¡¯t even move because of his sharp gaze. The emperor carried her on his shoulder swiftly as he walked out from the bathroom and threw her on bed as he climbed up on her. He tore her dress apart with his bare hands, which made Eleanora tremble and be fearful of him. Then he put his hands on his pocket and Eleanora was shocked to see what was on his hands. ¡°N-No...You can¡¯t do this...¡± The emperor smiled as he found her words funny. ¡°Why can¡¯t i?¡± The emperor spoke as he ced her both wrist above her head and cuffed her hands together with a silver handcuffs, which can even lock up ones mana. ¡°Open it, Your Majesty! Why are you doing this?¡± Eleanora tried to take her hands out but she failed as she couldn¡¯t even break it because of her mana being locked due to the silver cuffs. The emperor smiled as he took his mouth near her ears to whisper. ¡°Why? I also want to follow the trend with my only empress.¡± The emperor continued to spoke as he took a flower from the bed side table and move it slowly on her body, making her shiver. ¡°I heard that there is a trend where the man ties up the woman and then do it... Woman¡¯s also likes it.¡± ¡°S-Stop it... I don¡¯t like it!¡± ¡°Oh? But I specially ordered this handcuffs for my empress as i know my empress is very strong and will easily break free from those low quality toys...¡± ¡°Please, stop it...¡± Eleanora pledged as a tear drop left her eyes because of him using his mana to heat her up. She felt like her body was burning but unable to do anything. ¡°I wanted to give you a big surprise by trying it with you in the balcony, but who knew my empress also liked to follow this low trends like me and then attract filthy flies from everywhere?¡± ¡°I d-didn¡¯t... Aah!¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t?¡± The emperor asked right after she spoke and pped lightly on her private area. Even if the p was light, It was enough to stimte her already heated up body. ¡°Tell me, for whom did you dressed up so beautifully? I have never seen you dress up like this in my life before today.¡± Eleanora couldn¡¯t reply as the emperor kept teasing her body with the flower and heating up her body with his mana. Then his hands suddenly stopped teasing her as he spoke after a long pause. ¡°It wasn¡¯t for that blonde dog, Right?¡± ¡°My empress?¡± Chapter 120 120 ¡°Recall This Before You Smile At Him¡± [WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MATURE CONTENT] ¡°My empress?¡± Cathain called Eleanora, who has be stiff on his arms and keep looking forward as she was lost in her past memory. His expression be dark as he thought she was staring at Cedrick and frowned. ¡®Is she afraid of him seeing her together with me?¡¯ Where Brayden came in running and gasped for breath as he stopped behind the emperor. ¡®Gosh...Why is he always so fast in finding her?¡¯ Brayden thought as he stabled his breathing and then finally sensed the awkward situation of those three. ¡®Why does the scene look like the female lead want to go to the male lead but the viin is separating them?¡¯ ..... ¡®Wait...did i just made the emperor the viin?! My neck would go flying for sure if he knows my thought...¡¯ Where, Eleanora who was on the emperor¡¯s arms started to feel her legs go weak as she remembered that night with the past emperor. ... The emperor didn¡¯t stopped his actions for the whole night and then the next day, there was not a single ce on her body which didn¡¯t had his mark on. At first, she was dressed up in a dress which fully covered her body but the emperor wasn¡¯t pleased with that. ¡°Doesn¡¯t the empress likes revealing clothes? why are you wearing such conservative clothes again, that to infront of me, who saw and touched every single ce of your body?¡± The emperor spoke mockingly as he stared at her, who came out from the bathroom after having a bath to clean herself up. At this point, Eleanora was really pissed off on the emperor, who was sitting on her bed. The emperor put the book on the table which he was casually reading and walked up to her. He took one step ahead, where she took another step back. ¡°Ah!¡± Eleanora yelled as the emperor caught her waist as he grabbed her chin from behind and forced her to look at the mirror. ¡°Why are you hiding my marks? Huh? Don¡¯t you like it when i touch you? What¡¯s with this cold face that you always make which makes me feel like you find me disgusting?¡± ¡°N-No, I don¡¯t... Your Majesty.¡± A tear drop left Eleanora¡¯s eyes as she struggled to speak and the emperor got even more closer to her. ¡°Or do you like it when he touches you?¡± ¡°What are you even saying?!¡± Eleanora finally snapped back as she heard his words and tried to push him away but failed. Why does he always bring Cedrick Raven, with whom she seldom talks with? But the emperor caught her more tightly as she struggled and spoke in a deep voice. ¡°Then why do you always smile at him, Huh? Why does he looks at you that way? Making me feel like am the viin who separates you both?¡± Cathain spoke as he ripped off her high neck dress and Eleanora felt pain as the fabrics was ripped off from her body. She looked away immediately as the woman in the mirror had bite marks all over her body, which made Eleanora felt embarrassed. Her white body was filled with deep red hickey marks and handcuffs mark on her wrist, which reminded her about the despicable actions ofst night. Eleanora¡¯s face turnedpletely red as she turned her face away. ¡°Oh? Our cold empress can also get shy?¡± The emperor spoke as he trailed his fingertips on her naked body but Eleanora shut her eyes closely to not look. ¡°LOOK AT THE MIRROR, EMPRESS...¡± The emperor spoke aggressively and forced her to open her eyes as he grabbed her swollen left bosom on his hands. ¡°Uhm¡± Eleanora¡¯s body shaken up as he grabbed her another bosom with brutal force. She hissed in pain and her blue eyes widened as she opened them to face the ceilings and then finally looking at the filthy scene on the mirror. The girl in the mirror had long silver hair and beautiful jewel like blue eyes, whose whole body was filled with hickeys. Where the man beside her had pitch ck hair and red eyes, his body full of nail scratch and bite marks. ¡°You like it right?¡± ¡°No! I don¡¯t...¡± ¡°Lying is bad, Empress.¡± He continued to kneading her bosoms with both hands into various shapes, pinching her nipples with his fingers. Eleanora, who was seeing all the things on the mirror felt extremely ashamed as she realised how her body reacts to his touch. She couldn¡¯t help but whimper as she hold back her voice and moans. His cold big hands hold her tiny waist from behind strongly and she was arched up by him. Cathain kissed her back as he moved her hair sideways before he entered her directly and kept going in and out from her violently. ¡°Mmnh...¡± Eleanora clenched her hands which was ced on the mirror to support her body as she tried to endure the pleasure from the pain that he was causing her. She knows the moment she gives in to this, he will try to find more new ways to torture her like this. The empress knows that the emperor likes ying with her even if he doesn¡¯t loves her. Sweat drips down from his ck hair to his forehead as he kept pinching her bosoms as he moved his waist faster. ¡°Stop trying to hold back, Empress. I know you love the way i make you feel...¡± As soon as he spoke, he turned her around to face him and swept away everything from the dressing table in a swift motion before he carried her up to ce her on the table. He made her legs wrapped around waist as he entangled their fingers together tightly before cing them on the mirror again. The coldness of the mirror made Eleanora shiver as her naked back was pinned against it. She wrapped her hands around his neck as he mmed his lips on hers, sucking her lower lips like he wanted to tear them apart. Both of their faces was red and breathing heavily but he didn¡¯t stopped till the sunlight faded and the surrounding be dark again. Eleanora felt like she wasn¡¯t even alive anymore and stayed on his arms without any movements. ¡°You didn¡¯t died for real, right?¡± Cathain asked as he cleaned her up and put her on the bed, before he alsoy down beside her while hugging her waist tightly. He burried his face on her neck to smell her body fragrance as he spoke. ¡°I hope you will recall this day everytime before you smile at other guys, Empress.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I will kill every single guy who looks at you, No one else can touch what¡¯s mine...¡± ... ¡®I will kill every single guy who looks at you, No one else can touch what¡¯s mine...¡¯ ¡°Nooo!¡± Eleanora unconsciously pushed Cathain, who had his arms wrapped around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. ¡°?!¡± Both Cedrick and Brayden, not to mention Cathain was shocked by her such a reaction. Eleanora¡¯s blue jewel like eyes full of fear widened as she looked at Cathain and gulped in fear. ¡°D-Don¡¯t touch...touch¡± ¡°...¡± What Eleanora meant was she didn¡¯t wanted the current Cathain to harm Cedrick like the past Cathain did just because of a misunderstanding. In herst life, even if she and Cedrick barely talked but they was the knights whom had fought together for many years. ..... Many people had talked about them but Eleanora didn¡¯t cared as she knew there was nothing between them. But who knew that her one casual smile, when Cedrick helped her to pick up some documents would lead to the emperor going crazy? To the point he would force Cedrick to go the north and noting back for whole three years? Eleanora saw Cedrick again only during her trial for something she never did and was executed. But Cathain¡¯s face darkened and his hands which was about to touch her face stopped, as he heard her words and looked at her with a sharp gaze. ¡°Are you even aware of what you are saying?¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain spoke as he took a step towards Eleanora who wasn¡¯t replying but then she suddenly stepped back before she looked at Cedrick and ran to him. ¡°...¡± Even Cedrick was shocked and unable to understand the situation as Eleanora ran to him and grabbed his hands before pulling him to ran. He didn¡¯t spoke anything and let her pull him where Cathain¡¯s red eyes narrowed as his gaze fall on Cedricks hands which was touching her hands. ¡®Hah!¡¯ ¡®How i wish i could cut off those hands...¡¯ Cathain looked at his hands which couldn¡¯t touch her face and run them into his ck hair as he sneered in frustration. ¡®You dare ran away infront of me with another guy?¡¯ ¡®Seem like i have been too soft with you that you forgot your true identity, My empress.¡¯ Cathain¡¯s lips curved up into a smile as he looked at her small figure as she ran away from him with Cedrick. ¡®Let¡¯s see how far you can ran and your father seeds in hiding you... Away from me, My only moon. If you can¡¯t be mine then i will make sure you belong to no one else either.¡¯ The aura around the emperor was so dark and chilly that Brayden was even afraid of breathing. He silently followed the emperor from the behind, but none of them noticed the person who was hiding behind the walls and watch the drama. The person¡¯s lips curved up in satisfaction as everything he nned was going well and ordered the other person beside him. ¡°Spread the news...¡± Chapter 121 121 ¡°Invitation¡± ¡°My lord, Another letter has came.¡± Duke Dalton¡¯s aid Raynor spoke as he forwarded a letter towards the duke. Alexander, who was working on his study, frowned as his eyes fall on the golden roaring lion seal on the envelope. A letter which was sent by the emperor personally. ¡°What about that bastard again?¡± ¡°...¡± Alexander looked vicious as he took the 7th imperial letter on this weak, addressed for his daughter. Alexander tore the envelope directly and took out the letter, but the words written on it made him so furious that his face darkenedpletely, Making the people around him shiver. ¡®Dear Father-inw, ..... Stop being childish and pass my love letters to your daughter while am being nice. As it¡¯s hard to write love letters, more hard if it¡¯s for your daughter. I know you must be fuming in anger but it can¡¯t be helped as the fact that am your son-inw can¡¯t be changed. I also know you are going to burn this letter too like your daughter did to my letters during the war. If you don¡¯t want me to personallye over your house and take your daughter with me then keep your childish behaviour for your grand children¡¯s and stop interfering between us. Duke Dalton¡¯s Dear Son-In-Law¡¯ Crash! Alexander flipped up the table infront of him as his eyes was full of anger. ¡®This bastard- He is going crazy again!¡¯ ¡®Why is the medicine not working yet?!¡¯ ¡°MAKE SURE ELEANORA DOESN¡¯T GET A SINGLE LETTER FROM THE EMPEROR!¡± ¡°...Y-Yes, my lord.¡± Raynor replied in a trembling voice as he has never seen Alexander so furious before. ¡°As soon as you see one, next time...¡± Alexander¡¯s sudden pause on his words made Raynor flinch a little. ¡°BURN IT!¡± Alexanderpleted his sentence as the letter on his hands turned into ash. ¡°...¡± ¡®Is the emperor to soft to ignore such disrespect from his duke or the duke is to bold to treat the emperor like this?¡¯ Raynor thought but then the answer was it¡¯s both. The emperor is ignoring such disrespect to get her where the duke isn¡¯t going all out with the emperor to protect her. The only thing that was holding them back from fighting each other is Eleanora. ... ¡°Mydy, A letter has arrived for you.¡± Maria spoke as she approached Eleanora, who was eating cookies in the garden as Jennie kept telling her about the changes of the empire during the time of war. ¡®Letter?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she crunched her cookies. She has no friends except Cedrick, Liana and Dominic. Cedrick is someone who hates writting letters and because of the distance, it¡¯s hard to get a letter from Dominic and Liana. So who would have sent her a letter? Eleanora took the letter and as she saw the seal on it, she recognised it. ¡®It¡¯s from count Arlo?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she opened the beautifully decorated letter. ¡®To princess Eleanora Ariande La Dalton, You are cordially invited to Rosette Arlo¡¯s 16th birthday banquet on the 6th¡¯s of this month. From Count Arlo¡¯ ¡®This is an invitation, Right?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she recalled Rosette Arlo from her past life. At that time, she had declined the invitation. But now, Eleanora took it as an opportunity. She doesn¡¯t have any friends in high society, A friend whom would defend her and take her side which she didn¡¯t had in her past life. No matter what, Cedrick is the son of Duke Raven and the brother of Jennifer. If something happens where he have to choose between his family and her, he would choose his family for sure. In this life, Eleanora is determined to save her duchy and it¡¯s people. If Jennifer wants the emperor, the duke Raven wants the empire; this has nothing to do with her. She just wants to live, without attracting any unnecessary attention. ¡®Does it really have nothing to do with you?¡¯ A voice rang inside of her head, Eleanora pondered for a moment and her expression be solemn as she remembered the current Cathain. Who is not like the past one, but that doesn¡¯t mean he won¡¯t be like the past one. His current actions are all like his past self, the only difference is his red eyes doesn¡¯t contain any hatred anymore but full of possessiveness and... Obsession. ¡®No, it has nothing to do with me.¡¯ Rosette Arlo was someone who always wanted to befriend Eleanora in the past. She was the adopted by count Arlo, who had no child after her parents passed away in an carriage ident. Her father was a distanced rtive of the count Arlo but the count never saw her as an adopted daughter. The count even celebrated Rosette¡¯s birthdayvishly before hering of age ceremony as she wanted a masked party this time. He always doted on her and never let her feel the absence of her biological father, which was something the past Eleanora envied. Not only she didn¡¯t celebrated her birthday since her mother died, she also couldn¡¯t celebrate hering of age ceremony grandly as a duke daughter was supposed to do because she was already busy with the empress lessons. Then, her all hopes shattered when she couldn¡¯t even wear a wedding dress and walk on the podium like other brides. She has indeed walked on a podium, which was towards her execution with false usations. Eleanora got married just by a signature and be the empress by a public announcement notice. Rosette Arlo¡¯s 17th birthday banquet be quite the gossip topic for the upper ss as the party was reallyvish. ¡®An invitation to a birthday banquet which is happening on three weaks, Mying of age ceremony will be held three monthster...¡¯ ¡°Maria...¡± ¡°Yes, Mydy.¡± ¡°Bring me some flowers from the garden and Jennie, bring meces and ribbons.¡± ¡®It¡¯s time start building up my image. I have to fix it first to get rid of all the death gs...¡¯ Eleanora spoke in a serious tone but Maria and Jennie was still confused. ¡®What thedy wants to do?¡¯ Count Arlo¡¯s mansion~ A teenage girl with ginger red hair and sparkling yellowish green eyes kept staring at the letter in her hands with great admiration. The light blue coloured letter on her hands was decorated with flowers and ribbons perfectly and the handwriting was also very neat. ..... ¡®Dear Lady Arlo, Happy 17th birthday. I wasn¡¯t expecting to get a invitation directly from you to me. I hope it won¡¯t be too awkward for me to join. Am looking forward to meeting you in the banquet. ~Eleanora Ariande La Dalton¡¯ ¡°Herdyship wrote and decorated this letter personally for me??!!¡± Rosette spoke as she felt her heart beating faster because of the excitement. Her face was also blushing. ¡°It¡¯s soo pretty!!¡± Rosette hold the letter tightly on her chest as she kept rolling on the bed happily. ¡°Merely responding to my letter was already a miracle, to think she would also ept the invitation...¡± In fact, Rosetter has always admired Eleanora. Her shiny silver hair was rare in the empire, especially a natural beautiful face without any make ups. The way she talked, walked and conducted every single thing was admired by Rosette. Specially when she went to the war as the first female knight and returned with victory. In the upper ss, whenever someone spoke bad of her, Rosette would stand up and fought with them for badmouthing Eleanora. As everyone knew that the count was going to settle everything for his daughter, no one talked bad about Eleanora infront of her. She was a crazy fan of the future empress. But, Rosette never got the chance to approch her as Eleanora only attended royal balls. She also didn¡¯t attended any social activists for people to approch her. Everytime Rosette wanted to approach Eleanora, the crown prince would appear out of nowhere. ¡®Lady Dalton-¡® ¡®My empress, are you feeling stuffy? How about we go to the balcony?¡¯ ¡®...¡¯ Eleanora didn¡¯t used to refuse either as staying in a party where everyone was looking at her was ufortable. So the embarrassed Rosette would stand still and watch Eleanora as she was escorted by the crown prince. She was totally ignored by Eleanora unknowingly. Rosette even thought that the crown prince was deliberately doing that. He would drag her to the balcony right after their first dance would finish, not giving any chance to Rosette to approch Eleanora. Where, the crown prince actually used to do that to keep unnecessary ants away from the sugar. But she forgot everything now. The emperor won¡¯t attend her birthday, so there is no way that Eleanora would be snatched away this time from her reach. ¡°I should sent her a reply too, Right?¡± Rosette spoke as she continued to roll on the bed with the letter in her hands. ¡°Mydy, please be careful...¡± Rosette¡¯s maid spoke as she was really afraid of herdy falling from the bed. ... Infront of Eleanora was a sloppily decorated pink envelope, which contained another letter from Rosette. ¡®I didn¡¯t expected that she would reply again...¡¯ Eleanora was a little awkward as it was her first time conversing with someone through letter. ¡®Pff-¡® Eleanora chuckled when she saw how Rosette tried to copy her decorations from her previous letter but it all came out as Rosette couldn¡¯t do it properly. ¡®Did you imitate the letter i sent you? You are so cute, Rose.¡¯ The feeling Eleanora felt was warm, she finally got someone to talk. A friend by her side, who can help her in need. Eleanora was feeling happy to see that someone cared for her so much, also regret that why she didn¡¯t tried to get along with others in the past. She was always so busy with her lessons, training and duties that she never had time for herself. This was why, when she was in need of help, no one was there to help her. One should help others to get help, no matter how skilled or prestigious one is. ¡®But... It¡¯s too long!¡¯ The letter Rosette sent contained 10 pages, as someone was too excited to get a reply from her. Where Maria and Jennie was happy to see theirdy finally getting a friend. They never approved of any male friends of hers, what if they take advantage of their innocent softdy? ¡®That¡¯ friend was Cedrick Raven. So to them, if theirdy bes friends with the count¡¯s daughter and ditch the duke¡¯s son, wouldn¡¯t it be perfect? Chapter 122 122 ¡°The Past: Madness Of The Emperor¡± ¡°YOUR MAJESTY!!! JUST FOR HOW LONG DO PLAN TO STAY LIKE THIS?!¡± Ady with golden blonde hair, who was wearing a fine dress spoke to man whose back was facing the wall. The man was wearing a simple red robe and had neck length ck hair, as it wasn¡¯t cutted for a long time. The man paid no attention to thedy who yelled at him and continued to move his hands, which was holding a colour brush. ¡°YOUR MAJESTY!! THE EMPIRE CAN¡¯T GO ON IF YOU KEEP BEING LIKE THIS!! THE DUKE WILL-¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you people wanted from the very beginning?...Queen?¡± The man with ck hair turned his head slowly as his sharp red eyes fall on the blonde woman with caramel brown eyes. Queen Jennifer La Liana Raven. Jennifer be silent. In the dark room, the emperor¡¯s eyes looked more bloody red as the moonlight fall on him. ..... He hasn¡¯te out from his room for a whole month, even the foods delivered to him returned untouched. Jennifer¡¯s eyes fall on the bed, where ady as pale as white was sleeping peacefully. Her shiny silver hair was still shining brightly along with the crown she had on her head. There was a faint cut mark on her neck, which reminded her that thedy on the bed wasn¡¯t sleeping but dead. Because of her. Jennifer felt a shiver down her sprain as she recalled how she had smilled at the former empress before her execution. She believed she has avenged her sister, all the ves who was killed by the former empress; not knowing she was just a pawn on her father¡¯s cheeseboard. It¡¯s been three year since Dalton duchy fall, The duke went to prison and the former empress was executed. Not letting the former empress burying was already enough of madness even though the emperor himself was confused on his actions back then. He looked relieved at first, but as days goes by he started to go crazy. Ordering everyone to summon the empress, who was dead at midnight and thenugh when the knights would answer him while shivering that she was executed. The emperor would stay silent for a moment before he wouldugh loudly. ¡°Yeah, i killed her...how can she be here... I killed her with my both hands...¡± ¡°YOUR MAJESTY!! CALM DOWN!!¡± ¡°I killed My Empress...¡± ¡°HOLD THE EMPEROR!!!¡± The emperor would punch the walls with his bare fist, till his hands would bleed and he would faint. ¡®Ele...¡¯ Not a single knight could stop him. But the next day, the emperor would act normal again like nothing has happened the other night. He would go to the abandoned pce and sleep on the bed which was full dust; crying all night while hugging the pillow she used to sleep on. ¡°Come back, empress. I was wrong... Pleasee back... I will be good this time. I will listen to anything you say... I won¡¯t hurt you anymore... Pleasee back, Ele.¡± The queen would silently watch the emperor and leave. This is what she wanted. Why does she feels so sad and heartbroken then? But Jennifer felt broken and disgusted with herself to the point she went to hang herself when she got to know her father¡¯s n from her brother. She loathed herself. She couldn¡¯t bear the pain of brainwashing a young boy who loved a girl dearly into believing he hated her. Killing two innocent child¡¯s and ming the innocent empress. Making the emperor kill the empress, whom he had always loved dearly. ¡°I don¡¯t...want to live...¡± Jennifer spoke as she tried to wipe her tears and pulled the bedsheet to hang herself. But as the emperor, who have gone crazy and suffering because of her came to her mind, she stopped. The duke who lost his everything and the father who lost his daughter. What will happen to them if she died? Will the person, who was behind everything achieve his goal and not suffer? Jennifer went to Alexander for help then, started to n how to backfire her father¡¯s n. She started to eat the foods which was meant for the emperor, as that food contained poison. She killed Rena, who was a spy of a duke and stopped controlling the emperor¡¯s mind. Jennifer knew that the emperor woulde to his real senses once she stops. Inside him was a great amount of holy powers, probably the empress¡¯s powers which was transfered to the emperor before she died. She wanted the person¡¯s who wronged her to suffer, even if she is no longer around. ¡®What you said was true empress. Am only seeing your face when i finally met my demise.¡¯ Jennifer and Cedrick started to work together against the duke with Alexander¡¯s help, where the emperor who seemed normal would go more crazy during the night. He moved the dead empress in his bedroom, dressing her up like she used to do, talking with her like she was listening to him. But then one day, the group of doctors came to examine the emperor who had stabbed himself with a dagger as he couldn¡¯t bear the pain anymore, a apprentice doctor spoke something which made the emperor go more crazy. ¡°I think the former empress was pregnant during her execution...¡± The young boy, who unconsciously muttered his thoughts loudly was surprised as the senior doctors around him red at him to warn and shut his mouth. But it was toote as the emperor, who was silently getting the treatment had heard it and jumped up from his sit to the apprentice doctor. ¡°YOUR MAJESTY, YOUR WOUND-¡± ¡°WHAT DID YOU SAY?!¡± The emperor¡¯s hands trembled as he grabbed the doctor¡¯s coller, who was panicking because of the emperor¡¯s fierce gaze. ¡°It¡¯s- It¡¯s just i could feel another faded lingering magic from her...¡± ¡°...¡± The other doctor¡¯s hold their breath in as the emperor be silent and looked down. All the doctor¡¯s there already knew about it the moment they was called to attach her neck again to her body by stitching and froze it after a day of her death. But they was too afraid to report it, so they kept silent. Who knew the emperor would go crazy to the point of using his own magic to keep her body frozen and that to in his own bedroom for a whole year? ¡°Everyone leave...¡± ¡°But your wound-¡± ¡°I SAID LEAVE!!¡± ¡°Y-Yes, Your Majesty...¡± Everyone got out of the room in fear as soon as the emperor roared. The door closed shut and he fall on his knees and pped his face violently. ¡°What have i done, My empress...¡± ¡°I not only killed you but also our child...¡± The emperor wasn¡¯t crying out loud but tears kept dropping down from his red eyes silently as he knelt beside her frozen body. It has been two more years since then, the third year of the execution of hers by his hands. The emperor has gone crazy to the point he could no longer handle the official works, drowning in alcohol all day and talking with her. Buying dresses, jewellery for her as he kept ordering baby clothes. Holding a doll in his hands, thinking it¡¯s the baby of hers and him. The nobles couldn¡¯t kill him yet just because of Jennifer¡¯s protection, who was doing all the works to keep him safe with Alexander¡¯s help. ..... But his crazyness was just bing more crazy as days went by. He actually started to carry a dead body and took her to the garden, saying she was feeling bored ofying down all day. Who wouldn¡¯t get scared by this? Thinking about the nobles who is ready to take down the emperor, Jennifershed out at him which resulted the emperor to noting out from his room for a whole month. The dark sky lightened up brightly as a heavy strom started, making the dark room lighten up for a brief moment. As the room lighten up as lightening strike on the sky again, Jennifer¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡®D-Did he did that for the past one month?¡¯ Behind the emperor, There was a big portrait of a silver haireddy with jewel like blue eyes who wore a gentle smile on her face. She had the empress crown on her head and wore a wedding dress. That was the portrait of Empress Eleanora Cathain Valentino, drew by the Emperor himself. ¡°I didn¡¯t even gave her a wedding ring...let alone a grand ceremony, but she neverined. Kept loving me... Was it really necessary for you people to do this to us?¡± The emperor spoke as he approached the empress and took her hands on his hands, while his other hand kept stroking her silver hair. Jennifer just stood still, couldn¡¯t utter a single word as tears left her eyes seeing him in so much pain because of her mistakes. ¡°Was it really necessary to use me like this to hurt her? Make me hate and kill the person i loved so much? You people didn¡¯t even spared the unborn children¡¯s...Why?¡± The more Jennifer heard, the more she just wanted to kill herself. ¡°You people could just directly kill me and take the throne...why make her suffer so much? She never harmed anyone...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Why?¡± The emperor asked as tear drops left his eyes. ¡°I want to see her smile at me again so badly... I want to see her riding her horse and wield her sword again... See her with our babies...grow old with her...¡± ¡°Am sorry...am sorry...it was all my fault¡± Jennifer kept on apologising as she kneeled down on the floor and sob silently. ¡°Am growing old but she isn¡¯t...my hair is growing longer but her isn¡¯t... Am waiting to be burried with her together...but she has already left me, BEACUSE OF YOU GUYS!!¡± The emperor turned his head aggressively to look at Jennifer as he spoke hisst sentence. The sses of the window shattered because of his magic energy, and rain water kept drenching Jennifer, who had many cuts on her body as the sses shattered. But she didn¡¯t even moved a single step or flinched. This is what she deserves. ¡°WHY DID YOU PEOPLE HAD TO DO THAT TO US?!¡± The emperor yelled as he approached Jennifer and grabbed her neck tightly, making it hard for her to breath. ¡°WE COULD BE A HAPPY COUPLE, SEE OUR CHILDREN¡¯S GROW UP!! BUT YOU DESTROYED EVERYTHING, JENA!! BECAUSE OF YOUR MISTAKE! IT WASN¡¯T EVEN OUR FAULT THAT YOUR SISTER DIED!! IT WAS YOUR MISTAKE TO TRUST YOUR FATHER!! WHAT WAS MY FAULT? I COULD BE WITH THE PERSON I LOVED! NOT TREAT HER LIKE A SHIT BECAUSE OF YOU PEOPLE!!!¡± The emperor kept yelling but Jennifer didn¡¯t tried to struggle. It was better if she just died, it wouldn¡¯t feel painful anymore then... ¡°Only if it wasn¡¯t for you... I wouldn¡¯t be a sinner by killing my innocent empress and children with my own hands...¡± The emperor spoke in a low voice as his hands loosen up from her neck, before he be unconscious. ¡°Take me with you, My empress...¡± Jennifer looked at the emperor infront of her, who fainted after he finished his sentence and a tear drop left his eyes. ¡®Am sorry...but can my sorry bring them back?¡¯ But then Jennifer woke up from her sleep, with the stinging pain in her heart like always. ¡®Maybe someday, i could be forgiven by the people i have harmed but my sins will never forget to hunt me in my dreams...¡¯ Chapter 123 123 ¡°Meet Again¡± ¡°MY LADY, WAKE UP!!¡± A maid spoke as she burst open into the room without even knocking. ¡°What the, you are up already?¡± The maid spoke in surprise as she saw the light blonde haireddy sitting on her bed. ¡°Well. You arezy and don¡¯t do anything all day except for worrying the duke, there should be days like this asionally.¡± The maid spoke as she moved the curtains away to open the window. That maid was May, Jennifer¡¯s personal maid, Who thought of her being a easy person. So, she treated Jennifer to the point where it was hard to tell who was the master and who was the servant. But in herst life, this same person treated her differently with full respect. ..... ¡®So my value changed in this life because i am no longer useful?¡¯ Jennifer thought on her mind. The only reason she kept May around her was because May had only one good point in her. That was, she could read the room and know when to stop. Jenniferzily looked up at May but her caramel brown eyes was sharp. ¡°You...¡± ¡°?!¡± May was surprised to heard Jennifer¡¯s cold voice, but she was even more shocked to hear the next sentence. ¡°Shut your mouth, you are too noisy and bring me water to wash my face.¡± ¡°W-What??? Did you just speak to me???¡± May asked as her eyes widened in shock. Jennifer has never spoke no matter how rude she behaved. ¡°Is there anyone else in this room beside you?¡± Jennifer asked as she exhaled her breathzily. ¡°Don¡¯t make me speak twice.¡± ¡°O-Okay...¡± May replied as she stepped back as she suddenly felt a chill on her body. ¡®What?¡¯ ¡®Something is a bit strange.¡¯ But May ignored the chill and put a bowl of water which sshed on Jennifer¡¯s feet and throw a towel infront of her. ¡°Here!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I even got you a towel! Are you happy now?¡± ¡°...¡± But Jennifer coldly stared at the bowl of water infront of her and then, she kicked the bowl in May¡¯s direction. ¡°Kyaa!¡± ¡°...¡± May stared at Jennifer with dumbfounded eyes as waters kept dripping down from her face. ¡°M-Mydy?¡± But Jennifer didn¡¯t replied and kept staring at May with her sharp gaze. ¡®Seems like everyone forgot that i was the viiness of this story... Even if i wear a white dress and pretend to be a princess, A viiness can never change her true nature under the disguise of the female lead.¡¯ Where, May was still shocked. Usually, Jennifer would tremble and obey to every words of May. Even when May scolded Jennifer, she would just apologise saying that it was her fault to bezy. Which made May more bolder in the past four years, and everything was the same till yesterday. But what happened today? ¡°You can¡¯t even get the temperature of the water right?¡± ¡°?!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe there is a maid who woild bring cold water for herdy and still keep her head up so high shamelessly.¡± Jennifer¡¯s eyes narrowed dangerously as she spoke, making May more tremble. ¡°If this is revealed, Do you think anyone would take your side when i whip and then kick you out?¡± ¡°!!!¡± May was shocked to hear Jennifer¡¯s words. She was speaking normally but the chilling aura around her was giving dangerous feel. To warn people to not approch. ¡°Do you think a maid who was fired for such a reason would be epted by any other household?¡± ¡°...! Th-That! I apologise, Mydy!! am fetching the water right now!¡± ¡®I was right...¡¯ Jennifer¡¯s lips curved up as she was right about May¡¯s character. ¡®It¡¯s time for the viiness to appear again, to change the story.¡¯ Soon, fresh water was bought infront of her and Jennifer washed her face. May felt terrified as she thought how did things changed in one night? Jennifer wasn¡¯t even able to lift a finger against her yesterday let alone talking like this. How did she changed so suddenly? But the truth was, Jennifer was always like this. She just wants to give the people around her a happy ending which she had snatched away from them. Except this, she doesn¡¯t even have a will to live anymore. A father who only craves for powers, where the brother has be timid because of her father. The emperor would loath her again if he remembers the past, where the empress would call her a betrayer for disguising as Liana. Whom should she live for? Then suddenly, Dominic¡¯s face came into her mind but she quickly shake it off. ¡®Don¡¯t crave for love anymore Lennie, You don¡¯t deserve him...¡¯ ... ¡®Everything feels burdensome...¡¯ Eleanora spoke in her mind with a gloomy expression as she walked. ¡®Sincedy Arlo¡¯s birthday banquet is going to be grand and my first appearance in any social banquet, i just can¡¯t choose a random gift...¡¯ Where, everyone around her was being startled and gasped in panick. ¡®Moreover...¡¯ The people around her kept flinching as they saw the crowd of knights behind her. ¡®To think there would be so many people to apanying me, when am only out to shop!¡¯ ¡®I won¡¯t give you permission to go out if you don¡¯t take a knight along with you... Ele.¡¯ Alexander spoke as he wiped his mouth after finishing his breakfast. He doesn¡¯t trust the crazy emperor an ounce, specially after what the emperor wrote in the letter. ..... Who knows if the emperor suddenly goes berserk and kidnaps his daughter when he is not beside her to protect? So, Alexander decided to sent his most trusted knight to protect his daughter. ¡®It¡¯s not just one knight but several knights, Daddy!!¡¯ ¡®A total of twelve knights, Twelve!!¡¯ Eleanora felt extremely burdened because of the knights following her and crowded the streets which made everyone stare at her likr she was marching. ¡®Hah...i just want to live quitly and shop silently but the people around me are making it impossible.¡¯ And then,dy Eleanora and her twelve knights finally reach their destination. ¡°A-Are you sure, it¡¯s here, Mydy?¡± The head knight of the team behind Eleanora asked in confusion. The shop infront of them didn¡¯t looked like a shop but like some slum instead. Even the door was cracked. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s here.¡± Eleanora spoke as she stepped inside the shop, where the knights nced at the extravagant shop beside them. A bell ringed as the cracked door was pushed open by Eleanora to enter the shop. The whole shop was messy, things was thrown here and there and a gloomy person was sitting inside with his head down. The young man was quite handsone but because he didn¡¯tbed his hair and his white shirt was full of paint colours, it made him look shabby and haggard. He didn¡¯t even looked up before he started to speak. ¡°My apologise, but am not really...in the condition to make anything right now... I don¡¯t know from which family thedy belongs to, but please go to the next shop beside it...¡± ¡°Mydy, It¡¯s better if we go to the next door-¡± The head knight spoke but Eleanora smiled as she approached him confidentally. ¡°No, we are at the right ce.¡± Hearing Eleanora¡¯s words, the man finally looked up and felt like his surrounding has br bright as a angle came down on earth to him. ¡°I would like tomission you, Young master Axion Spade.¡± Eleanora spoke but Axion kept staring at her with his sky blue coloured eyes. The more he stared at, the more lost he felt in her jewel blue eyes. ¡°...Why me? There are so many talented people...¡± ¡°Because only you can make what i want.¡± Axion blushed as he heard her words and turned around to leave, not looking at her anymore. ¡°P-Please leave, As you can see am not in the condition to create anything now...¡± ¡°But i believe in you...¡± Axion stopped on his tracks as he heard Eleanora¡¯s words. It¡¯s been so long since someone said those words to him. From his childhood, everyone praised his older brother Ian Spade for being exceptionally good at crafting and regarded him as the next count heir of the Spade¡¯s because of this. He was always ignored and lived in the shadow of his older brother, feeling inferior. So now, someone was finally telling him that she believed in him; how could he not feel touched. Axion looked back with doubts and asked lowly. ¡°B-Believe in me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Eleanora¡¯s answer was short but the assurance in her tone told him that she truly believed in him. ¡°I have absolute faith that you will be able to magnificently produce creations better then anyone else, Young master Axion.¡± ¡®That¡¯s because you will be the best craftsman in the empire soon!¡¯ Eleanora spoke in her mind where shiny light sparkled everywhere around Eleanora in his eyes. which made a tear droping out from Axion¡¯s eyes. ¡°Ah, i got something in my eyes-¡± Axion spoke but Eleanora was lost in her mind. ¡®I finally meet you again, Axion Spade...¡¯ Chapter 124 124 ¡°The Past: Battle With Rua¡± ¡®What¡¯s happening?!¡¯ ¡®Why i can¡¯t use my mana?!¡¯ ¡°YOUR HIGHNESS!!! WATCH OUT!!¡± Themander of the third squadron, Empress Eleanora Cathain Valentino thought as she fall on the ground and something dropped on her face. Her eyes widened in shock and tried to get up but she couldn¡¯t. A few drops of crimson red blood stained her ck and white knight suit, Where she just looked up with an bewildered expression. A man who had a arrow pierced into his chest fall on his knees infront of her with a smile. ¡°R..un.. Your highness, Run...a.way...¡± ¡°N~No...Sir Axion...¡± ..... Eleanora¡¯s jewel blue eyes filled with tears as she looked at Axion¡¯s sky blue eyes filled with pain as he sheilded her from the arrows. ¡°Sir Axion...i-i can heal you..¡± Eleanora spoke as she was preparing to use her powers to heal Axion but soon she heared another groan in pain from him. ¡°It was great to work with you, Your highness. I regretted that i was sent to the knights instead of being a craftsman, but now i don¡¯t regret it. It was the best moment of my life in the battlefield under your guideline and ending of my life while protecting you..¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that...¡± Arrows was being kept shooting without any stopping. Hundreds of arrows was being shot at once. ¡°Agh!!¡± ¡°RUN!!!¡± The knights kept running to savw their lives from the arrows and kept falling on the ground as the arrows hit them. Eleanora looked around in shock. ¡®What should i now? His Majesty and Father isn¡¯t here...¡¯ The imperial army didn¡¯t had enough army in the war with Rua Kingdom as they lost much manpower in the battle with Kingdom Republic. Most of them was swordsman and they never expected such a move from the Rua kingdom. Even their own soldiers was being killed, but the king didn¡¯t bat an eye to them. Four more arrows pierced through Axion¡¯s body as he sheilded Eleanora. ¡°Sir Axion!¡± Eleanora stood up but Axion stopped her and passed a key to her. The key to his shabby little shop where he used to practice crafting, where hisst creations are. Which be popr after his death but the great craftmanship couldn¡¯t be found anymore. The ownership was transfered to the empress ording to his will as Axion was disowned from his family and he gave the key as a token to her. The imperial fund recovered quite well because of the high selling price of his unique craftmanship because Eleanora transfered everything there. ¡°T-This is for you... The one who truly recognised my worth, Your highness.¡± ¡°Hang-Hang on, SIR AXION!!!!¡± Axion fall on the ground with five arrows pierced on his chest infront of Eleanora, with a final tear drop leaving his sky blue eyes. ¡®Thank you for everything empress, am happy that i could die for you... The only person who recognised my worth just because of a embroidery.¡¯ Axion remembered where he did a embroidery on Eleanora¡¯s cape during the war when it was torn. Everyoneughed at him for doing this. A man who does embroidery for a woman who fights with mens. ¡®It¡¯s so beautiful, Sir Axion... You are truly amazing!¡¯ This was the words that came out from the empress¡¯s mouth after she saw the cape which she had threw because it was torn again. She wore the cape again with no hesitation or anything with a smile on her beautiful face. A few simple words made him look up at her and gain his confidence back. He had thought about publishing his works with determination and courage after the war ends. When Eleanora heard that, she was very happy for him and patted his shoulder as she spoke. ¡°I believe in Sir Axion¡¯s talent, When you be a craftsmen again; i will be yourmissioner!¡± ¡°OK! Deal!¡± That day, Axion started to dream about being a craftsman again and wrote a letter of his all works belonging to her as hismissioner. Maybe he knew this was his ending and being a craftsman wasn¡¯t written on his fate. But he doesn¡¯t regret it either. ¡®Dying while protecting the only person who believed you feels good too...¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s hands, which was holding onto the key trembled as she saw Axion exhaling hisst breath. The young shy man who was transferred to the third squadron as he was unable to take over the family because of his inferior skills in craftsmanship just died to protect her. The man who was even afraid of a cut on his hands just took five arrows on his chest for her. Eleanora wasn¡¯t afraid of the arrowsing towards her, what she was afraid of seeing people die for her because as soon as Axion died, she heard a loud ringing sound. The sound danger and to protect the empress. A firecracker was set off and burst into the sky as a emergency warning. ¡°PROTECT HER HIGHNESS!!!¡± Soon more knights jumped up infront of the trembling Eleanora and formed a protection barrier over her with their own body as a shield. The powers she was so proud of be useless today, she felt helpless and ashamed. ¡®Am sorry... Everyone...¡¯ Eleanora tried to create a barrier but her magic wasn¡¯t working, even her holy powers didn¡¯t worked either. She felt lose, devastated. None of them had any hostility on their eyes, everyone smiled at her as they faced their death. ¡°Don¡¯t feel guilty, it¡¯s our honour to die for you, Your highness.¡± ¡°Yes, Empress. You have always taken such a great care of us.¡± ¡°This is what we vowed to do, Empress.¡± The more the knightsforted her the more guilty she felt and cried. She helplessly watched the knights taking arrows for her and hear their groans in pain while breathing theirst breath. Eleanora closed her eyes as she couldn¡¯t bear to watch the scene infront of her anymore and put her hands on her ears as she kept crying. ¡®Please stop this, please!!!¡¯ The Rua kingdom tampered with their foods, making them losing their powers temporarily through poison. Specially Eleanora¡¯s. Making the imperial army, whose main weapon was their magic powerspletely isted. After a moment, the arrows finally stopped and Eleanora slowly opened her trembling eyes again. Eleanora be horrified as she saw the pile of dead bodies infront of her, who died to protect her instead of fleeding. As she turned her head around, she saw many of the knightsying on the ground. Most of them were dead. Instead of crying, Eleanora bepletely silent as she stared at the person infront of her from afar. Who had a smrik on his face. Her heart turned cold suddenly as a rage filled inside of her. ..... The whole battlefield was dead silent. ¡®It¡¯s all because of him...¡¯ ¡°Capture the empress...¡± King Mendel De Melendez Rua, the illegitimate prince who was neglected before; ordered his knights. Who had dark brown skin, dark brown hair and silver eyes. As the king ordered, the knights proceed to catch her. ¡®Soon you will be mine and away from him, My love.¡¯ Mendel had a smrik on his face as he watched the knights approching her to take her to him. Eleanora tried to stand up with the support of her sword but the poison was damaging her nerves. Making it impossible to stand on her feet and falling on the ground weakly. Eleanora chuckled at her condition and hold the sword on her neck, making King Mendel widening his eyes in horror. ¡°I rather die then being touch by a trash like you..¡± ¡°STOP!! STOP HER YOU MORONS!!¡± The knights stepped forward and Eleanora closed her eyes to swing the sword on her neck. But even before they could touch her, their bodies was suddenly set on fire and they fall on the ground while wailing painfully. Eleanora¡¯s hands which was holding onto the sword was suddenly frozen with ice magic as her sword flew away at a little distance from her. ¡°WHO DARES TO TOUCH MY EMPRESS?!¡± A ck shadow fall over Eleanora as she looked up to see the emperor, who was riding the ck horse and stopped in front of her. Blocking King Mendel¡¯s view on her. Behind the emperor was a huge army, leading by Duke Dalton and Cedrick Raven. It was her father who froze her hands with his magic and Cedrick was the one who threw her sword away from her. Eleanora¡¯s tears finally left her eyes as she saw the people around her, who came in to help her. ¡®Father...¡¯ That was the first time when Eleanora had saw fear in her father¡¯s eyes as he withdrew his magic from her, melting the ice on her hands. ording to their lead, the battle today was supposed to happen at west but instead the east camp was attacked. Where Eleanora was. They forced Eleanora¡¯s team towards the pce to get her. The empire army was easily winning because King Mendel let them win to make here here by herself. And he almost seeded if the emperor didn¡¯t came to rescue her, who be the shining light in her dark world once again. Where the emperor¡¯s red eyes kept ring at King Mendel with a killer gaze. ¡®Dare to desire what¡¯s only mine?!¡¯ Chapter 125 - 125 "Rumours" 125 ¡°Rumours¡± Back to the present~ Eleanora felt happy as she was able to help Axion in this life. He won¡¯t be a knight in the third squadron but a famous craftsmen who will be the heir of the Spade family buisness. Eleanora was walking when her eyes was suddenly caught into something shiny. ¡®Whoa, it¡¯s so neat and pretty¡­ Daddy would look good with this.¡¯ It was a blue coloured cuff buttons, like the duke¡¯s eyes. ¡®Yes! I would give this to him and coax him into giving up the idea of finding a son-inw!¡¯ ¡®Am so genius...¡¯ Eleanora thought to herself as she approached the shop to buy the cuff buttons. ..... ¡°Please pack this up for me...¡± ¡°Wow...who is this?¡± Another voice sounded from behind as Eleanora paid for the cuff buttons. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the moon of our empire, Lady Dalton? Or should I say Dame Dalton?¡± The person spoke as he approached Eleanora and she looked at him with wary eyes. The person in-front of her was Terrence Droil. A person who was notorious for being a yboy and gossip in the high society. His mouth was venomous like a snake. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been a while; Sir Droil.¡± Eleanora spoke as Terrence took her hands in his palms to kiss it as a greeting gesture. ¡®Suddenly I miss the emperor¡­ i never had to deal with unnecessary flies like this because of him in my past life. Because he simply got rid of the tradition to kiss thedies hands as a greeting posture in my past life as he hated it when others even touched his property, the empress. After that incident in the banquet.¡¯ [The incident in the past where the emperor killed a man because he was rude to the empress.] ¡°Please call mefortably as Terrence, Mydy¡­ Who is as beautiful as the moon.¡± Eleanora flinched as Terrence spoke and looked up at her with a wicked smile. ¡®How rude!¡¯ ¡®But just endure it. He is someone who loves to gossip. He must be baiting me on purpose.¡¯ ¡°I want to talk more but I have ns, so must go back now, Excuse me.¡± Eleanora spoke as she took her hands away from Terrence¡¯s grip and turned to leave. ¡°What ns do you have that made you run away like this, My Lady?¡± Terrence spoke but he was stopped by the knights from approching Eleanora, who took the cuff buttons and prepared to leave. ¡°Goodbye.¡± Eleanora spoke without looking back but Terrence¡¯s eyes widen slightly as he saw the cuff buttons on her hands and smirked as he bid Eleanora. ¡®Goodbye, mydy¡­¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s been a while since you return from the battlefield but you are buying cuff buttons for a man?¡¯ ¡®Who are you giving them to? The emperor or¡­¡¯ Thus the debate in the upper society started with this, Who is the owner of those cufflinks? Her fiance, the emperor or her seem to be lover, the young duke of Raven? And then the rumors of the cancetion of marriage between the imperial family and Dalton duchy spread, along with another topic. The love story of Cedrick Raven and Eleanora Dalton, two people fall in love whose family was each others arch enemy. The incidents of four years ago where the duke asked for a cancetion of marriage and trained her to be the next heir, then her friendship with Cedrick, along with the incident on the training ground where Eleanora ran off with Cedrick infront of the emperor lead to those rumors. As someone also added fuel into the fire, the gossips spread more and more. Where the emperor tried to separate them and the duke be the great father who loved his daughter to the point he is ready to go against the emperor. But the gossip was different everywhere. In the imperial pce~ ¡°Your Majesty, Thedy has bought cufflinks for you. I heard that she bought them a few days ago.¡± Hearing Sir Brayden¡¯s words, the emperor¡¯s hands which was signing the documents stopped. ¡°...Why do you think so?¡± Cathain asked while trying to hide the excitements in his heart. ¡®She bought cufflinks for me?¡¯ Brayden, who realised the changes in the emperor be happy. ¡®Finally the emperor would stop tormenting us now!¡¯ Since the day Eleanora ran off with Cedrick, the emperor didn¡¯t stopped her but instead he tortured the people around him into training with him. Venting his anger by beating up people in the name of training. ¡°Ahem...the cufflinks have special meaning, Your Majesty. You can only give them to someone you are very close with.¡± Cathain pretended to not care but he was listening to Brayden very carefully. ¡°So what does that have to do with me?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡®Hah...So now you are trying to save your face after being shameless to the point you even hide your real identity to meet her?¡¯ ¡®If you had nothing to do with it... We wouldn¡¯t suffer so much for the past few days by over working!¡¯ Brayden coughed a little before he started to speak seriously to the emperor, who was writting the documents again. ¡°Your Majesty, if ady gives a young man who is not het family then it¡¯s mean she is telling him that ¡®You are mine¡¯ by giving them the cufflinks.¡± ck! The pen on Cathain¡¯s hand broke and the ink ruined the papers. But he had no tension about that as his mind of filled up with something else and his face turned slightly red. ¡®L-Lover? Is she going to indirectly tell me her feelings?!¡¯ ¡®As i expected, the duke was separating us from being together!¡¯ The Dalton Duchy~ ¡°My lord, there are some rumors about thedy.¡± The duke¡¯s aid, Raynor spoke as he rushed to the duke. Alexander, who was polishing his sword froze as he looked at Raynor dangerously. ¡°Speak.¡± Raynor swallowed his saliva before he started to speak. ¡°They say ourdy has bought a pare of cufflinks for her lover...¡± Raynor spoke hesitantly but didn¡¯t imagined Alexander to chuckle at his words and replied. ¡°Leave them be...You don¡¯t need to take care of that.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡®Am i dead? is this why am imagining things like the duke just chuckled?¡¯ The Raven Duchy~ ¡°There are rumors going on that, Lady Dalton bought cufflinks for the young master.¡± Cedrick and Jennifer who was drinking tea in the garden was stunned as they heard the report from their butler. ..... Cedrick blushed as he heard that and felt a little happy in his heart as he asked shyly. ¡°I-Is that so?¡± His birthday ising soon, so did she bought them for him? But his hopes was crushed brutally by his little sister. ¡°They can be for anyone but not for you, brother.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jennifer spoke as she took a sip of het tea elegantly and looked at her brother. ¡°Even if they were for you... Do you think the emperor would let you have them?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Cedrick felt he was just hit by his little sister so brutally that he bleed. ¡®Does she needs to be that honest?¡¯ ¡­ Where Eleanora, who had no idea about those rumors sighed as she looked outside. ¡®Thedy has been strange, right?¡¯ ¡®Yes, usually at this time she would be training but she is hold up in the room for quite a few days.¡¯ ¡®But there is no way for her to know those... The duke ordered everyone to keep their mouth shut.¡¯ ¡®Maybe thedy is like this because the duke is not at home?¡¯ Maria heard the others maid¡¯s whispering between them and she couldn¡¯t help but also wonder. ¡®Thedy looks so dispirited...¡¯ ¡°My Lady, would you like to take a walk? The weather is really nice.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Eleanora spokezily as she sighed. ¡°You will feel fine if you take a stroll outside.¡± ¡°Shall i?... Since i have been inside for so long, am feeling stuffy.¡± ¡®Stuffy?!¡¯ Maria was stunned as she heard Eleanora, misunderstanding her wordspletely. ¡®There was a time when thedy was so cheerful and rebellious but she has always been so lonely¡­¡¯ Maria felt like crying as she remembered the past where Eleanora wanted to leave the house because Alexander wasn¡¯t at home for a few days after the duchess¡¯s dead. ¡®Ele hates home! Father hates Ele! Nobody loves Ele!¡¯ Eleanora, who waszily gazing outside was stunned for a moment as Maria suddenly grabbed her shoulder. ¡°My Lady! Don¡¯t feel dishearten! The duke will take care of everything?!¡± ¡®Huh? Take care of what?¡¯ ¡°I will always be by your side, My Lady.¡± Maria spoke as she hugged the confused Eleanora tightly. ¡°O-Okay...Thank you?¡± Eleanora couldn¡¯t understand Maria¡¯s actions so she just thought of going along with her. ¡®Why are they acting like am dying?¡¯ Eleanora was frustrated because she couldn¡¯t decide on whom to take with her as a partner on Rosette¡¯s birthday banquet. She had always attended royal balls and the emperor was the only partner she ever had. She doesn¡¯t even know many young man¡¯s in the society. Eleanora kept on thinking as she took a sip of her tea that Jennie brewed but suddenly a cold voice sounded from behind. ¡°So you were here...¡± Chapter 126 - 132 Chs 132 Chs ADD 126 ¡°Don¡¯t Meet The Qualifications¡± Eleanora was a little surprised to see Alexander infront of her as ording to what she knows, her father should be in the imperial pce now. The emperor couldn¡¯t contact her because of her father, so he just decided to vent it on her father by making him survey the food distribution in the newly opened school formoners. But suddenly the emperor¡¯s mood got better as he learnt from someone that thedy loved him so much that she bought a cufflinks for him to tell him that secretly. As she respects her father so much that she can¡¯t deny her father words and confess to him. But she still want him to know her inner feelings and apologise for running away that day. The image in Cathain¡¯s mind was like, he is a desperate lover who isn¡¯t able to meet his lover because of his fierce father-inw and his lover is trying hard to covey a message to him by the cufflinks. ¡®No matter what, You are only mine; Cain!¡¯ ¡®Am all yours, My Ele...¡¯ Alexander was with a devilish smile and horns as he caged Eleanora and guarded it, while the emperot was begging him to let them reunite on his mind. ..... That¡¯s so sad... But unfortunately it¡¯s aplete bullshit which never happened in reality. It was all in the emperor¡¯s mind, who was waiting for a letter from Eleanora to be her partner in Rosette Arlo¡¯s birthday banquet. He never attended any events except the royal ones but because of her, he can atleast do this. Where Eleanora kicked him out of her list from the very beginning just like how her father did the same in the candidate list. Like Father, Like Daughter. ¡°Daddy. You are already back?¡± Eleanora asked with a smile as Alexander took a sit opposite of hers and replied with a nod. ¡°I heard you will be attending a banquet next weak?¡± ¡°Huh? Yes. It¡¯s count Arlo¡¯s daughter, Rosette Arlo.¡± ¡°I see. Do you have a partner?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Eleanora felt like she was stabbed by humiliation. Even her father knows this! ¡°Do you need my help? I don¡¯t think you even know anyone to be your partner.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡®You don¡¯t have to remind me of that, Daddy.¡¯ ¡®No, i need to fix my reputation. Am not anti-social at all!¡¯ Eleanora faked a proud look on her face as she took a bite of her cake. ¡°Don¡¯t understimate your daughter, Daddy. I have gotten many partner request through mail for the banquet.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Alexander asked in disbelief as he took a fork to feed Eleanora some strawberry cake. Eleanora didn¡¯t denied as it has be normal for them and happily eat as her father feed her. ¡°Actually it¡¯s soo many that i don¡¯t know whom to chose. They are all soo wonderful that am at loss to decide whom to pick.¡± ¡°I see...¡± ¡°¡­¡± Sigh... Eleanora felt frustrated as she saw the piles of partner requests. She knows most of the nobles and their status but except some young man, she doesn¡¯t knows the others. She have always worked with the head of the houses, seldom talked with any young man. But on the other hand, Jennie and Maria was happy seeing theirdy¡¯s poprity in thr upper ss to get so many requests. They felt proud. Eleanora pondered for a moment and then finally choosed three candidates. An imperial knight known for his outstanding swordmanship and poise, Sir Stanley. Famed for his beauty and wit, the son of count Bromir. A head member of the ministry of foreign affairs, the esteemed son of Marquise Hessian. ¡®Previously i said the because i wanted to save my nose infront of father... But the candidates are really outstanding.¡¯ ¡®Who should i choose?¡¯ Eleanora then finally made her decision and handed over a letter to Maria. ¡°Maria, since it¡¯ste now, sent this letter¡¯s tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes, My Lady.¡± Maria left with the letters in her hand as Jennie stayed to help Eleanora to bath. As Maria closed the door, she was frightened to see the duke standing there with a solemn face. ¡°Ah, My lord?!¡± ¡°Whom did she choosed?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Maria was stunned for a moment before she finally understood his meanings. Yes, my lord. Thedy has chosen the son of count Bomir, Edmund to be her partner. How is his reputation? Alexander asked in a serious voice and Maria replied with enthusiasm, full of admiration. He¡¯s a handsome men well known in the society. I have heard that he is a great man. Handsome men? Alexander frowned as he heard that and sighed. Both mother and daughter are the same. ¡­ ¡°Lia, would you be married to the emperor by now if we didn¡¯t meet that day?¡± Alexander asked Eunucelia, who wasying on hisp as he stroked her dark blue hair. ¡°Probably.¡± ¡°...But didn¡¯t you wanted to ran away from the pce to not get married?¡± Alexander frowned as he asked and took the book away from Eunicelia with a dark expression which made her chuckle. He thought she would probably say they were meant to be that¡¯s why she didn¡¯t got married with the emperor but with him instead. ¡°Well, now that I think of it¡­ it was impossible for me to ran away. I would be caught anyway.¡± ¡°Then why did you still ran?¡± Alexander asked with a solemn face. ¡°I thought the emperor would be an old man with a big belly as I learnt that he is 14 years older then me. I was only 20 at that time, so I was impulsive.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Eunicelia paused on her words before she spoke again. ¡°But who knew the emperor would be so damn handsome despite being a middle aged man?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I bet the future child of the emperor and the empress would be very handsome. The empress herself is such a beautiful woman. I wonder if it would be a son, who looked like the emperor.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Alexander frowned again as he asked. ¡°Why do you want the child to look like the emperor?¡± ..... ¡°If the child is a son and looked like the emperor then I would make him my son-inw. Who would let go of a handsome son-inw?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t give him my daughter!¡± ¡°Pff-¡± Eunicelia chuckled as she saw how possessive Alexander was for their daughter who wasn¡¯t even conceived yet. Their first child can be a son too and the empress can also give birth to a daughter first. ¡°I just shared my thoughts, Lex¡­ We don¡¯t even have a daughter yet to think that further.¡± ¡°¡­So, who is more handsome? The emperor or me?¡± ¡°Hah... You and your jealousy have no limits. Of course you are the most handsome man to me, Lex.¡± Eunicelia spoke as she cupped Alexander¡¯s face in her hands. But as she was about to withdraw her hands away from his face Alexander caught her wrist as he kissed her palm. ¡°Then let¡¯s make another handsome man for you!¡± ¡°H-Huh?¡± Eunicelia looked at Alexander with a bewildered expression but panicked as he carried her on hisp and started to walk. ¡°Lex!!! Put me down!!!¡± Eunicelia yelled at him out of embarrassment. All the maids in the garden was staring at them. But Alexander only smriked at her before he spoke. ¡°No, let me give you a handsome son who looked like me and get a beautiful daughter-inw, then getting a son-inw and sending our daughter away¡­ A son would be best.¡± ¡°Y-YOU¡­ SHAMELESS!!!¡± ¡­ Alexander took off his sses to wipe his blue eyes a little as they be wet and smilled a little and put on his sses again. ¡®Although our child turned out to exactly look like me, but she got her personality for sure... Both of them likes handsome men.¡¯ ¡°My lord, we have reached.¡± ¡°Hm.¡± With that, Alexander got down from the carriage and walked inside the Bomir Residence. ¡®I won¡¯t give our daughter to anyone, Lia.¡¯ The man¡¯s hands, which hold the tea cup trembled but he tried his best to keep calm. ¡®Why...Why is this person...¡¯ Edmund hesitantly looked up as he thought but be more terrified. ¡®Here right now at my house?!!¡¯ Alexander¡¯s sharp gaze was making him tremble violently, who was taking a sip of the tea without even taking his eyes off from Edmund. ¡°Y-Your Grace...What work...do you have with me..at thiste hour...?¡± But Alexander¡¯s gaze be more intense as he heard Edmund¡¯s words and noticed the locket on Edmund¡¯s neck. ¡°Ahhaa...hha..ahhaa..¡± Edmund tried tough a little as he covered his exposed chest but Alexander¡¯s gaze was all over him, examining his appearance. ¡®Ele...¡¯ ¡®Unless a man who have looks, honour, money, skills, honour... I won¡¯t get married!¡¯ Alexander recalled Eleanora¡¯s preference as he stared at Edmund. ¡®I also agree with that.¡¯ With that, he put down the tea cup and took off his sses again. ¡°Edmund Ansel Bomir...¡± ¡°Y-Yes?¡± Edmund answered like some frightened cat as Alexander uttered his name and stood up from his seat. ¡°You- Don¡¯t meet the QUA.L.I.F.I.C.A.TIONS¡± Chapter 127 - 127 "Wrong Person" 127 ¡°Wrong Person¡± ¡°My Lady!¡± Maria spoke as soon as Eleanora returned from the imperial pce with Alexander and came out after having a bath. ¡°The work pieces youmissioned from the second young master of the Spade family¡¯s workshop has arrived.¡± ¡°Oh, Thank Godness. It¡¯s almost thedy¡¯s birthday and i was wondering why it had yet toe when i had alreadymissioned it.¡± Eleanora felt relieve as she received the box from Maria but was a little stunned to find another box beside it. ¡®To my muse, Axion Spade?¡¯ ¡®What¡¯s this? It¡¯s not like buy one get one free right?¡¯ Everyone was shocked as Eleanora opened the boxes and she smilled. ¡°Kyaa! Mydy! What are this?!¡± ..... ¡°It¡¯s so beautifully curved and designed!¡± ¡°It¡¯s my first time seeing something like this.¡± ¡®As expected from him. He has already captivated everyone.¡¯ Eleanora felt happy to see the maids reaction. This meant all she need is to promote Axion a little in Rosette¡¯s birthday banquet. ¡°I will reveal it at the birthday banquet.¡± Eleanora spoke as she shut the box and hand it over to Jennie to keep it safely. the maids was a little disappointed but they still thought of waiting till Rosette¡¯s birthday to know what the item was. At that moment, there was a sudden knock on the door. ¡°Mydy, it¡¯s Dn.¡± ¡°What it is, Butler Dn?¡± Eleanora asked their butler, who was standing at the door. ¡°The son of the count Bomir, Edmund Bomir has arrived. He said he is making a call to provide the response to mydy¡¯s letter.¡± Eleanora didn¡¯t expected Edmund toe and visit her personally to give her response. ¡®He came personally instead of sending a letter?¡¯ ¡®Indeed, he will be my partner so it wouldn¡¯t be bad to get to know each other beforehand the party.¡¯ ¡°I see. I will head down once am prepared.¡± ¡­ ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Lady Dalton.¡± Edmund spoke and Eleanora feel like he was sparkling. Although Edmund was not so handsome like the emperor or Cedrick Raven, but he was no less either. ¡°Wee, Sir Bomir.¡± Eleanora spoke gently as she invited Edmund in. ¡°I will escort you to the drawing room.¡± Maria spoke as she lead them in the drawing room, obviously happy to see Eleanora together with someone normal. The emperor was crazy and Cedrick was from the Ravens, so Maria disapproved both of them. Moreover, the emperor was too tall for herdy. Thedy will get neck pain if she has to talk with the emperor while standing for a long time. Maria cheered up for them in her heart as she served them tea and left to give them some privacy. But she was once again frightened as she saw the duke leaning on the ss window of the drawing room to keep an eye on Edmund. ¡®W-What is the duke doing?!¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t tell me...he is listening to their conversation secrectly?!¡¯ Meanwhile in the room~ ¡°My Lady, I must inform you for the reason of my visit today.¡± ¡°Please speak.¡± Eleanora felt a little weird for some reason and to her utter surprise, Edmund suddenly dropped on his knees infront of her. ¡°I MUST APOLOGISE, MY LADY!!¡± ¡°W-What is the meaning of this, Sir Bomir?¡± Eleanora was really surprised. ¡°I mistakenly thought thatdy Dalton has another partner, So i have agreed to be someone else¡¯s partner.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡®Do they think i will attend the count¡¯s daughter birthday party with the emperor, who never attended any banquets except the royal ones and hardly seen in the public?¡¯ ¡®And why would the emperore with me, leaving his works behind?¡¯ Eleanora was speechless. Just because she is always the emperor¡¯s partner as his fiance doesn¡¯t mean she can¡¯t get anyone else as a partner in need or instead of him. There is no rules that an engaged person can¡¯t attend with someone else except their fiancee in need. It¡¯s just a birthday banquet and they expect her to show up with the emperor? This was what Eleanora thought but she frozed as she heard Edmund¡¯s words. ¡°There are rumors that your engagement is going to be cancelled because you are dating someone else... This is why i was shocked to get your letter!¡± ¡®W-What?¡¯ ¡®Dating?????? Me??? A homebody, dating someone and dare to cheat on the emperor?!¡¯ Eleanora was literary shocked and speechless. How could anyone spread such a rumor? Her engagement is not cancelled yet but the cause is her dating someone else?! ¡®To think such a rumor would spread... Was it because of that day when i ran away from the emperor in fear?¡¯ But Eleanora was still calm outside no matter how panicked she was inside. ¡°This is just a rumour. There is no way am dating someone else while still being engaged with the emperor. One need to show evidence before using.¡± Eleanora spoke calmly as she approched Edmund. ¡°Ah...it was just a rumour then...¡± ¡°I apologise, Mydy.¡± Edmund apologised as he bow down to Eleanora. ¡°It is alright, i will just find another partner.¡± Eleanora spoke as she turned away but her expression be dark. ¡®Of course, i should thank him instead as because of him i got to know the rumors about me... Just let me catch the person who spread the rumours!¡¯ ¡®They are dead!!¡¯ ¡°AHHH! Are you an angle, My Lady?!¡± Edmund suddenly stood up and spoke, making Eleanora surprise again. ¡°To think you would forgive my rudeness so easily... If i had meet the qualifications, i would have hold onto you!¡± Eleanora was stunned to hear him. ¡®Qualifications? of what?¡¯ ¡°Mydy, perhaps we could share a meal-¡± Edmund spoke as he suddenly took out a flower from his coat but stopped on his words and flinched as he felt the chilling from the ss window. ¡°??!!¡± ..... Alexander, who was leaning on the ss window nced at Edmund fiercely. ¡®Dare to share a meal with my daughter?¡¯ Alexander¡¯s blue eyes was cold. As Eleanora was standing opposite, she didn¡¯t saw her father and couldn¡¯t understand Edmund¡¯s sudden trembling. ¡°I apologise mydy!!! But i must go back right now!!¡± Edmund spoke with his shaking legs and ran away from the dining room without even saying goodbye. ¡®Why is he like that?¡¯ Eleanora frowned because of Edmund¡¯s action where Alexander kept ring at Edmund till he left the room. ¡®Both of them are crazy!¡¯ Edmund thought as he stepped out from Dalton Residence. Last night, He copsed on the sofa as soon as Alexander left. As he felt like the storm was finally over, a bigger storme over right after a few moments. ¡°Y-Young master... H-His Majesty the emperor is here!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®WHAT??!!!!!!!!!!!¡¯ ¡®WHY IS HIS MAJESTY HERE???!!!!!!¡¯ And thus, Edmund again started to tremble as he asked the same question to the emperor that he asked to the duke. ¡°W-What...b-brings his majesty here...a-at thiste night...here?¡± But the emperor just simply stared at him silently without even touching the tea infront of him. Cathain, who was choosing his clothes to wear in the birthday banquet as he will attend it as her fianc¨¦ was shocked to learn from his spy in the Dalton Residence that Eleanora sent an invitation to someone else. He instantly felt so anger and hurt that he immediately left to see which man would make her choose another man over him. But as Cathain saw and observed Edmund, he felt rather relieved. ¡°You are not her type. Direct disqualification.¡± ¡®Only am qualified to stand beside her...¡¯ The man infront of him look too feminine and his empress likes strong man¡¯s. A tall man with muscr body, a handsome face and who have honour, status, money, looks, ability- it¡¯s just basically him. Cathain felt a little happy as Eleanora¡¯s ideal type is just like she was describing him. ¡®That¡¯s so romantic of her¡­ she could just simply say that she wanted me. I would directly give her both my body and heart to her. She must be shy to say that out loud¡­ so she just wants me to understand her hidden meaning.¡¯ Cathain thought as he blushed a little, which made Edmund more terrified then seeing him gloomy. ¡°Y-Your Majesty...?¡± Edmund¡¯s call finally bought Cathain back to the reality and he frowned. ¡®Then why did she sent this girly man an invitation?¡¯ The more Cathain thought about that, the more he realised that everything he thought of previously was just on his head. And his expression be dark again. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me she is using me as a shield to avoid her marriage with someone else and at the same time, she is also trying to distance herself from me by attending the banquet with this Mr. Feminine?!!¡¯ ¡°Haah!¡± Cathain sneered in realisation, which made Edmund swallow his saliva in fear. ¡®So my little kitten has grown up her ws... Dare to use another wild cat to run away from her mate?¡¯ Cathain stood up in frustration and looked at the person infront of him. ¡°You- Dare you to be her partner and your neck will be hanging on the imperial pce¡¯s front gate to show. What¡¯s your choice, Young master- whatever your name is...¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡®Did you even gave me a choice, Your majesty?!¡¯ But that wasn¡¯t something Edmund could say out loud. He weekly replied to the emperor. ¡°I-I...I will dec-decline her request!¡± ¡°YOU!! HOW DARE YOU TO DECLINE THE EMPRESS¡¯S REQUEST?!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡®Then what do you want me to do??????!!!¡¯ ¡°I-I will tell her that...¡± ¡°Tell her that you agreed to someone else¡¯s request as she already have a partner.¡± Cathain spoke without giving Edmund anymore chance to speak and left without even hearing his reply. Where, Edmund felt like he wasn¡¯t even alive anymore. Just what is happening and why is this happening? His only fault was to sent an invitation to the wrong person!! Chapter 128 - 128 "Indifference" 128 ¡°Indifference¡± Dalton Residence~ Eleanora happily smiled as she kept eating her strawberry cake, but in her heart, she wasn¡¯t happy at all... ¡®I was trapped by father as soon as the young master of Bomir left!¡¯ 5 minutes earlier~ ¡°D-Daddy? Why are you here...?¡± Eleanora was stunned to find Alexander, who was standing behind her with a serious expression as soon as she turned around. ¡°Perfect weather to eat cakes in the garden, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Eleanora, who was stunned by Edmund¡¯s abrupt leaving could somehow guess that her father was behind it. ..... Who looked normal but she could still feel a little chilling out from him. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s eat!!!¡± Back to the present~ ¡®Perfect weather my ass... With his chilly aura, one would think we are in north!! am feeling like i could get frozen because of his chill!!¡¯ Eleanora felt frustrated but she couldn¡¯tin either. ¡°Have you found a partner?¡± Alexander spoke but his words made Eleanora flinch. She has just said that she has gotten so many requests that it was hard to choose but here, she was rejected by the first one! ¡®If i told him i got rejected... Wouldn¡¯t it just prove that am a homebody for sure? what if he brings a marriage candidate for me this time?¡¯ It was not that Eleanora didn¡¯t trusted her father but as she didn¡¯t knew that her father also came back in time like her, she thought her father just wants to find a suitable candidate to rece the emperor. She never tended to find out why her father disapproved of the emperor in this life but that doesn¡¯t mean he won¡¯t find anyone else for her. This is what Eleanora thought, who didn¡¯t knew that her father only agreed to her marriage with the emperor in the past to fulfill her wish. Because his daughter wanted that. Eleanoraughed as she faked innocence about the matter to fool her father, who already ¡®handled¡¯ everything. ¡°I haven¡¯t decided on one yet, daddy.¡± ¡°I see... But you must inform me immediately if you don¡¯t find one.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡®...What do you mean by that, Daddy?¡¯ ¡®What do you n on doing if i tell you?...¡¯ Eleanora was thinking about the numerous possibilities of what her father might be thinking, leaving the actual thoughts of his. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me...he will select someone personally for me if i fail to get one...¡¯ Eleanora clenched the hem of her dress as she thought that was most likely the possible meaning of her father¡¯s words. ¡®No...i don¡¯t want to get married...what should i do?¡¯ Right at that moment, Alexander¡¯s cold voice broke the silence again. ¡°I will go out for some moment.¡± ¡°Why so suddenly?¡± ¡°There is a issue.¡± ¡°Issue?¡± Eleanora asked as she knew there wasn¡¯t even much works in the imperial pce or knights now as everyone is taking a break after returning from the war. The border is also peaceful and because of the harsh war with the Republic Kingdom, no other kingdom dared to create trouble. So what was so important? Alexander had paused for some moment and he stuffed a spoon of cake into Eleanora¡¯s mouth before speaking. ¡°...To give someone a warning.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡®I don¡¯t know who they are, but i pray for them.¡¯ ¡°I understand, pleasee home safely.¡± ¡°Wait for me, we will have dinner together.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®What has gotten into you today, Daddy????¡¯ In the market~ Eleanora was wondering on the road while using a cloak to disguise herself. Maria and a head knight of the Dalton Duchy, Tylor was following her as she shoped. She was happily choosing some essories for her when her eyes suddenly fall on a blonde man with silver eyes. ¡®Ain?!¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s blue eyes widened in surprise but soon it be cold as she noticed someone else beside him. ¡®Jennifer...¡¯ Her eyes fall on Jennifer¡¯s hands which was holding his upper arm and unconsciously a sneer came out from her mouth. ¡®Indeed a match made in heaven. A liar and a schemer looks good together.¡¯ ¡°MY LADY!! YOUR HANDS ARE BLEEDING!!¡± Maria yelled as she saw the ss doll that Eleanora was holding was shattered into pieces as she hold them to tightly, crushing it on her hands. The stinging pain she felt from her hands made Eleanora feel like alive again, remembering her every single hatred she had burried in her heart. Maria was panicking but Eleanora didn¡¯t seem to hear her. The ruckus and a piercing gaze on him made Cathain felt a little ufortable. But he froze as soon as he saw Eleanora, who was staring at him with a injured hands. Eleanora¡¯s eyes once again filled up with disgust and hatred towards them. Which made Cathain¡¯s heart stop a beat and fearful as he realized her indifference gaze once again. Both of them kept staring at each other but then Eleanora turned her gaze, which was full of mockery and left. ¡°EMPRESS!¡± Cathain was about to chase after Eleanora but suddenly a hand stopped him. ¡°If you go now, the whole n will be messed up!¡± Jennifer spoke in a low voice so that no one else except him could hear. Duke Raven is keeping an eye on them and if Cathain suddenly disappears like this, the duke would be suspicious for sure. Jennifer was sent to the pce to have some tea with the emperor but she knew what exactly the n was. Now that he couldn¡¯t use Jennifer to control Cathain, he must have found some other ways. This is why she nned to show her father that she is still a little useful, which will prevent the duke from nning something that she doesn¡¯t knows. So, he couldn¡¯t leave now. Cathain clenched his fist as he saw her retracting figure, bloods was still dropping from her hands. ¡®Ele...¡¯ Seeing them like this, jennifer felt a little hurt. In the past, it was always Eleanora who used to look at his back view till she could no longer see it. But now, it¡¯s Cathain who can just only look but can¡¯t approach. Their roles have reversed. ..... ¡®Just a little more... I will return everything that i snatched from you.¡¯ Where, The fear Eleanora felt a few days ago was now reced with indifference again as she recalled again how pathetic she was in her past life. Yearning for her father¡¯s love and obsession with a man who didn¡¯t cared about her. She had everything yet her heart was always empty. How she kept on holding onto him when it was obvious that he didn¡¯t wanted to stay with her. He was the oxygen she needed, but yet she couldn¡¯t breathe. She kept running in circle and circle, chasing after the love that couldn¡¯t be hers. Which wasn¡¯t hers. She kept on waiting for him toe and take her hands, show her how it feels like to be loved. Be the midnight sun of her dark winter nights. ¡®But i was such a fool to believe that...¡¯ Because he never came... She kept on dying because of his indifference and breathing again when he just show a little concern. She kept on crying silently because of seeing her beloved with another woman, who was supposed to be hers. But healing again when he would be possessive over her, making her feel special to him. Eleanora, who always felt overly unsecured liked his possessiveness over her. That was the only reason why she was always so submissive to him, obsessed with him. He was everything that she ever wanted, but everything was a lie. Every warmth he gave her was a lie, it was just a way of him to keep her on a leash. How easy it was for him to using her own sword to execute her. The proud and satisfying look on Jennifer, when she was executed. Now, he wanted to crush her again with the name of affection and love in this life. ¡®I am such a fool to feel sympathetic to the current him, but both are him afterall. A devil would never bargain but lure his prey to the trap...¡¯ ¡®He changed because i changed, he changed because he couldn¡¯t concur me in this life.¡¯ After walking for a long time, Eleanora realised that she had left behind Maria and the knight. She sighed as she looked at her bleeding hands but she no longer felt pain. Somehow it bothered Eleanora. Her heart was hurting so much, she was feeling frustrated. With her cold eyes gazing at her wounded hands, Eleanora slowly moved her slender fingers and clenched her fist. The ss piece on her hand pierced into her palm more deeper, but her eyes was still indifferent. She wasn¡¯t even flinching as bloods started toe out from her hands again. ¡°ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!¡± Suddenly a voice rang as a big hand hold her wrist strongly, making her loosen up her fist and stare at the tall man infront of her surprisingly. ¡®Why is he here?¡¯ Chapter 129 - 129 "You Can Only Be Mine" 129 ¡°You Can Only Be Mine¡± The man infront of her had a cloak on him, covering his face but Eleanora could still see some curl of red hair on his forehead as he lowered his head to look at her wound with a frowned expression. The man infront of her was, Alberto Dion Richardo, the current duke of the south. Their family excelled in medicine research, so most of them are renowned doctors. Even most of the hospitals in the empire is situated on the south. Dion¡¯s father, the previous duke of Richardo wanted to retire and rest. So, this was how Dion came to be the duke and moved to the capital to expend their hospital buisness. The south would ger benefits and they will no longer be isted just there, Dion had always wanted to expand their territory and share their knowledge to help the people. They was no monster being that needed to stay hidden. Dion had a handsome face but his skin was a little tannedpared to Cathain, who had jade white skin like his mother. ..... His ck eyes looked up to meet Eleanora¡¯s cold blue eyes and raised his eyebrows in furry after seeing her indifferent look. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a swordmaster? Don¡¯t you know how precious your hands are?!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Dion, who was used to scold his little sister, Diana, didn¡¯t hesitated a bit andshed out without much care of her status as the future empress. ¡°ss cuts are very dangerous, if you don¡¯t treat it there is possibility of inmmation and-¡± ¡°Pff-¡± ¡°¡­¡± Somehow, it made Eleanora chuckle. It has been so long since someone treated her normally, let aloneshing out at her. But Dion was stunned to see her smiling face and his cheeks turned a little red. ¡®She looks beautiful when she smiles-¡® ¡®What am i thinking?!¡¯ ¡°Why are youughing?!¡± Dion faked a cough to clear his head and asked with a frown as he made her seat at a nearby bench to take out the ss piece from her hands. ¡°Don¡¯t move, it will hurt a little.¡± ¡°I can do it, thank you.¡± Eleanora spoke politely as she wanted to retract her hands as they was not so familiar with each other. But Dion caught them firmly. ¡°I don¡¯t trust you after seeing how you was making the wound worse.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡®Why is he so stubborn? I can heal it myself...¡¯ Eleanora was speechless but then she just decided to let him help her because of his firm determination to help her. ¡°Ok.¡± Eleanora replied but soon she felt likeughing more as she saw how Dion be happy as she agreed to let him treat her. ¡®Are all the doctors like this?¡¯ Eleanora nced at him as Dion kept taking out the ss pieces carefullt and blowing at her wound in the same time. ¡®He looks quite cute...like some puppy?¡¯ At that thought, Eleanora suddenly remembered his little sister Diana, whom she had previously saved. It didn¡¯t urred to her till now, but now that she remembered it... She unconsciously murmured out loud. ¡°Where is his tail and ears?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Dion frozed as he looked at Eleanora unbelievably. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± But what he wanted to ask was how does she know that they are not humans but werewolves? How much she knows? ¡°Huh? Oh- Nothing...did i said something?¡± Eleanora asked awkwardly but Dion didn¡¯t spoke anything. He felt her more and more weird. At first, he felt a high amount of his magic powers inside of hers. And now, she seem to know his secret. Indeed, something was fishy here. ¡°Do you always carry a scalpel with you?¡± Eleanora asked as she was amused by this fact when Dion bought out a scalpel from his pockets. Who carries a scalpel with them while going out? ¡°To prevent idents like this.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Dion spoke as he showed her his jacket pockets which could be called a mini first aid kid box. He didn¡¯t carried bandages as it made the jacket look stuffy, so he only had a few alcohol pads and a scalpel. ¡°I have treated it temporarily. Show it to your family doctor as soon as you return.¡± ¡°Yes, Doctor Richardo.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Although Dion¡¯s facial expression didn¡¯t changed but his lips curved up a little as he heard her. Eleanora doesn¡¯t know why but she felt muchfortable with Dion, regardless it was their first time talking with each other freely like this. Dion blow on her wound a little as he removed the ss pieces from her hands and tied up his handkerchief around her wound after cleaning it with a alcohol pad. Not realising the presence of someone a little far away from them, who had bandages on his hands as he looked at Dion with a murdering gaze. ¡®Dare to touch my, Empress?!¡¯ Cathain had left as soon as Jennifer controlled the man¡¯s who was sent by the duke into believing that they had seen the emperor and thedy all day together and immediately left. He kept searching for her with bandages on his hands only to find Dion treating her wound. Cathain kept staring at them with a intense gaze, with the feeling of separating them this instant. How he wished he could beat up Dion and hide Eleanora from everyone, where only he could see her. There was already Cedrick and now another one appeared. Who knows who will appear again if he keeps dying making her his. ¡®Why do you always ept everyone except me?¡¯ ¡®It hurts so much to see you with someone else, who looks at you with an curious gaze¡­ like mine.¡¯ ¡®Your soft nature and tough heart makes it unable for someone to not fall in love¡­ am afraid of them snatching you away from me¡­¡¯ Sensing the prating gaze, Eleanora looked up but she was stunt as no one was there. ¡®Why do I feel like someone was staring at us? Was I mistaken?¡¯ Eleanora turned her gaze and didn¡¯t thought much about it. After treating her wound, both of them stood up and started to walk. ¡°Thank you so much for your help, Duke Richardo.¡± ¡°No problem. It be my habit to treat wounds, otherwise I feel ufortable till I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°You have a weird fetish¡­¡± ¡°I guess so.¡± ..... Dion replied with a littleugh as he spoke and they continued to walk alongside. After a while, Dion bid Eleanora goodbye as he already reached his carriage and went back. He asked Eleanora toe along with him but she refused. It would be too much if he even drops her at home now. Understanding her meaning, Dion didn¡¯t asked farther and they parted their aways. Eleanora exhaled a heavy breathe before she started to walk again. She wanted to reach home soon as the sky was getting darker. But suddenly, Eleanora felt like someone was following her. She didn¡¯t stopped on her steps but cautiously fasten her steps. Who dares to follow me? Eleanora thought as she kept walking with her hands grabbing her sword but the footsteps behind her kept following. As Eleanora was about to draw her sword, suddenly her wrist was grabbed by someone and immediately she was pinned against the wall. Her both wrist was above her head as a big hands was wrapped around her waist. Eleanora could recognise who it is, even without seeing the face. ¡°What are you doing, Your Majesty?¡± She asked in a cold voice and the head hurried into her neck moved a little. Cathain¡¯s hot breathe fall on Eleanora¡¯s skin as he pressed his body weight on her to not let her move. Eleanora couldn¡¯t struggle anymore as she was sandwiched between the wall and his body. ¡°You are hurting me! let me go!¡± Eleanora spoke angrily but she was frozen as his lips kissed her neck. ¡°I will never let you go, My empress.¡± Cathain spoke as he kept kissing her neck and Eleanora felt shiver on her body. ¡°STOP IT!! YOUR MAJESTY!¡± Eleanora spoke but instead of budging, Cathain started to kiss her chin, her earlobe and other area. ¡°Call my name, Ele... I want to hear you calling my name...¡± Cathain whispered in her ears, which made her heart beating more faster. Eleanora doesn¡¯t know why she couldn¡¯t push him, hate his touch... She was actually enjoying his touch. She could feel his body warmth and the softness of his lips, the possessivenessing out from his every touch, dering her as his. ¡°Ele...What should i do with you? I don¡¯t like how they look at you... How they wanna steal what¡¯s mine...¡± ¡°AM NOT YOURS!¡± Eleanora spoke as she turned her head when Cathain suddenly moved his face towards her to kiss. Seeing her firm rejection, Cathain chuckled. His red eyes was bloody red again, just like before. He looked at her with ridicule as she said something funny. The current Cathain felt dangerous to Eleanora, just like before. ¡®What has happened to him so suddenly?¡¯ His hand which was wrapped around her waist suddenly loosen up as he pinched her chin. ¡°Oh? Then who do you belong to? Cedrick Raven? Edmund Bomir?... Or Dion Richardo?!¡± Cathain spoke as he stared directly at her blue eyes, which seem like he could see the truth in her eyes. ¡°Or...do you belong to everyone except me?¡± ¡°You followed me?! YOU¡¯VE GONE CRAZY!!!¡± Eleanora spoke as she used her mana to push him off because she couldn¡¯t fight him physically. Cathain was forced to take a few steps back because of her powerful push but instead of getting angry, he just casually nced at her. His red eyes was full of crazy obsession and possessiveness. ¡®H-He...how did he changed so much?¡¯ Eleanora could see the past him into the current him and unconsciously she turned around to run away without dying a moment. ¡®I can¡¯t get caught...¡¯ ¡°Ahh!! Leave me!!¡± Eleanora panicked as Cathain hugged her tightly from behind and whispered with his gritted teeth in a warning voice. ¡°Yeah, i have gone crazy because of you...¡± Cathain bite her earlob a lightly before he whispered to her again in a low dangerous voice. ¡°You can push me away but you can only be mine, Empress. No matter who is it, Whomever dares toe between us... I will kill him.¡± Chapter 130 - 130 [Bonus chapter]"Don’t Deserve To Love" 130 [Bonus chapter]¡±Don¡¯t Deserve To Love¡± Eleanora gritted her teeth as she heard Cathain¡¯s words and let out a sneer. ¡°Heh... You say am yours? Why, Your Majesty?¡± Eleanora questioned Cathain as she turned to face him with a pained face. ¡°Why do you feel like that, huh?¡± ¡°Because I-¡± Cathain wanted to say he loved her as he loosen his grip over her a little but suddenly Eleanora stepped towards him and ced her finger on his lips to shut him up. ¡°Sush!¡± Cathain was a little starlet because of her changing attitude and behaviour. A little while ago she was scared, then she be aggressive but now she appears calm which she is absolutely not. ..... ¡°Don¡¯t say you love me.¡± Saying this, Eleanora paused a little and draw him more closer. ¡°You don¡¯t deserve to say that to me, My Majesty...¡± ¡°¡­¡± Eleanora whispered in a low and cold voice as she pulled him closer to her by pulling his neck tie. Where Cathain clenched his fist after hearing her words. Why he doesn¡¯t deserve it? How long he has to suppress his feelings for her? How longer does she want to torture him to get over the past that he doesn¡¯t even remember? He always respected her, gave her time because he knew she was once hurted by his past self, but what about the current him? Why is he suffering for someone else¡¯s sin? Eleanora stepped back, her eyes was full of disgust and hatred as she saw him hanging his head down. But as she turned away, his low voice stopped her once again. ¡°...Why? Why don¡¯t i deserve it?¡± Cathain felt like his heart was piercing into pieces as he spoke. Till now, he kept seeing her leaving without turning back again and again. Throwing away his heart and breaking it into pieces, but he still picks them up and glue them together. Chase after her again, only to break down one more time. Eleanora sallowed her saliva to drench her throat which had be dry before she opened her mouth to speak. ¡°You know... Fairy tales should began great, Regardless of their ending.¡± Eleanora paused on her words a little as she exhaled a heavy breathe before speaking again. ¡°But our tale was broken from the very beginning... So it won¡¯t have a good ending.¡± Eleanora spoke herst words and moved her legs to walk away but Cathain¡¯s shout stopped her again. ¡°Why are you so sure of it?!¡± Cathain spoke aggressively as he stood infront of Eleanora again. He had enough of this bothering feeling in his heart. Eleanora could see the pain written on his face and find her past self into him. He didn¡¯t touched her this time and both of them stood face to face. Eleanora felt heartache too but she kept her indifference expression as she spoke with her cold eyes looking into his. ¡°Because i have seen the ending. Am not the one who you should love.¡± Eleanora spoke and without waiting for his response, she wanted to leave from the side, but Cathain stepped aside to block her. ¡°But my heart beats for you.¡± ¡°!!!!¡± Cathain¡¯s words made Eleanora stunned and she tried her best to hold back her tears. How the past her has kept trying so hard and hard to hear this from him. Once she yearend to hear it, but it doesn¡¯t matter now anymore. It¡¯s just toote. ¡°...Then stop it beating for me.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°It has nothing to do with me.¡± Eleanora spoke as she averted her gaze to look away and Cathain took a step towards her. ¡°But you care... You are afraid of me because you know that your heart beats for me too...¡± Cathain spoke as he cupped her face into his hands and tried to make her look at him. Trying to find a little bit of emotions for him in her blue eyes. Just a little bit is enough but there is none... Eleanora didn¡¯t spoke as she knew what he said might be somewhat true to some extent. But does that change the fact that he killed her? She had enough of this! ¡°Then i should just stop it from beating...¡± Eleanora spoke with a smrik as she drew her sword and hold it on her neck. She have already died once, and now this seems like the only step that can stop him from bothering her. ¡°Empress!!¡± Cathain¡¯s eyes widened in shock as he grabbed the sword with his bare hands and blood rushed out from his palm. Eleanora pressed her trembling lips as she looked at him with tears in her blue eyes. ¡®Do you hate me to that extent that you rather die then being with me?¡¯ His heart was aching more then his hands which was bleeding. But he felt this scene rather familiar. Eleanora holding her sword on her neck... But this has never happened before. Why is he feeling more pain as the more he tries to recall? Then Eleanora¡¯s cold voice helped him toe back to his senses. ¡°This is what happens when we love each other, My majesty... One of us would be full of blood to please the other!¡± Eleanora spoke as she remembered how she used to do everything to please the past Cathain, just like how the present Cathain does to the current her. ¡°Then let me be the one full of blood... You think death can stop me from being with you?