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“Those fucking bastards are out of their minds.”
The bar owner looked at Elaine with anxious eyes. Elaine had been drinking since early evening.
Elaine was a regular customer of this bar.
Therefore, it wasn’t strange for him to know about Elaine’s identity, her relationship with the emperor, and her alcohol tolerance. As far as he knew, Elaine had long exceeded her alcohol tolerance.
Elaine thumped her glass down on the table and saw that she was out of beer.
“Give me another glass!”
“I think that’s enough for tonight, Miss Elaine.”
“How many times have I made a fuss here while I’m drunk?” Elaine asked.
“I don’t remember just exactly how many times I have told you that, but I do remember telling you that I will ban you from this bar if you kick up another fuss.”
Elaine flinched and let go of her glass at the bar owner’s words.
Then, she lay face down on the table with a sullen look.
“That’s no good. There’s no place that sells beer that is as good as the beer here. I guess I’ll have to go somewhere else to kick up a fuss.”
The bar owner sighed and eventually served her another glass of beer. He thought it would be better to let her make a fuss in his bar rather than somewhere else. There was a chance that she would get in trouble with people who weren’t aware of her identity.
The bar owner admired His Majesty, so he decided to give Elaine what she wanted.
Elaine smiled when the bar owner brought her another glass of beer.
A young man quietly drinking from one side of the bar caught Elaine’s eyes. The young man seemed to be a knight trainee. Elaine noticed him surreptitiously glancing at her while taking small sips of his beer.
Elaine approached him with a grin. “Hey, kiddo. Are you here alone?”
The young man was confused when Elaine started a conversation out of nowhere.
The bar owner quickly stepped in. He figured that it was time for Elaine to leave.
“Miss Elaine, it seems that you’re already drunk. I’ll bring you back to your place safely.”
“Ugh, don’t nag at me. Charge the sum to the Imperial Palace’s account. Kiddo, do you want to go out and drink with me somewhere else where no one can bother us?”
“Um, n-no. I’m
”
“Don’t be shy. Come one.”
Elaine pulled the young man’s arm to drag him away.
The young man blushed and followed Elaine.
He obviously couldn’t hide his interest in her.
The bar owner was astonished, but he couldn’t stop someone like Elaine.
Elaine pulled the young man into a secluded alley.
“M-miss. We can’t do this
”
“Do what?”
“I mean, I just need a little more time to prepare for
”
“Do you usually need time to prepare yourself before you get beaten up? I recommend you get rid of that habit. Crisis always comes unannounced, you know.”
“I’m sorry?”
Elaine suddenly punched the young man’s face. The young man fell to the floor with a single blow. Elaine had a petite frame, but it seemed that her small figure contained an incredible amount of power behind them.
Elaine also knew how to power up her punches by swinging her waist. Her aim was accurate as well; she managed to hit the young man squarely in the chin, causing him to fall down and pass out.
However, Elaine didn’t stop there. She kicked him in the stomach and woke him up.
“Ugh, blegh!”
The young man vomited and staggered up.
However, Elaine ruthlessly trampled on his face before stomping on his face.
“The bar owner told me that he’ll ban me if I make another fuss in his bar.”
Elaine didn’t seem drunk right now, unlike when she was still in the bar. She bent down and coldly whispered into the man’s ears.
“Do you really think that this is my first time being followed? I’ve been feeling that someone has been following me these days. Who sent you? Are you a member of the Bellarua Church? Or are you from Nigrato’s side? If it’s neither of them, is it Harmon? Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter who sent you. I feel a little crappy today, so this is great.”
“Ugh, Heuk
I, I am a knight of the Order of the—”
“A knight?” Elaine asked.
“That’s enough, Elliot.”
Elaine turned to the voice that came from the entrance of the alley.
A large-framed man, who seemed to be about four meters in height, entered the alley.
He was so huge that it was impossible to describe him with mere words. There was a crown-shaped on his head, and he had a black beard.
There was a chance that there were people who couldn’t recognize the emperor, but there was no way people would fail to recognize the man because the man was the last remaining member of his species.
“Barth Baltic.”
