Episode 68
Lucius, as expected, was flustered.
“I-I never said—”
“Then why are you defending her? She might have been a good person personally, but she was still a mass murderer.”
Killing was commonplace during war.
But the number of people Chelon Heilan had killed was far beyond that of an ordinary soldier.
Lucius, unable to refute that fact, fell silent.
He regretted his outburst.
It wasn’t his fault that Elonia had happened to encounter him while holding that book, but he shouldn’t have reacted so emotionally.
He tried to leave, but Elonia wouldn’t let him go.
“Where are you going? Explain yourself.”
“…”
Lucius tried to maintain his composure, but he was undeniably flustered.
He still remembered the day the young princess had pretended not to see him.
And after her enrollment, he had realized, through their brief interactions, that she was quite naive.
But she was showing none of that naivety now.
Even in terms of strength, Elonia was probably superior to him.
Lucius decided it was best to make up an excuse and escape.
“You’re right. Her actions were unforgivable. But she saved my life, so she’s like a god to me.”
“So you’re saying it’s okay to be a mass murderer as long as they save your life?”
“…What do you even know about Princess Chelon?”
Despite his previous attempt at composure, Lucius’s expression hardened, his voice cold as he retorted, angered by her insult towards Chelon.
He had expected Elonia to cower in fear, as she had before, but she looked genuinely confused.
“You don’t resent Princess Chelon?”
“…What do you mean?”
“If Chelon Heilan had won the war, you wouldn’t be a hostage here.”
Lucius’s red lips twitched.
He was good at masking his emotions, but he was clearly angered by her attempt to blame Chelon.
He frowned, his voice firm.
“No matter the outcome, I will always follow the path of the one who saved my life.”
Elonia stared into his red eyes.
Nothing had changed.
He was still the same grateful and respectful child.
But she couldn’t acknowledge that, so she said,
“…You’re quite strange, defending Chelon Heilan in front of the Ravanta princess.”
“…”
Lucius glared at her.
Elonia would have retaliated if it were anyone else, but she owed him a debt. She sighed.
“Well, it’s nice to see that someone like you thinks so highly of her. Maybe she didn’t live a completely meaningless life after all.”
From Elonia’s perspective, as the Ravanta princess, Chelon Heilan deserved to be condemned.
But Elonia was also Chelon.
It warmed her heart to know that the baby she had saved, the baby who had clung to her, was now a young man who still remembered her with gratitude.
Lucius, seeing her unusually cheerful expression, was startled.
“What did you just say…?”
He had heard those words somewhere before.
And then he remembered Princess Chelon, who had spoken those exact words to him.
“It’s nice to know that a baby like you considers me your savior… Maybe I didn’t live a completely meaningless life after all.”
It was normal for people to forget about events from when they were one year old.
But Lucius was different.
He remembered everything.
‘How…?’
There were people in the world who resembled each other despite being complete strangers.
Chelon and Elonia were probably just one such case.
Elonia’s words, similar to what Chelon had said to him, were probably just a coincidence.
But could their expressions, the look in their eyes, be so similar as well?
“…Your Highness, are you—”
Lucius wanted answers.
But before he could finish his question,
“Lucius?”
Someone called out his name.
It was Olivia and Simon.
Olivia, her eyes widening in surprise at seeing Lucius with Elonia, hurried towards them, followed by a flustered Simon.
“Lucius, what are you doing here?”
“Princess Olivia, Prince Simon.”
“…!”
This was bad.
Engrossed in her conversation with Lucius, Elonia had forgotten they were in the Theology Department.
Being alone with a Heilan student, especially a boy, was suspicious.
Olivia, seemingly thinking the same thing, frowned at Elonia, her voice laced with sarcasm.
“My, my, I didn’t expect to see you here, Your Highness. Surely you weren’t enjoying a secret rendezvous with Lucius.”
“Princess Olivia, you’re being disrespectful to Her Highness.”
“Sister.”
Lucius had shed his childish demeanor, reverting to his usual composed self.
Simon, flustered, tried to stop Olivia, but it was futile.
“Why? Is it not true? Then what is she doing here?”
“I got lost while reading.”
Elonia calmly corrected her, refusing to rise to her bait.
But Olivia, noticing the title of the book Elonia was holding, scoffed.
“Ha, ‘Chelon Heilan Theories’? Ravanta has truly stooped to a new low.”
“Your Highness!”
“Am I wrong? They won through sheer luck, not skill, and now they’re even profiting from her death, compiling her stolen magic into a book, without even returning her body. Ravanta is a nation of thieves.”
“S-Sister!”
Elonia felt like a stranger to everyone here, especially Olivia.
But she understood Olivia’s hatred and resentment towards Ravanta, so she tried to leave.
She didn’t want to fight with her former siblings.
“Where are you going? We’re not done talking.”
“Ugh…!”
Olivia grabbed Elonia’s arm roughly.
Elonia was strong, thanks to her training, but Olivia was much older and taller, so she couldn’t break free.
Simon, horrified by Olivia’s rudeness, tried to pry her hand away.
“I apologize for my sister’s behavior, Your Highness. Please forgive her this time.”
He pleaded, his voice filled with concern for Elonia.
But he couldn’t stop Olivia.
In fact, he only angered her further.
Slap!
“…!”
A sharp sound echoed through the air as Olivia slapped Simon’s cheek.
Elonia’s eyes widened in shock.
Even Lucius looked stunned.
Olivia had slapped Simon in front of the Ravanta princess?
“Your Highness!”
“Why are you apologizing? Do you think I was wrong?”
“I’m sorry… Sister.”