¡± Cathain spoke as he gripped the sword more harder, making his wound deepen. His words made Eleanora more anger and she tried to take back her sword which cut his hands more deeper with a shing sound. Cathain smriked as he released the sword from his bleeding hands and Eleanora put back her sword. But right then, his hands full of blood touched her face and covered her white cheeks with his red blood. ¡°If you dare to threat me with your life again, then every living being in this empire will apany you to the afterlife, My Empress. Including me...¡± ¡°¡­¡± Eleanora couldn¡¯t find any words to speak and only re at him. ¡°No matter how many times you are reborn... You are destined to me and only me alone!¡± ..... ¡°Heh... Destined to you and then killed again?¡± Cathain¡¯s hands which was holding her face froze as he heard her sneering and his expression turned dark. ¡®Killed?¡¯ Eleanora looked at him with deep emotions, mixed of pain, fear, anger and love that has turned into deep hatred. ¡°Didn¡¯t you wanted to know the story of my ending?¡± Eleanora sarcastically spoke but somehow Cathain didn¡¯t wanted to hear it. A fear filled his heart which told him that whatever she says right now will be the end for them. He didn¡¯t wanted that. But he couldn¡¯t speak to stop her either. The sun was already set and the bright moon had already risen up in the dark sky long ago, shining brightly. Cold wind blew, indicating for the uing storm as few rain drop started to pour. There was only silent between them and their fast beating painful heart. And then, finally the rain started as Eleanora opened her mouth to speak in a low and pained voice. ¡°Your love killed me, Your Majesty. My duchy was destroyed, My father was imprisoned and I, Your empress... was executed for a sin that she never did.¡± A loud thunder lighten up the sky and to Cathain, it felt like the thunder had actuallynded on his heart. The broken twilight of the moon and the growing coldness of the night seem to be mirroring them. Cathain felt like the distance between them suddenly grow so much that he can¡¯t reach her no matter how hard he tries. He just kept standing, looking at her with shock. He wanted to wipe away her tears but his hands wasn¡¯t moving. ¡°I¡¯m getting tired of your meaningless obsession and i don¡¯t want to die again. Just let me live peacefully...¡± ¡°I can forgive but not forget...¡± Eleanora¡¯s silent tears was mixed up with the rain water as spoke and turned around to ran fast without looking back. Where Cathain kept standing without moving. Her words kept ringing on his ears and mind. Till now, he had thought of countless possibilities of their ending. But never once he thought something like this. ¡®My empress...was executed?¡¯ ¡®Why?¡¯ ¡®And the past me did nothing to save her and just watched her being executed? Is this why she hates me, doesn¡¯t wants me?¡¯ Cathain thought as he stood alone in the empty street, letting the rain drench him fully. In the dark cold night, Cathain felt his heart empty. The moment she is not with him anymore, he seems to find his life meaningless. He closed his eyes as he exhaled a heavy breathe out and faced the sky by looking up. There is no meaning of his life without her. ¡®Is there really no way for us?¡¯ Cathain felt like breathing was bing harder for him and his heart was in so much pain that he punched his chest lightly a few times. He doesn¡¯t know how much time has passed but the world seem to stop around him. Her words kept ringing in his ears as the past visions kept repeating on his mind. ¡®Stop it... Please...¡¯ ¡®Stop...No...No...¡¯ Cathain felt stinging pain on his head as His legs suddenly went numb and he fall on his knees, but he didn¡¯t cared about that. ¡®Is this how you felt like in the past, when i used to turn away? Is this my retribution?¡¯ Cathain thought as he stared at his wounded hand, the blood has been washed away by the rain water long ago. ¡®If it¡¯s your revenge...then you have seed, My empress. I rather you would kill me then letting me suffer from your indifference.¡¯ ¡®...Am living but suffocating by each breathe i take.¡¯ Cathain felt like his vision was bing dark and he faintly heared someone rushing to him to help. ¡®I want to be loved by her so badly...¡¯ He thought as he gradually lose his senses and then suddenly another voice rang on his head. ¡®Then...let me help you...¡¯ Chapter 131 - 131 "Father Will Protect You" 131 ¡°Father Will Protect You¡± Eleanora ran fast as tears kept pouring out from her eyes, which seem like unstoppable. His blood has also washed away from her face because of the rain water. Her heart felt heavy. ¡®Why? Why now?¡¯ ¡®I was once yours to be tamed but not anymore...¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t have any expectations from you now...¡¯ ¡®I just want to cheerish the people around me and keep on living...¡¯ ¡®So why are you disturbing my peaceful life now?¡¯ ¡®Couldn¡¯t you just keep being indifferent and love her in this life too?¡¯ ..... Eleanora couldn¡¯t understand her heart. Why it¡¯s still soft towards him? Was getting killed by his hand along with her unborn baby not enough for her to let go of her obsession? Was her love bigger then her life? No, it¡¯s not. Even if it¡¯s, she will make sure to end this love. ¡®He¡¯s my murderer, my dom and my love...loving him was always a losing game and i don¡¯t want to lose anymore.¡¯ ¡®I want to be the winner this time...¡¯ Eleanora thought as finally stopped infront of the Dalton Residence, where the whole mansion seem to be in chaos. She looked at thevish white mansion with blue rooftop, everyone was waiting for her toe to them. Her home, The knights, Her friends, Maids, Maria and her Father, everyone seem to calling her, whom she have lost previously. Eleanora has already lost everything in herst life because of him, but now she have many thing to cherish. She stopped moving and kept looking at them, everyone had a sigh of relief the moment they saw her returning. ¡°MY LADY! You have returned!¡± Maria spoke as she wiped away her tears, who was standing at the main gate along with other knights. ¡°Princess!! Are you alright?!¡± ¡°Where did you go?!¡± ¡°Thank god you returned safely¡­¡± Everyone rushed to her as they surrounded Eleanora and expressed their concerns, which made her quivering cold heart feel warm. Her lips curved up a little into a smile but she couldn¡¯t open her mouth to thank them. Her throat hurted as she tried to speak and her voice wasn¡¯ting out either. ¡®Thank you, everyone... Thank you Maria, for staying with me till the end.¡¯ Right then, Eleanora¡¯s eyes fall on a tall man who was still standing infront of the main gate with a umbre above his head. Alexander was wearing a ck robe as he kept staring at the drenched Eleanora with his cold blue eyes. He was expressionless as always but Eleanora could feel his concern. A few hours before~ Master, pass this bridge and we will be at Dalton Residence. Hmn. The horseman spoke and the person inside the carriage replied with humming sound. The man was elegantly sitting at the carriage with a book in his hands. He was Marquis Hessian¡¯s son, Jeremy Hessian who is also a high ranking officer in the imperial pce. But then suddenly the carriage abruptly stopped which made Jeremy lose bnce and shout at the horseman. ¡°WHAT HAPPENED?!¡± ¡°My lord...this-¡± But before the horseman could spoke, a cold voice sounded. ¡°Are you Jeremy Hessian?¡± Jeremy, who was fixing his sses was a little surprised to hear the question. ¡°You are-¡± Jeremy was shocked to see the other person in the carriage. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about visiting my house... Let¡¯s talk right here.¡± ¡°...¡± Jeremy felt frustrated because of Alexander¡¯s words. After a while... ¡°So what¡¯s this about? Why am i not qualified to stand by your daughter?¡± ¡®Although she is already engaged but there are rumors of the engagement being broken. And she wouldn¡¯t look for a partner if the rumors was not true...¡¯ ¡°You even warned me to not approch her, what are you thinking duke?¡± ¡°What i think isn¡¯t your buisness. If you get my words then turn around and go back.¡± Alexander spoke in his usual cold voicr but it made Jeremy angry. ¡®Who does he think he is?!¡¯ ¡°Heh...if that¡¯s the case then i prefer to hear it from thedy herself. I may notpare with the emperot but am confident topet with others.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jeremy was sure of it as on his way here, he heard the second person, Sir Stanley, who got Eleanora¡¯s response was suddenly sent to the borders by the orders of the emperor. ¡°It¡¯s obvious that Eleanora has only me as herst choice...¡± ¡°ELEANORA???¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jeremy spoke confidentally but then he was starlet by Alexander¡¯s voice again. ¡°WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO CALL MY DAUGHTER BY HER NAME?¡± ¡°Ah...Sir...Duke Dalton... I didn¡¯t mean to...¡± ¡°HOW COME YOU CALL ME ¡®SIR¡¯ RESPECTFULLY BUT THINK MY DAUGHTER¡¯S NAME CAN BE CALLED BY ANYONE?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jeremy couldn¡¯t spoke anymore as he felt terrified of Alexander¡¯s furious gaze. ¡°JEREMY HESSIAN... DO YOU THINK MY DAUGHTER IS SO EASY TO GET?¡± ¡°I-I am sorry, Sir!!!¡± As soon as Jeremy spoke, he gestured the horseman to hurriedly go back. Alexander¡¯s gaze returned to normal slowly as Jeremy¡¯s carriage disappeared from his sight. ¡°None of them deserve her... Should i just keep her with me?¡± Alexander¡¯s gaze soften as he thought of Eleanora¡¯s face and returned to the mansion happily after chasing off all the candidate of his daughter. But he frowned to see all the knights in panic as some maids tried to console Maria. ¡°What happened?¡± Alexander asked in a cold voice and looked around to find Eleanora. Everyday, she woulde running to him as soon as he arrived but why she is not here today? ..... Then Jennie opened her mouth to speak as others was terrified to say anything. ¡°My lord... Thedy is missing.¡± ¡°!!!¡± Alexander¡¯s blue eyes widened in shock as he heard Jennie¡¯s word. ¡®What? Missing?!¡¯ ¡°WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!¡± Everyone felt shivering because of Alexander¡¯s cold mana powers and immediately all of them kneeled down. ¡°Thedy... She suddenly disappeared... We.. We don¡¯t know...what happened... We chased her but she... PLEASE FORGIVE US!!¡± Alexander felt like his heart was shattering and he couldn¡¯t move his body. ¡°Deploy all the knights...¡± He paused on his words before he clenched his fists tightly and roared at the knights. ¡°BRING ME MY DAUGHTER RIGHT NOW!!!¡± ¡°YES, MY LORD!!¡± Everyone spoke in a unison and immediately left to search for her. Alexander looked at the dark sky with lightnings from the window and his heart clenched in pain. Soon it started to rain. ¡®Ele... Why don¡¯t you just rely on mepletely?¡¯ ¡®Just one word from you and i will bring down everyone from your path... Just let me punish those first who made us like this.¡¯ Alexander had thought that as the time goes by, Eleanora will eventually tell him about her past sufferings. He knows that she also remembers everything and this is why even if she is close with him in this life, she still keeps a distance. Not breaking down her wallspletely for him. ¡®Maybe she doesn¡¯t trust me enough to open up...¡¯ And then, he finally felt her magic presence. Although he can¡¯t see her but he can feel her mana, as both of them have the same power. In this world, only your parents and your significant one whom they are bound with can feel each others presence in short distance. Alexander took a umbre and hurriedly got outside, he swallowed his saliva in panic as he walked and felt hering more closer to the house. And then, she finally came back to her home, where she belongs to and melted in his warm embrace. The world around them seem to stopped as Eleanora couldn¡¯t hear anything around her except the sound of pouring rain and her father¡¯s footsteps towards her. Alexander silently hold the umbre above her head, shielding her away from the rain waters. Where Eleanora kept looking up and stare at her father¡¯s full of concerned blue eyes. ¡°You have returned...¡± ¡°Yes, I have returned home, Daddy.¡± Eleanora¡¯s blue eyes filled up with tears again as she spoke with her voice which didn¡¯t wantede out. She blinked a few times to stop her tears but right then, Alexander¡¯s voice broke her all barriers. ¡°It¡¯s okay to cry infront of us. We are your family and we all... Love you no matter what happens.¡± Although Alexander¡¯s voice was still cold, but to Eleanora, that was the warmest words she have ever heard. A tear drop left her eye and soon with a low sobbing sound, Eleanora started to cry out loud as Alexander pulled her into his embrace. Everyone was confused but none of them spoke anything. Instead they felt sympathy and wondered what made theirdy cry like that. Where Alexander kept patting her back as he kept shielding her from the rain, like how he vowed to shield her from danger this time. ¡®It will be thest time you cry, Ele. I will make sure that not a single tear wille out from your eyes again after this.¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s crying sound was creating stabbing pain in Alexander¡¯s heart. His daughter has gone through out so much and he wasn¡¯t beside her to wipe the tears. She always looked strong but deep inside, she was a child with many wounds. Who had many unfulfilled dreams and wishes. ¡®Don¡¯t worry anymore...Father will protect you.¡¯ Chapter 132 - 132 "Red Eyed Dragon" 132 ¡°Red Eyed Dragon¡± Alexander carefully tucked Eleanora into the nket and kept stoking her hair to make her feel better. She has been so tired that she fall asleep on his embrace while crying infront of the main gate. Eleanora fall asleep so deeply that she didn¡¯t even woke up when Alexander carried her all the way to her room and Maria changed her wet clothes. She was wearing her nightdress and a shawl above it so that she doesn¡¯t get a cold. Eleanora is sensitive to cold despite the cold mana flowing through her body all the time, she couldn¡¯t get used to it. Jennie lit up the firece to make the room more warmer and Alexander kept stoking her hair while sitting beside her. But then Alexander frowned as he saw the white handkerchief wrapped around her palm which has been dyed red by her blood. Moreover it was a man¡¯s handkerchief. ¡®Who dares to flirt with her in my absence and also hurt my daughter?¡¯ ..... Immediately his aura be colder as he removed the handkerchief and saw the deep cut on her palm. ¡®It can only be that bastard who can affect her mood.¡¯ Alexander looked at the sleeping Eleanora again, whose eyes got swollen because of crying. He felt sympathy for her and worries filled up his blue eyes. ¡®He always hurts her first and thenes with medicine to heal her. But doesn¡¯t understand even if the wound gets heal, it will leave a scar mark.¡¯ Maria bought the first aid kid box as soon as she saw Eleanora¡¯s wound and wanted to treat it. ¡°Let me do it.¡± Alexander spoke as he took the box away from Maria and started to treat Eleanora¡¯s wound by himself. He gently put some medicine on the wound before he carefully bandaged it. Everyone felt sympathy and worried for Eleanora and Alexander. They have never seen the duke being like this. Understanding the situation, Alexander¡¯s aid Raynor gestured the others to leave the room quitely and then they closed the room. So it was only Alexander and Eleanora in the room. Alexander kneeled down beside Eleanora¡¯s bed and took her palm on his both hands. He put his forehead against her palm which he hold and sighed heavily. ¡°Luckily... You are safe this time.¡± No one responded as Eleanora was deep in her sleep. ¡°Father is sorry, Ele... If i didn¡¯t neglected you in the past, you wouldn¡¯t have to suffer so much. It¡¯s all my fault, you are suffering in this life too.¡± A tear drop left Alexander¡¯s eyes silently as he looked at his sleeping daughter and kissed her palm. ¡°Am sorry Lia, i not only failed to be a good husband and protect you, i also failed to be a good father and let our daughter suffer so much...¡± ¡°Am sorry... Am sorry...¡± Alexander kept speaking in a low sobbing voice as tear drops left her eyes. Everytime he remembers how Eleanora turned her head away from him in the prison cells and walked towards her trial grounds, he feels like he can¡¯t live anymore because of the pain in his heart. The most helpless moment of his life was when he failed to save Eunicelia till he also failed to save his daughter. He helplessly saw her walking towards her death strongly. Even now, she is strong... So, strong that it fears him. Alexander doesn¡¯t want others attention on her like before, to be an target of Duke Raven again. Eleanora may look tough but deep inside she is a fragile person, wanting to be loved and cherished. ¡°Sleep well...¡± Alexander spoke as he kissed on Eleanora¡¯s forehead and was about to go away to let her rest when she unconsciously gripped his hands in sleep. ¡°D-Don¡¯t go...¡± Eleanora talked in her sleep as she dreamt that the darkness which was surrounding her finally got a ray of light, making her dark world a little brighter and warmer. But then she felt the warmness fading away, so she unconsciously gripped Alexander¡¯s hands tightly. In her dreams, she kept running from the emperor, the queen and all the nobles who harmed her. She watched her children¡¯s being killed again and again, hear their painful cryings. Then the scene changed into her trial grounds and the emperor swinging the sword to execute her. And then she saw the empire turning into dust. Monsters were everywhere and people kept running for their lives. This scene was new to Eleanora, she has never seen this before. She understood that she was seeing the scenary from a third persons prospective. Eleanora nced everywhere but she was shocked as she saw the imperial red g with a roaring golden lion in fire. The imperial pce was also destroyed. But then, suddenly something came out from the imperial palce by breaking it¡¯s roof. Eleanora¡¯s blue eyes widened as she saw the big ck dragon spreading it¡¯s wings and ming fire came out as it opened it¡¯s mouth wide to roar. And then, finally the dragon opened it¡¯s bloody red eyes to gaze at Eleanora, who was too shocked. ¡®You have finally appeared... My Empress.¡¯ Imperial Pce~ ¡°YOUR MAJESTY, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!¡± Brayden was shocked to see the emperor, who waspletely drenched and had a deep cut on his palm. But he was even more surprised to find the emperor acting weird. Cathain always gave off a dangerous aura but now he felt extremely more dangerous. The emperor paid Brayden no attention and directly went to his bedroom to change his clothes. He took of his shirt and stood infront of the mirror, narrowing his eyes as he touched the goddess mark on his white chest. The man had a well buildrge and tall body, where the mark on his chest seemed like a tattoo. ¡°What a yer you are... Goddess.¡± He smriked as he spoke and put on his robe beforeying on the bed to sleep. His hands was spread in the bed as he stared at the ceiling above him. ¡°Things are going to be fun from now on... Wait for me, My Perverted saintess!¡± Chapter 133 - 133 "The Owner Of The Cufflinks" 133 ¡°The Owner Of The Cufflinks¡± ¡°Haah-¡± Eleanora woke up in panic with her widened blue eyes because of the dream she sawst night. ¡®What was that about?!¡¯ The empire being destroyed and those monster, specially that red eyed ck dragon... Eleanora couldn¡¯t understand a single thing. ¡°ELE!! ARE YOU OKAY?!¡± ¡°D-Daddy?¡± Eleanora was quick shocked to find Alexander sitting beside her pillow so early in the morning. Moreover, what shocked her most was that she was holding his hands tightly. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me- he...¡¯ ..... ¡°Where are you ufortable? Should i call the doctor?¡± Alexander asked in a panic, he was sitting all night while holding her hands tightly and checking her temperature from time to time in case she gets a fever. His messy hair and dark circles under his eyes was a evident of that. ¡°Pff-¡± ¡°...Ele?¡± Alexander was a little surprised to see his daughter chuckling all of a sudden. It can¡¯t be that her brain was damaged because of the rainst night, right? ¡°Am calling the doctor-¡± ¡°Wait, daddy...¡± Eleanora tried hard to supress herughter and stopped Alexander from calling the doctor. ¡°Daddy... This is the first time am seeing you so messed up...hahahhaa... Which reminded me how me and mommy-¡± Eleanora paused on her words as she thought it would make her dad sad if she talked about her mother. ¡°You remember how you and your mother tied my hair in tiny ponytails and put make up on my face when i was sleeping?¡± ¡°!!!¡± Alexander spoke with a smile and Eleanora stared at her father for a few seconds before sheughed again. ¡°Yes... That was hrious! You looked very handsome with ponytails daddy... My older sister!¡± Alexander¡¯s lips also curved up as he remembered that memory. He found his wife and daughterughing at him one morning as soon as he woke up. Then looking at the mirror, he found that the tied up his hair into two ponytails like his daughter. Who was giggling on her mother¡¯s arm. His wife even put on some makeups on his face. ¡°You guys are gonna pay for this!¡± Alexander spoke as he chased them and fall on the bed with both of them on his arms. Then tickling them tell they cried out ofughter. ¡°S...Sorry!...I was wrong, Lex... Nora just wanted a sister to y so..as you two look alike, i thought of turning you into her older sister...¡± Eunicelia spoke as sheughed. Her stomach hurting too because ofughing too much. Seeing the chance, Eleanora crawled out from her mother¡¯s embrace and ran out of the room. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Nora!! You little betrayer!! How can you leave your mother-¡± Eunicelia paused on her words as she suddenly felt something was not right and looked at Alexander who stared at her deeply. ¡°NO!¡± ¡°Yes... As my daughter wants a sister, as a father, i should fulfil her wish.¡± ¡°...¡± Eunicelia was speechless and pushed away Alexander before calling him a ¡®Pervert¡¯. ¡®Their smile is the same...¡¯ Alexander looked at Eleanora, who was stillughing and remembered Eunicelia who alsoughed like her. ¡°Enough ofughing... Let¡¯s go to eat now.¡± ¡°Yes... Daddy.¡± In the dining table~ A pair of sparkling blue diamond cufflinks was presented infront of Alexander. Eleanora looked a little hesitant as she pushed the cufflinks towards Alexander who had no reaction. ¡°I saw the cufflinks in the shop when i was shopping a few days ago, then i thought it would look good on you... So i bought it for you.¡± Alexander, who had no reaction because he already knew the cufflinks she bought was for him still felt happy. He was wondering why she didn¡¯t gave it to him till now, but seems like she had this thing on her mind. Eleanora felt a little awkward but she decided to ask him finally about arranging a partner for her as every one ran away as soon as they got her reply. ¡°And about my partner...I know you are very busy but the day after tomorrow, The birthday banquet-¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡®What do you see, daddy?¡¯ Alexander intruppted her words with a smile and looked at her gently. ¡°If you want so, I will go to the banquet with you as your partner.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡®WHAT??????????¡¯ Eleanora looked at Alexander with a bewildered expression as this is not she wanted at all. Going to a banquet with you father, when you are almost an adult?! This will be embarrassing! ¡®Did i heard him wrong?!¡¯ But Alexander¡¯spletely serious face told her that she didn¡¯t heared him wrong. ¡®This is not what i want, Daddy!!!!!!!!!!!¡¯ The imperial pce~ ¡®...¡¯ Brayden stood still as he quitely observed the emperor, who was thinking something for the whole day. ¡®What has happened to him?¡¯ ¡°Your Majesty, Is something bothering you?¡± Brayden asked in concern as the emperor seems different after he returned. ¡°Stop being noisy and say whatever you want.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®No... He hasn¡¯t changed. He is still the same rude emperor who only cares about Lady Dalton.¡¯ ¡®How can he speak like that when someone is showing concern? No wonder Lady Dalton ignores him.¡¯ Brayden felt pissed of on the emperor and decided to take revenge. ¡°Cough...There is nothing much but Lady Dalton-¡± ¡®...¡¯ ¡®I was right. He only cares about his fiance.¡¯ ..... Brayden thought because as soon as he mentioned Eleanora, The emperor looked up and be attentive to listen. ¡°Why did you stopped?!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡®Forget it... I shouldn¡¯t make him angry.¡¯ ¡°Thedy will attend count Arlo¡¯s daughters birthday, where many nobles will also attend. Thedy is the only stigma of the duke Dalton and also your Majesty¡¯s fiance. Till now she has only attended the royal banquets, if she shows up there, it will only create the ideal ce for the others nder thedy. Moreover, there are rumors about her breaking off the engagement and dating the young duke of the Raven-¡± ¡°SHUT UP... SHE IS ONLY MINE.¡± ¡°...¡± The emperor spoke as he red at Brayden which made him speechless. ¡®When did i said she is not yours?!¡¯ ¡®Why are you doing this to me, Your Majesty?!¡¯ Chapter 134 - 134 "Lady Arlo’s Birthday Banquet" 134 ¡°Lady Arlo¡¯s Birthday Banquet¡± The Day Of Rosette Arlo¡¯s birthday banquet ~ The birthday banquet was held in the green house of the count¡¯s mansion. The garden was full of beaming roses and other flowers, where the entrance of the ss green house was decoratedvishly. The count left no fault in decorations and other things to greet the guests. Everyone was wearing a eye mask which covered their half of face, but still it wasn¡¯t that difficult to say who is who because of the hair colour. Specially Eleanora¡¯s, who had the rare silver coloured hair. ¡°Haizz...¡± Jennifer sighed as she felt stuffy with the eye mask, it was morefortable with the veil that she used to wear before. ¡°Oh my god, Are you Lady Raven?¡± ..... Somedies approached her and asked with curiosity. The emperor and thedy Dalton might annul their engagement, thedy Dalton is rumoured to be with the young duke of Raven, where as the only singledy with high status after Eleanora should be Jennifer. So they approached her with the intension of getting some informations. More likely, how Jennifer feels about the emperor. Jennifer, who was bored of ying this mind games felt like curse on those noisydies. But she still gave them a social fake smile despite being irritated. ¡®You- attend the birthday banquet of that count¡¯s daughter and keep an eye on her. Don¡¯t let any unnecessary rumors or flies ruin her mood.¡¯ Jennifer felt like steaming tears as she remembered how the emperor suddenly sent a message to her atte night. At first, she thought it was some kind of great emergency for the emperor to contact her like this. But then she was speechless. ¡°Hellodies, but it will be vition of the party rules if i reveal my identity.¡± Jennifer spoke with a smile but her words was enough for them to understand her identity. ¡°Oh my, Lady is indeed wise.¡± ¡°As expected. She is so wise even after not growing up in the high society since young...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®This is why i don¡¯t like this parties...¡¯ Jennifer knew if she revealed her identity, they would mock her for being silly and not knowing the rules of the party. But even if she replies otherwise, they will continue to find faults and mock her. Just like the past... When Eleanora was there, everyone appreciated her works andint she should be a little more warmer. They evenpared her with a maid of unknown origin to gossip. But the moment Eleanora was no longer there, their target turned to Jennifer. Comparing her with Eleanora in every step she took. She be a silly queen who didn¡¯t knew how to maintain her position. Schemed by her father, the guilt feeling of harming innocent people, maintaining the works of the emperor who was going crazy for the dead empress and the criticism of people made Jennifer realise one thing. People will never be satisfied, no matter how hard you work to please them. So Jennifer didn¡¯t bothered much about thisdies. They will stop once they doesn¡¯t get any response from her. ¡°The roses of the Arlo¡¯s house are so beautiful...¡± ¡°Yeah, i have speciallye here to see the roses.¡± Jennifer¡¯s lips curled up a little as she took a sip of wine from her ss. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡®Gezz...what you people truly want to see is actually something else.¡¯ ¡®See...¡¯ Jennifer thought as she found thosedies ncing here and there, searching for someone. ¡°She still isn¡¯t here?¡± ¡°Am here to see who Lady Dalton¡¯s partner is...¡± Thedies whispered among themselves. ¡°Umm... I think if thedy really even had a lover, she wouldn¡¯t show up with him when she is still engaged to the emperor to admit that the rumors are true, right?¡± Jennifer spoke as she wanted to turn the gossip in Eleanora¡¯s favour slowly. ¡°I thinkdy is right... She is still engaged to the emperor.¡± ¡°So she might just attend alone, as she would want to choose a more safer way?¡± ¡°Indeed!!¡± Jennifer heaved a sigh of relief as the flow of the conversation was turning away from Eleanora¡¯s unknown partner. ¡®Please appear the way i think, mydy!¡¯ ¡°Lady Dalton¡¯s love story feels like a maze...¡± ¡°Then all you need is to find the owner of the cufflinks which was the reason as to why this rumours spread at the first ce.¡± ¡®And i think the emperor would also want to find the owner of the cufflinks the most.¡¯ At first the emperor thought the cufflinks was his butter it seemed like it was not for him. So, he really want to see who got the cufflinks which he couldn¡¯t even get. ¡°Yes, That¡¯s also right!!¡± Thedies nodded as they found Jennifer¡¯s words more convincing. ¡®Your Majesty!!! Can you see that i have done my best?!!¡¯ Jennifer felt over whelming as the gossip finally focused on something else rather then the Love Triangle between her brother and the imperial couples. But right then, someone spoke again. ¡°What can be the purpose of her attending this banquet if not denying the rumors by attending alone as thisdy thought?¡± ¡°...¡± Jennifer narrowed her eyes as she red at the person infront of her, who just spoke. ¡®Who is she?¡¯ ¡°Lady Dalton always acts to high and mighty like we are nothing. She dares to refuse the emperor, she sure has got some guts because of her status as the Dalton duchy¡¯s princess.¡± Her words made the othersdy have some doubts about what Jennifer spoke of a few moments ago. Jennifer couldn¡¯t speak as she knew it must be someone sent by her father to stir up the gossip. She clenched her fist and gritted her teeths in anger as she can¡¯t fight back directly and rose the duke¡¯s suspicions. ¡°Heh... A bunch of unnamed flies dares to talk about the future moon of the empire like this?¡± ¡°!!!¡± Jennifer turned her head in amusement as she heard a child like girly voiceing from behind. The girl was a 12 year old, who had fiery red hair and ck eyes which could be seen faintly behind her mask. She was wearing a beautifully decorated red mask, but that couldn¡¯t hide her full of anger ck eyes. ¡®Alberto Diana Richardo?¡¯ The south always followed a opposite of the imperial naming custom. They use their father¡¯s name first and then their name and title. Unlike how the nobles use their own name first and then their father¡¯s name and title unless they get a god given middle name like Eleanora. ¡°Who is thisdy? Why is she so rude?¡± ¡°RUDE? I was rude because i point about your mistakes? You people can get killed for ndering the imperial families dignity.¡± ..... ¡°!!!¡± All thedies panicked as they heard Diana¡¯s words. What she said was indeed true. ¡°The emperor always goes around calling her the empress when she is not even married to him yet. Do you think he will spare you if he gets to know about how you people nderer her?!¡± ¡°...¡± Everyone be terrified at that thought. The emperor can indeed do that if he can even neglect the Rua kingdom because they didn¡¯t showed her proper respect. ¡°We-We apologisedy. Please excuse us...¡± ¡°Huh! Apologise to Lady Dalton, the people you nderer and spread rumours about! Don¡¯t forget that her father is no one else, but Duke Dalton. If he can go against the imperial family for his daughter then you flies are nothing.¡± ¡°...¡± Diana kept on insulting thedies, where none of them could speak. The first reason, they recognised that Diana is the spoiled little sister of the Duke Richardo. Second, everything she told is right. Indeed their families can¡¯t fight the emperor nor the duke of Dalton if something happens to them. Meanwhile, infront of the green house~ ¡°I know about the rumours, maybe some of your nderers will also be there.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°But you don¡¯t need to care about them... Father will take care of them.¡± Eleanora was a little starlet to hear her father¡¯s words but she was nervous. This is the first time she is attending a banquet with her father alone. Alexander felt her uneasiness and caught her palm. ¡°Today, You have me by your side... Ele.¡± Alexander spoke as he got down from the carriage first and extended his hands towards Eleanora to get down. ¡°We are here, give me your hands, Ele.¡± Eleanora slowly put her hands on her father¡¯s palm and Alexander gripped her hands tightly. Eleanora got down from the carriage and looked at her father, who was wearing matching clothes with her. He wore a white suit with a blue robe, with the cuff links she gifted him. He even wore a small earring on his upper ear to match with her essories. Eleanora looked at her father with amusement. She has always seen her father wearing matching outfits with her mother and her outfits would be made to match her parents. Suddenly she missed her mother very much as they always used to attend banquets together when the duchess was still alive. ¡°Thank you, Father.¡± Eleanora spoke in a gentle tone as she smiled at her father. ¡°Kyaaaa!! It¡¯s Duke Dalton!!¡± ¡°WHAT! The duke is also here?!¡± ¡°Oh my god... He is still so handsome!!¡± ¡°Both of them are wearing matching outfits!!¡± ¡°Is her partner the duke?!¡± Everyone around them keep muttering among themselves as it was shocking to see Alexander attending this banquet with Eleanora as her partner. ¡°Please be quite, Everyone...¡± ¡°The hero of the empire, Duke Alexander De Xavier Dalton... And the future moon of our empire, Lady Eleanora Ariande La Dalton, is entering the banquet Chapter 135 - 135 "Masquerade Party" 135 ¡°Masquerade Party¡± Everyone was astonished to see The Duke of Dalton and the future empress of the empire attending the birthday banquet together. Specially count Arlo, who never thought that Eleanora will reallye, let alone duke Dalton. But then everyone noticed the rumoured cufflinks on Alexander¡¯s sleeves. ¡°So she gave them to the duke?¡± ¡°But doesn¡¯t it seem like she is desperate to deny the rumours?¡± ¡°Does she thinks we are going to buy this?¡± ¡°With Duke Dalton¡¯s money, it¡¯s not impossible for her to order another pair.¡± ¡°He must have heard the rumours, so he came with her to-¡± The whispering stopped as Alexander red at them with a frown and made everyone around her quite. ..... Under everyone¡¯s curious gaze, Eleanora, who was wearing a white floral dress approched Lady Rosette Arlo with a smiling face. ¡°I wish you a very happy 16th birthday, Lady Arlo.¡± ¡°T-Thank you, Your highness. Am very happy to see you...¡± ¡®So...So beautiful...¡¯ Rosette blushed as Eleanora passed her a gorgeous box as her birthday gift. ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure, Lady Arlo.¡± Right then, the whispers started again. The people was curious to see what Eleanora had gifted Lady Arlo in a simple yet gorgeous box. ¡°Umm...Can i open it for everyone to see, Your highness?¡± Rosette asked in a hesitating tone as it was rude to open a gift infront of everyone. But that was what Eleanora wanted. ¡®Finally... It hase.¡¯ ¡°Of course you can, Lady Arlo.¡± Eleanora replied with a gentle smile and somedies flinched as their n to humiliate her failed. Rosette looked at the box at her hands and slowly opened it with curiosity. ¡°!!!!¡± ¡°This-¡± Rosette was so shocked that she couldn¡¯t speak and seeing their daughter so stunned, the count couple came to her. But they was also as shocked as their daughter. ¡°How could she gift her something like that?!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t believe the future empress is so dense...¡± Alexander frowned as other¡¯s started to whisper about Eleanora again. Rosette¡¯s eyes was filled up with tears as she looked at Eleanora. ¡°This is the best gift i have ever received, Your highness¡­ Thank you so much¡­ I will definitely cherish it!¡± Rosette spoke as she took out a beautifully crafted locket from the box and the countess helped her to put it on. The heart shaped medium sized locket was double parted, inside of it contained a hand drawn beautiful picture of a family of three. A man and woman sitting on a bench, where a girl with ginger red hair sat between them. That girl was Rosette Arlo and her deceased parents. She already had a picture of them hanging on her bedroom, but never imagined she will get something which will help her keep the picture with her all time like this. Everyone thought that Rosette was crying because she was sad and it would create a gossip but things turned around when Rosette thanked Eleanora. She cried because she was too overwhelmed by such a great gift. ¡°Am happy that you like my gift, Lady.¡± Eleanora spoke as she passed her handkerchief towards Rosette to wipe her tears. Then she turned around to the crowd and gave them a social smile. ¡®I know what you people are thinking...¡¯ ¡°This was personally crafted by the second master of the Spade Family, Sir Axion Spade. He is a really talented person.¡± ¡®?!!!!¡¯ ¡®We though she won¡¯t reveal the shop name no matter what?!¡¯ Where Rosette looked at Eleanora with even more admiration and her eyes sparkled. ¡®The prophecy is wrong... Lady Dalton is not an saintess, but... An ANGEL!!!!!!¡¯ But they was wrong as what Eleanora wanted was to show off Axion¡¯s work and give him the honour which he couldn¡¯t get in his past life for saving her. Eleanora felt a little pain as she remembered the past again, where Axion smiled at her before dying. ¡®Hope your fate will be different this time, Sir Axion. I wish you all the best to the journey which you missed because of me¡­¡¯ And with that, finally the masquerade birthday banquet started... Eleanora put on her mask but knew it was useless because of her hair colour. But right then, twodies approached her. ¡°Mydy, are you feeling stuffy?¡± ¡°No- How...¡± ¡®I can¡¯t admit that am really feeling stuffy infront of the host of the banquet right?¡¯ Eleanora thought as to what she should reply to Rosette, who came along with Lady Diana Richardo. Hearing Eleanora¡¯s words, both of them easily caught her lies and a devilish smile appeared on their face. Both of them dragged Eleanora into a room, where Eleanora was too stunned to react. When and how did this girls, whom she rarely talked before be so friendly with her? From a corner, Alexander, who was wearing a white mask with blue patterns engraved on his felt a little happy when he watched Eleanora being friends with others. His love is not enough. She still needs someone around her age to be happy. ... ¡°Mydy, it¡¯s okay! No one will recognise you now!¡± ¡°But...is it okay?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s okay! You should enjoy yourself too without worrying much about those idiots who only loves to gossip.¡± Eleanora hesitated a little as she looked at the mirror and Rosette kept on encouraging her. ¡°Right... If one could earn by gossiping then they would be millionaires by now.¡± Diana spoke as she agreed with Rosette¡¯s words. ¡°You have always looked so lonely in those banquets... I always wanted to push the emperor away who keeps sticking with you like glue- OPPS!¡± ¡°...¡± Rosette covered her mouth as soon as she spoke. ¡®This is why mom tells me to speak less! Damn my mouth!¡¯ Rosette thought Eleanora would be angry but to her surprise, She heard her chuckling sound. ¡®Did i really used to look that lonely and desperate to avoid the emperor?¡¯ ¡®So... Beautiful!¡¯ Diana and Rosette felt like a arrow of cuteness has been shot at their hearts because of Eleanora¡¯s smile. Eleanora was wearing a pink coloured wig, which covered her shiny silver hair. Her dress was also changed into avender coloured dress and with her mask on, there was no way anyone could recognise her now. ..... Although the dress was a little unfit as it wasn¡¯t created ording to her size, but Diana skillfully added some ribbons to make the waist fit and look narrower. Even her mask was matchef with the dress and the feathers on the mask made her look seductive. If her previous white dress made her look cute and dignified, her current dress made her look bold and seductive. Eleanora can guess that Rosette had prepared this for her as Rosette knew how stuffy she feels in crowd. The crowd makes her feel stuffy as they remind her of the trial grounds. Where people crowded to watch her execution. But Rosette and Diana¡¯s thoughtfulness for her condition and feelings made her feel overwhelmed. ¡°Thank you so much guys!! Thank you...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t cry... I don¡¯t like cry babies...¡± Diana spoke as she red at Eleanora, who treated her normally rather then using fake honorifics like others. Eleanora finally got what she wanted. ¡®People who would treat me normally for who am i... Care for me and love me as i am... Thank you for giving me another chance to cherish this people¡¯s, Goddess...¡¯ Eleanora thanked the goddess, without knowing the storming ahead of her. ... ¡®What am i supposed to do now?¡¯ Eleanora stood still as she was unable to decide what to do. Rosette and Diana was cheering her up from aside and Eleanora sighed. They have prepared and thought so much for her, if she backs of right now... Eleanora doesn¡¯t want to break their hearts and decided to be a little bolder. Among the crowd, Eleanora noticed Dion and decided to ask him for a dance as he is the only person she knows personally a little among the others. She doesn¡¯t want to meet some perverted young master and waste her time to get rid of them. ¡®It¡¯s better to start with a familiar person so it doesn¡¯t be awkwardter...¡¯ With that thought, she pulled up the hem of her dress as she walked toward Dion. ¡®Huh?¡¯ Eleanora stopped as a hand suddenly touched her upper arm and slide down to grip her palm. As the dress was sleeveless, Eleanora flinches as she felt goosebumps because of the cold touch despite the hands being covered in gloves. ¡®Who is it...¡¯ At the second thought, Eleanora be angry and turned around to face the person who just touched her. ¡®Does they think am easy to touched?!¡¯ But Eleanora was a little stunned as she found the man kneeling on one knee and kiss her hands. She subconsciously wanted to take back her hands but the man was too strong. Eleanora felt the man more dangerous as the man looked up at her. His red eyes narrowed behind the ck mask as he opened his mouth to speak. ¡°May i have the honour to dance with you... My beautiful saintess?¡± Chapter 136 - 136 "My Ariande" 136 ¡°My Ariande¡± The emperor, who had once again dumped all of his works on his aid Brayden and left the imperial pce to meet a certain someone was waiting patiently at a corner. Cathain was getting pissed off as thedies kept gossiping about Eleanora and thought if they had nothing better to do except gossiping. ¡®Why is she not here yet...¡¯ Then finally the deration of Duke and Lady Dalton¡¯s was heard and he looked up to see her. He felt like his heart was beating so fast that it would jump out from his heart because of excitement. ¡®My saintess... I finally meet you again...¡¯ He blushed a little as he saw her and kept on staring at her without blinking. ¡°Sir, May i know which family you are from?¡± Ady asked with a blushing face as she approched him. ..... But unlike his gentle gaze on Eleanora, his eyes turned cold and indifferent as he looked at thedy beside him. ¡°Fuck off.¡± ¡°Y-Yes?¡± Thedy was stunned and thought she has misheard him. There is no way that a man would reject ady this impolitely. But his eyes which was full of disgust told her that she heard him right. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going away yet?¡± Cathain was getting pissed off as thedy was blocking his view from seeing Eleanora. He was deliberately hiding in a corner to avoid getting caught by Alexander or Eleanora. Hearing hisst words, the youngdy broke out in tears as she rushed away from him. ¡®Annoying...¡¯ The emperormented before his gaze turned to see Eleanora again but she was nowhere. ¡®!!!¡¯ ¡®Where is she?!¡¯ He rushed to the dance hall as his red anxious eyes kept searching for her. ¡®No... I can¡¯t let her get away from me again...¡¯ With that thought in his mind, he kept on searching for her when suddenly a pink haireddy passed by her and her milky fragrance was breathed by him. His heart suddenly started to beat violently and he turned his head to look at her. ¡®Found you, My Ariande...¡¯ His eyes be gentle but then he noticed that she was approching someone. He frowned as he touched her arm, before gripping her soft palm into his hands gently. He also felt her flinching because of his touch and looked back to see him, who was kneeling on the ground like he was proposing to her. ¡®Wow...So romantic!!!¡¯ Everyone around them whispered and the emperor knew this will not allow her to reject him infront of everyone now. His red eyes narrowed behind the ck mask as he opened his mouth to speak. ¡°May i have the honour to dance with you... My beautiful saintess?¡± ¡®S-Saintess?¡¯ Eleanora narrowed her eyes at his words. ¡®What happened to that damn ¡®My Empress¡¯ nickname?¡¯ ¡®I can tell for sure that he is the emperor but why does something feels off?¡¯ ¡°My Lady?¡± The emperor spoke again and Eleanora realised she has been in a daze and everyone is looking at her. ¡°Y-Yes. My pleasure, Sir.¡± Eleanora politely replied as no one knew he was the emperor. There are many mens who are wearing ck coloured wigs. His lips curved up into a smrik as she agreed and stood up to stand beside her. The emperor¡¯s hands slowly wrapped around her waist but Eleanora felt ufortable with his touch. Till now, she has been disgusted or fearful of the emperor but it¡¯s the first time where she found him ufortable. She hesitantly put her hands on his upper arm and made sure to not touch him much. The emperor could see the difort on her face, which made him little angry. But he hide his emotions as he started to dance in a slow motion. Both of them was dancing slowly and Eleanora was distancing themselves with each step she took. ¡®Why am i feeling so ufortable with him today like am with some strangers rather then him?¡¯ ¡®Did i perhaps... Getting to use of him that when he didn¡¯t called me by how he usually calls... I be ufortable because of that?¡¯ Eleanora thought as Cathain twirled her around but she gasped as her back suddenly hit his chest and his both hands entangled their fingers together. Trapping her in his embrace and locking her up with his hands. Eleanora swallowed her saliva because of the unknown feeling of danger in her heart risen up. ¡°Are you afraid of me?¡± ¡°N-No...¡± ¡°Really?¡± Cathain asked agaun as he kept moving slowly without changing their posture. As he was too close to her, his nose felt itchy as he kept inhaling her milky scent. ¡°You haven¡¯t changed...still the same.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You always speak the opposite when you are nervous...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®When have i ever did that?¡¯ Cathain didn¡¯t spoke and moved his hands while not leaving her hands above her head to twirl her again and make her face him. Behind thevender coloured eye mask which had feathers attached on it like his ck mask, her blue eyes looked away in nervousness. ¡®He feels so strange today...somehow more dangerous...¡¯ ¡°I missed you very much.¡± ¡°?!¡± ¡®Is he even serious? Even after what i told him that day, he still have the nerves to say to he missed me?¡¯ ¡°I know you didn¡¯t missed me at all... You are heartless towards only me and i know it.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®What is he even saying?! He should be grateful that i didn¡¯t killed him and be the emperor myself for what he has done to me in my past life!¡¯ ¡®I just don¡¯t want unnecessary drama in my life and live peacefully with my family! I already gave up on everything... Including him, so that i won¡¯t be disappointed as i won¡¯t have any hopes at the first ce. Why is he pretending like am the bully here?¡¯ As Eleanora was lost in thoughts, the music stopped and they also stood at their ce without moving. Both of them released each other but then she noticed that he still gripped her right hand. ¡°We will meet again soon... My Ariande.¡± ¡°!!!!¡± ¡®Ariande?¡¯ ..... It was her nickname given by the goddess, as she dered her as the saintess in the prophecy. But when he called her by that name, she felt like he wasn¡¯t calling her but someone else. Eleanora be suspicious and confused at the same time as she watched him leaving the banquet hall. She still felt shivering as she looked at her hands which has been kissed by him just now. ¡®What¡¯s happening... Why am feeling like this...¡¯ Chapter 137 - 137 "The Past: Failed To Protect" 137 ¡°The Past: Failed To Protect¡± [This chapter starts from the past when Eleanora meet Alexander for thest time in prison] ¡®I love you, Daddy¡¯ Eleanora spoke as she turned away and Sir Charles led the way for her to walk towards the trial ground. She had to walk by her own to face her own death.. Her feet was hesitant, but she still had to drag her feet to reach her hell... Alexander kept staring at her slender back and week body with tear filled eyes. Just how much courage she has to face this. Also she is not alone... ¡®Really, she is exactly like her mother.¡¯ ..... A guilty smile was seen on Alexander¡¯s face as he thought of the past. Eunicelia sacrificed herself and sent Eleanora away to save her, where now that same Eleanora is going to apany her child to death. So that they don¡¯t suffer. ¡®Why did i wait untill now?¡¯ ¡®Why didn¡¯t i came back earlier and take her away from this hell of her life?¡¯ ¡®Only if i had embraced her into my arms after Lia died¡­ instead of turning away from her as a coward.¡¯ ¡®Only if i had said it wasn¡¯t her fault, i don¡¯t me her but me, who failed to protect them¡­¡¯ ¡®I failed to perform my both responsibility. I couldn¡¯t protect my wife as a husband and i couldn¡¯t even save my daughter as a father.¡¯ Alexander still remember the day when Eunicelia died.. It was a normal day like the other days. He woke up early in the morning and nced at the twody¡¯s sleeping peacefully beside him. Although Eleanora is already six and have her own room, but still she wille into their bedroom at midnight with the excuse of stomach ache to sleep with us. Both of her parents knew it was only an excuse as she liked to sleep with them. Eleanora had his silver hair and blue eyes, but she looked more like her mother, Eunicelia. Even both of their sleeping face was the same. Alexander kissed Ele¡¯s forehead before he moved to nt a soft kiss on Eunicelia¡¯s lips. Eunicelia opened her eyes slightly and gave him a warm smile. ¡°Good Morning, Love.¡± She spoke before starting to rub her golden eyes. ¡°Good Morning, Pretty Lady.¡± Alexander was going to give her another kiss but she pushed him back. ¡°What are you doing? Ele is sleeping beside us!¡± She red at him and spoke in a low voice as she proceed to get up from the bed. But seeing that Alexander was still sitting at the edge of the bed with a sad face, she sighed and kissed him lightly before she ran away to the bathroom shyly. She was still shy even after spending more then ten years with him. After getting ready, Alexander suddenly got the news of a enemy attack on the border and had to leave immediately with all knights. But he felt something was wrong, how can there be such an sudden attack? But as it was an imperial order, he had to go. Before leaving, Eunicelia helped Alexander get dress up and gave him a tight hug. ¡°Lex, You have toe back safely okay?¡± She said as she wrapped her hands around his waist. ¡°Of course i have toe back because my prettydy will be waiting for me toe back.¡± Alexander cupped her face into his hands and kissed her forehead. ¡°You will always take care of Ele, love her, right?¡± She looked at him and asked with an anxious gaze. ¡°Yes, I promise.¡± Alexander did¡¯t know why he promised her like she wasn¡¯t going to stay with them anymore and he had to take care of their daughter from now on. She pulled him towards her and kissed like there was no tomorrow. Somehow Alexander was also feeling anxious and sad, instead of happiness. She pulled back herself from his embrace as it was gettingte for him to go. She gently smiled at him as she spoke. ¡°I will always love you, Lex.¡± ¡°I love you too, Lia¡± Alexander spoke and pulled her back into his embrace again. ¡°Should I not go?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t speak nonsense¡­¡± But Alexander still had to go. He reluctantly left for the borders and Eunicelia stood at the doorsteps with Eleanora, who was biding him goodbye. But as they went halfway, the scouts suddenly came back rushing. ¡°Duke!! We are in trouble!¡± Alexander looked back at the scout knights who was sent before them. ¡°We have examined our destination and searched for the enemy¡¯s location but...¡± Each word they was uttering was making his heart anxious¡­ ¡°There was no attack in the borders...That ce ispletely empty¡± They werepletely fooled... There was no attack at the borders but¡­at the duchy! All they need was for him and the knights to step out from the territory! ¡°HEAD BACK TO THE DUCHY, RIGHT NOW!¡± Alexander ordered them with an anxious voice as he started to ride his horse fast. ¡®No Way! Lia, Ele.. Please be safe..¡¯ Alexander run as fast as he could, but he was stillte.. When he got there, he couldn¡¯t enter as the entrance was blocked by Eunicelia¡¯s magic. Alexander was shocked, horrified. ¡®It¡¯s self sacrificial magic barrier! No way..¡¯ ¡°LIAAAAA!!!! LIAAAA!!! Don¡¯t do this!!!¡± ¡°Let me enter!! Liaaaa!!!!¡± Alexander kept yelling and Eunicelia who was standing not far away just looked at him with a smile. Tears kept pouring out from her eyes as she felt her heart was going to burst. Her bright golden eyes had turned ck and her face be pale. She was trying to hold back the ck magic from exploding in the ground. If she wasn¡¯t holding it back on the air and put up the barrier, the whole territory would blow up right at the moment it fall on the ground. But that wasn¡¯t important to Alexander. How can he watch the woman he loves die in-front of him? ..... Because she was using her holy magic attribute against dark magic! If she kept absorbing it, she will blow up alive! She will die!! Her shiny golden mana surrounded her like sparkles as they slowly turned pitch ck. ¡°Noooo...Don¡¯t do this Liaaa... Let me in.. I can help you!!!¡± ¡°If we both absorb it... You won¡¯t... You won¡¯t...¡± Tears kept pouring out from both of theirs eyes. If they both absorb it together then at the worst Alexander will lose one or two of his body parts as he can absorb it more then her. Even if he die.. It would be fine as long as she is fine. But he can¡¯t see her sacrifice herself right before his eyes. Alexander kept punching the barrier to break it, use his mana against it but he just couldn¡¯t break it. All the knights was pulling him but he refused to move. How can he leave and let his beloved die infront of him to save them? Alexander rather die together then let her die alone. ¡°I love you, Lex¡­ Take care of Ele.¡± Then finally Eunicelia couldn¡¯t hold it back anymore and yelled loudly as the magic st out with a loud explosion sound. ¡°Captain, watch out!¡± ¡°LIAAAAA!!¡± The st was so loud and powerful that even a strong man like Alexander was blew away farther and fall back on the ground because of the explosion. As the dust finally fall on the ground again, Infront of him was nothing but dust and shiny golden sparkle drops. ¡°Lia...¡± Alexander murmured her name as he couldn¡¯t believe it. She sacrificed herself to protect everyone where he failed to protect his love... Chapter 138 - 138 "The Past: Biggest Mistake" 138 ¡°The Past: Biggest Mistake¡± The barrier broke off as soon as Eunicelia sacrificed herself and Alexander ran to where she was just standing. But there was no trace of her anymore... ¡®Oh God, If it¡¯s a dream then let me wake up, Please.¡¯ ¡°DADDY!!!¡± But then Alexander realised it wasn¡¯t a dream anymore as he heard Eleanora¡¯s trembling voice. She was sitting on her horse, Eva, that Eunicelia gave her during her fifth birthday. She was horrified and tears kept pouring out from her eyes. ¡®Lia must have sent her away to keep her safe.¡¯ But Alexander, who wasn¡¯t able to ept the sudden death of his wife, couldn¡¯t bring himself to hug andfort her. ..... Tell her that, her mom is no more because her father failed to protect her mother. From that day on, Alexander avoided meeting Eleanora. He kept himself busy with pce works and border inceptions. Alexander seldom went home at day and returned after she fall asleep while waiting for him. The only time he was able to face her was when she was asleep. Like this, they started to grew apart more and more... And one day Alexander noticed his daughter¡¯s blushed face as she saw the crown prince. Her jewel like blue eyes instantly brighten up and she looked at him like there was no one but only him in her world. She fall for him when Alexander left her to stay in the imperial pce as he was in the border relief inception. Eleanora, who was suffering from affection deprivation because of theck of parents love be obsessed with the crown prince. Alexander thought she wille to her sense soon because to him, the crown prince is nothing but a piece of shit. The crown prince dared to sent his precious daughter in the war. How dare he to do that to his daughter? But Alexander couldn¡¯t do anything as his daughter happily agreed to his words and went to the battle field to prove her worth. The day before she left for the battlefield, Alexander went to see her but the moment she saw him, she started to tremble. Her fear for him was visible in her face or was it hatred? In the end Alexander couldn¡¯t say anything more and just went out. He went to the battlefields several times but couldn¡¯t approach her as he saw how happy she was. She made new friends, she had people to talk now. She doesn¡¯t need this failure father of her anymore. Then after a year, when she was fourteen, she returned as the youngest knight to be ever in their history to attend the crown princeing of age ceremony. Alexander wanted to hug her, but she just left after a formal greeting to him. Her all attention was toward the crown prince and he couldn¡¯t help it as it all happened because of him. She was obsessed with the crown prince because of hisck of affection. But she left for the battlefield again the next day, without even visiting him and returned again at the age of sixteen as a senior knight to celebrate hering of age ceremony. Although the ceremony was quite simple, but for some reason, she started to be gloomy after that. She be obsessed with wars and pleasing him. She bought down everynd, territory, country the crown princeid his eyes on. Eleanora proved the prophecy to be real. The empire prospered a lot because of her. In the past years of her into the battlefield, although she didn¡¯t noticed him, but her father was always behind her, guarding her as she was facing the enemies. After, emperor Valerian died, the crown prince raised to the throne at the age of twenty two with Eleanora as his empress at the age of eighteen. As Eleanor liked him, Alexander had no choice but to give in and that was his mistake. She be a knightmander after that and lead the battle with Rua Kingdom sessfully. She returned as a war hero. She had everything but in reality, she lost everything the moment he signed the marriage agreement as her guardian and his name was removed from hers. He shouldn¡¯t have left the duchy for four long years after her marriage. Alexander regret cing her hands into his, He regret not hugging her tightly into his arms. He regret he didn¡¯t told her that he loved her before... Tears kept flowing out from Alexander¡¯s eyes and he suddenly felt someone¡¯s presence. It was Charles again. Who was escorting Eleanora to the trial grounds. ¡®Did she escaped?¡¯ But Charles¡¯s dejected face was telling him something else. ¡°She was.. given a death penalty.. by beheading her immediately...¡± Alexander felt the sky fallen over him... His daughter was beheaded? He wasn¡¯t that shocked as both Eleanora and him knew this would be the oue if she doesn¡¯t escapes. But still, he had hopes in his heart that, she will be alive, she will escape.. But after what happened today, the emperor has lost the support of Marquise Roselia and the other two dukes along with many other loyal noble houses who used to protect the throne. So the day, when Evan Ravens will rebel and covet the throne is not far away. He will understand that day, what he lost today. Alexander thought as he listened to what happened in the trial ground from Charles quietly. He kept staring at the prison ceiling as he found himself dead inside. He kept on living to see the ending of the person¡¯s who made his daughter live a living hell. He watched them living in a hell by themselves too. There was a time when he wanted to avenge Eleanora, but then as he was finally released from the prison by the help of Jennifer to escape and saw the dead Eleanora again. All he had on his mind to cherish and protect her. Not letting all those people harm her again. He just wanted to fill up what he failed to do before. He would not allow her to lose herself in the game of revenge. Alexander looked at the person sleeping on hisp and sighed before smiling a little at her. Eleanora had been dancing and talking with Lady Arlo and Richardo so much that she has been exhausted. As soon as she got into the carriage again, she instantly fall asleep. Then Alexander moved her and ced her head on hisp so that she can sleep more peacefully. ¡®You have grown up so fast... I still remember how you used to droll in your sleep when you was little.¡¯ ¡®Somehow i wish you won¡¯t grow up more and always stay beside me as my princess.¡¯ Meanwhile in Eleanora¡¯s dream~ ¡®Where am i again?¡¯ Eleanora thought and realised she is again in a dream from a third person¡¯s prospective. She blinked a few times to clear her blurry vision and realised she was sitting on the ground. Infront of her was a garden, which was full of white roses. Eleanora got up and continued to walk. Everything was new to her. ..... Even the buildings looked like old designs. She continued to walk as usual, no one noticed her. But then, her eyes fall on a couple not so far away from her. The man was tall and beside him was a petite woman who had a umbre over her head as she walked. The man was walking slowly so that the woman beside him could walkfortably. Eleanora narrowed her eyes as she noticed that the man had ck hair, Same as him. She walked a little faster to see the man¡¯s face clearly but she was stunt to see the woman beside him. ¡®W-Who is this?¡¯ The woman had shiny silver hair which was tied up in a bun and her eyes was golden. It was only because of her eyes that Eleanora understand it was not her. The woman continued to walk as she chatted with the man beside her. Although the man was simply listening to her, but as a onlooker, Eleanora could see that the man had his eyes on the petite woman beside him all the way along. But the woman beside him didn¡¯t noticed that. The man looked the same as the current emperor with his ck hair and red eyes. Eleanora gasped. What is happening? What is she even seeing? Who are they? Without thinking much, Eleanora decided to follow them more closely to listen to their conversation. ¡°Am knitting a sweater for the baby, Do you want it to be a boy or a girl?¡± The woman asked with a cheerful face as she touched her t stomach and Eleanora¡¯s face be dark. This is the same question she has asked the emperor in her past life, when she first discovered that she was pregnant with their first baby. And the emperor¡¯s answer was... ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Eleanora¡¯s eyes widened in shock as she heard the man¡¯s answer which was the same as the reply of the emperor in her past life. As she had expected, the woman be quite as she heard the answer. But unlike her past self who stopped asking anything more after hearing his answer, the woman pushed the man beside her as she looked at him angrily and puffed her face in anger. ¡°How can you say that about our future child!¡± The man was stunned as he didn¡¯t expected her to be this angry. The woman dropped the umbre and she looked really weak as she furiously looked at the man infront of her. Even Eleanora didn¡¯t expected this reaction. Tears filled up her golden eyes and she clenched her dress as she tried her best to not cry. The man approached her with a panicked face and tried to exin himself, which surprised Eleanora. ¡°No...i mean it doesn¡¯t matter either it¡¯s a girl or boy- ARIANDE!!!¡± Chapter 139 - 139 "The Past: Hurting" 139 ¡°The Past: Hurting¡± ¡®A-Ariande?¡¯ The man with ck hair yelled the woman¡¯s name as he held her in his arms, who suddenly fainted. Eleanora felt confused. This is the name given to her by the goddess, and calcting everything... ¡®This isn¡¯t the first emperor and the saintess right?!¡¯ ¡®Why am i here, seeing them?!¡¯ ¡°Aria!! Wake up!!¡± The man yelled as he carried Ariande on his arms and all the maids rushed out to them. ¡°Duchess!!!¡± ..... ¡°Hurry up! Call the doctor!¡± Curiosity caught Eleanora and she also decided to follow them inside of the mansion. ¡®Just how weak she is?¡¯ ¡®Isn¡¯t she a saintess? She should have higher healing power then me as the real owner of holy powers.¡¯ Eleanora thought as she watched the maids running in horror and the man sitting beside Ariadne with fearful eyes. Then the door opened and a young man came in, seeing his appearance Eleanora thought he would be a doctor but to her surprise; it was a priest. ¡®So the priests was called doctor at that time?¡¯ ¡®But he is handsome for sure.¡¯ [A/N: Thank God a certain someone didn¡¯t heard it] ¡®Focus, Ele!!¡¯ ¡°My lord, what have you done to make the saintess faint this time?¡± The young man spoke as he sighed. ¡°Just cheak on her quitely and then disappear...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± The young man felt frustrated and was about to touch Ariande¡¯s hand to feel the pulse, his wrist was gripped by someone. Without speaking anything, the man with ck hair took out a handkerchief and put it above Ariadne¡¯s wrist. ¡°Now, go on.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Is he even serious?¡¯ The young man didn¡¯t wanted to argue so he just proceed with his treatment and a sudden dark light glow from Ariande¡¯s womb. ¡®What¡¯s this?!¡¯ The dark light glow from Ariande and then it was absorbed into the ck haired man. ¡®What are they doing?¡¯ Eleanora couldn¡¯t understand a single thing. What is happening? After a short period, the process ended and the way no one was surprised or shocked made Eleanora believe this was a normal thing here. The young man sighed in relief as the process ended and opened his mouth to speak. ¡°Duke, i don¡¯t know if i should say this or not...¡± ¡°Just speak.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Why is he so cold? He feels even more dangerous then him... Wait, dangerous?¡¯ Eleanora recalled the moment when she danced with the emperor today. ¡°I think it¡¯s best to not let this child born.¡± ¡°!!!¡± But before she could think more, their conversation shocked her. Eleanora raised up her head and widened her eyes in horror. What are they talking about? How can they say such thing so easily? Hearing the young man¡¯s words, the ck haired man looked at the unconscious woman beside him. Pain was written all over his face and he pressed his thin lips together. ¡°She won¡¯t agree... She loves the child very much.¡± ¡°But duke- You know it too. She is someone with holy powers and the child is-¡± ¡°I know it.¡± Eleanora frowned as she heard their conversation. She is someone who has lost three child so she knew how it would feel if Ariande heard it. Moreover it would be her husband who would tell her to give up on the child willingly. Even if someone in the past had told her that the emperor would love her if she gives up on her child, she would never do it. ¡°Thedy is full of holy powers and her body can¡¯t withstand the amount of dark powers the child in her belly has, DUKE!! She is literary giving up on her life by keeping the child!!¡± ¡°GET OUT, EVERYONE!¡± As soon as the young man finished speaking, the ck haired man yelled and everyone went out with a worried face. Then silence fall upon the room. ¡°Aria... What should i do... Can¡¯t you just choose me and live with only me?¡± ¡°Just choose me... My perverted saintess.¡± ¡°Please... Don¡¯t leave me, Aria... I can¡¯t live without you... I can¡¯t...¡± Eleanora stood quitly as she couldn¡¯t even dare to think anymore. He is not wrong to save his wife but she isn¡¯t wrong either by not giving up on her child. Then the surrounding be dark and the scene infront of Eleanora changed. Eleanora realised it was night time and there was thunderstorms with heavy rainfall. But then she was stand to hear a loud sound of p. Turning her head, Eleanora¡¯s eyes fall on the tall ck haired man. Who has been just pped. Infront of him was a short and weak looking pregnant woman with a huge belly. She had tears filled up her golden eyes and her hands which just pped him was also trembling. ¡°HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT ABOUT OUR CHILD, CAIN?!¡± ¡°Aria...listen to me...¡± Despite being pped by her, the man was still worried about her and talked softly to calm her down. He grabbed her shoulder lightly but she looked away and sobbed loudly. ¡°How... Can you say that you don¡¯t want it? It¡¯s our child Cain... My and Yours...¡± ¡°Aria... Please. Is it not enough to just have me? We will live happily, i will listen to anything you say... Just this one-¡± ..... The man spoke as gently as he could to convince her. Her health was bing worse as her due date wasing closer. But Ariande yanked off his hands from her shoulder as she felt hurted by his words. ¡°You want me to live happily by sacrificing my child?!¡± ¡°Aria- try to understand...¡± ¡°No! I don¡¯t want to understand at all! I won¡¯t give up on our child!¡± ¡°So you rather give up on your life, leave me alone for someone who is eating away your life force and bing stronger... Making you suffer everyday?¡± The ck haired man with red eyes asked as he looked at his wife who was wrapping her hands around her belly as a sign of protecting it asked. He was still trying to believe that she won¡¯t give up on him, there is no one in his life except her. How will he live without her? ¡°Aria... Say you won¡¯t leave me... You love me, right?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Aria?¡± ¡°Yes... Am okay with sacrificing myself for our child, i can¡¯t give up on this little one...¡± ¡°ARIA!!!¡± The man yelled at Ariande and she burst into tears. He looked at her with sorrowful angry gaze but as he saw tears on her eyes, he couldn¡¯t help but hug her tightly into his arms. ¡°I beg you Aria- Don¡¯t do this to me...¡± ¡°Cain...¡± Ariande called his name and right then, he fall on the ground on his knees and sped her hands tightly into his. ¡°Why are you so cruel towards me but love this child who is not even born so much?¡± ¡°...Cain, get up...¡± ¡°What should i do to keep you with me?¡± ¡°Then tell me why i can¡¯t keep our child to be with you? Why are you always so close but yet distanced? What are you hiding from me, Cain?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°See... You don¡¯t even trust me enough to open up... Am tired of trying to get know about you...¡± The ck haired man keep quite as he was lost in thoughts. How can he tell that the man she loves is not even a human being but a monstrous ck dragon? The imperial family is using this secret as a lesh on him by threating him to harm her? If he reveals it, she will certainly tell him to stop... She will sacrifice her love for him to live freely. Or she might even feel disgusted that he is such a dark creature, which harms humans. ¡°Am sorry... Anything else but not this-¡± ¡°Then there is nothing to talk about.¡± The ck haired man didn¡¯t replianything after that and kept looking down. Ariande took away her hand from his grip and turned away. After a long silence, she finally spoke. ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave you... I also want to live... But i can¡¯t give up on our child, Cain.¡± ¡°Aria-¡± He stood up as he clenched his fists tightly and wrapped her up in his embrace, trying his best to keep her with him instead of disappearing. ¡°Am scared, Cain... I don¡¯t want to die... I also want our child to grow up with our love... But i can¡¯t give up on my child because of my life, Cain...¡± Ariande kept on sobbing where Cathain couldn¡¯t hold back anymore and cried with her. ¡°We will find a way... I won¡¯t let anything happen to you... We will live happily, my saintess...¡± ¡°I love you, Cain...¡± ¡°...me too.¡± Eleanora watched the couple sobbing as they hugged each other tightly. ¡®It¡¯s not me... But why do i still feel so much pain?¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s heart was clenching tightly and unknowingly, tears also started to fall from her eyes. Then she clenched her chest with her hands to subdue the pain. ¡®Why am also crying? Why it¡¯s hurting so much?¡¯ Chapter 140 - 140 "No Longer Here" 140 ¡°No Longer Here¡± Eleanora woke up in the morning and found her eyes full of tears. Even her pillow was drenched as she cried in her dreams. Eleanora sighed and felt ufortable as her eyes was stinging in pain. ¡®Their ending was really tragic... Maybe more then mine.¡¯ ¡®But why did i saw those? is it because of her powers which is currently inside me? is it why am also feeling her emotions now as the powers are getting stronger?¡¯ Eleanora thought for some moment before she remembered the emperor¡¯s weird behaviour fromst night. ¡®No, something is terribly wrong here. I didn¡¯t had those visions for no reason. I have to cheak the records.¡¯ ¡°Jennie, are you here?¡± Eleanora called for Jennie as she put aside her nket and stood up from the bed. ¡°Yes, Mydy?¡± ..... ¡°Help me to get ready. Am going to the imperial pce.¡± ¡°Right now? but it¡¯s still early, the duke-¡± ¡°I have some important works to do, just tell this to daddy.¡± ¡°Okay, Mydy.¡± Jennie agreed in confusion. She has never seen herdy in such a hurry. Eleanora wore her silver uniform with a blue cape over it and went to the imperial pce without even having her breakfast. She was more concerned about her visionst night as it felt like this has some connection with her uing new future that she doesn¡¯t know about. ¡°Mydy, we have reached.¡± The horseman spoke and Eleanora got down from the carriage which had Dalton duchy¡¯s crest engraved on it. As it was early, there was not many people on the imperial pce. Eleanora directly headed towards the imperial pce and seeing her, none of the knights stopped her either which surprised her. She thought someone would ask her any question or inquire why she is here so early, but even after she entered the library; no one asked her anything. ¡®What¡¯s happening?¡¯ ¡®Why did no one stopped me?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she didn¡¯t knew that the emperor had long ago ordered the knights to not stop the Lady Dalton to go wherever she wants in the pce. ¡®It¡¯s not the time to think this all.¡¯ ¡®I should do what i havee here to do.¡¯ With exhaling a heavy breathe, Eleanora focuses on finding the imperial family linage records. And then, she finally found a thick book with red cover, which pages was all ck. The words written on it was by ink which was made of gold to write. The roaring golden lion imperial crest was crafted on the front page and turning it, the first emperor and empress¡¯s namese to her view. ¡®Emperor Cathain De Valentino & Empress Ariande Cathain Valentino.¡¯ Without thinking much, Eleanora found her fingertips trailing on the names before she could get why she was doing it. Turning the page, she found the name of the second ruler of the empire. ¡®Empress Eleaine Valentino.¡¯ Somehow Eleanora felt warm as she uttered the name in her mind. She felt closeness with this name and person without even seeing or knowing her. But then turning some few pages Eleanora frowned. Most of the empress died young. Either by giving birth or having an unknown illness. None of them past the age of 22 except a few exceptions. The second empress, the daughter of the first emperor and the 33rd empress, the mother of the current emperor who lived till her age 30. She get to know the emperor when she was 20, had married the emperor at the age of 24 and died at 30 while giving birth to the next emperor. Where only the second emperor, Eleaine died naturally at a old age. Even the past her was no exception. She was also executed at the age of 22, four years after she married the emperor. ¡®What¡¯s the mystery here?¡¯ ¡®Why no one noticed it till now that there is something fissy here?¡± With that thought, she turned the next page and expected it to be nk but she was uttered shock when she saw her name written with gold ink in the ck page. ¡®The 34th Emperor Cathain De Valerian Valentino & Empress Eleanora La Ariande Dalton.¡¯ With a loud thud, the book dropped down on the ground from her hands and she was tongue tied. She couldn¡¯t even think anything after seeing her name already written in the family linage. It¡¯s the imperial linage book which is bound by magic and once written, the name can never be removed from it. Even if one tries, they will suffer sever punishment not to mention the counterattack of this magic books spell which was casted by the owner of the magic tower. ¡®Just- Just what was he thinking while doing this even without my permission?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she bent down to pick up the book and ced it into the shelf again. Then her eyes fall on her left hands index finger, where the magic engagement ring was. The ring which the crown prince had forcefully made her wear during her 13th birthday in kingdom Rua during the visit for negotiation. ¡®Why have i not taken it off yet?¡¯ ¡®Why?!¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s eyes filled with tears but not a single tear drop left as she suddenlyughed at herself. ¡®Why am i thinking one thing but ends up doing the other thing?¡¯ ¡®Am always thinking of running away but ends up in his arms everytime i try to run.¡¯ ¡®Did he not hurted me enough?¡¯ ¡®Why do i still-¡® ¡®...love him?¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s blue eyes widened in shock at her own realisation but she doesn¡¯t want to admit it. She doesn¡¯t thinks much and runs out from the library, shocking everyone on her way. She takes the route which avoids the public by taking the back road, which leads to the abandoned mansion of the imperial pce. Where she used to live. ¡®Yeah, maybe that will make mee to realise the reality once again and make me sane.¡¯ ¡®The ce where i lived alone for two years after being detained from the empress pce for no valid reasons.¡¯ ¡®This will remind me of how i waa treated and neglected by him in the past and i won¡¯t melt into his new warmness once again.¡¯ Right then, Eleanora stopped on her tracks but there was no abandoned mansion in the ce that she remembered. ¡®Huh? What is this?¡¯ Eleanora looked at the scene infront of her with a dumbfounded expression. The burnt down mansion she remember being here was no longer here. Instead, there was a huge garden of white and red roses. Children¡¯s was happily ying on the garden andughing as they run after each other. The abandoned mansion was re-constructed to be the home of homeless orphan children¡¯s. They live, eat and study for free here. There are maids to take care, teachers to teach and knights to protect them here. ..... The lonely abandoned pce full of spiderwebs and darkness where she was sent by the past him, which used to hunt her everyday¡­ Is no longer here. It is turned into a warm and beautiful home for those kids, by the current him. A teardrop silently came out from her blue eyes and dropped on the ground. She was here to recall his past harshness but ended up seeing his current wariness and love for her. He even went that far to get rid of the imperial concubine pce, which was abandoned but couldn¡¯t be removed as it was a ce created long ago by his ancestors. And she can imagine how the nobles reacted when he proposed to not only destroy this ce but also create a orphanage in the imperial pce. ¡®Why did he went so far to destroy this ce?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she kept staring at the warm picture of the happy kids infront of her, not even realising a big hand wrapping around her waist to hug her from behind. ¡°Do you like it, My empress?¡± ¡°!!!¡± Eleanora, who didn¡¯t noticed the person behind her till he whispered in her ears was shocked by his voice. She turned her head to look at him in surprise, who was just looking at her with warm eyes. ¡°I was nning to give you a surprise on your 18th birthday by taking you here, but you have seen it already...¡± ¡°I need to prepare a new gift now.¡± Eleanora silently watched the young man infront of herining for ruining his surprise, which made her ask an unexpected question. ¡°Why... Have you done this?¡± ¡°...¡± Seeing that he wasn¡¯t answering, Eleanora felt like not hearing it is a better choice. ¡°No need to answer-¡± ¡°I did it for you.¡± The emperor cut her off in the middle of her words by his answer, which made Eleanora¡¯s heart feel heavy. ¡°...Why?¡± As far Eleanora knows, he doesn¡¯t have his full memory back. So he wouldn¡¯t know about this ce. ¡°I once saw her in a dark and lonely ce, and in the day of the previous emperor¡¯s funeral, i saw this ce and it reminded me of her.¡± Eleanora knew which ¡®her¡¯ he was referring to. It was her pastself. ¡°I thought this ce must be not a good memory for her, so i turned this ce full of children¡¯sughter and her favourite flowers... So that she won¡¯t be remind of bad memories and lonely anymore.¡± ¡®And know that i won¡¯t hurt her anymore...¡¯ Cathain swallowed hisst sentence on his mind and didn¡¯t spoke anymore to observe her expression. Who was looking at him with unbelieving expression. For the first time, she stayed in his embrace without any struggles. And then, another voice rang from behind. ¡°ELE!!!¡± Chapter 141 - 141 "Eleanora’s Coming Of Age Ceremony" 141 ¡°Eleanora¡¯s Coming Of Age Ceremony¡± A cold voice rang from behind which startled Eleanora and turning her head, she saw the usual expressionless Alexander. But she can tell that her father is furious and he came here in a hurry. ¡®How did he knew that i could be found here?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she didn¡¯t knew that her father has rushed to here the moment he heard that she has left for the imperial pce without even eating anything. He came here by his horse and asked about her to every knights on his way before he finally saw them together. Alexander frowned as his gaze fall on the emperor¡¯s hands which was wrapped around his daughter¡¯s waist. ¡°Ele,e here.¡± Alexander spoke in a cold voice and Eleanora felt guilty. ¡®Why do i feel that i was caught by my father while doing something unspeakable, more like¡­ ..... dating secretly?¡¯ ¡®Wait.¡¯ ¡®Dating?!¡¯ Eleanora shook her head to remove all those unnecessary thoughts away from her mind and before she could took a step towards her father, her wrist was suddenly grabbed. Alexander, who couldn¡¯t watch his daughter being on the emperor¡¯s embrace went ahead to hold her hands and pulled her away from the emperor¡¯s embrace. Eleanora was shocked because of her father¡¯s this kind of reaction but didn¡¯t dare to speak anything either. ¡®Daddy seems really angry.¡¯ But then Eleanora suddenly stopped on her tracks which also made Alexander stop too. ¡®Not again...¡¯ Eleanora turned her head with a pissed off look to see the emperor¡¯s hand which caught her another wrist firmly. The emperor¡¯s hand was hanging low as he spoke. ¡°Duke... Do you have no other works to do nowadays?¡± Simple meaning: Do you have nothing else to do except for ruining my dates? ¡°I wish to ask the same, Your Majesty.¡± Simple meaning: Do you also have nothing else to do except clinging to my daughter? ¡°...¡± ¡®Can they be anymore childish?¡¯ Eleanora, whose two hands was caught by two people sighed as she continued to hear their meaningless conversation. But in the end, she couldn¡¯t take it anymore and decided to step in. ¡°Your Majesty! Daddy! I have some works to do! So, let me leave first and you two can continue with your conversation!¡± Eleanora spoke as she took away her hands from their grips and ran away without looking back. Leaving the two man behind her. ¡®Hah! She really knows how to take advantage of the situations to run away.¡¯ The emperor thought as he watched her run away where the man beside him thought the otherwise. ¡®She really must be very frightened by this bastard to run away like that.¡¯ And then, both of them looked at each other. Unlike before, The emperor was now taller then the duke which made the emperor happy and the duke frown. Before, as the emperor was a teenager, he was shorter then the duke but now he is taller then the duke. But that made Alexander disapprove the emperor more. ¡®He is much taller then my daughter. She will suffer from neckpain by raising her head to look at him everytime.¡¯ ¡°Stay away from my daughter- isn¡¯t this what you wanna say now, My dear father-inw?¡± ¡°...¡± Alexander¡¯s blue eyes narrowed as he looked at the emperor with a frown. ¡®Both of them look like they wanna kill me with their gaze.¡¯ The emperor thought in his mind. ¡°Do you think wearing a mask would make me unable to recognise you in the party, Your Majesty?¡± ¡°... What mask?¡± The emperor asked in confusion and Alexander raised his brows with a questioning look. ¡°Anyway, i won¡¯t allow you to marry my daughter. You better give up when am being nice.¡± ¡°...¡± Saying this, Alexander leff without waiting for the dumbfounded emperor¡¯s answer. ¡®What party is he talking about?¡¯ ¡­ Three monthster~ The day of Eleanora¡¯sing of age ceremony- ¡°Mdy, are you ready?¡± Jennie asked and entered the room after knocking for a few times as Eleanora didn¡¯t opened the door. But as soon as she entered the room and saw the panting Eleanora on the bed due to fever, she was shocked. ¡°Mdy!! What happened to you?!¡± ¡°Jen... Am alright- cough! cough!¡± Eleanora wanted to stop Jennie from informing others as she was afraid the party would be ruin if her father sees her like this. ¡°Sister Maria!!! Come over here!!¡± Jennie¡¯s full face was full of anxiousness as she called for Maria and the doctor. In an instant, Alexander came in the room running and Dominic followed him from behind. It¡¯s been a few weaks since Dominic hase to the empire for Eleanora¡¯sing of age ceremony. ¡°Elee!¡± ¡°Father, Brother Dom...¡± Alexander sat on a stoll and took of his gloves to cheak her temperature. A frown appeared on his face as the temperature on her body was really high. Moreover, he couldn¡¯t understand the reason of her being sick all of a sudden. There was no sign of any cold or feverst night. ¡°My lord, it¡¯s winter and thedy is sensitive to cold. It¡¯s normal for her to fall sick during this time.¡± The doctor spoke as he took out some painkillers from his briefcase and handed over to Maria to help Eleanora take the pills. Dominic help Eleanora to sat up and take the medicine with water. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, father. Am okay.¡± Eleanora spoke but Alexander didn¡¯t replied and stayed silent for a few moments before he looked up at Eleanora. ¡°Let¡¯s cancel the party.¡± ¡°!!!¡± ¡®What?¡¯ ..... ¡®Cancel the party right before the party starts?!¡¯ ¡°No, Father! Am alright now. No need to cancel the party, i can attend it!¡± Eleanora spoke as she grabbed her father¡¯s hands tightly and tried to act cute to make him agree. But Alexander was unmoving by her charms as he is used to it... ¡®Did he be immune to my traps?¡¯ Seeing that her trap wasn¡¯t working on Alexander, she turned to Dominic for help. ¡°Brother Dom... Please convince father... It¡¯s mying of age ceremony... I was really looking forward to it...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®My daughter is so cute.¡¯ ¡®My sister is so cute.¡¯ In truth, Alexander wasn¡¯t unmoved at all. His face is just too stiff to show any reactions. ¡°Okay. But you have to promise me that even if you feel a little dizzy, you have to tell father.¡± ¡°Thank you, Father!!¡± Eleanora¡¯s face brighten up as soon as she got Alexander¡¯s approval to continue with hering of age ceremony party. With Maria and Jennie¡¯s help, Eleanora got ready in a short time and came out of her room to celebrate her 18th birthday which she couldn¡¯t celebrate perfectly in herst life. ¡®This time, i will enjoy myself fully!¡¯ Eleanora thought as she hold her father¡¯s hands to enter the banquet hall and the cheif attended cleared his throat to make the announcement. ¡°Attention!!!¡± ¡°The moon of our empire, Lady Eleanora Ariande La Dalton and the hero of the empire, Duke Alexander De Dalton; are entering!!!¡± Right after the announcement was made, The big door infront of Eleanora was opened and everyone¡¯s eyes fall on the beautifuldy on the second floor, who wasing down with her father. Eleanora was wearing a beautiful fluffy red dress which had gold embroidery. There was also a few butterfly design on the chest area which made the dress looking more sparkling along with the gemstones. She was wearing a red ruby earrings and her shiny silver hair was tied up in the front and open in the back. Maria had used red roses to decorate her hair, which looked liked a tiara on her head. Because of wearing nothing on her neck, her white shoulders looked more attractive, making people unable to look away from her. ¡®She is truly beautiful...¡¯ ¡®Only if she wasn¡¯t engaged to the emperor...¡¯ ¡®No wonder the previous emperor was firm with the royal marriage between the crown prince and her.¡¯ ¡®Which man won¡¯t dot on a beautifuldy like her, the emperor is no exception.¡¯ ¡®This is why the emperor is so possessive...¡¯ ¡®...¡¯ ¡®If am not careful, i fear you flies would have flew away with my empress. How can i be careless?¡¯ Among the crowd, a man who was wearing a white suit thought as he stared at thedy infront of him. ¡®As expected of my empress. She will attract flies in every banquet she attends.¡¯ The emperor felt the other young mans staring at her too and pretend to be sad for a moment in his heart before he looked proud. ¡®Too sad, she is already mine.¡¯ But then his gaze fall on Alexander, who was ring at the guys who was staring at his daughter. ¡®Only if this man wasn¡¯t meddling between us.¡¯ ¡®But no worries, he can¡¯t meddle in anymore.¡¯ The emperor smirked as he looked at the gift on his aid Brayden¡¯s hands. Brayden had no colour on his face and he felt like the moment he moves, the gift will fall and his neck will fly away for destroying the royal tressure. ¡°Y~Your Majesty~ is...is it really alright?¡± ¡°Sooner orter, it will be hers.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®...What can i say when he has already written her name in the family linage even before their marriage...¡¯ Chapter 142 - 142 "The Ruby Necklace" 142 ¡°The Ruby Ne¡± ¡°Thank you everyone foring to celebrate my daughter¡¯sing of age ceremony with us today.¡± Alexander spoke as he took two champagne ss and pass one to Eleanora after he finished speaking. He raised his ss to toast everyone and then they congratted Eleanora for hering of age. ¡°Congrattions, Lady Dalton!¡± ¡°We wish you a happy birthday, Lady!¡± ¡°Long live our future empress!¡± After the toast, it was time for receiving gifts. As the person with higest status presents their gifts first, the emperor came forward with his aid Brayden following him from behind to present his gift. Everyone¡¯s eyes was fixed on the big box in Brayden¡¯s hands. ..... Even Eleanora, herself was curious to know what gift he have bought to have that smirk on his face. The emperor stood infront of Eleanora and Alexander tried his best to keep his expression normal by not frowning. Cathain¡¯s lips curved up a little as he noticed Cedrick in the crowd not to far away and looking at them. ¡®Why- why is he smiling like a thug?¡¯ But right then, Eleanora was stunned as Cathain¡¯s face suddenlye closer to hers and his thin lips touched her cheeks. ¡°!!!¡± ¡°Happy Birthday, My empress.¡± Eleanora¡¯s face turned red and the emperor just looked like nothing has happened. ¡°Kyaaa! This is sooo romantic!!!¡± ¡°The emperor sure loves thedy a lot!!!¡± ¡°Who said they were going to break of their engagement? They are in so love!¡± ¡°The cufflinks was for the duke and their rtionship is so stable... That must be a deliberate rumor to tarnish thedy¡¯s reputation!¡± ¡°They must have done it a lot... The emperor was so natural when he kissed her.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t speak anymore... Thedy is shy!¡± The whole banquet hall was in uproar and just by a single action of the emperor¡¯s made all the rumors about her vanish. The previous rumour changedpletely and the discussion turned to how much the emperor loves the future empress. ¡®This! How dare he to kiss my daughter!¡¯ Alexander was so shocked and furious at the same time that the champagne ss on his hand broke and his aid Raynor panicked. ¡°D~Duke... Calm down! We are in public!¡± Where Eleanora was so embarrassed that she wanted to hide. ¡°Everyone is watching, Your Majesty!¡± Eleanora red at Cathain and spoke in a low voice. ¡°Well, you looked so cute that i couldn¡¯t help it.¡± ¡®This should make those flies realise that you are not someone they can stare.¡¯ ¡°...¡± ¡®Why do i feel that he is up to nothing good again?¡¯ ¡°Brayden, bring it.¡± Brayden took a few steps forward with happiness as soon as he was called by the emperor. ¡®Finally my existence was noticed!¡¯ ¡°Ahem~ This is my gift for your 18th birthday.¡± The emperor spoke and Brayden opened the box with a proud look. ¡®Huh! Can anyone herepare with my superior after seeing this?¡¯ ¡°!!!!¡± ¡°It¡¯s~¡± Eleanora was shocked to see what was inside of the box, including Alexander and all the people who was present. ¡°This- How can it be?!¡± ¡°The emperor... Isn¡¯t he going overboard by this?¡± ¡°We understand he loves her, but this is-¡± ¡°This is too much... How can he give her this?¡± ¡°They aren¡¯t even married yet...¡± All kind of discussions kept going on where Eleanora stare at the ne in the box nkly. shback~ ¡°Your Majesty, Can i wear the ruby ne in the uing national foundation day?¡± Empress Eleanora asked the emperor about the royal ruby ne which was passed down from generations from generations to the empress¡¯s in the royal family. She should have wore it during her wedding but as they didn¡¯t hold the royal wedding, she didn¡¯t even got it during their wedding night. Eleanora, who was insecure in her heart for the emperor¡¯s cold treatment towards her wanted the ne to burry her fears of being abandoned by the emperor. The rumors in the upper society made her feel more insecure, where they discussed that the emperor doesn¡¯t love the empress and thus he didn¡¯t even hold a wedding ceremony. Not to mention she didn¡¯t got the ruby ne yet. So, Eleanora asked for the ne countless times. Having the ne meant her position is firm and no one can take him away from her. She will always be the only empress of his. ¡°No.¡± ¡®H-Huh?¡¯ Eleanora couldn¡¯t believe that the emperor would reject her directly like this. After uttering two words, the emperor continued with his works. Not even sparing a nce at her. Empress Eleanora stood like a statue and clenched the hem of her dress. She was embarrassed, angry and sad... ¡®Why... Why won¡¯t you give that to me?¡¯ ¡®Am the empress... That ne belongs to me.¡¯ ¡®Why?¡¯ Eleanora tried her best to hold back her tears and left without bidding the emperor. And then, finally the empress saw the royal ruby ne again. The ne, which belonged to her was hanging on someone else¡¯s neck as the woman called the man whom also belonged to her by his nickname. Where, she was wearing silver handcuffs as a sinner who was about to executed for a crime that she never did. ~End of the sback. ¡®Ele...¡¯ Alexander looked at his daughter with a concerned eyes. Thest time he saw this ne was when it was hanging on her frozen dead body¡¯s neck. He knew how much his daughter liked this ne even before marrying into the imperial family but she never got it when she was alive. When she finally got it, she was no longer alive. Alexander cursed the emperor in his mind to give his daughter such a gift on her birthday which reminded her of the past bad memories. The emperor took out the ne from the golden box and stood behind her to make her wear the ne, which felt like a lesh to Eleanora. But she stood emotionless as the emperor slide aside her shiny silver hair and made her wear the ne. ..... ¡®I liked your eyes when you looked away while pretending to care... I liked the way your lips used to curl up in a gentle smile.¡¯ shback~ The emperor running to her with a worried face when she fainted during her first pregnancy. ¡®But you wore them more with her and i knew that i was not the one.¡¯ shback~ The day when the empress saw the emperor walking with a girl beside him and smiling gently. Not even noticing the empress who was staring at them from behind. ¡®Still i fall for you deeper and more deeper, but i was prepared.¡¯ shback~ The empress crying in the middle of the night after the queen¡¯s pregnancy announcement and the emperor left her alone like always. Deep inside her heart, she knew this day woulde one day. Eleanora doesn¡¯t know how she was not the one for him back in the past. Is there anything shecked or didn¡¯t did for him? She even transfered all her powers to him before dying to bless him. The past her knew why he craved for her. It was not because he loved her but because only she could make him feel better. His raging mana could only be calm down by her cold mana. Still, She loved him every moment, even till her death and what he had done to her. She missed him during her lonely days in the past. ¡®Maybe we were just not meant to be...¡¯ ¡®Does he thinks i will be honoured to get such a horrible gift?¡¯ ¡®If i could, i want to take off this ne this instant and stomp on it under my feet to crush it...!¡¯ ¡°!!!¡± But then she felt a shiver down her sprain as his cold lips touched her nape. To onlookers, it looked like he had bent down to lock the hook of the ne in her neck. Only Eleanora knew what he had actually done. ¡°Nobody can take you away from me now...¡± The emperor spoke as he smiled at her before he stepped aside for others to greet her. But as he stepped aside, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head and felt like his consciousness was going away. ¡®What¡¯s happening...