He was also known as the Great General. Elaine didn’t really like Barth Baltic that much, and the reason was simple—Barth didn’t like her as well.
“That fellow is my subordinate, so just let him go.”
“For what reason is the Great General keeping tabs on me? Don’t you have better things to do?”
“It’s just one of the duties that we have to carry out. After all, you are His Majesty’s—”
“Lover?”
“—Important people. It’ll be a problem if you get abducted.”
Elaine was dumbfounded. She glanced at the young man lying by her feet.
“So this punk is supposed to be my bodyguard? It seems that the strength of the members of the Order of the Capital is questionable. And are you sure that you came running here just because of a duty that you must carry out as the Great General?”
“I came here to fetch you because I heard that you’re drunk again. I can’t leave your well-being to someone else,” Barth’s expression distorted as he muttered, “Do you really think that I enjoy taking care of you? If you’re not planning on holding him hostage, then just let him go. I’ll explain.”
Elaine shrugged and removed her foot from the young man’s back.
Barth cleaned the young man’s vomit-covered face with his cloak. Barth patted the young man’s shoulder and encouraged him before sending him away.
Barth seemed like he was taking care of a child, so Elaine figured that he had to be telling the truth.
“Great General. Why are you keeping tabs on me? It bothers me.”
“Are you asking because you don’t know? You are the emperor’s walking weakness.”
“Are you overestimating me, or are you underestimating Juan? Does Juan look like someone who’ll make mistakes just because of a commoner?”
“Yes, because you are totally nothing more than just an ordinary commoner. Why don’t you pay a little more attention to how other people see you? Even if His Majesty eventually chooses to do the right thing, people will start doubting His Majesty’s ability if something were to happen to you. Whether you like it or not, the people know you as His Majesty’s lover. You’re one of the reasons His Majesty seems like he’s not the emperor.”
“One of the reasons, my ass! How can you say so?”
“You know that His Majesty’s character resembles you a lot, right? That alone is already an issue. If his personality were just a bit more serious and mature—he’s even more immature when you’re around him.”
Elaine was offended, but she had no choice but to admit that Barth was speaking the truth. Juan had grown a lot, but he often acted like a child whenever he was around Elaine. She thought that Juan was just that kind of person, but a few people like Barth obviously didn’t think so.
“Go and whine about it to His Majesty if you have a problem with that; you shouldn’t whine to me. Why are there so many people whining to me these days? I’m not Juan’s babysitter. I was a pretty competent leader of the refugees before I joined Juan’s camp.”
“I’ll return your own words right back to you. If you want to be so selfish, be loyal to His Majesty. Swear that you’ll serve His Majesty and accept a position from him. Didn’t I promise that I’ll make sure that you’ll have your own place in the Order of the Capital? Winoa Weaver seemed like he’s looking up to you. I’m sure he’ll be happy to offer you his position,” said Barth Baltic.
He frowned before continuing. “Let’s be honest here. You haven’t even sworn an oath of allegiance to His Majesty, but you’re constantly by his side. What do you think the public will think upon seeing that? You should consider upholding your dignity and marrying him.”
Elaine glared at Barth. This wasn’t the first time she had been asked or was forced to swear her allegiance to the emperor. She was guaranteed a position within the Imperial Palace, and Juan was also looking forward to her officially joining his camp.
However, Elaine didn’t want to swear allegiance to Juan.
“Juan is my friend and a colleague; there is no reason for me to serve him.”
“Yes. You are His Majesty’s girlfriend.”
‘Did he actually just say girlfriend?’
Elaine laughed and grinned.
“I didn’t expect you to use a very childish expression, Great General. If you want to take my place, then you should be a bit sexier. I think you’ll look handsome if you shave. Do you know that large-framed and quiet guys like you are the ones often playing the role of the bottom, unlike what most people think?”
Barth looked like he had no idea what Elaine was talking about, but Elaine quickly walked out of the alley while the former was still processing her words.
Elaine started running away.
Seeing that, Barth seemed to have finally realized what she was talking about, and his veins bulged out of fury.
Elaine turned around and shouted, “The next time you get your subordinate to follow me, I’ll make sure he’ll have to crawl back to you!”