The two boys were powerless to stop Olivia’s outburst.
Elonia, who had been trying to leave quietly, was now angry.
“Let go of me, Olivia.”
“…!”
Her voice, laced with authority, was unlike that of a child.
She might have been a child, but the sheer force of her presence intimidated Olivia.
Olivia, startled, loosened her grip, and Elonia wrenched her arm free.
“…Ugh!”
“How dare you hit your younger brother. Chelon Heilan would be heartbroken.”
“What do you know, you…”
Olivia couldn’t finish her sentence.
Elonia was staring at her, her eyes filled with a mixture of emotions.
Pity, guilt, sadness, pain.
Olivia, meeting her gaze, flinched.
‘…Sister?’
For a fleeting moment, she saw Chelon in Elonia’s face.
She had almost forgotten what Chelon looked like, but Elonia’s expression brought back a vivid memory, as if she had seen her yesterday.
“I’ll let this slide. But there won’t be a next time.”
Those words weren’t directed at her siblings.
They were directed at herself.
‘I can handle insults. But I won’t tolerate Olivia hurting Simon.’
The Heilan Royal Palace was filled with terrible people.
That was why Elonia had always emphasized the importance of family, telling her younger siblings to rely on and cherish each other.
Simon, who had been too young back then, probably didn’t remember, but Olivia would.
But what had happened in those nine years?
She finally understood.
She was the princess of the enemy nation, a reminder of their trauma and pain.
“…Ugh.”
Olivia bit her lip, then turned and fled.
Simon, his cheek red and swollen, looked helpless, then bowed to Elonia, thanking her, before chasing after Olivia.
Lucius stared at Elonia, his expression unreadable.
Elonia, sensing the awkwardness, spoke first.
“I’ll be going now.”
She turned and left without waiting for his reply.
Lucius, snapping out of his daze, finally realized what had happened.
Just like Olivia, he had also seen Chelon in Elonia.
The question that had been bothering him resurfaced.
A coincidence happening more than once was no longer a coincidence.
“Wait, please wait!”
Lucius called out, his voice trembling.
Elonia stopped, and Lucius cautiously approached her.
“…What is your relationship with Princess Chelon?”
Elonia flinched.
But she couldn’t answer him.
She avoided his gaze, her voice flat and emotionless.
“What are you talking about?”
Elonia left the Theology Department.
Lucius, left alone, watched her leave.
He could still see Chelon’s shadow lingering behind her.
‘Holy crap, my heart almost jumped out of my chest…!’
Elonia, back in her dormitory, sighed, clutching her racing heart.
Honestly, she had been more nervous than when Artius first discovered her magic.
“Children are scary.”
They had a sixth sense for detecting the unusual.
But she had managed to deflect his suspicion.
Elonia quickly took a bath and contacted home through the communication crystal.
She needed some comfort.
Artius’s face appeared on the screen within three seconds, as usual.
[Elonia.]
“Hi, Dad.”
Elonia waved, her hair still dripping wet.
Artius, seeing her, started nagging.
[You didn’t dry your hair properly again. You’ll catch a cold.]
“I’m the healthiest person alive. I haven’t even had a cold in years.”
[That’s true, but…]
Come to think of it, she was right.
Elonia had never been sick, except for the time she collapsed from exhaustion.
Artius changed the subject.
[But still, dry your hair properly before going to bed. So, you’re not coming home this weekend either?]
“…No.”
[It’s because of Professor Caroline again, isn’t it?]
“…Yes.”
Elonia slumped onto the table.
“You should have stopped me when I was planning my schedule.”
[I didn’t know Caroline would be like this… I would have stopped you if I had known.]
Professor Caroline was the problem.
And she was a professor at the academy, a place even the Emperor couldn’t easily interfere with.
‘I can’t go home, the assignments never end, and she even stole my magic and published a book about it.’
She was being tormented from all sides.
Artius, trying to cheer her up, desperately searched for a new topic.
[Apart from the assignments, how’s the academy? Are you making friends?]
“With my personality, one friend is a miracle.”
[What’s wrong with your personality?]
Artius retorted, his voice defensive.
But his words lacked credibility.
He had always spoiled Elonia, except for the time he had lost his mind.
The fact that Elonia’s personal funds exceeded his own spoke volumes.
Elonia chuckled, but then, remembering her only friend, her smile faded.
She hadn’t seen much of Dianne lately.
They still sat together in class.
But Dianne rarely spoke to her anymore.
‘Is it because I defended Olivia?’
Most of the noble children in Ravanta disliked Heilan.
And she, the princess, had failed to share their sentiment.
Artius, observant as always, noticed her change in mood.
Elonia, despite her recent increase in childish antics, still kept her deepest worries to herself.
He couldn’t bring himself to tell her to open up to him.
It was his fault that she couldn’t.
He regretted his past actions.
If he had come to his senses sooner, when Elonia was a baby, she would have grown up like a normal child.
[Elonia.]
“What?”
[I miss you.]
“What are you talking about?”
Elonia was flustered by his sudden confession, but the truth was, she felt the same way.
She wanted to see him in person, not through a communication crystal.
She missed their late-night chats in his bedroom or her room at the Imperial Princess’s Palace, his cool, fragrant fur cloak draped over her shoulders.
She missed falling asleep, exhausted, and waking up to find herself tucked into bed, her blanket pulled up to her chin.
She missed those simple, peaceful days, when everyone around her loved her unconditionally.
Just as she was feeling nostalgic, her eyes stinging with unshed tears,
“Elonia! Are you there?”
Dianne’s voice, followed by a knock, came from behind the door.