¡¯ By the time Eleanora finished receiving all the gifts, it was time for her first dance after bing an adult. Eleanora had to choose a partner and ask them for a dance. Her first choice should be the emperor but she doesn¡¯t want to dance with him. She remembers that in her previous life, she had asked the crown prince for a dance but the crown prince danced so aggressively and fast that she failed to match his steps. Resulting her falling down and be a gossip in the upper ss. This story was even published in the newspapers. Thus this time, instead of the emperor, Eleanora thought of choosing her cousin Dominic. There won¡¯t be any gossip if she dances with her own cousin and the past thing won¡¯t happen in this life too. With that thought in her mind, she took steps towards the direction where Dominic stood but suddenly someone gently caught her wrist. ¡°Elee, Dance with me.¡± Chapter 143 - 143 "Eternal Sleep" 143 ¡°Eternal Sleep¡± ¡®Father?¡¯ Eleanora looked back in amusement as she felt Alexander hold her wrist gently. At first, she thought she heard it wrong but seeing the seriousness of his blue eyes, Eleanora was sure that she didn¡¯t heard it wrong. Her father indeed offered her to dance with him, her first dance as an adult. Alexander¡¯s heart felt a little sad as he saw her surprised look. ¡®She still can¡¯t believe in me enough...¡¯ But that won¡¯t stop him from saving her. He won¡¯t let the past repeat itself. He remembers how his daughter couldn¡¯t match the crown prince¡¯s steps and in the end of the dance, she fall down. But the crown prince didn¡¯t helped her to stood up and left while leaving her alone. ..... Alexander thought that Eleanora was going to ask the emperor for a dance, who was standing in a corner behind Dominic. ¡°Elee?¡± Alexander called her again as she didn¡¯t replied but his eyes widened in surprise as Eleanora smiled brightly at him. ¡°Yes, Father!¡± It was always Eleanora¡¯s dream to dance with her father. When she was little, she used to watch her parents dance with each other. At that time, she really wanted to grow up quickly to dance with her father. And now, she finally got that chance... How can she miss this? Normally, people only dance with their partners. So it was the first time for them to see someone dance with their parents. The people around them started to whisper and talk about it, but Alexander and Eleanora paid no attention to them. Both of them happily walked to the center of the dance hall and the slow music began to y. ¡°I have always wanted to dance with you, Father.¡± Eleanora spoke but although Alexander was smiling, she saw the frown he made which disappeared in an instant. ¡°What happened? Are you displease with something, father?¡± ¡°...¡± Seeing that Alexander still kept quiet, Eleanora felt frustrated. ¡®Just what made him unhappy?¡¯ ¡°Why are you suddenly calling me father?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Eleanora was stunned to hear Alexander¡¯s question. ¡®So, he was angry because i called him father, not daddy?¡¯ Eleanora didn¡¯t knew either she shouldugh or cry. Just when did her cold father be so cute? ¡°Am 18 now. Calling you daddy seems childish. People willugh at me...¡± Eleanora replied as she continued to dance a little awkwardly because of people¡¯s gaze on them with her father and looked at Alexander with warm eyes. The fatherly love she always wanted... She finally got them. ¡°Don¡¯t care about people... Just call me whatever your heart feels like.¡± Alexander spoke in a gentle voice. His daughter should only care about what she likes now. He will take care of the rest. Alexander¡¯s gaze fall on the ck haired man in the corner as he thought in his mind. ¡°No matter what others says, I will support and protect you in your every decision, Elee.¡± Alexander¡¯s words seem like hit on Eleanora¡¯s weak spot, which always craved for such words. Words that made her feel safe and secure, knowing that no matter what happens; there is always someone behind her to protect her from harm. His words made her smile brightly as ever again as she spoke. ¡°Okay, Daddy!¡± With that, Eleanora who was dancing a little awkwardly for people¡¯s gaze on her stopped caring about them and started to dance happily with her father. ¡­ ¡®Ah, am dizzy...¡¯ Eleanora thought as she put her hands on the sides of her head and continued to walk towards her room. Back then, she was too excited to dance with her father which resulted her to forget that she was actually sick. Although she doesn¡¯t have the fever anymore but she feels weak and dizzy. ¡®What¡¯s wrong... I seldom fall sick because of my holy powers, did i caught some incurable disease?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she felt like it wasn¡¯t a normal cold. She never felt this sick and weak even when she had high fever. She is feeling more weak after she drank the juice downstairs in the party. No one should dare to do something in her own house, so what¡¯s happening. Eleanora kept walking even when she felt that her visions was bing blurred and dark. She couldn¡¯t even see anything clearly but then she clearly heard a cold but low voice, which shocked her. ¡°So, the medicine has started to work...¡± Eleanora felt a shiver on her whole body like someone had poured a bucket of cold water on her. Someone actually dared to do something under her father¡¯s nose. Just who can be this bold? Even the emperor is present today! ¡°W-Who... My father~ will not spare you...¡± Eleanora tried her best to stand firmly but she couldn¡¯t. She felt her legs go numb and body bing weaker. ¡®Usually there would be knights on the hallway, where are they?¡¯ Eleanora tried to look around with her blurry vision, but she was confirmed that no one was around her. Otherwise they would obviously help her. ¡®Where is Maria... Wasn¡¯t she following me?¡¯ Eleanora tried to use her powers, but she couldn¡¯t concentrate and because of her trying to use the powers, she be more weak and fall on the ground. ¡®What¡¯s happening... Why can¡¯t i use my powers?¡¯ The more she tried, the more weaker she be. Resulting her to cough blood which made Eleanora¡¯s assumption to be right. ¡®I- I am poisoned? How?¡¯ Right then, she felt the footsteping closer and bent down before her. The person caught her chin to look at her pale face. ¡°Tsk, Why are you so stubborn? Just give up, no one is here to help you.¡± The man spoke and Eleanora tried her best to see the person, who dared to harm her in her own house. Her body was bing numb and her eyes felt heavy, wanting to shut off where different noises kept ringing on her head. ¡®It¡¯s so painful...¡¯ Eleanora felt her body was being stabbed by something continually. Like something new was being inserted in her body. ..... Then she finally managed to get a glimpse of the person infront of her and felt like the person was speaking something but she couldn¡¯t hear them anymore as she fall unconscious. ¡°You better obey me and i will make sure you can peacefully go to eternal sleep, My empress...¡± Chapter 144 - 144 [Bonus chapter]"The Reason Of Her Rebirth" 144 [Bonus chapter]¡±The Reason Of Her Rebirth¡± ¡®It hurts...¡¯ Eleanora felt pain all over her body as she felt her consciousnessing back. She tried to move her body but soon realised that her body was being tied up by something. Eleanora instantly opened her eyes in shock and found her both hands being tied up with silver cuffs, which prevented her from using her powers to break free. ¡°Oh, My empress is awake?¡± Eleanora¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as she heard the familiar voice once again. ¡®The emperor?¡¯ She turned her head to see a person standing infront of the window, the bright moonlight fall on his ck hair and made it shine like silver. Where his bloody red eyes looked alluring, but Eleanora was fearful. ..... ¡®This ce...¡¯ ¡°Yes... It¡¯s the trial ground.¡± ¡°Where i had executed, my beloved empress...¡± ¡°!!!¡± Eleanora was shocked to hear his words. ¡®He remembers everything?!¡¯ ¡®Then why-¡® ¡°I have waited a long time for this... Finally i don¡¯t need to act anymore...¡± The emperor spoke as he kept wiping his sword with his handkerchief and looked at Eleanora with a smrik. Where, Eleanora kept on struggling to get away. She doesn¡¯t want to stay on this podium again. She kept pulling the silver cuffs, which kept her tied against the wooden box. Where she had once stood and watched every false usations fall upon her. Fear filled up her heart and tears kept pouring. ¡®No... Not again!¡¯ ¡®Why i am still so foolish?!¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t wanna die again!¡¯ ¡°DADDY!!!¡± ¡°SOMEONE PLEASE SAVE ME!!!¡± Eleanora closed her eyes as she yelled with all her might to call for help. But then, she was stunned to hear his sinisterughter. ¡°Hahhaahhhahaa... Do you really think someone wille to save you?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s midnight! Everyone in the duchy thinks you are asleep! Who will pass by this trial ground at this time?¡± The emperor spoke as he took steps towards her with his sword on her hand. ¡°NOOO!!! STAY AWAY!!!¡± Eleanora tried to get away when he came closer and caught her jaw tightly to make her look at him. ¡°You are really naive, My empress...¡± ¡°Did you think i really loved you?¡± The emperor asked as he got more closer to her and spoke in a deep voice. ¡°Let... Let me go...¡± ¡°How can i let you go when am finally going to achieve what i wanted all this years? Huh?¡± The emperor spoke as he moved his sword a little and the edge of the sword touched her cheeks. Eleanora closed her eyes and felt goosebumps on her body as the cold sword touched her cheeks. ¡°Why are you doing this... I didn¡¯t even seek revenge for what you did to me- aaah!!¡± Eleanora couldn¡¯t speak anymore and yelled in pain as he released her jaw but grabbed her hair instead. ¡°Are you even qualified to take revenge? A weakling like you?¡± ¡°Once you die... Everything will go back to normal...¡± ¡°Pff-¡± Eleanora¡¯s sudden chuckle stunned the emperor and he looked at her, whose fearful blue eyes suddenly turned sharp and sparkling again. ¡°...Do you think she wille back if i die?¡± ¡°!!!¡± The emperor¡¯s eyes widened is shock as he heard her words and his grip on her scalp loosen a little bit. ¡°Do you think by calling me like him... You can be him? You are such a idiot... No wonder she didn¡¯t choosed you-¡± Eleanora couldn¡¯t speak anymore as the emperor suddenly grabbed her neck and chocked her. ¡°HOW DARE YOU!¡± ¡°Do you think she will ept the current you? The you who has be a killer?¡± ¡°STOP!!! How do you know it all?!¡± The emperor asked as he put more force on his hands which was chocking her. But instead of fear, sheughed like a mad woman. ¡®This is really hrious... Even after every cruelty he showed and did to me, i can still recognise him even if the face is same...¡¯ Eleanora knew that it wasn¡¯t her Cathain who was infront of her from the very beginning. She pretended to be fearful to talk with him more, so that she could guess the situation. The unexinable deaths of the empress¡¯s, her suddenly seeing Ariande¡¯s life, her getting a second chance to live again as the empire was destroyed in her previous life... Getting the prophecy of being the saintess, The words engraved in the murals of the Rua kingdom... ¡°~I will keep wandering till youe and choose me. Otherwise, i will destroy your beloved empire¡¯s for you to show up~¡± The first emperor be the curse of the imperial family, every emperor suffered from heartbreak as their empress died and be crazy. The first emperor tried every mean to force the goddess to sent back Ariande¡¯s soul back. And in the end, the goddess, who couldn¡¯t watch this tragedies anymore had no choice but to give Ariande¡¯s powers to the next empress. Unfortunately, things didn¡¯t went as the first emperor wanted and Eleanora was killed. In the end, he destroyed the empire as she dreamt a few days ago. The ck dragon with red eyes was not her Cathain but the first emperor. Who finally got what he wanted in this life. Eleanora finally solved the puzzle of her being reborn again. She nkly looked at the red eyes infront of her which looked empty and lost. ¡®His eyes never looked like this...¡¯ In the past, his eyes would be full of hatred and possessiveness which he tried his best to not show. In the present, his eyes is always full of love and care, endless obsession... How can she not recognise those eyes, which contained the same emotions as the past her? Which contained crazy obsession towards him. How can she mistook those eyes which always wanted to lock her up in a ce where no one else but only he could see her... Only he could touch and feel her. Because she felt the same and his crazy possessiveness was what she liked in him the most. ..... The feel of being wanted and protected by someone... His jealousy which made her feel that he has her in his heart to feel like that even if it made her feel fearful. The past Eleanora wanted only him to possess her, no one else but only her in his red eyes. She just wanted to make him only look at her. She hoped for him to be hers¡­ and she will bepletely his. The past Eleanora wanted the same as the current Cathain wants. But the Cathain infront of her right now has no such a thing in his red eyes even if they look the same. She can see the desperation to get something from her in those red eyes. Which contains those emotions for someone else who is inside her. And the person, who is inside her is... ¡°Ariande wouldn¡¯t want to see you like this...¡± Chapter 145 - 145 "Bring Her Back" 145 ¡°Bring Her Back¡± After the sacrificial of saintess Ariande, the monsters and darkness faded away from the world and be bright again. Slowly, everyone¡¯s life returned to normal, except one person. The first emperor, who was a tyrant but also a good ruler to the people turned to dark magic to forget the pain of losing his beloved. Who died without hearing his confession. He regretted not telling her how he felt earlier on. He spends his day with his daughter and the official works, but he can¡¯t fill the emptiness in his heart when heys down on the bed at night alone. Ariadne was no longer sleeping beside him. Smiling at him shyly before she jumps on him to sleep while hugging him. It killed him in insides every time he thought about how there will be no one beside him from now on. ..... He will have to sleep alone in this big bed without her. Even drinking alcohol or sleeping pills couldn¡¯t help him feel better. It only made his pain worse as he kept imagining her with him after drinking or dreaming about her. Then finally, the emperor forced the owner of the magic tower who was Ariadne¡¯s personal doctor before to use ck magic on him. He wanted to forget Ariadnepletely. If he can¡¯t remember then there will be no pain. But he waited more then 18 years after Ariadne¡¯s sacrificial, for their daughter Eleaine to be an adult and had a child as the next emperor to do that. He didn¡¯t wanted his daughter to suffer in his absence or face any obstacles. Despite the countless rejection of the mage, The emperor tried the ck magic which bacshed on him as the power shed. The emperor died as an result but his soul which was remorseful didn¡¯t vanished. He wanted to revive Ariadne, tell her how much he loved her. He wanted her to choose him. But dark magic was a sin, which goes against the rules of the divinity of the goddess. Not only dragons lives more then human but using ck magic was like being a immortal. The first emperor went against the rules of all the living being to be with her again. He kept disturbing thew of nature and force the goddess to listen to him. In the end, the goddess had no way but to sent back Ariadne¡¯s soul into Eleanora as she was the next empress who came from the same bloodline as Ariadne. Her divine powers waspatible with Ariadne. But things didn¡¯t go as the First emperor nned. He wanted to kill Eleanora¡¯s soul first which will awaken Ariadne¡¯s soul inside her body and then take over the current emperor¡¯s body. He was almost sessful in his past life during Eleanora¡¯sing of age ceremony but that past Cathain¡¯s mixed emotions after seeing her for a long time, he couldn¡¯t took over him. This was why after spending the night with Eleanora, the crown prince who couldn¡¯t remember everything clearly left early and thought of contacting herter, which made Eleanora misunderstand the him. Eleanora thought he did that in drunken state and regretted it after waking up, where the past crown prince, did that to prevent the first emperor taking over him without thinking much. He knew once he lost focus, he would lose psychologically to the first emperor. There was a lot of times where the crown prince almost lost but he still managed to hold on. But lost when the poison in his food and Jennifer¡¯s mind controlling over him increased. The controlling was so strong that even the first emperor couldn¡¯t take over him anymore and in the end, Eleanora was executed. So, the first emperor¡¯s n changed¡­ He destroyed the whole empire by taking over the 34th emperor, who sacrificed his soul to turn back the time. In this timeline, the current Cathain was more strong in mentality but once he be weak after hearing the words of Eleanora¡¯s, the first emperor was finally able to take over his body. Preventing people from doubting him, he waited till today to start his n. He was able to take over the current emperor easily and Eleanora was also sitting in the magic circle. He wanted to make Eleanora¡¯s spirit weaker by hurting her mentality, like how the current Cathain was weak in spirit when he learnt that Eleanora was executed in her past life. When her spirit would be low, he would kill her first before mixing their bloods together to activate the magic circle. After that, Ariadne¡¯s soul will have no choice but to awakening. But he never expected Eleanora to see through him and act so calmly. He also never thought how Ariadne, who never even eaten meat because she felt sorry for the animals would react when she wille to know what he have done for years to revive her. ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter anymore...¡± The man infront of Eleanora spoke and his grip on her neck loosened a little bit. Eleanora coughed violently a few times and bloods came out from her mouth. She panted heavily to gasp for breath. The man infront of her moved his hands away from her neck and Eleanora sighed in relief. She doesn¡¯t know for how long she can manage to held him up from killing her. Eleanora could only hope for the current Cathain¡¯s soul wake up to prevent this. She has already faced death once in this ce. She doesn¡¯t want to die again. She still have so much things to do. ¡°No... I can¡¯t go back now... I have already done so much and this close to revive her...¡± ¡°No... I need to tell her... I love her too... Yeah, I need to tell her...¡± Eleanora panicked as she heard the man¡¯s murmuring. ¡®No... I need to do something... I need to-¡® Eleanora¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as she saw the man picking up the sword again. Cathain¡¯s sword was decorated with red and ck gemstones, which was shining because of the moonlight in the man¡¯s hands. The man was in a dazed state, red eyes full of lost emotion and desperation as he raised the sword in his hand. ¡°Only your death can bring her back...¡± ~The former empress will be executed for trying to harm the queen and murder the future heir of the empire. Her sentence will be carried away right away~ The past voices started to ring in her mind as she watched the sword raising up again. Eleanora could see the past repeating again. ¡®No... I don¡¯t want to die... Someone please save me!¡¯ But then everything be dark again and she felt her consciousness fading away slowly. Chapter 146 - 146 "The End Of Their Story" 146 ¡°The End Of Their Story¡± ¡°Don¡¯t do this, Cain! This is not you!¡± Eleanora heard herself speaking but she knew it was not her, who was speaking. The sword, which would almost pierce through her chest in the next second stopped in the mid air as the man stared at her. Even Eleanora herself was stunned. She didn¡¯t wanted to speak but still she found herself speaking. She couldn¡¯t control her body or voice. Her blue eyes had a glimpse of gold colour as she spoke and a tear drop left from his eyes. His hands which was holding the sword started to tremble but he didn¡¯t even blinked, fearing that the golden glimpse in her blue eyes might disappear if he blinked for a second. ¡°A-Aria?¡± He spoke hesitantly and Eleanora once again found herself answering him without her intention. ..... ¡°Cain... Don¡¯t do this. My Cain isn¡¯t like this...¡± ¡°Is it really you- Aria?¡± ¡°...Yes, it¡¯s me. My handsome duke.¡± ¡°It¡¯s really you...¡± The man spoke as he put down the sword and cupped the face of the woman infront of him. Only she dared to call him handsome infront of everyone. Who had the same golden eyes and silver hair like the woman he loved for thousand years. ¡°Couldb¡¯t you just stay with me...?¡± The man asked as he looked at the golden eyes which he yarned to see for thousand years. ¡°They needed me, I can¡¯t abandon my responsibilities and let hundreds of people die...¡± But her answer disappointed him. It wasn¡¯t what he wanted to hear. ¡°THEN WHAT ABOUT ME?! DIDN¡¯T I NEED YOU?! OUR DAUGHTER NEEDED YOU TOO!!¡± The man spoke as he grabbed the shoulder of the woman infront of him lightly. ¡°I knew you would take good care of her...¡± ¡°Then what about me, Aria?¡± Tears left the man¡¯s eyes as he spoke with a hurting voice and questioned the woman infront of him. ¡®She always thought of everyone except me and then says she loves me.¡¯ ¡°Let go of this all ande back with me, Cain. Our story has ended long ago...¡± ¡°NO! I DON¡¯T ACCEPT THIS KIND OF ENDING!¡± ¡°Cain...¡± ¡°I ALSO WANT TO LIVE HAPPILY, LAUGH AND LOVED BY YOU TILL WE DIE NATURALLY!! NOT ENDING BECAUSE OF SOMEONE ELSE!¡± ¡°By running everyone else¡¯s life?¡± The woman asked with a sorrowful expression and looked at the man who was once a righteous person turning into a devil for her. ¡°As long as i can meet you...nothing else matters.¡± ¡°No... It matters. You are turning them like you too by doing this, Cain.¡± The man lowered his head before he hugged her tightly in his arms, where her arms was still cuffed. ¡°...I love you, Aria. I have always loved you...¡± ¡°...Let¡¯s go back. This isn¡¯t where we should be.¡± Hearing her voice, the man gritted his teeth as he moved away from her body and looked at her again. ¡°Just stay with me... I finally found a way for us to be together but you are thinking about abandoning me again...!!!¡± ¡°Stop this all... Let¡¯s go back, am waiting for you and... I love you too, Cain.¡± As she finished her sentence, the golden light faded away from Eleanora¡¯s eyes and be dark blue once again. The man looked at the fading golden colour with his widened red eyes in horror. ¡°No...No...No... Stay with me, Aria... Don¡¯t leave me again... Aria... No...!!!¡± The man picked up his sword again before Eleanora, who finally came back to her senses and looked at the swording towards her neck again. She closed her eyes in horror as their was no way she could prevent this time. But to her surprise, as soon as the edge of the sword touched her body, a protection sheild was casted and the silver cuffs in her hands broke apart. The man fall backward and Eleanora looked at the red magic shield which came out from the imperial ne on her neck, which was casted by the emperor himself before he gifted her this. ¡®Did he- already knew that something was wrong?¡¯ Indeed Cathain knew that, something was wrong with him when he couldn¡¯t remember anything about Count Arlo¡¯s daughter¡¯s birthday banquet. ording to Brayden and Alexander, he have attended the party but he doesn¡¯t remember. Even how he got back to the imperial pce on tha rainy day, he can¡¯t recall it. But there was nothing wrong in his body when the imperial doctor examined him. So, he gifted the imperial ne with his magic protection sheild to Eleanora. In case if he ever tries to harm her when he doesn¡¯t remember things or something happens in his absence. Then Eleanora¡¯s eyes fall on the person in the ground, who was struggling to get up as he was wounded badly because of the magic barrier. The pure fire magic of the current emperor is really powerful, specially his magic barrier. It has high damaging and shielding powers, where Eleanora has high attacking and healing powers. ¡®This is my chance... I have to wake him up...¡¯ In this situation, Eleanora knew the wise choice would be running away to save herself but if she does that and the nobles finds out about this, it would be hard to exin. In the worst case, he might have to step down from the throne or executed for being possessed. Eleanora knows she shouldn¡¯t care about him but she can¡¯t help but ran towards him to save him from pain. ¡®I have no other choice. Am only doing this to save him...¡¯ Eleanora immediately pinned him down on the ground and caught his struggling hands tightly and yelled at the struggling man in pain, infront of her. ¡°WAKE UP, YOUR MAJESTY!!¡± ¡°No- Give me back my Aria!¡± ¡°Aria! Come out!¡± ¡°A-¡± Before the man could speak anything more, Eleanora sealed his thin lips with hers tightly as she also closed her eyes. The man¡¯s eyes widened in surprise and tried to push her away from him but this made Eleanora kiss him more deeply, making him out of focus and the real Cathain struggling toe out. ¡®In the end... I still couldn¡¯t win against your written fate, goddess... I couldn¡¯t bring her back... This is the ending of our story which i must ept. Then, Aming, My Aria.¡¯ With that, a tear drop silently left from the man¡¯s eyes as closed his eyes... Slowly fading away from the real Cathain¡¯s consciousness and Eleanora felt the change in him. She slowly opened her eyes and stopped moving her lips as she saw his closed eyes. ¡®I can feel his mana being stable...Is he back?¡¯ As Eleanora felt the person she pinned down rxing, she also rxed and tried to move away but to her surprise, she was pulled down with a strong force. ..... ¡®Huh? What?!¡¯ Chapter 147 - 147 "The Real Cathain" 147 ¡°The Real Cathain¡± ¡°Kyaa- mmph!¡± Eleanora, who was suddenly pulled down on the ground and kissed by Cathain, widen her blue eyes in shock. Their position was switched in one movement and now Cathain was on top of her, kissing her wildly with his eyes still closed. ¡®What- Why is he kissing me?!¡¯ Eleanora thought as she used her hands to push on his chest but a frown appeared in the middle of his brows because of her protest. He grabbed her wrist with both hands and pinned them on the ground by entangling their fingers together while he deepened his kiss. ¡°Mmph- let...go¡± Eleanora tried to speak but couldn¡¯t. Where Cathain continued to suck her lips while she stayed motionless, still not able to short out what is her feelings for him. ..... Love or hate? She seem to struggle in the middle. She can¡¯t say for sure what is her feelings for the current him. She for sure loathe the past him for what he has did to her, but can¡¯t love the current him even after how much he did for her. Eleanora can¡¯t push nor ept the current him. The current Cathain seem to drive her crazy. If the past him has pushed her down from the edge, filling her life with darkness then the current him is the one who saved her and filled her life with light again. Eleanora gasped for breath as he stopped kissing her lips and moved on her neck. Everywhere his hot lips touched felt like sparkling and Eleanora remembered the night in the past, where he was like this too when she gave him her first time. ¡®Did something happened at that time too for him acting like that?¡¯ The past Cathain was always dignified, never once losing his control but that night, he felt like he was desperate. At that time she was in love with him, so she gave him permission but this time is different. ¡®No... I can¡¯t let the same thing happen again.¡¯ Eleanora didn¡¯t wanted to repeat the past and let the same thing happen twice. ¡°Y-Your Majesty... Wake up!¡± She tried to take her hands away but his grip was strong. But there was no response from Cathain. He kept showering her neck with his hot kisses. Eleanora¡¯s toes curled up as she denied the pleasure he was giving her. ¡®I should have just injured him to wake up... Why did i used my mouth at the first ce?¡¯ She looked at the ceiling over her with her wet eyes and her breathing bing heavier as his hot breath fall on her neck. Slowly, he moved down towards her chest and she gasped. ¡°STOP, YOUR MAJESTY¡± But Cathain paid no attention to her like he didn¡¯t even heard her callings. ¡°CATHAIN!! LOOK AT ME!!¡± Cathain stopped as he heard his name being called suddenly in his unconscious state and tried to open his eyes but couldn¡¯t as a sharp pain hit his mind. In the end, he just stopped his action because of the headache and burried his head on her chest and released her hands slowly. Eleanora again felt his mana being unstable and she tried to calm him down by passing her healing powers to him. ¡®Okay, am just too generous. Nothing else.¡¯ She sighed as she gently ran her fingertips in his hair and concentrated to pass her healing magic through it to calm him down. As the headache seem to subdue, Cathain wrapped his hands around her waist to cling onto her warmth. After a few moments, his breathing be normal again and Eleanora stopped passing her powers. She had be exhausted after all this. ¡°Your Majesty...¡± Eleanora tried to call him as she felt stuffy with him hugging her so tightly. ¡®Why is he so heavy?!¡¯ Eleanora felt breathless as he had his all weight put over her. She didn¡¯t had the strength to keep him on top of her anymore and tried to turn a little. ¡°Don¡¯t move, mom...¡± ¡®...Huh? M-Mom?¡¯ Eleanora was dumbfounded and doubted either she heard him right or not. Where Cathain rubbed his face on her chest a little to feel morefortable to sleep. ¡®...¡¯ ¡®Did he mistook me as his... Mother?!¡¯ ¡®Who kisses ones mother like he did to me?!¡¯ In anger, Eleanora raised her hands to punch on his back to wake him up. ¡®Let this mother wake up her son then!¡¯ ¡°GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU ARE HEAVY!¡± Eleanora spoke as she used her mana to push him away with all his strength and Cathain sat up with a frown on his face while rubbing his eyes to open it. Eleanora felt like she was alive again as he moved away from her and also got up from the floor in a sitting position. She looked at Cathain, who was sitting on the ground with his hands covering his face and frowned. ¡®He doesn¡¯t looks like he weight this much.¡¯ ¡°Ahem... Are you alright?¡± Eleanora asked as she thought if she had used much mana to push him. ¡®If he gets injured, he won¡¯t punish me for harming a royal, right? i just did self defence...¡¯ ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡®What?¡¯ Eleanora, who was lost in her thoughts suddenly heard someone asking who is she. With a face that was asking what he meant looked at Cathain with a dumbfounded expression. ¡°I asked who are you?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°How bold of you to kidnap and harm the crown prince of the empire?!¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora felt like she has turned into a stone and her mind has stopped working. Who is she? ¨C His fiancee for now, right? Kidnap him? ¨C It was him who kidnapped her, it was his body afterall. Harm him? ¨C It was just self defence. Who asked him to call her mother? And crown prince? ¨C He is the emperor! The more Eleanora tried to think the more her head hurted. How did she turned to be the bad guy where she is the actual victim? ¡°A-And you... It was you, who kissed me, right?¡± ..... ¡°...¡± ¡°...You took away my f-first kiss!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®WTF dude?¡¯ Eleanora looked at the 22 year old emperor blushing like a teenager infront of her with a weird expression. ¡®I didn¡¯t hit his head identally, right?¡¯ ¡®Why the hell he is acting like some kid now?¡¯ Eleanora tried to reach him with her hands to cheak on his mana but he dodged her touch and covered his body with his hands. His face was fully red. ¡°What- what are trying to do?! I won¡¯t give my body to an olderdy like you!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®O-Older? Am 4 years younger then you old cow who eats tender grass!¡¯ Eleanora closed her eyes and clenched her fist in annoyance. ¡®Calm down, Elee... Violence isn¡¯t an option... He is the emperor...¡¯ She exhaled a heavy breathe to subdue her anger and looked at him with a face which clearly expressed how she was running out of patience. ¡°Listen, Your Majesty... I didn¡¯t kidnapped you, it was you who took me here and i admit i kissed you first-¡± ¡°See! You admitted it yourself! You pedophile-¡± Cathain spoke as he clenched his clothes to cover him with a blush on his face but Eleanora¡¯s furious looking face shut him up which seem to say, ¡®Speak another word and you are dead.¡¯ But then Cathain swallowed his saliva and looked away with a blushing face which made Eleanora confused. He took off his cape and threw it on her as he spoke. ¡°You- COVER YOURSELF PROPERLY!¡± Only then Eleanora noticed that her dress was torn and exposed her cleavage a little. Moreover, there was kiss marks left on her neck by him which made Eleanora also blush. ¡®It was him who did that but now he is ming me? Acting like nothing happened?¡¯ But it wasn¡¯t the time for that. Something was wrong with the emperor even if his mana level was stable. He looked normal and okay, which was the most abnormal thing. After what happened, he should wake up normally as the first emperor isn¡¯t possess on him anymore. He should discuss about how this all things happened to him with her, not acting like some teenager kid. Pretending like he doesn¡¯t know her... ¡®Wait, doesn¡¯t know me?¡¯ ¡°Your Majesty... Who is your fiancee?¡± Eleanora asked in a serious tone after she wrapped his cape over her body. ¡°Huh? You don¡¯t know my fiancee?¡± Surprise sh across on Cathain¡¯s face as he heard thedy infront of him asking an obvious question. But then his expression turned serious. ¡°Listen, if you let me go unharmed, i can forgive you but if you touch her... I will kill you.¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora was stunned to hear such an answer. She is infront of him, then what is he saying? ¡°I don¡¯t like her as she is just a little annoying, pulling a cold face all the day like she doesn¡¯t care about anything which is actually true.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°She just likes her poker faced father and chase after him all day to impress him.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°My father loves her and i know this is not something she can do anything about but still, it¡¯s like a throne in my eyes when i see it.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®...What can i do if your father liked me more then you?¡¯ ¡°Although she can be a little cute sometimes but she is ignorant. Acting like she is the best and no one can defeat her.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®He is bad mouthing me, infront of me?¡¯ Eleanora could understand the situation a little but this gave her a headache. Finally, she asked a final question to confirm her guess. ¡°Your Majesty, No more nonsense and tell me... How old are you?¡± Chapter 148 - 148 "Forgot The Past 7 Years" 148 ¡°Forgot The Past 7 Years¡± ¡°So what you people mean is... My father died and am the emperor now?¡± ¡°Am not 16 but 22?¡± Cathain asked and the two people infront of him nodded in agreement. Last night, he was shocked to learn that the adult girl infront of him was no one but his fiance whom he used to hate. At first, he didn¡¯t see her clearly because of the darkness and thought of her as a kidnapper. He talked nonsense in purpose to steal time but in the end, when she stood up and the moonlight fall on her; he was shocked to see her. Silver hair and blue eyes, the evident of being an Dalton and also... His fiancee. She took him out from the trial grounds and immediately ordered a knight to clean the mess inside. From the she talked with the knight, he knew they was familiar with each other and no one was shocked to see her. ..... Which meant she wasn¡¯t lying to him. Everyone bow to him and greeted like when they see the emperor. So he was no longer a crown prince but became a emperor already. It¡¯s been four years since he rose to throne but the problem is he doesn¡¯t remember a singlr thing which happened in thest seven years. The person infront of him was his aid Brayden, whom he remembers to be young but now he is an adult young man. Beside him stood the knight fromst night, Sir Anthony who seldom reacts to any words. ¡°Gosh... So you really forgot everything! How did this all happened?!¡± Brayden spoke as his face showed how hurt he was. ¡®If the emperor doesn¡¯t remembers anything that means i have to do all the works for him till he recalls the past?!¡¯ This was the actual reason as to why Brayden was so hurt. ¡°That girl... Is she really Eleanora Dalton?¡± ¡°You also forgot her?!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®How can i remember her when i don¡¯t even remember that my father died?¡¯ ¡°Brayden... Make a exact report of the most important things from the past seven years and sent it to me. Keep this matter confidential.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Brayden was about to walk out to make a report when Cathain suddenly called him again. ¡°And... Ask her to meet me.¡± ¡°Her? Who?¡± Brayden was confused for a moment and asked. ¡°...Her, Lady Dalton.¡± Cathain spoke with a little hesitation and recalledst night where he remembered kissing her. His face blushed a little as he thought about that and Brayden finally recalled Eleanora is actually called Lady Dalton normally. ¡°Oh? Yeah, she is actually Lady Dalton. I was used to hear you calling her ¡®my empress¡¯ for so many years that i actually forgot she isn¡¯t the empress yet...¡± Brayden spoke and Cathain looked at him with disbelief. There is no way he can do such a disgraceful thing, let alone to the girl whom he finds annoying. ¡°I used to call her what?¡± ¡°My empress- this is something the whole empire, No! the neighbouring countries knows too.¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain felt his head hurting as he heard Brayden¡¯s words. Everything seems like a dream to him. He suddenly turned to be 22 from 16 in one night with no memory of the past seven years. ¡°Both of you, get out... And ask someone to sent me a cup of tea.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Both Brayden and Sir Anthony left after biding the emperor and Cathain stood up from his study table after staring at the picture there for some time. It was a picture of the ten years old him with the six year old Eleanora, the picture he had previously stolen from Eleanora¡¯s bedroom when he pretended to be Ain. ¡®She just left after handing me over to Sir Anthony, didn¡¯t even said goodbye or exin anything...¡¯ Cathain thought as he walked towards the window to nce at the garden. Most of the flowers he remembers from the past is no longer here. Everywhere his eyes fall has red and white roses. ¡®Just why most of the flowers in the garden are roses?¡¯ Cathain frowned a little and picked up the newspaper to get some knowledge about how the empire is running. But his eyes widened as he saw the picture in the front page. ¡®What the-¡® The front page had a picture of him kissing Eleanora¡¯s cheeks during hering of age ceremony banquet and the news of him gifting her the imperial ne. He looked at the picture and read the news in disbelief. ¡®How can i do such a act infront of everyone?!¡¯ ¡®Moreover, i gifted her the imperial ne which can only be given to the next empress?¡¯ The more he read about the love story of them, the more he felt like it wasn¡¯t him but someone else. ¡®I clearly hate her... Find her annoying... Just what happened in the past seven years?¡¯ ¡®If i really changed and love her now, shouldn¡¯t she be concerned and stay beside me now instead of leaving me in care of my aid and knight?¡¯ Cathain was lost in thought but then his red eyes narrowed and a frown appeared on his face. He saw two people walking together andughing as they talked. The girl was wearing the Dalton duchy¡¯s knight suit, more like the suit which usually heirs wear. Her long silver hair was tied up into a high ponytail and her blue eyes sparkled as she talked with the man beside her happily. ¡®Even her smile is annoying.¡¯ Then Cathain saw Sir Anthony approaching her and he assumed that Sir Anthony was probably telling her to see him. The smile disappeared from her face in an instant and she seemed reluctant. But she still had to as it was the emperor¡¯s words and bid the man beside her to meet him. Seeing her hesitation, Cathain sneered. ¡®Is she that reluctant to see me?¡¯ As he sensed her approaching, Cathain hurriedly moved away from the window as he didn¡¯t wanted her to know that he was watching her. He hurriedly took a book from the desk and opened it as Eleanora knocked on the door. ¡°Your Majesty, this is dame Dalton. May ie in?¡± ¡®Heh, Dame Dalton? Not even crown princess?¡¯ ¡°Come in.¡± Cathain replied in a cold voice as he pretended to read the book with great concentration. Receiving the permission, Eleanora opened the door and came in before she closed the door again. Her gaze fall on the man who was pretending to read a upside down book with great concentration. But she choosed to stay silent. ¡°Your Majesty, You called me?¡± ¡°Yeah, sit down.¡± ..... Cathain gestured her to sit down but Eleanora didn¡¯t wanted to. ¡°No, am okay-¡± ¡°Sit.¡± Cathain¡¯s cold voice reminded Eleanora about the reality again. He has be the same like before. No longer the Cathain she knew for seven years in the present. ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty.¡± Eleanora sit down with a expressionless face as she expressed her gratitude, which made him feel upset. ¡®You was so friendly with that blonde dog but here you are treating your fiance like some stranger.¡¯ ¡°Are you feeling well now?¡± A smrik appeared on his face as he heard her words and looked at her with his sharp gaze. ¡°So you finally remembered to care for your fiancee?¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora looked at him with an bewildered expression. What did he even meant by this? ¡°I apologise, Your Majesty. It waste at night and my father would be worried if i wasn¡¯t at home.¡± Eleanora replied politely as she thought how she had to enter her room through window to avoid people knowing that she wasn¡¯t in the room. Thank god someone ¡®who was the master of climbing her window¡¯ had teached her how to sneak out ande in through her window. ¡°Oh, I see...¡± Cathain spoke casually like it didn¡¯t mattered as he stared at Eleanora unknowingly. ¡®She has be a little beautiful. Specially her lips...¡¯ ¡°Your Majesty?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Cathain responsed with a humming sound as he finally returned to his senses and felt embarrassed for having such thoughts. Where seeing him in a daze like this, Eleanora be concerned for his health. ¡®It must be so tough for him to ept such a drastic change in his life all of a sudden.¡¯ ¡°Lady Dalton...¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Eleanora was a little surprised. Suddenly the distance between them grew and she felt like she was facing the past Cathain. Before, even if she didn¡¯t liked him but it was not ufortable like now to be with him before. Their was no silent awkwardness between them previously. Specially because of his shamelessness and carefree nature which used to make her feel rxed. But now facing the cold him again, Eleanora found the sudden change a little uneptable. There will be no one to call her ¡®My empress¡¯ or annoy her with his flirtings from now on. ¡®Shouldn¡¯t i be happy that everything will go on the same away i want from now on?¡¯ ¡®Why do i feel a little sad...¡¯ Chapter 149 - 149 "We Never- Did That?" 149 ¡°We Never- Did That?¡± ¡®What is wrong with me?¡¯ Eleanora looked at Cathain to remove her useless thoughts away from her head and focused on the person infront of her. ¡°So, tell me what exactly happenedst night.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Eleanora replied and was about to speak when they heard a knocking sound on the door. ¡°Your Majesty, I have bought your tea.¡± ¡°Come in.¡± Getting the emperor¡¯s permission, a maid entered the study room and Cathain gestured the maid to put it down on the tea table. ¡°Let¡¯s sit on the sofa and talkfortably.¡± ..... Cathain spoke to Eleanora as he stood up from his chair and both of them sat on the opposite sofa of each other. The maid served them tea and Eleanora was stunned as it¡¯s the tea which she likes. ¡®When did he started to drink this?¡¯ Eleanora used to brew this tea for Ain every time he used to climb the windows to meet her. Either it was day or night, it didn¡¯t stopped Ain from wanting to have the tea she personally brew. They used to talk for hours while drinking her favourite tea which be his favouriteter on too. But she didn¡¯t expected him to drink the same tea even when he wasn¡¯t with her. This thing undeniably made Eleanora feel warmness spreading in her heart. Eleanora took a sip of the tea but then, Cathain¡¯s reaction surprised her. ¡°What¡¯s this!!¡± Cathain spoke as he put down the tea cup after a sip in disdain, his face was full of disgust because of the bitter tea. The maid was also stunned as this is what the emperor is having for the past few years. What happened today then? ¡°Y-Your Majesty, is there anything wrong?¡± The maid asked timidly as she bow to him nervously. ¡°What¡¯s with this bitter taste, where¡¯s my-¡± ¡°YOUR MAJESTY!¡± Eleanora intruppted Cathain before he could speak more as the maid might be suspicious for his sudden change of taste. There are many spies in the pce and maids are the most reliable source to get information. ¡°You can go, i will brew the tea.¡± ¡°Okay, Mydy.¡± The colour in the maid¡¯s face returned and she hurriedly left like she was spared as soon as Eleanora spoke. ¡®Now no one will suspect...¡¯ Seeing the maid leaving the room, Eleanora sighed and Cathain looked at her with amusement. ¡®She... Will brew the tea for me?¡¯ But unbeknown to her, the maid actually thought that the emperor wanted thedy to brew him tea personally so he did that. ¡®The emperor is so romantic...!!¡¯ Eleanora looked at Cathain whose temper remind her of the teenage version of the crown prince who used to vent his anger in everything. And the crown prince¡¯s reaction when he first had this tea at her house. ¡®Stop thinking about the past, Elee...¡¯ Eleanora thought as she took a new tea cup and put milk and tea leaf in the cup before she added three sugar cubes in it. At the beginning, Ain reacted like that too. So, Eleanora would add some extra sugar cubes and milk to make it sweet for him. Later on, he be used to the usual bitter taste and Eleanora stopped making his tea with extra sweetness. It has been long since she made this but she still remembered his preference. She was so focused on making the tea, that shepletely ignored the person who was staring at her with amusement. Cathain could tell that this is not the first time she made it in another way then usual. Her expression told him that she was thinking about someone while making tea for him. ¡®Whom did she used to make it for?¡¯ He thought as the past him didn¡¯t knew it was her favourite tea and forgot that it was him for whom she used to make the tea in a special way. ¡°Try it now, Your Majesty.¡± Eleanora spoke as she pushed the tea cup towards Cathain and he took the tea cup to take a sip. And surprisingly, it tasted better to himpared to before. ¡°You seem to be good at this...¡± Cathain spoke as he deliberately didn¡¯t looked at her to act like he said it casually. ¡°...there was someone who didn¡¯t liked bitter tea, so i learned it for him.¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora, who was once again lost in her memories with Ain didn¡¯t realised his frozen expression as he heard her words. ¡®Heh, how bold of you to mention your lover infront of your fiancee.¡¯ ¡°...Who is he?¡± Cathain asked, still pretending to be calm where his heart was dying to know that person. ¡°He was my friend.¡± Eleanora replied casually as she took another sip from her tea cup without looking at him. ¡®His jealous nature will never change either he remembers or not...¡¯ ¡°Was? Not anymore?¡± Cathain asked with a little curiosity. ¡°He disappeared... Maybe died.¡± Eleanora replied and ignored the emperor¡¯s face which lit up with happiness the moment he heard the man was dead. ¡°My condolence for your friend.¡± ¡®Whomever you are, rest in peace and don¡¯te back even if you are not dead...¡¯ Cathain prayed without even knowing that, the man he wanted to disappear was himself. ¡®Wait... Why did i prayed for that man to note back?¡¯ Cathain was feeling frustrated as his brain thought one thing but his heart wanted the other thing. His expression turned dark again as he tried to focus on the real problem and put down his tea cup. ¡°Lady Dalton, tell me about what happened yesterday fully. I want to know how i ended up like this.¡± Eleanora looked at him for a moment before she put down her tea cup too and started to speak. ¡°Last night...¡± Eleanora told him everything aboutst night without leaving a single details out, not realising that the man infront of her didn¡¯t even blinked as he kept staring at her the whole time. ¡°So the first emperor had ck magic on his soul which was transfered in my body the moment he vanished and your holy powers which you used on my body to make him leave my body shed with the dark powers?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°So this is what which made me forget all the things happened in the middle?¡± ¡°Probably so...¡± ..... ¡°I see.¡± Both of them kept silent after this and then suddenly a question appeared on his mind. ¡°Well, i have another question...¡± ¡°Please ask, Your Majesty.¡± Eleanora spoke but Cathain hesitated a few moments and his cheeks turned slightly red as he finally decided to ask. ¡°...H-Have we ever did it?¡± Eleanora raised her brows in confusion and stared at Cathain, who was blushing. ¡°Did... what?¡± Asked Eleanora, who didn¡¯t understand his question. ¡°That... What couples usually do...¡± ¡®couples usually do...¡¯ ¡®!!!¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s face instantly turned red as she finally understood what he meant. ¡°I meant if we have slept together-¡± Cathain decided to speak directly as he thought Eleanora still didn¡¯t understand, which made her more embarrassed. ¡°NO! WE DIDN¡¯T!!¡± Eleanora denied it instantly with an impatient tone. She couldn¡¯t believe that, the first thing he would be curious about is this kind of things. ¡°We never- did it?¡± Cathain asked in a dejected voice and Eleanora looked at him in ridicule. ¡®Why does he looks dejected?! Why?!¡¯ ¡®Did he want something to happen between us? the person he dislikes so much?¡¯ ¡®In his dreams...heh!¡¯ ¡°Sorry to disappoint you, but it¡¯s true. Nothing has ever happened between us.¡± Eleanora spoke as she tried to calm down and hide her embarrassment. How can someone ask something like that so directly? ¡°W-Why would i be disappointed?!¡± Cathain asked with his flushed face and Eleanora red at him with a face that seem to say- ¡®...You sure? You aren¡¯t disappointed?¡¯ Cathain didn¡¯t spoke any further and looked away. He thought he felt attachment towards ger maybe because they had bond together physically. So their mana powers and the bond kept attracting him towards her like a ma. But she doesn¡¯t seem like lying... So it must be true that the bond isn¡¯t created yet between them. ¡®Then why am i so attracted to the person whom i find annoying?¡¯ ¡°Your Majesty, It¡¯s my training time. I have to go...¡± Eleanora spoke as she hurriedly wanted to get out from the room. She doesn¡¯t know what weird things this man might ask if she stayed any longer. ¡°Training?¡± Cathain asked. ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t remember it... I am a senior knight in the first squadron. I was promoted for my contribution during the war with Republic.¡± ¡°You went to the war?!¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Cathain had previously thought she was a knight as he knew she could wield swords from a very young age. And she should be taking empress lessons at this time... Staying in the pce as the crown princess. A sudden pain poked in his heart as he realised that was not the case. He always believed that she belonged to him even if he finds her annoying and will always stay together. But facing the exact opposite situation then he imagined before made him feel disappointment. ¡°I will see youter, Your Majesty.¡± Seeing that Cathain wasn¡¯t responding, Eleanora bid him farewell and left the room silently after closing the door. Looking at the empty sit infront of him, Cathain clenched his left chest as the pain increased. ¡®Why do i feel so sad?¡¯ Chapter 150 - 150 "Does She Loves Him?" 150 ¡°Does She Loves Him?¡± Cathain leaned on the sofa as he sighed deeply. Everything is confusing him, he can¡¯t even understand his feelings. One moment, he still dislikes Eleanora like he used to do but another moment, he feels like he can¡¯t live without her. Even without his memory, he is able toplete all his works after Brayden helped him to understand a little. But he can¡¯t solve the rtionship between him and Eleanora. He can¡¯t dislike her like he used to do before nor love her like he used to did now. ¡®Seven years... All internal and international affairs on the paper are showing the date of seven years in future...¡¯ ¡®A future which is different from what i imagined...¡¯ ¡®Is someone ying a trick on me?¡¯ ..... Feeling frustrated, Cathain stood up from the sofa and head towards his bedroom with Brayden following him. Brayden carefully observed the emperor¡¯s situation and sighed. ¡®No, if it goes on like this, he will never recover his memories...¡¯ ¡°Your Majesty! How about we take a walk outside?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go, Your Majesty!¡± Brayden paid no attention to the emperor¡¯s refusal and dragged him outside. ¡­ ¡°What¡¯s this building?¡± Cathain asked as his eyes fall on the imperial Orphanage building, which he remembered as a abandoned mansion. ¡°Oh, this is the orphanage you build for the homeless kids...¡± ¡®Does he think am a fool? Why would i build a Orphanage into the imperial pce out of every ce...¡¯ ¡°To give the crown princess a surprise gift on her birthday. You suddenly wanted to destroy this ce and then created this ce three years ago.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I never did that.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t remember because you lost your memory.¡± Brayden replied bluntly, ignoring Cathain¡¯s killing res. ¡°This joke was quite refreshing...¡± ¡°IT¡¯S NOT A JOKE, YOUR MAJESTY!!¡± Cathain sneered and walked towards the imperial orphanage building to take a closer look. But as he got closer, his felt like chocking as the strong smell of roses filled his nostril. ¡®Why is the whole imperial pce full of roses?!¡¯ ¡®At this point, people might call it rose pce instead of imperial pce!¡¯ As Cathain was lost in thoughts, Brayden sneak up behind him as he spoke in a low voice near the emperor¡¯s ears which made him flinch. ¡°Your Majesty, You gave the order yourself for rose gardens to be made in every corner of the royal pce, because roses are Lady Dalton¡¯s favourite.¡± ¡°Brayden,¡± ¡°ring at me won¡¯t change the fact that you love her, Your Majesty!¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain felt his headache worsening because of the strong smell of rose¡¯s fragrance and walked towards his room ignoring the Brayden who kept telling him things which he didn¡¯t wanted to hear. ¡°Leave me alone, Brayden.¡± Cathain spoke as he entered his bedroom but Brayden was still following him behind. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t i be by your side, Your Majesty?¡± ¡®After all you have lost your memories.¡¯ ¡°Get out at once,¡± Cathain spoke as he rubbed his aching forehead. But then his eyes fall on something as he sensed his manaing from the wall behind his bed. He took big steps towards the bed and slide the bed curtains. Even Brayden was shocked to see the wall, not to mention the emperor who just stare at the wall in disbelief. A big portrait of a beautiful smilingdy with silver hair and jewel like blue eyes was drew on the canvas, which was hanging on the wall. Eleanora had the empress crown on her head and her sword in another hand, roses surrounded her in the background as her silver hair was blowing in the air. The portrait was so beautiful that no one could ever look away after one nce. ¡°My Goodness!! Is this the portrait you draw of her?! Why didn¡¯t you let us see this before?!¡± Brayden asked in a cheerful voice, where Cathain kept staring at the portrait. As someone who couldn¡¯t understand what is going on. A picture of a girl, hanging above his bed and that too the portrait of the girl whom he finds annoying to the point that he wanna choke her sometimes? The young Cathain always found Eleanora¡¯s mature behaviour as some kind of act to attract attention by showing maturity. A act which made people praise her and then talk about how hot headed stubborn the crown prince is. But now, everything around him is telling that he loves that same girl? He even draw a portrait of hers by his own? ¡®When did i be so capable of making portraits?¡¯ Cathain always liked to draw but he couldn¡¯t as he was always busy with his extra lessons to defeat Eleanora. He didn¡¯t wanted to hear people calling him childish for liking arts when he is born to be the next emperor. He should focus on politics, not arts. Everything seemed uneptable to Cathain. ¡°You really love her so much, Your Majesty...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You must have been afraid of the portrait being worn out, so you had casted a preservation spell on it... Like you had casted a damaging spell on the imperial ne to protect thedy.¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain blinked his eyes a little as he felt like the world was spinning. ¡®I was scared of the picture being worn out so i casted a preservation spell on it by my own after making it??? I gave her the imperial ne before she be the empress... I turned the whole imperial pce a rose garden because she liked roses??? I made a orphanage, created a new rules which allows the female to be official knights just because of her???¡¯ The more Cathain thought about what he saw and learnt after this walk around the imperial pce, the more dizzy he felt. ¡®Madness, A total madness!¡¯ ¡®Either i have gone mad or am dreaming!¡¯ ¡°Oh, Your Majesty! Do you wanna see that portrait?¡± ¡°No... I don¡¯t wanna see anymore of this kind of crazy portraits!¡± ¡°No, It¡¯s a portrait painted by the royal painter!¡± Brayden¡¯s words made Cathain halted on his steps and he looked back at Brayden with his widened red eyes. ..... ¡°Imissioned a portrait?¡± Cathain asked as he followed Brayden in a corner of his bedroom, where the sofa¡¯s was. But before he could see the portrait, Cathain walked in the dressing room with shocked gaze. Beside his cloths, there was some dresses fordies. All the dresses was not the same sized. But he could tell that it was customised for one person as the patterns and designs of those dresses was simr. ¡°What¡¯s this now?¡± ¡°You always keep few dresses for Lady Dalton, in case she ever stays in the imperial pce in advance. They all are custom made by the designs you selected for thedy.¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain didn¡¯t spoke anything more as he kept staring at his dressing room where not only he had ordered dresses for her but also shoes, jewelry and makeups for her to use. Without waiting to hear anymore nonsense of how much he loves her from Brayden, he approached the painting hemissioned. Everything felt like lies to him. Previously, he could ept that he had forget his memories but now he feels like aplete stranger to himself. The things he did is infront of him but it¡¯s hard to ept that it¡¯s really did by him. The current him feels like another person, who is not him. Cathain removed the cloth which was covering the portrait and clenched his fists into a ball. ¡®Is it really me?¡¯ The portrait infront of him was a young girl and a teenage boy dancing. This was drew during hising of age ceremony banquet, where he danced with her. Cathain was shocked to see his own image. He never knew he could smile so gently like this. Wasn¡¯t he always cold from his childhood? A gloomy child whose father was busy with his works, leaving him with the maids whom always used to criticised him for being born while eating away his mother¡¯s life. A stubborn kid who was always jealous of his own fiancee and tried his best to defeat her, not realising his crush on her and being angry because she never noticed him. A cold crown prince who disliked his genius fiancee to the point he didn¡¯t attended their engagement ceremony and was always rebellious against the emperor... This is what he remembers himself to be. There was never gentleness or warmth in his red eyes, no emotions. His red eyes always looked cold. Then what is he seeing in his teenage self¡¯s eyes? Why do they look so gentle and full of love? Like there is no one but only her in his world? ¡®I look... Happy,¡¯ ¡®Do i really love her?¡¯ Cathain thought as his eyes fall on the girl in the portrait, who was looking down as they danced. There was no emotions in her jewel like blue eyes, like she was quitely waiting for it to end and step away from him. ¡®No, The question should be...¡¯ ¡®Does she loves... ...him?¡¯ Chapter 151 - 151 "Cheating On Him" 151 ¡°Cheating On Him¡± Sensing the cold atmosphere, Brayden understood that he should stop now and let the emperor alone for sometime to calm down. ¡°I will excuse myself now, Your Majesty.¡± Brayden spoke as he closed the bedroom door worriedly after ncing at the emperor, who was in a daze. Cathain tried his best to remember but all he could recall is how she looked as a 12 year old and how she looks now. ¡®Why is her expression like this?¡¯ A throbbing pain poked on his heart as he stared at the picture infront of him. Then he just pulled down the cloth to cover the picture againid down on his bed with a heavy headache. But he just continued to toss around as he couldn¡¯t fall asleep. Everytime he closed his eyes, her shocked expression fromst night and her indifferent attitude today kept repeating in his mind. ..... Specially how soft her lips were, when they kissed. Getting irritated, Cathain sat up on the bed and covered his blushing face in his palm. ¡®Just what should i do with you...¡¯ On the other hand~ ¡°Kitty...jump down! I will catch you!¡± Jennifer spoke as she spread her arms towards the kitten which was struck at a high tree branch. But no matter how much she tried, the kitten was afraid of jumping down. ¡®I can¡¯t ignore now that i have seen it.¡¯ With a sigh, Jennifer looked around to find someone to help but the whole garden was empty as it was lunch time. In the end, Jennifer decided to grab adder and climb up the tree by herself to save the kitten. ¡°Kitten... Come to me now...¡± Jennifer spoke in a sweet voice as she approached the kitten and tried to touch it. But unfortunately, the kitten scratched her as it jump down on the ground; which made Jennifer lose her bnce. ¡®Oh no! Am going to fall!!!¡¯ ¡®You ungrateful kitten!!¡¯ Jennifer closed her eyes tightly as she fall and a figure rushed towards her, with a blue cape floating in air as the person speed up to catch her. The person caught Jennifer but to her surprise, both of them fall together on the ground. ¡°!!!¡± Jennifer was shocked as her lips identally touched the person¡¯s cheeks, who was beneath her. Her actions made the person tense up and the hands which was wrapped around her waist tightened in shock. Jennifer¡¯s face turned red and she abruptly tried to get away but her dress was stuck, which made her unable to get up properly. ¡°A-Am sorry! I-It wasn¡¯t intensional!¡± Jennifer spoke as she tried to exin but she was even more embarrassed after seeing the person beneath her. ¡°...¡± ¡®Eleanora?!¡¯ The person who rushed to catch the falling Jennifer was no one else but Eleanora, which was quite hard to believe. To Eleanora, she should the person who messed up her whole life. Snatched away her love, destroyed her family, harmed her children and killed her. Why would she save her? Jennifer widened her caramel brown eyes as she stared at the girl beneath her, whose face was flushed red in embarrassment as she looked away another way to avoid Jennifer¡¯s gaze. ¡°L-Lady Raven... Can you-¡± Eleanora spoke in a low voice as she was embarrassed because of their position. Previously, she spotted Jennifer on the garden after she finished her lunch and was returning to her father¡¯s office. She stopped on her steps and continued to watch Jennifer with an mixed emotion. She should hate her, right? Then why she is not hating or taking revenge on her? Why does she feels familiar with her? Eleanora clearly hates Duke Raven but she is friends with his son where she feels nothing towards his daughter who plotted to kill her in her previous life. ¡®I only want to live and keep my family save.¡¯ ¡®I have already given up on him, take him if you want... I won¡¯t care.¡¯ Eleanora thought as she kept observing Jennifer but then, she finally noticed her falling down and rushed to her. ¡®Why does this scene feels familiar?¡¯ If she is not wrong then this should have happen before. It was before Jennifer¡¯s identity as the duke¡¯s daughter was revealed. While working in the garden, Jena had identally fall down from the tree and the emperor happened to be pass by. He wrapped her up in his arms and protected her from being injured. The empress, who was left behind by the emperor to save another girl, clenched the hem of her dress as she tried to hold back her feelings. There was no emotion in her face but her blue eyes be more colder as she stared at the person infront of her, who was in her man¡¯s arm. ¡®I should have let him catch her this time too... Why did i interfered?!¡¯ Eleanora thought as she tried to get up with a sigh. But before she could help Jennifer to get away from her, a cold voice came from behind of her. ¡°What are you two doing?¡± Both of them lifted their head to see the tall person infront of them, who looked down on them. The sunlight fall on him and from their views, they could only see his bloody red eyes. ¡®...¡¯ ¡®...¡¯ ¡®Oh, the hero iste. His beauty was saved by another beauty.¡¯ ¡®The emperor- won¡¯t be jealous of a girl, right?¡¯ This is what Eleanora amd Jennifer thought, where Cathain thought theplete another thing. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me... My fiancee is cheating on me with a girl and this is why she doesn¡¯t loves me-¡® Cathain felt like the sky has fallen over his head as he thought of that. ¡®That can¡¯t be...¡¯ ¡®Am more handsome and strong then a girl... How can i lose to a girl?!¡¯ But then, Cathain¡¯s eyes turned colder as he noticed the lipstick mark on Eleanora¡¯s white cheeks. Instantly the atmosphere turned cold and dark. Cathain turned around with a sneer amd walked away, which confused both of them. But they was even more shocked when Jennifer was suddenly lifted up on the air by Cathain. ¡°Kya!!¡± His sudden action had made Jennifer, who was only 5 fit tall scared as Cathain, who was 6 fit 4 grabbed her upper arms to lift her up. Everything looked high and Jennifer was scared of the high. Where, Eleanora looked at them with astonished face which contained a little pain. ¡®Although he didn¡¯t hugged her or pulled her up gently, but he still choosed to help her like before...¡¯ ..... ¡®He has lost his memories, so he might have fallen for her now as before...¡¯ ¡®What are you expecting, Eleanora-¡® But then Eleanora felt weightless and her blue eyes widened in surprise. ¡®What?!¡¯ Eleanora stared at Cathain¡¯s side profile in amusement as she couldn¡¯t believe what was happening. He had grabbed Jennifer first so that he could carry Eleanora after that as Jennifer was above her. Just by the sight of seeing someone else so close to her made his blood boil in anger. ¡°Y-Your Majesty! Put me down!¡± ¡°Why? You wanna stay beneath her more?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®What does he even mean by it?!¡¯ Eleanora tried to hold back her anger and talk nicely to him as he is the emperor who doesn¡¯t remember anything from the past. He is no longer the Ain, who helped her to train swordmanship. This current Cathain might execute her right away if she is not careful with her words. ¡°Please, put me down. I can walk... You should cheak on Lady Raven-¡± ¡°What if i don¡¯t?¡± Cathain cut off Eleanora¡¯s words without caring about whichever Radishdy she was referring to. ¡°You-!¡± Eleanora¡¯s face turned more flushed because of anger and embarrassment as she red at Cathain furiously. ¡®What is he up to do again?!¡¯ But her flushed face looked so cute that Cathain couldn¡¯t help but chuckle a little. ¡®I wanna pinch her cheeks, She is really cute...¡¯ Although his face was still the same, but Eleanora didn¡¯t failed to see his smile. ¡®Why is he smiling like some idiot?¡¯ Eleanora was speechless to see him smiling and couldn¡¯t find any words to speak. She gave up struggling and burried her face into his chest to hide her face. Which made Cathain smrik in satisfaction. Jennifer, who was sitting on the ground also looked at them with surprise. A warm feeling spread on her heart as she saw them together and her lips curled up a little into a smile. ¡®I wish you will get the happiness and love which i snatched away from you before, Her Majesty.¡¯ ¡®You don¡¯t need the empress crown to rule, you will rule in everyone¡¯s heart because of your kindness.¡¯ Jennifer thought as she saw Cathain walked out of the garden with Eleanora in his arms. She tried to get up but then realised her ankle has been sprained. ¡®What should i do now...¡¯ Jennifer felt tensed as there was no one around her but then a big palm came into her view. ¡°Do you need help?¡± Chapter 152 - 152 "War Declaration" 152 ¡°War Deration¡± ¡°Noora... Don¡¯t look back and find you daddy!¡± ¡®Mommy...¡¯ Eleanora tried to speak but couldn¡¯t. Neither she could move. She just stared at the beautifuldy with dark blue hair and golden eyes infront of her. People was screaming as shing and swords shing sounds was heard. Then she finally noticed the ck shadow approching her mother from behind. Tears kept flowing out from her eyes as she refused to let go of the hem of her mother¡¯s dress. ¡®No...No...it¡¯s today...my mother will die today...¡¯ ..... ¡®I need to stop this...¡¯ ¡®I can stop this...¡¯ She tried to move again but couldn¡¯t. ¡®Why can¡¯t i move?¡¯ ¡®Oh...¡¯ ¡®This is just my memory...another dream...¡¯ ¡®I can¡¯t move as i want...¡¯ ¡°Agh!¡± Eleanora realised what she thought was true as a sword just pierced through her mother¡¯s chest as she remembered. ¡®Mother...¡¯ ¡°Run...Noora... I love you...and, your father a lot...¡± Eunicelia spoke with a smile on her face as she stuffed the sword tassel which she was making for Alexander before and she cut off the fabric of her dress which Eleanora was holding. ¡°RUN, NOORA!!!¡± Eunicelia yelled and the horse she was put on by her mother started to run fast. Eleanora looked back with tears filled her blue eyes, making her vision blurry. She vaguely saw her mother fighting someone with her dagger and then another person stabbed her from behind, which made her mother kneel down on the ground. ¡®No!¡¯ ¡®Mother, Run away!¡¯ ¡®Come with me!¡¯ ¡°Mommy!!!¡± The little Eleanora yelled and Eunicelia also looked back. Her bright golden eyes lost it¡¯s glow but still she tried her best to curl up her lips a little to smile at her daughter, so that Eleanora wouldn¡¯t remember her painful face as theirst goodbye. She wanted Eleanora to remember her happy face. Remember that, she should brave even facing the death and protect the people she loves. Never bow down and admit defeat. ¡®Live well, my daughter...¡¯ By the time Eleanora came back, she found her house totally destructed and her father sitting on the ground with no expression. Until she called her and looked at her with his cold eyes. ¡°Take thedy away.¡± ¡°ELEEE!!!¡± Same cold voice rang twice in Eleanora¡¯s mind and she opened her tear filled blue eyes. Both voice was same but the first one didn¡¯t contained any emotions where the second one was full of worry. ¡°Father...¡± ¡°Am here...¡± Eleanora hugged Alexander tightly but she didn¡¯t stopped crying. The memory was really painful for her to dream about. She couldn¡¯t sleep countless nights after this incident. Her mother¡¯s smiling face as she died to protect them kept lingering on her mind. ¡°Elee... What happened, dear?¡± Alexander asked as he pat on her back. ¡°Nothing...i just had a nightmare.¡± ¡°Are you okay, now?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Eleanora replied as she rubbed her blue eyes to clear her vision and her father wiped away her tears. ¡°Do you want to rest a little more?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s time to wake up anyway.¡± ¡°Duke, we should hurry up-¡± Alexander red at his aid Raynor for speaking and Eleanora realised something is wrong. Her father was wearing his official suit instead of normal clothes in this early morning. Even the knights was in a panic state. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°Sir Raynor, tell me!¡± ¡°...¡± Alexander sighed as he knew she won¡¯t listen to him now. ¡°There is an emergency in the imperial pce... The duke have been summoned with you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®I have been summoned and he was telling me to rest more?¡¯ Eleanora shook her head as she could do nothing about her father being over protective. She pushed away her nket as she asked Maria to help her get ready. ¡°Wait a little, i will go with you.¡± Alexander nodded as he left her room to wait for her downstairs. While getting ready, Eleanora tried her best to recall what had happened during this time in the imperial pce but she couldn¡¯t. The empire had suffered financially because of the lose in the war with Republic. But this time, there is no shortage in funds. What really happened? With that in her mind, Eleanora headed to the imperial pce along with her father in her official suit. Everyone in the pce was in hurry and panic. Especially the higher up officials and the knights. ¡°Duke of Dalton and the future moon of our empire, Dame Dalton is entering!¡± The attendant announced before the door of the meeting room opened. The emperor was sitting on the high chair as the other officials discussed something with him. ..... . ¡®Why is there another chair beside him?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she entered the meeting room with her father. Their is no empress, so what is the use of that extra chair which was not here before? The previous emperor had moved away this chair after the death of the empress and in her past life, the chair was moved in only after she got married to the emperor. Cathain¡¯s red eyes moved away from the papers infront of him and looked at her, who just entered the meeting hall. He wanted to not look at her but in the end, he failed. ¡°Hah, it¡¯s an imperial emergency but Duke Dalton still dared to make us wait for him.¡± ¡°Indeed, the duke went too far this time.¡± ¡°He is this daring as the emperor is his son-inw.¡± A few nobles whispered among themselves but both father-daughter pair decided to ignore them. You can¡¯t shut them up or be good to everyone. So just let them be. Eleanora noticed Cedrick, who smiled at her and she smiled back at him. Not noticing the person who just sneered seeing their silent ex-change greeting. As all the heirs sit together, Cedrick was sitting on her right where Dion was sitting on her left. There was another empty sit beside Dion, which was for Duke Heartz¡¯s son. Who neveres out in public. Even in her past life, Eleanora have never seen him or heard something about him. With an bewildered expression, Eleanora was about to seat in the middle of Cedrick and Dion, in their fixed sit for the duke heirs; when the emperor¡¯s cold voice was heard. ¡°Sit here.¡± Cathain spoke as he gestured her to sit on the simr chair as his seat, beside him. This is the first time Eleanora attended a official meeting after her reborn except the time when she got the prophecy and in kingdom Rua. ¡®The seat of the empress...¡¯ Eleanpra felt heavy in her heart as she could see her past self sitting there and plotting war strategy to bring down nations to make him more powerful. ¡°It¡¯s alright-¡± ¡°I said sit here.¡± Eleanora was about to refuse but the emperor¡¯s cold voice along with his intense gaze made her shiver and unknowingly, she found herself walking towards the chair. Which she wanted to avoid. Seeing her hesitation to seat on the chair beside him, Cathain grabbed her wrist and made her sit on the chair beside him. ¡°Do you wanna two-time me? You are called the dame where you are also called the future moon.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You are fulfilling the heir role so well, so you should also fulfil your duty as the future moon unless you are not called that anymore.¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain spoke in a low voice and Eleanora kept silent, not knowing what to say. ¡®He sure has changed...¡¯ The past Cathain was always guilty for his past behaviour, thus he was always over careful to not force her in fear that she might push him away totally. But as he doesn¡¯t remember those now, Cathain has no reason to be over careful or think about those. As he believes no matter what, she belongs to him. If she want to be the heir, he can let her do that but she has to fulfil her duties as the empress too. If she can do both duties well, then he will have no problem with it. ¡®If theyck a heir, then we can just make one and let the duke to raise him up as his heir...¡¯ Cathain thought as he kept stealing nces on her time to time. He can¡¯t believe he went that far as to change his appearance to get close with her. Cancel the long term negotiation with Kingdom Rua just because the king didn¡¯t respected her. Took an arrow for her and nearly died. Create new rules just to fulfil her dream. ¡®Just what made me go crazy like this for her?¡¯ Cathain thought as he felt his heart beating more faster and his body heating up. ¡®This happens everytime she is near me... She didn¡¯t cursed me, right?¡¯ Cathain decided not to look at her anymore and his eyes scanned the meeting room. Seeing that everyone is present, he cleared his throat a little before he stood up and started to speak. ¡°I, Emperor Cathain De Valerian Valentino, for the safety of the people in this empire... DECLARE A WAR AGAINST KINGDOM RUA.¡± Chapter 153 - 153 "Do You Like Him?" 153 ¡°Do You Like Him?¡± Eleanora stared at Cathain with shock as she heard his deration of war against Kingdom Rua. ¡®The war should have happened two yearster¡­ why it¡¯s happening now?¡¯ ¡®Is it because i changed the past?¡¯ ¡®Even the emperor died early in this life time¡­¡¯ ¡®Am i the cause?¡¯ ¡°Last night, the confidential information about soldiers got stolen.¡± The emperor spoke and the meeting room was filled with murmuring¡¯s. Everyone was shocked to know that Kingdom Rua went that far as to steal the soldier information. ¡°!!!¡± ..... ¡®What? How could this happen?¡¯ ¡®This means, They already know how many swordmaster and mages we have in our army...¡¯ ¡®They will be prepared before hand.¡¯ ¡°That person was caught and after negotiations, it was revealed that it was a spy from Kingdom Rua. So, we need to attack before they can.¡± Cathain exined the situation and everyone started to ponder about the situation in a serious mood. The opponent knows everything about the imperial soldiers, where they don¡¯t know much. It would be tough to win. The war is more like a bet this time. ¡°Okay. I will prepare the army and lead them.¡± Duke Dalton spoke as he thought a lot about this. This thing never happened in the past. It would be better if he goes and let Eleanora stay in the empire. Who knows what kind of danger there might be waiting for them? But the emperor had something else on his mind. ¡°No, Duke Dalton. You won¡¯t participate this time. You will stay behind with other dukes and protect the Capital.¡± ¡°!!!¡± ¡°What-?¡± ¡°Who will fight then, Your Majesty?¡± ¡°Duke Dalton is one of the most powerful swordmaster in the empire.¡± ¡°If he doesn¡¯t goes-¡± ¡°I WILL GO THIS TIME.¡± Cathain cut off everyone in the middle of their sentences and spoke. ¡°This time, i will personally led the imperial army.¡± Eleanora was shocked. This is different from her past life too. In the past, the emperor didn¡¯t joined the war at start and only joined in the end when she was faced with the king of Rua. Then why is he joining this time at the beginning? ¡°I will lead the army along with the crown princess, Dame Dalton; Duke Richardo, Young Duke Cedrick De Evan Raven along with his sister Jennifer De Liana Raven.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± Both Cedrick and Dion was speechless. Dion didn¡¯t wanted to participate at all because he couldn¡¯t transform into a wolf during the fight. Which meant he had to exhaust his physical strength and pretend to be a human by using only magic! And Dion didn¡¯t wanted that. ¡®I understand why he targeted this guy, but why me?! I never even got close to her-¡® But then he remembered. The seat beside him seem to be hers, right? ¡®Don¡¯t tell me he targeted me because of this?!¡¯ Where, Alexander frowned as he heard the emperor¡¯s n. ¡®He will lead the army with a whole teenage group?¡¯ ¡®Not like i don¡¯t know their ability but it¡¯s too risky.¡¯ Cathain De Valerian Valentino, the young emperor of the empire have the purest fire mana with great damaging affect only at the age of 22. Eleanora Ariadne La Dalton, the youngest dame and the first female knight of the empire, who is only 18 has the rare ice magic which have the great attacking powers. Not to mention her holy powers which has the most powerful healing affect and her ¡®Wind Sword¡¯ magic fusion with Cedrick Raven. Cedrick De Evan Raven, the first ever assist mage of a different attribute power holder; who is also keen at war strategies can be called a genius assistant in both battlefield and nnings. Alberto De Dion Richardo, the youngest duke of the empire possess both werewolf powers and magic powers like humans, which ispletely rare. Not to mention Jennifer De Liana Raven, who owns twin magic. She got her mother¡¯s dark powers and her father¡¯s earth attribute. But unlike her brother who can use wind, she got the nature healing power which helps her heal people by using the nts as source of her powers. And there is no information about Duke Heartz son, who stays in the magic tower all day. No one has ever seen him, can be said they actually forgot his existence. The Empire¡¯s current leading generation was indeed powerful but still it was risky. Alexander got what the emperor meant. In that confidential documents, only their information was excluded. They won¡¯t know about their abilities well, like they already knows about others. Specially Duke Alexander De Xavier Dalton. They must have already found a way to deal with him beforehand. But Alexander can¡¯t let his daughter to be the bet of the emperor. If his n fails, Eleanora will be in danger. He still remembers how Eleanora put her sword on her neck in the battlefield in their previous life. She would rather give up her life then surrender. She had epted her death along with her child, instead of running away too. Alexander can¡¯t let that happen again. ¡®She will be in danger, something feels terribly wrong...¡¯ Where Eleanora was confused. She could get why Cathain wanted to take them and let her father stay, but why is he taking Jennifer with them? [A/N: Eleanora doesn¡¯t know that Jennifer have magic powers yet. As in herst life, Jennifer never used magic to conceal her identity before Eleanora¡¯s death.] ¡®Is he taking the battlefield as a dating spot?¡¯ But then, Eleanora paused on her thoughts. A few days ago, he didn¡¯t even looked at Jennifer and carried her away from the garden. Both of them felt a little awkward and didn¡¯t knew what to talk about after he took her to in his study room. Then Brayden came with some reports which gave her an excuse to leave and since then, she tried her best to avoid him. ..... ¡®What¡¯s he nning to do exactly?¡¯ ¡°Your Majesty, it would be very risky to sent all the young heirs. If something happens-¡± ¡°Duke Heartz, Are you questioning my decision?¡± The emperor¡¯s words made Duke Heartz stop on his question. But most of the nobles was concerned about this problem. What if the heirs gets injured? Who will continue the family legacy? And moreover, many of them didn¡¯t participated on wars before. ¡°Either you or your heir can participate in the war but Duke Dalton and Raven won¡¯t participate in this war. They can only sent their heirs and, this is an imperial order.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty¡± Alexander clenched his first as he bow down to the emperor. He had no choice but to ept it. He can¡¯t disobey for the blood oath he had taken during his knighting ceremony to always be loyal and obey the imperial family. ¡°Duke Dalton,¡± ¡°Am all ears, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Merge the first and second squadron along with the imperial army, make three squad of army by mixing them together.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Duke Richardo,¡± ¡°Am all ears, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Prepare the medical team and discuss with Duke Dalton to make a small team of knights, so that they can protect the doctors as they don¡¯t know how to fight. Doctors are the one who will be our advantage in need, so teach them some self defence for the worst case. We can¡¯t afford to lose them as there are not many doctors at the first ce.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Duke Heartz, make a necessary budget for the war along with Duke Raven...¡± The discussion went on and Eleanora looked at Cathain with amusement. It¡¯s been just two weeks since he lost his memory but still he managed to learn about everything in this short moment. No one can say that this man doesn¡¯t remember anything about the past seven years. But then Cathain looked back at her, which finally made her realise that she has been staring at him. That too infront of everyone! ¡°Do you have something to say?¡± ¡°N-No, Your Majesty.¡± Eleanora felt so embarrassed that she wanted to hide herself in a hole. ¡°The meeting is adjourned. You all should prepare as i told you to do. Report to Sir Brayden if you face any difficulties.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± The emperor left the meeting room with his personal knights following him out and Eleanora sighed in relief. She doesn¡¯t know why, but she feels weird around him now. ¡®He gives the superior aura now, which maked people submit to him unconsciously.¡¯ Eleanora know this answer too, which she doesn¡¯t want to admit. The past him was always careful to not make her feel ufortable, so he always maintained his aura around her. This was why she never felt the superior pressure of him till now. Only when she takes the knight oath to swear her loyalty to him or bes his partner, which will fusion their magic powers to feel the presence and emotions of each other; she wouldn¡¯t be affectef by his superior aura anymore. Her father isn¡¯t affected at all because of his blood oath, which is different from the knight oath. Blood oath not only makes the person stay loyal all his life but also submit them even if they don¡¯t want it. If one betrays the oath, the person will suffer great conscious. ¡®But still father was ready to suffer this because of me in my past life by attacking the emperor...¡¯ Eleanora stood up from her seat and approached Alexander, who was in a gloomy mood. ¡°Daddy, Don¡¯t worry... I will be safe.¡± Eleanora spoke with a smiling face but Alexander¡¯s face darkned more. ¡°Daddy... What happened?¡± Alexander opened his mouth to ask something but then he decided not to. ¡°Forget it...nothing.¡± ¡°No, Tell me!!¡± Alexander sighed as he looked at her beautiful face. ¡°Elee... Do you like...him? ¡­The emperor?¡± Chapter 154 - 154 "Alexander’s Regret" 154 ¡°Alexander¡¯s Regret¡± Alexander kept pondering about how to participate in the war as he knows what happened in the past. That day Eleanora was saved because of the reinforcement and then she personally marched towards the capital city of Rua to kill King Mendel personally. Right after cutting off the neck of King Mendel, Eleanora¡¯s emotion which she was suppressing came put and she fainted right there after exploding her own mana which made the building copse. Alexander can never forget the scene when the building copsed with Eleanora still being inside of it and how the emperor carried out the unconscious Eleanora with blood covering her whole body. Even after killing Mendel by her own hands, she still couldn¡¯t ovee the shock she went through when all those knights died voluntarily to save her. No healing powers or medicine worked on her either. She would often get up from her sleep atte night and yell that she killed them. At that time, he was concerned about her but he also had to take care of the casualties after that war. They had just ovee the damage from the war with Republic, when they had to fight against Kingdom Rua again. With the empress being sick like that, Alexander fulfilled her duties on her behalf so that no one could talk about her and she could recover slowly. ..... Then after a few months, she finally be normal like before when she got pregnant for the second time. Alexander remembers the one time when he went to the imperial garden to visit her during her second pregnancy. He was concerned for her health as she was weak but he was astonished to see his daughter humming a song as she knitted a dress for the baby. He never knew his daughter could sing so beautifully, not to mention those hands which kills the enemy without any mercy could knit such cute dresses. It seemed like she was singing for the baby in her belly to listen. But as soon as she noticed Alexander, she stopped singing and her smile also faded. ¡°Father-¡± ¡°I, Duke of Dalton greet the moon of our empire, Her Majesty, Eleanora Cathain Valentino.¡± Alexander greeted her as he kneeled down in one knee infront of her. It hurts him to utter her name, which no longer rtes him with her anymore but to that man who doesn¡¯t even care about her. He needs to remember why it happened. But this made Eleanora¡¯s blue eyes gloomy. Isn¡¯t he her father? Can¡¯t he drop the honorifics when they are alone? Or, does he feel ashamed to be rted with a daughter who ran away while leaving her mother to die alone? This is why he utters her full name to keep her remember about that day? The reason why he doesn¡¯t like...hate her. Eleanora forced herself to act normal and tried to smile but couldn¡¯t. ¡°Raise.¡± ¡°Thank you, Her Majesty.¡± ¡°What brings you here... Duke?¡± Eleanora spoke and Alexander felt like his heart breaking down. He can¡¯t expect her to call him ¡®Daddy¡¯ anymore, when he calls her ¡®Her Majesty¡¯ right? A person who failed to protect his wife and daughter. Who ran away from his daughter instead of facing the reality. She kept reaching out for him, but he kept running away from her. In the end, she found hope in someone else... It¡¯s better to keep remember why her name is attached with someone else. If only he was brave and face her at that time, she wouldn¡¯t be suffering like this. ¡°Congrattions, Her Majesty.¡± ¡°Thank you, Duke.¡± In the end, Alexander couldn¡¯t speak anything and left without saying any words after congratting her. The smile she had on her face when he congratte her was something he could never give her. Even if the emperor is cold, his daughter is more happy in the imperial pce then she was in Dalton Duchy. A ce, full of bad memories for her. Her eyes are still shining, not losing it¡¯s glow when she was in the duchy. In the end, Alexander gave up the idea of bringing her back to the duchy and left for the borders with this thoughts. ¡®Only if i didn¡¯t left that day without taking her...¡¯ Alexander thought as he looked aside to take a look at Eleanora but his eyes widened in shock when he found her staring at the emperor. Her blue eyes was full of admiration. The same blue eyes from the past which only had the emperor and no one else. Alexander felt his heart stop beating and fear consume it. ¡®No... She won¡¯t be the same as the past... She is different this time...¡¯ But then he noticed the blush on her cheeks as she was caught staring by the emperor. He knows this face of her. Every time the crown prince was mentioned in his past life, his daughter would blush because of embarrassment. This is why he couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°Do you like... The emperor?¡± Eleanora was surprised to hear that question. ¡®Who likes who?¡¯ ¡®indeed, daddy needs rest.¡¯ ¡®He has been so busy that he is thinking nonsense.¡¯ But her not answering him immediately made him clench his fists. ¡®Is it that hard to answer?¡¯ ¡®No-¡® ¡®I don¡¯t want to listen it again.¡¯ Alexander didn¡¯t wanted to hear it again from his daughter to say that she loves that man like she did in her past life. ¡®Father... I- I like the crown prince... I wish- wish to marry him in the future, when am capable enough.¡¯ Alexander recalled the words of his 14 year old daughter, who admitted her crush on the crown prince to her father with a blushing face. ¡°I do-¡± ¡°NO NEED TO SAY IT!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®It was you who wanted to know it at the first ce...¡¯ Eleanora couldn¡¯t understand her father¡¯s action. ¡®He is just acting so weird...¡¯ ¡°Let¡¯s go... I need to show you something.¡± Alexander spoke as he held her hands and walked out of the meeting room with his blue eyes full of determination. ¡®I failed to take you out of here earlier because i hesitated, i couldn¡¯t save you because i waste...¡¯ ¡®But this time... It will be different.¡¯ ¡®I will save you for sure, My daughter.¡¯ ..... ¡­ ¡°Take it.¡± Alexander spoke as he handed something wrapped in a white cloth towards Eleanora. Eleanora wondered what it could be as she took it from his hands. ¡°This is your 18th birthday gift.¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora was speechless. Her father gave her a gun as a gift. ¡°Do you know how to load and shoot a gun?¡± ¡°No-¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s get started. There is not much time anyway.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Why do i have a bad feeling about this?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she followed her father to thr shooting ground, where Duke Richardo was also present. ¡°Are you done preparing?¡± Alexander asked as Dion approached them. ¡°Yeah, we will hand over guns to the doctors and teach them how to load and shoot it for now. They just need to learn the basic for the emergency and Duke Ravens daughter will be in the medical team with me.¡± ¡°Medical team?¡± Eleanora couldn¡¯t help but ask out loud. As far she knows, Jennifer didn¡¯t had any magic powers or extraordinary talents. All she knew was how to show off the emperor¡¯s so called love for her. ¡°Lady Raven is a nature healer as she have earth attribute powers, This is why his majesty ordered her to participate in the war to help the medical team.¡± ¡°Oh, Thank you for telling me, Duke.¡± ¡°You are wee, Your highness.¡± Dion politely bow down his head to show Eleanora respect as the crown princess and left the ground. ¡®She is a healer? So she concealed her powers in myst life... They must have been happy then... She wasn¡¯t useless as i thought her to be and screw up the empire. A lost daughter of the duke, who captured the heart of the emperor even being a maid and was harmed by the evil empress who was jealous of her... Then her identity was revealed, the evil empress was executed and she lived happily ever after with the emperor... Isn¡¯t it how the story must be heard in the previous timeline? Eleanora¡¯s face turned dark as she thought of it and she clenched the gun in her hands. Alexander understood her emotions but this can¡¯t be helped. He doesn¡¯t want to tell her the truth. How they suffered and why the emperor was like that. Even if the emperor was controlled, poisoned, but it doesn¡¯t change the fact that he killed her. He doesn¡¯t want her to be with the emperor, who didn¡¯t cared about her in the past and let her suffer alone. Alexander doesn¡¯t want her to sympathise with the emperor or forgive him because he is changed in this life. Seven years have passed in a blink of eyes and she grew up so fast again. He wants to cherish and protect his daughter in this life, not seeing her crying again because of that man. ¡®Forgive me for hiding the truth, Elee. But i will never even take the risk of putting you in danger again or be with him. So, i can never let you know what happened after your execution.¡¯ Chapter 155 - 155 "The Worst Scenario" 155 ¡°The Worst Scenario¡± Alexander sighed deeply in his heart as he stood behind her and put his hands above her hands, which was clenching the gun tightly. ¡°Rx, Elee... Rx your shoulder¡¯s and look at the target.¡± Eleanora let a heavy breathe out to rx her body and mind as she stared at the gun point target infront of her. ¡°This is the cartridge, where the bullets are loaded. Since it¡¯s atest model, it can be pulled out from the side. Pull the pin back, load the bullet and pull the trigger to shoot.¡± Bang! Bang! Eleanora closed her eyes because of the loud noise and looked at the target board which hit the bullseye as Alexander helped her this time. ..... ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to master it over in a night. We will be leaving soon for the war and you need to prepare for other things too.¡± ¡°All you need is to hit the target from fifteen meters away.¡± ¡°Only fifteen meters?¡± ¡°It seems simple, right? Then let¡¯s do this, we won¡¯t leave untill you hit the target.¡± Alexander spoke as he sit on the chair behind her to watch her shoot. Eleanora was sure that she could hit the target as she has never lost a single match with swords. She has always hit the right spot of the enemies. But... Bang! ¡°Again.¡± Bang! ¡°Again.¡± Bang! ¡°Again.¡± ¡®Hah! Why is it so hard?!!¡¯ ¡®I missed all the targets! This gun shot sound is still ringing in my ear.¡¯ Eleanora thought as she looked at the target board infront of her, not even one bullet has touched the bullseye. The reason is, Her father forbid her from using mana while shooting the bullet. This is why she is no different then a ordinary person trying to shoot with no basic right now. ¡°Concentrate before you shoot! Focus on the target!¡± Alexander¡¯s cold voice rang from behind as Eleanora stopped shooting, which shocked her. This is the first time that Alexander is being strict with her, which made Eleanora feel a little upset as she was getting rebuked. ¡°When you pull the trigger, your wrist tremble! You need to stay calm and control you emotions!¡± ¡°Your eyes, shoulder and gun should be aligned properly or else your shots will be inurate!¡± Hearing Alexander¡¯s words, Eleanora tried again with her frustrated mood. Bang! Bang! Bang! ¡°Concentrate, Elee!! You haven¡¯tnd a single shot! Practice more-¡± ¡°I CAN¡¯T DO THIS!¡± Eleanora spoke in a loud voice as the gun fall on the ground with a chattering sound. ¡°IT¡¯S BEEN TWO HOURS SINCE AM DOING THIS! MY SHOULDER, HANDS ALL HURTS AS AM NOT EVEN USING MY MAGIC!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Am a swordmaster! I should train with my sword or learn it while using my magic-¡± ¡°What will you do if you can¡¯t use your magic?