***
“Get away from me. Ah, but not too far away.”
“What?”
Juan was confused. Elaine was the one who visited his office, but why was she saying that he should get away from her?
Still, Juan obliged, and he stared at her awkwardly from a distance.
Elaine didn’t say anything. She simply walked around Juan’s office, surrounded by an inexplicably sharp air that did not allow any questions.
Juan cautiously returned to his desk.
The desk had a mountain of documents from Harmon.
Juan didn’t really have to inspect every single word written on the documents because they had already passed Harmon’s review. However, Juan knew that he still had to take a closer look at each and every one of them because they were all confidential.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t just ignore Elaine, who was obviously in a bad mood.
“Elaine. Why don’t you go wait in my room? I’ll be right there as soon as I’m done with my work, so
”
“No. I came here because this is the only place with no annoying bastards who can’t just help but piss me off. I don’t want to go to your room. Who knows how many more bastards will pop out and talk nonsense once I emerge from your room?”
‘Bastards? That’s plural.’
Juan seemed concerned.
“I did hear that you beat Harmon up earlier today. Did you perhaps beat more people up?”
“What do you mean I beat him up? I lightly tapped him with a book, that’s all. And why do you think I beat people up whenever I’m pissed? Did someone tell you that I beat them up?”
“Well, no. No one told me, but
”
“See?”
“I’m asking you just in case...”
“Don’t make careless assumptions...”
Elaine deliberately didn’t bring up the story about how she had beaten up a knight of the Order of the Capital.
“So, who made you angry?”
Juan put down his pen and prepared to listen.
Elaine was aware that mentioning someone's name could potentially put them in danger, regardless of who they were. However, Elaine had no intention of doing so, as she knew it would only fuel the prejudice that Harmon and Barth Baltic had toward her.
In the first place, she had never really complained about anyone to Juan.
“Since you’ve come here to talk to me about it in person, you must have heard something harsh. Tell me about it.”
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Juan was ready to listen to Elaine because she had never really complained about other people to him. Elaine had handled most of her problems by herself, leaving Juan to clean the crumbs.
“No, Juan. I came here and started whining to you because you’re involved.”
Juan revealed a complicated look at Elaine’s words. He wanted to do Elaine a favor, but she had just said that he was involved.
“And you should have asked me why I’m angry rather than who made me angry.”
“I mean
 this isn’t the first time you’re angry, and there are many possible reasons why you’re angry. It’s actually a bit absurd and confusing.”
“Come on. It’s not that absurd, is it?”
“Honestly, I sometimes think that you just needed an excuse to beat people you don’t like.”
“Let’s just say that I have many ways of expressing my emotions.”
“Sure. Let’s just say that.”
“And were there cases where I was unreasonable while expressing my emotions?”
“There were times when it got a bit too much.”
“Hm.” Elaine nodded. She looked like she had fallen into contemplation as she said, “I suppose you’re right if you say so, but I am not planning on changing. Anyway, take a look at me.”
Elaine stood in front of Juan and opened her arms.
“What do you see?”
Juan fell into deep thought.
He could not figure out what kind of answer Elaine wanted to hear.
‘I’d rather fight a monster or a god.’
Juan considered many different answers, but he eventually chose the simplest and most obvious answer.
“Elaine Elliot?”
Elaine seemed satisfied to hear Juan’s answer.
Juan was relieved to see that he got the right answer, but Elaine’s face soon turned cold.
At the sight, Juan’s heart sank.
“Good. So you know it well. However, the three people who made me angry today were looking at me a bit differently than you do. I can forgive one of them, considering his young age and pitiful circumstances, but the other two are truly the sons of bitches.”
“Why don’t you tell me who they are? Who is it other than Harmon?”
“It doesn’t matter who they are, Juan. I used to be a pretty good warrior and a refugee leader before I decided to stand by your side. I think I was pretty decent, but I still couldn’t compare to your greatness, which wasn’t really strange. Oh, of course. I’m not trying to compare our achievements or anything. It’ll be meaningless to do so.”
“Right.”
