Chapter 11
Time flew by, and Elonia was already four years old.
Typically, four is an age for running around and playing, but Elonia was being worked to the bone under Artius’ educational philosophy. Personally, she suspected it was retaliation for when she made a fool of the emperor in front of people as a baby.
In any case, Elonia sat buried in a thick book that a four-year-old would never read and quietly called out to that guy.
“…Yuh, no. Your Majesty.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t Yuh Highness have work?”
“It’s not for the princess to meddle in.”
In response to Elonia’s question, Artius crossed his arms with a brazen face and gestured with his chin for her to finish reading the book.
Why wasn’t it for her to meddle in?
‘You’re interfering with my studies.’
When Elonia’s eyes said, annoying guy, Artius returned a look of, why, what.
‘Detestable bastard. What grudge did we have in the previous… no. The life before that you had to be born again and face each other.’
Including the previous life, it had already been 9 years of fighting tooth and nail.
Tiresome, so tiresome.
Elonia spoke flatly without even making eye contact with Artius.
“Because of Yuh Highness, Sir Aaron is crying like a baby again.”
“Leave him be. And you’re the baby.”
“Please stop treating me like a baby only at times like this. It’s childish.”
Artius froze in place at being called childish by a child.
By the way, she had also stopped her wordplay starting with “ba.”
Although her tongue was still short, pretending to be unable to speak more than this was also at its limit, so now she properly called him “Your Majesty.”
But for some reason, this lazy tyrant was dissatisfied and barged into Elonia’s study every single day to cause a disturbance.
She thought he would stop soon, but he was really persistently annoying for no reason.
At first, she wondered if he was monitoring her because her identity as a mage had been exposed, but Artius never questioned her about magic at all.
The uneasiness was momentary. As Artius kept bothering her, the one who reached her limit first was always Elonia.
Today as well, Artius showed no signs of quickly getting lost.
Without taking her eyes off the book, Elonia dryly retorted.
“Yuh Highness. I can’t find a single exemplary attitude of a monarch in Yuh Highness. What am I supposed to watch and learn from Yuh Highness?”
“Figure it out and watch and learn. Creativity is also a virtue of a monarch.”
“I’ve never heard of such a theory of monarchy.”
“Are you daring to doubt the emperor’s words now?”
“What am I to do when it’s truly not in the book? Why are you deceiving me?”
“Brazenness is also among the emperor’s virtues.”
‘This jerk.’
Elonia took her eyes off the book and glared at Artius.
If she sincerely had Cheron’s body, she would have hit him.
But her strength was still lacking.
She needed to land a blow so painful that he would lose consciousness after one hit.
Elonia struggled to ignore the irritating Artius and continued reading the thick book on monarchy that was as big as her body.
‘…Wait, isn’t a book also a weapon?’
Suddenly, that thought occurred to her.
A book is an intellectual bludgeon.
It was a shame that she couldn’t immediately lift a book as big as her body and strike him down with it.
In the first place, even if she killed him now, it would only make her head hurt.
With this young body, it would be a feat to kill Artius and run away.
‘Ehhh, when will this body ever grow up?’
They say children grow up in the blink of an eye, but that was all nonsense.
Time was moving slowly, way too slowly.
But it didn’t feel entirely bad.
Because she could read books to her heart’s content.
‘Is it because I couldn’t study much in my previous life? It’s fun, I tell you.’
The only books she could read in Heilan were about theology, which didn’t suit Sword Mage Elonia’s aptitude.
But the things she learned in Ravanta were more interesting than she expected and well-suited to her aptitude.
By the way, Elonia’s studies were being overseen by her aunt Sarah, who was also the top graduate of Lucid Ather Academy.
At first, she seemed to feel it was unreasonable to be ordered to teach a child who was only four years old, but as Elonia absorbed everything like a sponge with each lesson, she appeared to find it rewarding.
Elonia recalled the praise that pleased her the most.
“How can you be so brilliant! It seems Princess is far more precocious than His Majesty was as a child!”
Hmm, it felt good to recall it again.
Although her body had become younger, her brain was still that of an adult, so it was natural for Elonia to be able to read books, but studying was fun anyway.
Artius thought he was working the child to the bone, but from Elonia’s perspective, she was actually enjoying the sweet life.
‘I want to go to the academy soon too.’
She hadn’t given up on her plan to kill Artius and escape the palace.
But even if she were to leave, wouldn’t it be less unfair to enjoy everything before leaving?
By the way, unlike in Heilan, in Ravanta, all noble children, regardless of gender, must graduate from the academy.
Elonia would attend the Imperial Lucid Ather Academy.
Among the many academies in Ravanta, it was an academy that only gave admission to nobles of high status.
The next stage was Gaia Academy, which only gave admission to outstanding students who graduated from Lucid Ather Academy with excellent grades.
Of course, she had no intention of setting foot there and planned to attend Lucid Ather Academy only briefly before leaving.
‘The remarriage plan also went down the drain since then. Nothing’s working out, nothing at all.’
Three years ago, after a series of beheadings and family exterminations, marriage proposals stopped coming.
It was understandable.
Who would want to marry that guy?
Even if they waited over 100 more years, there would be no magnanimous person to take that mad dog.
Elonia had long thrown away Plan A of using sympathy to get Artius remarried, and was carrying out Plan B of taking everything she could from the palace, assassinating the emperor, and fleeing in the night.
Elonia finished reading the book, paused for a moment to say “hmm,” and pressed the pen against her temple.
Then, when she solved the tricky part, she gleefully twirled the pen, kicked her feet, and moved her eyes to the next sentence.