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Eleanora was starled because of Alexander¡¯s question. ¡®Can¡¯t use magic-¡® A scene from her past life shed infront of her eyes, the moment when countless soldiers gave up their lives to protect her because she couldn¡¯t use her magic for unknown reasons. Eleanora thought she could stop that as she knows the past, but forget that as some things are changing, some might remain the same. She can lost her magic powers during this battle too just like the past. Without magic, she won¡¯t be able to use her sword for long time like before. Then, will she hold her sword on her neck just like before again? Or will she pick up the gun which doesn¡¯t require magic powers and shot the enemies instead of killing herself to escape? ¡°Elee, i know this gun is no use to you as an swordmaster. I also hope you will never face a situation where you need to use it.¡± ¡®Because using it means you are in extreme danger.¡¯ Eleanora didn¡¯t spoke anything and kept silent, when another person came in. ¡°Duke Heartz is looking for you, Duke Dalton. It would be helpful if you can go right now...¡± A young knight, who was wearing the imperial knight suit spoke to Alexander. It was Charles, the knight who gave her a chance to talk with her father before escorting her to the trial ground. Who said they believe in her. Eleanora¡¯s mind wondered in countless thoughts. Does she want to be helpless again and watch everyone trying to protect her? Alexander nced at Eleanora and her expression told him that she understood what he meant. ¡°This is for the worst case. I can¡¯te with you this time. If you have the slightest bit of concern for me, then pick up the gun.¡± Alexander spoke as he turned around to walk out from the training field to meet Duke Heartz after he picked up the gun she threw away before and ced it on her hands again. ¡®Father is right...¡¯ ¡®He is forcing me to have the biggest chance of survival in the worst scenario...¡¯ Eleanora took a deep breath as she hold the gun again and faced the target mark. ¡®I can¡¯t rely on my memories all the time. Many things have changed. I can¡¯t say for sure that what i know will happen for sure now anymore. I won¡¯t bow down this time and save everyone...¡¯ ¡°With so much pressure on your tiny head... You will never be able to hit the target.¡± Eleanora was stunned to hear a voiceing from behind of her and turned her head to look at that person. ¡°Your Majesty?¡± Cathain was standing beside her with his usual cold face with no expression as he talked with Eleanora. ¡°You are too tensed because you want to hit the target at first try.¡± Try to hit at the lowest target first and then gradually go for the higher target.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®His presence just made me more tensed. How can i rx if he stare at me like this?¡¯ Bang! Eleanora tried to hit the lowest target first as he instructed, but still failed. ..... Cathain sighed as he saw this and decided to help. He hold the gun in her hands from behind, which made Eleanora feel stuffy and embarrassed. Before it was okay as it was her father, but now... Their position seemed too intimate. Cathain bent down a little to speak so that she can hear him and made her hand posture right. ¡°Hold the gun in your right hand and steady the gun with your left hand... Then face the target and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Take a step forward with your left foot to stagger your stance.¡± Cathain spoke as he fixed her posture and then he suddenly put his hands on her ears to cover it, so that she won¡¯t be ufortable because of the loud noise of the gun. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You won¡¯t be distracted anymore if you don¡¯t hear the loud sound. To aim, align the front sight with the rear sight until the targetes into focus and then... Pull the trigger slowly in one smooth, controlled motion.¡± Cathain spoke before he loosened his hands over her ear a little so that she can hear it. Eleanora recalled his words in her mind to focus and did as he instructed. Bang! Eleanora¡¯s eyes lit up as she didn¡¯t missed the target this time. ¡®I did it!¡¯ ¡°Don¡¯t be too happy, you still have to hit the bullseye. Continue.¡± ¡°YES!¡± Eleanora be happy as she sessfully hit the target she aimed for and seeing her like this, Cathain¡¯s lips curved up a little. He pressed his hands over ears again and used his mana to supress the surrounding sound to make her morefortable. Bang! ¡°Good job, keep going.¡± Bang! ¡°It wasn¡¯t good, try again.¡± Bang! ¡°Move to the next target.¡± Bang! Bang! ¡­ ¡°I DID IT!!!!¡± Eleanora jumped in happiness as she finally hit the bullseye, Cathain was also happy to see her seed. Unconsciously, Eleanora hugged Cathain as she jumped in happiness. She has been trying for total four hours and she has finally seed. ¡°I did it!¡± Eleanora smiled as she spoke and then she finally realised what was happening. Cathain was also dumbfounded. When she hugged him, before he could react, he found himself already holding her up high with his arms. Both of them kept staring at each others eye in embarrassment as their smile froze and didn¡¯t knew what to do. ¡®Why is he staring?¡¯ ¡®Why is she staring?¡¯ Both of them looked away at the same time and Cathain put her down slowly too. ¡°A-Am sorry... I was, just to excited...¡± Eleanora spoke as she looked away in embarrassment. ¡°I-It¡¯s okay...¡± Cathain spoke as his neck had turned red and felt burning because of their sudden intimacy before. ¡°K-Keep practicing... I have to go!¡± Cathain spoke as he left the ce hurriedly, not noticing the Eleanora who chuckled after seeing him red like that. ¡®Is he embarrassed?¡¯ ¡®But again... Thank you for helping me.¡¯ Eleanora turned around to face the target again and started to shot again. Where Cathain stood behind a nearby piller to hide away from her with his hands above his heart. ¡®Why is my heart beating so fast?¡¯ Chapter 156 - 156 "Departure Speech" 156 ¡°Departure Speech¡± Time went by and the preparation for the second war during the rule of the 34th emperor, Cathain De Valerian Valentino was sessfullypleted. ¡°Elee, be careful. If you ever sense the danger, just ran away without thinking anything. Your safety is the most important thing.¡± Alexander spoke as he walked towards the central pce of the imperial pce with Eleanora followimg him from behind. ¡°I understand, understand, Daddy. It¡¯s the tenth time you are saying this to me today...¡± Eleanora spoke with a low chuckle and looked at her father softly. ¡°Should i just go with you secretly?¡± Alexander looked at Eleanora as he spoke, his tone was serious, which made her speechless. ¡°That will be treason, Daddy.¡± ¡°...¡± ..... In the end, Alexander sighed as he stopped on his tracks and faced Eleanora. ¡°Be safe.¡± With that, Alexander pulled her into his embrace and patted her back. ¡°I will, i promise that i wille back safely, Daddy.¡± Eleanora spoke as she hugged him back. ¡°You¡¯ve really grown up.¡± ¡°But you are still the same, As handsome as always.¡± Her words made Alexander soften up a bit as he looked at her. He brushed up her bangs a little and kissed her forehead, which surprised Eleanora. ¡°I love you, Elee.¡± ¡°I love you too, Daddy.¡± Eleanora spoke with a bright smile and Alexander couldn¡¯t help but worry more about her. ¡°Are you ready for giving the departure speech during today¡¯s ceremony?¡± Alexander asked as he walked towards the big door which lead to the balcony of the imperial pce. Where the previous war deration was held, wherr her destiny finally started to change drastically. ¡°Yes, Am ready!¡± Eleanora spoke confidently as she lookef at her father one more time. The emperor was waiting for her infront of thr balcony as both of them will be giving speech together this time. Instead of wearing her usual blue silver coloured suit, Eleanora was wearing a ck suit with a long red cape drapped over her shoulder. The dress code for the knight leader of the third squadron. The same dress, the same post- what¡¯s different is her soul and will. In the past, she only fought to feel better, fulfil the emperor¡¯s wish to get his recognition. But now she will fight for the people she wants to protect, the people who cherished her. The emperor was wearing a white suit with a red cape drapped over his shoulder too. ¡°I, Duke of Dalton greet the sun of our empire, Your Majesty the emperor.¡± ¡°Greetings, Your Majesty.¡± Alexander and Eleanora greet the emperor together and the emperor greet them back with a low silent nod. ¡°Let¡¯s go, people are waiting.¡± The emperor spoke after extending his hands towards Eleanora to enter the balcony together. Alexander looked at the emperor coldly, who had extended his hands towards Eleanora to escort her. ¡®I have to let go of her again...¡¯ Alexander loosen his grip over her palm and watched Eleanora hesitantly putting her hands on his, which the emperor gripped tightly. Just like he does. ¡°I will see youter, Duke.¡± The emperor spoke before he turned to enter the balcony with her and she looked back to smile at her father to reassure him that she is okay. ¡®I have practiced ot many times, moreover it¡¯s not even my first time giving a speech.¡¯ Eleanora thought as she let out a heavy breathe to calm down. ¡°Are you ready?¡± The emperor pretended to ask with indifference without even looking at her. ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Cathain stole a nce at her nervous face onest time before he turned his head to the doorkeeper. ¡°Open the door.¡± The doorkeepers nodded and two of them pulled the handles of the door to pull it with strength as the door was really heavy. As soon as the door opened, the bright sunlight fall on their face as the loud cheering noises from the knights could be hear. ¡°Long live Valentino Empire!!¡± ¡°Long live his majesty, the emperor!!¡± ¡°For the victory of the Valentino Empire!!¡± Eleanora walked towards the edge of the balcony to face therge crowd of the knights. Even public people could be seen at a distance. ¡®We are finally departing...!¡¯ Cathain took a deep breathe before he finally started to speak in a loud tone. ¡°First of all, I, the 34th emperor of the Valentino empire; implore the goddess to bless everyone present here.¡± ¡°We will emerge as the victors, let the Rua Kingdom know what happens when they pick a fight against our empire.¡± ¡°We are the proud soldiers of the Valentino empire, So as long as we united, no matter the number of the Rua soldiers we are up against, we will defeat everyst one.¡± ¡°You people watched me grow up, where i watched this empire to grow up. Our empire is not something which can be threatened by a small Kingdom.¡± ¡°When we return, we will have a feast to celebrate.¡± ¡°The name of the soldiers who will sacrifice their lives for our empire will be written down with gold and seen by everyone in the capital. They will be forever immortalized by the people of our empire.¡± During the speech, Eleanora was fearful and wary of the public reaction. Losing the soldier information is no less then the robbery of any national tressure. But to her surprise, The public and knights was calm. They kept cheering up for their empire and the emperor. ¡°LONG LIVE OF VALENTINO EMPIRE!!¡± ¡°FOR THE VICTORY OF OUR EMPIRE!!¡± ¡°WE ARE NOT AFRAID!¡± ¡°WE SUPPORT YOU, YOUR MAJESTY!!¡± ¡®Is this the power of a superior? Who is born to rule?¡¯ Eleanora once again found herself admiring him. The words he spoke was not very different from the words she have heard before, the speeches which she often listened in her previous life before each battle took part. But she couldn¡¯t help but admire him this time too. When he spoke, it felt like the love she has for the empire and it¡¯s people, the urge to protect the people she loves was getting bigger then the importance of her life. It felt like her blood was boiling with courage to fight, which is not afraid of death. ¡®Even if he was never a good husband to me, but he was indeed a good ruler.¡¯ ..... Then Eleanora realised it was her turn to speak as the emperor¡¯s speech has ended. ¡®Don¡¯t be nervouse, i can do it.¡¯ Eleanora thought as she stride forward to face the people more clearly and cleared her throat before she started to speak. ¡°Lady Dalton! My Goddess!¡± ¡°Long live the crown princess!¡± More then half of the knights yelled as Eleanora stride forward, which made the emperor felt very ufortable. ¡®What¡¯s wrong with me again?¡¯ ¡®Why does my heart feels like burning?¡¯ Cathain thought as he tried his best to keep calm and Eleanora started her speech. ¡°Dear soldiers, I know that some of you will be wounded or killed, lost your best friends or someone dear to you.¡± ¡°I will fight alongside you people as a fellow soldier. Even if i can¡¯t save or help everyone, but i will try my best to aid everyone as much possible.¡± ¡°However, I am sure that his majesty and i will try his best to help us all, so that more people can go back home to their families with victory.¡± ¡°I believe that his majesty will never let any unnecessary sacrifices to ur in any way.¡± ¡°May the goddess bless you all.¡± Eleanora felt a little awkward and feared if she has said something wrong for the people to be this quite and felt Cathain¡¯s hands grip her hands tightly. ¡®!!!¡¯ She was surprised and looked up to see him but soon, the whole ce was filled with loud pping sounds. ¡°WHOOAAAAHHH!!!¡± ¡°LONG LIVE THE CROWN PRINCESS!!¡± ¡°LONG LIVE HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR AND HER HIGHNESS THE CROWN PRINCESS!¡± ¡°LONG LIVE VALENTINO!¡± ¡°FOR THE VICTORY OF VALENTINO!¡± Cathain and Eleanora faced the cheering from the crowds with holding their hands together. His red eyes was filled of gentleness and proud feeling as he looked at her, somehow he no longer felt inferior to her like he used to feel before. But at the same time, he felt scared. Like she was going far away from him slowly. He felt like the moment he will try to embrace and hold her, she will disappear. She is like a shining light which he can see but can¡¯t touch, a shining light which belongs to everyone and light up the sky. Where he is the same as everyone¡­ But, Cathain didn¡¯t want to be the same as everyone in her heart... He wants to be special to her. ¡®Wait¡­ what am i thinking?!¡¯ ¡®How can i feel like this?!¡¯ ¡°Are you alright, Your Majesty?¡± Eleanora asked in a low voice as she saw his tensed expression. She thought if he was ufortable as he doesn¡¯t remember anything and such a sudden pressure made him feel sick. ¡®What made her think that i feel sick?¡¯ Cathain was stunned to find her caring for him and before he could understand what he should say, he already found himself blurting out something which he never imagined. ¡°Yeah, My head hurts. Give me a massage.¡± Chapter 157 - 157 "Cathain’s Uneasiness" 157 ¡°Cathain¡¯s Uneasiness¡± ¡°Are you feeling better now?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora was speechless as it has been more then 15 minutes that she is giving him a massage. But he still says he is not feeling better? ¡®My hand hurts!!¡¯ With a frustrated mood, Eleanora decided to pull his hair as she scratched his scalp with her nails sharply. Cathain tried his best to conceal hisughter as he let her continue to scratch his head. ¡®This feels good...¡¯ ..... ¡®She is a kitten for sure, No- A fierce kitten with sharp nails and a bad temper.¡¯ ¡°Ouch- Be-Be gentle...Eleanora¡± Cathain called her by full name which made her pause as it has been long since she heard him calling her by full name. He either called her by his empress or nickname, which made Eleanora once again realise the person infront of him is not ¡®Ain¡¯ anymore. With whom she can casually behave however she wants. ¡°I apologise, Your Majesty.¡± Cathain¡¯s face dropped as he felt her being formal with him again. ¡°I feel a lot better now. You can go-¡± ¡°Take care then, Your Majesty.¡± Eleanora left even before he could say that she can go after having a cup of tea with him. Cathain stared at the door even after she was already gone. ¡®Why am feeling so sad?¡¯ ... Across the Valentino empire, Capital city of the Rua kingdom at northern part of the south. ¡°Well, the newspaper from the Valentino today is quite interesting.¡± ¡°The emperor¡¯s speech was so serious that no reporter in Rua could write anything about it.¡± ¡°And... This girl, who messed up our ns from the very beginning is also going to the war?¡± A man with ck hair and eyes spoke as he smirked at the picture in the front page of the newspaper. All the newspapers from Valentino empire has published their crown princess¡¯s speech from the other day in their front page, along with the picture of the emperor and the crown princess holding their hands together. ¡®Eleanora Ariande La Dalton...¡¯ The king of Rua, Mendel De Melendez Rua murmured Eleanora¡¯s name in his mind as he tore apart the newspaper into two parts. Then he picked up the part which only showed Eleanora¡¯s picture in the newspaper. ¡®What a beautiful girl...!¡¯ Even if the picture was only ck and white, it couldn¡¯t hide Eleanora¡¯s beauty. Mendel had his eyes on Eleanora when she came with the crown prince for the negotiation process. The way she bravely spoke and presented her thoughts, backfire his father¡¯s ns, there was no way she wouldn¡¯t catch his eyes. The only reason why Mendel became the king is to get her, the crown princess of the Valentino Empire. ¡°Hah... I want to have her...¡± ¡®If i defeat the imperial army, i can take her.¡¯ ¡®She would be my trophy for winning the war.¡¯ ¡®Whether it¡¯s the crown princess or the battle between Rua and the Empire, this war is certainly very interesting.¡¯ ¡­ ¡°Elee, have you ever been on boat like this?¡± Cedrick asked as he put down the box he was carrying and helped Eleanora to put down her box too. ¡®If i say this is not my first time on a boat... He will nag me for more details right?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she tried to roll up her sleeves. ¡°No... It¡¯s my first time and the sea is really beautiful.¡± ¡°We still haven¡¯t left the empire, are you okay?¡± Cedrick asked as an ice mage, Eleanora is sensitive to cold and he helped her to roll up her sleeves. ¡°The wind feel nice, it¡¯s not that chilly.¡± ¡°You must tell me if you feel cold okay?¡± Cedrick spoke as he was concerned for Eleanora because she catches cold easily. But before Eleanora could speak back, someone else spoke as he put down a box on the ground. ¡°Tell you? You better stay away from her of you don¡¯t want her to catch a cold.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± Both Cedrick and Eleanora was speechless. The person who just spoke was Duke Richardo. Unlike Cathain¡¯s fire magic which makes the people around him feel warm and gave off a superior aura which force everyone submit to him; Cedrick¡¯s aura is like cold wind, which makes people feel cold. As Eleanora also has ice magic which gives off chilly cold aura like winter nights, it will be easier for her to catch a cold with Cedrick standing beside her who uses wind magic. ¡®Does he need to be so direct?¡¯ Dion left without giving them any time to react and then Eleanora suddenly remembered about the handkerchief which Dion had given her previously to cover up her wound. ¡°Wait a moment, Rick! I will be right back!¡± Eleanora spoke as she took out the handkerchief from her pocket and ran after Dion. ¡°...¡± ¡®What am i supposed to do now?¡¯ Cedrick thought as he was left alone in the corner with piles of boxes. ¡­ ¡°Duke Richardo!!¡± Eleanora called Dion, who was standing near the railing of the boat alone. ¡°Your highness?¡± Dion was a little surprised to find Eleanora calling for him. ¡®Why is she here?¡¯ ¡°Your handkerchief¡± Eleanora spoke as she passed him the handkerchief with a silly smile. She felt embarrassed because of her behaviour that day, when she deliberately hurted herself. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have washed it! I couldn¡¯t find a right moment to pass you this, so i bought it with me this time to give it back.¡± Dion was dumbfounded to get back the handkerchief which he forgot about and didn¡¯t knew how to react. But Eleanora misunderstood him and thought that he found it dirty because it was used by her. ¡°No No No- I didn¡¯t meant that... It¡¯s just you didn¡¯t need to return it.¡± ..... Dion spoke as he looked at the handkerchief in her hands but his insides was full of nervousness. ¡®What am i supposed to say in this kind of situations with ady?! Diana that brat! Why didn¡¯t she teached me about this?!¡¯ Actually Dion is kind of person who speaks a lot in his mind and rarely with his mouth. And whenever he opens his mouth, he ends up being too honest and hurting the other person. So he keeps quite most of the time and only speaks which is teached by his little sister, who is afraid of her brother die single. Where, Eleanora was the same as him. ¡®What am i suppose to say now?¡¯ ¡°Pardon me then,¡± In the end, Eleanora just decided to put in on his suit pocket, ignoring the awkward expression on Dion¡¯s face. ¡®Agh, i don¡¯t care. What will i do with a man¡¯s handkerchief anyway?¡¯ ¡°Pff- i guess we are the same kind.¡± Dion spoke as he found her to simr to himself, who just does the work quitely without speaking much. ¡°I guess so...¡± Eleanora spoke as sheughed with Dion for her this action, not realising the two person passing by them from not to far away. ¡®Since when did they have such a good rtionship?¡¯ ¡®What are they talking about that made herugh so happily?¡¯ Cathain narrowed his red eyes as he stared at Eleanora and Dion from afar. Even if he doesn¡¯t remember the past, but during the current time when he was with her; she neverughed so happily. ¡®Her expression ispletely different then when i was with her...¡¯ Cathain felt hurt as he remembered how she looks shocked or nervous, like she just wants to find a excuss to leave when he is with her. ¡®This is a problem... Am feeling messed up... How can i make her feelfortable around me?¡¯ He knows he doesn¡¯t hate her as he remembered himself to do anymore and because of his current feelings, he knows the crazy things he did before must be done by himself too. ¡®Whom should i ask about it? There is no one...¡¯ ¡°Your highness? Is there something i can help with?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Where were you looking at? What¡¯s there?¡± Brayden pretended to not notice Eleanora and Dion as he wanted to tease his superior. He knew that his superior was having problems with his personal life, how can he not notice this as someone who has been trainned to aid the emperor? But Cathain hesitated to ask as he felt this matter is rather embarrassing to discuss, specially worrying about something like this, that to even during the war? Will people not consider him as a lovesick man? Cathain thought as he didn¡¯t knew that everyone around him is used to this kind of situations. ¡°Nothing, call everyone for an urgent meeting right now. Everyone must attend.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®What you exactly want is to bring the crown princess to you and prevent her from talking with others right?¡¯ Brayden sighed as he did what the emperor had told him to do. A few momentter~ ¡°This is bad...¡± The emperor spoke as he read the reports in his hands, which was sent by the knights from the borders. ¡°Yes, Your highness. After investigation, we have found that Rua had joined hands with the neighbouring countries to fight our support army at the borders.¡± ¡°We have to adjust our strength first. The support armies at the borders and the remnants of our armybined total up to 320,000.¡± ¡°But there are 430,000 enemy troops, which put us at a numerical disadvantage.¡± ¡®Weck nearly 100,000 soldiers.¡¯ The knights was all tensed up as soon as they realized it. But unexpectedly, the emperor and the knight leaders thought differently. ¡°Fighting will be worth it.¡± The emperor spoke and the officials nodded. ¡°Yes, After all we are the great imperial battle army of the empire!¡± ¡°Although that new king of Rua is quite irritating, we don¡¯t know what tricks he might useter...¡± An olderly man with white hair spoke, who is trains a special unit of soldiers for the war. ¡°Dealing with a sly scheme is simple. We don¡¯t need to resort to underhanded methods like them or we would be fooled by their tricks.¡± The emperor spoke with a rx tone as he put down the reports on the table. ¡°WE WILL ATTACK HEAD ON!¡± Cathain spoke with a serious tone. He doesn¡¯t know why but just by the mention of the current king of Rua, he feels ufortable. ¡®Why do i feel like am forgetting something very important?¡¯ Chapter 158 - 158 "Helping Jennifer" 158 ¡°Helping Jennifer¡± ¡°This way, My Lady.¡± A knight spoke as he lead the way to the field hospital for Jennifer. She was wearing a red and ck coloured mixed knight suit, which represented that she was under the third knight squadron which was being lead by the Crown Princess. ¡®Did the past me, who was busy with screwing up the empress in this battle could imagine that she herself will join the war to help her?¡¯ In her past life, Jennifer used her knowledge about medicines to create troubles for Eleanora and ended up killing many people. This time, she wants to save life and pursue her dream of being a doctor. She was skilled but it was too bad that she wasted it because she craved for fatherly love and ler herself being brainwashed by her own father. ¡®Maybe i can atone a little for my sins that way...¡¯ ¡°The road is uneven. So be careful of your steps.¡± ..... ¡°Okay, Thank you. How far is the hospital?¡± Jennifer thanked the knight and asked about their destination at the same time. ¡°We¡¯re almost there.¡± The knight spoke as they stood before a cracked old building. Jennifer was shocked to see the sight of the hospital, which doesn¡¯t even looks suitable for people to live. Let alone sick patients. ¡°This is a hospital?!¡± Jennifer asked with shock. ¡°Yes, this is the rear field hospital. It¡¯s under the control of Headquarters.¡± The knight spoke with an awkward expression as he didn¡¯t knew how to reply to her question properly. ¡°Okay, Thank you for escorting me here. You can go back.¡± ¡°Take care, My Lady.¡± The knight politely spoke before he turned to go back and Jennifer entered the building. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die...¡± ¡°UGHH...¡± ¡°Thirsty...¡± ¡°Oh my god, wait! Don¡¯t move!¡± Jennifer shouted at the man who wanted to move to get some water to drink. She poured some water in a ss as she helped that person to drink water. ¡®Where are the nurses?¡¯ Jennifer thought as she looked around but there was no one to help them. Even their bandages was done very poorly with no medical skills. ¡®This won¡¯t do anything good for their recovery.¡¯ ¡®Normally this won¡¯t infect the others but here this poorly bandages will make their wound worse and they are just going to infect one another to another.¡¯ Jennifer thought as she looked at those wounded soldiers and felt sorry for them. ¡®This is not a problem which can be solved by treating one or two people.¡¯ ¡®Everything here must be rectified...¡¯ ¡®I have to meet the person in charge here.¡¯ ¡­ ¡°It¡¯s an honour to meet you... Lady Raven... *hup*...Am L-Lieutenant Wades... The head of this field hospital.... what did you find me for?¡± The person in charge of the hospital spoke as he hupped because of drunkness. ¡®Oh my god! he reeks like alcohol¡­the soldiers are dying and he was busy drinking?!¡¯ Jennifer thought as she covered her nose a little as she couldn¡¯t stand the smell of alcoholing from the person infront of her. ¡°Lieutenant Hades... I have something to discuss about the patients here.¡± ¡°In order to treat them properly, the environment needs to be improved immediately.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°The ward¡¯s environment is not good and this is why the patients are still ill...¡± Lieutenant Wade spoke in a daze because of the effect of alcohol, which made Jennifet frown as she understood that he was not taking her seriously. ¡°My Lady, you may not know this but we are in the middle of a war. They are the circumstances.¡± ¡°!!!¡± ¡°I also know that the environment of the battlefield is bad, But... At the very least, we should make an effort to give the wounded soldiers the best treatment possible, Right?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®She¡¯s being so difficult.¡¯ ¡®The patients condition has nothing to do with me!¡¯ But still lieutenant Wade tried his best to conceal his anger because Jennifer is the daughter of Duke Raven. ¡°That¡¯s true, but it¡¯s outside of my jurisdiction. I¡¯ve only been told to run the hospital.¡± ¡°If you want to improve the hospital, you¡¯ll have to talk with themand of logistics office; who are in charge of supplying with the hospital materials.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®He is clearly neglecting his responsibilities.¡¯ Jennifer sighed as she heard Lieutenant Wade¡¯s words and left without saying anything more as it would go on waste. ¡­ Imperial Army Base Camp~ ¡°Come in, Lady Raven.¡± ¡°I am Samuel, the person in charge of the hospital supplies.¡± ¡°Are you here to talk about the field hospital?¡± Sir Samuel spoke as he gestured Jennifer to sit on the sofa. ¡°Yes, Actually...¡± Jennifer started to speak about the condition of the hospital as soon as she sat down. ¡°Hmm... Is that so?¡± Sir Samuel asked as he pretend to take the things Jennifer spoke off very seriously. ¡°Yes, If you want to treat the wounded soldiers, you must ractify the wards first.¡± ¡°Okay, I understand. Now that you have bought it up, I¡¯ll find a chance to discuss it with the boss.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Now that you are done talking, Could you please leave?¡± ¡°!!!¡± ¡®Discuss it with the boss?! So when will you do that...?¡¯ ¡®The issue is simple, but even if i have outstanding abilities, I won¡¯t be able to solve this easily.¡¯ ¡®I need help, someone with political power...¡¯ ¡°Ouch!¡± As Jennifer was lost in thought, she identally bumped into someone and fall back. ..... But to her surprise, she didn¡¯t felt any pain as the person caught her in time. ¡°Be careful, Lady Raven.¡± The person spoke with cold voice and Jennifer quickly fixed her posture. ¡°T-Thank you, Dame Dalton.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Eleanora spoke and didn¡¯t waited another moment to stand there with Jennifer. But as soon as she turned around, Jennifer called her from behind. ¡°Dame Dalton!¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I-I have something to say... Can we talk?¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora looked at Jennifer coldly and observed her for a few moment. ¡®Why am i like this... I should hate them but why don¡¯t i feel resentment towards her?¡¯ ¡®But i shouldn¡¯t let down my guard around her... let¡¯s see what scheme she is up too first.¡¯ In the end, she sighed and agreed because of Jennifer¡¯s serious determined gaze which felt no harm to her. ¡°Okay, Come with me.¡± As soon as Jennifer got Eleanora¡¯s approval, her face lift up and she smiled at her happily. ¡°THANK YOU, DAME DALTON!!¡± ¡®Pff- why does she looks like a blonde puppy to me?¡¯ Eleanora thought inside of her mind, while still keeping a cold poker face. ¡­ Eleanora walked towards the headquarters along with Jennifer. After talking with her, Eleanora was surprised to hear Jennifer¡¯s suggestion. She never considered the fact that people could be saved this way too. ¡®Indeed, all i know is how to kill enemies and make war strategies.¡¯ Eleanora kept thinking as they walked. ¡®Jennifer¡¯s medical achievements may be outstanding, but she don¡¯t have a formal position as a doctor.¡¯ ¡®And am only able to suggest things in the battlefield, not make decisions let alone the medical field where i have zero experience.¡¯ ¡®The imperial army is a century old army squad, how can i help her to save more people...¡¯ ¡°Eleanora?¡± ¡°What are you doing here infront of the Headquarters?¡± ¡°!?¡± Cathain spoke as he noticed Eleanora, who was lost in thoughts standing infront of the headquarters along with someone... ¡°I, Jennifer La Liana Raven, greet his majesty, the sun of our empire.¡± ¡°Eleanora, why are you here?¡± ¡°...¡± Jennifer was speechless as Cathain ignored her and walked towards Eleanora. He narrowed his eyes and got in the middle of them to keep Jennifer stand farther away from Eleanora. ¡®If am not wrong, She is the one whom Brayden had rmend for joining in the war, right?¡¯ ¡®That blonde dog¡¯s sister... Who had kissed her?¡¯ [The scene when Jennifer fall from the tree and Eleanora catched her, where Jennifer had identally kissed Eleanora¡¯s cheeks.] Instantly, Jennifer be one of the many love rivals in his eyes. Where Eleanora thought of something else. If she talks with the emperor, who is themander in charge of the battlefield... Won¡¯t it be easier to make the other people agree with our idea too? ¡®Although our rtionship is not the best... But it still concerns the lives of many people and will cost a lot of money.... it would be better if she can convince him.¡¯ Eleanora looked at Jennifer who was looking down with an awkward expression. ¡°Lady Raven have something to suggest. Her idea is really effective and i think it¡¯s good for our soldiers. If you have time, can you please listen to her?¡± Eleanora spoke formally and took a step back to let Jennifere forward and talk with Cathain. Seeing her action, Cathain frowned. ¡®What¡¯s this? Does she not mind me talking with other woman¡¯s?¡¯ ¡®I feel like killing whenever i see her with someone else except me... Does she not have any slightest feelings for me?¡¯ ¡°...¡± Jennifer felt like if looks could kill then Cathain¡¯s gaze would have already killed her into pieces. Without waiting for another moment, Cathain grabbed Eleanora¡¯s wrist and entered the room with her. Which not only shocked Eleanora who was suddenly pulled inside but also Jennifer, who was left outside. ¡®What just happened?¡¯ Chapter 159 - 159 "Cathain’s Insecurities " 159 ¡°Cathain¡¯s Insecurities ¡± ¡°Your- Your Majesty?¡± Eleanora asked in confusion as she was pinned against the door and her both wrist was gripped tightly by Cathain. Eleanora tried to look at his face but as he was too close to her and as their height difference was huge, she failed to look up at his face. It was an unknown habit of her to talk while looking at the person¡¯s face. It makes herfortable and feel that the person is equally paying attention to her words as she does. She can alunderstand that person by observing their facial expressions. This is why Eleanora was trying to look up at his face to understand what he is thinking. But even if she bearly reached his shoulders, this allowed her to feel his fast beating heart which made her face flushed. ¡®Is he feeling sick again?¡¯ ..... ¡°Your Majesty?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you call me by my name?¡± ¡°??!¡± Cathain spoke as he looked down to see her nervous and shocked face because of his words. ¡®Even when i was married to you... I was not allowed to call you by your name. Even when we were alone... I wasn¡¯t allowed.¡¯ ¡®But you allowed her to call you by your nickname just in a week... Showed me how much you love her right before you killed me...¡¯ ¡®Now you want me to call you by your name?¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t dare anymore...¡¯ ¡°Pardon me, But I can¡¯t call your majesty by your name-¡± Eleanora paused on her words and be more nervous as Cathain suddenly bent down to meet her eyes. Which made her realise that before losing his past memories, he always used to bent down to talk so that she can look at him while speaking. If he doesn¡¯t bent down to talk, she can¡¯t see his face or know his facial expressions. If they want to make an eye contact without him bending down, then they have to stand by maintaining a little distance between them to see each other. Which Cathain didn¡¯t wanted. So he always used to be the one to lower himself to meet her eyes, so that she doesn¡¯t have to look up higher to see him. ¡®So this is why he always bent down to talk with me...¡¯ This sudden realisation made her feel more awkward as she tried to deny the fact how she liked that gentle side of him, which was always considered for her. ¡°Why are you blushing?¡± Cathain asked as he got more closer to her, so close that they could feel each others breathing fall on them. ¡°...Huh- AM NOT!!!¡± Eleanora spoke in a panicked voice as his words made her face more red and turned her head away in nervousness as he was getting more closer. ¡®Why is he getting so close...¡¯ Cathain¡¯s cold lips touched her ear lightly as he started to whisper seductively in her ear. ¡°Are you sure that you wasn¡¯t blushing because of me?¡± Eleanora curled up her toes as her hands was clenched into a ball tightly as soon as he finished whispering and bite her earlob gently. ¡°I- Why would i be b-blushing... B-Because of you?¡± ¡°Because you like me?¡± ¡°!!!¡± ¡®What is he even saying?!¡¯ ¡®Me and like him?¡¯ Eleanora turned her head to look at him like she had heard some shocking news. Cathain released her wrist slowly to cup her face into his hands so that she can¡¯t avoid his eyes anymore. And spoke in a serious tone. ¡°Say that you don¡¯t like me while looking in my eyes, Eleanora.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Where does he think we are at? Some romance novels? Where the female lead gets shy and can¡¯t answer anymore to the male lead when he asks this?¡¯ ¡®The first thing i got trained by my father is how to lie without blinking. The first rule to escape from danger is to steal time by lying or manipting.¡¯ Eleanora thought as she looked proudly at Cathain, who looked speechless and defeated with her jewel like blue eyes. But then a sudden question caught her. ¡®Lie?¡¯ ¡®Why did i thought like that?¡¯ ¡®What i said is the truth...¡¯ Eleanora was lost in thoughts as she questioned herself and didn¡¯t noticed the smrik on his face as he continued to observe her. ¡®Do you think denying the fact can stop me from realising the truth?¡¯ ¡®She blinks everytime before she starts to speak and doesn¡¯t blink when she lies...¡¯ Cathain, who was always insecured about feelings and couldn¡¯t trust anyone easily, wanted to confirm Eleanora¡¯s feelings first before he admitted his own feelings. He was afraid of his feelings not being epted by her once he admits it. Which he doesn¡¯t want. Moreover, not remembering thest seven years made him more fearful of getting rejected by her. What if she doesn¡¯t epts him because he doesn¡¯t remember the past? Cathain thought as he continued to observe her, but then his gaze suddenly couldn¡¯t move away from a certain part of her face and he remember the night when they kissed. ¡®Her lips...¡¯ With those scenes reying in his mind, Cathain subconsciously tilted his head a little to kiss her lips but Eleanora, who already felt iting had put her hands over his mouth. This way, his lips touched her palm and she widened her blue eyes in shock. ¡°W-What you want to d-do?!¡± ¡®What happened to him so suddenly?¡¯ ¡®Why is he acting like a pervert?¡¯ She thought as she looked at Cathain, who was equally shocked because of his actions with unbelievable eyes. He was acting cold not so long ago, what happened to him so suddenly? Where Cathain felt embarrassed because of his hasty actions and took a few steps back from her. ¡®What happened to me?! Why am i acting so weird like some pervert?!¡¯ ¡°N-Nothing... I just felt...¡± ¡°I felt dizzy!¡± ¡°Am sorry...¡± Cathain spoke as he walked towards the sofa as he scratched his neck. ¡°...¡± ¡®Doed he thinks i don¡¯t know that he scratches his neck everytime he lies?¡¯ Eleanora pouted her cheeks as she felt anger when she saw him lying to her and followed him to sit on the sofa. ¡°So... What do you wanted to talk about?¡± Cathain asked as Eleanora sat down at the opposite seat of him. ..... He was still embarrassed because of his actions. ¡®I just don¡¯t like it when she talks orughs with someone while she looks so serious infront of me and rans away right after finishing her buisness.¡¯ ¡®She calls that blonde dog by his name but refuses to call me by my name!¡¯ Cathain thought as he poured tea for her in a cup. ¡°Here, have some tea.¡± ¡°No...No... No need. How could i let your majesty...¡± ¡®How can i dare to drink the tea he brew?!¡¯ ¡®I had almost die by vomiting a lot after drinking a cup of tea brew by him in the past!¡¯ Eleanora thought as she remembered how she felt sick in her stomach after drinking the tea the emperor used to brew for her after her first miscarriage. ¡®Maybe he felt guilty for not being able to hold me back in time and decided to show a little sympathy by giving me a little attention and brewing me tea.¡¯ Eleanora remembered the time only time when she got his gentleness, which made her want for more. Cathain likes sweetness in tea where Eleanora likes bitter tea, so the over sweet tea made her feel dizzy and vomiting everytime she drank it but she couldn¡¯t refuse him. ¡°...You don¡¯t like it?¡± ¡®Can i say yes?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she shook her head and took the tea cup. But even after taking it near her mouth to drink, she just couldn¡¯t dare to take a sip. ¡®How the past me dared to drink those horrible tea¡¯s?!¡¯ Also, She can¡¯t get sick in the middle of the war, right? ¡°Leave it, i will make the one you like then...¡± ¡°No! I will drink it! Am just a bit ttered!¡± Eleanora spoke awkwardly as the bitter tea he brews is more terrible to drink. She closed her eyes tightly as she took a sip. ¡®!!!¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s too sweet!!!!¡¯ But the emperor was looking at her intensely which made her force to finish the tea. ¡°...¡± ¡®What the hell Brayden?! This is not like what you told me!¡¯ shback~ ¡°Your Majesty, Trust me! Don¡¯t look at me like that. Am very famous amongdies back in the empire.¡± ¡°How about you treat thedy gently like you used to do before you lost memories?¡± ¡°If i remember correctly, she was not that cold or serious back in the past. You should show her your gentle side again.¡± ¡°Like... Brewing her a cup of tea? Am sure she will be very moved!¡± Brayden spoke as he walked alongside of the emperor. ¡°Gentle?¡± ¡°Am not sure but i can try...¡± ~End of the shback. ¡®I feel terrible.¡¯ ¡®She looks so ufortable!¡¯ ¡®I think a certain someone will be the best candidate for fighting in the front line for tomorrow¡¯s battle...¡¯ ¡°chooo!¡± ¡®Who is missing me?¡¯ Brayden thought as he rubbed his nose and blushed thinking that it might be somedy who loved him a lot... Chapter 160 - 160 "Jennifer’s Suggestion" 160 ¡°Jennifer¡¯s Suggestion¡± ¡°Alright, so what you are saying it¡¯s necessary to rectify the environment of the field hospital, correct?¡± The emperor, who was sitting beside the crown princess asked thedy infront of him. ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. With the current state of the hospital, Even a healthy person get sick. Not to mention an injured person.¡± Jennifer replied with nervousness. She, who was left out by the emperor was suddenly called inside a moment ago by the crown princess and they started to discuss about her suggestion. If the emperor doesn¡¯t helps her, even if she convince the crown princess; it would be no help. ¡®So, i must try my best to convince him!¡¯ ¡°I think we should also consider the condition of injured soldiers... If they can get better then we will lose less resources.¡± Eleanora spoke as she tried to pursue the emperor. ..... Even if she is still suspicious of Jennifer, but she wouldn¡¯t mind helping her if it could save lives. The soldiers life¡¯s matter the most above everything. The emperor pondered for some moment before he started to speak again. ¡°I see, but what does the imperial army will gain from improving the environment?¡± ¡°What will we be investing in?¡± The emperor asked as he have to consider the specifics in mind. His question was straightforward and it must be answered well to convince him. ¡°The benefit of fixing the environment is...¡± ¡°That the death and wounded rate of the soldiers will be ten times lower then now.¡± ¡°!!!¡± ¡°!!!¡± Both Cathain and Eleanora was shocked as ten times is no lower number. ¡°Ten times? Are you certain?!¡± Eleanora asked with a surprised voice as she couldn¡¯t believe that it¡¯s possible. ¡°Yes, Your highness. But rectifying the environment will include treating the sewage properly. As well getting more medical resources and manpower.¡± Jennifer spoke wisely as she knew had researched about it before when she was little. ¡®Even nts get infected if the surrounding is not clean, human wounds are the same... If the environment is not clean then it gives the chances to get infected. Otherwise why would we use alcohol pads to clean the wounds before bandaging?¡¯ Jennifer thought as she felt sweat appearing on her forehead. This is only what she thinks. There is no medical approval of it her suggestion yet. And there are not many healers and priest to help the people, not to mention they are also rare. So if they can use medical knowledge and rece the healers or priest with doctors, people can get cure easily. They won¡¯t need to ran after temple or priests to get well, they can just go to the hospital where will be more doctors to help them. ¡®But it¡¯s a long way to go, to fulfil my dream... I need to solve this problem now.¡¯ ¡°I understand... I would like to help.¡± ¡°This will be beneficial if it can be implement.¡± Cathain and Eleanora spoke as they considered the situation, and agreed to help her. Which made Jennifer¡¯s face lit up. ¡°Thank you so much, Your Majesty and Your highness!!¡± ¡°I will talk with the other higher ups and inform them about your suggestions.¡± Cathain spoke and then Eleanora suddenly remembered how Dion had helped her bandage her wound and they talked about his hospitals. ¡°You can also discuss this with Duke Richardo¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°He is in the charge of the medical supplies and also themander of the medical army.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°He owns many hospitals in his territory and he is also very good at medicines-¡± ¡°Seems like you two are quite close...¡± Eleanora paused on her words as Cathain, who couldn¡¯t bear it anymore intruppted her in the middle of her sentence. ¡®I seem to smell a strong burning jealousy...¡¯ ¡®¡­but can you please kick me out first?¡¯ Jennifer thought as she looked at the couple infront of her and felt happy in her heart for them. ¡°Lady Raven, Don¡¯t you have to talk with Duke Richardo... Themander of the medical army, the man who is very good at medicines and owns many hospitals?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Is he venting out at me as he can¡¯t vent it on her?¡¯ Jennifer was speechless and she excused herself as she was relieved to get kicked out. ¡®I wish you all the happiness which i had wrongly snatched away before, Your highness; the empress.¡¯ ¡­ Before bing the duchy¡¯s princess, Jennifer La Liana Raven, was just a abandoned girl Lennie; who was rescued by some people in a isted vige. She was taken care by some olddy and the people in the vige. Little Lennie used to work at different ces all day and night as she didn¡¯t had a permanent ce to stay except sleeping at the yard of everyone¡¯s house from time to time with a nket. She would help the neighbour uncle sell newspapers at morning to get a bread. Wash dishes at the aunts restaurants to get some foods or tips from the customers during the lunch time. Sometimes she would work in garden till the evening to get some fruits if she failed to get leftover foods for lunch. Then she would work in a small clinic to help the grandma¡¯s son, who was a vige doctor to get things, where she actually learnt about herbs and gradually got interested in medical field. Little Lennie¡¯s life was quite good even after all those hardships as she worked hard in the right path and also the people she meet was kind. Then she was sent by the people in her vige to a orphanage as she couldn¡¯t sleep here and there without a permanent ce. She was a growing beautiful girl afterall. Where she meet the real Jena, who was kind and cheerful. She called her Jennie to match with her name Lennie, which was given to her by the people in the vige who raised her till she was seven. But her life turned upside down when Jena was suddenly sent to the viscount estate as soon as she turned 18. The thirteen year old Lennie escaped from the orphanage to rescue her sister, only to see a bloody fight infront of her in a dark street. There was a wounded boy with dark blue hair and lifeless golden eyes, who was asking for help. Even if she was scared, Lennie wanted to help the boy. She helped him to escape from there but before she could escape, a blonde man with green eyes stood infront of her. Who imed her to be his lost daughter. As soon as the man hugged her and wiped tears, she immediately felt attachment towards that man and went back with him instead of going to the ce where she had promised the boy she saved to meet with. She be ady overnight and kept working hard to please her father. But then another shocking news came to her. Her sister, Jena was dead. ..... She was killed because of the neww where the empire bans very, which was proposed by the crown princess. Duke Raven showed her fake reports as she couldn¡¯t even tell which was official documents and which was fake. Rage filled her and the duke seed into brainwashing her. Lennie gave up her dream to be a doctor to save lives and started to scheme to take away lives. She entered the pce at the age of eighteen, during theing of age ceremony banquet of the crown prince. Where she saw the beautiful and strong crown princess, who returned temporarily from the battlefield. Who was responsible for her sisters death. The crown princess was cold and emotionless as she had heard, the crown prince was also ruthless. Thus, she didn¡¯t hesitated to do as her father wanted. A young girl from the orphanage, who never knew how upper society worked was easy to mislead. Duke Raven seed into turning his own daughter into a sessful puppet. His son was too useless, who got no merit from him. But the daughter he abandoned was useful. Not only she got his scheming mind, she also have twin magic attribute. Even if she hesitated or felt disgusted for what she was doing, wanted to back off but Duke Raven always ended up coaxing her. It was only after the former empress execution when she got to know the truth. But everything had already happened and there was no turning back. She lived everyday with guilt and watched the people around her suffer because of her foolishness and mistakes. Then she finally got a chance and didn¡¯t hesitated to give up her own life to save the empress. She swore to make things right this time as she felt her body and soul vanishing. And when she opened her eyes, she found herself standing at the same dark alley. A boy with dark blue hair and lifeless golden eyes asking for help again. Unlike before, she used the dagger to kill those man¡¯s instead of using her dark magic so that no one can detect her. She helped the boy by healing his wound and this time, she escaped with that boy before the duke could find her without turning back. ¡®This time, i will protect you, Your highness, The empress...¡¯ Chapter 161 - 161 "His Demand" 161 ¡°His Demand¡± Eleanora narrowed her blue eyes as she watched Jennifer leaving the room. ¡®Why is she so different from the past?¡¯ As she knows, shouldn¡¯t Jennifer try to create a rift between her and the emperor just like before for the empress position? Duke Raven should also start his ns now. All her sufferings in the past was just because of that empress crown on her head. This is why she gave it up from the very beginning but now everyone is acting different from the past. Be it her father, the emperor or Jennifer, no one is like the past, including herself. Dominic was not alive during this time in the past but now he is not only living but also the crown prince of Arendell. Liana, who never appeared in herst life became the crown princess; fiance of the Arendell¡¯s crown prince. ..... Alberto Diana Richardo, her life changed because Eleanora saved her this time. Diana is now a enthusiastic girl who never faced and abuse or sexual harassment. The dead ves from the past are all alive. Her father returned 2 years earlier from the border inception. Thete emperor, who was supposed to get sick and die, already died 4 years ago and the crown prince rose to the throne earlier. Eleanora faced no hardship because of her going to war like she did in her past life. She became friends with Cedrick, and unexpectedly their magic powers could be merge together. Everything seems to be peaceful and helping her out coincidentally. ¡®If i remember correctly, my personality wasn¡¯t that cold, neither the crown prince. He seldom talked much but he was never that aggressive or violent with me. It was only after i entered the pce that both of us seem to changed drastically...¡¯ ¡°...¡± Cathain red at the beautiful girl, who was lost in thoughts beside him angrily. ¡®Is she ignoring me?¡¯ ¡®Or she thinking about him?¡¯ He was dissatisfied by seeing her lost in thoughts but then his lips curled up a little as a thought crossed his mind. Cathain took his mouth near to her ear slowly before he whispered. ¡°My empress...¡± ¡°Aah!!¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora jumped aside in shock because of his sudden whispering. She covered her ear, which he just whispered. ¡®W-What did he called me just now?¡¯ ¡®Did he recovered his memory?¡¯ Eleanpra stared at him with her widening blue eyes and he frowned seeing her like that. He was sitting straight where she was almostying on the sofa horizontally. ¡°Why are you shocked?¡± Cathain asked with a dark expression. ¡°Your Majesty, Do you recall something?¡± Eleanora asked as her blue eyes sparkled with anticipation. ¡°...¡± ¡®Does she likes that shameless version of mine?¡¯ ¡°No, I don¡¯t remember anything.¡± ¡°The why did you-¡± ¡®called me that...¡¯ Eleanora paused on her words as she sat upright again. ¡°I heard from Brayden that i used to call you that.¡± ¡°Oh, But you don¡¯t need to-¡± ¡°No. Those people might suspect if i suddenly change the way i used to call you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°So i will continue to call you that from now on.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®So, we are back at it again...¡¯ Eleanora sighed as she knew she won¡¯t win against him by argument. ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty for listening to Lady Raven. If her n bes sessful then it will be a great help.¡± Eleanora spoke as she stood up but Cathain stopped her by holding her wrist. ¡®Huh?¡¯ ¡°Did that helped you?¡± ¡°Huh? I guess it does...¡± Eleanora replied with confusion. Not only her but the whole army will get benefits if Jennifer sesses. She just helped Jennifer because she thought it was great to save more lives as it was also what she wanted to do in this war. And without his permission, she couldn¡¯t help Jennifer, so somehow that counts as he helped her. ¡®Why is he asking that?¡¯ ¡°Since i helped you, would you be able to do something for me in return?¡± ¡°...For you? Do you have any wishes?¡± ¡®Please¡­. Don¡¯t ask for something weird!¡¯ But seeing Cathain¡¯s hesitating, Eleanora wondered what made it so difficult for him to ask or get from others. As an emperor, he shouldn¡¯tck anything. But then Cathain put his another hand to cover his mouth slightly as he looked away before speaking with his blushing face. ¡°Could you... Smile for me?¡± ¡®...¡¯ ¡°Pardon?¡± Eleanora asked directly as she thought that she has heard him wrong. ¡®He certainly didn¡¯t asked me to smile for him, right?¡¯ Cathain let out a heavy breathe before he got up from his seat and stood infront of her at a little distance so that she can look at him. ¡°You are always so stiff infront of me. Either nervous or shocked...¡± ¡®But youugh with others!¡¯ ¡°...O-Okay...let me smile then...¡± Eleanora spoke as her lips curved up a little in an awkward smile. ¡®Just how can someone smile like this?!!!!¡¯ ¡®Even i have never seen myself smiling much, let alone him!¡¯ ..... ¡°...Again. More happier this time¡± ¡°Just a moment please...¡± ¡®Think about what makes me happy...¡¯ Eleanora let out a heavy breathe before she looked at him and curved up lips a little. No one could say that she is smiling, but it was different to Cathain. He knew this is the natural happy smile of hers. ¡®As expected... Just the thought of beating up the emperor makes me most happy.¡¯ ¡°Is it okay, Your...Majesty?¡± Eleanora was stunned a little as she found him looking at her tenderly like his red eyes was lost into her smile. ¡®What...is this? Why does he have such a reaction?¡¯ Cathain took a step towards her and subconsciously, she immediately took a step backwards. But unexpectedly he cupped her face with his both hands which stopped her from stepping back as he got closer. ¡°Your Majesty?¡± ¡°You¡¯re more beautiful when you smile...¡± Cathain spoke as he kissed her forehead. ¡°I-¡± ¡°I...I¡¯ll take my leave now! Thank you for today!¡± Eleanora spoke with her burning red cheeks and immediately left the room without turning back after shutting the door. Where, Cathain just stood in daze. He felt his heart beat getting faster as he crossed his arms and thought about how she ran away from him again. ¡°Haah, Am going crazy...¡± ¡°...Why do i like her so much?¡± Chapter 162 - 162 [Bonus Chapter] "Duel" 162 [Bonus Chapter] ¡°Duel¡± In the middle of the night, Eleanora was looking at the papers in her hands as she was lost in thoughts. She was wearing a white shirt with ck pants, as her shiny silver hair was tied up into a high ponytail. ¡®You¡¯re more beautiful when you smile.¡¯ ¡®...¡¯ Eleanora took off the sses she was wearing, with frustration and put down the papers in her hands. ¡®Don¡¯t think about it, Elee...¡¯ She thought as she leaned back on the chair she was sitting and closed her eyes. ¡®What he said doesn¡¯t matters...¡¯ With all those thoughts in her mind, Eleanora soon fall asleep while sitting on the chair. ..... Right then, A person came in and slowly carried her in his arms so that she doesn¡¯t wakes up. He put her down on the sofa gently and covered her with her own long coat as he knew she can¡¯t sleep without something covering her. There was no nket as it was just a small study room of hers. ¡®Sleep well, Elee.¡¯ Cedrick looked at her onest time before he came out from the room and silently closed the door before leaving. As they spent thest four years together in the war, Cedrick knew how she tends to fall asleep in the chair while working. As an habit, he came to cheak on her today too and found herself sleeping like that again. ¡®Just when will she fix this bad habit of hers?¡¯ Cedrick thought as he walked away, not noticing the person who hide himself behind with a nket on his hands. He clenched the nket on his hands and threw it away before leaving with rage. ¡®How dare he to touch her!¡¯ ¡®She can only be mine!¡¯ ... Eleanora woke up in the morning and frowned as her neck hurted a little as she slept without a pillow. She frowned a little as she found her coat over her. ¡®This man¡­ how many time i have told him to not do this?¡¯ ¡®He can just directly wake me up to sleep on bed, instead of putting me on sofa with no pillow or nket!¡¯ Eleanora thought as she rubbed her neck a little to ease the pain as she used her holy powers. Then she came out from the study room with the war strategies she has worked on all night. But then she frowned again. ¡®...¡¯ ¡®Who threw the nket here?!¡¯ ¡®I was freezing all night without a nket where someone is throwing it away.¡¯ Eleanora felt irritated as she walked pass the nket on the ground which was only at a little distance from her study room. After getting ready and changing into the official knight outfit, Eleanora came out from her room to walk towards the meeting room. But she stopped as she heard some noises from the training field and wondered if the knights are fighting among themselves. ¡®Who dares to fight during the war?!¡¯ Eleanora walked towards the training field with rage to stop the knights but she was utter speechless as she saw who was fighting. Cedrick was sitting on the ground with a tired face as the emperor¡¯s sword was at his neck. Both of them was full of sweat and heavily breathing, as they have been dueling for hours. ¡°Get up, Again!¡± The emperor roared at Cedrick, who has lost again. ¡®What¡¯s happening here?!¡¯ Eleanora thought as she looked horrified. There is no way Cedrick, who is just a assistance mage can win against a powerful swordmaster like the emperor. Cedrick can¡¯t even fight with swords that much let alone duel against the emperor. He is excellent at ministry and strategy, also as an assistant mage for swordmaster¡¯s to fight. ¡®What is the emperor thinking?!¡¯ ¡°Want some?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Try this, Your highness. This one is more tasty.¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora was speechless as Dion and Jennifer passed her Popcorn and juice. ¡®They are enjoying the show instead of stopping it?¡¯ ¡°We can¡¯t stop the emperor anyway, so why not just enjoy the show?¡± ¡°Yes, My brother looks so pitiful...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Are they even serious?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she took some popcorn from Dion and stuffed them into her mouth, before she took a sip of the juice from Jennifer. ¡°What are they fighting about?¡± Eleanora asked as she watched Cedrick stood up with the sword and the emperor started to fight again. ¡°My brother must have pissed off the emperor to get beaten up like that.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s the emperor who is unreasonable. He came out of nowhere in the morning with a dead looking serious face and asked Sir Raven for a duel.¡± Jennifer and Dionmented as they felt sorry for Cedrick. ¡®This has something to do with her for sure.¡¯ ¡®This has something to do with her for sure.¡¯ Both of them thought as they looked at the person in the middle of them at the same time, who had no idea of it and continued to eat popcorns. Cedrick was already exhausted but as his eyes fall on Eleanora who was watching him, he clenched the sword in his hands. He doesn¡¯t want to look weak and vulnerable infront of her. Where the emperor sneered as he watched Cedrick¡¯s action. ¡®I was right, huh?¡¯ ¡®So you wanna covet what¡¯s mine!¡¯ Cedrick charged at him with his sword and Cathain deliberately let him to do this. ¡®If am hurt, will she care for me?¡¯ ¡®Or think that this blonde dog is too weak if he loses to me again?¡¯ With that thought, Cathain also charged towards Cedrick and both of their sword stopped at each others neck. Where a few more swords was pointed at Cedrick at the same time by the royal guards of the emperor. ¡°RICK!!¡± Eleanora subconsciously yelled for Cedrick by his nickname as the scene of her past life shed infront of her eyes. The scene of the royal guards pointing their swords at her father as he pointed his sword at the emperor. Eleanora knew that Cathain has deliberately gave Cedrick the chance to charge at him. Dion and Jennifer was shocked because of her actions and looked at the emperor with pity. ..... ¡®My brother is dead now.¡¯ ¡®Wow, she just added more fuel into the fire by this.¡¯ Jennifer and Dion thought as they hastly catched their foods which was almost dropped on the ground by Eleanora. She ran towards Cedrick and the royal guards hesitantly withdrew their swords from his neck as Cedrick put down his sword. But Cathain¡¯s sword was still pointing at his neck. ¡®Rick?!¡¯ ¡®So you call him by his nickname where you refused to call me by my name yesterday?¡¯ Cathain¡¯s expression darkened as he red at Cedrick, who was being cared by Eleanora. ¡°Are you okay?!¡± ¡°Yeah...¡± Cedrick spoke lowly as he was exhausted. He was full of bruises and little cut marks, as he never got such excessive duel; his whole body ache because of this. ¡°Let¡¯s go, i will help you.¡± Eleanora red at Cathain with disdain before she took Cedrick¡¯s hands to put it over her shoulder as she helped him to walk away from the podium. ¡®You care for everyone,ugh with everyone, even call them by their names...¡¯ ¡®Why do you only treat me differently?¡¯ Chapter 163 - 163 "See Her Differently" 163 ¡°See Her Differently¡± ¡°Elee... Would you be alright?¡± Cedrick asked as he felt sorry for her and ashamed for showing such a weak side infront of her. ¡®She called me by my nickname infront of everyone and the way she helped me over the emperor...¡¯ Eleanora, who was helping Cedrick to sit down on his bed paused and she kneeled down infront of him. ¡°Rick... Do you think this matters are more important then my friend?¡± ¡°But still...¡± Cedrick spoke lowly as his head hanged low. ¡°Look at me you dumbass. You are older then me but make me feel like the older sister.¡± ¡°Pff-¡± ..... Hearing Eleanora¡¯s words, Cedrick chuckled a little and she smilled before getting up to stand. ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened to the emperor so suddenly but he can¡¯t bully the weak just because he can¡¯t control his own emotions.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t gave up even when your opponent was so stronger then you, You are not weak at all; Rick.¡± ¡°So don¡¯t be upset about it.¡± Eleanora spoke as she patted on his shoulder tofort him. Where Cedrick felt his chest be heavier. ¡®Does she knows that her kindness is something which makes people can¡¯t give up?¡¯ ¡®I know, she only see me as a friend and am satisfied with that... It¡¯s just hard to stop growing my feelings for her.¡¯ ¡°Take of your clothes.¡± ¡°!!!¡± ¡°HUHHH???¡± ¡°...¡± Cedrick was shocked as he heard Eleanora¡¯s words, which made Eleanora speechless. ¡°Take of your clothes, otherwise how am i supposed to heal you?¡± ¡°B-But...¡± ¡°It¡¯s not even my first time seeing your body, why are you acting like that?!¡± ¡°...¡± Cedrick¡¯s face turned red as he hesitantly took off his shirt, revealing his thin but muscr body. His muscles was not that excessive as he doesn¡¯t needs to train much. Unlike Cathain or Alexander, who trains hard everyday as they are swordmaster¡¯s. Seeing a man¡¯s body was nothing new to Eleanora, who grew up seeing his father¡¯s muscr sexy body. ¡®No one canpare with my father¡¯ Eleanora felt proud as she recalled how handsome and strong her father is, before she started to heal Cedrick¡¯s injuries. ¡®His wounds...¡¯ Eleanora looked at the whipping marks on Cedricks back and felt sorry for him. Because of Eleanora¡¯s words, Cedrick had stopped using magic to hide his wounds. He used to think that he was no good, thus he was punished by his father. But it was only after he opened up to Eleanora, he understood it was not his fault. Why should he kill an innocent animal to learn how to kill people? Why should he alter the papers to get powers when he knows how many people will suffer because of his actions? He also has the right to be happy and do whatever he wants. From then on, he stopped hiding his wounds and decided to face every situation. Cedrick was not that hurt but his muscles became stiff and painful as he never trained for that long. He felt the numbness go away as Eleanora continued to heal him. After a few minutes, his painpletely vanished. Cedrick moved his body a little to do some stretches and Eleanora let out a sigh in relief. ¡°Are youfortable now?¡± ¡°Yeah, i don¡¯t feel pain anymore, Thanks.¡± ¡°Buy me some choctes when we go back, i don¡¯t take empty thanks from friends.¡± Eleanora spoke as she smilled at Cedrick. ¡°Nowy down and rest. I will go back to submit the reports.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Cedrick replied as heid down on the bed and closed his eyes. Seeing him resting, Eleanora also closed the door silently before leaving and headed towards her room. Her head was hurting because of all this drama in this early morning. ¡°Have he gone crazy after losing his memory?¡± Eleanora murmured lowly as she walked because of frustration. ¡°Yeah, You are driving me crazy.¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora jumped in surprise as she didn¡¯t expected Cathain to stood infront of her room with his arms crossed. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Eleanora asked in a cold voice as she remembered how he deliberately let Cedrick attack him and then let him feel ashamed. ¡®I really don¡¯t wanna talk with him now.¡¯ As Cathain didn¡¯t replied even after a few minutes has passed, Eleanora decided to ignore him and enter her room. ¡°Wait!¡± Cathain spoke as he held her wrist to stop her. ¡°What?¡± Eleanora asked. Seeing her indifferent look, Cathain felt hurted and opened his mouth to speak. ¡°Am hurt.¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain spoke as he forwarded his left hand, which had a cut mark towards her to see. ¡°...¡± ¡®Does he thinks am blind and fool?¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s a clear cut which have been made from a direct sh, caused by himself!¡¯ Eleanora tried to conceal her anger as she looked at Cathain angrily. ¡°Come in!¡± Eleanora spoke as she entered her room, not seeig the sly smile on his face. ¡®So you care for me afterall...¡¯ Cathain entered her room and felt like this room smells like her. ¡®It smells like her...¡¯ Then he noticed Eleanora who took of her coat and sat on her bed as she gestured him to sit beside him. ..... ¡°...¡± ¡®Why does it feels like she is inviting me to...¡¯ Cathain¡¯s face flushed red as he thought about a scene where Eleanora was inviting him on bed to sleep together. ¡°Your Majesty...¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora¡¯s cold voice made Cathain toe back in reality and he sighed as he went to sit beside her. ¡°Your hand¡± Eleanora asked for his hands and he put his hands above hers obediently. Then a faint but sparkling bright golden light glow as she closed her eyes to heal him. A warm feel ran through his veins and spread all over his body as the cut mark on his hand vanished. ¡°Done¡± ¡°So quick? ¡°...¡± ¡®WHAT DOES HE MEAN BY SO QUICK?!¡¯ Cathain thought it would take some time to heal and both of them would sit together, maybe Eleanora will feel concerned for him. ¡®Did i cut it too lightly?¡¯ ¡®I should cut it more deeply, Next time.¡¯ Eleanora stood up from the bed and started to arrange the papers which she will present in today¡¯s meeting. Ignoring the prating gaze of him and continued to work as she put on her sses. ¡°...¡± The more he looked, the more Cathain felt like he was getting lost. Eleanora was standing infront of the table with her one hand on the table as her another hand continued to flip through papers. The ck pants and the white fitting shirt made her body curves look more visible as some of her long silver hair fall infront of her body as she leaned down a little. She looked so focused in reading the papers and sometimes she would push up the sses from the bridge of her sharp pointed nose. ¡®She looks so breautiful while working seriously...¡¯ The scene infront of Cathain was too tempting. He just wanted to hug her from behind and wrap his hands around her small waist. Make her sit on the table, pushing away all those papers on the ground as he kisses her and she wraps her slender hands around his neck. ¡®...¡¯ ¡®What am i thinking about!!!¡¯ Cathain felt ashamed of his own thinkings and as he looked again, he found her looking at him. ¡°Done staring?¡± Eleanora asked as she crossed her arms and asked him, whose face was fully red. ¡®Just what kind of perverted thoughts he had, which made his face look this red?¡¯ Even Cathain felt more embarrassed as he was caught staring at her and looked away. ¡°I wasn¡¯t staring... I was just curious about your next n for the war, afterall the next movement will start soon.¡± ¡°Yeah, So please control your emotion and refrain from doing meaningless things.¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora spoke as she indirectly mentioned the morning incident with Cedrick and picked up her knight coat to leave for the meeting which will start soon. ¡°DO YOU THINK WHAT I DID WAS MEANINGLESS?!¡± Cathain yelled from her behind as he felt angry. ¡®Can¡¯t she see that, he looks at her differently?!¡¯ Eleanora paused on her steps and kept silent without replying or looking back. Which made Cathain more angry as he thought she wasn¡¯t taking him seriously. Cathain was about to stood up from her bed to approch her when he finally heard her reply. ¡°Yes, What you did was not only meaningless but also childish.¡± ¡°...¡± As soon as Eleanora finished replying, she was about to open the door but he caught her wrist as he turned her body around to face him angrily. ¡°Childish?¡± ¡°Yes, you are being unreasonable; Your Majesty.¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain felt angry as he heard her calling him unreasonable. His heart clenched in pain and his grip be stronger. Eleanora felt pain but she keep looking at him angrily as she tried to not show pain in her face. ¡°Can¡¯t you see that he looks at you differently?!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I know it... I know that he sees me differently.¡± Chapter 164 - 164 "Confession" 164 ¡°Confession¡± The night before the Imperial Army returned to the empire after winning the war against Republic¡¯s, Cedrick had confessed to Eleanora, who was standing alone with her eyes fixed on the moon. She had won the war with less lose this time, the empire and the people didn¡¯t suffered any lose. And it¡¯s finally time to go back and face the changes, which might be different from the future she knows. ¡®Rick?¡¯ Eleanora called his name as she noticed Cedrick approaching her. ¡®Can i confess something?¡¯ Cedrick asked, as he knows it will be hard to meet her once they return. ¡®Yeah, sure.¡¯ Eleanora replied with a smile. ..... ¡®Elee, you might have noticed that i like you.¡¯ Cedrick spoke and the smile on her face froze. But she was not surprised to hear that, as someone who lived two lifetime, she could notice Cedrick¡¯s feelings for her. ¡®But am grateful that you still didn¡¯t pushed me aside and treated me normally like a friend.¡¯ ¡®I know my limits and i will never burden you with my feelings. I just hope we can continue to keep being friends like this.¡¯ ¡®...This is why i never pushed you away, Rick. Thank you for liking me and being my friend.¡¯ Eleanora spoke as she looked at the shining moon in the dark sky and Cedrick smilled as he finally felt relieved after confessing. It felt like a heavy burden has been vanished from his heart. ¡®Am sorry... I can¡¯t stop liking you in one day but i wish you happiness, no matter who you be with.¡¯ ¡®Rick, you don¡¯t have to apologise. Every person is free to like anyone they want. It¡¯s just we are not meant to be as i only see you as my friend.¡¯ ¡®I know, So i will continue to stay beside you like a friend and helping you, whenever you need my help.¡¯ Cedrick spoke as he spread his arms towards her and Eleanora looked at him. ¡®Can i hug you?¡¯ ¡®Only as a friend,¡¯ Eleanora spoke as she hugged him lightly, she doesn¡¯t want to lose a precious friend just because of this. Where she also doesn¡¯t want to get his hopes up. She knows once they return, things will get different as Jennifer is his sister. Duke Raven is his father. Between family and friend... It¡¯s normal that he will choose his family no matter what. Afterall they are his family where she is just a friend. As he has admitted his feelings and promised to not force her, it won¡¯t be good if she over reacts about it; when Cedrick has never crossed the line. Cedrick knew he has no chance with her but still being friends with the person he has always admired doesn¡¯t feels bad either. ¡®I gotta go.¡¯ Eleanora spoke as she turned away; deliberately avoiding looking at Cedrick, whose green eyes was little wet as he looked at her walking away from him. ¡®Now, i can finally feel relieved...¡¯ Back to the present~ Cathain¡¯s grip loosen a bit as he heard her answer, he couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard. ¡°You know it?! But you still hang out with him?!¡± Eleanora hissed in pain a little as Cathain gripped her shoulder hard and her back hit the door. Seeing the pain in her face because of him, Cathain gritted his teeth as he didn¡¯t knew what to do. He doesn¡¯t want to hurt her but he can¡¯t control his emotions and jealousy. ¡°Calm down, Your Majesty. He confessed to me and we decided to stay as friends. He knows his limits, i wouldn¡¯t be friends with him if that was not the case.¡± Eleanora spoke as she tried to calm down and solve the misunderstanding. ¡®If we both lose control of our emotions, it will only get worse. I need to calm him down and exin ot properly...¡¯ No matter what, she is still his fiancee; the crown princess of this empire. She won¡¯t do anything that will tarnish her reputation. But Cathain sneered as he heard her words. ¡°...Knows his limits?¡± Cathain looked at her with his red eyes bing more darker, full of possessiveness. ¡°Then why did he carried you to the sofa yesterday?¡± ¡°!!!!¡± Eleanora frowned as she heard his words and feel that he was hinting something else. Which made her spoke coldly as she narrowed her blue eyes to look at him. ¡°What do you mean, Your Majesty?¡± ¡°Both of you spent four years together... Is there really nothing going on between you two-¡± p! Cathain was stunned and froze as Eleanora pped him on his face. Tears filled Eleanora¡¯s blue eyes as she looked at Cathain with disgust. ¡°IS THIS WHAT YOU THINK OF ME?!¡± Eleanora spoke angrily as she recalled the past, where he kept doting on someone else and dered Jennifer¡¯s pregnancy news while being married to her. ¡®Was that not cheating on me?¡¯ ¡®On our marriage?¡¯ ¡®Did i asked you any question when you kept insulting your partner by pampering another woman?¡¯ ¡®Dering her child as the heir of the throne, where you didn¡¯t cared about my miscarriages?¡¯ ¡®You killed me and our unborn baby because of her dead child... Now you dare to question me?¡¯ Cathain was still shocked because of her actions. Till now, this is the first time he got pped by someone. At first, he was angry but as he turned his head and saw her tears; he came back to his sense. ¡®What have i done?¡¯ ¡®How could i say this to her!¡¯ ¡°Elee,¡± ¡°DON¡¯T TOUCH ME!¡± Cathain tried to touch her face but she yanked away his hands and red at him as she yelled at him. Eleanora couldn¡¯t bear to look at him anymore and turned to leave but Cathain hugged her tightly from behind. ¡°AM SORRY!!¡± ¡°IT¡¯S MY FAULT, AM WRONG!!¡± Cathain apologised loudly and he hugged her more tightly to prevent her from leaving as his tears fall on Eleanora¡¯s shoulder, making her shirt wet. Eleanora kept silent as anger filled her heart and she clinched her fist to control her emotions. ¡®Everytime i think you are different... You just do something which proves me wrong.¡¯ Eleanora closed her eyes as she didn¡¯t wanted to shed tears for him, but his next words made her stunned. ¡°AM SCARED... I BEG YOU, ELEE; DON¡¯T PUSH ME AWAY ANYMORE... ..... I DON¡¯T REMEMBER ANYTHING WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE. I JUST DON¡¯T KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN WHAT AM FEELING... I REMEMBER HATING YOU BUT MY HEART BEATS FASTER EVERYTIME I SEE YOU... I DON¡¯T FEEL GOOD WHEN AM NOT WITH YOU! I MISS YOU EVERY SECOND WHEN I DON¡¯T SEE YOU, I FEEL EMPTY. YOU ALWAYS LOOK SO NERVOUS WITH ME BUT RELAXED WITH OTHERS... I DON¡¯T KNOW HOW TO MAKE YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE AROUND ME. HOW TO MAKE YOU HAPPY... I HATE IT WHEN YOU CALL HIS NAME BUT NOT MINE. I HATE IT WHEN YOU LAUGH AT OTHERS BUT NOT WITH ME. I WANT TO KILL EVERY GUY WHO LOOKS AT YOU IN THE SAME WAY AS ME. I J-JUST CAN¡¯T BEAR IT ANYMORE. I FEEL SO TERRIBLE WHEN YOU LOOK AT ME WITH INDIFFERENCE AND COLDLY. I WANT YOU TO CALL MY NAME, LAUGH WITH ME, CARE FOR ME LIKE YOU DO WITH OTHERS. I WANT YOU TO LOVE ME, LIKE I DO...¡± As soon as Cathain finished speaking, he turned her body around and without thinking for another moment, he sealed her lips with his. ¡°Mmph-¡± Eleanora, who was listening to him silently with an heavy heart was stunned because of his sudden kiss. Her knight coat and the papers in her hands shattered on the floor in the process. She punched his chest to get away as she tried to speak. ¡°No, We can¡¯t-¡± Cathain furrowed his brows as he heard her rejection and sucked her lips hard which made her moan unconsciously. ¡°Mmn...!¡± He gripped her both wrist in his one hand and ced it over her head as he pulled her more closer by grabbing her waist. Cathain bent down a little more as he deepen their kiss and hold her more tightly as he wanted her to melt inside of him. Their bodies pressed together heatedly against the door, breathing heavily as his lips pressed together with hers, which didn¡¯t moved much as he kept sucking her lips. ¡®Am sorry... I know am being selfish...¡¯ ¡®But i really can¡¯t let you go...¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t know what to do except forcing you to stay beside me... I can¡¯t live without you, Elee.¡¯ Cathain could taste their shared breath, feel the thud of theirbined heartbeat as Eleanora slightly parted her lips. Allowing his tongue to slip inside. ¡®I must be crazy to do this with him¡­¡¯ Eleanora thought as she wrapped her hands around her neck after he released her wrist. His red eyes opened in shock as he didn¡¯t expected her to kiss him back. Cathain stared at her eyes, which was closed with a soft look, before he closed his eyes again. His hands burrowed into her shiny silver hair and her own hands reached up in answer. Eleanora couldn¡¯t believe she was touching him; his chest, his neck- weaving her hands behind his head to draw him closer. Cold chills sizzled against the backs of her knees in ring contrast to the hot and demanding heat pulling at her from the inside. She felt her legs go numb and then she was suddenly lifted up by him, with their mouth still pressed against each other passionately. Eleanora wrapped her legs around Cathain¡¯s waist tighty and his hands grabbing her thigh so that she doesn¡¯t fall. After a long moment, they finally parted away and Eleanora panted heavily with her forehead pressed against his. They couldn¡¯t open their eyes for a few moments afterwards and Cathain stood still while carrying Eleanora, who felt her mind going nk because of oxygencking. Then, Cathain finally decided to open his red eyes and lifted his head, at the same time Eleanora looked at him too. Cathain¡¯s expression was stark, honest, intense. His face was bright red. ¡°I love you,¡± Cathain spoke inly with a hoarse voice, just like that. At first, Eleanora looked at him with an confused look, which told him that she didn¡¯t believed him. Then she gawked at him and Cathain spoke again helplessly. ¡°I love you. I really do. Let¡¯s get married when we return, My empress...¡± . . . . [Hello, this is me- The author of this story. Am turning 20 tomorrow (11 march)... with no boyfriend T-T So if you happen to know someone who is tall, handsome, mascr with six pack ABS (A good kisser) ¨C don¡¯t forget to introduce him to me before you hit on him. ( ?¡ã ?? ?¡ã) It hurts to write intimates scene where i don¡¯t even have a single male fly around me to kiss -_-] Chapter 165 - 165 "Saving Herself" 165 ¡°Saving Herself¡± Cathain looked at Eleanora with anticipation but she just kept staring at him nkly before she pushed him away with her trembling hands. ¡°No- I can¡¯t...I won¡¯t...¡± Without waiting for another moment, she left without looking back as she ran fast. Leaving the dumbstruck Cathain standing alone in confusion, who couldn¡¯t understand her emotions. In anger, he punched the wall hard which made his hands bleeding but he didn¡¯t cared. ¡®What have i ever done to you for being treated like this?!¡¯ ¡®I even lowered myself that much and admit my feelings!¡¯ ¡®Just why does she behaves like i did some heinous sin and she can¡¯t ept me because of that!¡¯ The more he thought about her reaction, the more Cathain felt his blood boiling with anger. ..... He let himself fall on the ground at his knees as he felt frustrated and covered his face with his hands. ¡®Just what i need to do to get your...love?¡¯ Meanwhile, Eleanora kept running untill she was sure that no one was around her and stopped beside a vastke. She kneeled down infront of theke and saw her own reflection in the clear water. Her blue eyes was full of tears and her face was red, her silver hair was messy too. ¡®Pathetic!¡¯ Eleanora thought with disgust as she furrowed her brows in anger after seeing her reflection. p! ¡®How am i any different from the past?!¡¯ p! ¡®Am still the same pathetic woman, who can be coaxed by a few sweet words of him!¡¯ p! ¡®Wake up, Eleanora! This is not what you wanted!¡¯ p! ¡®He is the killer of you, your children!¡¯ Eleanora pped herself hard as she cried silently. Her cheeks was burning with pain and she covers her mouth with her hands to not cry out loud. ¡®How dare i to pull him closer...¡¯ ¡®Have i forgotten what he did to me?!¡¯ ¡®Am i just a doormat for him to step on?¡¯ ¡®Have i got no dignity?!¡¯ Eleanora thought as she pped herself a few more times. Tears kept pouring out from her eyes which seem to have no intention of stopping. Eleanora covered her mouth with her hands once again and bite it so that she doesn¡¯t make a sound. She doesn¡¯t want to hear her crying again... Like she used to do before for him. She doesn¡¯t want to feel weak even if she knows she is indeed a weak person. Eleanora felt like losing her strength and she let her body fall on the ground. Her whole body be covered with dirt as she keep her blue eyes open nkly with her blurred vision quitely. She felt the rain droplets fall on her and drenching her slowly but she didn¡¯t wanted to move. She just kept her eyes open nkly, with a heavy burden feeling on her heart. Soon, the rain droplets started to fall more heavily; drenching her fully, who was still in a daze. Eleanora didn¡¯t wanted to think about anything, feel emotions anymore. Thest rain before the uing winter seem to make her heart colder too. As the rain started to get more heavier, Eleanora finally sat up in a daze and crawled weakly towards theke as she didn¡¯t had any strength to stand up. With a loud sshing sound, she let herself fall into the deepke. The dirt on her body slowly washed away from her body as she let herself drown deeper with her body curled into a ball. Her breathing be heavier as time went by but she didn¡¯t cared. ¡®What¡¯s the use of living like this... Isn¡¯t it just better to die?¡¯ ¡®If am not here... Nothing will be destroyed...¡¯ ¡®Everything started just because of my pathetic love and obsession for him...¡¯ ¡®I wouldn¡¯t be so pathetic right now if i wasn¡¯t back in time...¡¯ ¡®I wouldn¡¯t be back in time if i wasn¡¯t killed...¡¯ ¡®I wouldn¡¯t be killed if i left him earlier...¡¯ ¡®If i left him earlier instead of holding onto him, i would have married someone else and be happy...¡¯ ¡®The duchy wouldn¡¯t be destroyed... ¡® ¡®Those knights wouldn¡¯t die to save me if i was not the empress...¡¯ ¡®I could have saved them if i had surrendered myself...¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t wanna live like this anymore...¡¯ Eleanora thought as she choked on the water and couldn¡¯t breathe anymore. She opened her eyes to see theke¡¯s clear water surrounding her and remembered the time when she came back to the past. That day she was in theke too, the crown prince had saved her and then her father took her away. ¡®How long will i keep waiting for someone to save me?¡¯ ¡®Can¡¯t i save myself?¡¯ ¡®Will everything really be okay if i disappeared?¡¯ Eleanora thought again as she recalled her father, Maria, Jennie, Dominic and all the knights who cared for her till now. ¡®What will happen to them if i die?¡¯ ¡®Am i not being foolish again by letting him rule over me again?¡¯ With those thoughts, Eleanora moved her hands slowly as she wanted swim upward but her feet got entangled with something. Which made her look down into the deepth of theke, which was pitch ck. Just like her past; Which wanted to pull her down into the darkness again. ¡®No... I can¡¯t lose myself again because of some few words from him. I will change myself and be more strong.¡¯ ¡®I won¡¯t let him stomp at my feelings anymore.¡¯ Eleanora moved her body hard and the thing which was entangled in her feet cut down as it released her to swim upward. The blood from her feet coloured the clear water red as she moved her body towards the shining light to get out of the darkness. ¡®Nothing can stop me anymore... From now on, i will save myself!¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t need anyone to save me.¡¯ With firm determination, she finally got up from the water and breathed the cold air. She was panting hard because of staying in the water for such a long time. The rain has stopped and the moon was shining brightly after the sun set a few moments ago. Eleanora stared at the sky for a few moments before she looked away and dragged her drenched body from theke to the ground. She walked slowly as her feet felt heavy because of the wound and her head was dizzy. But she didn¡¯t gave up and continued to walk; till she finally saw the temporary fort for the imperial army. ..... Everyone was rushing back and forth like they was searching for something in a hurry. ¡®What are they searching for?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she felt her vision bing dark and heared someone calling her name impatiently before she fall on her knees. ¡°ELEEE!!¡± ¡°IT¡¯S HER HIGHNESS THE CROWN PRINCESS!!!!¡± ¡°SHE¡¯S BACK!!¡± The knights eximed with relief as they saw her and the emperor, who was in panic as she didn¡¯t was missing for the whole day ran to her. ¡°Where have you been?! Do you know how tensed i was-¡± Cathain spoke with worry as he tried to carry her up but Eleanora raised his hands to gesture him to not touch her. His hands which was extended towards her froze in the air as he felt hurt because of her rejection. ¡®You don¡¯t even want me to hold you now? Am i really that disgusting to you?¡¯ Where, Eleanora breathed heavily as she concentrated to ease the pain in her leg by using her own holy powers and got up on her own. She didn¡¯t looked at Cathain, who didn¡¯t moved an inch from his position and continued to walk away. Everyone was looking at them with shock and wondered what has happened between them. Or is it was because of the morning incident. But no one dared to spoke out loud. Cathain looked at his hands which he extended to help her up and clenched it tightly. ¡°DO YOU PEOPLE HAVE NO WORK?¡± The emperor roared at the onlookers and all of them left the scene as they didn¡¯t wished to face the wrath of the emperor. Jennifer watched both of them parting away and feel remorseful. But just like before, there is nothing she can do about it. She can¡¯t expect Eleanora, who remembers the past, where she wasn¡¯t supposed to remember; forgive the man who killed her along with her child. Even if he was poisoned or controlled by her and the duke; it was a bitter truth that he had indeed not treated Eleanora better in the past. A few dayster~ Because of Eleanora and Cathain¡¯s help, Jennifer sessfully improved the environment of the hospital along with Dion. ¡®But we still don¡¯t have enough supplies...¡¯ Jennifer thought as she cheaked the medicines. She can¡¯t even blindly ask for them to raise the medical budget. Dion has already used his private funds and any more transfer from his hospitals could put the patients there in danger. ¡®What should i do...¡¯ Jennifer had no hope from her father as she knew he wants to screw up this war to me the emperor and take him down. She can¡¯t take risk by asking for funds from her father. ¡®Should i ask him then?¡¯ Chapter 166 - 166 "Operation Moonlight" 166 ¡°Operation Moonlight¡± A few dayster~ Eleanora looked at the piles of boxes which contained medical supplies coldly, sent from Dalton Duchy. Everyone was whispering how generous and rich the Duke is to send such expensive medical supplies. ¡®Why would father sent this all of a sudden?¡¯ ¡®How did he knew that there was a shortage in medical supply?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she recalled that she has never mentioned anything about the medical army to her father. ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ The more Eleanora thought, the more suspicious she felt this matter to be. It can¡¯t be such a coincidence as the others doesn¡¯t know about the improvement of the medical camp yet. ..... She knows she should trust her father but for some reasons she¡¯s not able to do that anymore. She has been feeling like this since that day. She is getting suspicious of everything around her, every people feels like they are talking about her. Eleanora is not able to trust anyone or open up, neither understand why she is like this. She just feels nothing but sadness covering her heart and act cold because of this. A month has been passed by since that day, and the empire¡¯s troops advanced under themand of the third squadron leader; Eleanora Ariande La Dalton. The war raged back and forth between the empire¡¯s army and the soldiers of the Kingdom Rua; Lead by their king, Medel De Melendez Rua. Just like the past and Eleanora¡¯s wise tactics, the damage from the wars was not so severe. Forces in the east were able to conquer the enemies major forts and continued to march towards south. Meanwhile, Jennifer and Dion continued with the medical treatment which healed more then half of the injured soldiers and the deat rate of the soldiers dropped to 2% from 42%. Eleanora continued to fight in the war with Cedrick helping her alongside, where the distance between the emperor and her continued to grow more. Cathain, who doesn¡¯t remember the visions of his past life was egoist. To him, he already lowered himself that much even if he doesn¡¯t remember the past. He decided to follow his heart and ept it¡¯s change but she still rejected him that way. So, he decided to follow his brain and ignore her as she did. Fighting against his heart to not pay any attention to her but still finds himself looking for her news time to time. Eleanora continued to win against the Rua armies and her glory started to spread more, just like in the past. Where Cathain felt somehow afraid as she seem to be getting to bright and unreachable for him. And finally understood, he can¡¯t win against his heart; which can¡¯t let her go. The Capital City, Rua Kingdom~ ¡°The enemy¡¯s defences are quite strong.¡± ¡°She is the daughter of that man afterall, we can¡¯t break through that easily.¡± ¡°And that assist mage of hers is also troublesome.¡± ¡°His assistance makes her more stronger and break down our formation in an instant.¡± ¡°We are in the age of guns, yet we can¡¯t even fend off those soldiers using swords.¡± ¡°Because those sword master and assist mages keep helping those knights who can¡¯t use magic.¡± ¡°They even block bullets!¡± ¡°We need to have an backup ns if the emperor joins the war, we don¡¯t have any information about his powers yet.¡± ¡°Those stolen soldier information only revealed about the imperial knights but who knew that the emperor would order the young heirs of the nobles with magic powers to join the war?!¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have any information about them, also those mages sent from the magic tower as the Ducal heir of the Heartz didn¡¯t joined the war are also very troublesome.¡± m! ¡°WE WILL GO FOR AN ALL OUT ATTACK!¡± An higher ranking officer spoke as he mmed the table in frustration; They can¡¯t lose the war. If they lose, the results will be something they can¡¯t even imagine. ¡°OUR TROOPS OUTNUMBERS THEM!¡± ¡°IF WE ATTACK ALL AT ONCE, EVEN THE IMPERIAL ARMY WON¡¯T BE ABLE TO STAND AGAINST US.¡± Everyone fall silent as they thought about this suggestion and they looked at their king, who was silent all this time. ¡°What do you think about it, Your highness?¡± One of them asked with hesitation. Even if King Medel stays quite most of the time, but they knows how scary he can be. He ughtered the whole royal family at the age of 16, and went from being a illegitimate 7th prince to the King. Because only by being the king, he can get her. The girl with silver hair and blue eyes; who stole his heart with her sharp look at him. Although the moment they meet, she was only 14; but the way she negotiated with his father, looked at him with utter disgust made him curious about her. He followed every news about her, small or big; he knows it all. King Mendel narrowed his eyes to took a nce at the newspaper infront of him, which front page was once again covered with the Valentino Empire¡¯s crown princess. The first female knight in their history. Who dominated the war field like she owned it, giving no chance for his army to charge. ¡®Let me see what more you can do, My victory trophy...¡¯ ¡°Where are the enemy¡¯s three forces located?¡± King Mendel thought before he asked. ¡°The western forces are in Surya, and the main army is in Demacia; In the east, their trops havee down all the way to Fort Ionia¡± A knight exined as he presented the war map infront of the king. Mendel stared at the map for a few moment before he opened his mouth to speak. ¡°Hmm, That¡¯s perfect; We¡¯ll hit three of their forces at once. Focusing our soldiers on the central and keep both the east and west upied.¡± ¡°This will be called ¡®Operation Moonlight''¡± ¡®To trap the moon of the empire...¡¯ ¡°YES, YOUR HIGHNESS!! WE UNDERSTAND!!¡± ¡®I¡¯ve waited more then two months. Purposely weakening the fort¡¯s defences so that the enemy could take it.¡¯ ¡®But a simple all out attack can¡¯t trap her at all. We have to keep in mind who we¡¯re up against.¡¯ ¡®Demacia (Eleanora¡¯s base camp, the main target of the attack)... How about this, Ice Princess?!¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ll be able to see her after this operation is over... The future moon of the empire, I will take it down for me!¡¯ ¡­ ¡®They won¡¯t do that this time, right?¡¯ Jennifer walked as she recalled about the sinister backup n Kingdom Rua had schemed with her father. Although she doesn¡¯t remember itpletely, but she knew it was a inhuman n which was able to shake the whole imperial army. Their first n to bring down the empress while using the special type of poison to stop one¡¯s magic power was sessful. But Kingdom Rua was still defeated so they couldn¡¯t use ¡®that¡¯ n. ¡®Why can¡¯t i recall it...¡¯ Jennifer thought as she walked in a daze, bumping into someone as she walked. ..... ¡°Ah!¡± Jennifer fall on the ground with a thudding sound and Eleanora narrowed her eyes coldly to look at her. ¡°You should exercise more to get a little stronger... Or Is it your habit to bumping into people, Lady Raven?¡± Eleanora asked and Jennifer felt cold shiver down her sprain as she recalled the night when her fake pregnancy news was announced by the emperor during the annual foundation day. Where she purposely bumped into the empress and made the public opinion worsen on her. All the maids, even Brayden was against the empress because of that as she wanted. Her first step towards the n, to remove the empress and the fall of the Dalton duchy. Jennifer felt so guilty and ashamed on herself that she couldn¡¯t look up at Eleanora, let alone standing up. ¡®What did i thought? That she will forgive me after she knows i am her friend, priestess Liana; who deceived her again by hiding real identity?¡¯ ¡°M-My apologise, Your h-highness; I wasn¡¯t l-looking...¡± Jennifer couldn¡¯t finish her sentence as Eleanora had already walked away from her without helping her like she did before. ¡®Why do i think that, she has changed a little?¡¯ Inside the meeting room~ ¡°The enemy is preparing for an all out attack,¡± ¡°ording to our informant, they¡¯re calling it Operation Moonlight,¡± The emperor spoke and the officials started to discuss among themselves about what to do. And the emergency council meeting began. ¡®The Moonlight Operation...¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s lips curved up into a mocking smile as she heard it. ¡®Wanna trap me again? You couldn¡¯t do it in the past life, let alone in this one... Is this all he can do?