Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Elisha took a step ahead, looked up at the child who was taller than her, and said, “It’s good.”

“…What?”

“You asked me how I felt about living with Richard, so I said it’s good.”

Embarrassed by Elisha’s unexpected reaction, the child faltered and took a step back.

Then Elisha took a step further and asked. “Then I’ll ask you a question. Do you guys enjoy this lousy conversation? How dare you badmouth someone who’s not here while laughing?”

“What? Lousy? Do we talk about something nonsense? It’s all true. He’s the son of a prostitute, and he used to be a mercenary!”

“Really? If you’re so proud of your conversation, why don’t you try talking like that in front of adults?”

Some of the Nobles on the Emperor’s side were inclined toward Rubelin after witnessing Richard’s ability at the royal hunting ground. Some of the children’s parents already switched to Albert’s side. And even if they stayed on the Emperor’s side, none of them could fully antagonize Rubelin.

“You’ve become so arrogant since the incident at the royal hunting ground.” said a silver-haired girl, who was looking at Elisha quietly.

She was the one whom Elisha heard talking at the balcony a while ago. Rose. Elisha recognized her name. ‘Christian wife and the stepmother of the male lead.’ Now, she was still Christian’s fiancée, and perhaps she was the leader of that group of children.

As Elisha expected, another child came forward as if to defend Rose. “Oh dear, I guess you don’t know because you’ve only been in the Lohengrin estate until recently, but Rose is the esteemed daughter of the Marquis of Felice. She’s the fiancée of the Crown Prince, who will rule this empire in the future. Mind your manners!”

“So?”

“Did you just say ‘so’?”

“She’s still Rose Felice anyway. I’m Elisha Rubelin.” Elisha deliberately emphasized the words ‘Felice’ and ‘Rubelin’. Then she looked straight into Rose’s eyes and asked, “Do you still not know who actually needs to mind her manners, Lady Rose Felice?”

Surprised at Elisha’s confidence, Rose and the other children couldn’t find a word to refute Elisha and became speechless. Elisha, who was staring at those children, slowly turned around. She noticed that her hands were slightly shaking, so she clenched her hand tightly. At that time, she heard the children’s voices behind her back.

“How dare you brag about having a half-blood as your husband!”

The children, who were about to add more, were surprised to see the person in front of Elisha and stopped talking.

Elisha, who was about to walk away from those children, also stopped and took a step back. “…Richard?”

Richard was standing in front of her with cold eyes. “I was wondering why you weren’t coming. It seems like you got caught by the bugs.” Richard looked at the children with contempt and grabbed Elisha’s hand. “Let’s go.”

The children, who previously laughed at Elisha, could not dare to laugh at Richard. They couldn’t even refute him calling them ‘bugs.’ They just stared at him with frightened eyes while biting their lips.

Richard took Elisha and left the scene. Elisha’s hand in his clasp was slightly shaking. He became irritated when he realized it.

‘You have a small liver.’ (t/n: A Korean expression means you’re timid or cowardly) Richard said as he held Elisha’s hand firmly. “Don’t step forward and just ignore it. It’s just bullshit anyway.”

“No.” Elisha stopped walking instantly.

Richard stopped too and looked at her in wonder.

Elisha continued. “It’s like the dripping water on a solid rock. At first, we thought it was futile. But eventually one day, it will hollow out the stone because a steady drip of water wears a hole in a rock.”

“……”

“So, I won’t stay still.” Elisha’s voice and eyes were full of determination as she said so. “I told you before. I’ll be on your side.” So, don’t pretend to be okay.

Richard stared blankly at Elisha. A small girl, who couldn’t fight and was scared to the point of shaking, fought desperately. For him, not anyone else.

“I mean, when I have no one on my side, you should stand up for me. If you come across someone badmouthing me, just blow them up with your wind, okay?” Elisha said as she grabbed Richard’s arm.

Richard looked at Elisha, who spoke with a firm look as if she hadn’t been shaking before, and unconsciously burst out laughing. Then, as they were about to resume walking, he frowned as he noticed that Elisha was limping. He immediately kneeled with his back facing Elisha.

Elisha looked at his back confusedly.

“Get on my back.”

“Huh?”

“Your feet, aren’t they hurt?”

“It’s okay though…”

However, despite her rejection, Richard remained in that position. Elisha, who hesitated for a moment, got on Richard’s back. She was worried that Richard might not be able to lift her because she was heavy, but he got up easily without much difficulty.