At that moment, she felt a sharp gaze from in front of her.
‘Ah, he’s doing it again. Again.’
That guy sometimes gives her a strange look.
Why he does that, Elonia has no way of knowing.
In any case, they were on terms of trying to kill each other on the battlefield.
There’s no way she would cower at a measly gaze now.
Elonia ignored Artius’ gaze and continued moving her pen.
How long had she been doing that?
Artius finally lifted his heavy bottom.
Elonia insolently sent him off without even standing up, let alone making eye contact.
“Go in peace, Yuh Highness.”
Let’s not see each other tomorrow if possible.
She swallowed the rest of her words.
Artius glared at Elonia piercingly, then left the room without a word.
She wasn’t happy even though the troublemaker finally disappeared.
He would probably come again tomorrow.
‘Annoying bastard.’
At first, he acted as if he would kill her, as if he wouldn’t show any affection, but looking at him now, that’s not the case either.
‘It’s like he’s projecting someone onto me.’
There are habits that can’t be hidden even if one is careful.
She thought that maybe he had figured out she was Cheron, but that was impossible.
If he knew she was Cheron, there’s no way that guy would dare to treat her like a dog like this.
Originally, they were on terms of trying to kill each other, but whenever Artius felt pangs of conscience, he would avoid Cheron’s eyes.
But Artius stares straight at Elonia.
‘Or maybe he’s looking for the empress.’
As Elonia grew up, Sarah said until her mouth was sore that she looked just like Philemia.
Elonia glared at the seat where Artius had been sitting, then put down her pen.
‘Anyway, you broke your promise. So I’m the one who will take away the only thing you have left too.’
Although Artius seemed like a pushover recently, he was hiding his resentment toward Elonia, just as Elonia still harbored resentment toward him.
She wanted to leave the palace as soon as possible.
There were faces she wanted to see most when she left the palace.
‘I miss Olivia and Simon.’
It had already been four years.
They must have grown up beyond recognition.
‘Then if I leave Ravanta, I should go to Heilan first.’
Three years ago, hostages arrived from Heilan on Artius’ orders.
Naturally, royalty was included among them, but only the second prince, Dolce, was sent.
Because there were conditions for the hostages.
First, they had to be noble boys.
Second, they had to be of age or level to enter the academy.
The children who came under these conditions first entered the academy to learn the culture of Ravanta.
And after graduating from the academy, they would be confined to a corner of the system, living as if dead under numerous surveillance, and the only way they could return to their homeland was as corpses.
Fortunately, Olivia and Simon did not meet the conditions for hostages and were not taken.
‘Actually, Dolce isn’t the right age to enter either. Rather, he should have graduated.’
According to rumors, he entered the academy at the age of 20, and now, four years later, at the age of 24, he still hasn’t passed the graduation exam and remains at the academy.
‘He’s still an idiot, I tell you.’
Anyway, all the hostages are being “managed” at Lucid Ather Academy, and once they graduate, they will have to live while just breathing under heavy surveillance like unemployed people.
Heilan is a country with severe gender discrimination.
Felix, who had precious boys taken from his country, must be greatly distressed now.
‘Serves him right.’
They say even dog poop has its uses. Although it’s hard to forgive him for killing Vermon, Artius was helpful in that regard at least.
Elonia thought about what she would do for a living after leaving.
‘All I know is using strength. Should I become a mercenary?’
She thought she would have lost all her powers after being reborn, but as her body grew, Cheron’s powers were gradually returning.
At first, she was anxious about Cheron’s powers remaining intact.
Because she lost her mother and was pushed onto the battlefield due to this immense power.
But now, the war had disappeared.
‘For some reason, it’s thanks to Artius stopping the war.’
At first, he started wars by finding faults even when there were none, but after Heilan launched a surprise attack that day, Artius declared a complete ceasefire.
Heilan also completely tucked its tail after that incident, unable to even think of starting a war, and obediently sent hostages to Ravanta.
Peace had arrived.
‘Well, the tyranny continues though.’
Every day, the cries of nobles and occasional half-corpses emerge from the main palace.
“Princess, I brought snacks. May I come in?”
“Sarah! Come in!”
Well, it had nothing to do with her.
She would run away once she grew up.
Anyway, it was peaceful.
* * *
“Your Majesty!”
Artius frowned.
As soon as he returned to the main palace, a ghost-like man came running from afar.
“Your Majesty. It’s good that you visit the Princess Palace often. But how much longer do I have to beg for you to at least pretend to listen and not be late for meetings!”
Aaron Archer, the advisor who had been with the emperor the longest.
He was crying, as the princess predicted.
Artius ignored him as if he were a nuisance, as if shooing a fly, and walked briskly toward the meeting room.
“Your Majesty, are you listening?”
“Shut up.”
“Please! What am I to do when you ban me from entering the Princess Palace and then run away like that! Please take care of state affairs!”
“State affairs? In that place where fat pigs disgustingly cry out to eat even one more piece of feed, what state affairs are being discussed?”
“Your Majesty, there are many ears listening! What will the princess see and learn!”
“Aaron Archer. I said shut up.”
Artius spoke in a low voice as usual without even glancing at Aaron.
But Aaron had served Artius for over 20 years.
Despite his appearance as the owner of a fragile mentality, he had guts sticking out of his belly, so to speak.
Aaron shouted.
“Act as a role model now that you’ve become a father!”
Father.
At that one word, Artius’ steps halted.
There was something that had been bothering him for a while.
“Aaron. I have a question.”