¡¯ In their past life, This operation bought heavy damage on the imperial army as everyone failed to understand Mendel¡¯s scheme. Even if Eleanora was suspicious of it, she couldn¡¯t do anything as she didn¡¯t got along with the officials at that time. Andter her assumption came true. It wasn¡¯t Moonlight operation at all. The enemy didn¡¯t attacked all out like how light spreads but rather, they just focused on the moon. All of them attacked on the base camp, which was lead by Eleanora, the moon of the empire. Their target was she from the very beginning. Most of the knights died to protect her as she didn¡¯t surrendered. She insisted on fighting, which lead to the dead of thousand soldiers. She wouldn¡¯t cared if she died, but it was a fatal blow to her as she survived because of the knights sacrifice. The tactic where Axion Spade and many close knights died to protect her. ¡°400 thousand soldiers from the Rua are marching in three group towards our base camps from three sides.¡± ¡°It looks like they want to hit our base camp harder as they have less soldiers in western and eastern side.¡± ¡°They n to keep our central troops lead by the emperor upied where they hit the other bases lead by the crown princess and the duke Richardo.¡± The war tactician spoke as he exined the situation to everyone. Eleanora quitely listened to them, waiting for the right moment to speak. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing that we noticed it early. This won¡¯t be a problem as long as we keep the back ups ready for the east and west camp.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be easy to win as long as the 200 thousand soldiers who will attack the main base camp are defeated?¡± ¡°The king must be feeling afraid. Otherwise why would he make such a hasty n?¡± The officials discussed as theyughed at Mendel for nning such an obvious operation. But right then, a cold voice rang. ¡°Are you people dumb or he is too cunning?¡± Chapter 167 - 167 "Lunar Eclipse" 167 ¡°Lunar Eclipse¡± The emperor was looking at the war map as he continued to hear the opinion of the higher up officials. ¡®What am i missing?¡¯ He felt it odd as how can the man who dared to steal the imperial soldiers information and dere a war against them, would came up with such an obvious n? Cathain thought as he narrowed his eyes at the word ¡®Demacia¡¯, which was Eleanora¡¯s base camp and twitched at a sudden realisation. ¡®Wait, could it be-¡® Just then, a sweet but cold voice sounded. ¡°Are you people dumb or he is too cunning?¡± Everyone be dumbfounded for a moment as they heard the crown princess¡¯s word, who looked at them with indifference. Even the emperor himself was shocked to hear her the coldness in her voice after she spoke. ..... Cathain felt angry because he thinks his proposal that day made her like this. She hates him so much that shepletely changed to make him realise it by himself. Where, The officials got angry as her words felt insulting to them as she is younger then them. ¡®Does she thinks being the crown princess makes her higher?!¡¯ ¡®She doesn¡¯t even respects the elder!¡¯ ¡®How did she be this arrogant?!¡¯ ¡®She can act like this because the emperor and the duke spoils her... And because of her power!¡¯ Everyone was dissatisfied with Eleanora¡¯s cold behaviour for the past few days. She hadpletely isted herself from everyone; working and fighting all day. Which made Cedrick concern for her as she didn¡¯t talked much with him either. ¡°This is too much, Your highness; Dame Dalton.¡± ¡°Yes! How can you speak to us like this?!¡± ¡°This was so rude!¡± Everyone was expressing their dissatisfaction, where Eleanora just stared at them nkly with a calm face. ¡°This isn¡¯t ¡®Operation Moonlight¡¯ at all; and here you people ask why you are dumb?¡± ¡°!!!¡± ¡°...¡± Everyone was taken aback and speechless at the same moment because of Eleanora¡¯s words. They didn¡¯t knew on which one they shouldment first. Where Cathain narrowed his red eyes to observe Eleanora calmly. ¡®Is she thinking the same as me?¡¯ ¡°THEN WHAT¡¯S IT?!¡± ¡°YEAH, TELL US IF YOU ARE SO WISE,¡± The officials spoke as they demanded an exnation from Eleanora, who remained calm. ¡°The ¡®Operation Moonlight¡¯ tactic is known for an overall attack, just like how the moon spreads it¡¯s light everywhere. You think it¡¯s ¡®Operation Moonlight¡¯ just because they are divided into three teams to go out for an all out attack?¡± ¡°IS IT NOT?!¡± Eleanora sighed as she heard their words and started to exin. ¡°The Rua¡¯s want us to divide our soldiers at the central base and use them as backup for each sides. In the other words, He wants to weaken our manpower by dividing our troops into three team.¡± Eleanora changed her exnation a little as she knows that, they will say that she is too much for thinking herself as the main target. They won¡¯t take her words seriously is she says that. With that thinking, Eleanora continued her words. ¡°The attacks headed to one ce where the other two of them are just a disguise.¡± ¡°The Rua¡¯s troops on either sides will turn and focus on one point, even before our troops coulde as backup from the both sides.¡± Then we will be vastly outnumbered, at the side they attack.¡± ¡°!!!!!¡± Everyone gasped in shock as they heard her words and Cathain looked at her with unbelievable eyes as he had thought the same as her. ¡°If what you said is true, then we will be defeated for sure! But what prove do you have?!¡± Hearing the answer, Eleanora felt tired as they seem like not understanding her words at all. ¡°I am saying this because of-¡± ¡°Because of geographical factors and the distribution of our soldiers?¡± Cathain¡¯s words made Eleanora pause on her sentence and she looked back at him. ¡®Thank God, someone finally understood...¡¯ Cathain looked at the officials seriously before he started to exin again. ¡°Our soldiers are stationed in a triangle around the central base. Our troops on the east have moved in Fort Demacia from their original position. As for the Rua¡¯s troops, their first squad is headed towards the west and the second on east. Both squad have 100 thousands troops; Where the third squad have only 150 thousand troops heading for our central base.¡± Cathain spoke as he exined the situation to others to help Eleanora. He expected that she would look a little grateful as he helped her but she looked no different then before. ¡®What am i expecting...¡¯ Cathain sighed as he started to exin the situation again. ¡°Our central base has 200 thousand soldiers, where the west have 100 thousand and the east have only 70 thousands soldiers. Demacia and Ionia base camps are connected with the central camp in a triangle location; but it¡¯s only Demacia which is farther from the central camp with less soldiers... Closer to the camp of Rua. It will be harder for them to sent reinforcement or get any help if it¡¯s attacked.¡± Cathain spoke as he wanted the others to guess that scenario where themander would not only be outnumbered by the enemy but also no chance to get reinforcement. The meeting room once again be silent as what Eleanora and Cathain spoke was indeed logical. But still there is prove of it to be sure. ¡°But how can we be so sure that this is the enemies goal?¡± ¡°Why would they attack on Demacia rather then the central base camp?¡± ¡°What will happen if they doesn¡¯t make a turn and follows the Operation Moonlight tactic?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Should i tell them why?¡¯ ¡®Would it be okay?¡¯ Eleanora thought either she should speak it or not but someone spoke before she could decide. ¡°It¡¯s ¡®Lunar Eclipse¡¯ tactic...¡± Jennifer, who was quitely listening unintentionally murmured out loud and everyone turned their heads toward her direction. ¡°Lady Raven, can you exin it more clearly?¡± Cathain asked as he knew it would be better if someone else exined it instead of Eleanora. He understood what Eleanora was thinking. ..... If she said those words, this higher up officials will take her as a paranoid person and it will be hard to convince them then. ¡°Y-Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Jennifer spoke as she stood up to exin her thoughts in this. At first, she felt nervous but then the thought of thousand soldiers dying and the psychologically traumatised Eleanora¡¯s face came in her mind. Which gave her the courage to speak up as she didn¡¯t wanted that thing to happen again. ¡°Their tactic looks like ¡®Operation Moonlight¡¯ where it¡¯s actually ¡®Lunar Eclipse¡¯ tactic; Where they attack on one focused point and istes the enemypletely with no chance of getting any reinforcements. Like how the earth gets between the moon and the sun during Lunar eclipse.¡± ¡°They wanted our troops from the east to march towards Fort Demacia, so that they could be farther from the central base and the Ionia base in west.¡± ¡°!!!¡± ¡°Lady Raven, What are you trying to say?!¡± ¡°Your assumption is quite ridiculous!!¡± ¡°Are you saying our troops and Dame Dalton was able to seize the fort because it was a trap?!¡± Everyone find their words to be quite ridiculous and got frustrated because of that. The meeting room filled with murmuring sounds again as she spoke out and presented her thoughts. But Jennifer didn¡¯t got scared and continued. ¡°It¡¯d be easy for Rua¡¯s troops to make a turn and march towards Demacia from behind, and they will be upon them before we could sent reinforcement from the west or the central.¡± ¡°Fort Demacia will bepletely isted if that happens with no chance of getting reinforcements as it would be attack from both sides.¡± ¡®Why is she helping me?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she observed Jennifer who was exining the whole tactic like she wanted to do. Her rtionship with Jennifer is neither good or worse, it¡¯s just she thought about how mean she was when Jennifer bumped into her and she walked away without helping her. ¡®I even vented my anger on her¡­¡¯ ¡°Pardon me, but may i be allowed to say a few words?¡± Cedrick raised his hands and stood up after he was granted the permission by the emperor. ¡°I am lieutenant colonel Cedrick De Raven, An advisor of the intelligence divison; i would like to add my opinion.¡± ¡°I partially agree with Dame Dalton and Lady Raven. What his Majesty, the emperor spoke is also true.¡± ¡°The intelligence divison has found many suspicious details about our takeover of Fort Demacia.¡± ¡°As i was also present during that time along with Dame Dalton, to put it more simply; The Rua¡¯s troops wasn¡¯t that careful enough, despite Demacia being an important strategic point.¡± ¡°COLONEL! ARE YOU SAYING THAT RUA PURPOSELY LET US TOOK OVER FORT DEMACIA?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to say as we can¡¯t find any strong evidence to proof that.¡± ¡°One thing is for certain, the east wouldn¡¯t be able to get any help or sent help in emergency.¡± Eleanora quitely listened to Jennifer and Cedrick, she didn¡¯t expected them to see through this too. In her past life, the west was under the supervision of her father and the central was under the emperor. When this tactic was taken as Operation Moonlight, even if they was suspicious but they couldn¡¯t take such a risk to act on their assumption. At first, three sides was attacked but then, suddenly more troops came to attack them from the behind; Lead by the King of Rua. Eleanora was not only vastly outnumbered but for some unknown reason, all of them lost their mana. By the time the reinforcement arrived, it was already toote. Eleanora was satisfied and helpful towards both Jennifer and Cedrick. She wouldn¡¯t be able to convince them with her current attitude. She herself doesn¡¯t know why she is acting cold like this. ¡®Finally we can avoid that-¡® Eleanora and Jennifer thought but then both of them was shocked as they heard the emperor¡¯s words. ¡°That¡¯s enough. I¡¯ve listened to what you all had to say and here¡¯s my conclusion... We will follow ¡®Operation Moonlight¡¯ tactic,¡± ¡°!!!¡± . . . [Boring chapter, right? I think if i had used this much brain in my exams, i would be a topper. This war tactics made me feel dizzy -_- ] Chapter 168 - 168 "Eleanora’s Trauma" 168 ¡°Eleanora¡¯s Trauma¡± ¡®Noo!!¡¯ ¡®If they follows Operation Moonlight tactic, then-¡® ¡°But that will only be a disguise,¡± ¡°!!!¡± Eleanora was surprised, where Jennifer sighed in relief; as the emperor listened to them. ¡°Your highness... What do you mean?¡± The dumbfounded officials asked as they couldn¡¯t understand the emperor¡¯s n. ¡°Our group of soldiers will be divided into three and march towards the central as the Rua¡¯s want. But in actual, they will hide standby near the central base.¡± ..... ¡°They wants us to divide our soldiers so that when they attack Demacia from behind, Dame Dalton wouldn¡¯t be able to help us. Neither we could sent help in need. This way, either Demacia or the central base; one of them would suffer heavy consequences.¡± ¡°So, when the Rua¡¯s troops attack, the hidden troops could be used as an emergency back up for us.¡± The emperor exined but keep some words hidden as it wouldn¡¯t be good if someone exposes their n. Their is another reason as to why Rua would do that... ¡°Follow my orders, This time, Dame Dalton willmand the central troops and i will participate to lead the east troops in Demacia,¡± ¡°!!!¡± ¡°Your Majesty, What are you saying?!¡± ¡°What if they doesn¡¯t target Demacia at all?!¡± ¡°What if they target the Central?!¡± Everyone was shocked as well Eleanora because of the sudden change of leadership. The Central army¡¯s are Elite imperial troops, where the east army¡¯s are mixed. Even the west troops are the first squadron imperial troops trained by the Duke of Dalton, They are also Elite troops. Only the east troops were mixed troops of the second and third squadron imperial troops, which is notpletely elite. Many of them can¡¯t use magic and the reason Eleanora took over them is because of her powers. She alone is enough to face thousand army¡¯s, not to mention the assist of Cedrick. As Duke Richardo doesn¡¯t have that high magic powers like Eleanora, he had the Elite troops to not fall behind. This was how the power of each war army team was bnced. So, if the central army moves towards east as a backup and Eleanora leads them; Even if the Rua troops attack the central, there will be not much damage. Where, if they attack Demacia and the backup reaches them early which will be lead by the emperor; There will be not much damage either. But the problem is, if the emperor leads the east¡¯s mixed army, which is not much experienced or professional like the first squadron knights and gets injured somehow... That would be bad. ¡°Your Majesty, I can handle-¡± ¡°That¡¯s an order, Dame Dalton.¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora wanted to convince Cathain but he was firm in his decision. ¡®Don¡¯t you want to y stranger with me? Then i will y with you!¡¯ Cathain¡¯s superior aura instantly made her submit and froze on the spot she was standing. Eleanora felt like choking as it was getting harder for her to breath because of his superiority. As she didn¡¯t took her knight oath to swore her loyalty or married him to be his partner, so that she won¡¯t be affected much by his aura. Seeing her like that, Cathain let out a heavy breath as he controlled his aura a little to not make it hard for her. ¡®I can¡¯t even bear to punish you...¡¯ He thought as he opened his mouth to speak again. ¡°If our troops lose, i will take responsibility,¡± ¡°Am not gambling with our soldiers life¡¯s but i agree with Dame Dalton, Lady and... Colonel Raven.¡± ¡°This tactic was suspicious from the very beginning.¡± Cathain spoke as he stood up from his seat, preparing to end the meeting. ¡°Generals,¡± ¡°Yes, Your highness...¡± ¡°Prepare yourselves, this time we will show them the difference of a Kingdom and an Empire!¡± ¡°YES, YOUR MAJESTY!!¡± The officials also stood up to follow the emperor out, as they kept discussing about the attack n. Where Eleanora felt her legs go weak and dropped on her seat to sit down, as the heavy aura pressure from the emperor was finally gone. ¡®I need to swear the knight oath quickly...¡¯ Eleanora thought but then she noticed Jennifer and Cedrick going out, who wanted to talk with her but was hesitating. ¡°Lady Raven!¡± Jennifer turned back quickly as soon as she heard Eleanora¡¯s call with enthusiasm. ¡°Yes, Your Highness?¡± Eleanora stood up from her seat and walked towards Jennifer and Cedrick. ¡°Thank you very much for helping me,¡± She immediately bow down a little to express her gratitude, which shocked them. ¡°E- Dame Dalton, You don¡¯t have to do this...¡± Cedrick spoke in a low tone as he changed the way he used to call her. ¡®It¡¯s better to keep distance...¡¯ ¡°Yes, Dame Dalton. Brother is right. You don¡¯t have to do this, we just did what we thought was right...¡± Jennifer spoke guiltily, after making everything wrong; she is trying to make everything right now. ¡°You even helped me to convince the emperor to upgrade the environment of the hospital, Duke Dalton sent medical supply... Think about it like just a little thing to pay you back.¡± Jennifer spoke as she helped Eleanora to straighten her back as she smiled at them. ¡°If you ever need something, don¡¯t hesitate to tell me. I will try my best to help you...¡± Eleanora spoke and then lead the Raven siblings out of the meeting room together. And turned her face a little as she narrowed her blue eyes to see a ck figure disappearing from behind. ¡­ In the midnight~ After finishing her meeting with the central troops for tomorrow¡¯s battle, Eleanora stood beside her window to enjoy the night scenery. Her long silver hair was swaying because of the cold breeze as she leaned on the window side. She took the hookah pipe into her mouth as she exhaled the smoke. ¡®Why am i feeling so sad now?¡¯ Eleanora thought as her cold body started to hit up because of the special tobo ingredients in the hookah. ..... As her body is sensitive to cold and the winter is approching, she bought this with her beforeing here. So that she doesn¡¯t fall sick during the winter again because of the cold atmosphere. Eleanora herself couldn¡¯t understand why her behaviour was bing like this. Sometimes she would feel happy. Where sometimes, she would feel like crying or angry for no reason. ¡®Am i being poisoned?¡¯ Eleanora thought and turned her head at the sound of her bedroom door opening. A tall figure entered her bedroom and closed the door silently. In the dark room, his red eyes glowed like some wild beast in the forest; approching her slowly. ¡°As far as i know, Your Majesty has an allergy reaction with the smell of smoking...¡± Eleanora spoke and Cathain paused on his steps. Her lips curved up into a smrik as she saw his action and kept smoking to keep him away. ¡°You seem to know me too well, My empress...¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain spoke as he stood at a distance from her, where his expression couldn¡¯t be seen because of the darkness. Eleanora didn¡¯t replied as she turned a little so that the smoke she is exhaling could be out from the window, not inside of the room. ¡°Are you still angry with me?¡± Cathain asked as he recalled how he pressured her to submit and obey his order. ¡°Why would i be angry, Your Majesty?¡± Eleanora asked back. ¡°You know why i don¡¯t want you to lead the east troops and be in Demacia for tomorrow¡¯s battle.¡± ¡°I am a swordmaster, Your Majesty. I was born to fight not to hide like some coward because i can be in danger.¡± ¡°I WOULDN¡¯T BE HERE, FIGHTING ALL DAY, IF I WAS AFRAID OF DYING, YOUR MAJESTY!!¡± ¡°BUT I AM AFRAID!! I AM AFRAID THAT YOU MIGHT GET HURT, BE IN DANGER!!¡± Cathain yelled at her as he approached her, not caring about the difort he was having because of the smoking smell. Eleanora narrowed her blue eyes as she red at him fiercely. ¡®How will he react if he ever gets to know that he is the same person who killed me in myst life?¡¯ ¡°His target is you, from the very beginning. He is aiming for you, Elea...nora¡± ¡°So, what?¡± Eleanora asked as she took a step towards Cathain and faced him. ¡°Nothing will change with my death... You all will mourn for a day, a weak, a month, a year... Then you all will return to your normal life. You will have to marry and give birth to a heir, my father has to train another heir to seed the duchy... The third squadron will get anothermander. Maybe i will stay alive in some people¡¯s heart, my name will be written down in history... But nothing will stop or change because of my death-¡± ¡°Are you done with belittling your life and my feelings for you?¡± Eleanora paused on her words a little because of Cathain¡¯s dark expression. ¡°Do you think that four years ago i took the arrow for you... To hear this nonsense from you?¡± ¡°Y-You...¡± Eleanora was surprised as she thought he recalled the past seven years. ¡°No, I don¡¯t remember the past yet. But i was curious about the mark on my chest, which has appeared after i was shot by an arrow and you healed me...¡± Cathain kept taking steps towards her and Eleanora took steps backward as she started to feeling afraid of him again. The hookah pipe fall from her hands as she looked at the person infront of her with fearful eyes. Which made Cathain more angry. He started to speak out loudly and Eleanora¡¯s back hit the wall. ¡°As the crown prince, My safety mattered the most- this is what i was taught during my first study lessons. But still i threw my life away to save you... Because even back then, i didn¡¯t wanted to see you getting hurt. If what you said is true then i wouldn¡¯t push you aside at that time as i could just get another fiancee to give birth to an heir!!! IF WHAT YOU SAID IS TRUE, THEN I WOULD JUST MARRY YOU AGAINST YOUR WISH!! WOULDN¡¯T THINK ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS AT ALL, OR LET YOU FIGHT LIKE THIS! I WOULD JUST DRAG YOU TO THE BED AND LOCK YOU UP; SO THAT NO ONE CAN SEE YOU EXCEPT ME!!¡± Cathain yelled as he punched the wall in anger and Eleanora closed her eyes in fear as she raised her hands to protect herself. ¡°I-I didn¡¯t... I d-didn¡¯t...¡± ¡°B-Believe me...¡± Eleanora murmured as subconsciously, she recalled the night from her past life. When the emperor had pped her because of the fight between her and Jennifer. Cathain felt pain as he saw her weird reaction and recalled Dion¡¯s words after the morning meeting. ¡®Your Majesty, The Dame seems like she is suffering from some kind of mental trauma. She is happy in one second, where she looks depressed in the next second. You should be patient and try to find out what¡¯s bothering her. Also, control yourself around her¡­ Don¡¯t pressure her to open up.¡¯ Cathain let out a heavy breath to calm himself down and bent down to put his forehead against hers, as he cupped her small face with his hands. Eleanora flinched because of his touch as her body started to shiver. Tears kept pouring out from her closed eyes as her lips kept on trembling. Cathain closed his red eyes as he asked in a low painful voice. ¡°Tell me... My empress... Tell me, What¡¯s tormenting you like this?¡± Chapter 169 - 169 "The Emperor’s Regret" 169 ¡°The Emperor¡¯s Regret¡± ¡°D-Don¡¯t kill me...¡± ¡°Elee, Calm down!¡± ¡°Believe me... I really didn¡¯t did it!!¡± ¡°I believe you! Open your eyes!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t... I already gave up... Why would i...¡± ¡°Sush! Everything is alright...I will keep you safe...¡± Eleanora was crying out loud as she grabbed his shirt coller and Cathain yed along to calm her down even though he couldn¡¯t understand her words. ¡®What is she talking about?¡¯ ¡®Just why is she like this and doesn¡¯t epts me?¡¯ ..... Even after asking Brayden quite a few times, he couldn¡¯t find any information about either if he had hurt her ever. From the very beginning, she kept on rejecting him and feared him. She be a little normal after she knew that he was Ain, but still she would act like this sometimes. Like she is two different person. One wanted to ept him but the other one didn¡¯t. It feels like she is deliberately pushing away because of something, even if she didn¡¯t wanted to do it. ¡°Calm down... I believe you... You didn¡¯t did it, I know.¡± Cathain spoke in a gentle voice as he pulled her in his embrace to calm her down. Eleanora wrapped her hands around his waist as she kept crying. This is the first time that she is finally letting her frustrations and fears letting out. She always acted calm and behaved herself. Keeping her emotions in all the time. This made her forget how to express herself. She kept all her expectations, fears and frustration when no one believed her. She acted rationally, sacrificed herself because she didn¡¯t wanted to use her child to live as a sinner. Or make that child live a life full of misery because his mother couldn¡¯t prove her innocence infront of the piles of fake evidence. She knew how hard it would be for a child, who would be born from an previous empress of a fallen duchy. With no one to support. Eventually that child would also framed like her one day and die. She acted calm even if her heart was trembling with fear and her feets wanted to run away. She walked towards her own death knowing this all, holding onto a little hope that he might believe her. Only to get her all hope crushed and she let him execute her. Maybe one day, her innocence will be proved and he will regret. He will suffer the same loneliness she went through, with no one beside him tofort him. She transferred all her holy powers into him before she took herst breath as she hoped for him to suffer. ¡®But why am i also suffering?¡¯ Eleanora thought as her heart kept aching badly. ¡°Sush, sleep now...¡± Cathain spoke as he continued to pat on her back and her crying gradually stopped. His words to sleep felt like an tempting offer to her and she gradually rxed. After a few moment, her breathing be normal as she fall asleep but she kept huping because of crying for too long. Cathain sighed as he carried her to the bed and tucked her into the nket. ¡®Elee...¡¯ He looked at her with pain in his red eyes and slide up her bangs a little to ce a kiss on her forehead, before he proceeded to leave. ¡°Sleep well, My empress...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go...¡± Eleanora spoke in her sleep as she caught his sleeve, as she was afraid of being alone. ¡°...¡± Cathain looked at her tiny figure as he was not sure either he should stay or not. What if she bes more unstable by seeing him sleeping beside her in the morning? But he don¡¯t have the heart to leave her like this either. In the end, Cathain decided toy down beside her and leave after she is more stable. He looked at her sleeping face and brushed aside her hair, which fall infront of her face and tucked them behind her ear. ¡®Don¡¯t worry... No matter how long it takes for you to ept me, i will wait for you; If it¡¯s not you, then no one else can wear the empress crown and attach my name with them. Only your name can be written down beside mine. You will be my one and only empress.¡¯ ¡­ ¡°Your Majesty, It¡¯s time to crown the queen as the empress. That position can¡¯t be vacant anymore.¡± ¡®Huh?¡¯ ¡®Who is talking?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she tried to open her eyes against the bright light slowly. Then she froze as she realized it was another dream of hers from the past. Infront of her was a 26 year-old man with ck hair and lifeless red eyes. Who had the emperor crown on his head and the empress crown was at his hands. He kept staring at the crown with an absent mind, not caring what the people infront of him is saying. The people infront of him was Duke Raven and the team of nobles, who supports the duke. The empress seat beside him was empty, which surprised Eleanora. ¡®This scene should be after my death, right?¡¯ Eleanora approached the emperor and as usual, no one noticed her at all. She stood infront of the podium of the throne and wondered why he didn¡¯t made Jennifer the empress yet. ¡®Doesn¡¯t he loves her very much?¡¯ ¡®He even made her the queen and dered her child as the future heir,¡¯ ¡®Our duchy was destroyed and he executed me because of her...¡¯ ¡®What is he doing now, then?¡¯ After looking at the emperor carefully, Eleanora could see dark circles under his eyes. Together with his slightly long hair and lifeless red eyes, the emperor looked more intimidating and scary now. ¡°Are you people done?¡± The emperor asked in a cold voice as he released his superior aura, which made Duke Raven and the others fall on their knees. ¡°Your Majesty... This can¡¯t keep going... The empire need an empress.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Back then, If that sinner hadn¡¯t harmed my daughter¡¯s child-¡± ..... ¡°WHAT DID YOU JUST CALLED HER?!¡± Chapter 170 - 170 "The Emperor’s Regret" (2) 170 ¡°The Emperor¡¯s Regret¡± (2) In an instant, The emperor¡¯s face turned dark as his sword stabbed Duke Raven¡¯s shoulder. He narrowed his red eyes fiercely and roared at the duke. ¡°YOU DARE CALL MY EMPRESS A SINNER?!¡± ¡®...¡¯ ¡®Hah! Your empress?!¡¯ Eleanora stood infront of the emperor as she asked, even if she knew he can¡¯t hear her. ¡®Wasn¡¯t it you, who took your name away from mine and divorced me before putting me in jail?!¡¯ ¡®Wasn¡¯t it you, who showed off your love for her infront of everyone during my trial?!¡¯ ¡®Wasn¡¯t it you, who made me a sinner?!¡¯ ..... ¡®How dare you to me the other people now, when it was you who gave them the chance to make me a sinner?!¡¯ ¡°Duke Raven... You should be grateful that i still haven¡¯t killed you as am not an expert in faking evidence. The moment i get something in my hands... That will be yourst day in this world,¡± The emperor spoke as he withdrew his sword and walked out from the audience room, with the empress crown in his hands. ¡®...What does he mean?!¡¯ Eleanora decided to follow him as hisst words confused her. The pce she remembered from the past, looked like more and more like her current life¡¯s pce. In her previous life, there was not much rose in the garden but in this dream, the whole pce is full of roses. Just like the pce of her current life. Eleanora followed the emperor, who looked more older then his actual age; all the way to the emperor¡¯s pce to his bedroom. As the room was dark, Eleanora couldn¡¯t see anything clearly but then she suddenly paused on her steps as she heard his voice again. Which was gentle and full of love, not cold or fierece like he sounded at the audience room. ¡°Sorry for thete, love. You know how annoying those dogs are. So it took me some time to tame them.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I missed you so much... You also missed me a lot right?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Here¡¯s your crown. As i can¡¯t take you with me, i have to bear it by looking at your crown.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°This crown only looks better when it¡¯s on your head, otherwise it just looks in to me.¡± The emperor spoke as he put the crown on the head of thedy, who wasying on the bed quitely. Where Eleanora sneered as she heard his words. ¡®Hah! You just denied to make her empress but now you are also putting it on her head?!¡¯ Eleanora thought as she took thedy in the bed to be Jennifer. She didn¡¯t wanted to enter the bedroom anymore and wanted to get out of this dream. ¡®When will this dream end-¡® ¡°Oh my, the baby doesn¡¯t stops crying... What should i do; My empress?¡± Eleanora¡¯s thinking paused as she heard the emperor¡¯s words and turned back to look at the dark room again in confusion. ¡®There is no crying of babies... What is he saying?¡¯ She thought as she slowly approached the emperor, whose back was facing her. The emperor was holding something in his arms and rocking it like people does to babies. Curiosity caught Eleanora but she was afraid at the same time too. What if it¡¯s his baby with Jennifer? Can she really see him loving this baby after her three child was dead because of them? Eleanora froze on her spot and didn¡¯t dared to move to see the child in his hands. But right then, The emperor himself turned around and Eleanora was so shocked that, she couldn¡¯t believe her eyes. ¡®A d-doll?!¡¯ The doll had silver hair and blue eyes like her. Eleanora didn¡¯t moved as she still couldn¡¯t process what¡¯s really happening. ¡°Empress... Why don¡¯t you help me to take care of our daughter?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°She looks exactly like you... Don¡¯t you wanna see how cute she is?¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora kept hearing the emperor¡¯s words in a daze as she waspletely shocked. ¡®How could he call an doll, a child? That too, which looks like me?¡¯ ¡®What happened to him-¡® ¡°Why don¡¯t you wake up, Elee?¡± ¡®W-What?!¡¯ This time, Eleanora was totally astonished by his words and turned her trembling body to approach the bed. She wanted to see thedy in the bed. ¡®i have been dead for almost two years here... Who is he calling then?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she finally stood beside the bed and widened her eyes in horror. She staggered as she saw herselfying on the bed, more precisely; her dead body. Which has been frozen with magic and she could feel the emperor¡¯s magic inside of her dead body. ¡®I-Is he insane?!¡¯ ¡®How c-could he...¡¯ ¡®He is using transfer magic on a dead body to keep it fresh?!¡¯ ¡®That too... He even attached the neck, which he personally cut off... by magic?!¡¯ ¡®Is he serious?!¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s whole body started to tremble because of this, she never even imagined something this crazy in her dreams. ¡°Everyday is like hell here, Elee... Should i juste to you?¡± ¡°But i don¡¯t think you would like to see me...¡± ¡°I should suffer more as you wished, My empress...¡± ¡°This is thest thing i can do now... I should suffer and see you hunting me every night in my dreams¡± ¡°I regret that i didn¡¯t cherished you, when you was here...¡± ¡°I regret for not running to you back then, this is why even if you are so close to me... I can never see you look at me with a smile in your face...¡± ¡°Only if i could turn back time...¡± A tear dropped from Eleanora¡¯s eyes unintentionally as she finally saw him suffering with loneliness that she hoped for. ~I sincerely hope that Goddess smites you all for the murder of an innocent you are about to carry out.¡± There is nothing I can do anymore to prove myself not guilty against the pile stacks of false evidence you have brought forward, but deep down... I hope you all suffer. When I am gone and you are alone, I hope I haunt you. I hope my face is what you see when you finally meet your demise. My only mistake was ever loving anyone~ Eleanora had uttered those words in anger and frustration, but never imagined this words to reallye true. ..... ¡®Shouldn¡¯t i feel relieved that he is finally feeling how i felt back then?¡¯ ¡®How it feels like when your love is one-sided?¡¯ ¡®To know that, the person you love will never love you back?¡¯ ¡®What¡¯s the point of regretting now?¡¯ Chapter 171 - 171 "Overturn The Battle" 171 ¡°Overturn The Battle¡± The next morning, Fort Demacia- East Camp of the imperial war army~ ¡°YOUR MAJESTY!!¡± ¡°The scot has sent word!! The enemy didn¡¯t attacked the west at all and they turned half way from the central!!¡± ¡°They have...about 300 thousand soldiers in total marching towards Demacia from three directions and 100 thousand soldiers are blocking our central army!!¡± ¡°!!!¡± ¡®Damn you, Mendel De Rua! You dare eye on my empress?!¡¯ The emperor clenched his fist as soon as he heard the report in anger and felt relieved that she is not here today. If they didn¡¯t listened to Eleanora, then today she would face 300 thousand soldiers all alone with only 70 thousand soldiers. Their motive is crystal clear. ..... They wanted to force Eleanora to surrender and take her as a hostage to negotiate with the empire. As he expected, their target is Eleanora from the very beginning. ¡°So, the dame¡¯s words came true... How did she predict this?!¡± ¡°If we hadn¡¯t listened then we would have to face 300 thousand soldiers only with 70 thousand soldiers in the east...¡± ¡°The troops in central army is supposed to be 200 thousand but thank god we moved 100 thousand as an back up for Demacia... As the emperor nned.¡± ¡°Lady Raven also helped! It was her who said that this waa Lunar Eclipse tactic!¡± ¡°But it was Dame Dalton who spoke first!¡± The officals kept arguing among themselves where Cathain was lost in daze. ¡®What would happen if she didn¡¯t predict this...¡¯ Just by the thought of her being in such a scene made him feel shiver in fear. 70 thousand soldiers are nothing infront of 300 thousand soldiers... It¡¯s inevitable that she would lost. Even if they have 170 thousand soldiers now, still the enemy has 300 thousands troops. Their preparation are impable but the oue is still unclear. Cathain felt relieved that he forced Eleanora to lead the central troops and stopped her froming here. ¡®Elee... If you were to get hurt...Then I...¡¯ ¡°Your Majesty, Everyone is waiting for your orders.¡± Brayden spoke as he felt that the war would begin soon as the enemy is near. ¡°All right, am on my way.¡± The emperor spoke as he stood up from his seat. ¡®The enemy is marching towards us.¡¯ ¡®They have 300 thousand soldiers, four times our own at Demacia.¡¯ ¡®But we are prepared. I will show them what happens when they eye on my, Cathain De Valerian Valentino¡¯s thing. Either it¡¯s my empire or... My empress!¡¯ ¡­ ¡°CHARGE!!¡± Eleanora yelled in a loud voice as shemanded the central troops to charge at the enemy. As she expected, there are only 100 thousands soldiers who attacked the central to steal time. As the distance between west and east is lot, so the west army can¡¯t be backup for east and by the time they would join the central troops or the central troops would reach the east; Demacia would bepletely destroyed by that time. If they followed the moonlight tactic, then the east and west would have 50 thousand soldiers each, as ording to trap set by Rua; They would attack those two camp with 100 thousand soldiers each and 200 thousand in the central. So the central would have extra 20 and 50 thousand troops from the east and the west at that time as backup. 200 thousand troops in the camp. Where they would face only 100 thousand soldiers. By the time they would reach the east with their soldiers, Eleanora would have already lost like her past life. ¡­ ¡°Defeat the empire!!!¡± ¡°Charge!!¡± The Rua¡¯s troops sorrounded Demacia from three side and started charge at the imperial troops. Seeing this, Mendel De Rua smriked as he watched the fight from a little distance. He is waiting for the imperial troops to fall down and then make the crown princess to surrender or see her subordinates die for her. ¡®Everything is going ording to the n...¡¯ ¡°YOUR HIGHNESS, IT¡¯S AN EMERGENCY!!!¡± ¡°THE EMPIRES¡¯S 20 THOUSANDS TROOPS WHICH HAS BEEN HEADED TOWARDS THE CENTRAL... HAS CAME BACK WITH ANOTHER 100 THOUSAND TROOPS FROM THE CENTRAL!!¡± ¡°WHAT?!!!!¡± ¡®How can that be?! Nonsense!!¡¯ ¡°STAY IN FORMATION!!! DON¡¯T PANIC!!¡± Mendel yelled at the troops as he was still too astonished because of the fact that, his n failed. ¡°Our soldiers can¡¯t held their positions!!¡± ¡°WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!¡± Mendel asked as he gritted his teeth in anger. ¡°It¡¯s...¡± ¡°IT¡¯S THE EMPEROR!!!¡± ¡°THE EMPEROR HAS JOINED THE BATTLE!!!¡± ¡°HE IS LEADING DEMACIA!!!¡± Mendel¡¯s eyes widened in shock as he saw the emperor in the battlefield from afar. Only the emperor used an ck Horse, so it was easy to identify him. He didn¡¯t even need to use his sword, just his fire magic was enough to make the Rua¡¯s troops ran in fear. As dying with a sword is better then burning down. The enemies wasn¡¯t even able to get close to him, let alone attack him. The 300 thousand soldiers be useless infront of the emperor¡¯s pure fire magic. Under the emperor¡¯smand, the 70 thousand troops of the east attacked the Rua¡¯s troop from the behind. Where Eleanora also reached in time with the backup from the west and the central. The battle, which was supposed to be a trap for the empire made Mendel fall on his own trap. The Empire¡¯s troops turned the table. With the leading of both the emperor and the crown princess, the battle soon over turned and the empire got the upper hand. ¡®No way!¡¯ ¡®Who was it?¡¯ ¡®Who saw through my strategy?!¡¯ ¡®The emperor? He might have been suspicious but... He is always too careful. ..... He wouldn¡¯t take the risk of abandoning his soldiers in the west and central to focus on east¡¯s Demacia!¡¯ ¡®Whoever you are... I won¡¯t forget this humiliation!¡¯ ¡°FALL BACK!! RETREAT AND FALL INTO POSITION!!¡± Mendelmanded his army to retreat and this made him fail to realise the aim of someone. Whose only purpose was to do this in this whole battle, to give Mendel a warning. BANG!!! The bullet, which has been fired by the emperor slit through Mendel¡¯s right eye. ¡°AAAAAAAH!!!!!¡± ¡°YOUR HIGHNESS!!!¡± Mendel fall from his horse as he covered his bleeding eye with his hands tightly. Which has already gone blind. Cathain watched Mendel wailing as he fall from his horse, indifferently with satisfaction. ¡®This is what you get for having the dare to eyeing my empress...¡¯ ¡­ The battle that begin in the morning finally came to an end the following day. The Empire¡¯s army marched towards the central area and expanded their territory in Rua. Almost half of the kingdom was now under the influence of the empire. And so, the tides of the war favoured the empire once more. ¡°Honor to the emperor!!!¡± ¡°Honor to our future empress!!!¡± The whole empire was celebrating the victory of the imperial army, except a few people. Raven Duchy~ ¡°DAMN IT!¡± ¡°What will happen now?!¡± ¡°If the crown princess was captured this time, we could makedy Raven the next crown princess easily!¡± ¡°We could even me the emperor for losing such an important fort like Demacia!!¡± ¡°Why is the emperor still so healthy? Is there some problem-¡± CRASH! Duke Raven flipped the tea table in front of him in anger as their n failed. Who knows when they might get such an opportunity again. ¡°Tell me... Who seen through this tactic?!¡± Duke Raven spoke as he approched the spy, who just came back from the battlefield with the group of messengers for the empire. ¡°WHO WAS IT?!¡± ¡°It-It¡¯s the crown princess! and...¡± ¡°WHO ELSE?!¡± ¡°LADY RAVEN!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°HAH!¡± Duke Raven pushed the spy as he sneered. ¡®My own kids are running my n... How did you suddenly be this capable Jennifer?!¡¯ ¡®Or is was you always capable from the very beginning, just hiding it away from me?¡¯ Duke Raven couldn¡¯t believe that his daughter, who couldn¡¯t even follow a etiquette ss properly helped the crown princess to see through this strategy. He thought she was the same as her brother, so didn¡¯t paid much attention to her. ¡®But seems like i underestimated my own blood¡­¡¯ ¡°Is ¡®that¡¯ n has been ready?¡± ¡°Yes, My lord.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let them suspect anything.¡± Duke Raven spoke as he sat down again, but his aid Fabian hesitated a little. ¡°My lord, must we resort to this method?¡± ¡°It¡¯s inhuman... And if this news gets out, things will get out of control and the public will be in uproar.¡± Fabian asked with a lot of hesitation as he didn¡¯t wanted the innocent people to suffer for power struggle. ¡°This is war and the power struggle for the throne to take control. This is our n from the very beginning, defeat the imperial family and Duke of Dalton.¡± ¡°But, The young master and Lady Raven is also there-¡± ¡°Oh yeah, Deal with Jennifer first,¡± ¡°!!!¡± Fabian¡¯s eyes widened in horror as he heard Duke Raven¡¯s words. ¡°But she is your-¡± ¡°Just do what i said. Don¡¯t let her ruin our n anymore... She is my daughter afterall.¡± ¡°...understood, My lord.¡± Duke Raven ordered as he knew if Jennifer isn¡¯t removed from the path, his next n will fail too. And he can¡¯t risk that. ¡°Prepare thest n... Increase the poison in the emperor¡¯s food and watch Duke Dalton. This time, let¡¯s see how the future moon saves the future of this empire...¡± Chapter 172 - 172 "Drunk Eleanora" 172 ¡°Drunk Eleanora¡± A weekter~ ¡°Cheers!!!¡± ¡°For our victory!!!¡± After taking over the Scunthorpe Fort, the imperial army sessfully influenced half of the Rua kingdom and moved their base camp. Now now the west troops are in Demacia and the central troops moved in Scunthorpe with arger base to go for an all out attack. The capital of Rua is not that far from them now, so it would only be a matter of time for this war to end. With the help of the medical team, most of the knights recovered and those who was greatly injured was sent back to the empire for advance treatment. Where under themand of the crown princess and the emperor, the army sessfully shifted Scunthorpe Fortfortably. To celebrate their previous victory, the emperor arranged a celebration party so that the knights won¡¯t feel mentally exhausted. ..... They bought alcohol and burnt meat after seasoning them, which made them feel rxed like they was just camping. The exhausted feel they had after this battlepletely vanished because of the celebration. ¡°Your Majesty, The Rua¡¯s want to exchange some of our knights, those who were caught as war prisoners during this battle.¡± ¡°Can it be a trap?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t think so, they release our man and we release theirs... Maybe they are short of army!¡± The officialsughed as they thought about that kind of possibility. Even with 300 thousand soldiers, they ran away after seeing the emperor on the battlefield. And even their king¡¯s one eye got blinded by the emperor. ¡°Our man¡¯s are our top priority, if they can be released then we don¡¯t have any problem with that.¡± The emperor spoke even if he had doubts about the Rua¡¯s intention. But he can¡¯t let those knights stay there just because of his doubts. Who knows what those people did to them? ¡°Brayden, send my words. We agree to exchange-¡± Cathain paused on his words as he furrowed his brows. ¡®What the hell is she doing now?!¡¯ ¡°You guys continue, Excuse me.¡± He excused himself and walked towards a certain direction, which made the officialsugh again. ¡°No matter what, they are still young after all...¡± They watched the emperor walkig towards the crown princess, who was giving everyone a toast in drunkness. ¡°You look handsome, so another toast for your handsomeness!!!!¡± Eleanora giggled as she spoke and gave another toast to Sir Charles, who was an imperial knight. Charles also gave her a toast as he didn¡¯t dared to reject the crown princess and who also looked cute. Unlike how serious and unapproachable she looks normally. ¡°Yaayyy!!!¡± ¡°Dame Dalton likes handsome guys for sure...¡± Some other knights whispered as they also joined the fun with Eleanora and toasted each other. At first they was surprised to see Eleanora drinking that much and didn¡¯t knew what to do. But as Eleanora started to toast them one by one, they also befortable and treated her normally. ¡°N-Next...¡± Eleanora murmured as she blinked a few times to clear her blurry vision because of alcohol, to find whom she should give a toast next. ¡°Hey handsome... W-Where¡¯s your ss?!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± The atmosphere turned cold and quite instantly as the knights gulped in fear, after seeing whom Eleanora was talking with. ¡®The emperor... He is angry right?¡¯ ¡®His face has be darker then the night sky...¡¯ ¡®We won¡¯t get scolded, right?¡¯ The knights thought and they didn¡¯t dared to make a sound, which bothered the drunk Eleanora. ¡°Why did you people got so quite?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°And you- handsome man! Why are you looking at me so fiercely? If you look at me like this- that red eyed beast will take out your eyes!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± This time, it be harder for the knights to keep quite and conceal theirughter. ¡®Red eyed beast? She doesn¡¯t mean the emperor right?!¡¯ ¡®Dame Dalton is hrious!!!¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯tugh! Don¡¯tugh!¡¯ Cathain closed his eyes and took a deep breath too calm himself down. ¡®Control yourself, Cain...¡¯ ¡®We are in public...¡¯ ¡®But she is just too cute!!¡¯ ¡°Don¡¯t drink anymore... You are drunk,¡± ¡°NO, AM NOT!¡± Eleanora pouted as she spoke, after Cathain took away the wine ss from her hands. Cathain¡¯s face flushed red a little as he saw her pouting and clinging onto him to take the ss. Which made him deliberately raise his hand higher so that she can¡¯t reach the ss. ¡°Gimme my ss back!¡± Eleanora spoke as she tiptoed an jumped a little to reach the ss, which made Cathain feel happy. She has always been distant, nervous or fearful of him after he lost his memories. He doesn¡¯t know about how they was in private but after hearing everything from Brayden, he doesn¡¯t think that they was this good like now; Even before he lost his memories. So, seeing her treating him normally without any fear and nervousness made Cathain feel happy. ¡®How i wish you would treat me like this everyday,¡¯ ¡°I will give you a gift if you don¡¯t drink anymore.¡± Cathain spoke and Eleanora stopped jumping to reach the ss, as she was tempted by the surprise gift. ¡°What¡¯s that? Gimme me!¡± Eleanora spoke as her blue eyes brighten up for the mysterious gift. ¡°Not now, wait a little...¡± Cathain spoke as he put down the ss and patted Eleamora¡¯s head tofort her. Seeing them conversing together like this, the knights also started to feelfortable around the emperor and the celebration returned to normal. ..... But Eleanora sighed with unhappiness as she seated at a distance from the knights and kept eating. ¡°Why are you sighing? Want more meat?¡± Cathain asked as he bought another three stick of chicken meat for Eleanora to eat, who was sitting like some abandoned kitten. ¡°You ruined the fun!¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain was speechless because of her words and sat beside her as he passed the sticks to her. ¡°I was having fun with them...but they all are scared of me now since you appeared!¡± ¡°...How is it my fault? You want me to see you giving other guys toast and call them handsome?¡± ¡°...¡± This time, Eleanora was the one to be speechless. ¡°You... What would you do if you see me going around giving ptherdies a toast and call them beautiful?¡± Cathain asked as he hesitated a little and felt awkward after asking that, thinking she might just say that she don¡¯t care. ¡°...Can i do anything beside seeing? Wouldn¡¯t you think that am noisy and irritating... I don¡¯t want to be hated more by you...¡± Eleanora spoke as subconsciously, she thought about the past when she could just see him walking beside Jennifer. At that time, he was everything to her. The only light in her dark, lonely life. He never liked her even before their marriage and their rtionship worsen after their marriage. Eleanora kept quite and endured as she was afraid of losing him, who had no friends or rtives to talk with. Once she had everything one could dream off, a happy family full of parent¡¯s love. Then her mother died and father became distant, the love she was used to get vanished all of a sudden. Which made her crave for love and affection. When she failed to get that from her father, she found new hopes in the young crown prince. And tried her best to hold onto that, till she realized how wrong and stupid she was to do that. Which cost not only her own life but many other people¡¯s. Seeing her face dropping again, Cathain stared at her nkly as he didn¡¯t knew what to say. ¡°...I will never think that. I would be happy if you get jealous or mad at me... I don¡¯t hate you.¡± Cathain spoke in a low voice as he was afraid to make her feel afraid of him again. Eleanora¡¯s lips curled up a little as she heard his words and looked at him with her blurred drunk vision. ¡°Do you love me then?¡± Chapter 173 - 173 "Cathain’s Gift" 173 ¡°Cathain¡¯s Gift¡± ¡°I-¡± Cathain was stunned a little because of the sudden question, but Eleanora dragged him before he could confess. ¡°Forget it, I don¡¯t wanna hear it anymore... Let¡¯s dance!!!¡± ¡°Wait- Dance?!¡± ¡®She is going to dance in the battlefield?!¡¯ ¡®She is drunk for sure...¡¯ But Cathain didn¡¯t mind that and let her drag him near the bonfire. ¡°EVERYONE!!! LET¡¯S DANCE!!!¡± ¡°...¡± ..... Everyone was speechless as how could they dance without any music, that to in an open ce like this? But then suddenly a drumming sound was heard and everyone looked at Jennifer with astonishment. Who had turned the big cooking pan upside down and used her hands to y it like drump. Seeing his sister doing such an awkward thing alone, Cedrick decided to join with two spoon as a drumstick to y. As they both yed it together, the sound be quite pleasing to ears and soon, some knights joined the fun too. ¡®They are insane...¡¯ Dion thought as they looked at them, but then ended up ying with them too. Where Cathain thought either he should sent them into music theatre instead of training them as knights. Then Eleanora¡¯s sparkling eyes came into his view, which was looking at him with anticipation to dance with her. He looked around a little and felt it awkward to dance like this in the middle of a war. The celebration was a awkward party at the first ce, now dancing felt even more awkward. ¡°Let¡¯s dance... Please...¡± Eleanora hupped in the middle of her words because of the alcohol and because of the bonfire, her blue eyes looked more sparkling. ¡°If you don¡¯t then am going to find another partner!¡± Eleanora got mad as he was still standing without doing anything. But her wrist was grabbed by him as soon as she turned and Cathain smriked at her. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare, My empress...¡± He pulled her closer to him as he threw his over coat, which was held on his hands away. Eleanora gasped as he caught her waist strongly and gripped her hands into his, before they started to dance tango in a fast speed. ¡°YAAAYYY!!!¡± ¡°GO ON, YOUR MAJESTY!!!¡± ¡°SO BEAUTIFUL!!!¡± The knights kept cheering for them as everyone enjoyed the night. Specially Eleanora, whoughed happily after a long time. She felt like all the fears she had till now was gone as she danced crazily with him. Unlike those ssic waltz they had danced till now, this tango dance with messy steps and weird music felt better to her. Even the knights, who was afraid of their lives till now felt relieved and full of vigorous. Even if they die in the next battle, they have no regrets as tonight, they have enjoyed the best moment with everyone. Where, Cathain felt his heart beaming with happiness as he saw how happy she is. ¡®I hope for your this smile to never fade away... And always be happy,¡¯ ¡­ It was already midnight when their celebration finally ended and everyone returned to their own rooms. Cathain carried the sleeping Eleanora in her room but she woke up before he could put her down. ¡°Hey... Where¡¯s my gift?!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®She still remembers this?!¡¯ ¡°Gimme my gift, otherwise i will tell that red eyed beast to eat you!!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®She is confused again... I shouldn¡¯t let her drink again, specially when am not around!¡¯ ¡°Where¡¯s....my giftttt???¡± ¡°Want it now?¡± ¡°YES!!¡± Cathain put down Eleanora on her feet, before he bent down to speak again. ¡°I can¡¯t give you the gift here... Shall we go out? I discovered a good ce here,¡± ¡°LET¡¯S GO!!¡± ¡°Okay... Keep your voice down, don¡¯t wake up people.¡± ¡°Hmn!¡± Cathain chuckled a little as he saw how obedient the drunk Eleanora is. He took her hands and went out from the Scunthorpe Fort secretly. Originally, he wanted to take her there after winning the war as if they can easily get attacked by leaving their camping fort. He discovered this ce in the map, when they was shifting here from Demacia and Ionia Fort. ¡°This is the real ¡®Lake Of Promise¡¯, the Rua¡¯s royal mansion also have a simr artificialke, which was created by copying this one.¡± Cathain spoke as he stopped near a wide and deepke, where the ducal house of the Valentino family was situated. But as the first emperor divided the empire into kingdom and created the Valentino empire, that ducal house got gradually abandoned by the next generations. After going through thousand years, there is no sign of that ducal house anymore; only thatke remained. The moonlight shone upon theke¡¯s water and Eleanora stared at it with amusement. ¡°I really like it... It¡¯s so beautiful...¡± ¡°But i heard it¡¯s a artificialke,¡± ¡°Does that matter?¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain was speechless but at the same moment, he found their conversation rather familiar. It was not the first time... Like he have spoke this same words to her before this too. ¡®Why did i felt like that?¡¯ Cathain thought but then decided to not think much about this unnecessary things and approched her from behind. ¡°Close your eyes,¡± ¡°Is it my gift?!¡± ¡°...Just close it!¡± ¡°Okay, Okay!!¡± Eleanora spoke as she closed her eyes in excitement and Cathain took out a locket from his pocket. The locket was crafted by Cathain with his fire magic from a red mana stone. It had the shape of a crescent moon, as the stone was red; it looked like a bloody crescent moon. ..... ¡°Now you can open it...¡± As soon as Eleanora opened her eyes, she looked at her neck to see the locket. ¡°It has my mana, so you won¡¯t be cold anymore as long as you hold it with your hands. Concentrate to fuse your own mana in it, this way it won¡¯t run out magic no matter how long you use it.¡± Cathain was concerned about her health as he saw how she kept on smoking herbs to keep herself warm. Even if it was herbs, smoking is still bad for health. That¡¯s how he came up with the idea to create a locket with his burning fire mana, which will work better then smoking herbs. ¡°Why does it looks so ugly?¡± ¡°...What?¡± Cathain was stunned to hear that the locket was ugly, but he couldn¡¯t deny it as it was his first time doing this. ¡°A-Am sorry... I don¡¯t know how to do this... So-¡± Smooch Eleanora held his cheeks with one hand to pull him down as she tiptoed to kiss his other cheek lightly. ¡°...Thank you for this, for thinking about me,¡± She spoke with a bright smile and Cathain kept staring at her nkly. He didn¡¯t expected her to like it this much, let alone giving him a kiss even if it¡¯s on his cheek. He felt his heart racing and found himself approaching her more closer. ¡°Elee... Will you remember what happened today, after you wake up tomorrow?¡± Chapter 174 - 174 "Snowman" 174 ¡°Snowman¡± In the morning, Eleanora woke up with a terrible headache. It was so severe that she felt her head spinning as soon as she sat up on her bed. ¡®Damn, just how much drinks i hadst night?¡¯ Thest thing she can recall is when she first started to drink...then she drunk more... Then she woke up this morning. ¡®What have i done after drinking?¡¯ Eleanora tried hard to recall but she couldn¡¯t, right then someone knocked on the door. ¡°Your highness, I am Violet from the medical camp, May i came in?¡± ¡°Y-Yes,e in...¡± Eleanora gave permission to enter as she wondered why the medical team woulde to see her. ..... ¡°I, Violet De Florence, greet the future moon of our empire, Your highness.¡± ¡°What brings you here, Lady Florence?¡± Eleanora asked as she recalled that Violet is the daughter of Marquise Florence¡¯s family from the south. She works as a senior doctor at the main imperial hospital in the empire. But they have never interacted much in her previous life. ¡°His Majesty asked me to check up on you after i gave him medicine,¡± ¡°Medicine? What happened to his majesty?¡± Eleanora was a little stunned as Cathain seldom fall sick or got injured. ¡°His Majesty caught a little cold... I gave him medicine, so he should be fine soon.¡± ¡®How can a person with fire mana catch cold?¡¯ ¡°I see... Please give me some hangover medicine. Am having a terrible headache.¡± Eleanora thought as she asked for some hangover medicine from Violet. ¡°Here, Your highness,¡± ¡°Thank you, Lady Florence.¡± Eleanora thanked Lady Violet as she took the medicine from her and finally feltfortable after drinking it. After cheaking that everything else is okay with Eleanora, Violet packed up her medical bag and stood up to leave. But then she suddenly stopped at the door and turned back to say something. ¡°Your Majesty and Her Highness must love each other very much! It¡¯s rare to see a affectionate couple like you two now...¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Eleanora be dumbfounded as she heard Violet¡¯s words before she left the room. ¡®Why did he suddenly said that?¡¯ ¡®Moreover, Me and him...affectionate?!¡¯ Eleanora felt weird because as long as she can remember, she have never treated the current Cathain like a partner. Let alone showing affection. ¡®Let¡¯s not think about it anymore...¡¯ Eleanora thought as she woke up from the bed but be astonished to feel something hanging on her neck. She walked towards the mirror and touched the crescent moon shaped red locket on her neck. ¡®Locket? Fire mana stone?¡¯ It didn¡¯t take Eleanora another moment to guess, who gave it to her. Only the Valentino imperial family members have the purest fire mana running in their body. The locket was full of his mana, which helped her to warm up her body. ¡®Why would he give me this,¡¯ Eleanora thought as she recalled how she had pped and rejected him, never treated the current him properly because of the past. Her pants was full of muds too. Seeing everything, Eleanora was sure this had something to do with him catching a cold all of a sudden. In the end, she couldn¡¯t bear the heartache anymore and squat down on the floor. There was no tears or any emotions showing on her face but she felt messed up inside. ¡®You look so beautiful when you smile...¡¯ ¡®Let¡¯s get married,¡¯ ¡®What if something happens to you!¡¯ All kind of memories of the past few months with him, shed through her mind. And she let out a bitterugh. ¡®Even if i deny it, I know the answer of why am feeling like this... Don¡¯t i?¡¯ ¡®Am really miserable... A pathetic fool who keeps craving for love and attention, Even i, myself can realize this.¡¯ ¡®He must knows this too... This is why he keeps doing this all... He also see me as a stupid person who can be easily moved by him.¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t want to make the same mistake again... I don¡¯t want to lower myself again to be loved, or love someone,¡¯ ¡­ ¡°Your Majesty, how are you feeling now?¡± ¡°Am good... And you?¡± Both Cathain and Eleanora felt awkward because of thest night. Even if Eleanora doesn¡¯t remembers, what she heard from others was enough for her to not wanting to recall anything anymore. ¡®How could i give everyone a toast and drag the emperor to dance like that?!¡¯ ¡®Where did my courage came from?!¡¯ ¡°Umm... Your Majesty, Did you gave this to me?¡± Eleanora asked as she took out the locket, which was hanging on her neck and hidden inside her shirt. ¡°Smoking much isn¡¯t good for you. So i thought it might help... Afterall we won thest battle mostly because of you.¡± Cathain added thest words as he realized Eleanora might feel ufortable or won¡¯t ept it, if he said that he did it for her out of concern. ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Y-You don¡¯t remember anything?¡± Cathain asked and Eleanora felt confused as she tried to recall, what more crazy things she did except dancing with the the emperor. But in the end, she couldn¡¯t remember anything and shook her head to answer him. ¡°Have i done something else... Like was it something important?¡± Eleanora asked. Where, Cathain¡¯s face dropped and he looked gloomy as he understood that she really doesn¡¯t remember anything. But he decided to not pressure her and smilled at her gently before he spoke. ¡°No problem... It was nothing important.¡± Last night~ ¡°...Remember what?¡± Eleanora tilted her head in confusion as she looked at Cathain, who chuckled after seeing her acting like kids. ¡°Will you remember that you kissed me?¡± ¡°Of course! Why would i forget it?¡± Eleanora spoke with confidence and Cathain pinched her cheeks. ..... ¡°Why are you so cute?¡± ¡°Because my dad is handsome!¡± ¡°Pff-¡± Cathain decided to not speak anymore as no matter what he says, this drunk Eleanora will not understand anything or think properly. Where Eleanora kept ying with the locket on her neck as the mana stone glowed everytime she fused it with her own mana. The cold wind blew and Cathain¡¯s red eyes filled with gentleness and... love for her. His feelings for her is getting higher and he¡¯s finding himself falling more deeper for her. The more he stared at her, the faster his heart beat, which made him unconsciously reached out to hug her from behind. But right at that moment, Eleanora noticed a little bird chirping under her leg. ¡®B-Bird?!¡¯ Which made her jump in fear and pushing Cathain back in the process, as she is always afraid of small animals. ¡°Aaah! It¡¯s a bird!!¡± Eleanora yelled and at the same time, she noticed Cathain who failed to keep his bnce and was about to hit the tree behind him. ¡°Watch out!¡± ¡°!!!!¡± Cathain thought he was about to hit his head but instead of pain, he felt cold over his body. ¡°...¡± ¡°¡­Pfff- Am sorry¡­ Hahhahhh!!¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora had unconsciously used her magic powers to create snow over him, so that he doesn¡¯t get hurt. This resulted him being covered with snow all over his body as he leaned against the tree. ¡°...¡± ¡°You look like a Snowman!¡± ¡®Ice Man!¡¯ As soon as Eleanora called him ¡®Snowman¡¯ Cathain recalled the scene from his childhood. Where he once fall from the big tree and the barely one year old Eleanora awakened her magic powers to save him from getting hurt. Then he felt ashamed as he also recalled how he, the almost five year old crown prince couldn¡¯t catch the barely one year old crawling Eleanora. ¡®Haiz... My empress saved me again...¡¯ Cathain alsoughed as he made a snow ball and threw it on Eleanora. But he unintentionally used much strength and thus Eleanora fall on the ground, covered with her own snow. ¡°Sorry! Are you okay?!¡± Cathain spoke as he hurriedly walked towards Eleanora with concern. But as soon as he reached her, she hit him with another snowball and chuckles as she managed to fool him. Eleanora stood up as she continued tough at Cathain, who was sitting on the ground with snow all over him. ¡°You dare trick me?¡± Cathain spoke as he pulled her down on the pile of snows and both of them kept throwing snows at each other. In the end, Eleanora got exhausted and fall asleep over Cathain; where heid on the snows and looked at the dark sky full of stars. ¡®Is this what people call happiness?¡¯ ¡®This little things with her is so fun... Time seems to ran whenever i am with her.¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t even feel tired or exhausted, no- i feel livelier then ever when she is beside me...¡¯ Cathain wrapped his hands around her protectively as he kissed her forehead. ¡®I will solve everything that¡¯s keeping you away from epting me, My empress...¡¯ And that¡¯s how, the emperor caught a cold as he yed with cold snow for a long time, not to mentionying down on it. Where, Eleanora didn¡¯t caught cold as he kept her warm by his own mana; instead of using it on himself to not catch a cold. Chapter 175 - 175 "The Epidemic" 175 ¡°The Epidemic¡± Two weekster~ ¡°The condition of the soldiers are getting worse. It can¡¯t be a normal cold in any way.¡± ¡°I agree with Duke Richardo, More and more knights are getting affected by this.¡± Duke Richardo and Jennifer presented their thoughts infront of the emperor, during the emergency meeting. A week after exchanging the soldiers with Rua, some knights caught cold and fever. As Scunthorpe is not that far or that close to the capital of Rua, it¡¯s really cold. Unlike the hot weather in the capital city. Everyone thought it was normal because of the atmosphere but then, more and more people started to get sick. Two of the three new patients died the next day from a pulmonary haemorrhage that developed after they were weakened by a sudden fever. ..... On top of that, ten more patients were admitted in the medical camp right after that. Three people died after a blood transfusion, while two remained in critical condition. Twenty more patients were admitted the following day. ¡°Fevers have developed in our unit too,¡± ¡°50 people have died already,¡± ¡°Will we die too?¡± Some Colonel¡¯s whispered among themselves as they started to feel uneasy because of the sudden unknown fever. Jenifer was lost in thought as she couldn¡¯t figure out what kind of fever it is. It¡¯s almost impossible for them to identify this kind of disease, if they doesn¡¯t hurries up; the situation will go out of control. ¡®How can a disease suddenly appear like this... Could it be-¡® In an instant, Duke Evan Raven; her father¡¯s image came in her mind and she shook her head in denial. ¡®No matter how worse he is, he wouldn¡¯t possibly put the imperial army in danger. If we lose this war then he will face the consequences too.¡¯ ¡°May i suggest something?¡± Everyone turned their heads and looked at Eleanora, who finally spoke after staying silent the whole meeting time. ¡°How a disease, which could only be found in the darknds; which has been conquered by us a year ago would suddenly appear here?¡± ¡°And that too, only in the imperial army?¡± ¡°This is not a natural epidemic at all, rather a deliberate conspiracy against us... by spreading a contagious disease to slow down the army!¡± ¡°!!!¡± Everyone became shocked as soon as they heard Eleanora¡¯s words and everything she spoke made sense. ¡°Themander is right-¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s only affecting our army... Not the other people in Rua, it can¡¯t be a natural epidemic!¡± The meeting room filled with discussion, where the emperor looked at Eleanora seriously. ¡°As you already guessed it... You already have an solution?¡± Cathain asked as he knows Eleanora really well. She never speaks anything without thinking carefully or having a backup n. So, she will only suggest something after she made the whole n to processed with. ¡°No, there is no solution of it¡­¡± Eleanora spoke and Cathain looked at her with disbelief in his red eyes. He doesn¡¯t believe she spoke without making a n or thought of a way to solve this. And seeing Cathain¡¯s expression, A smirk appeared on Eleanora¡¯s face and she continued to speak. ¡°But if you let me handle the whole army and make a little sacrifice, Then i might have an option.¡± ¡­ Meanwhile, in Penduline, Capital city of the Rua Kingdom: ¡°How is the imperial army?¡± King Mendel asked, who had a blindfold in his right eye; which had been blinded by the emperor. ¡°So far roughly 100 people have died. There is an estimated number of 300 people, who have been affected.¡± Replied the king¡¯s aid, Sir Zachary. ¡°As expected from mana knights. The mortality rate was close to 80% in Darknds.¡± Mendel spoke as he was amused after hearing the results and Zachary started to speak again. ¡°I think it¡¯s because of the imperial reserve. They are trying to save more and more people; prevent the deaths as much possible.¡± ¡°Their technique is something which no one could ever consider. Even our senior doctors are amused because of this.¡± Mendel sneered as he heard his aid¡¯s words. ¡°I think it¡¯s that damn Eleanora again, who came up with this...¡± ¡°Yes, Your highness.¡± ¡°Hah, but it¡¯s useless and this disease is contagious anyway. They can¡¯t fix it by saving a few people.¡± ¡°...What if the crown princess solves this?¡± Zachary asked as he had a feeling that Eleanora could solve this problem. Till now, he has heard about how genius she is and also saw how she overturned their previous ns. This made him feel that Eleanora will solve this too. ¡°Zachary, this epidemic is unlike other¡¯s, Don¡¯t you know that?¡± King Mendel spoke. ¡°This disease cames from the Dark Land. Even if thend has been conquered by the empire and those people who has been taken as war prisoners won¡¯t know how to solve this.¡± ¡°The most frightening thing about it is not it¡¯s mortality rate but how fast it is to spread by one from another because of their bodily fluids.¡± [A/N: Okay guys, let¡¯s wee the world famous ¡®Covid-19¡¯ in our story!!!!] Mendel twirled the wine ss in his hand and spoke again after taking a sip. ¡°Anyway, I want to see how she solves this and saves the imperial army...¡± ¡­ Scunthorpe Fort, Imperial army camp~ ¡°As Commander Dalton suggested, quarantining the knights has helped a lot; as the disease is contiguous.¡± ¡°Under the lead of Duke Richardo and Lady Raven, the medical team contributed a lot this time.¡± ¡°Yeah, afterall they risked their lives to treat the affected people¡± ¡°Otherwise those patients would die.¡± ¡°Also, Duke Dalton again sent the required protective medical equipment for the medical camp.¡± ¡®This people started again...¡¯ Cathain thought as he watched the officials arguing about which side contributed the most, where the people of the discussion didn¡¯t even bothered about it. [A/N: Fangirls?! ( -_- ) Anyways, The entire noble¡¯s are divided into two fractions, One who supports the emperor and the Duke of Dalton. Where the other one supports Duke Raven. So, to favour their own supporting fractions, those people are arguing about Jennifer and Eleanora¡¯s contribution in this matter. Where both of them doesn¡¯t even cares about that.] ¡°You all... Stop arguing!¡± ..... The emperor spoke with a irritated voice, as he turned to Duke Richardo and Jennifer. ¡°So Far, how many patients are there?¡± ¡°A total of 750. They are currently being treated at the field hospital.¡± ¡°What about the quarantine?¡± ¡°There are total 10,000 knights in the quarantine so far, they all are in Demacia; taken care by Commander Dalton. Anyone showing the initial symptoms are sent there immediately and healed by her holy powers as much as possible.¡± Cathain¡¯s grip on the pen he was holding grew stronger as he heard that. ¡®Did she go there to avoid me?¡¯ ¡®She keeps throwing herself in dangers.¡¯ He thought as Eleanora went there without even discussing about this with him. Like she knew he would try to stop her. ¡®It¡¯s not like i don¡¯t want her to help people, i am just afraid of her getting hurt... I can¡¯t help it, when will she understand that?¡¯ ¡°Infected patients are getting treated at the field hospital with the medical team lead by Duke Richardo and Lady Raven. Where the might be affected people, who are showing symptoms are sent to Demacia quarantine to be healed by themander Dalton.¡± Brayden exined the situation to everyone. ¡°...Has there been any reply from the Arendell? Will they sent help?¡± The emperor asked as he thought about taking help from the Arendell. Who have numerous healers. Even if there power is not that high like Eleanora, who is a saintess; But it¡¯s helpful at least. ¡°Yes, they are sending people. Their crown prince Dominic De Caisson will alsoe with the team of holy healers.¡± ¡°!!!¡± Jennifer¡¯s caramel brown eyes widened in surprise as soon as she heard Dominic¡¯s name. ¡®Dom...¡¯ ¡®How is he now?¡¯ Thest time she saw him was in Eleanora¡¯sing of age ceremony, after separating for more then four years. But she didn¡¯t got the chance to talk with him as he suddenly left during the ceremony. Jennifer¡¯s face turned a little red as her heart started to beat faster as she thought about him. ¡°What... Did you got affected too, Lady Raven?¡± Dion spoke as he observed Jennifer, who was lost in thought. The meeting had already ended and everyone left, but Jennifer was still sitting. Jennifer immediately came out from her daydream and looked around with an embarrassed face. ¡°You look so red like you have a high fever, Do you need me to prepare a bed for you at the hospital?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Or do you want to go to Demacia and get treated by the Crown princess?¡± ¡°Stop your bullshits, how do you even manage your territory? All you do is crackingme jokes!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I Don¡¯t think anydy will take you as her partner, even if you offer yourself for sale with 100% discount.¡± ¡°...¡± Now it was Dion¡¯s turn to be speechless. Meanwhile in Demacia~ ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t you healing me¡­ cough!¡­ i think am also affected!¡­ cough!¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain pretended to cough as he spoke to Eleanora, who looked at him with unbelievable eyes. She just couldn¡¯t believe that the emperor could be this childish to fake sickness to visit her. ¡®Just what am i supposed to do with him?! Chapter 176 - 176 "Eleanora’s Plan" 176 ¡°Eleanora¡¯s n¡± ¡°Pardon me, Your highness... But i can only heal physical health problems. Not your brain.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Pff-¡± Eleanora chuckled as she saw how pale Cathain¡¯s had be after hearing her words. Cathain didn¡¯t minded and let her tease him, as it was rare to see her sofortable around him. ¡°How¡¯s your work going? Crown Prince Dominic is oning with the team of healers for help.¡± ¡°Oh, Brother Dom ising?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°It¡¯s been so long since i saw him, i couldn¡¯t even talk with him properly during my birthday banquet.¡± ..... ¡°...¡± ¡°I really miss him.¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora eximed with joy as she brewed a cup of tea for both of them and passed the teacup towards Cathain. ¡°You seem to be really close with your cousin.¡± Cathain spoke as he pretended to ask casually like it didn¡¯t mattered at all. ¡°Yeah, We spent a whole year together when my father went for the border inception. I grew closer with him at that time, if i had a older brother then it must be him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief...¡± ¡°Huh, what relief?¡± ¡°No-Nothing...¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora shrugged her shoulders as she knew he won¡¯t tell her even if she asks. Where Cathain felt relief as she only took Dominic as an older brother. ¡°Enough of jokes; What brings you here, Your Majesty?¡± Eleanora asked with a normal tone, which was not colder anymore. Which made Cathain stunt a little and feel happy at the same time. ¡®W-What happened to her? Why is she suddenly acting so f-friendly?¡¯ ¡®But why do i feel that something is wrong...¡¯ ¡°Your Majesty?¡± ¡°Oh, Actually i came here to seek your advice.¡± ¡°Advice?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± And then Cathain began to tell her the story. Last night, the knights who was on patrol suddenly saw a colonel from the Rua passing through Scunthorpe to reach the capital city. Before the imperial knights was about to catch him, that colonel shoot himself and suicide. Later the knights found a piece of paper, which revealed about the enemies next move. They are preparing tounch a pincer attack on both sides of the imperial army as scheduled. After learning this information, the majority of the officers voted to use this information. As they can predict where the enemy will move and ambuse them before the they can even react. This way, they can inflict heavy damage to Rua¡¯s Army with less effort. They want to sent their all soldiers, who are guarding Scunthorpe. As the days went by, more knights are getting affected because of the epidemic and sent to Demacia. To them, it¡¯s more suitable to use their main forces in order tounch a counterattack on the enemy. Although Cathain agreed with the high ranking officials as he alone can¡¯t take decisions. It concerns the whole army and if something happens, then he can¡¯t bear to take the responsiblity. To him, the time is just too perfect. In just a month, the whole army turned upside down because of a unknown epidemic. It¡¯s still not clear about either the Rua was behind this or not yet. Dion and Jennifer are busy at the field hospital, Cedrick is helping Eleanora at Demacia knight quarantine. So infront of the officials, even if Cathain speaks up about his opinions. There is no one to support him. And he can¡¯t lose this golden opportunity just because he doesn¡¯t feels good about it. They have to move their troops tomorrow morning, time is running out. This is why he came here to discuss it with Eleanora, to know her thoughts about this n. ¡°So, what do you think?¡± Cathain asked after he exined the situation to Eleanora, who was in a daze after hearing the situation. ¡°I think it¡¯s an good opportunity. Even if the timing is coincidental, but if we can win then there is nothing wrong.¡± ¡°You think so too?¡± Cathain be a little astonished as for some reason, he thought that Eleanora would agree with him. ¡®So... Am i thinking much?¡¯ ¡°Your Majesty should lead the troops, i will stay back here with the knights in the quarantine. There are 12 thousand troops here and the field hospital also need some knights to protect them just in case. So it would be best if i stay back to manage them and you take the main troops to attack the next two fort. That way, it would be a matter of time to win the capital city and the victory will be ours.¡± Eleanora spoke with a smile and every words she said made sense. But Cathain still felt uneasy. Things was going too smooth, which was hard to believe. How could Mendele up such a easy n and the Rua¡¯s war colonel would be caught right before he was preparing to execute his n? And the two armymander, Eleanora and Duke Richardo both are busy with the medical camp. Along with the Raven Siblings. The troops are being affected and this left him with no other option but to believe in the note they got from the Rua¡¯s colonel. ¡°Oh, Your Majesty. Take Colonel Raven with you. The more people the better. He doesn¡¯t have any works to do here anyway.¡± ¡°...But wouldn¡¯t it be better for him to stay with you?¡± Cathain refute even if he didn¡¯t liked seing Cedrick with Eleanora. ¡®She is acting weird.¡¯ ¡°He is a war strategic, an assistant mage but not a healer. He has no works here.¡± ¡°...okay. I will let him know.¡± Cathain unwillingly spoke as he took another sip of the tea and lost in thoughts. To him, Eleanora¡¯s sudden friendliness looked suspicious. He was happy at first but now he is doubting her sudden change in behaviour. ¡°Your Majesty...Umm, this is for you...¡± Eleanora spoke shyly as she pushed a sword tarsal towards Cathain, which was decorated with ck and red gemstones. ..... Along with some white mana stones, which contends her ice magic. ¡°H-Huh?¡± Cathain stared at the sword tarsal with his dumbfounded red eyes in confusion. ¡°Is it for m-me?¡± ¡°Yes... You gave me a locket so, i also wanted to give back something to you... Am not that good with crafting but i tried my best to make it look beautiful,¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain didn¡¯t spoke anything and kept look at the sword tarsal infront of him. Which made Eleanora feel that he didn¡¯t liked it. ¡°Well, it¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t like it-¡± ¡°Who said i don¡¯t like it?!¡± Cathain spoke as he snatched the sword tarsal, which Eleanora was about to take back from him. ¡®How can i not like something which was given by her?¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s beautiful... Thank you.¡± ¡°W-Wee,¡± Both of them spoke as they felt a little flustering and didn¡¯t knew what to say anymore. ¡°Commander! There is another knight who needs- Oh, Greetings! Your Majesty!¡± The knight who came to inform Eleanora about the sick knights who came a little while ago, didn¡¯t expected to see the emperor too. He hurriedly bow down as he greeted the emperor. Where both Eleanora and Cathain stood up together. ¡°Okay, then you go to your work... I need to go back as we have to move out early in the morning.¡± ¡°Take care, Your Majesty... Be safe.¡± ¡°Hmn.¡± Cathain nodded to her before he turned to leave with a strange feeling in his heart. He doesn¡¯t know why but he was feeling strange. Everything felt strange to him. Either the tomorrow¡¯s movement or Eleanora¡¯s behaviour today. ¡°YOUR MAJESTY!!!¡± Just as he was about to walk out of the door, Eleanora¡¯s sudden calling made him stop on his tracks and he looked back. But before he could react, Eleanora hugged him tightly; which made him not only surprised but equally stunned. ¡°E-Elee?¡± Eleanora didn¡¯t replied and stayed quite as she hugged him tightly, with her face burried in his chest. ¡°Thank you for everything till now,¡± ¡®In this life...¡¯ ¡°Your Majesty...¡± ¡®...Cain,¡¯ With amusement and a strange feeling raising in his heart, Cathain raised his hands and hugged her back. He didn¡¯t knew why he was feeling heartbreak, where he should clearly feel happy that Eleanora is finally acting normal with him. But her normal behaviour felt strange to him. It felt like she suddenly changed like this, so that she doesn¡¯t feel regret... Like something is forcing her to ept this changes for something unspeakable. ¡®Why am i feeling like this?¡¯ ¡°Thank you for everything, Your Majesty...¡± Eleanora spoke again in a low voice as she pushed Cathain a little and his hands loosened up from her body. Without looking at him anymore, Eleanora turned to leave with the knight and head towards the quarantine room. Where Cathain just kept standing without moving. He gritted his teeth with frustration and decided to leave without caring for the strange feeling which continued to grow inside his heart. ¡®Please be safe too, My empress... Don¡¯t get hurt,¡¯ ¡­ ¡°Prepare yourselves, We will move as soon as the imperial army moves out from the base.¡± ¡°B-But would that be alright?... The emperor or no one else knows this...¡± ¡°...If they knew, they wouldn¡¯t agree for sure; specially the emperor. Just do as i told you all,¡± ¡°YES, COMMANDER DALTON!!¡± Chapter 177 - 177 "Kidnapped" 177 ¡°Kidnapped¡± Cough! ¡°Lady Raven! Are you okay?!¡± Dion asked as he patted Jennifer¡¯s back, as she continued to vomit blood. The people in the field hospital all panicked because of the fight outside. He wanted to take a look but he can¡¯t leave Jennifer like this either and gritted his teeth with frustration. ¡°You don¡¯t have a fever... Why are you coughing blood?!¡± ¡°...Hah, i- i don¡¯t... Know...¡± Jennifer breathed heavily as she sat on the ground and Dion called for someone for help with panic. But no one answered as everyone was busy with saving their own lives. ..... Jennifer has been a little pale for the past few days but he just thought it was because of exhaustion. He didn¡¯t wanted to be noisy, so after telling her to take rest a few times; he didn¡¯t interfered anymore. But after the imperial army moved out this morning, her condition suddenly worsened. And they was also attacked, even if the enemy didn¡¯t entered the hospital; the chaos outside made everyone horrified. ¡°Is someone here?!!!¡± ¡®Just what¡¯s happening?!¡¯ ¡®Her vitals are all normal... She didn¡¯t got infected... Then why is her symptoms simr to the epidemic?¡¯ ¡°Duke!! The- The Commander isn¡¯t in Demacia! She is missing!!¡± A knight exined with horror on his face and looked panicked as he reported to Dion. Where Dion¡¯s expression turned dark as he heard the news. ¡°WHAT?!¡± ¡°Yes, Demacia was attacked... The imperial soldiers areing back, it was a trap!¡± Cough!! ¡°Lady Raven!!¡± Jennifer¡¯s face turned more pale as soon as she heard the report and coughed more blood. ¡®No... It can¡¯t be... It must be my father¡¯s doing... I can¡¯t let him seed this time...!¡¯ Cough! ¡°Hold on, Lady Raven... The priests from Arendell should be here already... Am taking you there...¡± Dion spoke as he proceed to carry Jennifer but she caught his hands with pleading eyes. ¡°D-Duke... Please... Save...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I will save youdy Raven! Nothing will happen to you...¡± ¡°No... Not me,¡± Dion was confused at Jennifer¡¯s words, because as someone who looked like she would die at any moment was telling him that it was not her whom she wants to save. ¡°What- What do you mean, Lady Raven?¡± Jennifer panted heavily to catch breathe and she tried hard to speak as her voice couldn¡¯te out of her throat. After a long struggle, she finally found her voice back and spoke, before she fainted. ¡°Save... The empress,¡± ¡­ A few hours ago~ ¡°It¡¯s snowing...¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to speed up before the snow gets heavy and blocks the road.¡± ¡°You are right...¡± Some Colonel¡¯s spoke among themselves where Cathain looked at the snowfall quitely and recalled the night a month ago. The night where Eleanora created snow for them to y and had fun. Where he was not a emperor, whom she avoided. They was just themselves, a young couple, whom had sneaked out to y. But sadly she forgot that, like how she doesn¡¯t remember their first meeting where she had saved him. ¡®Is it snowing in Demacia too, right?¡¯ ¡®She is sensitive to cold... Is she using the magic locket i gave her to keep herself warm?¡¯ ¡®Even if she is a swordmaster... She is fragile, once the war is over-¡® ¡°YOUR MAJESTY!!!¡± The emperor, who was lost in thoughts came back to his senses as the scouts came back and called him with a panicked voice. Which gave him a bad feeling. ¡°WE ARE IN TROUBLE!!¡± ¡°???!!!¡± ¡°WE HAVE EXAMINED OUR DESTINATION AND SEARCHED THE ENEMIES LOCATION, BUT...¡± ¡°THAT PLACE IS COMPLETELY EMPTY!!!¡± ¡°THERE IS NO SIGN OF RUA¡¯S TROOPS THERE, MUCH LESS A TRACE OF THEIR MARCH!¡± Cathain¡¯s red eyes widened with horror as he realised that, they have been fooled. The enemy wanted them to move their troops from Scunthorpe, so that when the imperial army win over the two other forts... The Rua¡¯s troops will took over Demacia... Their real objective was Eleanora from the very beginning, which didn¡¯t changed even after loosing the previous battle! ¡®Damn it! Elee... She knew it!¡¯ ¡°WE¡¯RE HEADING BACK TO DEMACIA RIGHT NOW! HURRY!!¡± ¡®Elee...please don¡¯t do anything stupid! I beg you!¡¯ ¡­ Boom!! ¡°Kyaa!! What was that?!¡± ¡°Canon?!¡± ¡°As themander expected! They are attacking us, instead of taking over the forts and attacking the base from both side!¡± ¡°What should we do now, Commander?!¡± ¡°You should leave first, Commander! You¡¯re the crown princess of the empire!¡± ¡°We still think it¡¯s too risky, Commander...¡± The knights turned their heads to look at Eleanora, who looked outside of the window coldly. ¡°Is that prepare?¡± ¡°Commander... You are really going to do that?¡± ¡°Their target is me... As long as he doesn¡¯t gets me, he won¡¯t stop. It¡¯s time to finish this game of battle.¡± Eleanora spoke as she turned to Sir Charles, who had a bombs on his hands and looked hesitant to give it to her. ¡°How is the situation outside?¡± ¡°It¡¯s bad, as our knights are notpletely recovered yet... Our defending forces are being pushed by their main force.¡± ¡°Is the field hospital safe?¡± ¡°Yeah, they seem to not attack there as they are afraid of being affected... Their main target seems to be really you.¡± ..... ¡°Okay... So now,¡± Everyone hold their breath as Eleanora started to spoke, ready to fight. But her words shocked them. ¡°As the imperial army¡¯s secondmander, Dame Dalton and the crown princess of the empire; I hearbymand you all... From this point onwards, no one is allowed to leave the quarantine area no matter what! it doesn¡¯t matter what you hear down there, but you can¡¯t leave!¡± ¡°COMMANDER!!!¡± ¡°WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?!¡± ¡°DIDN¡¯T YOU SAID WE WOULD FIGHT TOGETHER?!¡± ¡°HOW CAN WE LEAVE YOU BEHIND?!¡± The knights was shocked as they heard her words. ording to what they discussed, if the Rua army attacks the Demacia; everyone would try to trap the Army here so that they can¡¯t leave. Then as the Rua¡¯s uses technology instead of magic, they would do the same as the soldiers are not recovered. By that time, the imperial army would return too and the battle would end there. ¡°I won¡¯t allow any objections or questions. Just make sure no matter what happens, you can¡¯t leave the quarantine room.¡± ¡°Sir Charles, Take them and exin it...¡± ¡°...Yes, Your highness.¡± Charles obeyed her unwillingly as he lead the knights to the quarantine room. ¡®Your highness... Please be safe,¡¯ . . ¡°Did you locked them up?¡± ¡°Yes, Your highness, no one can leave now.¡± ¡°...Hmn, pass this to his majesty when hees back.¡± ¡°P-Pardon? But aren¡¯t we going together, then-¡± Charles eyes widened with shock as Eleanora hit his neck to pass him out. ¡®Am sorry... But i can¡¯t see anyone dying for me again in this life...¡¯ ¡®Am sorry, Daddy... Maybe i can¡¯t see you again this time... But who knows what disaster will fall on us, if this war keeps on dragging...¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t want to die... But i can¡¯t just sit and do nothing when i know how to save everyone.¡¯ ¡®I have no regrets in this life... I had your love, daddy. Everyone¡¯s support... I had friends, I became a knightmander again... I saved the people who died for me... If i die, i would die as a hero this time. Whose name would be written down in history... Not as an abandoned empress,¡¯ ¡®Thank you for giving me another chance to cherish everything that i missed, Goddess... Even if i die, i don¡¯t have any regrets or remorse this time.¡¯ ¡­ ¡°Damn it!!! SEARCH FOR HER!! THERE SHOULDN¡¯T BE ANY PLACE LEFT!!¡± ¡°THEY SHOULDN¡¯T HAVE GONE FAR!¡± Cathain yelled as hemanded the whole imperial army to search for Eleanora. ¡®Dare to kidnap my empress?!¡¯ ¡®No... She volunteered to be kidnapped!¡¯ He clenched the letter in his hands, which has been left by Eleanora with a horrifying expression. Where she wrote, how she volunteered to act as a bait for the Rua army¡¯s and wrote aplete detailed strategy for the imperial army to move. So that the knights doesn¡¯t gets punished for failing to protect the crown princess. ¡®Do i mean nothing to her?!¡¯ ¡®I should have know this... She was only being this nice because she was nning this!¡¯ ¡®I should have believed in my bad feelings and knew that it was a trap set by the Rua...¡¯ ¡®She knew this and thus she deliberately nned this... To carry out the whole n on her own!¡¯ ¡®She knew i wouldn¡¯t allow her to take this risk!¡¯ ¡®This was why she treated me so gentlyst night!¡¯ ¡°DAMN IT!!!¡± The ss windows instantly shattered because of the emperor¡¯s strong powers and the remaining knights in the room was all forced to kneel down for the same reason. ¡°P~Please, Calm down, Your Majesty!¡± All of them started to feel suffocated because of the strong superior aura and pleaded to him for calm down. ¡°The crown princess will be found soon!¡± ¡®The empress will be found soon!¡¯ ¡°Aagh!!¡± Cathain fall on the ground as another voice rang inside of his head and as a sharp pain hit his brain nerves. He withdrew his powers immediately and the knights all panted for breathing. ¡°YOUR MAJESTY!!¡± ¡®Nothing will happen to the empress, They wouldn¡¯t try to harm her recklessly,¡¯ ¡®Ain... You havee?¡¯ ¡®Please believe me, Your Majesty! I didn¡¯t did it!¡¯ ¡®Do you trust me, Your highness?¡¯ ¡®Stay away, From my daughter!¡¯ ¡®Just how long are you going to lie to me?! Ain?! No- Your highness the crown prince?!¡¯ ¡®My condolence, Your Majesty; her majesty just had a miscarriage. We couldn¡¯t save the baby¡­¡¯ ¡®Treat her well, this time...¡¯ Cathain held his head tightly as numerous memories, which is unfamiliar to him started to appear in his mind again. ¡°Aaaghh!!! Stop it... Shut up...¡± Where the knights panicked after seeing the emperor like that all of a sudden. ¡°YOUR MAJESTY, WHAT HAPPENED?!¡± ¡°ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!¡± ¡°Call...call Brayden!¡± Cathain felt his vision going blurred as he asked the knights to call for Brayden. ¡®What is this all...are they my lost memories?¡¯ ¡®You must be safe and wait for me, My empress...¡¯ Chapter 178 - 178 "Negotiation" 178 ¡°Negotiation¡± Penduline, Capital City of Rua Kingdom: With silver handcuffs on her hands, Eleanora continued to walk after the aid of King Mendel, Zachary. There was a huge team of knights walking beside her so that she couldn¡¯t ran away. ¡®I just hope everything goes ording to the n,¡¯ A few hours ago~ ¡°Hah, who do we have here?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it Eleanora? The second Hero of the empire?¡± [A/N: Alexander Dalton is the first one] Mendel sneered as he spoke, after they used canons to brust the huge Fort gate of Demacia. ..... They had thought Eleanora would hide or prepare to fight them. But surprisingly, she was just standing infront of the main gate like she was waiting for them. ¡°Did i ever gave permission to address me casually?¡± ¡°I am amander of the imperial army, Do address me as Commander Dalton... Or, You can also bow down to show me some respect, King!¡± Eleanora smriked as she spoke. In terms of status, Eleanora is higher then Mendel. As she is not only the emperor¡¯s fiancee but also the only saintess of the prophecy. ¡°Hm... Commander? I think you are still not aware of the situation you are in...Your highness.¡± ¡°Well, Well, Well... I knew that you would stay here, you would never risk the whole army for you... I would¡¯ve been greatly disappointed if you had ran away.¡± Mendel spoke as he tried to hurry a little. The fact that the imperial army was trapped and Demacia was attacked instead, it won¡¯t take time for the emperor to reach here. ¡®I better not waste time and leave with my victory trophy... This is an payback for blinding my eyes, Your Majesty; the emperor.¡¯ ¡°Why would i ran away? I have seen this trick before, not the first time...¡± Eleanora confessed with a cold voice as she recalled this was also how her father was lured out of the duchy and then the duchy was attacked. Her mother made her escape and then sacrificed herself to protect their territory. She understood this trick the moment she heard it and this time, she didn¡¯t wanted to run away. ¡®There is no way that Mendel nned all this alone, this have something to do with the incident of our duchy 12 years ago too...¡¯ ¡°You must be in a hurry... As you know, if he manages toe back right now then it just won¡¯t be your other eye which will go blind.¡± ¡°YOU-¡± Eleanora knew how much Mendel disliked Cathain and getting defeated. So she purposely mentioned the emperor to piss him off, to hurry up and carry out her n. ¡°I, Eleanora Ariande La Dalton; the future moon of the empire, would like to negotiate with you- Mendel De Melendez, The King of Rua.¡± ¡°Negotiate, You say?!¡± The Rua¡¯s army started tough at Eleanora as soon as they heard her words. ¡°Your highness, Demacia is surrounded with our army, a total 30 thousand troops! Where all you have is 10-15 thousand sick soldiers! Does our holy highness not even understand the meaning of negotiation? Negotiation is between people of equal footing or have the corresponding advantage.¡± Mendel spoke as he chuckled at Eleanora, thinking of her as a stupid person who only knows to fight with a pretty face. ¡°Who said we are not equal?¡± ¡°My request is that, from onwards, you won¡¯t harm any of my soldiers. Sick or healthy, no one should be harmed or arrested, taken as a prisoner.¡± Eleanora spoke with solid firmness in her tone, which made them understand that she was not joking with them. ¡°...What do you offer in return?¡± Mendel spoke as he narrowed his eyes to look at Eleanora, with seriousness in his face. Where, Eleanora exhaled a deep breath before she decided to speak up. ¡°Myself,¡± ¡°!!!¡± ¡°I will voluntary surrender and go with you as a war captive.¡± ¡°Hah... You areing either way with us, how is it advantageous for us, Your highness?¡± Mendel spoke as he found her words to be ridicules, but then Eleanora¡¯s blue eyes lit up as she unbuttoned her knight suit. ¡°If you don¡¯t agree... Then, DIE WITH ME!!¡± ¡°W-WHAT!!!¡± The knights stepped back with horror, even Mendel staggered when he saw Eleanora, who had attached bombs with her. ¡°STOP YOUR SOLDIERS RIGHT NOW, MENDEL!!¡± ¡°OTHERWISE WE ALL DIE TOGETHER!!!¡± Eleanora¡¯s heart trembled with fear as she spoke out loud. Even if she uses a bit of her mana and the bombs hit up and sts, everything will be over. She will die with everyone again. ¡°Y-You... WANT TO DIE TOGETHER?! Just for those worthless guys?!¡± Mendel spoke as he widened his eyes and looked at Eleanora, who came up with such a decisive n. ¡°Till you people retreat and don¡¯t harm any imperial soldiers, i won¡¯t do anything. I will let you people defuse the bombs once we are out of the territory!¡± ¡°Now, Do you agree to negotiate or die together?!