‘Well, he is still older than me. It is reassuring to have him at times like this.’ Richard, whom she had always considered her adolescent younger brother, looked a little mature today. At the same time, she felt unfamiliar with the warmth of his wide back.

“Arms.”

“Huh?”

“Wrap your arms around my neck, I won’t know if you fall.”

Elisha hastily wrapped her arms around Richard’s neck. Which brought forth more warmth between them as she came a little closer. The corners of Richard’s mouth rose, but Elisha did not see it. In the moonlight, the gentle breeze of spring night tickled the hearts of these two.

*****

After the banquet, quite some time had passed.

“Spring has really come.” On the way to the library, Elisha muttered when she saw the scenery full of greenery from the window. The wind coming through the window was warm and gentle.

Then, she heard men’s buzzing sound from underneath the window. ‘What’s going on?’ Elisha’s eyes naturally turned toward the direction of the sound. Some of Rubelin’s knights were gathering there.

It seemed that, after a long time, they decided to train outside since the weather got warmer. The knights only wore thin sweatshirts. Some of them even took off their tops. Elisha, who was watching their muscular bodies, looked away with a cough, “Ahem…”

However, as if she were attracted by the smell of delicious meat, her gaze went back to them instinctively. ‘Hmmm. As the lady of the house, isn’t it my responsibility to oversee the knights’ training and check whether they’re lacking or not?’

Elisha decided to postpone her plan to go to the library and watch the knights training instead. Not long after, two knights began to spar. This time, both of them took off their tops. Every time their swords clash, their muscles move visibly. Their masculine bodies were really well-developed.

As Elisha watched the scene with glistening eyes, a familiar voice was heard from behind.

“What are you doing here?”

“Ack!” Elisha was frightened like a child who got caught red-handed when Richard suddenly appeared.

Richard was also surprised by Elisha’s unexpected response.

Elisha, who was embarrassed, answered Richard hastily to avoid him from noticing her thoughts, “Y-you know, sword training looks cool so I was watching it. It’s so cool. I want to learn it too.”

“Do you really want to learn it?”

At Richard’s question, who seemed clueless, Elisha had a guilty conscience. She was conscience-stricken, but she still couldn’t tell the truth to her innocent 15-year-old husband. “N-no. I was just saying it.”

“I can teach you.”

“Are you good at swordsmanship?”

Richard frowned at Elisha’s question. His pride was hurt by the fact that Elisha underestimated his level of swordsmanship. “…Do you think I’m bad at it?”

“You’re a wizard, so I thought you can’t do it.”

“I use magic because it’s much more efficient, not because I have bad swordsmanship.”

“Ah, I see.” Elisha responded half-heartedly. She was relieved that she hadn’t been caught peeking at the knights. She wasn’t really interested in swordsmanship in the first place, and it wasn’t surprising that Richard, who had infiltrated many guilds during his childhood, was good at handling swords. “Then I’ll be on my way. See you later.” Elisha turned around and disappeared.

Looking at her back, Richard, who was smiling, soon sighed. It wasn’t the response he expected. Richard looked down at the knights whom Elisha had been staring at with glistening eyes a moment ago. His red eyes sank in deep thoughts.

*****

That evening, one of the Rubelin knights, Thompson, was returning to his room after a meal. He was stunned to see the Duke’s successor standing in front of his room. “…Young Master Richard?”

Richard was waiting for him with his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall. Thompson was nervous to see Richard approaching him. ‘What’s going on here?’

It had been around a year since Richard entered the Dukedom. At that time, Richard was not very interested in the family affairs, so he did not interfere much with the knights’ affair. Naturally, there was no need for him to speak directly to the knights, especially Thompson, who was just an insignificant knight.

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He couldn’t believe that Richard came all the way to the dorm. If Richard wanted to assign a specific task to him, he could’ve sent a servant to come to his room or given the instructions to the commander instead. It was really weird to see him come directly with such a cold face.

‘D-did I offend him in any way?’ All he did today was train and spar with his colleagues in the backyard after lunch. Thompson recalled his routine today and wondered if he had done anything that would get on Richard’s nerves.

But the words that came out of Richard’s mouth were totally unexpected. “You’ll spar with me tomorrow. Around two o’clock after lunch, in the backyard.”

“Yes…?” Surprised by Richard’s sudden command, Thompson looked at him with puzzled eyes, but he had already gone far away.

(t/n: Oh dear, after Ansel, he’s the 2nd victim of Richard’s jealousy.)