“The issue is that I somehow become nothing more than a mother, a womb, and a mistress the moment I stand next to you rather than the skilled person I had been before I joined your camp.”
Juan stared agape at her. However, his expression quickly turned ugly.
Elaine hurriedly raised her hands upon seeing that.
“My bad. I exaggerated it a bit because I’m upset. They actually didn’t say that. Let me correct myself. I feel like I have become nothing more than a mother, the empress, and a lover.”
“Give me their names, Elaine.”
“I told you! Their names don’t matter!”
Elaine slammed her hand on Juan’s desk, scattering the mountain of documents into the air.
“Everyone looking at me has the same thoughts; those three weren’t alone. Most of the people you rule seem to perceive me that way, and there are always going to be bastards who’ll talk nonsense like today. Are you going to ask me each of their names every time?”
Juan didn’t answer.
Elaine and Juan stared at each other for a long time, but Juan eventually surrendered.
He sighed and shook his head. “All right. I won’t ask for their names anymore. Then, what do you want me to do?”
“First, I want you to make it clear to me. Make it clear that I’m not someone’s mother, wife, or lover—I’m just Elaine Elliot. And you are just Juan Calberg, not anyone’s father, the emperor, nor the guardian of mankind.”
Juan couldn’t understand Elaine. Aruntal had told him that he was born an emperor and was born to become an emperor. Juan was the emperor from the moment he was born, so he had no idea how to start thinking that he wasn’t the emperor.
It was also an irresponsible way of thinking.
However, Juan thought that he would rather lie than give an honest answer to Elaine.
“Okay. I did.”
“You liar!”
Juan gave up on giving Elaine an answer.
However, Elaine didn’t get angry. She smiled and hugged him tightly.
“There’s no way a person like you can think that way. You did a good job lying, though.”
“Thank you for your understanding. Then, what should I do next?”
“Say some pleasant things that will make me feel better. It doesn’t matter even if it won’t resolve the issue. Just make me feel better.”
“Let’s get married.”
“Are you proposing to me?”
“Yes
”
“Then I shall have the honor of rejecting the emperor four times.”
Juan wasn’t really expecting a positive answer. The first time he proposed to Elaine was when they were reunited after a long time of parting, and the second time was after she had overcome the crisis of death. The third time was after Juan had overcome a crisis.
Elaine had given him an ambiguous answer back then, but it had been such a long time that there was a huge chance that her answer back then was already irrelevant. Elaine’s ambiguous answer had been giving him a headache.
However, he figured that she had to have rejected him back then, considering her answer to his fourth proposal.
Elaine started patting Juan’s head.
“I didn’t reject you just because you didn’t kneel down and give me an expensive ring in the middle of a rose garden, Juan. And it’s not that I don’t want you either.”
“Then, why are you rejecting me every time?”
“I don’t want to be favored by the emperor who has to love everyone, nor do I want to receive your love when you love everyone else as well. I want my husband to love me the most in the world because I will love him the most in the world as well.”
“Hmm, I see.”
“Let’s get married if we end up without partners even after you retire and step down from the throne. We’ll probably get wrinkles and gray hair, but I’ll be generous and accept you if your appearance hasn’t withered too much by then. You’ll have to make sure that you don’t retire too late.”
“I’m fine with that, but will you be fine?”
“Hm. Then, let’s say that it’s okay for us to date someone else if we get too lonely. It doesn’t really matter, though, because I have already captivated you. There’s no way you can break free from my charms.”
Juan stared dumbfounded at Elaine. Eventually, he smiled and said, “So, what is the conclusion of this story? We haven't come up with a proper solution just yet.”
Elaine smiled with her eyes at Juan’s question. “Do you want me to suggest a proper solution?”
Marriage couldn’t be a solution because it would only strengthen the people’s prejudice against Elaine. Elaine didn’t want the people to look at her under the veil of prejudice.
It wasn’t like there was no solution, but she thought that it would be a better idea to leave the issue unresolved.
Juan shook his head at Elaine’s question.
Elaine chuckled and put her hand on Juan’s shoulder.
“Well, then
” Elaine whispered into his ear, “It’s been a while since we’ve done it. Shall we have a little fun tonight?”