¡± Eleanora¡¯s seriousness made the Rua¡¯s knight shiver in fear and Mendel sneered. ¡°As expected of the girl who caught my eyes... You are still bold and fearless like before¡± ¡°DO YOU AGREE OR NOT?!¡± Eleanora yelled as she pulled out the ring from a grenade bomb to threaten them more. ¡°WE AGREE!!! RETREAT THE SOLDIERS RIGHT NOW!!¡± Mendelmanded his army as he gritted his teeth in anger and Eleanora felt a little relief in her heart. ¡°BRING THE SILVER CUFFS AND TIE HER UP SO THAT SHE CAN¡¯T USE MAGIC¡± As soon as Mendelmanded, silver cuffs were bought but no one dared to approached her. ¡°Useless...¡± Mendel cursed before he took the silver cuffs to cuff Eleanora¡¯s both wrist with anger. Because if she can cover herself with bombs, then she can also choose to sacrifice herself to harm them after they are out of the imperial territory. He never thought her to be this fearless, where Eleanora¡¯s blue eyes was still cold; which didn¡¯t even looked at him or showed any emotions. ¡°The moon of the empire is finally mine now...¡± ¡­ Scunthorpe, Field Hospital: ¡®Damn it, they caught Elee?!¡¯ ¡®Is this why she asked the emperor to shift me in today¡¯s march?!¡¯ ¡®I shouldn¡¯t have thought that she have mended, she is still the same as before; up to no good and causing troubles.¡¯ Cedrick thought as he nced at Jennifer, who was lying on the bed unconsciously. The whole army is in a chaos and he doesn¡¯t know what to do. The medical team suspects her of being poisoned but who would poison someone in the middle of the war? ..... That too, a medical doctor? ¡®Wake up, little sister... Brother can¡¯t bear to see you like this,¡¯ Cedrick sighed as he stroked Jennifer¡¯s light blonde hair, her face waspletely pale like a dead person. Even if he wants to help the imperial army, but he can¡¯t bear to leave his little sister dying alone like this. ¡®Just who is so cruel to do this to you...¡¯ ¡°COLONEL RAVEN!!!¡± Cedrick looked back as Sir Charles called out for him with a panicked voice and stood outside of the room. ¡°Sir Charles? What happened?¡± ¡°Colonel- His Majesty...¡± Cedrick jumped up from his chair as he approached Charles, who had a letter in his hands. ¡°WHAT?!¡± Cedrick blinked a few times to read the letter again and again, but the contains remained the same. ~I and Duke Richardo are off to Penduline, Colonel Raven willmand the army from onwards. This is an direct order issued by, Cathain De Valerian Valentino; the emperor of the Valentino Empire~ ¡°...¡± ¡®How can you do this to me, Your Majesty!!!!!¡¯ . . . At the borders of the Penduline: ¡°Why do i always end up carrying you on my back?!¡± ¡°You can still talk humannguage in this form? Interesting... I wanna make you the national pet now.¡± ¡°...¡± Dion, who was running inside of the dark forests in his wolf form with the emperor on his back didn¡¯t knew what to say anymore. Just like how the first emperor was a descendent of the dragons, the Richardo¡¯s are the descendants of the wolves. As time went by, the dragon¡¯s power faded from the world and seeing that, the Richardo¡¯s decided to hide for protecting their descendants. Dion¡¯s furry wolf is huge in size, almost as tall as an average human. Fiery red in colour and pitch ck eyes like his human form. He recalled the time, when he carried the injured 18 year old crown prince on his back four years ago and now he is doing the same. ¡°Am not talking! Am mind linking with you and thus you are feeling that am talking, where am actually not!¡± ¡°Oh? That¡¯s more amazing. From now on, wolves will be our national pet...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Who wants to be a national pet?!¡¯ Dion decided to hold back on his anger and not drop the emperor off his back. ¡®Just hold on... Remember the deal... For the deal... Be patience, Dion... Don¡¯t hit him...¡¯ ¡°Your Majesty, there are more then 150 thousand troops at Penduline... Do you think Colonel Raven would be able to do this?¡± ¡°He has to do it, even if he can¡¯t. He ain¡¯t got any other options except this.¡± Cathain spoke as he clenched his fists into a ball tightly. They can¡¯t afford to lose now. Even if Eleanora¡¯s n is solid and as long as they moves ording to it, they will win. But that n will take at least a month time to sess, and he can¡¯t let her stay there all alone. Now that he got his memory back, he remembers how obsessed Mendel looked over Eleanora. Which was kind of simr to his, but more dangerous. ¡®Please... Be safe, Elee... Nothing is more important then your safety!¡¯ This is why he prepared everything ording to Eleanora¡¯s n but he left Cedrick tomand the army instead of him. There is no way he would rest with peace, where he doesn¡¯t know what is happening to her. ¡°We are almost there, Your Majesty... I can only drop you till this point, Be careful as your face is way too much recognisable.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, i have a n for that...¡± Chapter 179 - 179 "Punishment" 179 ¡°Punishment¡± Penduline, Capital City Of Rua Kingdom~ ¡°Have you started to get more ustomed to this ce?¡± ¡°Yes, I am. Thank you for your consideration.¡± Eleanora replied politely but her tone was rather cold. ¡°My apologise, that we can¡¯t treat you better during the battle.¡± The king¡¯s aid, Zachary spoke with a humble voice. ¡°May... May i ask why you¡¯re treating me so well? I am yours war hostage afterall.¡± Eleanora asked as she looked around the luxurious room she was staying at. ¡°You are the future empress of the empire, My Lady. Although we are currently at war, we can¡¯t ignore the influence that the imperial family holds. ..... Not to mention of you being the only saintess in this continent and your father¡¯s position.¡± ¡°Also... You might not remember as you helped a lot of people, but among those people; you once healed a Rua¡¯s soldier, who¡¯s one of my man.¡± ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± ¡°Yes, His name is Zack. When he was captured by the imperial army before, you saved his life by healing his injuries.¡± ¡°I see, i just wanted to help as this is why i had given the powers at the first ce. If i don¡¯t use it, then it¡¯s a waste of it.¡± Eleanora spoke with facts, as she knew this was the reason of her getting the powers. She hid her powers in herst life and thus it caused her more sufferings. The goddess also wanted her to help people, change the fate of destruction and bring peace in this world instead of chaos. ¡°But still, For that, it is my sincerest thanks to you for saving the lives of the Rua¡¯s soldiers, who were caught during thest battle, including my man¡¯s.¡± Zachary spoke as he bow down his head, infront of Eleanora to show respect. ¡°I-It¡¯s okay...Sir-¡± ¡°You can call me Colonel Zachary, My Lady.¡± ¡°Thank you for treating me well, Colonel.¡± ¡°You are wee, Rest early; Mydy.¡± Eleanora sighed heavily as she leaned on the sofa, staring at the ceilings nky. ¡®Is he alright?¡¯ ¡®He should¡¯ve started to move ording what i nned... I need to start working too.¡¯ The reason why Eleanora wanted toe here was to collect evidence. She is sure that the epidemic was not nned by the people of Rua as a war strategy all alone. The disease spread from the blood of the people¡¯s of the darknd. It¡¯s a weird blood type which doesn¡¯t harms them as they are born with it but when normal people gets affected by it, they dies. This is also why it took the imperial army almost four years to win that simple battle against the Republicans to take over the darknds. ¡®The war captive soldiers are working in our empire under surveince... It¡¯s impossible for Mendel to get his hands on them, unless someone from the empire is directly helping them¡­¡¯ Eleanora had suspicions on Duke Ravens, but without any solid evidence; she can¡¯t use him. She also has to consider the rtionship between her and the Raven Siblings. Her rtionship with Jennifer is not that good, but till now, she could see that Jennifer has changed in this life. She just can¡¯t stubbornly hold onto the past, and refuse to acknowledge the present changes. Eleanora gripped the red crescent moon shaped locket in her hands and her body slowly started to heat up because of the warm manaing from it. ¡®I miss home...¡¯ After a week~ Eleanora sneaked out from the room she was kept in secretly and looked around to make sure that, no one followed her. She observed the knight patrolling routine for a week before she decided to take action. In this whole week, she sneaked out from time to time to look around this ce and finally guessed that the important papers should be in the study. Where people will suspect the less. She wasn¡¯t tied up because of the silver cuffs at her hands, which forbids her from using magic. This also gave her the chance to not get a strict surveince. Eleanora sneaked into the study room and started to look for the documents, which might prove her suspicions true. She carefully searched so that no one would suspect of anything. ¡®Damn it! Where did they put it?! They should have signed a contract for sure if they exchanged some short of deals!¡¯ Eleanora felt frustrated as she failed to get something even after searching for a long time. But right then, she heard the door opening sound from the outside and her heart skipped a beat with fear. ¡®Oh no- who is it?!¡¯ ¡°DAMN IT!!! HOW DID THE IMPERIAL ARMY PREDICTED OUR MOVE!!!¡± ¡°WE HAVE LOST ANOTHER BATTLE AND THEY ARE JUST A INCH AWAY FROM TAKING OVER THE CAPITAL!!!¡± ¡°YOU BUNCH OF TRASHES!! WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING?!¡± Mendel yelled as he threw the pen holder towards Zachary¡¯s direction, Which he barely managed to dodge and got a slight cut on his forehead. ¡°Your highness, Calm down. Our soldiers are trying their best and they are also exhausted because of this long battle with no break from training.¡± ¡°THIS IS WHAT THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO DO!¡± Zachary¡¯s expression darkened as he heard their kings words. From the very start, no one wanted this unnecessary war and sacrifice their lives. But they had to since it was the king¡¯s order. Then they kept on fighting and making strategies even during the war break. No one has rested since this war started and trying their best to win, with their life¡¯s at stake. It¡¯s only Mendel¡¯s n to defeat the Valentino Imperial Family and turn this kingdom into an empire again, conquer the crown princess. ¡°BRING ME LIQUOR!!¡± ¡°Your highness, drinking much isn¡¯t good for-¡± ¡°SHUT UP, YOU TRASH!! BRING ME LIQUOR!¡± Zachary frowned as he be silent and clenched his fist tightly. ¡°Yes, Your highness.¡± Where, Eleanora who just jumped out from the window held her breathe as she felt relief that her n is going well. ¡®Thank god, if i didn¡¯t observed this ce carefully and hide behind the window in time, i would get caught for sure.¡¯ Eleanora carefully climbed through several balconies to reach the room she stayed in and entered the room by the window. ¡®If it weren¡¯t for this damn handcuffs... I wouldn¡¯t have to go through such a long journey to reach this room!¡¯ After stepping inside of her room, Eleanora sighed as she failed to get the informations she wanted. ¡®I should try to find them in another ce tomorrow-¡® Eleanora became alert as soon as she felt another persons presence in the room but she was grabbed by someone before she could react. ¡°WHO-¡± Her blue eyes widened with shock as the person infront of her mmed his lips over hers and Eleanora tried to push the person as her stomach growled with disgust. Eleanora couldn¡¯t push the person because of the handcuffs on her hands and she felt even more disgusted when she saw that the person was wearing Rua¡¯s army uniform. ¡°Mmmph!¡± Without thinking much, she bite the persons lips as hard as she could and taste blood flowing inside of her mouth instantly. ..... ¡°Woah! Rx! It¡¯s me, My empress!¡± ¡°What-¡± As Cathain pulled his head a little away from hers, so that she can see his face clearly; Which made Eleanora finally calmed down a little. But her face was still puffed up with anger, and her lips turned red because of his blood. ¡°Don¡¯t cry... It¡¯s me...¡± Cathain pulled her in his embrace as he sensed that she was about to cry. ¡°You dare to attach bombs on your body, let yourself act like a bait but cry... after being kissed by me?¡± ¡°I am hurt, My empress.¡± Eleanora didn¡¯t spoke and continued to sniff. She doesn¡¯t want to admit that she really felt relieved and happy after seeing him here. ¡°What are you doing here... Shouldn¡¯t you be there... leading the army?¡± ¡°How can i lead the army when i think about you being bullied and crying for help?¡± Cathain spoke as he pat on her head and Eleanora spoke in a low voice. ¡°I can protect myself...¡± ¡°But you was still kissed forcefully and couldn¡¯t even push me- What would you do if it wasn¡¯t me?¡± ¡°Who can do this kind of perverted acts except you?¡± ¡°...I would kill that person, whoever dares to do this to you anyway.¡± Cathain spoke as he slide up her bangs a little to kiss on her forehead. ¡°Am sorry foring sote...¡± ¡°It¡¯s- I was scared...¡± At first, Eleanora wanted to say that it was okay but then unknowingly, she found herself speaking the truth. She burried her face in his chest as she spoke and clenched his clothes with her both cuffed hands. ¡°It was really scary...¡± ¡°I thought i would really die...¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t wanted to die...¡± ¡®again,¡¯ Eleanora swallowed herst words and Cathain hugged her more tightly. ¡°Then who told you to act alone? Huh? Your safety matters the most to me... You not only tricked me but the entire army.¡± ¡°Do you know how worried everyone is for you?¡± ¡°Thank god that your father isn¡¯t here, otherwise you would be widowed by now.¡± ¡°Pff-¡± Eleanora chuckled as she heard him mentioning her father and being widowed. ¡°It¡¯s alright now, Am here... Don¡¯t worry,¡± ¡°I will protect you, no matter what happens;¡± Cathain spoke as he reassured Eleanora and moved away a little to look at her. Eleanora¡¯s face turned a little red and then she tried to change the topic as she was feeling weird. ¡°This looks ugly on you... Why are you wearing Rua¡¯s army uniform?¡± Eleanora asked as she frowned a little because of seeing him wearing the enemy¡¯s knight uniform. ¡°Do you think they would let me live, if i entered the Penduline borders and wore our imperial knight uniform?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true... When did you came here?¡± ¡°A week ago,¡± ¡°...Then,¡± ¡®Why didn¡¯t you came to meet me earlier?¡¯ Eleanora wanted to ask that but she didn¡¯t knew either she should speak this out or not. ¡°Our Army is proceeding like you nned and the war is in our favour. Everything is prepared and it would only tale a few days for us to win this war.¡± ¡°...That¡¯s good,¡± ¡°Okay, Now that everything is good...¡± Cathain paused on his words a little as he bent down to carry up Eleanora on his arms, before he finished his sentence. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about how i should punish you for being disobedient.¡± Chapter 180 - 180 "Escape" 180 ¡°Escape¡± ¡°Damn! It¡¯s all because of Eleanora!¡± Mendel yelled with anger as he stood up from his chair, with the alcohol bottol in his hands. ¡°Your highness, Where are you going?!¡± Zachary spoke as he chased after Mendel with a bad feeling. ¡°I have some buisness with her, Do you have any problem?¡± ¡°YOU CAN¡¯T, YOUR HIGHNESS!¡± Mendel frowned as Zachary stood infront of him to block his path. ¡®I can¡¯t let him to meet Lady Dalton like this. No matter what, i have to stop him!¡¯ ¡°Zachary, Are you going against me now?!¡± ..... ¡°You¡¯re very drunk, Your highness... Maybe next time,¡± ¡°DIDN¡¯T YOU HEAR ME?! I SAID MOVE!! OR DO YOU WANT TO DIE?!¡± Zachary gritted his teeth as he failed to convince Mendel and looked at his superior with a dark expression. ¡°You can¡¯t visit her! Lady Dalton maybe a war captive but she is still the firstdy of the empire!¡± ¡°On a night like this, i don¡¯t think it¡¯s a proper idea to get this drunk and then visit ady!¡± ¡°...Hahhahaaa!!!¡± Bam! Zachary fall backward by a brutal force as Mendel punched him on his face. ¡°Say that to my face? Would you be even alive if i didn¡¯t showed mercy to you... The eighth prince of Rua?!¡± The soldiers started to murmur among themselves as they heard the news, and Zachary looked away with anger. Among the whole royal family, he is the only one who was spared by Mendel. Because he was just like Mendel, a illegitimate prince from a concubine. Who was treated worse then a dog in the royal family. Even after that, he stayed low just to live peacefully and then he colluded with Mendel as he had sense the uing changes in the royal family. He wanted revenge against the royal family, those people who had watched his mother die pitifully in the deadbed. Where Mendel wanted the throne. He faked his death as the eight prince, Jeremy and be the king¡¯s aid, Zachary. ¡®No, We are already losing this war. I can¡¯t let him make anymore mistakes and bring loses. We need to think about the people here...¡¯ Zachary thought as he stood up again and blocked Mendel, who was about to enter Eleanora¡¯s room. ¡°DON¡¯T OPEN THE DOOR, NO MATTER WHAT, LADY DALTON!!¡± He shouted to warn Eleanora and Mendel looked at him with disbelief. ¡°No matter how superior you are, i can¡¯t let you act like this...¡± Zachary spoke again with determination and courage, as he was firm to stop Mendel from doing something bad to Eleanora. Click! ¡°YOU! DO YOU WANT TO DIE THAT BADLY AND ACCOMPANY YOUR MOTHER?!¡± Mendel pointed his gun at Zachary¡¯s head as he spoke. ¡°Wrong is wrong, Your highness. It won¡¯t change even if you kill me.¡± ¡°WAIT!¡± Eleanora spoke as she mmed open the door and pointed a gun, which she took from Cathain; on Mendel. ¡°Mendel, Don¡¯t you have buisness with me? Don¡¯t drag Colonel Zachary into this and settle with me!¡± ¡°Mdy!! Please stay inside!!¡± Mendel smacked Zachary harder one more time for speaking and walked towards Eleanora with anger. ¡°COLONEL!¡± ¡°Hahaa... You are right, You are the one i need to speak with, not him!¡± Mendel spoke as he grabbed Eleanora by her neck to strangle her. ¡°DON¡¯T COME CLOSER, Ugh!¡± But Eleanora still kept her gun pointed at Mendel firmly. ¡°How about i defile you and then sent you back to your emperor as a present, huh?¡± ¡°It makes me happy just by thinking what kind of expression he would have after seeing his beloved moon like that!!¡± ¡°You will shoot me? Come on, Princess. Shoot me!¡± Mendel¡¯s threat made Eleanora shudder with disgust and right before she was about to pull the trigger to shoot him; Someone had already shed his hands, which was strangling her. ¡°YOU DARE TO TOUCH MY EMPRESS?!¡± ¡°AUGH!!! C-Cathain?!¡± Not only Mendel, but the whole team of soldiers was surprised to see Cathain there, in Rua¡¯s soldier uniform. Cathain kicked Mendel backwards to separate him from Eleanora, as heunched himself on Mendel. Bloods slide down from his sword, on the ground as he looked fiercely at the shocked person lying on the ground. Who just thought about touching Eleanora. His aura was so strong that no one could move, including Mendel. ¡®No- He is out of control!¡¯ ¡®He will suffer from a bacsh of magic if he uses this much mana at once!¡¯ Eleanora once again be terrified of Cathain, who released her and stomped towards Mendel. Grabbing him by his shirt, Cathain started to punch him hard and no one was even able to stop him as they wasn¡¯t even able to move from their spot. ¡°Your Majesty!¡± Eleanora called him to stop as if they doesn¡¯t leave right now and the other knights gets alert, it would be hard to make it out alive. ¡®There are more then 20 thousand soldiers in Penduline¡¯ we both alone couldn¡¯t be able to defeat them and leave unharmed!¡¯ ¡®I need to stop him!¡¯ ¡°You dare to thought about defile her?!¡± ¡°Huh? Why don¡¯t you speak now?!¡± ¡°I let you live till now even after you eyed on her! I should have killed you before you could spout this nonsense today!¡± ¡°SHE¡¯S ONLY MINE! HEARD THAT?!¡± ¡°NO ONE CAN TOUCH HER!¡± Cathain smacked Mendel with each sentence he spoke and felt his mind going crazy. Eleanora tried to separate them but with the handcuffs on her hands, she failed to do so. ¡°CATHAIN!! STOP THIS!!¡± His fist, which was about to punch Mendel again stopped abruptly as he heard her calling his name with a trembling voice. ¡°Stop this... Calm down!¡± Eleanora slowly cupped his bloody fist with caution as she observed his emotions. His face was red because of anger as his red eyes turned more darker. Where the unconscious Mendely on the ground with wounds all over his body and the knights struggled to get up. ¡°They are gaining their strength... We need to leave right now, Your Majesty-¡± Cathain cupped her face tightly with his bloodied hands as he kissed her harder to calm down, which shocked Eleanora but she didn¡¯t dared to move. ..... ¡°Mmph,¡± Even if her mana flow was blocked because of the silver cuffs, but her holy powers was not. She didn¡¯t moved and let him do whatever he wanted, as she didn¡¯t wanted him to go out of control again. She has seen how fierece he bes when he lost controls over his mana powers. His kiss was full of dominance, rage and fear. ¡®I-Is he afraid?¡¯ Eleanora could feel his fingertips trembling as he kissed her and his mana stabling a little. ¡®If i was not here, then today-¡® Cathain couldn¡¯t even dare to think what would happen if he was not here today. But unintentionally, a tear drop left her eyes because of his dominance and a low sob left her mouth. ¡°If i find you acting on your own or put yourself in danger again, you can¡¯t imagine the oue; My empress... Even your father won¡¯t be able to save you from me then,¡± Cathain yelled at her with anger, and Eleanora closed her eyes tightly as she felt a little afraid. Which made him return to his sense and realize what he had done. ¡°D-Did i scared you?¡± ¡°Am s-sorry... Sorry... I lost control... Am sorry...¡± He released her as he felt her tears on his face and apologised, before he hugged her tightly and carried her up to leave. Cathain hurriedly picked up the bag he bought with him from the room and left quickly as he sensed the footsteps of the knights. Where Eleanora obediently stayed in his arms, without speaking anything in fear. The knights, who recovered a little had managed to alert the other knights and the whole ce be chaotic as they started to search for the emperor. ¡°IT¡¯S THE EMPEROR! GET HIM!!!¡± Cathain paused on his steps a little as he was caught and started to run faster with Eleanora on his arms, on another direction. But the knights managed to catch up to him as they surrounded Cathain from both side, blocking his path to escape. ¡°DAMN!¡± ¡°THIS IS WHY I TOLD YOU TO CALM DOWN AND LEAVE FIRST!!¡± Eleanora be terrified as what she thought turned out to be true. ¡®We are surrounded from both side... How can we leave now?!¡¯ ¡®What should we do?!¡¯ ¡®We can¡¯t defeat them!¡¯ Bang! Bang! The knights fire their guns against him and Cathain activated his magic shield to protect themselves from the bullets. But he also knew he can¡¯t hold on for long, as he felt his mouth bing filled with his blood. He had used too much mana to supress the knights from before, so that they couldn¡¯t even move. And now, he is close to having a magic bacsh. ¡®I need to hold on a little more...¡¯ ¡°We have no choice, Ele... Hold on tight!¡± ¡°N-NO AWAY!!!¡± Eleanora¡¯s blue eyes widened with shock as she guessed that Cathain wanted to jump out from the balcony of the third floor. ¡®If we fall from there- even if we don¡¯t die, our bones will get broken!¡¯ ¡°Aaah!!!!¡± Eleanora yelled as Cathain jumped down from the balcony with her in his arms, where the knights was left speechless. ¡°DAMN IT!¡± ¡°PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!!¡± ¡°Even if the emperor¡¯s ability is overwhelming, but it has limits!!¡± ¡°CAPTURE THE EMPEROR!!!¡± ¡°SHOOT HIM ON SIGHT! NO NEED TO CAPTIVE HIM ALIVE!!¡± The cheif knightmander gave orders as he proceed to chase after them but then once again, they was stopped by a overwhelming force at the gate. ¡°WOLVES?!¡± ¡°Why is wolves here?!¡± ¡°Wait! There is a person, leading them!!!¡± Dion walked towards the army as he lead the wolves from the jungle towards the army, so that he could buy some time for Cathain to escape. ¡°CHARGE AT THEM!¡± Hemanded and the wolves ran to attack on the soldiers, and they hurriedly ran as they locked the main gates to keep the wolves away. Dion observed the situation as he worried for the emperor and Eleanora. ¡®The rest is up to you, Your Majesty... Be safe!¡¯ Chapter 181 - 181 "Recovered Memories" 181 ¡°Recovered Memories¡± ¡°Your Majesty, Is it okay to leave the duke like this?¡± Eleanora asked as she hopped on the ck horse and looked behind with worry for Dion. ¡®There are more then thousand soldiers, how will he manage it?¡¯ ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him, he is our national pet afterall. It¡¯s not easy to defeat him,¡± ¡®...national pet?¡¯ Cathain spoke as he hopped on the horse too and sat behind Eleanora, which made her feel a little awkward. ¡°I know that you are still awkward around me, And for what i did earlier... Just bear a little till we escape!¡± The more Cathain tried to exin the more awkward and embarrassed he felt. Eleanora flushed a little as she nodded her head in agreement instead of speaking. ..... Even if she feels ufortable, there is nothing she can do about it. Escaping is the priority. ¡®But, shouldn¡¯t he uncuff me first?¡¯ Eleanora looked down at her hands, which was still cuffed and holding a gun tightly. She will be able to use her magic once this silver cuffs are removed. ¡°IT¡¯S THE EMPEROR!!! FOLLOW HIM!!¡± Cathain gritted his teeth as he looked behind and found a few Rua¡¯s soldier catching up to him in the deepth of the Dark Forest. ¡®Damn it!¡¯ ¡®Burn their eyes!¡¯ Cathain¡¯s bloodied red eyes glowed bright red as he focused on the soldiers to his powers, so that they feel burning sensation in their eyes and unable to see which path he took to escape. ¡°Augh! My eyes!!!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t see!!¡± He giddied up the horse to ran faster as he didn¡¯t wanted Eleanora to get hurt. ¡®We have to escape quickly before i reach my limit,¡¯ NEIGHH!!! Cathain be surprised as his horse abruptly stopped and a person appeared infront of them. ¡°Stop, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Since you are bold enough toe here, don¡¯t even think about leaving alive then.¡± Eleanora narrowed her blue eyes as she looked at the white haired middle aged man infront of her. ¡®He is themander of the Rua¡¯s Elite Knights and the best soldier in Rua...¡¯ ¡®It won¡¯t be easy to get away from him!¡¯ ¡°You better give up, Your Majesty! Our reinforcement is on their way!¡± ¡°...You won¡¯t even make me give up in your dreams, Commander!¡± Cathain let Eleanora control the horse and, With a nging sound, both of their swords shed against each others. ¡®I need to refrain from using my abilities to to escape from Penduline, It¡¯ll be bad if the other soldiers catch up with us... I need to finish this quickly!¡¯ The sword tarsal on Cathain¡¯s sword jingled as it moved and Eleanora, who was now controlling the horse became surprised to see that he actually used it. ¡®He used it... He didn¡¯t threw it away this time...¡¯ Eleanora be quite and controlled the horse as she lost in her past memories again. Where the she had given him the same sword tarsal for his 23rd birthday but she never saw him using it. ¡®He had probably thrown that away in the past, right?¡¯ COUGH! ¡°YOUR MAJESTY!!¡± Eleanora returned to her senses as Cathain coughed blood as he was about to have a bacsh for using to much mana at once. ¡°GIVE UP, YOUR BODY CAN¡¯T TAKE IT-¡± BANG! Themander couldn¡¯t speak anymore as Eleanora shoot him on his chest, right after he let his guard down by seeing Cathain falling weak. ¡°Huh?¡± Even themander himself became stunt and sensing the right moment, Cathain used his powers to eradicate themander¡¯s magic powerspletely. Themander fall off from his horse and Eleanora let Cathain giddy up the horse as it listened to him more then her. ¡°Your shoting improved...¡± ¡°I-Is that s-so?¡± Cathain grinned as he felt that the expression Eleanora makes whenever someone praises her is really cute. ¡®It drives me crazy,¡¯ ¡®Whenever i see you act cute and blushing,¡¯ . . . COUGH!! ¡°ARE YOU OKAY?!¡± Eleanora¡¯s face was full of worry as she saw Cathain panting hard to breath as he coughed blood again. ¡°Let me ride the horse and you take a rest! You might have injured your internal organs, given that you are coughing so much blood!¡± ¡°I-I am fine... It¡¯s just the side affect of using my powers much, i will recover naturally-¡± ¡°YOU THINK I DON¡¯T KNOW?!¡± Cathain be stunned as Eleanora yelled at him angrily, out of concern. His white robe was full of his own blood as he kept coughing blood all the way. Eleanora knows he can¡¯t heal himself by his own like she can, his power is dominant and easy to get out of control ording to his emotions. His uncontroble raging fire mana is another reason of his violent temper and thus, he seldom uses it. His body always feels hot because this. Where, her mana is calm and easy to control; but the only problem is that it keeps her body cold all the time and makes her fall sick easily. Eleanora turned to look at Cathain, who was staring at her with a grin and frowned. ¡®Looks like his high pride won¡¯t let me help him to ride the horse... Then,¡¯ ¡°Uncuff me... Let me heal you a little so that you can continue-¡± ¡°Are you worried about me?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Eleanora¡¯s mouth twitched as she heard Cathain¡¯s words and looked at him with an annoyed face. ¡°You won¡¯t let me ride the horse, won¡¯t let me heal you... Then do you want us to get caught by the Rua soldiers and die together?¡± Cathain¡¯s lips curved up into a smile before he used his magic to melt the lock of the silver cuffs, to uncuff her hands. ¡°I won¡¯t mind dying together with you...¡± He spoke as he rubbed her wrist, which was bruised because of wearing the silver cuffs for too long. ¡°But i don¡¯t want to die,¡± Eleanora spoke as turned around and started to ride the horse, where Cathain smiled bitterly. ¡®If you know that i recall the past seven years and all my visions again... Would you still treat me like this?¡¯ ..... ¡®She only started to ept me recently because i didn¡¯t remembered anything and her conscience couldn¡¯t let her treat a man coldly who doesn¡¯t even have his memories, right?¡¯ Cathain felt his heart ache with pain again as he wrapped his hands around Eleanora¡¯s waist and dropped his head to rest on her shoulder. He knows how cruelly he acted towards her in the past from his visions, which has been drastically changed now. He doesn¡¯t need to see the ending to know why she hates him or refuses to ept him. ¡®I don¡¯t want you to treat me coldly again... I can¡¯t bear it when you look at me with indifference,¡¯ ¡®Am not telling you to love me... Just let me love you and don¡¯t push me away,¡¯ His grip on her waist tighten up as he started to feel insecure in his heart again. Fear that she might push him away again. ¡®Your Majesty...¡¯ Eleanora giddied up the horse as she felt Cathain¡¯s mana being unstable again. ¡®His condition is getting worse, i can¡¯t take the shortcut either...¡¯ The shortcut is in the south but she can¡¯t take that route as it would be easy for the enemy to predict this and catch them. They could try to break through the river, but with Cathain¡¯s current condition; they can¡¯t do that. Their army camp is in the south-east, Demacia is east and Scunthorpe in south. Where the enemy troops are gathered in Penduline, the western side. But as they are currently is the west side of Penduline, before reaching the Scunthorpe in south; They have to go through the northern mountains first to reach Demacia in east and then reach the Scunthorpe in the south, if they don¡¯t take the short cut. ¡®The north mountain is full of snows and really cold... It might be dangerous for me but it¡¯s range is the roughest in the whole Rua kingdom, not to mention Penduline.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s a bit far, but we can avoid the eyes of Rua army if we head towards the north mountains.¡¯ ¡®Hold on a little, Your Majesty!¡¯ Penduline, Army camp~ ¡°How is his highness?¡± ¡°He will wake up soon,¡± ¡°Useless! i never thought he would be worse then his father! They are just drowning our kingdom!¡± The warmander clenched his fist as his shoulder, which was shot by Eleanora was bandaged. ¡°The investigation said they are heading towards north, not south-east?¡± ¡°Yes, Commander.¡± ¡°They must be trying to go through the north mountains to reach Demacia in the east first... We can¡¯t let them escape,¡± ¡®They can certainly hide from us if they are in north mountains, But we can¡¯t miss this opportunity.¡¯ ¡®This is ourst chance!¡¯ ¡®His highness is in no condition to lead the army right now, if we continue as we are, we will lose for sure,¡¯ ¡®This is the only chance to turn the war if we can capture the emperor and the future empress!¡¯ ¡®The roads of the mountain isplicated and their movement will be restricted because of this, once we sent our troops it wouldn¡¯t be long to capture them...¡¯ ¡°SEND ALL THE AVAILABLE TROOPS IN THE NORTH MOUNTAINS!!!¡± ¡°WE MUST CATCH THE EMPEROR AND THE FUTURE EMPRESS¡­!¡± ¡°YES, COMMANDER!!!¡± Chapter 182 - 182 "Injured" 182 ¡°Injured¡± Kingdom Rua, In A Cave Of North Mountains~ COUGH! COUGH! ¡°Your Majesty!¡± ¡°Are you alright?!¡± Eleanora, who was looking for some tree branches to light up a fire, rushed towards Cathain as she saw him coughing again. ¡°Why are you being stubborn?! Just let me heal you, i can recover! Your condition is getting worse!¡± ¡®Even if he is not coughing blood anymore... But he still needs treatment!¡¯ ¡°I-I am fine... You don¡¯t need to heal me...¡± Cathain spoke as he breathed heavily and leaned back on the stone wall. ..... ¡®If she heals me now, she would need to use much mana powers; what if we are suddenly attacked...¡¯ ¡®She needs to save up her energy to ran away, if that happens...¡¯ With that thought in his mind, Cathain didn¡¯t let Eleanora heal him and closed his eyes to rest. Where Eleanora looked at him worriedly and touched his forehead to cheak his temperature. ¡®He¡¯s freezing despite having fire mana, with a high fever...¡¯ ¡®In this state, he will..¡¯ ¡°I said am fine, it¡¯s cold here. How are you feeling? You are very sensitive to cold afterall- COUGH!!¡± ¡°YOUR MAJESTY!¡± Eleanora pat on his back as he coughed hard again. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, this is just a side affect... I will be fine as time goes by-¡± ¡°Take of your clothes,¡± ¡°H-Huh?¡± Cathain stared at Eleanora, whose face turned dark as she spoke coldly, with his dumbfounded red eyes. ¡°If you don¡¯t, then let me help you.¡± Eleanora spoke as she started to unbutton his shirt with a serious face and Cathain¡¯s face flushed red. ¡°Elee... What are you- I don¡¯t think we should do it now...¡± ¡®But if this is what she wants to do then... I have no issues either-¡® Cathain spoke as he looked away shyly and blushed. Where Eleanora be speechless and tried to hide her red face because of embarrassment. ¡®Who wants to do what, with him? That too in a open cave?!¡¯ Eleanora thought as she moved between his legs and ced her hand in the middle of his chest lightly. And Cathain flinched a little because of the sensation of her cold fingertips on his naked skin and felt his body turning hot despite feeling cold. ¡®Damn it! Is she healing me, or seducing me?!¡¯ Cathain clenched his fists tightly into a ball as he felt her gaze on the crescent moon mark on his left chest, where he was shot by an arrow almost fove years ago. ¡®His mark is the same as mine...¡¯ But right then, Eleanora looked away and closed her eyes as she somehow started to feel embarrassed to keep looking at his muscr chest. ¡®I did it many times for Rick... And other soldiers, by touching their hands... Why am i getting embarrassed now?!¡¯ Eleanora thought as a bright golden light glow out from her hands and Cathain felt his internal injuries healing slowly, as he started to feel better. Her fingertips trembled as she continued to feel the fast beating of his heart beat, which she was trying her best to ignore but couldn¡¯t. ¡°Are you feeling a little okay, now?¡± Eleanora asked as she observed his breathing bing a little stable. ¡°...It¡¯s not bad. Having you worry about me, I can¡¯t help but wonder if it¡¯s a dream.¡± ¡°If it is... Then i don¡¯t want to wake up,¡± Cathain spoke as he started to feel sleepy because of her holy powers spreading inside of his body. The warm holy powersing from her hands seem to calm down his nerves, luring him into a deep and peaceful sleep. So tempting that he couldn¡¯t resist it. ¡°Wait till you recover to say this cheesy lines, If i could sent you in the drama theatres; am sure we will be able to build another duchy.¡± ¡°Hah, okay... I¡¯ll get better soon, so that i can act for my personal and only one audience... And protect you,¡± Cathain spoke as he smiled gently with his heavy eyelids, which he could no longer keep open. Hezily moved his face a little to ce a kiss on her forehead, before he fall asleep while talking. ¡°Just for a while...¡± ¡°I will rest and wake up, soon...¡± ¡°My empress...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®Sleep well, Your Majesty...¡¯ Eleanora let out a heavy breath to rx after she healed himpletely, and her body felt heavy to move as she almost used up her all energy to heal him. She stared at the sleeping young man infront of her, who was sleeping so peacefully like there was no tomorrow. ¡®Your Majesty...¡¯ Her hands unconsciously reached out to touch his face and a bitterugh appeared on her face. ¡®Who would have thought that, the man who killed me in my past life would risk his own life to save me this time?¡¯ ¡®Goddess... Are you ying with my emotions?¡¯ ¡®Everytime i be determine to avoid him, act coldly, You create a situation where i can¡¯t help but be moved by him... Which makes me wonder what if that past never existed?¡¯ ¡®Would i be happy with him?¡¯ ¡®Or we would love each other dearly?¡¯ ¡®When i loved him, he didn¡¯t loved me back; Now that i can¡¯t love him, he loves me like crazy... Like my past self...¡¯ Eleanora continued to thought as she moved her hands away from his face and covered him up with a thin nket she found from his bag. Then she leaned down beside him too and be lost in her past memories again. ¡®Maybe, We are just not meant to be...¡¯ ¡®Even two lifetimes gave us nothing but a tragic ending, what can i expect from this third one; which if full of bitter memories?¡¯ Eleanora felt her heart be heavy again as she looked up. ¡®I can¡¯t escape anymore... I really need to face this reality after we go back-¡® ¡®Huh?¡¯ She be a little stunt as Cathain, who was in deep sleep fall on herp to sleep morefortably. Eleanora extended her hands to move him away, but somehow, her hands stopped in midway and started to stroke his ck hair instead. As it was already midnight and they had a long journey, Eleanora felt her eyes bing heavy too and felt sleepy because of tiredness. ¡®Forget it, let him sleep and recover...¡¯ Chapter 183 - 183 "Imperial Fleet" 183 ¡°Imperial Fleet¡± A few dayster~ ¡°How are you feeling now, Your Majesty?¡± ¡°...Thanks to you, am feeling much better now.¡± ¡®Then why is he like this?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she found Cathain acting weird for the past few days. ¡°Am d that you are fine now, Your Majesty. But if you feel any kind of abnormal symptoms again, you must tell me.¡± ¡°...Elee,¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Cathain paused after calling her name and Eleanora wondered what he wants to tell her. ..... ¡°Your Majesty?¡± Eleanora called him as he didn¡¯t spoke anything after calling her and Cathain stood up to approach her, standing a little far away from her so that she can see his face. ¡°Won¡¯t you call me by my name again?¡± ¡°W-What...¡± ¡°You only call me by my name when am about to die...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®What does he even mean by this?¡¯ Cathain looked at Eleanora as he has been wronged by her, which made her speechless. ¡°Will you call me by my name if i get injured again?¡± ¡°...I will personally kill you so that you don¡¯t get injured again, NOW EAT!¡± Eleanora spoke in frustration as she didn¡¯t knew what to do with him anymore, and stuffed a bun in his mouth. Which he bought with him in his bag as emergency food and turned to sit above a rock. ¡°Anyway, You must not do this again.¡± ¡°What should i not do?¡± Cathain asked as he chew on the bun, which she stuffed into his mouth. ¡°...Coming all the way to save me,¡± Eleanora spoke as she took another small bun from the bag to eat and looked at him seriously. ¡°Your Majesty is an unparalleled person who stands at the apex of our empire as it¡¯s emperor-¡± ¡°You cannot be so reckless or act on your emotions, You must etch it soundly in your heart that the emperor¡¯s well-being is paramount to everything else in the empire- Is this what you are going to say next?¡± Cathain interrupted Eleanora in the middle of her sentence with a low voice. Which sounded nd but painful at the same time. ¡°...It goes without saying that am keenly aware of the importance of my identity. However...¡± He paused on his words as he approached Eleanora, who was sitting above a rock and kneeled down infront of her. ¡°Your Majesty-¡± Eleanora, who was shocked because of his sudden kneeling wanted to get up but Cathain grabbed her arms so that she can¡¯t stand up. ¡°However... More then my status as the emperor or this empire, even more then my own life... You matter the most to me.¡± Cathain spoke with the highest sincerity he could show through his red eyes to Eleanora, whose blue eyes trembled a little as she heard and saw the sincerity in his eyes. Who rather avoid it then seeing or acknowledge his sincerity. ¡°W-We have to get going... Let¡¯s g-go,¡± Eleanora avoided looking in his eyes as she turned to pack up their bag and leave the cave to move forward, after she picked up her sword which he had bought with him. Where Cathain kept kneeling down and staring at the rock, the ce she was sitting just now. ¡®For how long will we remain like this, My empress?¡¯ . . . Crunching sounds echoed as the two of them continued to walk on the heavy snowy road in the north mountains. ¡®Am d he thought of bringing warm clothes and dry foods. He also packed apass and a detailed map,¡¯ ¡®If we continue to go on like this, maybe we can make our way back to imperial army without anyplications.¡¯ ¡°Only if i could get any evidence...¡± ¡°Evidence?¡± Eleanora be surprised as she fall on the snow after bumping into Cathain¡¯s chest, who abruptly turned back to face her. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Hah... Would anyone believe that ourmander, who alone is capable of defeating thousand soldiers; falls after bumping into someone?¡± Cathain chuckled as he reached out his hands to help Eleanora, who was pouting with anger to get up on her feet again. ¡°Am not weak, you are just too strong-¡± Eleanora¡¯s face turned red as she unintentionally blurted out what she had on her mind. Even Cathain be a little stunned as he didn¡¯t expected to get... praised by her? Both of them became quite as they blushed because of embarrassment. ¡°T-The night is falling, we should circle back to the cave we had passed by earlier.¡± Cathain shuttered a little as he spoke and after taking a step, he grabbed her hand without looking back; which surprised Eleanora. ¡®His neck is red... Is he embarrassed?¡¯ Eleanora thought as it was her first time, where she saw him getting this embarrassed. As she continued to walk behind him, while her hands was gripped into his big hands tightly; Eleanora stared at his broad back with amusement. ¡®Am i really doing it right?¡¯ ¡®Or my perception is wrapped by the prejudice i harbour from my past life so strongly that i can¡¯t ept the current changes?¡¯ . . . The Coast of the Blue Sea River ~ (Near the borders of the short cut of Penduline to Scunthorpe) ¡°The fog is too thick. How long will it take to reach Scunthorpe?¡± ¡°Roughly five more days... But i don¡¯t think they will try to cross the river by swimming in this weather.¡± A knight replied to their vice conmander of the Rua Army and the vicemander started to ponder about their next move. ¡®In the first ce, this war was forced from our side by stealing their soldier information.¡¯ ¡®I can¡¯t even imagine how devastating the aftermath would be if we lose... The emperor is no less then his father, thete-emperor.¡¯ ¡®His highness, king Mendel has only ruled for four years; if he loses this war, he may be forced to relinquish his powers or even step down from the throne...¡¯ ¡®But the loses we, the people of this kingdom will face would be huge.¡¯ ¡®We¡¯ll have topromise as much as we can if defeat is inevitable.¡¯ ¡®The upside is that the emperor and the future empress is in our territory.¡¯ ¡®The young duke of Raven has mobilized the imperial army to gain control over thend of Penduline... We can¡¯t lose in the sea too,¡¯ ¡®If we can¡¯t avoid defeat, then we have to catch them before the Duke of Dalton joins the war.¡¯ ..... ¡®Otherwise we won¡¯t be able to handle the terms of the peace talks.¡¯ ¡°VICE COMMANDER!!! THERE IS AN UNIDENTIFIED SHIP AHEAD OF US!!¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± ¡®No Away!¡¯ The vicemander hurriedly walked forward as he snatched the binocr from a knight to see the unidentified ship. His eyes widened with horror as the ship approached them, which had the red coloured imperial g of the Valentino empire. Along with the Blue g of the Dalton Duchy, lead by duke Alexander De Xavier Dalton. ¡°THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!!! IT¡¯S THE IMPERIAL FLEET!!!¡± Chapter 184 - 184 "Glory To The Future Empress" 184 ¡°Glory To The Future Empress¡± ¡®Am i seeing things?!¡¯ ¡®What is the duke doing here?!¡¯ ¡®They are suppose to attack Penduline borders today! What are they doing in here?!¡¯ The vicemander of Rua Army was unable to react because of the sudden imperial fleet. ¡°The enemy ship is approaching! Vicemander, we await your orders!¡± ¡°CREATE A PATH, WE CAN¡¯T LET THEM GET CLOSE!¡± ¡°We can¡¯t, Vicemander!!! The enemy has sorrounded us!!!¡± ¡°STOP THEM! SHOOT THEM!!¡± The vicemander panicked but then he froze as a faint light glowed from the main imperial ship. ..... Alexander hold a long rifle in his hands as he closed his one eye to aim at something. ¡®Where...is...he aiming?¡¯ The vicemander¡¯s eyes widened with shock aa he turned his head to look at the huge oil tank behind him with a horrific expression. ¡®No away!¡¯ ¡°BLOCK THE BULLET!!!¡± BANG! As soon as Alexander aimed it perfectly and shot it, the bullet passed through the Rua army¡¯s vicemander and hit the oil tanks directly. ¡°NOOOO!!!¡± BLAST! Instantly, the enemy ship st out by the bombs they were preparing to throw at the imperial fleets because of the oil tanks, which was st by Alexander. He lowered the long rifle and watched the enemy ship sank into the deep river coldly, with his dark blue eyes. ¡°Was there any damage to our troops?¡± ¡°No much, but we¡¯re currently in the middle of repair... It won¡¯t take much time.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Alexander replied as he wanted to rush to Eleanora right at this moment, if he could. ¡®She is really like her mother... I hoped that she could be a little selfish this time, think about herself, but she keeps putting herself in danger.¡¯ ¡°In the name of the emperor of the Valentino empire, We will remain stationed here and destroy the Rua¡¯s ship.¡± ¡°We will cut of their supplies till there is no more bullets or wheat are left. They can¡¯t me us since they provoked us first,¡± Alexander took a deep breath as he closed his eyes, before he opened them again and spoke out loudly for everyone to hear. ¡°EXCEPT THE NORTH PENDULINE, THE REST OF THE CAPITAL OF THE RUA KINGDOM IS NOW PUBLIC PROPERTY AND THE IMPERIAL ARMY WILL BE CLAIMING IT!¡± [A/N: Public property- thend without an owner, as the imperial army defeated them and now iming it] ¡°IN THE ACCORDANCE OF THE EMPEROR¡¯S ORDERS, FOLLOWING THE CROWN PRINCESS¡¯S STRATEGY; THIS WAR WILL END WITH THE EMPIRE¡¯S VICTORY!¡± ¡°GLORY TO OUR EMPIRE, HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR AND...¡± Alexander felt his throat bing sore as he tried to utter thest sentence of his speech, which he didn¡¯t wanted to. He fought against his emotions to act rationally and utter the words, which he desperately hoped for not to be mentioned again. He clenched his fist into a ball tightly as he gritted his teeth before he spoke out loud again. ¡°...GLORY TO HER HIGHNESS, THE FUTURE EMPRESS!!!¡± . . . North Mountains~ ¡°It tastes good right? I am good at cooking afterall,¡± Cathain, who cooked a bird by lit up a fire with his powers after hunting it asked; a proud look on his face, which wanted to get some praise from her. ¡°...¡± ¡®It doesn¡¯t tastes good at all...¡¯ Eleanora was devastated as she didn¡¯t knew either she should chew it or throw it. As she couldn¡¯t waste food neither eat it. ¡®Aaaah!!!! What should i do?!!! What¡¯s up with this vour!!!¡¯ ¡°It should taste fine. Two years ago, during the Republic War, everyone liked it when i was in the charge of the cooking...¡± ¡®Thank God, i ignored you back then... Otherwise i wouldn¡¯t be alive today-¡® ¡®Wait! Two years ago?!¡¯ ¡°Did you recovered your memories?¡± Eleanora asked with a little horror in her heart, for some reason, she didn¡¯t wanted him to remember the past. Recall those visions he used to see about their past or know about it. Cathain stared at her widened blue eyes, which contained a little horror and decided to speak in a low voice. ¡°No? I remember it because B-Brayden told me! That i can cook when i left to rescue you.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes, why would i lie?¡± The horror in her blue eyes faded and be filled with relief, where Cathain¡¯s heart be filled with guilt for lying to her. ¡®Am sorry... So sorry... But i can¡¯t let the little eptance of me in your heart fade away, even if it means lying all my life!¡¯ ¡°Don¡¯t eat, give me that meat... I will make it taste even better.¡± ¡°...You? No, it¡¯s dangerous!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, i learnt cooking a long time ago...¡± ¡®In my past life,¡¯ Eleanora smiled at Cathain as she managed to prevent him from eating the nd tasting meat and started to seasoning it with salt and sauce, which she found in his bag. ¡®If i didn¡¯t knew we were in the middle of the war, i would definitely think that he came to a pic with me... He bought almost all the necessary things.¡¯ After seasoning the meat and then cooked the undercooked meats again, before she passed them towards him to eat. ¡°It¡¯s really delicious... You can¡¯t get this taste elsewhere. It¡¯s amazing!¡± ¡°Am d it tastes good...¡± ¡®Otherwise it would be a problem if you get bad stomach in this snowy mountain,¡¯ Eleanora felt relief as the food tasted eligible after she cooked it again. ¡°What¡¯s your secret? Will you teach me once we are back in the Empire?¡± ¡°You mean cooking?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± ¡°Am not actually that good at it...but, i will teach you if you evere to our house.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter... I will learn how to cook more perfectly and serve you meals everyday,¡± Cathain spoke as he smiled at her gently, which made Eleanora blink a few times to get back her sense. ¡°...The meat is burning, I-I will go to cheak on them!¡± Eleanora turned away in the name of checking the meat, as a bitter feeling rose in her heart. ¡®I often cooked for you... When we was married, and you used to like it too.¡¯ ¡®But after the war with Rua... You forbid me from cooking for you again, and everything started to change from then too;¡¯ . ..... . . [A/N: Okay, this is just Eleanora¡¯s pov of the past on thest paragraph. ording to the informations from the past chapters we all know, She was mentally traumatised after this war, as a lot of knights died for protecting her. So, the past Cathain forbid her from cooking because he was concerned that she might get into an ident if she cooks in that condition, but he was a damn tsundere and this made her misunderstood him even more.] Chapter 185 - 185 "Not The Only One" 185 ¡°Not The Only One¡± The Next Day~ ¡®Hah, how much longer will it take us to reach the camp?¡¯ Eleanora thought as she felt exhausted for walking everyday in this mountain with heavy snow on the road. ¡°Wait,¡± ¡°Your Majesty?¡± Cathain gestured Eleanora to pause on their steps as he took out the binocr to look the road ahead. ¡°!!!¡± ¡®I should¡¯ve killed him when i had the chance...¡¯ Cathain put the binocr in the bag again, before he spoke with a sigh for not killing Mendel earlier. ..... ¡°They found us, It¡¯s Mendel... He is leading a army towards this way,¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± Eleanora¡¯s blue eyes widened with shock as she calcted either they can defeat the Rua¡¯s army or not. ¡°Your Majesty... LET¡¯S RUN!!¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora spoke horrifically as she grabbed the surprised Cathain¡¯s hands, who waa standing still and started to ran fast towards the opposite side of the mountain. ¡®...Why do i feel like am running away from home to marry the girl i like and our family is chasing us?¡¯ Cathain thought as he stared at the tiny figure with long shiny silver hair, who was running fast as she hold onto him tightly. ¡®When will she could hold onto me this tightly for all my life...?¡¯ . . . ¡°IT¡¯S THE EMPEROR AND HIS FIANCEE!!!¡± Cathain and Eleanora abruptly stopped as they encountered a group of Rua¡¯s soldiers infront of them. Without waiting for another moment, Cathain turned to ran the opposite way but unfortunately; the soldiers already surrounded them. Leaving them no ce to run away. ¡°EVERYBODY PREPARE TO FIRE! AWAIT FOR THE COMMAND AND SHOT AFTER THE SIGNAL!!¡± ¡®Damn it! We can¡¯t escape!¡¯ Eleanora and Cathain, both thought the same as they unsealed their swords and the stood with their back on back. Ready to fight as they really couldn¡¯t escape from it anymore. ¡®I will protect you, Elee... No matter what happens,¡¯ ¡®I have to make him to escape first, No matter what happens to me...¡¯ . . . ¡°The emperor and the crown princess got caught?¡± ¡°Yes, Your highness. We just got the signal...¡± ¡°Kill them, wether it¡¯s the emperor or his fiancee.¡± Mendel, who lost his one eye and upper body fully bandaged because of the burning he got from the emperor¡¯s overwhelmed powers; chuckled as he heard the news. And ordered his subordinates to kill them directly. ¡°Y-You mean shot them on sight? We don¡¯t need to capture them?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± ¡°IF THEY¡¯RE STILL ALIVE WHEN I REACH THERE, THEN I WILL JUST KILL YOU ALL!!¡± Mendel roared as he marched towards the direction where they blocked the emperor and the crown princess with rage. ¡®Enjoy yourst moments, Your Majesty the emperor... I will make sure to give you the same pain which you caused to me!¡¯ Meanwhile, in the imperial army¡¯s gun division squad~ (Who are also in the north mountains) ¡°Captain, is it okay to leave like this?¡± ¡°Of course, not.¡± ¡°Then...why? Didn¡¯t the Cheif Commander (Alexander, as Cathain sent a message to him before leaving to take over his post, after he leave his duties on Cedrick temporary) ordered each unit to remain at their ce?¡± ¡°This is insubordination,¡± ¡°WHAAAT?!!!¡± Most of the knights looked at their temporary Captain of the team, Colonel Raven with disbelief In their eyes. ¡°We are the proud knights of our empire... The crown prince risked her life to keep us save.¡± ¡°Do you think as knights, who swore to protect the imperial members and fight for the empire should just sit and await for orders?¡± ¡°And who are we going to save?¡± ¡°IT¡¯S OUR FUTURE EMPRESS, THE MOTHER OF OUR EMPIRE!!¡± ¡°WHO DIDN¡¯T HESITATED TO SURRENDER HERSELF TO THE ENEMY TO SAVE US!¡± ¡°...I will take full responsiblity for insubordination. It¡¯s time to prove the oath we swore during the knigh ceremony.¡± Cedrick spoke as he giddied up his horse and the knights be got back their courage as they decided to follow him. ¡°WE ARE WITH YOU, CAPTAIN!!¡± ¡°LET¡¯S GO!!!¡± ¡®Jennifer is safe with him... Duke Dalton should have already took over the Blue River, the Rua¡¯s army will try their best to capture them now...¡¯ ¡®They will need our help for sure now,¡¯ ¡®Wait for me, El- Your highness!¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s my turn to help you now,¡¯ ¡­ CLANG! ¡°Your Majesty, are you alright?!¡± Eleanora asked as she saw Cathain panting hard as he fought against the enemy troops along with her. ¡®Did his wounds got reopened?¡¯ ¡°Am alright...¡± ¡°This won¡¯t do¡­ we can¡¯t go on like this! Please escape, Your Majesty! If it¡¯s only you, then you can make it while i hold them back!¡± ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous, Elee¡­ Either we escape together or die together, I won¡¯t leave you!¡± ¡°I HATE THIS!¡± AUGH!!!! Eleanora roared at Cathain and most of the knights fall on the ground; yelled in pain as their chest got pierced by sharp ice swords. She looked at Cathain angrily as her blue eyes be wet. ¡°I HATE SEEING YOU SUFFERING FOR ME OR GET HURT! I RATHER YOU JUST LEAVE ME BE LIKE YOU ALWAYS DID!¡± ¡°AM BEGGING YOU! LEAVE ME ALONE AND ESCAPE! DON¡¯T TORTURE ME LIKE THIS ANYMORE- I really can¡¯t take this anymore¡­ Please¡± Eleanora wailed and approached Cathain with tear in her eyes, as she used massive amount of her powers to take down the whole army team of hundred soldiers. ¡°When everyone gossiped about how coward and selfish i was to leave my mother and escape alone, when no oneforted me¡­ ..... The single handkerchief you handed me without any single words made you the light of my world. When everyone was against me of being a knight, even my father couldn¡¯t help me; You cruelly sent me to the war to prove my worth, but where you actually helped me to fulfil my dreams¡­ When everyone said how I don¡¯t look like ady at all, during youring of age ceremony, It was you, who reached out to me again¡­ That was the first time, I wanted to be worthy of someone¡­ which was you. Because i knew there would be no one like you. I broke all my rules, threw away my dignity, just to be with you and only you¡­¡± Eleanora paused on her words as she stood infront of Cathain and looked up to meet his motionless red eyes. ¡°But unfortunately... I was not the only one for you,¡± Chapter 186 - 186 "The Killer" 186 ¡°The Killer¡± ¡®Is she talking about our...past?¡¯ Cathain thought and stood still with his sword on his hands; not being able to extended his hands to touch her face or wipe away her tears. As he recovered his memories, he remembered all those visions he had till now. How Eleanora was treated coldly by him and how she suffered. ¡®I know... It¡¯s justified for her to hate the past me as he treated her worst, but i rather she takes revenge then pushing me away like this repeatedly.¡¯ The sword tassel in Cathain¡¯s sword jingled as cold wind blew by, and Eleanora kept staring at him coldly before she turned her gaze away. ¡®Hah, why am i venting my emotions on a person who doesn¡¯t even remember his present life, not to mention past life...¡¯ ¡°It will take Mendel some time to catch up with us, Let¡¯s leave; Your Majesty. I will help you escape first and then escape too if i get the chance.¡± Eleanora spoke as she turned to walk ahead and Cathain clenched the sword in his hands. ..... ¡°What if you don¡¯t get the chance to escape-¡± As soon as Cathain spoke, his red eyes widened as he saw Eleanora turn back suddenly and charge at him with her sword. SLASH! Red blood sshed on Cathain¡¯s face as he turned his head to see a shed off neck of the Rua¡¯s soldier, who managed to dodge Eleanora¡¯s previous attack. He tried to sabotage the emperor from behind but Eleanora managed to sense it and acted fast. For a moment, Cathain felt his breathing stop and stared at her with amusement. Where Eleanora nced at Cathain with her cold blue eyes again as she sneered at him. ¡°Don¡¯t be pathetic anymore because of this lowly emotions, Your Majesty... You would be injured by now if i didn¡¯t sensed this uing!¡± Eleanora spoke as she turned around, not caring either if he is following her or not. ¡®Don¡¯t be pathetic, Empress... You are nothing to me and you will never be!¡¯ ¡®You will never get anything from me!¡¯ Cathain be stunt as a sudden voice rang inside of his head and he looked around to see either someone was speaking or it was just his illusion. ¡®Who was talking- Agh!¡¯ Many broken images started to sh on his mind as a sharp pain urred, which felt like his brain was actually cracking down by someone. ¡®We have been trapped by Rua Army! Their target was the empress from the very beginning!¡¯ ¡®I, Eleanora Cathain De Valentino; The empress of the Valentino empire... Will rather die then surrender to you, Mendel!!¡¯ ¡®The empress is still in mental trauma, take good care of her; Your Majesty...¡¯ ¡®Your Majesty... Don¡¯t you think the empress acts all high and mighty, looking down at you all the time?¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s time to teach her a lesson... Won¡¯t you listen to your Jena?¡¯ ¡®Also... The Dalton duchy, they are nning a rebellion. The Duke wants to take away your empress and never let you see her again, Your Majesty;¡¯ ¡°NOOOO!!!¡± Cathain roared and fall on his knees in the middle of their escaping as he coughed blood. Which shocked Eleanora and lost at the same time. ¡°What happened to you again?! THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD LEAVE FIRST-¡± ¡°DON¡¯T TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME!!¡± ¡°Huh? Who?¡± ¡°Your Majesty! Calm down!¡± Eleanora panicked as Cathain kept yelling with his eyes clenched off tightly, refusing to open. Then she used healing magic on him, who was kneeling on the ground and cupping his head and ears with both of his hands as the voices inside of his head started to get louder. ¡°NO ONE CAN TAKE HER AWAY!¡± ¡°I WILL- I WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING THAT SEPARATES US...¡± ¡®Why is he getting more out of control? The more i use my powers the more unstable he is bing, what¡¯s happening?!¡¯ ¡®What should i do now?¡¯ Eleanora be frustrated as her healing powers wasn¡¯t working on him. ¡°Sush! Calm down... No one is taking her away, she is here... With you, Calm down,¡± Eleanora tried to console him and as she expected, he calmed down a little. Cathain himself couldn¡¯t understand what was happening to him or why he was acting like this. He felt like he couldn¡¯t control his body and it was being upied by someone else¡¯s memories, who is not him. Not the current him in those images which he just saw, who couldn¡¯t express his emotions openly to her and feel inferior, full of insecurities. ¡°Your Majesty, Get up... We will get caught at this rate! Try to get up, please!¡± ¡®This can¡¯t go on like this... We need to move faster,¡¯ Eleanora spoke as she helped Cathain to get on his feet, who just let her guide him. The voices in his head was all broken memories but he started to feel then more clearly and the more he understood, the more suffocated he started to feel. ¡®Just a little more... We will reach the east soon-¡® . . ¡°Long time no see, Dame- Ah, my bad. You have be amander now, Your highness.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you since the Republic War... Is the emperor injured?¡± Eleanora gritted her teeth as they was once again surrounded by the troops of the Rua Army. ¡®Thirty knights with magic powers... Each one is as strong as lieutenant general¡¯s. It will be exhausting to face them,¡¯ The knightsughed as they felt happy to see Eleanora, who was the reason of their failed strategies being helpless infront of them. ¡°That¡¯s even more great... Let¡¯s begin then, Your highness, the crown princess!¡± The lieutenant colonel from Rua army spoke as he unsheathe his sword and charged at Eleanora, who was supporting Cathain to stand still. ¡®Damn... Why does all my bad luckse together?!¡¯ Eleanora thought as she hugged the weak Cathain tightly in her arms and activated her magic shield barrier to prevent him getting injured. ¡®The barrier can¡¯t stop them from long... The longer i use a magic shield, the fast my powers will be drained,¡¯ ¡°YOUR MAJESTY! WAKE UP! WE BOTH WILL DIE IF YOU ARE LIKE THIS!!¡± ¡°CATHAIN!!¡± BLAST! Eleanora magic sheild blust out with extreme force and the Rua¡¯s enemy troops was forced to step back because of her destructive magic power. Her magic barrier broke as it couldn¡¯t withstand the force of thirty highly skilled swordmasters attack at one time, without her fighting back. Which made, Cathaine back to his senses a little as he tried to get up with the help of his sword. ¡°Am okay... You-You don¡¯t have to worry about me-¡± ¡°As a knight, it¡¯s my duty to protect the emperor; Your majesty.¡± Cathain¡¯s face dropped as he heard her words and spoke in a low voice. ¡°...Yeah, I understand. I won¡¯t be a burden on you, Don¡¯t worry.¡± A bitter smile appeared on his face and unsheathed his sword to fight beside her. Eleanora looked a little hesitant as she wanted to say that he is not a burden but then decided not to. ¡®It¡¯s better to stay this way, then...¡¯ She decided not to think anymore and gritted her teeth as she started to fight hard to finish it fast. Eleanora knew things will be unpredictable if Mendel joins and knowing him, he will never let go of Cathain because of his prejudice. ¡®Hope we can make it out in time,¡¯ ..... . . . As time went by, Eleanora started to feel exhausted as it was bing harder for her to fight against those experienced lieutenants. Eleanora used a lot of her powers and Cathain was already sick, which resulted her being at a disadvantage. Also, The voices in Cathain¡¯s head was getting louder and he started to see things, which didn¡¯t even appeared in his vision before. ¡®Elee...¡¯ After managing to take down the normal knights without using his powers, Cathain nced at Eleanora; who was using both mana powers and physical energy to fight. As she sensed his gaze and observed that except the lieutenants, who are trying to take her down; there is not many soldiers left in the field. ¡®He should escape now....¡¯ Eleanora gestured him to eacape but suddenly Cathain felt his body froze on the spot he was standing. He just moved his handszily to knock down the few knights, who was trying to attack him as his red eyes turned dark. ¡®You¡¯re nothing, Empress. Even if you bear me a child, your child will be nothing like you. If you dare to hurt her again, I will make sure you regret it.¡¯ ¡®I didn¡¯t do this, I swear, I didn¡¯t kill your baby. I didn¡¯t even want to be here anymore.¡¯ ¡®I was giving up, letting you have the queen just like you always wanted.¡¯ Cathain started to feel dizzy as his vision be blurry and he kept swinging his sword crazily. ¡°Augh...¡± Eleanora felt fearful as she felt the enormous change in his mana powers. ¡®No- if he goes crazy again... He might blust out his all mana and burn down alive! Just what is happening with him?!¡¯ ¡°Your Majesty- CATHAIN!!!¡± She called out his name out loud but there was still no response from him and he kept on groaning. ¡°CATHAIN!!! HAH!!¡± Eleanora coughed blood as she over used her powers and tried to rush toward Cathain, who was slowly losing his all senses. ¡®I, Cathain De Valerian Valentino, Emperor of the Valentino empire, along with the majority agreement of the nobles present;¡¯ ¡®Divorce the empress and take away my name from hers, as my wife and empress of this empire.¡¯ ¡®Take her down to cells...¡¯ The more those voices in his mind got clear, the more horrified Cathain¡¯s expression became. He stared at Eleanora, who raised her sword which was decorated with blue and silver gemstones. But in his mind, he saw a image of himself raising that same sword. Eleanora was yelling something at him as she tried to get away from the knights but Cathain seem to not hear anything from his surrounding. ¡®I will never forgive you for killing me and my child, Cain...¡¯ The same words kept repeating in his mind again and again, as a girl in a shabby white dress with lifeless blue eyes shed in front of his eyes repeatedly. Instead of the Eleanora, who had a long blue cape draped over her shoulder and wore a ck coloured knight suit. He nkly stared at her tiny figure as her sword continued to shed the enemies blood without any mercy. Bright red bloods kept sshing on her snow white face as the snow under her feet turned crimson red because of the fresh blood. Making her look like a bloodthirsty person, who was standing above a pool of blood. ¡®You have been found guilty of the charges against you. The murder of the empire heir and harm to the queen.¡¯ ¡°CATHAIN!!! WATCH OUT!!¡± Eleanora¡¯s rushing figure, which was trying to reach him out, with her widened blue eyes reflected on his dark red eyes. But again, he was actually seeing something else. Which made him unable to react. ¡®Therefore, with the power held within me, I, emperor of the Valentino empire, sentence you, Eleanora La Dalton, former empress of the Valentino empire, to death. Your sentence is to be carried out immediately.¡¯ The beautiful blue silver sword was raised up with a swooshing sound and it¡¯s sharp edge reflected the light, before it fall down with a great force to end the life of it¡¯s own master. Cathain sensed someone to attack him from behind but he didn¡¯t wanted to move, as a tear drop left his red eyes silently. ¡®So, it was me... Who killed us;¡¯ ¡°CATHAIN!!!¡± SLASH!! Chapter 187 - 187 "Too Late To Regret" 187 ¡°Too Late To Regret¡± Fire and Ice mana, which is always known for being parallel, totally opposite of each other¡¯s finally merged into one power. The fire mana which was hidden inside of her past soul, as the past him continued to pass his mana into her dead to body to keep her warm returned to the current him. Which contained the past memories. The reason why he couldn¡¯t remember the past despite having the strongest powers was because he didn¡¯t had sufficient mana inside of him to remember the past or merge his past soul with the current body of his. After turning back in time, both Jennifer and Alexander seeded to control their younger self because of their strong powers and mentality. But the past Cathain, who was weak in powers infront of his younger self couldn¡¯t do that. His fading soul could only use his remaining powers to show some broken memories of their tragic ending to his younger self as visions, in this life to avoid the past ending. Among them, Eleanora, who was already dead wasn¡¯t supposed to remember anything from their past life. But because of the strong and pure fire mana of his which he passed into her; helped her to see those past memories and made her feel like it was her, who experienced all those things. ..... As her past soul, which was already dead couldn¡¯t merge in her like the past Cathain, whocked powers. But his powers remained inside of hers, which helped her to remember the past. And as she healed him a few days ago, those powers gradually started to transfer into him again, along with her holy powers. The sudden increase of powers made his body weaker as he failed to control it and thus he started to recall the past slowly. Eleanora didn¡¯t noticed the changes mainly because of her holy powers continued to fill the gap of those lost powers. Which wasn¡¯t even hers to begin with or knew about it. But it bought a heavy impact on the current Cathain. Not only he be weak physically, he mentally suffered most because of recalling the past little by little. Which he couldn¡¯t and didn¡¯t wanted to ept. He knew once he confirms it, there will be no away for them to be together again. Only his current self, who had no simrity to his past self can make her heart quiver again. Not he, the killer of her and their... Child. If Eleanora wanted revenge by letting him execute her and then realize the truth, she hadpletely seeded into achieving that. She had suspected him to be controlled or poisoned before her death. Everything happened too hurriedly, like a n. From their marriage to her first miscarriage, the sudden deration of the war against Rua and the orders to move out from the empress pce to an abandoned mansion; Then her second miscarriage and the sudden pregnancy of Jennifer, her being the daughter of a ducal house to Eleanora¡¯s imprisonment. Alexander¡¯s sudden appearance and attacking the emperor, everything seemed to perfect to be a coincidence. This is why, She had bet everything when she faced death and transferred her holy powers to the emperor. So that if her guess turned out to be true and he really was being controlled, then maybe he will regret how he treated her. When the truthes into light, she hoped he suffered and see her face every night. And she wished, There was not a single second where he was happy after her death. She was the shining moonlight, which kept his dark and cold life brighten up but he crushed it with his own hands. Everything around them st out as a powerful field explosion urred because of their magic powers merging together. Even the knights, who was about to attack them all together was pushed back because of the brutal force and some of them got buried under the heavy snow. Eleanora¡¯s hands, which was cupping his cheeks as their lips touched each others lightly started to slip down slowly. ¡°...Empress,¡± Cathain, who finally knows why she never epted him; murmured as he gradually returned to his senses. He blinked a few times and saw her face with her eyes closed, her hands cupping his face sliding down slowly. But Cathain felt that something was not right as he felt a sharp object poking on his chest. ¡°Elee?¡± ¡°...Elee?¡± He swallowed his saliva as his adams apple throbbed, when he found her not responding to him no matter how many times he called her. Eleanora¡¯s hands totally slide down from his face as her face slowly leaned on his chest, motionlessly. Cathain¡¯s face turned dark as he moved his trembling hands to grab her shoulder and move her away from him a little to see her face. As he moved her, Eleanora¡¯s head leaned back automatically as a sharp sword came into his vision. Which was stuck between her chest. Bloods continued to rush out from her chest as it fall on the snowy white ground, dying it red. Cathain¡¯s red eyes trembled as tears rushed out from her eyes and he cupped her face after he kneeled down with her motionless body in his embrace. ¡°...It¡¯s a joke... R-Right?¡± ¡°I know... I know, you-you can heal... You can heal yourself right?¡± ¡°You...are...thedy of the prophecy... How can you- No way, it¡¯s...impossible...¡± ¡°I remember... I remember our...past life..He was...¡± ¡°Really a bastard...¡± Cathain continued to murmur with his trembling voice, this feeling was really to familiar to him. Talking to her where she always stayed silent with her eyes closed tightly. Staying in his embrace like she was just sleeping, but in actual; she couldn¡¯t response as she was already dead. Executed by him. ¡°Hey, Elee... I will stay as you want okay?¡± ¡°I will do anything you want, But wake up please?¡± ¡°Heal yourself... Heal, Elee... Heal yourself...¡± ¡°Do you want me to disappear from your sight?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t show up infront of you ever again, okay?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to... I-I will help you seed the duchy... Even this empire... You can take it...¡± ¡°H-How about you be- you be the emperor, i will be your spouse... Or ve?¡± ¡°You can toss me aside... You can beat me up... I won¡¯t evenin... I won¡¯t ask you to love me ever again...¡± ¡°... How about you execute me too?¡± ¡°But...please, Don¡¯t scare me like this...¡± Cathain¡¯s hot tear drops continued to drop on her pale face, as her body was hardly even breathing. Eleanora panted heavily as she tried to open her eyes, but she couldn¡¯t. Earlier, when she saw him getting distracted and being attacked; she subconsciously blocked the sword for him. Like he once took an arrow for her... Eleanora didn¡¯t knew why she sacrificed herself for this man, or even if she knew why, she could no longer ept it now. Cathain stroked his fingertips on her face, which was full of sshed bloods. ¡°Elee... Let¡¯s live happily from now on, won¡¯t you give me a chance to make it up?¡± ¡°You can do whatever you want, rule this empire, i won¡¯t say a word...¡± He continued to shake her body lightly, didn¡¯t even dared to take out the sword which was pierced into her chest. His red eyes looked lifeless as his pitiful appearance made people feel sorry for him. Cathain looked like a soulless person, who had lost the meaning of life. ¡°...Am not even qualified to say love you...¡± ¡°You can do whatever you, just don¡¯t sleep... Stay awake, Elee... You can punish me, take the throne, kill me... But please don¡¯t,¡± The word ¡®Die¡¯ couldn¡¯t came out from his mouth as he started to wail out loudly, in theplete deserted mountain. ..... ¡°ELEEE!!!¡± He yelled her name as he closed his teary eyes and faced the sky, his voice contained sorrow and regrets. His pitiful loud wailings, like a madman kept echoing in the mountain, making him feel like even the nature wasughing at him. At his past foolishness, who got controlled by others because of his own mistakes. His pride was the one to me for their ill-fate. His arrogance was the reason for him to be mistaken by her continually. He regrets to not reaching out to her and hug her tightly when there was still time. ¡°I regret it... I regret it all...¡± ¡°I should¡¯ve cherished you... I should¡¯ve showed my concern and give you all the love that you deserved when i had time!!¡± ¡°I should¡¯ve loved you better...¡± ¡°...I only realised after losing you,¡± ¡°I wish i had faced my feelings sooner... Cherish you and be happy with you... Protect our children¡¯s, grow old together...¡± ¡°I regret it much, Elee...¡± He has been waiting to see her closed eyes open again and look at him with her bright jewel like blue eyes. And call his name with her smooth and gentle voice, which he has been waiting to hear for decades. But now, he once again had nothing but her cold freezing body in his arms. ¡°No... This can¡¯t... Can¡¯t be like this again...¡± ¡°I... I will... Save you, this time... I promise... I will...¡± Cathain wiped away his tears with his hands, but as he had her bloods in his hands, his white face be coloured red because of this. He stood up shakily as he carried her motionless body in his embrace tightly. ¡°Wait... Wait a little okay... I...I will bring you to someone...who can heal-heal you...¡± ¡°Nothing will happen to you... Don¡¯t give up, You are the bravest¡­ the strongest¡­¡± ¡°Everyone... They are waiting for your return... Your father... Your duchy... The empire¡¯s people...¡± ¡°Everyone loves you... You are the role model of our empire... You can¡¯t give up on your life so easily...¡± Cathain continued to talk to keep her awake a little as he knew she was listening to him. Her breathing was slow but she was still alive. The memories in his mind, which is so deeply engraved just felt like a faded nightmare to him. All the promises he made till now, he is afraid that he can¡¯t dere his love for her proudly anymore. But still, he hopes; hope that she, who once loved him dearly might give him another chance to prove himself to her. She doesn¡¯t needs to love him, it will be enough as long as he can show his love this time. He doesn¡¯t dare to ask for more. ¡°Just a little more... We will reach the army camp soon... Till then, let me tell you some secrets... Okay?¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t sleep again... I will really die if it happens again,¡± ¡°So please... Stay with me...¡± Cathain tried to talk more with his trembling voice, even if his voice didn¡¯t wanted to came out. His legs was bing weak but he still continued to walk with her in his embrace. He knows he can save her if they reach the camp somehow, the people there wille up with a solution for sure to save her. Eleanora was trying her best to heal herself, but she couldn¡¯t. Her heart was breaking into pieces as she continued to hear his trembling voice in an almost unconscious state. ¡®He... Recalled the past... Why now... Why...¡¯ ¡®Maybe i could ept the ¡®him¡¯, who would never know what happened between us in the past... But, how can i ept ¡®him¡¯ who knows how pathetically i died?¡¯ ¡®Wouldn¡¯t i will just be a shameless person, who got together with him even after what he did to me in the past?¡¯ ¡°You know, Elee... I had fallen for you at first sight..¡± ¡°You don¡¯t believe it, right?¡± A bitter smile appeared on Cathain¡¯s face as he spoke because who would believe his words after what he had done? ¡°You never failed to make my heart skip a beat for you...¡± ¡°Either it was the four years old little prince, who fall from a tall tree and was saved by the one year old Eleanora...¡± ¡°Or the eighteen year old Crown prince who was mesmerised by the fourteen year old crown princess, or the eighteen years old empress,¡± ¡°...But, no one will believe me now, It¡¯s toote to regret...¡± . . . [A/N: I don¡¯t know if you all liked this chapter or not, but this is the scene which i have been waiting for so long to write¡­ I was excited and nervous at the same time while writing this chapter a lot. I wanted to write the craziness of a person who recalls and regrets his past actions terribly.] Chapter 188 - 188 "The Past: My Elee" 188 ¡°The Past: My Elee¡± The 2nd timeline Cathain¡¯s pov~ (Trial Ground) ¡°I hate you, Cain...I will never forgive you for killing me and my child!!!¡± My red eyes widened with shock because of the words she spoke, and i felt a sudden change in my body like i was being purified. I felt my mind bing clear and my body feel lighter... i felt like i was finally awake. The terrible headache which tormented me for days, which even the imperial doctors failed to cure was finally gone too. This is the first time that she called my by nickname, as i never gave her permission for it. And the mention of a child... I wanted to ask what she meant. The disgust and hatred look in her jewel like blue eyes made my heart skip a beat with sudden fear. ..... I felt terrible, my mind was telling me something but my heart wanted the otherwise. But it was toote to stop the motion of my hands, which was holding her sword to execute her. The shiny sword, which was decorated with blue and silver jewel beautifully; the sword which apanied her to countless battles in warfield, to fight for our empire... Finally fall on her neck, without any mercy. Full of cruelty. A horrific gasp could be heard from the audiences as her head got separated from her body and her blood sshed on me. My grip on her sword started to tremble viciously as a huge part of myself regretted this decision. I was full of her blood and suddenly i felt my eyes getting wet for no reason. What have i just done? What have i just done?! It was me, who put her in prison... It was me, who just executed her. But it felt like, my heart died at the same time. I stood there... Infront of her iplete body, staring at her silver hair which still shined even after being on the pool of blood. Her blue eyes turnedpletely lifeless and everything came to an end. Like they wanted... ¡°THE TRAITOR DIED!¡± ¡°SERVES HER RIGHT!!¡± The audiences started to cheer up for her death, but i felt angry... She always thought of them first before her. Took care of this empire like her own child, which is something i can never deny. Maybe she was really a better suitable person then me to rule this empire. I found my brain to be finally working properly, think about everything rationally. But the more i thought, the more my heart started to fill with fears. An unknown fear to face the tomorrow... A day without her... A life without her... The people in charge to discard the deceased body with a small team, stood infront of me hesitantly. As i was not moving for them to make space to clean up the ground. Which is full of her blood. But, the thought of not seeing her again made me terribly afraid. Even if i didn¡¯t knew why. ¡°...Take her body to the imperial medical camp, no one can bury her without my permission. Freeze it.¡± I spoke with a cold voice, with no expression on my dark face. The executioner and the knights looked at me with confusion. No criminal has ever been burried properly, they have been discarded for wild animals to eat. But i didn¡¯t wanted that, the order i gave was crazy and i knew it. As my identity as the emperor, no one dared to speak anything more and obey my orders silently. I watched them taking her body with them to the imperial coroner, and my heart ached badly. And i started to feel suffocated. My gaze fall on her left hand, which was hanging outside of the stretcher. A gold ring, with a shining red ruby on her ring finger. The imperial engagement ring, which i have never seen her taking out from her fingers since we were officially engaged. Then my gaze fall on my own ring finger, which was empty. I never worn our engagement ring as I didn¡¯t even attended the ceremony after fighting with my father, who loved her more then me. After a bit conversation, Duke Raven took away Jennifer with him as everyone started to leave one by one after greeting me. Some spoke how the empire will change from now on, some felt sorry for her... Some people cursed her. But i couldn¡¯t speak or think about anything, except herst words. ¡®I hate you, Cain...¡¯ Those words seem to be engraved in my heart. Thest words of her life was how much she hated me... i felt terrible. I never heard any sweet words from her, but her actions was always sincere and... full of love. As time went by, i found the entire trial ground empty. It was only me who was still standing there, trying to recall any memory where i showed warmth to her. Or, was gentle with her. The cleaners didn¡¯t dared toe and clean the ground as i was still there. Everything seemed like normal to everyone. The cleaners have to wipe her blood away and return home. The officials are busy to discard her documents and remove her name as the empress from everywhere. Preparations for Jennifer to became the empress might also start. Then they will return home too. But what about my home? Do i even have a ce to go now? The sky turned dark as the night fall, but there was no moon in the sky today. The night was dark and...scary, full of loneliness. Even before i could sense what i was doing, i found myself sitting on the wooden box where she was standing this morning and my hands started to stroke her blooded footprint. Was a execution really necessary? Couldn¡¯t i help her to live atleast? But then i felt angry again, because till herst moment she was dignified, full of courage. Not a coward like me... I hoped for her to beg me, to ask for a chance to live; but she will never bow down. She rather torment me like this then begging for her life, making me realise what i just lost... I leaned on the wooden box, where she offered me her head with no fear and stared at the ceiling. Is this what she saw before dying? ..... I must have been like some demon to her... Surprisingly, i suddenly felt no emotions towards the girl i dered to love or remorse for her child, for whom i executed the empress. My mind, which never liked her started to feel with her memories; Memories, which i didn¡¯t even knew that they still existed in the deep down on my heart. Somehow, i found my whole life filled with her. Even if we rarelymunicated, but she would understood my feelings without any exnation andfort me in her own way. But her blood on me has dried long ago, proving that she is no longer here, in this world to understand me anymore. And will never be beside me anymore tofort me. There is no one in this world, whose touch can make me feelfortable again... Who will brew tea for me, when i get a terrible headache or support me in every step. No one, with whom i might bepared with again or hear that she is more suitable to rule this empire. I won¡¯t hear that am ipetent anymore. But somehow, i don¡¯t like this emptiness in my heart; which is now aching so badly that i can¡¯t bear it anymore. And then, to my surprise; i felt wetness on my cheeks and found myself sobbing lowly as i gripped the wood stands of the square wooden box. The stands, which she hold to get up slowly when she tripped after being pushed. ¡°Empress...¡± Eleanora La Dalton, her name kept on repeating on her mind. Which name was forgotten for the past four years after she became the empress. She was known as Empress Eleanora Cathain Valentino, my name attached with her; which i also snatched back brutally. From the girl who dedicated her whole life for me. I imagined a image of her sitting beside me, with her hands crossed over her knees. He shiny silver hair swaying as her jewel like blue eyes gently looked at me, who was sitting with her bloods all over him. Now that she is gone... I want to talk with her, hear her voice. I want to hug her tightly, holding her hands as we walk in the garden. Never letting them go again from my reach... Embrace her when she is feeling low,ugh with her like she used to do with others. Her genuine smile, which i never saw. I want to know what kind of woman she was, what she liked, what she wanted... Not what i liked or wanted and changing herself for me, am curious about what she really was. Am curious about what made her smile, what made her feel upset. I hated her till now, i never showed her any warmth or give her love and respect that she deserved. I executed her with my own hands, but now, am finding myself sobbing for that same girl. Where it hasn¡¯t even passed 24 hours since i made her leave me, how am i going to live the rest of my life? Without her... I always felt like she was the empress for the emperor, not for me, for Cathain. But now i think, it was me, who couldn¡¯t be her Cathain, her Cain. She was always my empress, my Eleanora; My Elee... Chapter 189 - 189 "The Past: Regrets" 189 ¡°The Past: Regrets¡± Audience room, Imperial Pce~ (Six months after the extermination of Dalton Duchy and Eleanora¡¯s execution.) ¡°Your Majesty, No matter what, she was our empires hero! You can¡¯t disrespect her deceased body like this!¡± ¡°This is right, Please let us bury her. She was ourmander after all.¡± ¡°Give her ast mercy, Your Majesty!¡± The emperor, who was sitting on the throne looked at the knights with his narrowed red eyes, which had dark circles because of theck of sleep. His legs was crossed over another, as he rested his face on his palm, which was clenched into a fist. ¡°...Mercy?¡± The emperor spoke as his lips smriked into a bitter smile, who didn¡¯t got mercy from her for thest six months. ..... Guilt, sorrow, regrets, frustration- everything was eating him up from inside. The knights of the third squadron trembled a little as the emperor¡¯s chilly voice echoed in the silent audience room. Even the normal civilizations started to talk about the fact how the emperor didn¡¯t buried her dead body and froze it with magic. Everyday, every second feels like a hell to the emperor; who is slowly getting everything right. The rebellion n of Duke Raven, the corruption between the pce officers. Everything was pre-ned. Even his aid, Sir Brayden was also poisoned and controlled by them along with him. But the emperor decided to ignore them, he was like a soulless person. Living because he is breathing. Nothing more, nothing less. ¡®...Are you seeing it, Empress?¡¯ ¡®Look, how much they love you...¡¯ ¡®They aren¡¯t even afraid of dying for you,¡¯ ¡®And, you was right... The curse you gave me before dying has already started to work... You should be happy, Am really suffering.¡¯ In the past six months, the whole pce turned upside down. He didn¡¯t made Jennifer the empress, which resulted to create more mess. As he didn¡¯t wanted anyone else to sit on the ce where she used to sit. The emperor fumbled the sword tassel she once gave him, in his hands without caring about the kneeling knights. ¡°...I don¡¯t want to,¡± He replied coldly and directly that he didn¡¯t wanted to bury her body, which resulted everyone to look at him with horror. ¡°...WHAT¡¯S THE MEANING OF THIS, YOUR MAJESTY?! SHE IS ALREADY DEAD! WHAT DO YOU STILL WANT TO PROVE BY DISRESPECTING HER LIKE THAT?!¡± The other knights tried to stop Sir Charles, who shouted out among the knights as he stood up. ¡°WILL YOU EXECUTE ME TOO?! DO IT THEN!¡± ¡°Sir Charles, please stop!!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t talk to the emperor like this!!¡± ¡°Apologise right now!!¡± Sir Charles gritted his teeth as he recalled the scene of Eleanora¡¯s execution. ¡°She was so good... At least let her have some peace after dying!!¡± ¡°YOUR MAJESTY!!!¡± Unlike how everyone expected the emperor to get angry and give an execution order for Charles, the emperor just stood infront of him coldly. ¡°Yeah, she was so good... And am only letting you go because of her;¡± Saying that, the emperor left; leaving behind the chaotic situation for Brayden to handle. Walking past the emperor¡¯s pce, he stood infront of the abandoned pce and dismissed the knights. He walked inside as he kept dropping his robes one by one because he felt heavy. The crown on his head felt like a burden to him. For the past six months, he didn¡¯t dared to visit her, see her motionless frozen body. Today, he finally decided to be courageous. He was only left with a pair of ck trousers and a white shirt which has been beneath of his robes, when he reached the highest room of the mansion. The room was dark and cold, as magicians casts spells on her everyday and the medicines used on her to keep the body frozen, her body had turned hard and cold. Cathain put down the crown from his head as he approched the coffin barefoot, where a beautiful girl wasying down with her eyes tightly close. Which will never open again. Wearing a beautiful white dress, her arms was crossed as she wasid upon white roses. Her silver hair, which was coloured red because of her blood had been washed off long ago. But her face was paler then before and her pink lips had losts it¡¯s colour. Then his gaze fall on the long stitch mark on her neck, which reminded him that she will never wake up again. Her jewel like blue eyes won¡¯t turn away shyly if he gets close or her pale cheeks would blush in embarrassment. Cathain kneeled down beside the coffin as he silently stroked her face with his fingertips. ¡°...Hey, how are you?¡± ¡°You must be happy now... Right?¡± Gentleness filled his red eyes as he started to y with her eyshes and hair. At first, he found it hard to speak but gradually he started to talk normally. ¡°You finally got rid of me, am no longer with you to restrict your freedom... Tell you to not make befriend any guy... You must be feeling free,¡± He put his another hand above of the coffin and tilted his head to rest on it, as he continued to talk with her. ¡°Those guys still likes you a lot... They just fought with me, to bury you... To snatch you away from me, but don¡¯t worry. I didn¡¯t did anything to them.¡± ¡°I know you won¡¯t be happy if i do that...¡± ¡°Am sorry for everything i did... I-I just couldn¡¯t bear it when someone looks at you, the way i looked at you...¡± ¡°I would knew it immediately, whenever someone looked at you with greedy eyes... Trying to covet what¡¯s mine...¡± ¡°I would get angry at you , because i couldn¡¯t exin or express how i felt...¡± ¡°Am sorry, for hurting you... Because of my greediness, i never wanted to share you with others but at the same time, i kept hurting you...¡± ¡°I should¡¯ve understand, we were so much like each other... Like the way i didn¡¯t liked seeing you with others, you must have felt the same away too.¡± ¡°I should¡¯ve known you better earlier... Am sorry,¡± Cathain spoke as he took her cold and hard hands into his to kiss it, before he put his forehead on her hands. ¡°Am sorry... Sorry... Am sorry... Can you give me another chance?¡± Chapter 190 - 190 "The Past: Sacrifice" 190 ¡°The Past: Sacrifice¡± Tears rushed out from Cathain¡¯s red eyes as the small room be filled with his sobbing sounds. But the girl on the coffin kept sleeping peacefully, with no care of the living world. ¡°I swear... I will let you make friends... I will express myself to you... I will support your every decision... I will know you better... I will treat you the best...¡± Cathain wanted to hear her voice, but he knew he will never hear it again. No matter what he does, she can never again reply to him or listen to his words. Every words he says now, every regrets he has are all useless to her. Cathain put down her hands above her other hands like it was, before he himself entered the coffin toy beside her. As the coffin was not big, it be stuffy as heid down on it and hugged her body tightly in his arms. His left hand was beneath her head, where the other one rested above her waist, as he burried his face on her neck. ..... There was no longer the natural body odoring from her, her body smelled of strong medicines. But he didn¡¯t cared. His fire mana, which was passing into her body started to warm up her cold body, as the stitch mark started to fade away from her neck. The colour of her lips returned and her body be soft like a normal person but she can nevere back to life again. This made him feel even more remorse, as he realized his love toote. ¡°...I-I love you... Empress, I love you;¡± ¡°I really love you...¡± It was sote that, there was nothing he could do to wake her up again unless a miracle happened. Tears continued to pour out from his eyes like rain water and his heart also continued to break into more pieces. Which can never be fixed again. ¡°I regret it... Empress... I wish i wasn¡¯t born as an emperor... I wish i was just amoner, happily living with you and our little family...¡± ¡°I regret not realising my feelings earlier... Not telling you this earlier...¡± ¡°...I regret it all, Empress;¡± ~2nd timeline Cathain¡¯s Pov~ (Four years after the execution of thete empress, the day of sacrificial) Cedrick De Raven, be the fifth person who volunteered to sacrifice his life to turn back the time. ¡°Brother... You-¡± Jennifer was surprised to find her brother to willingly sacrifice his life, who never did anything wrong. But he might feel different as he couldn¡¯t stop those wrong doinga from happening either. ¡°Am sure, Don¡¯t worry... I regret that i was a coward and didn¡¯t stopped our father even if i had some guesses about his ns.¡± ¡°As my life can help everyone to restart again and live happily... Then it¡¯s worth it,¡± Cedrick spoke as his green eyes fall on her, who was in the middle of the magic circle. Her father was stroking her silver hair with his wet blue eyes, full of regrets. I always knew that, Cedrick saw her differently. His eyes contained more emotions then just admiration for her and this is why i never liked him. But i think, if she could choose again, then she will definitely choose him over me. Why would she like a cold blooded cruel person like me, who gave her nothing but pain? Maybe she will ran into his embrace, as her heart will melt because of his gentleness. Which i failed to give her. If he somehow manages to remember this life, he will go after her for sure, he must be... Why would he gave up on his love again, when he knows how worse i treated her? I never knew that she had holy powers, thedy of the prophecy. Maybe because she was afraid that i might hate her even more if she was supposed to have the rights to seed the throne. Thus, she always hid it for me. And this was also why, the me, who was poisoned and controlled with dark powers felt attracted to her. Craved for her touch; as the more intimate physical contact happens, the more powerfully it heals. This is why i always acted like a lustful jerk towards her, who neverined and kept enduring my roughness. Duke Richardo decided to use her body and her sword as the medium to return to the past. Only the person with the highest powers will be able to remember this life, and i know it won¡¯t be me. It will probably be her father, who will remember it and am sure, he will never let me see her again if he can. My all hopes are on Jennifer, i know that am using the guilt she feels towards me by asking her to help me after turning back the time. But i have no choice either. I can¡¯t let my past self repeat the same mistakes i did and hurt her again. As my powers are low, i don¡¯t think i will remember or merge into my younger self. And then, finally the ritual began. Our body felt like it was being cut into pieces and our skin was being ripped off from our body, as our soul¡¯s were forcefully taken out from our body. Separate the body and soul, the body will die in this timeline and our soul will travel back in the past. If someone fails, then he will be struck in abyss for all his life... With no way to turn back. It was her father¡¯s body, which fall down first and i was sure that he will be the first one to go back in time. In this whole intolerable process, he didn¡¯t made a single sound and endured this pain. This showed how much he loves and regrets his actions, his strong will to save her. After her father, Jennifer, Duke Richardo and Cedrick¡¯s body also fall down. The pain in this ritual process was nothing infront of my desires to see her alive again. I started to panic as my body stood still, not losing consciousness like the others. The room caught fire automatically and so her body, which i couldn¡¯t stop from burning, no matter how much i tried. ¡®No... I can¡¯t see it... Please! No...!¡¯ Right after that, Duke Raven¡¯s man came inside as they wanted to kill me, the emperor for the throne. He got angry as he watched Cedrick¡¯s motionless burning body. ¡°WHAT- CEDRICK!!! THIS DAMN BASTARD!!¡± ¡°ATTACK THE EMPEROR! HE HAS GONE CRAZY! HE HAS SET THE PALACE ON FIRE!¡± Duke Ravenmanded his mens and all of them charged towards me. But i didn¡¯t cared a bit about that, all i had in my mind was to stop her body from burning by fire. In desperate, i hugged her burning body tightly in my arms but then i noticed that no one seem toing towards my direction. And that was when i understood that my soul failed to merge into my younger self, as the past me probably had more mana and strong mentality then the current me. They was heading towards my soulless body which was surprisingly still standing still. So, I don¡¯t exist in reality anymore... I am already dead in this life. At least this was what i thought, until i watched my soulless body opening it¡¯s eyes again and fighting against the duke¡¯s men in horror. ¡°KILL THE EMPEROR!!¡± ¡°KILL HIM!!¡± But my body moved on it¡¯s own as it killed all of the duke¡¯s people swiftly, before he beheaded the duke of Raven. I was hugging her burning body as i kept watching my own body, moving without a soul. But, then again realised that my body wasn¡¯t moving on it¡¯s own... Someone was controlling it. ..... The same dark shadow, which used to linger around me... Encouraging me for destruction. And as i had suspected, he was that same dark energy... Thest descendants of the ck dragons, who turned my body and narrowed it¡¯s eyes and a devilish smile appeared on its face as he nced at her burning body. ¡°Finally... I can make you appear again, My saintess,¡± Chapter 191 - 191 "The Past: Abyss" 191 ¡°The Past: Abyss¡± Cathain couldn¡¯t see anything as his surrounding was pitch ck, no matter where and how long he continued to ran... There was no ending. ¡®What happened just now? Where am i...¡¯ He recalled seeing his body being possessed by someone and a big dragon destroying the imperial pce, but then he suddenly lost conscious. ¡®Am i really in abyss... Can i meet her here?¡¯ ¡®...I know i don¡¯t deserve her, but i can¡¯t stop myself either... from wanting to be with her so badly,¡¯ Cathain thought as felt frustrated and sadness filling his heart, he couldn¡¯t go back in time. He might not even see her face again. Also, that ¡®he¡¯ might do the same things as he did as he failed to go back in time. He might hurt her again too. ..... ¡®Where are you, empress...¡¯ ¡°Why are you here?¡± Cathain be stunned as a cold but familiar voice rang behind of him. He felt like his body has started to tremble with happiness, as finally...finally he heard her voice again. No matter how much he talked in the past four years after her execution, a dead body could never speak. He yearned to hear her voice, see her bright jewel like blue eyes. Cathain¡¯s red eyes widened with surprise as he slolwy turned his face to look behind and tried to approach her. ¡°...E-Empress?¡± Eleanora, who was in the abyss till now coldly nced at him and before he could touch her, she stepped back. Her blue eyes, which he yearned so much to see again was full of coldness and¡­ disgust. Cathain¡¯s hands froze as his red eyes looked desperate, his heart beat faster with fear. ¡°Am not your empress... You took away your name from mine before pushing me here, Your Majesty.¡± Her words kept ringing on his mind as he felt suffocated, he tried to speak but no words came out from his mouth. ¡®That¡¯s right... I took away my name from hers...¡¯ But then Cathain¡¯s gaze finally fall on the pink bundle at her hands and after looking at it clearly, a tear drop left his eyes silently. A beautiful newborn baby with silver hair was sleeping peacefully in her embrace. Seeing Cathain¡¯s shocked expression, Eleanora took a deep breathe as she coldly spoke. ¡°..She is the child who died at your hands with me,¡± Cathain nkly stared at the baby girl with regret, her skin was milky white as her chubby cheeks was pinkies. Her long eyshes and thin eyebrows was exactly like her mothers. ¡®...Our child, my and hers;¡¯ ¡°Woah, is this how brother will look when he grows up?¡± Cathain be stunt again as he heard a child¡¯s voice, and after gazing down, he found a little boy with silver hair and blue eyes speaking. This time, his bodypletely frozed as another boy who was slightly older then the silver haired boy peaked on him by tilting a little. ck hair and round red eyes, he would be the first child of them if Eleanora didn¡¯t fall down from the stairs. ¡®...No, if i managed to catch her when she had fallen down, i could have saved him;¡¯ ¡°Shut up, i will be more handsome then him but, don¡¯t you know we don¡¯t age here?¡± The eldest boy, Carsein; spoke as he observed Cathain, whose head dropped down as he kneeled infront of them. He looked like a four-five year old boy, where he would actually be eight years old if he was alive. As they were in abyss, he could keep growing as long as their mother, who gave him the life would be alive and remember them. But as Eleanora died four years ago, they stopped growing from then on. His little brother, Alessandro was two years old in abyss, and would be six years old if he was alive. And the little girl on Eleanora¡¯s embrace, stayed as a newborn. Eleanora paid no attention to her kids gossiping, as she looked down to speak with Cathain again. ¡°...Why did you sacrificed yourself?¡± ¡°You knew that you would be struck here, didn¡¯t you?¡± Cathain remained silent with a heavy heart as he recalled if all of those things didn¡¯t happened, the empire wouldn¡¯t be destructed. Eleanora wouldn¡¯t die if he waspetent, not swayed and controlled by others; their children¡¯s would be alive. They would have live happily. ¡°...Yeah, i-i knew it;¡± ¡°Then why?¡± ¡°To see you...¡± Cathain replied with a heavy voice. ¡°But it was you, who killed us...¡± Eleanora spoke in a cold tone, her blue eyes still ring at him with no emotions. ¡°Yeah, i...did, and...i regret, regret it...¡± ¡°Your regret can¡¯t take us out of here, Your Majesty. Can it?¡± ¡°Now we even have to tolerate and see your disgusting face from now on...¡± ¡°Am sorry... am sorry..¡± Cathain didn¡¯t knew for which sin he was apologising to her as he started to sob. For not treating her better? Kill her? Or for showing up here? ¡°We¡¯re afraid to ept your apology, We don¡¯t dare to expect anything from you.¡± Eleanora spoke as she turned around but then paused on her steps, Where her two boys was curious about the identity of the man behind them. ¡°Brother...who is he?¡± Alessandro, the boy with silver hair asked his older brother. ¡°How can i know? Perhaps he is one of the people killed by mommy too? Just how cruel mommy was to kill so many people?¡± Carsein, the older boy with ck hair and red eyes spoke as he was used to see passersby knight spirits scolding his mother for killing them in battlefield. ¡°...¡± Where Eleanora be speechless as her boys was making a serious moment turn into a joke. ¡°We meet a lot of vengeful knight sprits who died at the hands of mommy in battlefield though, perhaps mommy was a... Blood sucking vampire?!¡± Alessandro murmured but then he abruptly paused as he sensed danger. ¡°¡­If you two don¡¯t want to be the next vengeful spirits, then shut your mouth; i will really kill you two if you wake up your sister!¡± Gritting her teeths, Eleanora spoke as she lost her patience with her sons. Immediately, both of the boys closed their lips to not talk anymore as they don¡¯t want to hear their sister¡¯s loud crying. Cathain looked at the harmonious family picture infront of him, where he can¡¯t belong too. He stared at her back view as the two boys hold the hem of her dress to get away from scolding. ¡®How i wish... To be with them, stand beside her...¡¯ But he knows that he can¡¯t. She will never forgive him... ..... Chapter 192 - 192 "The Past: One And Only" 192 ¡°The Past: One And Only¡± [A/N: This is thest chapter about the past timeline. I added this past pov¡¯s to exin why the current lifetime¡¯s Eleanora and Cathain are different from the past ones. Why Eleanora remembered the past despite being different from the past Eleanora and how Cathain saw visions about their past. How the sacrificial worked and how the present Cathain recalled the past life now because of his past life¡¯s powers, which was inside the current Eleanora returned to him by healing. As Eleanora remembered the past because of the past Cathain¡¯s powers, the current Cathain recalled it too as he got back those powers from her.] ¡­ Cathain¡¯s heart started to feel stuffy as he continued to thought of the life with them, which will nevere true. The eldest son as the crown prince, the second son would be the next duke of Dalton. Where the little girl would be the empire¡¯s princess, loved by everyone. But now, he can never hug them, show them love or... Tell them that he is their father, the father who can be count as their killer. ..... Eleanora turned her head slightly to nce at the kneeling Cathain and decided on something. ¡°...We don¡¯t need you, but; they need your help.¡± Cathain raised his head as he couldn¡¯t understand her words. But no matter what she tells him to do, he is ready. ¡°...As you can see, am also struck in abyss as i failed to get reborn in another timeline. Even my powers aren¡¯t enough to merge into my younger self like you either.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s still enough for my younger self to remember this life events as a certain someone kept transferring his powers into a dead soul and that ritual you all performed...¡± Eleanora paused on her words, before she started to speak again. ¡°You can only get reborn with your memories when you have enough magical powers or reborn without your memories when you don¡¯t have enough magical powers.¡± ¡°...And people like us, who doesn¡¯t meet none of those two conditions get struck in abyss. We can only show up in their dreams and life-¡± ¡°As ghost to scare them?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°SHUT UP, ALESSANDRO!¡± Eleanora lightly punched her younger son¡¯s head for speaking nonsense again. ¡°But this is what the spirits teached us!¡± ¡°You never learn what i teach you but remember every nonsense from those stupid spirits!¡± ¡°Augh! S-Sorry, Mommy!¡± Cathain felt a unknown warmness spreading in his heart after a long time, as he knew that she was happy in abyss. Really happy, away from the people who demanded her death; away from him, who didn¡¯t believed her. ¡®But why do i feel sad, seeing you so happy without me... Why does my heart aches, realising that as long as you are not with me, you can be happy?¡¯ Cathain clenched his fists tightly as he felt so suffocated that he wanted to die. But he can¡¯t even die now. ¡°...Anyway, Both of us are different...She didn¡¯t suffered what i went through.¡± ¡°So, I don¡¯t want her to lose the meaning of life and sacrifice her happiness for revenge. I do wish that she punishes the people who wronged us...¡± ¡°But i don¡¯t want more then that. I can¡¯t show up much as i don¡¯t have much magical powers. And i also transferred my holy powers to you before d...¡± Eleanora paused as she was about to utter the word ¡®Die¡¯ but then decided not to. ¡°The powers you had transferred is inside of hers, which will make her remember this life. So, help them. Don¡¯t let our story repeat again...¡± ¡°You will lose your remaining powers like that, and might get another chance...to reborn,¡± ¡°Then, what about you?¡± Cathain asked immediately, if she isn¡¯t with him then there is no meaning of another life. His tearful red eyes brighten up a little as he heard her words, they might get another chance. ¡°...i don¡¯t have much powers left anyway, am only holding back for them, till they gets reborn... I don¡¯t wanna leave them alone.¡± Eleanora¡¯s eyes be gentle and she spoke as she looked at the boys clinging on her legs like ko. And the little sleeping girl in her arms. ¡°...if i help them, will you give me a chance?¡± Cathain knew that it was shamless of him to ask this but he couldn¡¯t help his urge to be with her. The most painful thing was to live with regret, when you personally kill all the possibility of being together with the person you love by your own hands. And when you realize, it¡¯s all toote. He might have been poisoned, controlled; but they only seeded because he was insecure about himself and his feelings. He wanted to be perfect, showing that he deserves her and he isn¡¯t inferior to her; but this was all his low self-esteem because of the people around him. Who wanted to mislead him. She never thought of him as ipetent, it was her who worked hard and harder to be perfect for him. So that he can be proud on her. Both of them wanted to be perfect for each other, and missed the lovely moments of ¡®imperfectness¡¯. Couplesplete each other by making them perfect, they don¡¯t need to be personally perfect. Their affection grows and they be close in the process of helping the other one to be perfect. Nothing in this world ispletely perfect, but we can make it perfect by working together and giving our best. Cathain stood up on his feet as he realised that she probably doesn¡¯t want to give him another chance. Heughed at himself for asking the obvious and approached her from behind. ¡°Then, let me hug you onest time... Think of it as myst wish,¡± Cathain burried his face on her neck as he hugged are tightly, like he wanted to melt inside of hers and whispered in a low voice. ¡°I love you... I really loved you.¡± Eleanora didn¡¯t moved from her spot and kept standing as a tear drop left her eyes. This are the words, which she yearned to hear all her life and she finally heard them... When it¡¯s already toote. ¡°I know, i don¡¯t deserve to say this... But i just wanted you to know.. I loved you too...¡± Cathain felt his throat bing sore as he tried to speak painfully and Eleanora blinked her eyes repeatedly to hold back her tears. ¡°Thank you for everything you have done for me...¡± ¡°...Am sorry, for treating you like that; You didn¡¯t deserved that,¡± ¡°...I wish to meet you in my every life and i promise that i will treat you better,¡± ¡°I will treat you better... Love you better,¡± ¡°You will always be my one and only Empress.¡± . . . [A/N: END OF THE STORY... THANKS FOR GIVING THIS STORY SO MUCH LOVE TILL NOW ^_^] [Just kidding- Happy April fool everyone!!!] Chapter 193 - 193 "Humiliation" 193 ¡°Humiliation¡± Back To The Present~ Blood continued to drip down on the white snow from Eleanora¡¯s chest, as Cathain continued to walk with her in his arms. His body wasn¡¯t able to hold back the both mental and physical exhaustion as he kept recalling the past life. He needed to rest and concentrate to stabilise his mana powers, but he didn¡¯t had that much time. Eleanora¡¯s mana was bing more weaker as time passed by and she was barely conscious. ¡°Hah... I knew you woulde this way, Your Majesty,¡± Cathain, whose vision was almost blurry paused on his steps and be horrified as he heard Mendel¡¯s voice. He gripped Eleanora more tightly in his embrace as he saw the huge Rua¡¯s army troop infront of him. ¡®I-I can¡¯t win...¡¯ ..... ¡°You are really impressive for making it all this way, even after suffering such great injuries...¡± Mendel spoke as he observed Cathain, Who had injuries all over his body and full of blood. ¡°Oh? The crown princess is dead?! What a pity...¡± ¡°...What do you want?... For letting her go?¡± Cathain asked in a low voice as he sensed there is no way out this time. For the first time in his life, he felt himself helpless and pray to the god for a way. ¡®I don¡¯t have a problem with dying... But Elee,¡¯ ¡®I can¡¯t even save her now... Is this the end for us?¡¯ He hugged her more tightly as he nced at her pale face, Eleanora was panting hard to breathe as she shaked her head lightly. ¡°R-Run... You, must...survive¡± Eleanora tried her best to talk as she tried to fight against the poison, which spread in her body from the sword. The sword contained the same poison, which shot the crown prince 4 years ago was also used in the arrow. The poison made it unable for her to heal herself, but she continued to try, as she didn¡¯t liked seeing him bing weak and helpless like this. ¡°What do i want? Let¡¯s see what¡¯s bigger to you, your Majesty... Your love or pride!¡± Mendel spoke as heughed with the other knights to mock the emperor. ¡°Just say what do you want?!¡± Cathain asked again as time was running out. Eleanora didn¡¯t lost much blood as he didn¡¯t removed the sword from her chest yet. But that doesn¡¯t mean that she is safe. ¡°On your knees, Your Majesty... Kneel and bow to me!!¡± Cathain¡¯s red eyes widened as he heard Mendel¡¯s words. All his life, he has only bow down to Eleanora and no one else. He sensed Eleanora¡¯s panic feeling and looked at her thinking, it was thest time he was probably seeing her and kissed her forehead lightly. ¡°I hope, i won¡¯t be a emperor in my next life and we won¡¯t remember any hardship from the past. Just feel the love and get attracted to each other.. Live normally.¡± ¡°Am sorry for being a ipetent... For failing to protect you, Am sorry, my empress...¡± Eleanora¡¯s heart ached as she saw his painful red eyes, for the first time- she regreted. ¡®Why did i denied his changes till now?¡¯ ¡®I kept rejecting him, ming him for the past which isn¡¯t rted to him but he never got angry at me for ming him.¡¯ ¡®On the other hand, he tried to understand what i was feeling, he respected my wishes... Didn¡¯t gave up on me, even now.¡¯ ¡®You would be saved if you had just leave me be, why are you making me feel regret now?¡¯ ¡®Regret... That why i didn¡¯t embraced your changes and the current you, when i had the chance?¡¯ ¡®When i also know that i shouldn¡¯t think like this?¡¯ ¡°Let¡¯s meet each other next time with no sad memories...¡± Cathain whispered to Eleanora as he kneeled down in front of Mendel, with her on his embrace. ¡°Hahhaaa!!! The great Cathain De Valerian Valentino!! He is kneeling down in-front of me!!!¡± ¡°Save her now...please, you can have the empire and my life...¡± It crushed Cathain¡¯s pridepletely, never once he thought that he will have this day. But he doesn¡¯t regret it... As long as she can be saved. Cathain bow down his head more lower and Eleanora¡¯s lifeless blue eyes widened with shock. ¡®NO- HOW CAN HE BOW DOWN TO THAT BASTARD?!¡¯ Eleanora be more agitated and Cathain felt her life force draining out more. ¡°...Hah, why should i save her?! If it wasn¡¯t for her, then i would have already won this war!¡± Mendel scoffed at Cathain, whose red eyes widened with horror and had almost admitted defeat. ¡°...!!!!¡± ¡°WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT, MENDEL?!¡± Even the enemy troops felt sorry for the emperor, who was desperate to save the crown princess; but Mendel looked at him with no mercy. ¡°It¡¯s over now, Your Majesty;¡± ¡°I WANT YOU BOTH DEATH!¡± ¡°It¡¯s time to end our conflict and Kingdom Rua to be Empire Rua once again!¡± Eleanora wasn¡¯t afraid of dying again now, but her heart died when she saw him like that. ¡®Why do you love me so much... Don¡¯t do this... Am afraid that i can¡¯t ignore my feelings anymore because of this, but again... It¡¯s toote,¡¯ Cathain clenched his fist as Mendelughed seeing the emperor kneeling down and begging to him for saving her. ¡°Everyone, On mymand!¡± All the knights of Rua army troops pulled the trigger of their riffles as they pointed at Cathain and Eleanora. ¡°Am sorry, My empress...¡± Cathain spoke and closed his eyes tightly as he heard the gun shot being fired, his breathing stopped and turned his body to be a human shield for Eleanora. BANG! BANG! BANG! But unexpectedly, none of the bullets hit him and Cathain opened his eyes with surprise to see a blue magic shield around themselves. ¡°DARE TO HURT OUR EMPEROR AND FUTURE EMPRESS?!¡± Alexander, who created a magic barrier around Cathain spoke as he rushed to them with his horse. Before the enemy could get over their panic after seeing Alexander or run, A snowstorm started suddenly which buried half of their troops under the heavy snow. Cedrick led the imperial army from behind as he surrounded the enemy troops, with no way out. Mendel panicked as he realised that now it was him, who got trapped. But that wasn¡¯t the end, soon another army of armed troops marched towards Rua¡¯s soldiers. ¡°It¡¯s- IT¡¯S THE ARENDELL ARMY!¡± The enemies troops was shocked as Arendell never participates in any battle to maintain the peace and holiness of their kingdom for thousand years. But now, their crown prince, Dominic De Caisson Arendell broke that rule apart by joining hands with the Empire. ¡°Elee!!!¡± Jennifer, who came with Dion rushed to the injured Eleanora and Cathain. She called her by the nickname in panic, that she had used before, while staying with Eleanora as the priestess. ¡°Am leaving her on your care, Your Majesty...¡± Alexander coldly spoke to Cathain, who was in a shock too. ..... Cathain never thought that he had so many people supporting him from behind, who had always protected him from the shadows. His grip on his sword tightened as his gaze fall on the dying Eleanora, before he turned his killing intent towards Mendel. ¡°EVERYONE, ATTACK!!¡± ¡°FOR OUR EMPIRE AND HONOUR!!¡± As soon as Alexander finished speaking, Cedrick also lead the army from behind. The imperial army¡¯s blood was boiling with anger, because of the humiliation the Rua¡¯s people made them feel. The scene of their emperor kneeling on the ground, with their injured empress. Their heart ached as it filled with uncontroble rage to defeat the enemy. To win back their honour and make them pay the price for hurting their future empress. For taking back the honour their emperor lost. Mendel gritted his teeth as he found it unbelievable and kept on blocking Alexander¡¯s powerful killing moves. ¡®No... Someone has bebetrayed me... They wouldn¡¯t know our exact position...¡¯ ¡®WHO WAS IT?!¡¯ Then his eyes fall on Zachary, who was just standing still with his man¡¯s. He wasn¡¯t fighting and the imperial soldiers wasn¡¯t attacking them either. ¡®ZACHARY?!¡¯ ¡°YOU BASTARD!! HOW DARE YOU TO BETRAY ME?!¡± Mendel managed to curse at Zachary as he found himself being unable to win against Alexander, who wasn¡¯t giving him a single chance to strike. ¡°Your grace... The king-¡± ¡°He is no longer our king. How can he be a king when he doesn¡¯t even cared for his people¡¯s live?¡± Zachary replied to his subordinates question coldly as he watched his own older brother getting closer to death. He recalled the young Mendel, who had given the young Zachary, his own food to eat; when Zachary was starving. He betrayed that same brother cruelly, to save the remaining people. Their supplies was caught off by the empire, people in the kingdom is starving, people living with fear everyday. And the king¡¯s obession to defeat the empire made thousand elite soldiers lose their lives. Zachary had no choice but to ept the offer, which was given to him by the empire. They will release the imprisoned soldiers and help them to recover, as long as he helps them. Seeing the current Mendel, who was nothing like the warm older brother he remembered to be... His heart ached. ¡®Even if the food you gave me because you had suspicions about poison in that... I ate it, because it was you, who gave it to me, when i was starving for days, Brother.¡¯ ¡®I helped you to be the king as you wished, because i considered you as my brother; where i was just another worthless life to you...¡¯ ¡®But i can¡¯t risk our people¡¯s live for you anymore, I hope you can forgive me; Brother-¡® SLASH!! Zachary¡¯s closed eyes widened as something wet was sshed on his face and something dropped infront of his foot. He blinked his eyes a few times to see Mendel¡¯s body standing infront of him, before it dropped on the ground; headless. He touched the blood on his face as his gaze looked down to find Mendel¡¯s head infront of his foot. Zachary sallowed his saliva with pain as a single tear drop left his eyes, a twitch appear on his face and he kneeled down. His trembling hands touched Mendel¡¯s eyelids, which one was not blind and widened. He felt like Medel was ring at him, ming him. With a clench on his heart, he closed Mendel¡¯s eyelids. ¡®I hope for you to be a great man in your next life, Brother...¡¯ ¡°SURRENDER EVERYONE! HIS HIGHNESS IS DEAD!!!¡± Zachary announced with a cold deep voice, which made the pain inside of his heart clearly visible to everyone. He dropped his sword as he kneeled down, and the other knights followed him to surrender. ¡°I, as thest descendant of the Royal family, proim myself as the next King and hereby admit defeat to the empire...¡± Chapter 194 - 194 "Forgive But Not Forget" 194 ¡°Forgive But Not Forget¡± Eleanora¡¯s POV~ ¡®Elee!!¡¯ A gentle girly voice called out for me and i instantly knew that it was Liana, my first friend. Whom i didn¡¯t meet for a long time and i really missed our times together. The year we stayed together, she was like a healing angel sent to me. I never felt lonely because of her and brother Dom. No matter what it was, they always helped me out and it was her, who made me cut off my fears about the past. Encouraged me to face this new future, otherwise i might still be tremble at the sight of him. Or, i would be found again obsessed with him just like the past. ..... She never forced me to open up butfort me at the same time, like a older sister. Like she knew all my pain and struggle. Am i dead? Is this why am even seeing her rushing to me? She had a cloak covering her, as my vision is blurred; i couldn¡¯t see her face properly, which i think isn¡¯t covered with a veil for the very first time. ¡°Lennie...¡± I called out her nickname as i tried my best to force a smile at my face despite the pain. She was really here, not my illusion. And her hands, which was gripping mine trembled for a moment before she opened her mouth to speak in a low voice like she always used to do. ¡°Yeah- Am here... Elee, don¡¯t worry, i won¡¯t let anything happen to you- nothing will happen-¡± Even with eyes shut close, i could feel the panic and fear she is going through. I made everyone worry, thinking no one will care for me and get used to my absence. But i was wrong, like he had said before. Father, Cedrick, Brother Dom, everyone is really here¡­ They genuinely loves and cares for me. He isn¡¯t going to die then too. He is safe now¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t worry... I will save you... I promise,¡± ¡°Your Majesty... Pull out the sword,¡± Liana spoke in a low voice again but for some reason, i felt like her voice has changed when she talked to the emperor. Changed into a really familiar voice. I felt a flinch on his body which seemed like hesitation as he heard Lennie¡¯s words. ¡°Does...does it have..to be me?¡± ¡°Yeah, You have to do it...¡± Lennie said as she helped my body, which had no strength left to sat up on hisp and lean on his chest, so that the sword could be pulled out from the back. Fast¡­ his heart was beating really faster. I could hear his heart beating fast as his trembling hands hold the swords handle. As the sword moved a tiny bit, i felt like already dying. It hurted like hell. I would be dead if i didn¡¯t had holy powers inside of me and my powerful ice mana, which could still fight against the deadly poison from spreading in my body fully. ¡°Please bear with it a little, Okay?¡± ¡°It will be over soon...¡± The emperor spoke as he started to pull out the sword slowly from my chest and Lennie hold something on my back to stop my blood from flowing out much. I wrapped my arms around his neck as i bite his shoulder hard to bear the pain. Everytime the sword moved away from my flesh, i felt a rush of airing in my body. Making me shiver and tremble violently as there was no other way but do it right here. And his hands, which was at my waist started to give me some little pats, to calm me down. ¡°Don¡¯t cry... You know that you are my breathe, you are the blood flowing in my body... Keeping my heart alive, My empress.¡± ¡°You are the bravest woman i have ever meet... The prettiest and the most kind, i know you can bear it,¡± He spoke as his hot tears fall on my neck, because his face was buried on my neck and my body flinched. And my heart was getting twisted with my mixed emotions for him. ¡°You have to bear it for me... We still have a long way to go... You have to stay alive to reject me a dozen more times... You still didn¡¯t took your knight oath... Isn¡¯t it your biggest dream?¡± So he remembers that. When i used to talk with Ain, not knowing he was the crown prince; i once told him about my dream. Even if i was a knightmander, I couldn¡¯t swear an oath like the other knights. I couldn¡¯t swear that i would be faithful and loyal as knight, because i was the empress. I had to run away first if anything ever happened as an empress. Not fight with my life on line like the knights. Every year, i watched countless knights, wearing their squadron knight suit and kneeling down in-front of the emperor and the empress to swear the oath of loyalty. I gave them my blessing, wishing how i would look at this moment if i was the one taking that oath. The feeling of taking that oath, sent excitement shivers on my body; but i could never take that oath. Which was one of my regrets too¡­ The emperor continued to speak as he slowly kept pulling out the sword from my chest. His words made me forget the physical pain, it felt like the burden in my heart was alsoing out. Making my heart feeling suddenly so light that it made me cry more. ¡°...How can i live without you? You can¡¯t be so cruel to me, my empress.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t...¡± This man, he always drives me crazy and makes me a person, whom i can¡¯t even recognise myself. No matter how much further i pushed him, he would shamelesslye after me again. Making the burning desire in my heart to be loved by him again. Doesn¡¯t he knows how lowly and disgusted i feel towards myself, everytime i find myself bing weak for him? Unconsciously finding my heart to beat faster again when he takes a step towards me? If he was just like the past, i would have hate him for sure or at least i wouldn¡¯t feel how am feeling now. But his current unpredictable behaviour makes me want to fall for him more then before. In the past, i was just obsessed with him. Because i was tired of leading and protecting. I wanted someone to lead and protect me too, which was how the past him was. Even if he never spoke any sweet words to me, but i liked how he used to lead me, protect me. I used to like his over possessiveness, crazy jealousy- Which filled the insecurities i had in my heart. It made me felt like i was someone important to him, that i matter to him. But both of them couldn¡¯t end well. Because he didn¡¯t knew how to love and i didn¡¯t knew how to show love. Both of us was only obsessed and hurt each other. But the current him made me feel what it¡¯s like to be feel loved for real. He, spending time with me everyday in the disguise of Ain.. We talking for hours and feel like it was just a minute. ..... Bing happy just by eating together in a small restaurant and me looking forward to see him sneaking in my room through window. And then discussing about the topics we like and respecting each others opinions. Me, watching him like i was getting lost as he used to speak and him, looking at me the samw way. Those small moments and sparkling feelings were true love, instead of my past obsession to be perfect for him, to get his love. He made me realize that we don¡¯t have to be perfect for each other. We can talk and make a perfect decision together. No need to work hard to make a wless decision all alone. We can trust and respect each other, and be perfect like that. He made me understand that, he liked the way i am, with no need of changing to be loved. The people who loves me, will keep loving me. They will never leave, no matter what you be or how hard you push them away. They will always be here, for you... Tears rushed out from my eyes, either it was because of the physical pain or the pain in my heart for him. ¡°Augh!¡± I let out small groan as he pulled out the sword with a swift movement as i was lost in thoughts. ¡°Sush...it¡¯s finished... Finished... You are not going anywhere now... It¡¯s finally finished...¡± ¡°You are safe... Alive... Yeah, You are really alive,¡± As soon as the sword was pushed out, he throw away the sword and hugged me more tightly. Like he has gotten back his life. His breathing was heavy and his heart was beating fast crazily as i hugged him back too. Somehow, i felt relieved... Happy that i didn¡¯t died. Happy that we made it. He sounded like he wasforting me but in truth, he was justforting himself. I could feel his fear. But then, my tired blue eyes be shocked before i felt my eyes be heavy again. Dizziness got over me as a warmness spread over my wounded chest and the pain subdued. The world around me felt like was turning dark and i could see his red eyes full of worry again, as he kept calling my name. I fall back on the ground from his embrace, as i tried to clear my blurred vision one more time to cheak on something. Which i desperately hoped for not to be true. It was not the healing magic Lennie had used on me before... It¡¯s revival magic, which only Raven¡¯s could perform... Jennifer De Liana Raven. Jennifer De Liana. Liana... My Lennie, My only friend... And then, finally i could identify those familiar light blonde hair which was hidden beneath the cloak. Her caramel brown eyes was full of panic as she started to use her revival powers on me, more powerfully this time. I seem to find my vision going dark again as i slowly lost my consciousness. Even if i forgive¡­ but I can¡¯t forget. Chapter 195 - 195 [Bonus chapter] "Alexander’s Regrets" 195 [Bonus chapter] ¡°Alexander¡¯s Regrets¡± [So guys... Herees a long bonus chapter. Hope you all will like it ^_^ and thanks @dia for your ice c] Eleanora¡¯s POV~ (1 monthter, In the imperial pce) My eyes twitched as i felt the bright light falling on my face and frowned. My head felt dizzy and my whole body felt too heavy to move. But i still tried to open my eyes. ¡°Eleee!! Are you awake?!¡± I heard my father¡¯s concerned voice even before i could open my eyes properly or get the strength to speak. ¡°F-Father...¡± ..... ¡°Take it easy, Don¡¯t rush...¡± Father helped me to sat up and at the same time, someone else came in the room. ¡°ELEE?!¡± Brother Dom also came in the room and behind him, i saw a tall figure standing outside. Not daring to enter. ¡°How are you feeling?!¡± Brother Dom asked as he tried to hold my hands but took them back. ¡°Did you all knew it?¡± I asked coldly. The three man in the room immediately became surprised because of my question but none of them dared to answer. Which made my face darker and i decided to ask one more time. ¡°Did you all knew that priestess Liana was... Jennifer Raven?¡± And as i had expected, there silence gave me the answer. I snorted as i realised how they had once again yed me, made me aplete fool and i... Believed them. I reached out to the girl who caused all my misfortunes, who had snatched away my everything. Even if that was in the past and she did nothing wrong in this life... But they all lied to me. I had once again been betrayed by the people i loved and trusted. First, it was his majesty. I could hardly even ept him being Ain, but in the end, i epted this fact. ¡°Was it fun to mess with my feelings?¡± ¡°Elee... It¡¯s not like that, brother can exin-¡± ¡°Please, leave... I don¡¯t wanna see you!¡± Brother Dom¡¯s hurtful face made me feel pain in my heart to treat him like that but i can¡¯t help it. He lied to me... I know, he doesn¡¯t know what happened between us in the past; but still he knew it and didn¡¯t told me. Even his majesty and father... They both protected her and helped to conceal her identity! No wonder i never found out about this... No wonder her caramel brown eyes always felt familiar... This is why she used to hide her face... I was such a fool. I craved for a friend and someone¡¯s support and love so badly that i feel like a damn cheap person. A cheap person who can do anything to get love and attention. My heart feels like it¡¯s twitching and someone is cutting it with a sharp sword. I could keep my consciousness even with a sword pierced into my chest, but the fact of them be the same person made me so shocked that i lost my conscious. ¡°Elee, Calm down...¡± Father also tried tofort me but i yanked away his hands as i picked up a pillow to hit brother Dom. ¡°GO AWAY, YOU ALL ARE LIARS!!!¡± ¡°DID YOU ENJOYED SEEING ME LIKE THAT?!¡± ¡°BELIEVEING YOU ALL LIKE FOOL?¡± ¡°I DON¡¯T WANNA SEE ANY OF YOU!!!¡± ¡°LEAVE ME ALONE!!!¡± I roared at them as i cried like a mad person. Everytime i start to think that am different from the past, something happens which makes me feel worse then i was. I ran my fingertips inside of my head in frustration as i sensed their concerned and guilty gaze. Which made feel more bad. ¡°...Why... Why you all did this to me?¡± I whispered in a low voice as i felt terrible. ¡°Please...leave me alone,¡± The three of them looked reluctant, specially my father but in the end, they just decided to leave. In the whole time, His majesty didn¡¯t spoken a word. He should have known why i hated this fact so much. He knows what he did to me together with Jennifer, in our past life... Why does it always happens to me? Can i never be happy? ¡­ Three days past like that and i started to get some news from the maids who kept attending my needs. Although they don¡¯t share much, but i can gasp the situation a little by it. Seems like Raven Duchy is in turmoil, this must be why i didn¡¯t saw Cedrick this days. Father woulde and sit for a moment, before leaving me alone again as I didn¡¯t spoke to him for the past three days. Brother Dominic was the same, and his Majesty didn¡¯t came to visit me after my outbreak again. ¡°Father, tell me what¡¯s happening...¡± I asked my father, who was sitting on chair beside my bed and pealing a apple for me to eat. This is what he does everytime hees. Picks up a apple and slowly peals it to kill time, then leave after cutting it for me to eat. His hands paused as he got lost in thought. Maybe thinking either he should tell me this or not. ¡°For god sake, why do you people always hide things from me and then i end up knowing that in the impossibly worst way?¡± ¡°...Duke Raven is caught for treason.¡± ¡°!!!¡± I looked at my father with my widened blue eyes, i was so shocked that i couldn¡¯t even find words to speak. Treason? How, it¡¯s too sudden. We was at the war, it¡¯s possible for Duke Raven to plot treason but how did that man could get caught. He is like a snake afterall, hard to catch. ..... I tried every possible meaning to find out something on him in my both and present life, but not a single details of his misdeeds got in my hands. And if he is caught then... What about Rick? As the son of the traitor, he would be executed for sure... Along with his whole family. Is the past, where the Dalton Duchy fall changed into Raven Duchy? So, Now, Cedrick will be executed instead of me? The dim lights in my room and along with the bright moonlighting in through the window wasn¡¯t enough for my eyes to see anything clearly. Cedrick, my friend. Even if he was that man¡¯s son, he was nothing like that man. He was kind and helpful. He was so kind that he couldn¡¯t even kill an animal, let alone any man even if they were enemies. My first conflict with Cedrick was about this, during the battle of Dark Lands. He could assist us, but not kill the enemy even when they were charging at him. But now, he can lead a whole imperial army troops. This is how much he have changed. And now, this great man will be executed because of someone else¡¯s sin... I have to watch my dear friend being executed. ¡°I know why you hate her... Elee,¡± Father finally decided to speak after a long silent and i looked at him with surprise. He shouldn¡¯t know about the past, then what¡¯s he talking about? This is what i thought till i heard his next words. ¡°You don¡¯t hate your friend Liana or the daughter of Duke Raven. Whom you hate is... Queen Jennifer, Right?¡± My heart skipped a beat as i looked at my father¡¯s face which hanged low and slowly looked up at mine. ¡°Father knows it all, Elee...¡± A painful smile appeared on his face as he looked at me with sympathy. His current face reminded me of the man in prison. Who looked at me this same way, before i headed towards the trial grounds. That silver haired man with haggard condition. No... This can¡¯t happen... I don¡¯t want him to know about my past... I don¡¯t want to see this sympathy.. I don¡¯t want him to know how pathetic i was... I don¡¯t want him to know why i tried so hard to change in this life... Tears rushed out from my eyes once again as i whispered to him lowly. ¡°No... It¡¯s not true... No¡± ¡°Elee... We did it to protect you...¡± Father tried to turn me to face him. But i couldn¡¯t. He remembered our past... He must have looked at me like a pathetic fool, who still craved for his love and attention. Why am i like this? Why do i always want people to treat me with the same love and concern i feel for them? I am terrible at expressing myself, but this time, father taught me to open myself up to people. All of them taught me how to adapt and live. Was i that weak and pathetic in their eyes? All of them hide things from me... In the name of protecting me. ¡°Was it fun to see me struggling... trying to adapt in this whole new present life?¡± ¡°Was i really that weak?¡± ¡°You all watched me escape from the past... Like a fool and believe you all, Why?¡± Father pulled me in his embrace as a tear drop left his eyes too. ¡°You was never weak, Elee.. But i didn¡¯t wanted to see you suffer more, i didn¡¯t wanted you to get involved in this, i just wanted to see you happy in this life..¡± ¡°Everytime i watched you to struggle... I med myself for failing as a father. You was like that because i couldn¡¯tplete my duties properly...¡± ¡°I was so lost after failing to protect your mother that i neglected your mental health and emotions.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t face you as whenever i saw your face, it reminded me how i failed to protect your mother.¡± ¡°I should have known that it was not only me who lost someone, there was still my daughter who lost her mother... ¡± ¡°I kept pushing you away and hide from you... But when i realized that i was wrong, you didn¡¯t needed me anymore...¡± ¡°You learned how to eat and sleep by yourself, you didn¡¯t rushed to me anymore whenever i came back home from my work... You didn¡¯t urged me to help you learn swordmanship anymore...¡± ¡°You had already found someone else... And no longer looked out for me...¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t see you like that, i couldn¡¯t bear to see our empty yard; where you no longer stood to greet me. That home didn¡¯t felt like home anymore after you left... Thus i left for the borders...¡± ¡°When i learned about you situation, i came back to take you away; but seeing how happy you was despite living in that kind of situation made me me myself.¡± ¡°You still loved him, this empire, and the people... You was the perfect daughter and empress... But i just wanted to see my clumsily Elee, who used to say that her name is ¡®Papa¡¯s Princess¡¯,¡± ¡°By the time i regretted, you really no longer needed me to help you walk... You stood above everyone with your abilities, turned into someone whom i couldn¡¯t even recognise.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t wanted to see you like that again... I didn¡¯t wanted to call you ¡®Her Majesty¡¯ ever again... I didn¡¯t wanted you to be the empress.¡± ¡°I tried every meaning in this life to keep you attached to me shamelessly... Even if i knew that i was taking advantage of your feelings... You was never pathetic or weak... It was me,¡± ¡°I shamelessly made you call me ¡®daddy¡¯ like you used to call me before, i didn¡¯t wanted to see you with him... So i personally requested for an annulment infront of everyone, right after i returned from the border inception.¡± ¡°Am sorry... Father is sorry... I just wanted to see you live peacefully this time... I didn¡¯t mean to hide it from you... I was afraid that you wouldn¡¯t ept me if you knew that i also remembered the past.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t wanted to see you lose yourself in this political scheme and lose your youth again..¡± ¡°Please, forgive me... Please...¡± In the whole time, i couldn¡¯t utter a word from my mouth and kept sobbing with him. Why did i never realised that he loved me so much? Chapter 196 - 196 "Give Him A Chance" 196 ¡°Give Him A Chance¡± Eleanora¡¯s POV~ ¡°I am also sorry, Father... But i never med you...¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always loved you...¡± I sobbed hard as i hugged my father tightly. In my past life, there was a moment where i didn¡¯t even considered about him. He was just the Duke of Dalton to me, because i med him for not giving me attention and the love i wanted from him. I distanced myself from him as i grow more older and specially after i became the empress. He called me ¡®Her Majesty¡¯, where i called him ¡®Duke of Dalton¡¯. I only understood his feelings for me during myst moments. ..... ¡°I have always love you, princess. You was and will remain my lovely little Elee forever... Either good or bad, nothing can change my love for you,¡± Father spoke as he kissed my forehead and tucked me under the nket. ¡°Sweet dreams, sleep well. Father will take care of everything...¡± His voice tempted me into sleeping as vaguely sensed someone standing at the door, but before i could think more... I found myself falling asleep. ¡­ The next day~ I couldn¡¯t believe that all of them colluded together to plot against Duke Raven. And this all happened during the funeral of thete emperor! Iforted him, thinking he was feeling low but there he was plotting with my father and brother. All of the events was pre-nned by them. They acted like they was moving as duke Raven wanted, where they just deceived him like that. The emperor ordered my father to not participate in the war against Rua, because he had to keep an eye on Duke Raven¡¯s movements for rebellion. Basically, everyone knew about this except me. And because I didn¡¯t knew it, their ns seeded smoothly. Am i that terrible in acting, that they excluded me from their act? Or i was just a realistic no-paid actor for them? I continued to wonder as i kept walking towards thest prison cell. Where Jennifer is, where i was once¡­ I paused on my steps as i saw Brother Dominic, who was probablying back after meeting her. ¡°Elee... Are you alright now?¡± ¡°Yes, Thank you for concern... Brother;¡± Both of us felt awkward, specially brother Dom. The girl he loves is probably going to die and he can¡¯t even go against the empire rules, against me to save her. ¡°I have works to do... See youter, Elee...¡± Brother Dom awkwardly left without looking back, his back felt so lonely and helpless. I averted my gaze as i continued to head towards the cell where she was. Wearing a white shabby dress, her light blonde hair was messy and her caramel brown eyes looked tired. She was sitting at the same ce, where i was once sitting exactly in the same position. I should be happy, shouldn¡¯t i? ¡°...Why did you saved me?¡± Without even calling her or anything, the first thing which came out of my mouth was the thing i was curious about the most. If it wasn¡¯t for her, i would never be dered as the saintess that early. At that time, i thought it was unfair, people would target me for and i would be chained down with the crown prince. But now i know, that it saved me... No one dared to do anything to me because i was the saintess, no one dared to gossip or talk about me disrespectfully. Because i was the holy saintess. The first step i took to change my fate by saving those ve girls, was also because of her. She made me realize that i can change my fate and taught me how to express my feelings. How i shouldn¡¯t keep bottling up and share my concerns with my father, she taught me thatmunication is the key of everything. I was no longer mistaken by anyone. She was the one, who created the antidote for the crown prince, who was being poisoned by her father. If she didn¡¯t did that, probably the current emperor would be the same as the past and i might have end up doing something which i would¡¯ve regrettedter. Her father thought his n was getting sessful when he sent his man and saw the emperor losing his calm with me. And my natural reaction, who was afraid of the past helped them to seed into deceiving the duke. Jennifer kept making antidotes for the emperor with her revival healing magic, which she inherited from the former duke of Raven; her grandfather. So, no matter how strong poison was given to the emperor; her antidote would help him to clear it all. Jennifer inherited rare twin magical attribute, Dark powers from her mother and Healing powers from her family linage. When she was with me as the priestess, i would feelfortable whenever she was with me. Because she used her dark abilities to control my mind and calm it down. As my over thinkings would stop, i would feel light and happy because my negative concerns used to get away. She concealed her dark powers from duke Raven and yed dumb, useless; so that her father won¡¯t target her. Where at the same time, she continued to collect evidence against her father¡¯s conspiracy to help the emperor. Brother Dom used to give my father those antidotes from Jennifer and Sir Brayden would get them from my father. As too many people was involved, it was hard for Duke Raven to detect a thing or suspect anyone. He thougth as someone who loved herbs, it was normal for Jennifer to make medicines. He didn¡¯t suspected her much as he made someone investigate her medicines and nothing came out. She was the one, who convinced lieutenant Zachary to go against Mendel and saved us in time. Why? Why did you go that far for me? For me, whom you once pushed into abyss? Jennifer¡¯s caramel brown eyes stayed glued on the floor and a self mocking smile appeared on her face. ¡°...Because i regretted,¡± ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have trusted the newly found warmth from my father, who has been an orphan all her life.¡± ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have tried to please him so that he doesn¡¯t bes disappointed at me for being useless...¡± ¡°At the age of 16, i wanted to rescue my sworn sister- The real Jena. So i escaped from the ce i used to work and look for her but on my way, i meet the dying prince Dominic.¡± ¡°I saved him when he wanted help but then, i meet that man; who had the same blonde hair as me. Who had came to make sure that Prince Dominic was dead. But found his lost daughter, who seem to have the dark powers he wanted.¡± ¡°My first request was to save my sister, butter i found out that she has been killed... By Duke of Dalton, because of the crown prince¡¯s orders and the neww proposed by the crown princess to stop very.¡± She paused on her words, every words she uttered wasing from the bottom of her heart with heavy pain. I remembered this rule before. I proposed to stop the very, so that the people¡¯s opinions changes a little towards the imperial family during the conflict at the borders. We stopped illegal human trafficking, ve auction but then, we found a hidden dungeon. Where hundreds of ve girls was rumoured to be massacre and then burn down that ce. ..... People started to point out at us and demanded exnation, to save me from the criticism; the crown prince told me to prove my worth. Which i only understood now. He coldly sent me to the war, to achieve my dreams and faced all the criticism alone. ¡°Then you disguised as Jena to enter the pce?¡± I asked her as finally things started to made sense to me. In the past, she suddenly be thedy Raven from a mere pce maid. Now i understand why it went so smoothly. She med me and the crown prince for those girls and Jena¡¯s death. She helped her father to covet the throne, take down our duchy which was the biggest obstacle for his n. Because as long as i, my father and the imperial fiction existed to help the emperor; Duke Raven would never seed. He even used his own daughter. Jennifer kept on exining the situation about the past, what happened after my death, how he went crazy and their sacrificial to turn back the time. The story i heard from her seemed like a fantasy to me, like it wasn¡¯t my story. But even if she was taken advantage off... What was my unborn children¡¯s fault? ¡°Then why did you killed my babies?¡± ¡°What was there fault?¡± ¡°Why did you got closer to me this time, despite knowing about your sins?!¡± I roared at her, who seemed to be not affected by anything andzily looked up at the ceilings. ¡°...I didn¡¯t knew about that, it was Rena... Your maid, who was arranged by my father...¡± She spoke and paused on her words for a moment, before she started to speak again. ¡°I was always curious about you... Before i entered the pce as a maid, i heard a lot about you..¡± Curious about me? Her words made me surprised. ¡°I was a country bumpkin, didn¡¯t knew how to act like a proper noble and this is why my father kept me at home in the name of concern about my safety.¡± ¡°Every teacher, who came to teach me would show you as an example. The perfect example of good scores, elegance, beauty, etiquette and a monarch...¡± ¡°I got even more curious when i learnt that you are much younger then me. Your shiny silver hair is still rare in this whole continent.¡± ¡°I wanted to befriend you, as both of us was duchy¡¯s princess. Butpared to you, i was nothing.¡± ¡°I wanted to learn more from you, follow your examples... It hurted me everytime i had to hold his hands and act like i loved him to show you.¡± ¡°I felt disgusted and questioned myself, about my shamelessness to act like some mistress.¡± Act like love him? I was again surprised by her words. Does it mean she never liked him? ¡°But your pregnancy...¡± ¡°That was fake... He never even touched me, neither did i, atleast i was never that low or wanted to lower myself more to please my father. I still had my own pride.¡± Never touched her... A part of me felt relieved for some reason, it felt happy suddenly. Was i happy because he didn¡¯t touched anyother woman beside me? That i was the only woman for him? ¡°So, when i got another chance in this life... I wanted to get to know you truly, get close to you, befriend you. I couldn¡¯t help it, you are such a great person that you make everyone around you wish to protect you...¡± ¡°We know you don¡¯t need our protection, but we still want to protect your smile... We didn¡¯t wanted you to lose yourself again, we wanted to give you some happy memories.¡± Jennifer confessed as she finally look at my eyes with a painful smile on her face. Maybe we could be friends in our past life if all those things didn¡¯t happened, but there is no ¡®if¡¯. ¡°Am sorry for making you two suffer so much, am sorry for separating you from your love and all the sufferings you went through because of me...¡± ¡°I also know that my sorry can¡¯t fix anything and i don¡¯t have anyints with this ending of my life... But i want you to know this...¡± ¡°He really loved you a lot... Either it was in the past or in this present life, you was the only one in his heart.¡± ¡°Please, give him a chance;¡± Chapter 197 - 197 "Trial Ground" 197 ¡°Trial Ground¡± Eleanora¡¯s POV~ After a few days, finally the day of Duke Raven¡¯s trial came. I felt my heart heavy and body trembling with each step i took towards the trial ground. I just wanted to turn back and run away, every part of my body wanted that. But father kept holding my hands tightly as he lead me towards the trial ground, with no emotions on his face. Both of us was wearing the same head and heir outfits today, because of his insisting. A pair of same white trousers and white shirt, with a blue knight suit, which represented the official outfit of our Dalton Duchy. Long blue cape with our family emblem embroidered on it, was drapped over our shoulders and swayed in air as we walked. What is father nning by doing this? ..... I couldn¡¯t understand. But then i paused on steps, which made him stop on his steps too and look back at me. ¡°...I can¡¯t,¡± I replied. I can¡¯t see my bestfriend; Cedrick standing there and executed, even if i don¡¯t like Jena but she was once my friend too as Lennie. I can¡¯t see them in the same ce i was once standing, helplessly. When i stood there, i desperately hoped for someone to take my side. But, no one did. I don¡¯t want them to look at me like that, because except the emperor, no one can help them. For the past few days, he avoided me like gue. Everytime i tried to talk to him, he would escape. I don¡¯t know if Sir Brayden was able to convince him or not, sent my words to him. Am afraid... Really afraid. Then i heard a sighing out from my father¡¯s mouth as he bent down to meet my eyes. Am i really that short and small? Or they are just ridiculously tall and big? I looked into his eyes with nervousness, which was identical to mine. He rubbed my head lightly as he spoke with a smile. ¡°Trust him,¡± I was stunned because of my father¡¯s words. Trust him? Who? The emperor? My cheeks slightly blushed a little as i recalled how everyone takes his side now. Even my father, like him... No- he doesn¡¯t dislike the emperor that much anymore? I decided to be courageous as i stepped inside of the trial ground, where the emperor was already sitting on his throne. He was wearing the official knight suit of the imperial family. ck trouser and a red coloured luxurious knight suit, with a long red cape; which had the imperial emblem embroidered on it with gold, drapped over his shoulders. The gold crown on his head with red gemstone was shining brightly, as he discussed with the officials about the trial procedures. Like he had sensed my presence, his gaze meet mine as soon as I entered the trial grounds. I felt the time stopping around us and recall the past. Me, wearing a shabby white dress and handcuffs at my hands; standing in-front of him as a criminal. He stood at the same ce, high and mighty. It¡¯s just that his eyes was more brighter and no longer looked at me with hatred. I averted my gaze as I proceeded to seat at the reserved ce for my family in the audience area. He looked away too. Every high ranking nobles had their own reserved ce and almost everyone was wearing their official knight suits. On my left was Duke Richardo, wearing a ck knight suit with a white cape, which had a crescent moon and a red fiery wolf with its mouth wide opened embroidered on it. Where Duke Hertz and Marquise Roselia, Arlo and many others from the imperial faction sat on our behind. His gaze nced over the whole meeting room just like the past, before he coughed to get everyone¡¯s attention on him. ¡°Seems like everyone is here now,¡± The same words as the past. ¡°Today we are gathered here today to bear witness to the trial of Evan De Raven, The Duke of Raven.¡± ~Today we are gathered here today to bear witness to the trial of Eleanora La Dalton, former empress of the Valentino Empire~ His words from my past life echoed on my ears as he spoke and observed everyone¡¯s reaction, before he ggestured something to Sir Brayden. ¡°Bring him in,¡± The heavy metal door of the trial grounds was pushed open by two knight guards and Duke Raven was guided in. His hands was cuffed in silver handcuffs, his health looked worse then my father, who was also once locked up in the prison. He walked towards the podium barefooted, as everyone started to curse at him for being a traitor. ¡°TRAITOR!!¡± ¡°GO TO HELL!!!¡± ~Murderer!~ ~Just die!!!~ I clenched my hands with nervousness and father caught my grip firmly to help me calm down. I felt a little relief after i saw the reassurance in his blue eyes and smiled faintly at him. And then, the trial finally began. ¡°Evan De Raven, Do you swear on god that today you will speak truth about everything, that will be asked?¡± The emperor began. ¡°I do,¡± Duke Raven faintly replied. No nervousness was detected on his green eyes. Why is he still so confident? ¡°And how do you plead?¡± ¡°Not guilty,¡± Duke Raven spoke and i recalled my own reply at that time. Yes, i had replied the same but i was trapped by them. ¡°Let¡¯s began,¡± The emperor gestured on a nearby knight to start the trial process. The first person to give the testimony was Marquise Roselia, our prime minister and the person in charge of the treasury. ¡°I am Derrick Arden Roselia, The Marquise of house Roselia and the person in charge of treasury.¡± ¡°As everyone knows, thest few years our empire had faced some financial crisis and we had to open our treasury to help the people. At that time, it was also Duke Raven, at the charge of treasury along with me.¡± ¡°But, after calcting the previous records... The budget Duke Raven presented to us and the amount used for the border inception ispletely different.¡± Everyone started to whispering as it doesn¡¯t need to exin where those extra money went. The empire was facing crisis and here, he was filling his pockets from the imperial treasury. ..... ¡°Not only that, there were even more mistakes in the budget he used to present and all of those records were found in the Duke¡¯s hidden locker.¡± Marquise Roselia spoke and gestured the knights to present the evidence to the emperor, who was sitting on the throne. ¡°Thank you, Marquise Roselia. You may step down now.¡± Marquise Roselia paid respect to the emperor before he got down from the podium. ¡°Now, we will hear our next testimony from Duke Hertz. Pleasee forward.¡± The emperor spoke and Duke Hertz stood up to walk on the podium as he began to speak. ¡°I am Keiran Rupert Hertz, The Duke of Hertz Duchy; and the Captain of the second imperial army squadron. I was in charge of investigation, about how our imperial troops information was leaked out to the Rua Kingdom.¡± Duke Hertz spoke as his eyes looked at Duke Raven with disgust. ¡°During the investigation, we found the initial connection between the Duke of Raven and the previous king of Rua, Mendel De Melendez.¡± ¡°Duke Raven helped them to steal our soldier information and urged us to start the war against Rua Kingdom.¡± ¡°Not only that, he even helped the enemy during the war with Republic and messed up with the war budget to slow us down.¡± He exined as the knights again passed some papers to the emperor and the board of members, which was the evidence of Duke Raven¡¯s wrong doings. The whole room went uproars as they started to throw hatefulments at Duke Raven. I was surprise by his calmness, how can someone still stay calm at this moment? ¡°Thank you, Duke Hertz. You may take your seat now.¡± ¡°Next, we will hear from my aid; Marquise Brayden Hill...¡± Sir Brayden nodded as he stood up to stand in the podium and cleared his throat before he started to speak. ¡°I am, Marquise Brayden Hill; His Majesty the emperor¡¯s aid and the closest person who stays beside him most of the time.¡± ¡°As we will know, his majesty is known as an upright and calm person. But, a few years ago; i started to notice some changes in him.¡± I blinked my eyes as i didn¡¯t quite understand his words. Is he talking about the slow poison which duke Raven gave his majesty to harm his health? ¡°If i remember correctly, this started ten- eight years ago, when his majesty was the crown prince.¡± ¡°He would get irritated and angry easily, some times act and speakpletely illogical words. His health would suddenly detour and he would sometimes cough blood.¡± ¡°Because he was being not only poisoned, but also controlled with dark magic.¡± Dark Magic?! But Jennifer is the only one who have dark powers in our empire currently... Dark powers are long lost from our continent and ording to the records, Jennifer¡¯s mother should be thest descendant of the dark powers. The royal family of the darknds had given up their royalty as it be unstable, to the Republican Army and be Republic Kingdom. Which lost to us four years ago and none of them are alive, included their Princess; Jennifer¡¯s mother who died while giving birth to Jennifer. Jennifer was found by the duke when she was 16, but his majesty was getting poisoned even before this... I couldn¡¯t understand a single thing, what¡¯s happening? ¡°Fortunately His Majesty is safe now because the poison got detected in his body earlier on. now i would like to get permission from his Majesty to bring someone in.¡± ¡°Permission granted.¡± The emperor coldly spoke as his red eyes got dark. Sir Brayden talked to a knight as he told them whom to bring and the knights left after nodding. I felt my heart beating fast as i waited for the next person, who could it be? But then, my eyes widened as my heart clenched with an unknowm fear, after i saw her. The person who betrayed me, the worst betrayal which took away every hope from me to prove my innocence in the past. My attendant maid, Rena... Chapter 198 - 198 "The Late Empress" 198 ¡°The Late Empress¡± Eleanora¡¯s POV~ ~I am Rena. I have been former empress attendant for four years now. I treated her as I would my own daughter, caring for her and consoling her through difficult times. So I can confirm that I know her better than anyone else~ ~Therefore it is with a heavy heart that I stand before everyone today, bound by my oath to the God, to inform you all of the atrocity she had me perform whilst under hermand~ ~Lady Dalton, the former empress, ordered me to present Queen Jennifer a herbal tea. A tea I believe caused the queen¡¯s miscarriage~ Every words she had spoke, kept repeating on my mind and make me feel suffocated. I was holding my every hope of survival on her. I was hoping for her to save me. ..... But she paid back my kindness with betrayal. I averted my gaze as i couldn¡¯t bear to look at her. Her state was simr to Maria, who was beaten up inhumanely in the past; before she got executed along beside me. ¡°So, this our pce¡¯s head maid; Rena. Who entered the imperial pce twenty five years ago as a normal maid at first.¡± Sir Brayden started. ¡°Who stayed beside thete empress, Catherine Valerian Valentino; andter got closer to her and be the head maid.¡± ¡°She was also his majesty, our emperor¡¯s nanny and would be the attendant maid for our future empress.¡± Sir Brayden pause on his words so that everyone could understand the situation clearly. Rena was also calm like duke Raven, which didn¡¯t seem right to me. Something is wrong... ¡°With the help of Duke Dalton and the imperial faction, we have found her involvement with poisoning his majesty and the murder of thete empress!!¡± What? Late empress? His majesty¡¯s mother didn¡¯t died during childbirth?! Everyone was shocked to their core, so much that many of them jumped up from their seats. Seeing that father was calm, that meant he knew it from beforehand. I turned my gaze at the emperor, who kept listening to Sir Brayden¡¯s words silently. He must be feeling now really hurt now¡­ ¡°Do you ept your crime?¡± Sir Brayden asked as he turned to Rena and facing the crowd coldly, She opened her mouth to speak. ¡°I do. Everything he said is right.¡± ¡°I poisoned thete empress who was pregnant with the next emperor.¡± I looked at her horrifically and father¡¯s grip over my hands tighten to calm me down. But how could i calm down?! It was her! It was her who also killed my babies in the same way! I thought of her as a mother figure to me! But she harmed me! my innocent babies... Killed them cruelly!! The murmuring in the trial grounds kept increasing and then the emperor¡¯s words made them silent. ¡°Continue, Sir Brayden.¡± Sir Brayden faced the crowd again after passing some documents as evidence to the emperor and started again. ¡°Rena, her actual name is Reina La Lewis; the first royal princess of the Lewis Royal family from the Darknds.¡± ¡°When thete emperor, cut off the past buisness rtionship with the Lewis royal family because of them trying to deceive us to get more profit; the Royal family broke down financially.¡± ¡°They started a war against their neighbour country but lost. At that time, The first royal princess, Reina La Lewis; made her younger step sister took her ce as the first princess. So that she could escape.¡± ¡°But unfortunately, her younger sister who took her ce was saved by the Duke Raven andter they got married. King Lewis joined hands with the Republic army and sold off his nation.¡± ¡°Reina La Lewis, be Rena from then on as two Reina couldn¡¯t co-exist officially at the same time.¡± ¡°Rena med his excellency, thete emperor for all her misfortune and came to royal ce with the thought of revenge.¡± ¡°As an princess of the darknds, Rena could also use dark magic. She started to create rift between his excellency and the empress by misleading them.¡± ¡°At the same time, she colluded with Duke Raven; which ended with the nned murder of the empress and poisoning his majesty; that continued till now.¡± My expression turned pale as i felt my body shaking. Wasn¡¯t it what happened to me in the past too? Just like how thete empress misunderstood his excellency and got poisoned, eventually murdered. This is also what happened to me... So the imperial curse was true? There is a tale, which we have heard from ages. The emperor¡¯s never get the one they love, because of the tragic ending of the first emperor. From the records i have seen before, no empress till now has died normally. My past self is also an example. But the first emperor¡¯s vengeful soul had vanished that day, who had possessed his majesty. So, will the curse still continue... if i be with him, i might die again? No one could believe that a person could stop this low, like Rene. From the very start, she was selfish. She run away while forcing her little sister to take her ce, to avoid facing the problem. When she heard that her sister was not only alive but married to a duke of the empire, she got jealous of her and came into the pce in name of revenge. But then she fall for the emperor, who had no one else but the empress in his eyes. Seeing that she couldn¡¯t trap the emperor who had a strong mentality and couldn¡¯t be controlled; she turned to the lonely empress, who missed her homnd. Who was soft and innocent, kind and lovely. The empress, who came from a small kingdom couldn¡¯t get used to the assassination, political battles, the fight of two factions. Afterall that time was really chaotic and the imperial pce was not this peaceful as it is now. The empress easily got controlled by Rena and she started to feel more suffocated in the pce. She wanted to go out and run away from this all, where the emperor couldn¡¯t let her go despite everything. He got busy as he wanted to manage everything quickly so that the empress doesn¡¯t want to leave anymore. But unfortunately, Rena took advantage of that moment and mislead the pregnant empress even more. She couldn¡¯t harm her directly as the emperor was strict about the empress¡¯s protection, which made the empress think that she was caged. Rena watched her little sister getting abused by the duke when she refused to use her powers to harm others and eventually got killed by the duke. She watched her little niece thrown away by the duke and colluded with him to kill the empress. He gets the throne and she will rebuild her nation. But their n backfired as not only the emperor started to gain more power after the death of the empress, the little prince was also dered as the next heir right after his birth. Which meant they couldn¡¯t kill the prince recklessly. It¡¯s easy to get the throne by killing the monarch but the public is also capable of taking down a monarch by domestic rebellion, because we have that imperialw. If the public doesn¡¯t likes the emperor or the emperor fails to perform his duties properly- he can be taken down by domestic rebellion. If he kills the emperor or prince directly, not only the nobles would go against him, the imperial soldiers and public- no one will ept him as the emperor. This was why Duke Raven targeted the young prince, the same way they did to thete empress. By breaking them apart mentally. ..... They almost seeded when the little prince was three years old and fall sick terribly. But with the help of the Duchess of Dalton, the prince was saved that time. Just how could someone be this cruel to even harm a innocent child? I feel my body shivering everytime i think their malicious n. Duke Raven patiently nned everything, removing all the key persons one by one. Thete empress, thete emperor, my father, the Dalton Duchy, Me... I can imagine what happened after my death, the imperial faction must have given up their support to the emperor. The emperor was regretful for my death as he was no longer controlled because of me, who transferred her powers in him right before my death. I wanted him to suffer, regret... But i never thought that he would suffer this terribly. The emperor be lonely and alone, even if the Duke of Raven killed him at that time; no one would even care. He will get the throne easily. He nned everything very smoothly and perfectly, none of them escaped his scheme. He wanted the public to against the emperor, take advantage of the situation of his unstable mentality to dethrone him. And Duke Raven would be the saviour by killing the emperor for the empire¡¯s well-being. I felt likeughing out loud, how perfect and cruel his ns were. ¡°I WANT THE DOOM OF THIS EMPIRE!!!¡± ¡°DID YOU ALL HEARD ME?!!¡± Rena suddenly started to roar and i looked at her with disgust. How dare she to speak like this even after what she have done?! ¡°I WANTED THAT BASTARD TO DIE WITHOUT AN HEIR!!! I WANTED VALERIAN TO DIE ALONE!!!¡± The knights grabbed her immediately and tried to stop her, but it was in vain. She continued to yell and the emperor¡¯s face got more darker. ¡°HER FACE WAS WORTH SEEING WHEN SHE REALIZED THAT I NEVER TOLD HER ANY TRUTH RIGHT BEFORE I CHOCKED HER TO DEATH!!!¡± ¡°THE EMPEROR¡¯S REACTION WHEN HE FOUND THAT STUPID FOOLISH BITCH DEAD-¡± SLASH! All the people in the audience room gasp and this time, all of us jumped up from their seats; as Rena¡¯s head rolled down from the podium. Blood dripped down from his sword and everyone shivered because of his strong aura. His majesty stood still with no emotions on his face, like nothing has happened just now and stared at Rena¡¯s cut off head coldly. ¡°Guilty or not, innocent or criminal- their head won¡¯t be attached with their neck the next second, if anyone dares to insult my family members.¡± The emperor¡¯s voice was as cold as ice, like he had lost his sanity but still acted calm. Which was the most dangerous thing. Chapter 199 - 199 "Death Penalty" 199 ¡°Death Penalty¡± Everyone slowly took their seats, still horrified because of the direct execution right now. The emperor didn¡¯t even thought twice before he pulled out his sword to cut off Rena¡¯s neck. She was an important person to prove Duke Raven¡¯s treason conspiracy after all. ¡°The next testimony will be from me.¡± The emperor coldly spoke and no one even dared to make a sound anymore. They have never seen the emperor like this. He gave off a unapprochable aura before, but after bing the emperor; he had changed. He be friendlier and always helping others. So, this was their first time seeing the emperor¡¯s fierce side. ..... The emperor gestured Sir Brayden to take out some documents and give the high ranking nobles a copy of that exact documents. One was given to Eleanora too and she curiously took the documents to read. Everyone read those documents with disbelief in their eyes, but it wasn¡¯t impossiblepared to what they have heard before. Especially Eleanora. ¡®Where did he got this from?!¡¯ ¡®No wonder i found nothing at that time... He had made a move before me.¡¯ ¡°As you all can see, this is the contract between the former king of Rua and Evan De Ravens. About helping each other.¡± ¡°Their n was to kidnap the crown princess, mislead the army to lose this war, which would result the public opinion about me; the emperor to get worsen.¡± ¡°He knew that his own daughter, Lady Jennifer La Liana Raven might be a thorn on his way. So, he not only spread a disease which could only be found in the darknds in our army troops,¡± ¡°He also poisoned his own daughter so that his n doesn¡¯t gets exposed. Our duke Raven knew that i would never endanger the whole army even if i felt something wrong with the n.¡± ¡°Without Lady Raven, Duke Richardo, the crown princess- who was busy with treating patients in field hospital and in quarantine at that time; even if i oppose that n, no one would support my decision alone.¡± ¡°Am i right, Duke Raven?¡± The emperor spoke as he turned to look at Duke Raven, who just smriked after hearing the emperor¡¯s exnation. But he still didn¡¯t spoke a word to defend himself. ¡°Their ultimate n was to kidnap the crown princess and try to kill me at the same time by increasing the poison amount; but unfortunately it was his own daughter who used to make antidotes for me.¡± ¡°With the help of Lieutenant Raven and Duke Dalton, we won the war. Where Marquise Roselia and Duke Hertzpleted their mission to gather evidence against him.¡± The emperor paused on his words before he took a deep breathe and looked at the crowd again. ¡°I, Cathain De Valerian Valentino, the emperor of this empire- use duke of Raven for the murder of thete empress, harming his excellency¡¯s health, attempt murder of the emperor and the crown princess... And treason.¡± ¡°Do you have anything to say in your defence, Duke Raven?¡± The emperor asked but Duke Raven was still silent, with a sinister grin on his face. Seeing that he had nothing to say, the emperor turned his gaze to face the crowd again and opened his mouth to speak. ¡°Very well...¡± ¡°Before the deration of Duke Raven¡¯s punishment, i want to share something with you all; which has been approved by most of the officials.¡± Eleanora be a little stunt as she wondered what the emperor wanted to say. She was worried about Cedrick and Jennifer, as she couldn¡¯t talk with the emperor to reduce their punishment or spare them. ording to the imperialw, the person whomits treason would be executed with his whole family. No trace of the traitor should be left behind. This meant, if duke Raven gets executed; Jennifer and Cedrick can¡¯t be spared either. Eleanora looked behind to see Dominic sitting at a corner with his head lowered down, who came to see Jennifer onest time. He was ready to fight the emperor and escape with her by breaking into the prison. He begged Jennifer toe with him, that he was ready to give up his position as the crown prince. But she didn¡¯t agreed. She wanted to face her fate. Every single cells in Dominic¡¯s body wanted to take away Jennifer and ran away. From the moment he learnt about the past life from Jennifer, he knew that this moment woulde. But he still kept helping her. She kept pushing him away, because he was killed in his past life because of her n to help duke Raven. To Dominic, that was his past. Which he doesn¡¯t even remember. He assured her that she has changed from the past, she is no longer the same person and deserves to be loved by someone. But she was stubborn and hold onto the past very deeply. He didn¡¯t gave up, hoped that his nightmare would nevere true. Dominic sat at a corner as he watched the trial procedures, his heart was getting heavier as each second passed by. Right at that moment, the heavy metal doors opened once again as a few knights lead Jennifer and Cedrick to the podium. Dominic jumped up from his seat as he desperately hoped for Jennifer to look at him. But she didn¡¯t. She walked towards the podium and stood at the wooden box for the criminals, along with her brother. Both of them knew that their death is waiting for them, but stood strongly. Eleanora clenched her fits as she couldn¡¯t bear to see them standing there... Both of them is innocent in this life. Without their help, it was impossible to get evidence against the duke. She couldn¡¯t escape her past if it wasn¡¯t for them. ¡°From now on, there will be a change in the imperialw.¡± The emperor spoke and Eleanora¡¯s eyes lit up with a new hope. ¡°We will change the rules as the Crown princess had suggested, where only the person whomitted the crime would be punished. Not his whole family, who had nothing to do with the crime.¡± Eleanora felt a tear drop from her eyes and Alexander pulled her in his embrace. She couldn¡¯t believe that the emperor epted her proposal to change the rules. ¡®So he had been busy with convincing the officials for my proposal to change the rules...¡¯ ¡®Rick and Lennie... They won¡¯t die, they won¡¯t...¡¯ Eleanora felt happy in and thankful to the emperor. Where, Dominic felt his heart stop breathing as he felt that he has heard it wrong. The emperor changed the thousand years old rules! Everyone was amused with this rule too. Some opposed, but the majority agreed with this new rule. ¡°Therefore, with the power held within me, I, Cathain De Valerian Valentino, emperor of the Valentino empire; prove the Raven Siblings innocence and promote the young master Raven as the next Duke of Raven.¡± ¡°And Lady Raven will be awarded with ¡®Pioneer¡¯ the highest ranking award for saving thousands soldier with her medical knowledge.¡± Dominic drop on his seat as he covered his face with his hands to hide his tears. ¡®She is safe... She won¡¯t die... Thank God... Thank you! Thank you for not taking her away from me...¡¯ ¡®Thank you Elee... Thank you, his Majesty...¡¯ Sir Brayden came forward as he uncuffed the silver hand cuffs from the Raven siblings hands. Cedrick caught Jennifer, whose legs has went numb as she couldn¡¯t believe that they won¡¯t get executed. As she walked down from the podium, she nced at Eleanora; who smiled lowly at her with tears filled her blue eyes. Eleanora really didn¡¯t wanted to see her execution, she might have harmed her in the past; but Eleanora couldn¡¯t ignore how she helped her in this life. Either as priestess Liana or Lady Raven, she helped her in every point, whenever she needed help. ..... Where, Cedrick felt ashamed because of his father. He couldn¡¯t face Eleanora because of this and lightly pushed Jennifer to walk out from the trial grounds. Then it was finally time, everyone held their breathes as they knew the oue. ¡°I think the evidence here has weighed in an obvious result. The former Duke of Raven have been found guilty of the charges against him.¡± ¡°ording to the rules, Evan De Raven, The former duke of the Valentino empire, is sentence to death by immediate execution.¡± The emperor spoke as he picked up the broadsword and looked at the former duke of Raven. Eleanora¡¯s heart clenched as the person who was responsible for all her misfortune is finally going to be punished. But as the knights grabbed the former duke of Raven to hold him down on therge oak stump for execution, he finally spoke. ¡°Wait, Your Majesty.¡± The emperor paused and he raised an eyebrow with a questioning look on his face. ¡°I admit all the usations against me. I did all of those things, there is no use of hiding it now.¡± Evan De Raven started. ¡°But perhaps, did you all forgot that, i was once awarded ¡®The Agility¡¯ award; for saving thete emperor during the war?¡± Eleanora¡¯s eyes widened with shock, as the person who have the ¡®The agility¡¯ award could escape any crime he did for once! As the award was given a long time ago, when thete emperor had only ascended the throne; not many people remembered about this. And only the person, who awarded this can take it back; where thete emperor is already dead for more then four years. ¡°So?¡± The emperor just coldly stare at Evan De Raven, as he asked a short question. ¡°So, unless thete emperores back to life from death; you can¡¯t execute me, Your Majesty!¡± The grin on his face increased and Eleanora finally understood why he was so calm during this whole trial procedures. He had his own tramp card from the very beginning. Which he kept hidden till now for the worst scenario. Eleanora clenched her fist as hatred filled her heart, she doesn¡¯t want him to escape his all crimes just like this. He might have saved thete emperor once, but all the harms he have inflicted on the imperial family till now can¡¯t be forgiven. Thete empress, her children¡¯s, the Dalton Duchy, her own life- they all were sacrificed because of his greed. Right then, the heavy metal door opened again as a person walked inside slowly. Everyone looked at the person with their eyes widened with shock and stood up from their seats to pay respect. Eleanora, who heard the noise from behind also looked back and stood up with disbelief. ¡®Am i seeing things?!¡¯ ¡°Then i shalle back to life from dead as you wished, Evan;¡± Thete emperor, Valerian De Alfred Valentino spoke as he stood infront of the podium. Chapter 200 - 200 "Simple Yet Painful" 200 ¡°Simple Yet Painful¡± ¡°It¡¯s his excellency!!!¡± ¡°Howe-¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t he dead?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s really him...¡± Evan De Raven looked at Emperor Valerian with shocked gaze and Cathain¡¯s lips curved up a little as he passed the broadsword to his father. ¡°Father...¡± ¡°You have grown up a lot, son..¡± Emperor Valerian spoke as he pat on his son¡¯s shoulder, who was now taller then him. He still remember the time when Cathain¡¯s would jump up to sit on his shoulder, and say that he would grow taller then his father one day. ..... And that day, finally came. Now his son is taller then him, sitting on his position. Emperor Valerian took the broadsword from his son¡¯s hands and turned to face the former duke of Raven. ¡°Surprised?¡± ¡°Did you think you are the only one who can scheme?¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Emperor Valerian faced the shocked crowd. ¡°As you guys can see, am alive and well. We faked my dead to trap duke Raven; and as we expected... He had speed up his n to kill my son as soon as i was out of the picture.¡± ¡°...And there is one more crime he did, the massacre at the Dalton Duchy 12 years ago, the attempt murder of the Duchess.¡± Alexander¡¯s face hardened as thest image of his wife popped up on his mind. How he begged her to not leave him, to let him in the barrier to help. But she just decided to sacrifice herself for everyone. Eleanora recalled her mother¡¯s face as she made her escape from the duchy to protect her. This time, it was Eleanora who gripped her father¡¯s hands tofort him and Alexander faintly smiled at her. Then Emperor Valerian started again. ¡°I, The former emperor of this empire, Valerian De Alfred Valentino; take back ¡®The Agility Award¡¯ from Evan De Ravens for harming the imperial family and treason.¡± The former duke of Raven was forcefullyid on the oak stump, his mouth was tied with a piece of cloth, so that he can¡¯t talk. ¡°So, Evan De Raven will be executed ording to the rules and his sentence is to carry out immediately!!¡± Emperor Valerian spoke as he raised the broadsword on his hands and Evan De Raven¡¯s green eyes widened with fear. He tried to yell but no voice could be heard as his mouth was blocked with fabrics. Emperor Valerian heart felt heavy, as he recalled thete empress¡¯s cold body. Protectively hugging a little boy, who looked like him on her arms. His heart ached everytime he thought how desperately she might have called for him, wished for him to appear and save her as she was choked to death with a pillow. How helpless she was, how pain she felt when she realised that person she showered with kindness had betrayed her. ¡®Cathy... Finally, finally am avenging you.. Can you see it?¡¯ ¡®He is getting what he deserves... Are you happy?¡¯ SLASH! Emperor Valerian¡¯s face covered with ssh blood as he executed the sinner infront of him. He fumed with anger as he suddenly thought execution was an easy death for this man. He should have chocked him with a pillow, burn him alive. Cathain pat on his father¡¯s shoulder, whose eyes be wet because of anger and remorse. ¡®Cathy... I can finally die in peace, i can finally face you... I miss you so much, My Cathy...¡¯ Outside of the trial ground, Cedrick hugged Jennifer tightly as they understood that they only have each other from now on. Jennifer recalled the moment of her past life, how happy she had be when she learnt that she was not an orphan. She has a father and a family. She continued to sob on her brothers embrace and Cedrick couldn¡¯t even speak a word as he was also feeling like her. How he always tried his best to get praised by his father, how much he wanted his father to pat on his head and say that he did a good job. But all he got was whip marks on his body. Everything ended just like that. So simple yet painful. ¡­ ¡°His Majesty is inside.¡± Sir Raymond spoke as he pushed open the ballroom¡¯s door for Eleanora to enter, who was suddenly summoned by the emperor at middle of the night. As she was living in the imperial ce for the past one month since they returned from the battlefield, it wasn¡¯t difficult for her to meet him at this hour. But still, she was surprised when she heard that he summoned her in the ballroom. Eleannora was still awake at this hour because she couldn¡¯t sleep after all the events happened today. The moment she closes her eyes, the mixed image of the past and present appears on her mind. She was wearing a white nightdress and a red coloured shawl hanged around her neck loosely to cover her body. ¡°Your Majesty?¡± Her voice echoed loudly as therge ballroom waspletely empty. The room was little dark but she could still see because of the candles in the room. She was a little stunned to see the room filled with so much candles that she didn¡¯t even need the moonlight, which wasing through the big windows. ¡°You¡¯vee?¡± Cathain¡¯s voice also echoed loudly in therge ballroom as he slowly approached Eleanora with a candle on his hands. He was wearing the same ck trousers and shirt, which he wore in the morning, as he just took of the cape and the suit. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me that he was lighting up candles for the whole night!¡¯ As he got closer, Eleanora could smell alcohol on him and she looked at him with a frown. ¡°How much did you drink?!¡± ¡°Are you worried about me?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask questions over my question!¡± Eleanora puffed her face as she has never seen him drinking this much that his face would turn fully red. Where the drunk Cathain chuckled seeing her worrying for him. ¡°Am going to tell someone to make hangover soup for you-¡± Eleanora spoke as she turned to leave but the candle from Cathain¡¯s hands dropped on the floor as he hugged her from behind. ¡°Stay with me,¡± His hands was wrapped around her waist as he rubbed his face against hers. ¡°Am feeling lonely...¡± ¡°Till now, i had one reason which made me go on without you beside me... But today, that reason is fulfilled. I finally avenged our mothers... Our past self¡¯s.¡± ¡°Now, you are the sole reason for me to go on..¡± Eleanora¡¯s felt her cheeks burning as his hot breathe continued to fall on her face and she tried to loosen his grip over her waist a little. ¡°Your- Your Majesty...Can you- move a little and then t-talk?¡± She felt flustered because of the closeness between them. But then, Cathain turned her over to pull her more closer and see her face. ..... ¡°Are you feeling embarrassed?¡± Cathain spoke as he bent down to move his face more closer to her and Eleanora averted her gaze. ¡°No, why would i- it¡¯s a little ufortable to talk like this...¡± ¡°Okay, so we won¡¯t talk anymore... Let¡¯s dance.¡± ¡°D-Dance?!¡± Before Eleanora could react, Cathain had hold her hands as he started to move slowly like a slow dance. There was no music, no spotlight on them, no audience. She could faintly hear the blowing of the wind and low chirping sounds of birds. The tree branches would make a swaying sound as strong wind would hit them. The weird noisesing from the bugs and their loud footsteps echoed like a beat. Where their breathing mingled together and created a sound, which was pleasing to her ears. But it sounded more fantastic then any orchestra in this silent ballroom. Both of them was dancing freely and peacefully. His left hand rested on her waist and his right hand entangled fingers with her left hand. Where her right hand rested on his upper left arm. He took a step ahead and she took a step back. Eleanora leaned back as he leaned up on her, before she straightened her back again and meet his soft gaze. A low smile appeared on her face before she started to giggle as they continued to dance. Cathain smiled as he saw her smiling and speed up their slow dance. The shawl dropped from her body as he twirled her in circle and her white silk night dress swayed because of the motion. Her shiny silver hair shined golden because of the candle lights and his red eyes looked more bright. Grabbing her waist with his both hands, Cathain picked her up and Eleanora rested her hands on his shoulders to support herself. After a twirl, Eleanora slowly moved her hands away from his shoulder as she spread her hands to feel the moment. A soft chuckle left from both of their mouths as Eleanora panted a little after her foot touched the ground again. ¡°..Hah, this was amazing...¡± Eleanora eximed as she breathed fast and Cathain put his forehead on hers, as he spoke with a hoarse voice. ¡°We aren¡¯t finished yet...¡± Cathain spoke as he carried her up in his arms again and spin her around. Eleanora giggled out loud as she wrapped her hands around his neck. They continued to dance, pause to catch their breathe and then dance again. Till the darkness of the night faded and the sky brighten up with the raising sun. The candles has blown off long ago, only the melted wax remained. Both of themid on the ground as their feet started to ache in pain. None of them could either speak because of the exhaustion and breathed heavily. Cathain narrowed his red eyes to look at her as he turned his body to pull her into his embrace. Eleanora¡¯s back hit his sturdy chest and her head rested on his muscr arms. His fast and hot breath continued to fall on her and she felt her eyelids getting heavier. Soon, Cathain felt her body rx as she fall asleep and kissed her head before he closed his own eyes. ¡°Thank you for not leaving me alone, my empress;¡± . . . [A/N: So finally¡­ It¡¯s Chapter 200!!! I started this book with only a single thought- i wanted a male lead who will remember the past, suffer and regrets terribly, over possessive and dominant. (-_- Maybe i am a masochist?) Can¡¯t believe i really did it >_< ] Chapter 201 - 201 "Eleanora’s Fear" 201 ¡°Eleanora¡¯s Fear¡± ¡°So, we don¡¯t have beds in the imperial pce?¡± Valerian asked the two people infront of him, who was kneeling on the ground with an embarrassed face. He was sitting on the bed of his new room, as his previous emperor¡¯s room is upied by his son now. ¡°I can expect nothing from this blockhead, but what about you, Crown princess?¡± Eleanora flinched and looked at her father with pleading eyes to help her out, but Alexander just pretended not to see it. As Sir Anthony and Sir Raymond were the only person who knew that they were in the ballroom, went home this morning. The whole imperial ce was in uproar when they couldn¡¯t find the emperor and the crown princess in their rooms. Some even said Evan Ravens subordinates kidnapped them for revenge. In the end, everyone found them sleeping together on the floor of the ballroom. ..... ¡°You! Don¡¯t you know she is sensitive to cold?! How could you let her sleep on the ground!¡± ¡°A-Am sorry...Father,¡± Valerian rebuked Cathain, who didn¡¯t knew why he was getting punishment at this age like some teenager. Where Alexander just watched the show with his arms crossed over. ¡®Serves him right for eyeing at my daughter,¡¯ ¡°Just how old are you two?! The whole imperial pce now knows about this!!¡± ¡°The emperor and the crown princess were ying house game and fall asleep while they were at it, like children¡¯s!¡± ¡®Children?¡¯ Suddenly a scene from his childhood popped up in Cathain¡¯s mind; when the seven year old him once yed house game with the three year old Eleanora. At that time, The Alexander used to live at their own ducal territory. And only returned to the capital after the dead of the duchess. Before that, Cathain would only meet her when the duke would take his wife and daughter for a vacation in the capital. As his father used to be busy for chatting with the duke and duchess, he would be sent to y with her as usual. shback~ The little Eleanora was sitting on the mattress, under a big tree; as she took out her toy tea cups and other necessary toys with her small hands. Her silver hair was tied up into two buns with ribbons, and she was wearing a light yellow coloured fluffy dress. As he walked in the garden, Little Eleanora turned her face and waved her hands at Cathain, before she opened her mouth to speak. ¡°Cow pins! y with Elee!!¡± ¡°...¡± The seven year old crown prince felt like he had turned into a stone after hearing his genius fiancee¡¯s pronouncing. ¡®From an ice man to cow pins?!¡¯ ¡°Cow pins!¡± ¡°Hey- It¡¯s CROWN PRINCE! Not COW PINS!¡± Cathain exined and little Eleanora tilted her head with confusion before she spoke again with a bright smile. ¡°Clown pinch!¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain sat beside her on the mattress with a frown and decided to correct her one more time. ¡°Am telling you thest time, listen carefully!¡± ¡°It¡¯s C-R-O-W-N... P-R-I-N-C-E!!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Say it! C-R-O-W-N... P-R-I-N-C-E!!¡± ¡°...The Cloud looks like peach!! Elee wanna go to the beach!!!¡± Eleanora murmured the poem which her mother sings to make her eat peaches and forces Alexander to take them at the beach by saying that, their daughter wants to go. ¡°...¡± ¡®Aughhhh!!!! Howe she can sing poems with such difficult words but can¡¯t utter Crown prince properly?!¡¯ ¡®Were those nobles insulting my IQ byparing me with this girl?!¡¯ ¡°Cain...¡± Cathain murmured his nickname as he looked at her with embarrassment and Eleanora tilted her head again as her round blue eyes stared at him. ¡°Cain?¡± ¡°Yeah... Am only allowing you to call it except my father!!¡± ¡°Cain! pay Elee!¡± Little Eleanora spoke as she hold out her toy tea cup towards him to drink, which had nothing in it. ¡°Wink tea..¡± ¡°...It¡¯s ¡®y!¡¯ ¡®Drink Tea!¡¯ And what kind of childish game is it? I won¡¯t y it!¡± He wanted to push the toy tea cup away but he has unintentionally used much strength, which resulted the tea cup to fall down from her hands. ¡°...¡± Cathain felt a litte guilty for breaking her tea cup as Eleanora¡¯s eyes widened to see her little tea cup broken into pieces. ¡°...I will buy you another one- HEY!!!!¡± He paused on his words before he panicked to find Eleanora¡¯s round blue eyes filling up with tears. ¡°D-Don¡¯t cry-¡± Cathain didn¡¯t knew what to do, which made him panic even more. Eleanora rubbed her eyes with her tiny hands as she started to cry more louder. ¡°Pa-paaaa!!!... Cain hit Elee!!!¡± ¡°What?! When did i hit you?! Don¡¯t speak nonsense!¡± ¡°PAPAAAA!!!¡± ¡°Hey!!! Don¡¯t cry!!!¡± ¡°PAPAAAAA!!¡± ¡°I will y!!!¡± ¡°...Okay! lesss pay!!!¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain be speechless as Eleanora instantly stopped crying, as soon as he agreed to y. She happily started to take out more toys from the basket beside her to y with him. ¡®...What was that crying for then?¡¯ But after sometime, he also started to enjoy ying with her. In the end, both of them felt exhausted and fall asleep together. ~End of shback. ¡°ARE YOU IGNORING YOUR FATHER NOW?!¡± ¡°Ouch!¡± Cathain touched his upper arm which was hit by a bamboo stick by his father, which he uses to walk. But he was still chuckling because of the past memories, which angered his father more. Valerian be frustrated as his son started tozying up as soon as he returned. He is afraid that his son might dump all the works on him, to chase after Eleanora. ¡°Haizz... What more can i say...¡± ¡°...¡± ..... ¡®You¡¯ve been lecturing us for 15 mins, father!!! and still say that you have nothing more to say?!¡¯ ¡°You two- It¡¯s time for you two to make a child instead of ying children¡¯s game!¡± Eleanora¡¯s face turned red as she heard Valerian¡¯s words and Alexander¡¯s face turned dark. ¡°No, she is still young.¡± Alexander spoke. ¡°Hah... Look who¡¯s talking! How old was the duchess when you married her?!¡± ¡°...¡± Valerian mocked Alexander, whose lips was pressed together tightly as he couldn¡¯t refute Vlerian¡¯s words. Alexander be speechless as his wife was only slightly older then his daughter when she was pregnant. ¡°YOUR MAJESTY!!!¡± A knight called out for Cathain with a loud voice and everyone in the room turned their attention on the knight. Cathain stood up as he helped Eleanora stand up too, Where Alexander helped Valerian. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± The emperor asked. ¡°There is a fire in Toastra!!¡± ¡°TOASTRA?! How severe is the damage?!¡± Cathain furrowed his brows as he approched the knights for more information. ¡°We heard that they are having a hard time extinguishing the fire because of the strong wind.¡± Where Eleanora stood still with her face turning pale. ¡®Toastra?¡¯ ¡®This fire happened before a month of my execution¡­¡¯ ¡®At that time, it was Evan Ravens doing... To worsen the public opinion about me, who asked for Cedrick to help by controlling the wind.¡¯ ¡®But it only worsened the situation more.¡± ¡®Why is it happening now?¡¯ ¡®Father and his majesty, none of them was present at that time... So they doesn¡¯t know much about this incident...¡¯ ¡®Is it a hint that... My fate might repeat again?¡¯ ¡°Take me with you,¡± Eleanora spoke to the emperor, who was stunt to hear her words. ¡°No! That¡¯s dangerous! I have fire mana so i can control it-¡± Cathain wanted to stop Eleanora from going there but she paid no attention to him as she started tomand everyone. Like she used to do before. ¡°Sir Edmund, call the reinforcement soldiers at once. Then inform Duke Hertz to contact the magic tower and gather magicians to deal with the situation.¡± ¡°Tell him that if young master Hertz refuses to help, then we have to do it the harder way.¡± ¡°Inform Lady Raven and Duke Richardo to get prepare with the medical team and ask Duke Raven to rescue the people first.¡± ¡°Make the banquet hall avable to help the victims.¡± The knights nced at the emperor as they was confused either they should follow her or not. But after seeing the emperor nodding to them in assurance, the knights immediately startes to work ording to her instructions. ¡°I will take you there, let¡¯s go.¡± Cathain spoke and Eleanora followed him out to go to Toastra. ¡°She resembles the duchess a lot...¡± Valerian spoke as a smile appeared on his face, after seeing Eleanora finally acting like a monarch. ¡°This is why am also afraid... What if i lose her too?¡± Alexander spoke with a painful voice as hw knew what she was worried about. He knew that she still couldn¡¯t let go of the past. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, trust them. They are different from us, very different.¡± Valerian spoke as he sensed Alexander¡¯s worry. ¡°Looking at them...don¡¯t they look like us?¡± Valerian recalled the past, when Alexander would assist him in every imperial work and stay beside him most of the time. Just like how Cathain and Eleanora are working together now. ¡°No,pared to them; i am a lot younger then you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Duke... You aren¡¯t calling me old right?¡± ¡°Are you not?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get going, Your excellency. So that they don¡¯t lose themselves in their duties like us...¡± Alexander spoke after staying silent for a few moments with a faint painful smile on his face. Then he decided to follow The emperor and his daughter, with the previous emperor to also help them. He doesn¡¯t want his daughter to lose the current cheerful version of hers in this political fights and all again. ¡®I hope that no matter where you are, you will always be happy; My princess,¡± ¡­ Toastra, a industrial ce for foreign renters in the Capital city of the Valentino Empire~ ¡°I will try to absorb the fire and merge them with my powers.¡± ¡°Hmn, I will observe the situation and lead the people then.¡± Cathain and Eleanora divided their works and both of them went two ways with separate teams following them. ¡°How¡¯s the situation?¡± Eleanora asked Sir Charles, who was following her from behind. ¡°As you know that Toastra has arge number of renters, so the exact poption of residents is not known.¡± ¡°However, the total number of households are estimated to be about 5 thousands.¡± ¡®The damage is greater then i expected, it¡¯s just like the past.¡¯ ¡°Have the soldiers and the magicians arrived?¡± Eleanora asked as they entered an old building which didn¡¯t caught fire, where other high ranking official members were waiting for orders. ¡°Yes, A number of healers have also arrived. We also bought some extra mages, since the wind is strong.¡± Count Green replied with a little annoyance as he didn¡¯t liked the crown princess to be here. ¡°That¡¯s it? What about the rescue operations?¡± Eleanora asked with a frown as this old man¡¯s again neglected the safety of the people. ¡°There isn¡¯t much we can do with a fire this size.¡± ¡°We did our best to bring in the healers.¡± ¡°We have no choice but to pray for their safety.¡± ¡°Perhaps this is their fate.¡± ¡°We have already done plenty to save thismoners,¡± Eleanora raised an eyebrow as she heard the words of those nobles, who acted to help but actually waiting to pass down their responsibility. ¡°Sir Charles,¡± ¡°Yes, Your highness?¡± ¡°Sent them back, we don¡¯t need useless people¡¯s here.¡± Eleanora spoke as she narrowed her blue eyes and everyone looked at her with shock. Chapter 202 - 202 "Annul The Engagement" 202 ¡°Annul The Engagement¡± ¡®How dare she?!¡¯ ¡®She is going to sent us back? Just like this?¡¯ ¡®She isn¡¯t even the empress but already acts so high!¡¯ Where the imperial knights behind Eleanora tried to hold back theirughter and nodded to obey her. No one till now has ever dared to speak so frankly and teach those nobles a lesson. So they loved their future empress¡¯s sense of unintentional humour a lot. ¡°Yes, Your highness.¡± ¡°Everyone, this way please.¡± Sir Charles gestured the officials to go out, who sneered at Eleanora for having over confidence. ¡°We¡¯ll see how you fight against the nature! This isn¡¯t battlefield!!¡± ..... But Eleanora paid no attention to them as she continued to think about how to stop this fire. ¡®With the help of Rick, we can control the wind to rescue the stuck in people. Because if he tries to control the fire then it will only spread more.¡¯ ¡®Brother Dom is also here, so he can help us with healing and Lennie can lead the medical team along with Duke Richardo to help the injured people...¡¯ ¡®His Majesty can absorb the fire but he can¡¯t hold on for much longer... I need to handle the situation here first and then help him,¡¯ ¡®My ice magic would be a bad way to fight arge scale fire like this. We would have to wait for the ice to melt into water while all that time the fire is growing.¡¯ ¡®Liquid water of water mages is the best medium for rapid extinguishment.¡¯ ¡°Sir Edmund, you lead the water mages to extinguish the fire and protect them.¡± ¡°Sir Charles, follow me to rescue the people.¡± ¡°My ice magic can¡¯t extinguish the fire but it can hold them back for a little while. You all need to go in and help people out at the meantime.¡± ¡°Yes, Your highness!¡± With the help of the new duke of Ravens to control the wind, people started to get out safely and the medical team lead by Duke Richardo helped the injured people with medical technology. The crown prince of Arendell and Lady Raven helped by healing the severely injured people, as they lead the healers team. The emperor kept controlling the fire so that it doesn¡¯t spread more. Where The crown princess lead the magicians and imperial knights to rescue the trapped people. In a short time, almost all of the people were rescued but the fire couldn¡¯t be extinguished yet. Cathain felt his whole body burning hot because of controlling such arge scale fire, his face had turned red as his body got covered with sweat. ¡®Just a little- i need to hang on...¡¯ Right then, Cathain¡¯s closed red eyes open wide as he sensed another energy absorbing the fire. ¡°FATHER!¡± ¡°YOUR HEALTH ISN¡¯T WELL!!¡± Cathain roared at his father, who started to control the fire to help him. ¡°You brat- are you taking revenge on me by yelling at me back?¡± ¡°WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!¡± ¡°BACK OFF NOW!!¡± ¡°I CAN HANDLE IT!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry... Am not gonna die without ying with my grandkids. Focus on controlling, you can yell at meter.¡± Cathain pressed his lips together as his cheeks puffed up a little and he averted his gaze. ¡°Hey, Are you crying?¡± ¡°AM NOT! Smoke got into my eyes.¡± ¡°Yeah... The smoke got emotional. Like i have never seen you pouting before to hold back your tears.¡± ¡°AM NOT POUTING!¡± Valerian chuckled as he felt like he has gone back to the time, when Cathain was little and would pout to hold back his tears after getting injured. ¡­ ¡°I heard that she is the crown princess?¡± ¡°She is an ice swordmaster... How can she extinguish the fire?¡± ¡°But still she is trying her best to control the situation...¡± ¡°Can we really trust her?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? She did so much for us! Because of her, now our girls are free and work. Our children¡¯s can also study!¡± ¡°But this situation is different...we shouldn¡¯t expect much and keep watching.¡± The people around Eleanora kept murmuring about their opinions, but she didn¡¯t had time for this. Then suddenly a tall building copse and people gasped with horror. Eleanora¡¯s blue eyes widened as she felt the crushed building as the beginning of her past self copsing. The clock tower rang loudly as it hit 12 o¡¯clock, like reminding her that, the countdown has began. She knows that the past won¡¯t repeat like before. The current emperor won¡¯t kill her, the current Jennifer won¡¯t harm her, the current Alexander would protect her. But just like how Dominic and the previous emperor is still alive, how this ce still burnt down- she can¡¯t shake off the fear that her fate can be changed otherwise. She might not die like the past, but that doesn¡¯t mean that she won¡¯t die in some other ways. Everything is happening just like the past, but more faster. This same building had copsed at the same time during her past life too. Eleanora stood alone as people around her started to run away, in case the other buildings starts to copse too. But her mind was too upied that she didn¡¯t even noticed a brick falling down on her. ¡°ELEE!!¡± ¡°Papa?¡± Alexander rushed to Eleanora with a worried face as pulled her back and the brick crushed on the ground. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Yes... Sorry... I got distracted...¡± ¡°Just be careful from now on...¡± Alexander didn¡¯t spoke much as he could understand what she was worrying about. Even if he was at the borders when this incident happened on their past life, he was fully aware of the incidents in the capital. ¡°But wasn¡¯t you with his excellency?¡± ¡°He is helping the emperor.¡± ¡°But his health-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he might look weak but his magic isn¡¯t.¡± Alexander spoke as he looked around. The whole ce was burning down and without the help of the emperor to control the fire, this ce would have already burnt downpletely. Just like the past timeline. ¡°Elee... You know about ¡®Ice Outburst¡¯ process, right?¡± Alexander asked and Eleanora¡¯s eyes widened as she nodded. Like how the imperial family members with pure fire mana can control the fire and merge it with their own magic powers; The Dalton¡¯s who have rare ice magic canbine their powers together with apatible persons magic. Merging her powers with Cedrick, who is an Wind mage; they created ¡®Wind Sword¡¯ magic fusion. This helps Eleanora to float in air by the help of Cedrick and her magical ice swords could be used like arrows to shot down enemies. ..... Merging her powers with Cathain, who has pure fire mana, their merged powers created ¡®Mana explosion¡¯ magic fusion. In this magic fusion, everything around them till a certain distance will be destroyed by field exploding because of the strong destructive power. ¡®Ice outburst¡¯ is a simr process, which can only be done by two people with the same magical powers. Like Alexander and Eleanora, who have the same ice magic. Alexander extended his both palms towards Eleanora and she put her palm against his, as they both closed their eyes to focus on merging their powers. Their ice magic merges together and the sh between two same powers crushes their magic, which is painfulpared to other magic fusions. The ice mana in their body started melt down after their magic crushed each others powers. ¡°It¡¯s Duke of Dalton!¡± ¡°What are they doing?!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me- is it the legendary ¡®Ice Outburst¡¯ magic fusion?!!!¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t seen this for ages!!¡± The clear sky be cloudy and Eleanora gritted her teeth as Alexander¡¯s powers were much stronger then hers. Which made her magic crush down more brutally and her body ache with pain. A few drops of rain started to pour down and soon, it started to rain heavily. The fire started to extinguish as the Ice Outburst magic fusion got more powerful. Eleanora bite her lips as she focused on putting on more powers and people started to cheer up for her. ¡°You can do it, Captain!!¡± ¡°YES!! We believe in you!!¡± ¡°GLORY TO OUR FUTURE EMPRESS!!¡± ¡°GO ON, COMMANDER!!¡± Cathain and Valerian looked up as they also guessed it was the Dalton¡¯s Ice Outburst and stopped controlling the fire. ¡®Elee...¡¯ Cathain be worried as Eleanora was again using her powers beyond her capability. ¡®She didn¡¯t even recovered from her past injuries during the war properly and now she is using her power again!¡¯ Alexander knew about this too, but he did it so that she can understand that she can change her past. She failed to handle this matter in the past because she was alone. But now she has everyone with her. He knows that the past affected her very greatly, but if she doesn¡¯t ovees it now; she can never do itter on. As the fire gotpletely extinguished, Alexander opened his eyes with shock as he saw Eleanora falling down because of exhaustion. ¡°ELEE!!¡± ¡°Papa...¡± He caught her in time as he hold her in his arms with a worried face and Cathain, who was rushing towards her paused on his steps after hearing her words. ¡°Annul the engagement...¡± Chapter 203 - 203 "The Knighting Ceremony" 203 ¡°The Knighting Ceremony¡± The gloomy sky with heavy rain felt like the current condition of Cathain¡¯s heart. He just stand still with no motion as he continued to get drenched. ¡®Annul the engagement...¡¯ Eleanora¡¯s words kept ringing on his mind like this was the only thing he could hear. Alexander looked at Eleanora with confusion too, as he didn¡¯t expected her to say this. Where Valerian, who was behind Cathain was also shocked. ¡°Your Majesty, excuse us first.¡± Alexander spoke as he carried up Eleanora to leave for their duchy and some knights rushed with umbres. Cathain clenched his fist tightly as he couldn¡¯t understand why she still wanted to annul the engagement. ..... Wasn¡¯t they good? They danced for the whole night just yesterday, sheughed with him, then why? Because of the past? Just for how long he¡¯s gonna get punished for something which his past self did? Cathain refused to ept it this time. He was about to run after Alexander, when his father stopped him from behind. ¡°Cain, don¡¯t repeat my mistake...¡± ¡°BUT, YOU HEARD IT!! SHE- she wants to annul our engagement!!¡± Cathain exined hurriedly to his father as he was really afraid of her to annul the engagement. ¡°I heard it. But if you go after her right now- the situation will get worse. You are mad and she will get hurt because of your dominance. You need to give her some time to calm down first.¡± ¡°HOW CAN I STAY CALM AFTER WHAT SHE SAID!¡± Cathain roared as insecurity started to fill his heart and Valerian understood where the problem was. ¡°I don¡¯t know why she said that, but son; just because she said this...your engagement didn¡¯t got annulled right away, did it?¡± Cathain paused and looked at his father nkly as it was true, unless he signs the annulment papers; they would still be engaged. ¡°Then what¡¯s the point of chasing after her for an exnation, which might only make her decision to get away from you more strong?¡± As his father spoke, Cathain finally calmed down and thought about the past. He was like that... His insecurities would make him act violently with her, hurting her, make her afraid of him. And he doesn¡¯t want to do that again. ¡°Be patient, if only i had that... Your mother might be with us. I was just like you.¡± Valerian spoke as he looked up at the sky and hold a umbre over Cathain¡¯s head, who waspletely silent. ¡°I had be so afraid when i had heard that she was going to get married to someone else and she didn¡¯t wanted to marry into anrge empire like ours; instead of being patient with her- I forced her to marry me because of my own greed.¡± ¡°If i had exined this political situations to her rather then hiding them to think she will be safer that way, maybe she would also be wary of the people around her and wouldn¡¯t get mislead.¡± ¡°She was much weak and soft then Lady Dalton, so innocent that she would even mourn for a dead bird. You know... I stopped the hunting festival because of your mother.¡± ¡°She was afraid of blood, she didn¡¯t liked how people hunts for their own entertainment. I still remember how brightly she smiled at me because of that simple thing.¡± ¡°At that time, I didn¡¯t had much powers. The officials was against our family when your grandfather just killed himself after the death of your grandmother.¡± ¡°They thought i was the same, and opposed me as an emperor. Almost more then eighty percent people was against me, so I concealed my identity from your mother and kept talking through letters for years, meet her as Vale. Not emperor Valerian.¡± ¡°My powers got stronger when i broke off my engagement with the duchess, because the duke had fallen for her and in return, i asked him to take blood oath.¡± ¡°Together with Duke Dalton and the imperial faction, my position started to get a little stable and then i bought your mother in the pce.¡± ¡°I broke her trust by lying to her for years. She misunderstood me because of my own foolishness, i was a coward who used to be afraid whenever she said she wanted to go back to her hometown; which i had destroyed to take her with me.¡± ¡°No wonder your mother used to think that i conquered her like some victory trophy... I didn¡¯t win over her heart- that¡¯s why i was always so insecure.¡± Valerian paused on his words as he tap on Cathain¡¯s back a few times with a heavy sigh. ¡°So, win her heart... Not chain her down with you...¡± ¡°Show her your love, not crazy possessiveness and obsession.¡± Valerian looked at his son sympathetically and left as he thought it would be better to give Cathain some time to also calm down; think about his words carefully. ¡®I hope you don¡¯t end up like me, son. I don¡¯t want to see you repeating my story. It¡¯s really hard to keep on living when your heart is already dead... And you can¡¯t even me anyone but only yourself for your mistakes.¡¯ ¡®Cathy...bless our son, let him be happy with the person he loves.¡¯ One by one, the knights also started leave as Valerian ordered them to leave the emperor alone for sometime and protect him from the shadows. The rain had also stopped and Cathain finally took steps towards the blue ribbon on the ground. Which was tied on her hair. He picked up the ribbon as he squat down on the ground; brushing of the dirt from it. ¡®What should i do to make you stop running away from me?¡¯ A monthter~ ¡®IS THIS ALL THAT AN EMPRESS CAN DO?¡¯ ¡®EVERYTHING IS BURNT DOWN!!! WHO WILL HELP US NOW?!¡¯ ¡®WE HAVE NOTHING LEFT NOW!!¡¯ ¡®ONLY IF SHE WAS MORE CAPABLE!¡¯ ¡®SHE COULD HANDLE THIS SITUATION BETTER!¡¯ ¡®WE LOST OUR EVERYTHING, BECAUSE OF HER!¡¯ ¡®HOW DID SHE MANAGED TO WON THE WAR, WHERE SHE COULDN¡¯T EVEN HANDLE THIS FIRE PROPERLY?!¡¯ ¡®AS EXPECTED FROM NOBLES, LIFES OF COMMONERS DOESN¡¯T MATTER TO THEM!!¡¯ ¡®INCOMPETENT!!!¡¯ ¡®DOESN¡¯T DESERVES TO BE THE EMPRESS!!!¡¯ ¡®YOU MEAN NOTHING TO ME, EMPRESS. AND YOUR CHILD WILL BE JUST LIKE YOU! NOTHING!¡¯ ¡®ONLY HER CHILD CAN BE MY HEIR!!¡¯ ¡®I THINK THE EVIDENCE HERE HAS WEIGHED IN AN OBVIOUS RESULT. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY IN YOUR DEFENCE, LADY DALTON?¡¯ ¡®YOU HAVE BEEN FOUND GUILTY OF THE CHARGES AGAINST YOU. THE MURDER OF THE EMPIRE¡¯S HEIR AND HARM TO THE QUEEN.¡¯ ¡®THEREFORE, WITH THE POWER HELD WITHIN ME, I, EMPEROR OF THE VALENTINO EMPIRE SENTENCE YOU, ELEANORA LA DALTON, TO DEATH! YOUR SENTENCE IS TO CARRY OUT IMMEDIATELY!¡¯ ¡°NOOOOOO!!!¡± Eleanora yelled with her eyes still closed as she sat up on her bed abruptly. ¡°MY LADY! CALM DOWN!¡± Maria rushed to Eleanora and hugged her tightly to make her feel safe. ¡°AM NOT INCOMPETENT!! I¡¯M NOT!¡± ¡°Yeah, We know...Calm down, Breathe slowly...¡± ¡°I DIDN¡¯T... I DID MY BEST...¡± Eleanora spoke broken words which Maria couldn¡¯t understand but still tried tofort her. ¡°We know it, you did your best... You¡¯re amazing, Mydy.¡± Maria pat on her back and Eleanora wrapped her hands around Maria¡¯s waist. She looked at Eleanora worriedly as it¡¯s been once month since she is having nightmares and would woke up like this. ¡®Just what is bothering her so much?¡¯ ¡®I even heard that she wants to annul her engagement with the emperor...¡± ¡°Mydy... It¡¯s gettingte, the day you¡¯ve waiting for finally came; you won¡¯t look good with puffy eyes today.¡± ..... Maria spoke gently as she cupped Eleanora¡¯s face in her hands and Eleanora slowly opened her blue eyes. ¡®I cried again?¡¯ Even Eleanora herself didn¡¯t knew why she kept having nightmares for the past month. And this made her feel more afraid of the uing unknown future. ¡°Let¡¯s get ready, Mydy!!! We¡¯re runningte!!¡± Jennie spoke as she opened the door with great enthusiasm and a team of maid followed her from behind to help Eleanora get ready. They all knew how much theirdy wanted to be a knight and participate in the knight oath ceremony. Maria helped Eleanora to take a bath as the other maids prepared her ck knight suit, which was decorated with red gemstones and gold embroidery. The imperial knights, who guards the pce wears pestle green knight suits. Where the first squadron knights wears blue and silver suit like their captain, Duke of Dalton. And the second squadron knights wears dark green suit like their captain, Duke of Hertz. Meanwhile, The third squadron knights are under the direct observation of the emperor and thus, their knight suit is ck and red; like the imperial family¡¯s colour code. As Eleanora has already be the captain of the third squadron, she had to wear the official uniform for today¡¯s event. Only when she attends any official event as the heir of Duke of Dalton, she can wear the same suit as her father; otherwise she can¡¯t. Jennie tied Eleanora¡¯s silver hair with a ck ribbon as the others put some light makeup on her. The two imperial badge on her left chest shined as the light reflected on them. The red one represented her as the imperial family member, where the ck one represented her as the captain of the third knight squadron. Her father had two official badge too, the silver one represented him as the Duke of Dalton and the blue one as the captain of the first imperial knight squadron. ¡®There is no turning back this time... I don¡¯t want to risk my life and suffer anymore.¡¯ ¡®Am sorry papa... But i must do this!¡¯ Eleanora looked at her reflection on the mirror with satisfaction as she got up from her seat to find her father, who was already waiting for her downstairs. ¡°PAPA!¡± Alexander looked up as he heard Eleanora¡¯s cheerful call and smiled at her. The long red cape, which was draped over her shoulder swayed in the air as she climbed down the stairs happily. ¡°You¡¯ve grown up... Now my daughter can be considered as my colleague, Am i right; Captain Dalton?¡± ¡°Yes, Big Captain Dalton!¡± Alexander chuckled as Eleanora called him Big Captain Dalton and kissed her forehead. ¡°You¡¯ve made me proud of you again,¡± ¡°I want to make you more proud, Papa.¡± Eleanora spoke as she also felt a little guilty about what she was going to do without telling her father beforehand. ¡®You won¡¯t me me, right?¡¯ Chapter 204 - 204 "Blood Oath" 204 ¡°Blood Oath¡± The imperial pce~ The whole imperial pce was decorated with imperial red g with a golden roaring lion engraved on it beautifully. Unlike the other years, more and more people joined because it would be their first time seeing a girl pledging her loyalty. Not to mention that girl being the fiancee of the emperor. Many people was congratting her, including Lady Arlo and Diana Richardo; who specially prepared a bouquet of red roses for Eleanora. The ceremony began with Cedrick pledging his loyalty as the next duke of Raven. Many people sneered at him for what his father did. Calling him pitiful and mock at him, but Cedrick didn¡¯t mind them at all. He knew that he can make their family shine like before again, as he doesn¡¯t want to make Eleanora embarrassed. ..... She bought him out from hisfort zone and taught him the meaning of life. Despite knowing about his father¡¯s schemes, she didn¡¯t pushed him away and befriended him. He doesn¡¯t want to let her down by giving up on his responsibilities. He want to show everyone the glory of Raven Duchy once again. After Cedrick, Jennifer was given the title of ¡®Pioneer¡¯ foring up with an antidote for the affected knights during the war; the highest rank after the empress. Because of her invention, thousand lives was saved. To Jennifer, she didn¡¯t deserved this title. This same people had died because of her in the past. But Dominic stood beside her while holding her hands tightly, reassuring her into thinking that the current her deserves this. Duke Richardo¡¯s proposal to share their medical technology in exchange of the werwolves safety and seeing them as normal like others also got approved. From now on, they wouldn¡¯t have to shut them off in their own territory in fear of being discovered and feel unwanted by others. Now they can also move freely like others, apply for official ranks and pursue higher education. People was shocked at this and some even debated, but Dion believed it will be solved soon. It¡¯s not tote yet to change. And then, finally it was Eleanora¡¯s turn to take her knighting oath. The emperor stood infront of her with a gloomy face as he was still saddened by the fact that she wanted to annul their engagement. As his father had advised him, he didn¡¯t chased after her that day or tried to meet her. He was afraid that the moment he will meet her, she will bring up the annulment topic. Cathain watched Eleanora walking towards him with a firm determination, her blue eyes was shining brightly then ever. He clenched the sword on his hands, which was going to rest above her shoulder as soon as she would kneel down on the podium; before him as a loyal knight. He wants to see her standing beside him, not to stand behind and swear on her life to protect him. Even the audience could see the pain in his red eyes, but her cold blue eyes just pretended not to see it as she kneeled down. ¡°I, Eleanora La Ariande Dalton, Daughter of Alexander De Xavier Dalton; pledge my loyalty to the throne and swear to keep this vow untill myst breathe.¡± [A/N: She is mentioning throne because they pledge their loyalty to the imperial family, which is not bound with one single person. The knights will keep their vows and protect the next person who bes the emperor too.] The sword on his hands trembled a little as she started to swore her oath. Cathain felt his heart twitching but he remind himself to calm down. Even if she swore knight oath, she can still be the empress ording to the rule he changed back then. Woman¡¯s are allowed to be high ranking officials now, so an empress seed her family too. But that wasn¡¯t enough for his heart to calm down the madness in his heart, which was afraid of losing her like his past self. He is not strong like his past self. They have a lot of good memories together and his feelings for her is even greater then his past self. From the moment he found himself not hating her anymore because of his unreasonable jealousy, he had fallen for her harder. And kept falling more deeper with no way to escape this feeling. ¡°The goddess gave me this life and my powers, and i offer my everything to the owner of the throne. So, you may employ it as you wish.¡± Cathain took a deep breathe but his heart felt heavy, he spoke in a low and hoarse voice as he epted her knight oath. ¡°...May the goddess bless and honour you to keep this vow till yourst breathe. Glory to the empire,¡± Everyone cheered up, but Alexander¡¯s face became stiff as a sudden realisation hit him. ¡®Why isn¡¯t she getting up- Don¡¯t tell me...!¡¯ Alexander¡¯s fear came true as he watched Eleanora hold out her sword infront of the emperor with her head up with determination once again. ¡°Your Majesty...¡± Eleanora spoke and Cathain¡¯s red eyes widened with horror. ¡°...No,¡± Cathain murmured but Eleanora was firm with her decision. She had enough of this fear and mixed feelings. The fear of an unknown past, where her fate might get repeated in other ways; the mixed feelings for him which she doesn¡¯t want to admit. All of this things which kept tormenting her till now, she wants to cut them off totally. After thinking a lot during the past month, she finally found the ultimate solution to end everything. The blood oath of Dalton Duchy. With this oath, she won¡¯t be able to betray the throne and thus her powers as saintess or the problem of her being able to seed the throne will be cut off. She has already proved her worth to be the next duchess of the Dalton, she can lead the duchy and the army. Eleanora didn¡¯t wanted to know, realize the same feelings again, which was the downfall for her past self. She didn¡¯t wanted to admit that she felt the same as him, that her heart was once again beating for that same man; who was once her nightmare and also the person who chased away those bad memories by filling them with new ones. She didn¡¯t wanted to dwell on her feelings anymore and focus on living happily in this new future. Cathain flinched as Eleanora opened her mouth to speak and hepletely froze. ¡°I, Eleanora La Ariande Dalton, the future 34th head of the Dalton Duchy, Hereby wish to carry out the long promised oath with the royal family as my duty.¡± ¡°The blood that flows in my veins, and the heart that beats inside this body... I offer my heart and my life to you forever... Please listen to my wish,¡± ¡°Heh-¡± A sneer came out from Cathain¡¯s mouth as he looked at Eleanora bitterly. His red eyes had turned dark as his face became stiff. ¡°Tell me, what is it that you desire so much; which made you to came up with such a cruel trick?¡± Cathain spoke mockingly, but that mockery was towards himself. As everyone said, he became gentle with her, gave her time and space to think clearly. He hold back his feelings and was always considered of her. He suffered for sins which he didn¡¯t even remembered clearly, but still she kept pushing him away. And his crazy heart still beats for such a cruel girl. Everytime he took a step back to make her feelfortable, she would take ten steps back by taking advantage of the situation to ran away from him. Eleanora felt everyone¡¯s curious gaze on her and she took a deep breath before she started to speak again. ¡°My wish is to be written down in history as the 34th Head of Dalton Duchy, and only as the head of Dalton Duchy.¡± ¡°!!!¡± Everyone gasped as soon as they heard her words and the whole hall fall into uproar discussion. Even the knights couldn¡¯t make the audience quite as their conversations started to get louder and louder. But Cathain kept looking at the kneeling girl infront of him with his dark face, a smirk appeared on his face before he started to speak. Which automatically silent down everyone. ¡°If i give up on you, i can earn the absolute loyalty of Dalton Duchy for the next two generations- A very profitable trade in exchange of my engagement.¡± ¡°As an wish emperor... I would be a fool to not ept this, right?¡± Eleanora be a little confused as Cathain suddenly asked her a question and she shuttered a little as she answered. ¡°Y-Yes, Your Majesty...¡± ..... But to everyone¡¯s surprise, The emperor suddenly kneeled down infront of her as he took his face closer to her and whispered in her ears with a devilish smile on his face. ¡°Seems like you don¡¯t like me being patient and let you live in peace... So, i won¡¯t ept your request either; My empress!¡± . . . [A/N: As this story is going to end, i was thinking to write another trashy story to satisfy my masochistic nature, where the male lead remembers the past by torturing him mentally. Any tips or opinion?] Chapter 205 - 205 "Disappointment" 205 ¡°Disappointment¡± Although the emperor¡¯s tone was gentle, but Eleanora could still feel his anger which he was trying to suppress and stood up on his feet to face the crowd once again. ¡°Blood oath can¡¯t bepleted with one persons disapproval. Congrattions and glory to our future moon, for finally being appointed as the official Captain of third squadron from now on!¡± ¡°The ceremony ends here!¡± Eleanora nkly stared at Cathain, who just rejected her vow without any second thoughts and stomped out of the podium angrily. ¡®No, this isn¡¯t what i thought-¡® Without wasting another moment, Eleanora ran after the emperor hurriedly. Where the imperial knights immediately took charge to silence down the uproarious audience. ¡°YOUR MAJESTY- LISTEN TO ME!¡± Eleanora called Cathain from behind but it seemed like he had no intention of stopping. ..... ¡°Your Majesty!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Eleanora flinched in pain as Cathain suddenly turned around to grab her wrist and pin her against the wall. His breathing was heavy as his gaze looked dangerous, like he wanted to eat her alive. The tension between them continued to grow as both of just kept staring at each others eyes, before Cathain finally mmed his thin lips on hers aggressively. Eleanora¡¯s body jumped up with surprise because of his aggressive kiss as she pushed on his shoulder but the more she restricted the more brutal he became. Cathain demanded nothing from her, he just wanted to be hers. Make herfortable with him and ept him, but he became greatly disappointed because of her actions today. He could never imagine that she would use the blood oath to break of their engagement. ¡®What am i to her?¡¯ ¡®Does she think i would happily ept her trade like some buisnessman?!¡¯ ¡®Is my feelings that cheap to her?!¡¯ ¡®Am going crazy again... I don¡¯t think she will evere to me willingly, i can only take her by force!¡¯ As Cathain¡¯s thoughts started to ran deeper, he sucked her lips which was pressed together tightly to stop him; as her fist kept hitting on his chest. But he didn¡¯t cared anymore. He did everything, he listened to his father and decided to not act like before anymore. He suppressed his possessiveness till now, but he is still standing at the same point like before. As her protest started to get more powerful, he put his body weight on her so that she can¡¯t move anymore and hold her both wrists above her head. He knew that she was out of breath but didn¡¯t cared as he considered this as a punishment. ¡®Does she knows how many times i felt suffocated because of her?!¡¯ ¡®No, she will never know and ignore it even if she knows. She only knows to hold onto the past and push me away,¡¯ Cathain bent down more as he pulled her closer by grabbing her waist and wanted to deepen their kiss more, but Eleanora bite his lower lips till her mouth filled with his blood. ¡°Heh-¡± Cathain sneered as he looked at Eleanora, who had pushed him away by using her mana and panted heavily to gasp for breath. He wiped away his blood with his thumb finger and chuckled after seeing how angry she looked. ¡°Feeling angry? Wronged?¡± ¡°This is how i feel, whenever you force something on me to ept; which i don¡¯t want to... Like your blood oath,¡± Cathain spoke with a sneer as he fixed her messy appearance with a wide smile on his face. Even if he acted gentle, Eleanora knew that he was only pretending to be gentle while hiding his anger. ¡°Go back to your papa and hide, if you don¡¯t- then even i don¡¯t know what i will end up doing to make you mine... I have already reached my limit.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wanna be a bad guy to my empress. So, Don¡¯t appear infront of me until i calm down; unless you want to experience something more then what i just did now.¡± Cathain spoke gently as he kissed her wet eysh and cupped her face in his hands. ¡°Did i made myself clear?¡± ¡°...¡± Eleanora couldn¡¯t reply as she felt her body bing numb because of fear filling her heart. Seeing her afraid of him again, Cathain¡¯s heart clenched with pain but he just decided to ignore the pain and pinched her jaw sharply. ¡°DID YOU UNDERSTAND MY WORDS, EMPRESS?!¡± ¡°Y-Yes!¡± ¡°You- i see... I was right. You really like to make me the bad guy and then see me suffer...¡± Cathain spoke mockingly as he took a few step back from her and looked at her coldly. He couldn¡¯t believe that he would stop so low one day to keep someone with him like this. It pain him to see her pale and scared face, but he also had enough. No matter what he did, their rtionship had no improvement. He felt like they had gone back to the starting once again, when he was aggressive and she feared him like this. Cathain couldn¡¯t bear to look at her anymore as he turned around to leave, before he started to speak. ¡°If i can give you the wings to fly, then i can also chop them off from you!¡± Eleanora¡¯s blue eyes widened as he uttered the same words from the past life she remembers, where it hurt him like hell to speak those cruel words. But now he knows only one thing, he can¡¯t live without her and he has to be hers. Her blood oath proved how determined she became to leave him, and he can¡¯t give her another chance like today to escape. ¡®Either you be mine or let me be yours... My empress.¡¯ ¡­ The sky had already turned dark when Eleanora returned at her home with a gloomy pale face. The usual cheerful mansion was silent today and she found her father sitting on the sofa, who was waiting for her return. There was no maid in the hallroom as Alexander ordered everyone to leave and waited for her return. ¡°Papa...¡± ¡°Am greatly disappointed at you, Eleanora Dalton.¡± Alexander¡¯s cold voice rang in the big hall room as he looked coldly at her and Eleanora¡¯s heart sank. ¡°Pa-Pa?¡± Eleanora was shocked, she couldn¡¯t believe what she just heard. ¡°What is our duchy¡¯s moto?!¡± ¡°N-Never run away from your responsibility, rather die then bow down and admit defeat!¡± Eleanora shuttered a little as she spoke, because she has never seen Alexander this cold for years. ¡°And... You did the exact same thing! This is all my fault- i made you this weak and vulnerable this time.¡± Alexander spoke as her behaviour to escape from her fears instead of facing them and breaking off her engagement was like submitting to her fears. Which was a mentally defeat of hers. ¡°No! Papa-¡± ¡°DID YOU TAKE THAT OATH BECAUSE YOU THINK THAT I CAN¡¯T PROTECT YOU?!¡± ¡°OR DO YOU THINK YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO IS SUFFERING?!¡± Alexander¡¯s hard scoldings made her tears drop from her eyes as she didn¡¯t even recovered from the sudden change of the emperor. But this time, Alexander felt more angry when he saw her crying again. ¡°HAH! SEE!!! YOU¡¯RE CRYING AGAIN!!¡± ¡°YOU ARE ALWAYS CRYING AND RUNNING AWAY, THEN SOLVING THE PROBLEM!¡± ¡°YOU HAVE YOUR OWN SUFFERINGS BUT YOU CAN¡¯T IGNORE THE OTHERS AND KEEP HURTING THEM, ELEANORA!¡± ..... ¡°DO YOU THINK WE ALL ARE BETTER? NO! WE ARE NOT!¡± ¡°HOW DO YOU THINK THAT I FELT WHEN I FAILED TO PROTECT MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER?!¡± ¡°HOW DID THAT MAN, WHO KILLED THE WOMAN HE LOVED WITH HIS OWN HANDS, ALONG WITH HIS CHILD; HAD FELT AFTER GETTING BACK HIS SENSE?!¡± ¡°HOW DID THAT GIRL LIVED DESPITE KNOWING HOW INNOCENT PEOPLE¡¯S WERE KILLED BECAUSE OF HER FOOLISHNESS, BECAUSE OF HER OWN FATHER?¡± Alexander roared at Eleanora as he approach her and hold her weak body to stand still. ¡°We all have our own problems and sufferings, that we can¡¯t share, can¡¯t tell... But if we keep holding onto them tightly, those problems will only drag you down more.¡± Eleanora sobbed hard as she tried to speak, but she couldn¡¯t stop herself from crying. ¡°Pa..pa,¡± ¡°CRY OUT MORE LOUDER!!¡± ¡°JUST FOR HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO BE WEAK LIKE THIS?!¡± ¡°ACCEPT YOU FEELINGS AND STOP HIDING IT!!¡± ¡°YOU DON¡¯T NEED TO HIDE! WHEN YOUR FEELINGS ARE CLEARLY VISIBLE IN YOUR EYES!¡± ¡°THE MORE YOU TRY TO ESCAPE FROM HIM, THE MORE YOU HURT NOT ONLY YOU; BUT ALSO HIM!¡± ¡°Stop...Pa-papa..¡± ¡°NO- I HAD ENOUGH OF SEEING YOU HAVING NIGHTMARES EVERY NIGHT ANSD CRYING!! I CAN¡¯T SEE YOU LIKE THAT ANYMORE!!¡± ¡°DO YOU THINK BREAKING OFF YOUR ENGAGEMENT AND BECOME THE DUCHESS WOULD SOLVE EVERYTHING?!¡± ¡°CAN YOU MARRY ANOTHER MAN?!¡± ¡°CAN YOU SEE HIM WITH SOMEONE ELSE?!¡± Eleanora¡¯s tears instantly stopped as she thought about that, can she really marry someone else? Can she see him with someone else again? ¡°You know the answer, Elee... You fall for him again... He made you fall in love with him again.. so stop holding onto the past and hurt yourself!¡± Alexander hated to admit this, but he had to do this to see her happy again. He can¡¯t let her keep holding onto her trauma and sank more deeper. ¡°From the moment you got your past memories... What you did, everything you did was to escape him. But did you ever realised that you was still thinking about him during those whole time?¡± ¡°Did you knew, why you didn¡¯t recognised him as Ain? Because deep inside your heart... You refused to ept it, till you couldn¡¯t ignore it anymore.¡± ¡°Your heart wanted to ept the changes, those feelings that you never got from him... But you also hold onto the past so deeply that you couldn¡¯t even control your emotions anymore.¡± ¡°You were happy at a moment, and then sad... You cried at night and act like nothing happened the next morning.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t see you like that anymore...¡± Alexander¡¯s voice lowered as he continued to speak to her, while cupping her small face into his hands. ¡°He could just leave you behind when you got stabbed by the sword... If he did, he wouldn¡¯t got caught by Mendel and his army. It wasn¡¯t easy for him to stay strong and carry you back all the way with his injuries.¡± ¡°A man, who would give up on his pride and arrogance; his empire and beg his enemy just to save you... He can never harm you, Elee..¡± ¡°The moment he had kneeled down for you, when he turned his back to face the bullets so that you could be safe... I saw myself in him.¡± ¡°How i wished that i could protect your mother like that... I desperately hoped to save her in my every dream about her.¡± ¡°When he was taking out the sword from your body, it was like he was the one who got stabbed; not you... He would stand outside of your bedroom door whenever i was not around.¡± ¡°Because he felt guilty for not being able to protect you better... His eyes when he looks at you... The affection in them aren¡¯t fake, which you know too.¡± The more Alexander spoke, the more guilty Eleanora felt for keep pushing him away like this. He did so much for her even when she didn¡¯t even treat him well, not to mention her cold behaviour towards him despite everything. She keptparing the past him with his current self, so lost in the past that she ignored her presence. ¡°Our future depends on how we behave in the present, Elee. I don¡¯t want you to regret when it¡¯s all toote... Now tell me one thing. I will support whatever you decided after this.¡± Alexander asked as his fingertips wiped away her tears gently and a bitter smile appeared on his face. ¡°Tell me honestly, Elee... Do you like him?¡± Chapter 206 - 206 [Bonus chapter] "Cathain’s Blood Oath" 206 [Bonus chapter] ¡°Cathain¡¯s Blood Oath¡± Eleanora raised her head as she looked at her father¡¯s painful face with bright eyes as her cheeks flushed red; which made Alexander understand her answer without even her speaking it out. ¡°Then don¡¯t hesitate anymore... Only to regret itter. Go for it,¡± Alexander spoke softly as he pushed her away from him after kissing on her forehead. Indicating her to go to Cathain and solve everything, even if he didn¡¯t wanted that; where he can¡¯t watch her staying traumatised all her life because of the past. Sometimes, the most dangerous ce can be the safest ce. ¡°But still...¡± ¡°How long do you n to torture yourself when you clearly know your answer?¡± Eleanora¡¯s hesitation was still there, as she didn¡¯t knew if she was doing it right or not. ¡°Go now... I don¡¯t want to see you crying again. You must be happy, very happy from now on.¡± ..... ¡°I promise, Papa... Thank you everything!¡± Eleanora¡¯s blue jewel like eyes finally sparkled brightly again like she had finally found her old spirit back. She turned around to rush out from her house, as she hopped on her horse to head towards the imperial pce. Alexander watched her silver hair shining under the moonlight, till it could no longer be seen and fall on his knees. ¡®Lia...I finally did something right, Our daughter is now chasing her happiness.¡¯ ¡®Seems like it¡¯s time for me to get used to live in this big vi all alone...¡¯ ¡®She will no longer be here anymore...It¡¯s time for her to leave my hands and hold someone else¡¯s hands...¡¯ A tear drop left from Alexander¡¯s blue eyes as he looked up at the sky. The moon was shining unusually bright today... Like it was celebrating the new beginning. Unintentionally, Alexander started to sob while kneeling at the main door of his empty mansion. The whole mansion was dark and there was not even a single sound as there was no one in the residence except him. ¡®I have no one now...¡¯ ¡®I miss you so much, Lia... I really miss you...¡¯ ¡­ ¡°Who is this?! Please identify yourself!¡± The guard at the imperial pce¡¯s main gate asked as he saw a person stopping infront of them in a white horse. As it was almost midnight, the guards couldn¡¯t see who it was and thus they be alerted. ¡°It¡¯s me...¡± ¡°Oh! CROWN PRINCESS!¡± ¡°WE GREET THE FUTURE MOON OF OUR EMPIRE, PLEASE FORGIVE US; YOUR HIGHNESS.¡± The guards greet Eleanora as they recognised her voice and greet her politely. ¡°Am in a hurry... Please open the door.¡± ¡°Yes, Your highness.¡± Eleanora watched the shiny golden metal door open infront of her and she took a deep breathe before she finally giddied up her horse to enter the pce. ¡®For so long... I have walked into the darkness all by myself. But you came into my heart again...¡¯ ¡®Through this dark misty moonlight, i finally reached the ce where i always run away from...¡¯ ¡®will you always be there... No matter where we are and hold me into your arms... really keep me safe?¡¯ ¡®Lead by this moonlight, i will always end up finding myself to wherever you are...¡¯ Eleanora thought as she finally got down from her horse and stared at the emperor¡¯s pce infront of her. Which would remind her bad memories not so long ago, but now, she is feeling mixed emotions of hesitation and excitement when she stood here and finally decided to step in. ¡®Am closing my eyes to believe in you again... Will you be there until the end with me like everyone is saying?¡¯ ¡®You were always the light shining over me... So long, i have been waiting to run into your arms...¡¯ ¡®But you only turned back when i was no longer there¡­¡¯ ¡®You were always my one and only desire... You are the only one i need, through the thousand years; but am not sure if you are still the same to me.¡¯ ¡®Will you help me write an different ending for us?¡¯ Eleanora hold the doorknob and letting out a heavy breathe, she finally decided to enter his bedroom. ¡°Father... If you are here to talk about patience again, you better go back-¡± ¡°It¡¯s me, Your Majesty.¡± Cathain, who was sitting at the edge of the window railing turned his head with surprise to hear her voice. But soon a frown appear on his face as he stood up after putting down the wine ss on the tea table. ¡°Why are you here?!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t i told you to not appear infront of me?!¡± ¡°Your Majesty, About the annul-¡± ¡°AM TELLING YOU THAT I WON¡¯T ANNUL OUR MARRIAGE EVEN IF YOU GIVE ME YOUR DUCHY!¡± Cathain roared at Eleanora as he thought she came here again to talk about annul the engagement. Eleanora tried to approach him and talk but he stepped back to avoid her touch. ¡°YOU ARE IN SO HURRY TO GET RID OF ME THAT YOU DIDN¡¯T EVEN HESITATED TO COME HERE IN THIS LATE AT NIGHT?!¡± ¡°Your Majesty... Listen to me first!¡± ¡°NO!! I HAD LISTEN TO YOU ENOUGH THIS MORNING AND I DON¡¯T WANNA LISTEN TO THOSE WORDS AGAIN!!!¡± ¡°DROP THAT IDEA WHILE AM BEING NICE!¡± Eleanora felt frustrated as no matter how she tried to talk, Cathain would keep cutting her off. He wouldn¡¯t even let her get closer to him, in fear that he might do something out of control again. Cathain looked into her blue eyes with pain as he confessed his true feelings, his obsession with her. ¡°If loving you means letting you go, then i rather not love you and chain you down with me... Fall into the darkness or shine together, as long as it¡¯s you-¡± ¡°Then... Chain me down,¡± Eleanora¡¯s words left Cathain dumbstruck and look at her in disbelief with his widened red eyes. ¡°I hate you... I want to stay away from you but at the same time i feel suffocated!!!... You are just driving me crazy!!!¡± She took a step towards him with each words she spoke with her clear blue eyes, which had nothing but truth and hesitation to trust him again. ¡°If someone knows this, i will be called a weak and pathetic person to do this... To be with you again...¡± ¡°No normal person can tolerate your crazy behaviour!¡± Then Eleanora paused a few final step away from him and look at him again with a sarcastic expression. ¡°But why do you still affect me so much?¡± ¡°Why i can¡¯t neither stay or push you away?¡± ¡°Does it really matters how they think of us?¡± ¡°No- it doesn¡¯t... It doesn¡¯t matter how they see our story as, everyone thinks differently... See, am already affected by you and became crazy to think like this!!¡± ¡°To some people, our story might be tragic, toxic, cruel fate... I might be strong for trying to change my past, resist your love or pathetic for epting you, falling for you again. Where you might be cruel for treating me like that in the past or pitiful for suffering so much pain because of the past too. Or still didn¡¯t suffered enough...¡± Cathain was still looking at her nkly as he couldn¡¯t believe her words. His red eyes kept widened as she finally took another step towards him and looked up to meet his eyes. ¡°But nothing changes the fact that we are simr... Yeah, am crazy.. I really went crazy because of you and i hate it!¡± ..... ¡°...I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s my past obsession or love for you, but i know that only you are able to change my nightmares.¡± Cathain stood still with no movements. He couldn¡¯t dare to think about getting back her love again, he just wanted to give himself to her this time. Even his whole life can¡¯tpensate her for what he did, but he is just too selfish. He couldn¡¯t bear to cancel their engagement and let her go, watch her marry someone else. Be with someone which is not him. Cathain¡¯s head hanged low as his tears silently dropped on the floor. ¡°Look at me... Your Majesty,¡± Eleanora spoke as she cupped his face into her hands and forced him to look at her. ¡°Since you don¡¯t want me to take the blood oath... Then i want you to take that oath, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Will you do that for me?¡± Eleanora knew it was disrespectful for an emperor to take the blood oath but she wanted to ease the insecurity in her heart. If he takes the blood oath, it means his feelings for her is genuine and if he ever break this oath, he will terribly suffer the consequences. Even if it was too much for her to doubt on him, but she still wanted to do it. ¡°Do you, the 34th emperor of the Valentino empire, Cathain De Valerian Valentino; Swear on your blood that you will cherish and only love, Eleanora Ariande La Dalton... Never hurt her again in this life?¡± Cathain kneeled down on his knees as soon as Eleanora started to recite the blood oath, and took out her sword to ce it above his shoulder. ¡°I, the 34th emperor of the Valentino empire, Cathain De Valerian Valentino; swear on my blood that i will only love and cherish, Eleanora Ariande La Dalton all my life.¡± ¡°My life, which was given by the goddess; i offer it to the only love of my life.¡± ¡°The blood that runs in my veins and the heart that beats inside of this body shall always be loyal to only her alone.¡± ¡°Never hurt her again in this life...¡± Cathain spoke with determination and didn¡¯t hesitated a second, and extended his right hand towards her. Eleanora took a deep breath and without any hesitation, she cut his palm with her sword before she did the same in her hands. With a shing sound, both of their palm had the same cut mark and blood continued to rush out from the wound. Eleanora then ced her hands above his hands to let their blood mix together toplete the oath. A bright red light glow on where their bloods mixed together, before the cut mark vanished from their hands and the oath was sealed with their bloods. A deep breath left out from her nostrils as Eleanora felt relieved, because there is no way that her fate might repeat again with this blood oath between them. Cathain didn¡¯t let go of her hands as he stood on his feet again, before pulling her into his embrace. ¡°I am yours now, My empress.¡± Chapter 207 - 207 "The Safe Zone" 207 ¡°The Safe Zone¡± Eleanora clenched the sleeves of her shirt because of the tension between them as she stayed in his embrace silently. In the end, she just epted him. Just like that. Even though she was hesitant, but she didn¡¯t regretted what she did just now. Her father was right, she can¡¯t escape her feelings and live with fear all the time. Even if she couldn¡¯t ept him, she knew that she wasn¡¯t able to push him away either. Otherwise she wouldn¡¯t feel this mixed feelings. ¡®Am going to live the rest of my life like this?¡¯ ¡®Keep hesitating?¡¯ ..... ¡®For how long?¡¯ Seeing her tensed face Cathain smiled at her gently before he kissed her forehead to ease the tension. ¡°Thank you for not pushing me away and this is enough for me. I don¡¯t dare to ask for more and make you run away again.¡± ¡°I will tell someone to sent you back as it¡¯s reallyte..¡± Cathain spoke as he moved away from her and decided to call for someone to take her back, but then he paused as his hands was caught by her. ¡°What if i ask for more?¡± Eleanora looked at the dumbfounded Cathain with her blue eyes as she still didn¡¯t knew if this was right or not. Her mind seem to stop working and talking nonsense, but she also knew that was all her excuses to not feel guilty for epting him. ¡°W-What are you talking about?!¡± Cathain¡¯s face turned red as he felt flustered because of her words and she approached him with a serious look on her face. ¡°I want you to make me forget that past and never get nightmares again... I want you to embrace me like am the only one... Can you do it?¡± Eleanora spoke bitterly as she remembered that all she have is bad memories about him from the past, his aggressive forced kisses when he failed to control his emotions in this life. Which over shadowed all the good memories about him in her heart too. ¡°I want to stay with you tonight,¡± As soon as Eleanora finished speaking, the sword on her hands fall on the mattress and tiptoeing her feet, she pulled him more closer by grabbing his shirt to touch his lips. She didn¡¯t moved and just put her lips above his motionlessly, with her eyes tightly closed. Eleanora felt a little ridiculous to seek warmth from this man who was the cause of everything, but he was the only one who could make her feel like this. She had became so used to getting hurt that, the pain itself turned into anfort zone for her now. She didn¡¯t hate the pain anymore, more like didn¡¯t bothered about it and let herself dive deeper into this feeling. Like this is normal for her to feel like this, this pain, this empty feeling in her heart- became a part of her soul. Now she won¡¯t have to worry about how to get away from him, how to avoid her past fate from repeating. She turned the most dangerous ce as her safety zone and she also knows that only he can save her if anything happens. ¡®I won¡¯t be like before anymore¡­ love you blindly and hold onto you tightly. I just can¡¯t take this all anymore and want to livefortably.¡¯ ¡®So, just hold me into your embrace and let me feel what¡¯s it like to be loved..¡¯ Eleanora took away her mouth from Cathain, who was staring at her nkly as he understood her hidden feelings. He understood that she didn¡¯t choose him out of love for now, she only came to him because she couldn¡¯t escape him and her past traumas. She felt safe because of his powers, knows that the current him can keep her safe from her fears and everything. This realisation made him feel a stinging pain on his heart and a bitter smile appeared on his face as he pulled her gently to him by grabbing her waist. ¡°Your wish is amand, my empress,¡± Eleanora tiptoed again as Cathain helped her to stand higher by pulling up her body, and both of them slowly tilted their face to the sides a little. ¡°...I love you, Eleanora.¡± Cathain confessed, but no words came out from her mouth or any reaction on her face. Her hands just rested on his shoulders and she leaned towards him untill they finally meet each others lips softly. Both of them closed their eyes as Cathain¡¯s another hand cupped the backside of her head to pull her more closer and both of their mouths moved against each other. This was the very first time that Eleanora was kissing him back. Her soft lips moved on his lower lips clumsily as he sucked her cupid bow softly. His softness and gentle kiss was something that she didn¡¯t experienced till now, and it sent shivers down her sprain as she got goosebumps all over her body. She wrapped her hands around his neck as Cathain lifted her up a little and her feet no longer touched the ground anymore. His motion was fast but gentle, to make her feel himself slowly, feel the change and his heart. ¡®It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t love me, let me give you everything which I couldn¡¯t give you before and love you for the rest of our life.¡¯ Cathain thought as he deepened their kiss and Eleanora¡¯s fingertips kept stroking his ck hair from behind. He opened his mouth more wider like he wanted to devour her lips and carried her uppletely. Their body shed with each others and their heart started to beat more faster. Eleanora wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her towards the dressing table and ced her on it after pushing away whatever was on it. The few items which was ced above the dressing table fall and some ss bottles shattered into pieces, but they didn¡¯t cared. Eleanora opened her mouth wide as their kiss became more intense and Cathain caught her both wrist to pin them against the mirror, before his hands slowly slide up to entangle their fingers together tightly. He leaned towards her more untill her head bumped into the mirror and her back arched as her legs were still wrapped around him loosely. Cathain finally felt a peace of mind, a kind of rxation when she finally came to him today willingly. He always got excited whenever she approached him or talk with him, the warmness would spread in his heart as theirmunication was always so inconsistent and intermittent that, he had no clue when she mighte to him again. It was always exhrating when he was with her, because she would only priorities him when her other ns fall through. And he knew that, she could only seek for him now and be excited to help her out when no one else could do it excepr him. He liked the feeling of being the only one for her. The current Cathain always felt attracted, mysteriously drawn, pulled in her direction because Eleanora was ambiguous this time; unclear with what she wants and what she is looking for. The cold expression on her face would always make him try to guess what she was thinking all the time. He envisioned his life with her as from the very start, her rejection towards him was open; even before he realised his feelings. This was why, he kept picturing the day when she would finally pick and choose him. Not love him back; because he knew she won¡¯t. He kept thinking about her, because he couldn¡¯t quite make sense of her actions and how they don¡¯t match her words. She was afraid of him, hated him, but she was also concerned and helped him all this time. He couldn¡¯t stop thinking about her, always on his mind as she unknowingly breadcrumbed him and he started to starve emotionally for more. [A/N: Bread-crumbing is the act of sending out flirtatious, but nonmittal social signals in order to lure a romantic partner in without expending much effort. Like making the other person feel like they care for them, share the same feelings, where they actually don¡¯t mean that at all either intentionally or unintentionally. Eleanora¡¯s sudden change, her mysterious personality had unintentionally lured him into falling for her more all of a sudden after she got back her past memories. She wished to stay away from him, but she would always end up helping him out or seek help from him. She didn¡¯t even knew what she wanted for herself, and what to do in the future after everything is over. Eleanora continued to breake down and be strong, before she would crumble down again as she really couldn¡¯t let go of her past traumas. So one moment, she would be strong to face the past and treat him coldly. Where another moment, she would be weak, who needed him tofort her and feel the need to fill the empty ce of her heart; which wanted love and care. And this was why Cathain would also be confused with her actions and think about her all day. Where this also made him realise his feelings more earlier this time as he couldn¡¯t predict her at all and became more and more curious about her.] Chapter 208 - 208 "Freedom" 208 ¡°Freedom¡± The brightness of the moon illuminated the darkness of the night. Without her, he was a lost soul. Breathing but not living. He kept talking to her, who was not even breathing. He seemed crazy, but he wasn¡¯t. He just believed that maybe, someday she will know it. He kept seeing her everywhere, but there was no shadow. Proving that it was all his illusions, she was no longer here and his cruelty towards her would start to sh in his mind. In that beautiful rose garden, he kept waiting for her with a white rose on his hands. ..... Maybe he will be able to give her this someday. Apart from the empress, the emperor wanted nothing. Nothing around him made sense anymore and the air felt too heavy to breathe. With an absent expression on his face, he just kept making her portraits. A bright smile on her face, which he will never see again. He wasn¡¯t crazy, he just loved her wrong; which ended by her quitting forever as she could no longer continue. And left him with endless regrets and pain. That was his love story. Painful, yet beautiful in his eyes¡­ Because she was there. He wished for everything to be a dream and his wish came true. He found her again, who kept running away from him with fear. Different from the dream he remembered, full of mystery and sadness. Fragile but as sharp as a broken piece of ss, which cut him open every time he tried to get close. A red rose in his hands, he stood and waited for her at the same rose garden; where he found his lost soul again. Nothing could hold him back from being hers this time. All she wanted from his was a promise that he will forever be hers. Hold her tight in his arms and never letting go. But he killed their story, her love story with his own hands. Even if she forgives, stays beside him; She can¡¯t forget. She can no longer love anymore. She had been too stupid, regrets everything as this was not what she wanted. He kept offering his heart, when she no longer wanted it anymore. She choose to not care about it, but he refused to give up till the moon illuminates the night and she rushes into his arms again. He always kept waiting at the same spot. If she still ignored him, then he would take thest step as it¡¯s hard to breathe without her in his life. He will offer hisst breath of life, to his only moon. She is the reason of his existence in their every story, and his fate. No matter how her appearance and status changes, his soul will only fall for her in his every life. Recognise his one and only empress, his moonlight. Even if he is called insane, he can never let her go. Even if she doesn¡¯t loves him, it¡¯s okay as long as she stays beside him; let him love her. This is what he had thought till now, before spending this night with her. Cathain fumbled her wet silver hair as he stared at her sleeping face with his burning gaze. He wasying beside her with a nket covering their exposed bodies. Her eyshes trembled as a her brows furrowed slightly, which eased again after he nted a kiss on her forehead. She was sleeping peacefully after getting exhausted, not caring about tomorrow. Where, Even if his insecurities died down with this; his heart still ache with pain knowing she didn¡¯t did it with him out of love. He finally realised what¡¯s the difference between making love and just sleeping together. Keeping her with him, where she is not happy. She slept with him to shake off her worries, to stop escaping from the past as she got tired of running. She just no longer cared about anything else and seek for a warm embrace. Her inner self wanted love, her mind wanted to escape; but she wanted peace. Now that she has given herself to him, their is no reason for him to keep being insecure about her running away. Her father will no longer worry about her mental health and getting traumatised again. Now that she has epted her worst nightmare, nothing else can scare her anymore. She will finally get peace and freedom from his possessiveness as she belongs to him now. Which scared Cathain more, thinking she might be emotionless and cold again. Four years¡­ he had kept talking to a motionless Eleanora for four years. No matter what he did, what he said, she couldn¡¯t react to him or open her eyes. He could only imagine of her smiling face and kept making countless portraits of it. Stare at her smiling portrait, before breaking down again and again because she can¡¯t never smile like that towards him again. Even if he offered all his wealth, she wouldn¡¯t wake up and embrace him. In the end, Cathain just decided to pull her exhausted sleeping body in his embrace and buried his face in her neck to sleep. The milky scenting from her body seem to calm down his tensed nerves, luring into the greatest peaceful sleep he ever had. ¡­ Imperial Year 1754, 10th February~ The emperor woke up in the empty bed, as Eleanora had left early in the morning. His big hands stroked the ce where she embraced himst night and gave herself to him, with a painful smile as he his gaze fall on the note beside his pillow. ¡®Happy Birthday¡¯ The note only contained two sentence but it was more valuable to him then any treasure. He never liked to celebrate his birthday as it was the same date as his mother¡¯s death anniversary. He had stopped celebrating itpletely for thest six years, after hising of age ceremony. With the excuse of his father¡¯s fake death. He donates that money between the needy people and the orphanage, and apany his father so that he won¡¯t feel lonely. He turned 24 this year, and it¡¯s also been 24 years since the brutal murder of his mother. Cathain got freshened up as he knocked on his father¡¯s bedroom before entering. Valerian was sitting on a rocking chair, with a old portrait in his hands. The young woman in the portrait had light pink hair and olive green eyes, with a gentle smile on her face. The man beside her in the portrait looked stiff but one could see the affection he had in those red eyes. That was the one and only portrait of thete empress that Valerian has. He had removed all her portraits after her death as it only made him recall her cold body. ..... ¡°Father...¡± ¡°Happy Birthday, Cain...¡± Valerian spoke as he stroked his fingers above the portrait and wished Cathain. ¡°We are getting older but she is still the same young woman in my memories...¡± Cathain felt his father¡¯s pain as he also felt the same pain once, everyone was not lucky like him to get another chance. ¡°...She came to meet me before leaving.¡± Valerian spoke as he recalled meeting Eleanora in the early morning and Cathain waited for his father to speak furthermore. ¡°She has decided to go for a vacation, with her father... And asked me to inform you.¡± ¡°I see...¡± Cathain replied with a heavy feeling in his heart, as she just left just after spending a night with him. Like his past self, who left after not being able to ept the fact that he slept with her just like that. As he couldn¡¯t remember anything about that night, he thought that he had forced her after getting drunk. He left with embarrassment as he didn¡¯t dared to face her because of this. Where in actual, He suppressed the other vengeful soul which wanted to kill Eleanora to re-appear Ariadne¡¯s soul after her death by possessing his body. He gave in to his inner desires, as Eleanora¡¯s holy powers which wasn¡¯t known to anyone; helped him to calm down. Otherwise he would have already been controlled and kill her, given to how much messed up he was at that time. ¡°...You- Okay with that?¡± Valerian became a little stunt as Cathain¡¯s response wasn¡¯t something he had expected. He thought, his son will go crazy again with all the talk about how she just keeps escaping him. ¡°I think you were right... I should give her time and freedom, as well change myself;¡± Valerian¡¯s pale red eyes widened with surprise before a smile appeared on his face. ¡°That¡¯s great to hear... Father is really happy for you.¡± Cathain smiled lightly as he finally made up his mind to fix his over possessiveness. There is no meaning of her staying with him if she isn¡¯t even happy. Last night, he realised that fully. She desired him, wanted him, but that wasn¡¯t love. She did it to get rid of her mixed feelings, to escape the guilt she felt for what he did for her till now. Specially during the war of Rua, when he begged his enemy to save her. She felt obliged to him, she wanted to get rid of everything and start a new. This is why she came to himst night. She made him realise how it would be if he kept forcing her, he might keep her beside him like a caged bird. Who will slowly turn into an emotionless person. He realised that her happiness mattered to him, her cheerful smile was what he wanted to see more then her staying beside him. So, he wanted to let her go and be free this time. Enjoy her life and take a break from everything. Meanwhile, he would work more harder to be worthy of her. Into someone whom she can ept. At the same time, Alexander and Eleanora started their journey to explore the world. They was just father and daughter now, no duke or crown princess. They visited the beach where they used toe, when the duchess was still alive. Eleanora walked with Alexander and chuckle as she recalled their happy moments. How she could cry after her sand castle would be washed away by sea water, How her father used to dig a small hole and bury her body with her head out, only to get rebuked by her motherter on. ¡°If i want to bury you now, i might have to dig this whole ce.¡± Alexander spoke as he understood what Eleanora was chuckling about. ¡°People will arrest you for burying someone alive, if we do that now. But, that was really fun.¡± ¡°Fun for you, as your mother would only scold me.¡± ¡°Who are you trying to fool, papa? like i didn¡¯t knew how you would stop her by kissing?¡± ¡°...¡± A smug look appeared on Eleanora¡¯s face as she saw her father¡¯s embarrassed expression. ¡°How dare you to peek on your parents?! That¡¯s bad manner...¡± ¡°What could i do as a child, when you people would forget about my existence and act like newlyweds?¡± This time, A smile appeared on Alexander¡¯s face as he tried to recall how many times he had got caught infront of his daughter and got rebuked by his wife because of this. ¡°Let¡¯s make a sand castle then,¡± ¡°YES!¡± Alexander watched Eleanora running towards their tents to bring out a bucket and some tools to make a sand castle, as she waved at him to hurry up. He chuckled again as the memory of his wife calling him with the little Eleanora on her arms shed through his memory and he walked towards her. ¡®You will always be alive in our memories, Lia;¡¯ Chapter 209 - 209 "Jennifer’s Wedding" 209 ¡°Jennifer¡¯s Wedding¡± 4 monthster, Imperial Year 1754, 09th June~ (Arendell Kingdom) ¡°Are you sure that you don¡¯t need me to check up on you?¡± Jennifer, who was wearing a wedding dress asked with concern as she squat down to pat on Eleanora¡¯s back. ¡°Am okay... Maybe i got motion sickness for travelling such a long way to here,¡± Eleanora spoke in a low voice to reassure the worried Jennifer with a guilty conscience, as she rinsed her mouth after vomiting. ¡°You must tell me if you feel sick again,¡± Jennifer spoke again as she helped Eleanora to get up and asked someone to fix her makeup again. Eleanora had came to attend Dominic and Jennifer¡¯s wedding as the bridesmaid. ..... Although they had refused because Eleanora was an person with a higher rank but she wanted to be the bridesmaid no matter what. She told them to see her as the groom¡¯s little sister or the bride¡¯s friend, instead of seeing her as the future empress of an empire. Which finally made them give in to her words and let her be their bridesmaid. Eleanora always liked the bridesmaid more, as that person was the one who would give the ring to the couple; it felt like she was the person who made those two people finally be one. This was why Eleanora wanted to be the bridesmaid for them and fulfil her little wish. She has been travelling all over the world in thest four months with her father. Seeing the sea, the forest, the snow, the mystical aurora on the night sky, the waterfall, the mountains- there is almost nothing left for her to see anymore. As she kept visiting new ces, she enjoyed new experience and didn¡¯t even realised that when she had stopped worrying about her future. Now she doesn¡¯t feel afraid anymore. Everyone around her is epting the changes and adapting to their new future. Dominic became the new king of the Arendell kingdom after defeating his older brother in political battle, with the help of Jennifer and Cathain. He changed his destiny, where he was supposed to not even be alive at this moment. Cedrick rebuild the Raven Duchy, despite facing endless criticism from people. He stayed strong and started to lead his people for wisdom once again. Jennifer changed her fate as a person who ruined everything, to a person who saved everyone. It wasn¡¯t easy, but she did it. The previous emperor is still alive and well, helping his son to lead the empire and their broken rtionship improved. Her father is no longer keeping himself busy with works and spending leisure time with her to enjoy, no longer ming himself for the death of her mother. Alexander epted his wife¡¯s death as he thought that he would do the same if he was at her ce. No one wants to see their loved one getting hurt. Then why can¡¯t she also let go of the past and be happy, like them? Everyone kept helping her from the very start and saved her by pulling her out from the darkness. It¡¯s unfair for everyone and to her, if she continues to torture herself by holding into the past. No matter what, the past can¡¯t be changed. It will always be a part of her life, which can¡¯t be removed or forgotten. It has became a part of her story, but she can¡¯t keep running away because of this. ¡®Even if i can¡¯t let it go, i can still be happy..¡¯ A smile appeared on Eleanora¡¯s face as she looked at Dominic, who was wearing a luxurious white tuxedo along with a white cape drapped over his shoulder. His dark blue hair wasbed sideways as the gorgeous king¡¯s crown on his head shine brightly like his golden eyes. Happiness could be clearly seen in his golden eyes, which didn¡¯t even blinked for a second and kept staring at Jennifer with amusement. Eleanora was holding Jennifer¡¯s long veil as she walked behind her, while wearing a simple white gown and a ribbon tied around her waist. Jennifer blushed as Dominic keep staring at her with his cheeks turning red, which also amused Eleanora. Both of them looked nervous, but the happiness was still clear in their faces. Cedrick was also walking on the altar, while holding Jennifer¡¯s hands as her only family member. He did his best within his capacity to give his only little sister a dream wedding. He knew how much she suffered when she wasn¡¯t with them, and how their father had tried to manipte her. But she still stayed strong and did the right thing. ¡°If he ever bullies you, just turn him into a fool with your powers and covet his throne.¡± Cedrick spoke as he red at Dominic, before letting him hold Jennifer¡¯s hands. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary, brother-inw!¡± ¡°...¡± Dominic finally understood why Cathain liked to call him ¡®brother-inw¡¯ that much. The feeling of snatching away someone¡¯s precious tressure, felt really good. ¡®But that doesn¡¯t mean i will give him my sister that easily...¡¯ And Eleanora wondered why Dominic looked at her with possisseveness. Cedrick stepped down from the altar after cing a kiss on Jennifer¡¯s forehead and Eleanora stood beside the priest with the beautiful wedding rings. Watching the crowd, whom had their all attention on the bride and groom; Eleanora felt excited. ¡®Is this how it feels like to marry the person you love?¡¯ She never knew as her past self didn¡¯t had a grand imperial wedding ceremony. Even if she knew that the situation at that time was not suitable for a wedding ceremony, but deep inside her heart; she also wanted to wear a wedding gown and have a ceremony like this. Where he would also look at her like Dominic is looking at Jennifer, exchange the vows and rings. Be together infront of everyone as the witness of their love and seal the vows with a kiss. ¡®Can i also have a wedding like this?¡¯ Eleanora felt a little nervous and worried as she thought about this, but she wasn¡¯t afraid anymore. The priest continued to recite the vows, where Jennifer and Dominic kept staring at each other like there was no one around them. ¡°Will you, King Dominic De Caisson Arendell, ept Lady Jennifer La Liana Raven to be your wife, your queen, to live together in holy marriage?¡± ¡°Will you love,fort, honor, and keep her in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?¡± ¡°I do! I ept her as my one and only queen and wife, till death separates us,¡± Dominic epted the vows loud and clear, for everyone to know his love for her and a tear drop left from Jennifer¡¯s caramel brown eyes. Even Eleanora felt her eyes wet as she felt touched and walked towards him with the ring. Dominic took the ring from Eleanora with a smile as he turned his head to look at Jennifer again. ¡°I give you this ring as a symbol of my love; and with all that I am and all that I have, I honor you, with my name, Jennifer Dominic Arendell; Do you agree to be mine?¡± ¡°I do...I do!!!¡± Jennifer burst into tears with happiness as she epted his vows and Dominic slipped the ring on her ring finger, before she also helped him wear his ring. ¡°Now, i dere you both as husband and wife from now on, You may kiss the bride.¡± The guests all stood up and pped for them, as Dominic lifted up Jennifer¡¯s veil to kiss her. Jennifer happily wrapped her arms around his neck as they finally became one. Eleanora behind them, looked at them happily as a tear drop also left from her eyes. ¡®Can we also be happy like them?¡¯ Chapter 210 - 210 "Cathain’s Proposal" 210 ¡°Cathain¡¯s Proposal¡± After a short moment, all the unmarried nobledies stood together as it was time for the bride to throw her flower bouquet. Whoever would get the bouquet means she will be the next one to get married. And Eleanora really liked that tradition. She also stood with other nobledies as Jennifer turned to throw her bouquet, and she felt excited. This was just a normal thing, but still it made her feel really happy. ¡°Now, the bride will throw her bouquet!! Everyone, be prepared!!¡± As the wedding host spoke, Eleanora felt even more thrilled. The matter was not either she would be the next one or not to get married, but to catch the bouquet and win. She was ready to catch the bouquet but then suddenly Jennifer turned around with the beautiful bouquet of red roses in her hands and walked down from the podium. ..... A wide smile appeared on Jennifer¡¯s face as everyone made space for her to walk towards Eleanora, who looked at Jennifer with an dumbfounded expression. ¡®Why is she walking towards me instead of throwing the bouquet?!¡¯ ¡®I really wanted to catch it...¡¯ Jennifer chuckled as she saw Eleanora¡¯s sad face for not being able to catch the bouquet, before she ced the bouquet on her hands. Eleanora became dumbfounded as she took the bouquet and Jennifer gestured her to look behind. ¡®Behind?¡¯ Eleanora turned her face with a confused look, before she turned her head to look at the grinning Jennifer again. ¡°!!!!¡± ¡°Woaaah!!¡± The guests started to cheer up and went uproar as they saw the emperor kneeling down in one knee on the ground, with a ring on his hands. Cathain had a bright smile on his face as he waited for her to turn around again and Jennifer hold her shoulder lightly to make her face him. Eleanora couldn¡¯t believe that Cathain would propose to her again, despite not having any contact for the past four months. She didn¡¯t even properly said goodbye to him before going for an vacation. So seeing him again and proposing to her infront of everyone, Eleanora becamepletely surprised. ¡°I have fallen for you at first sight, Mydy. You make my heart beat faster and your beauty kills me everytime i look at you.¡± ¡°So, can you please show me some mercy and save this poor little heart by letting it beat for you always, Lady Dalton?¡± Cathain asked her formally, as he wanted to start a new with her. Like this was the first time they meet with each other. Where she is not his empress, fiancee or any involvement of the past life¡¯s. He just proposed to ady, whom he had fallen in love deeply at first sight. ¡°Kyaaa!!!¡± ¡°So romantic!!!¡± ¡°Say yes!!¡± The youngdies were the most excited ones as they got to see a romantic proposal right after a dream like wedding. That too from a high and powerful emperor like, Cathain. Where some people find it ridiculous for an emperor to kneel down infront of a lower ranking woman. Eleanora looked at Cathain with surprise and amusement, before she turned her face to look at her father. Although his face was dark because of Cathain¡¯s proposal, but he still smiled at Eleanora when she looked at him. Before nodding lightly to express his permission and then Eleanora looked at Cathain again. ¡°Then... You must protect us well this time.¡± Eleanora spoke as she extended his hands towards Cathain but instead of putting the ring on her hands, He looked at her with shock. His body froze as his face stiffened, after he finally sensed another simr pure fire magic power like him,ing from her. She had been suppressing the other magic power with her own mana, because she was afraid that she would be harmed again if someone knew about it; just like the past. So, Eleanora nned to hide it till she felt safe. Even Alexander was shock as she didn¡¯t even told him, in fear that he might just cancel their trips. Jennifer and those people with high magical powers also sensed the change of magic powers inside of Eleanora as she no longer concealed it. ¡°THE CROWN PRINCESS IS PREGNANT!!!¡± Someone among the guest spoke and everyone became shocked, before they started to congratte the emperor. ¡°Congrattions, Your Majesty!!!¡± ¡°Congrattions!!!¡± Where the wine ss on Alexander¡¯s hands crushed as he red at Cathain with killing intent. ¡®This bastard- how dare he?!¡¯ ¡®I shouldn¡¯t have spoken good things about him- Damn it!!¡¯ Where Eleanora frowned as Cathain still had no reaction and became displeased. ¡°What? You still have time to back off, if you don¡¯t want us...¡± ¡°WHO SAID I DON¡¯T?!¡± Cathain abruptly stood up on his feet as he grabbed her wrist with his shaking hands. ¡°I- I am, I am just too- happy...¡± He spoke as he burried his face on her neck to hide his wet red eyes. He came to gave her a surprise but ended up getting a bigger surprise from her. ¡°Thank you.. I don¡¯t know how am feeling... Am happy but scared... I don¡¯t know if i could be... A good.. father.. I don¡¯t know... But am still happy,¡± ¡°Am surprised.. Not ready...but i will try my best...¡± Cathain shuttered on his words as he didn¡¯t knew how to make her feel his true feelings. He doesn¡¯t want her to keep being insecure, and want to let her know that he is truly happy for this. ¡°So, when are you going to marry me? I can¡¯t wear a wedding dress with a bulging belly. I swear i will run away with this kid if you don¡¯t give me a grand wedding this time...¡± ¡°No way-¡± Cathain spoke as he immediately wiped his wet eyes and put the proposal ring on her index finger, as the engagement ring was already on her ring finger. ¡°I will protect you two better this time, i promise;¡± Eleanora smiled at him, before she hugged him back and Jennifer leaned on Dominic¡¯s embrace to finally see them happy together. Alexander didn¡¯t liked the proposal but he somehow felt happy as he recalled how attached Eleanora was to her babies in the past. This might be sudden but a good time for her to ept this new changes. This would prove to her that the past is no longer here, and a bright and happy future is waiting for her ahead. ¡®Maybe i won¡¯t have the time to be lonely anymore from now on... I have to train and teach my grandkids after all.¡¯ Diana became sad as her hopes to make Eleanora her sister inw shattered, and Rosetteforted her as she felt happy for Eleanora. Cedrick also pped with others and wished them happiness and Dion just sat with a frown, as he still didn¡¯t found his mate yet. Where people are getting married and having kids already. Jennifer felt a burdening down from her heart, she saw both of them suffering and struggling. When she loved him, he didn¡¯t realised it. When he loved her back, she was no longer with him anymore. Now that Eleanora has finally let their past aside and decided to give them a chance; Jennifer couldn¡¯t express her happiness into words. She hugged Dominic as tears came out from her eyes and heforted her with a frown. ¡®I got married early, but he still managed to take a step ahead of me!¡¯ But everyone is happy... Very happy. ..... Meanwhile, another girl with the same shiny silver hair and blue eyes sighed as she looked the cheerful happy people around her. No one is seeing her, but she is seeing everyone. ¡°Gosh, he is so romantic...¡± The girl spoke with envy but actually she was really happy. The happiness she didn¡¯t get, but managed to give it to her another self. ¡°He is literary me...¡± Another voice rang from behind her and shezily looked up to nce at the tall man with ck hair and red eyes beside her. ¡°Your stiff face doesn¡¯t suit romance. Even evil spirits fears you...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Wait! Why are you here? I told you to look after the kids-¡± The past Eleanora¡¯s spirit paused as she realised something and her expression turned gloomy. ¡°Their soul- also disappeared?¡± She asked as her eldest son¡¯s soul, whose fate was re-written and ready to get reborn again had disappeared four months ago. Then now, her other two kids soul also disappeared as their fate is also re-written and getting ready to reborn in the current timeline again. The past Cathain¡¯s spirit didn¡¯t spoke and this confirmed her guess to be true. ¡°Don¡¯t worry... They will be happy with their new parents, she will love them a lot,¡± He spoke but still didn¡¯t dared to approach her tofort her. All this years, she just let him stay beside her and that was all; She didn¡¯t forgiven him yet. ¡°I know...and he will also protect them better,¡± Eleanora spoke as she suddenly felt a change inside of her body. The remaining powers in her body disappeared and she realised that it was time for her reborn again too, and without her past memories. As she lost all her magical powers. Eleanora looked at the man, whose red eyes was widened with shock as he sensed her disappearing but he had no change. Which meant he wasn¡¯t going to get reborn any sooner. Eleanora didn¡¯t knew if she was feeling sad for him or not, and kept staring at him as this might be the realst time where she is seeing him. ¡°Elee...¡± Cathain spoke with a trembling voice but he couldn¡¯t touch her anymore as her soul had started to disappear from the spirit abyss already. ¡°I will find you again... No matter where you get reborn or how you will look... Or how much you change, what you be... I will always find you... Because my heart will only beat crazily for you..¡± He spoke as he bite his lips, as this might be thest time he is seeing her in this form. Eleanora couldn¡¯t speak as she just kept staring at him painfully, before she finally spoke her final words and her soul disappearedpletely. Leaving him all alone, crying again. ¡°I forgive you- Cain,¡± Chapter 211 - 211 "The End" 211 ¡°The End¡± [A/N: The story about what happened after the proposal will be released in side stories, but if there is anything more that you want to know about this story then please let me know through thements, i will try my best to fulfill it ^_^] Modern Timeline, 2023~ ¡®I forgive you, Cain..¡¯ The sleeping young man abruptly opened his eyes as he again had the same terrible nightmate. The nket slipped down and rested on Cathain¡¯s waistline and revealed his sweaty bare muscr upper body. ¡®Just when am i going to find you...¡¯ After Eleanora¡¯s soul disappeared to get reborn, unexpectedly he also find himself opening his eyes again in anpletely unfamiliar ce. The people here didn¡¯t had any magical powers. Most of the people had same looking brte hair and eyes, except some exceptional continents where people would have blonde or other hair colours. ..... There is no empire, no noble ormoners. Everyone is equal and has to rely on their own power and talent toplete their dreams. There was no more political fights, wars; everyone busy with their own lives. Unlike his past life, he had a mother this time and a loving father. His mother, Catherine is a renowned artist; who loves nature. Where his father; Ryan Donavon, is the CEO of arge buisness corporation. As the only child and heir of therge socialite family, Cathain Donavon¡¯s life has been smooth till now. Except the fact that he couldn¡¯t find Eleanora even after 24 years has been passed since his rebirth. Cathain Donavon sighed as he got up from his bed as usual, hoping to see her again everyday. Today was a special day for him. After bing a COO of his father¡¯spany, Donavon Corporation, it would be his first time handling a big project. If it turns out to be sess, they could earn a million worth profits. And if they loose, they loose half of their entire ie. Cathain did a detailed study on the project. It won¡¯t just be his father and people from Donavon Corporation, many of their business associates that have any link to their business will be present. So, he wanted to show them his best. After a shower, Cathain Donavon started to get ready for the meeting. He looked at his reflection in the mirror after he was don and nodded in approval. Dark blue suit, white shirt, blue tie, hairs gelled up, and an expensive perfume. He was dressed to impress, as somehow he got a feeling that something nice was going to happen. ¡°Woah, are you going to a meeting or to get me a daughter inw?¡± Catherine, who was sitting on the hallroom sofazily became surprised to see her son dressed up all of a sudden. ¡°Mom... You will get a daughter inw as soon as i find my dream girl,¡± Cathain spoke as he leaned down a little to kiss his mother¡¯s cheeks and suddenly felt a push. ¡°Go away! How can a big man like you kiss someone else¡¯s wife?¡± Ryan Donavon, Cathain¡¯s father in this timeline spoke as he kissed his wife¡¯s cheeks and Catherine chuckled. ¡°...Your wife is my mother, Dad!¡± Cathain spoke as he felt offended and Ryan just red at him. ¡°Get a wife and kiss her as much as you want then. I already tolerated you beside my wife for 24 years. I can¡¯t tolerate it anymore.¡± ¡°...¡± Cathain became speechless as he thought about his time in the abyss. Where everyday and every minute was eternal... No one will age or die. Just living and living untill they get the chance to reborn in another world. He used to feel the same like his father, Whenever his two sons would cling to Eleanora all the time. His face became a little glommy as he thought of their children and her, even if she always ignored him, she never stopped him from interacting with their kids. But Catherine mistook it as he felt upset because of Ryan¡¯s words and moved away his hands which was hugging her from behind. ¡°Okay, Okay... Come here, Cath...¡± Catherine extended her arms towards Cathain as she pulled her son towards her to kiss his cheeks. ¡°...¡± ¡°My little baby is still a baby... How will you get a wife if you keep clinging to your mother?!¡± Cathain just smiled at her words as she didn¡¯t knew how much he had longed for this family love in his past life. He always wanted a simple and normal family like this and now it¡¯s fulfilled. ¡°I love you, Mom..¡± Cathain was about kiss his mother, when his father suddenly pulled him away from her again. ¡°Haizz... Now let¡¯s go, Cath. The meeting is really important and we can¡¯t gette.¡± Catherina bid away Cathain and Ryan, before going back into their vi to start drawing again. After two hours, they finally reached their destination. The Archduke Group, where their meeting is going to be held today. Seductive looks were thrown on all along the way bydies at Cathain, who just walked into the elevator quitely. He was used to this already. After all, no matter how much they look, he is already taken by her in their every life time. Cathain Donavon went to the conference room in his usual confident strides. The people from Archduke Grouo were not here yet, as there was still half an hour before the meeting began. But unexpectedly, only after five minutes, the people from Archduke came in. Leading the troupe was Ethan Montogamy, the CEO of the Archduke group. Just a look at Ethan Montogamy¡¯s cold blue eyes, people could tell how dangerous his because of the surreal cold aura around him. Somehow, he reminded Cathain about the Duke of Dalton; who only exists in history now. It was shocking when Cathain found that they existed in this world¡¯s history. Though it was not his story, but it was about the third timeline¡¯s Cathain; who was called the Greatest monarch ever in history for the changes he made in the imperialws. Woman empowerment increased, and themoners started to get well off because of the changed rules, where everyone got the chance to get education. The illiteracy rate almost dropped to zero because of the free education system for public and as woman¡¯s also started to work, no family starved again. The modern medicine advanced by the queen of Arendell and Duke of Richardo because of his support. People no longer had to wait for priests or go to temple, as the medical technology became avable for everyone. He broke the rule of thousand years by not execute someone¡¯s whole family for one person¡¯s sins, which earned him more fame as a wise monarch. The proposal tradition also started from him, who had kneeled down infront of everyone to propose to his fiancee. And, all of this was also for one person. Whose name people still remembers and uses to describe beauty and talent. Just like her name, she was a shining light which brighten up everyone¡¯s life in the empire. ¡®Everything is for my beloved empress.. This emperor¡¯s only love,¡¯ ¡°Sorry for thete,¡± Another cold voice rang after a minute Ethan had entered, as the door of the conference room opened again. Cathain Donavon¡¯s ck eyes widened as he turned around and felt his breath getting knocked out. The girl who walked in had gorgeous wavy light brown hair and her deep blue eyes narrowed coldly to observe the people in the meeting room. Her blue eyes looked like as if it was looking straight into everyone¡¯s heart. A beautiful face with no pores or blemishes whatsoever. ..... Her make up was minimal. Not a caked up face like most of the woman Cathain had seen till now. And her clothes were stylish but simple. But that was not what had drawn Cathain to her. It was her personality. Her presence demanded attention. It was like a monarch in front of her subjects. Like she is the predator while they are the prey. Cathain swallowed his saliva as her presence made him feel suffocated because of his heart beating fast crazily. Each step she took towards him felt like a heavy hammer was crushing his heart and he couldn¡¯t took away his eyes from her. ¡°This is my daughter, Milenka Montogamy.¡± Ethan Montogamy spoke as he pressed on her shoulder lightly with a proud look and Milenka smiled back at her father gently, before she turned her gaze to the person who was staring at her with an confused look. ¡°This is my son, Cathain Donavon.¡± Ryan Donavon introduced his son as it was Cathain¡¯s first official appearance after living abroad for so long. He had searched for her in the entire world, where she was just right beside him. ¡°I will find you again... No matter where you get reborn or how you will look... Or how much you change, what you be... I will always find you... Because my heart will only beat crazily for you..¡± Hisst words to her, before she disappeared rang on his head continually. The girl infront of him didn¡¯t had shiny silver hair, jewel like blue eyes and her icy cold mana. She is no longer Eleanora, and will never be again. But his heart still recognised her. Cathain subconsciously reached out his hands for a handshake as he tried to hold back his tears when she finally shake her hands with him. ¡®Finally i found you again, My empress...¡¯ ~THE END~ The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!