Episode 33
The next morning, Elonia walked with an unusually light heart towards her breakfast meeting with Artius.
However, as soon as she entered the dining hall, she noticed that Artius seemed uncharacteristically somber.
Upon her arrival, Artius quickly masked his troubled expression and greeted his daughter awkwardly.
“Elonia. You’re here.”
“Yes, Father.”
Elonia responded curtly as usual, settling into her seat with Aaron’s assistance.
As soon as she was seated, the appetizers arrived.
Just as another silent breakfast commenced, Artius spoke up, unlike his usual habit of making meaningless small talk.
“…Elonia. There’s something I need to apologize for.”
“Apologize?”
Elonia echoed, munching on her salad.
‘Didn’t he already apologize?’
What had he done this time?
‘Wait, I was the one who did something…’
Elonia stared at Artius, trying to figure out what was going on. He avoided her gaze, his expression a mixture of guilt and remorse.
“…Prince Dolce passed away last night. I tried to keep his punishment in check, as you requested, but perhaps it was still too harsh…”
‘Oh, right.’
Elonia inwardly sighed in relief.
Since she had been the one to kill Dolce, his death didn’t faze her in the slightest.
She had made sure to erase any trace of her involvement, and as long as no one found out, she didn’t care what happened to his body.
Elonia nonchalantly continued eating, replying indifferently.
“It’s fine. He was a dead man walking anyway.”
“…Aren’t you angry?”
“I’m not so petty as to get angry over something like that.”
As if I’m as small-minded as you are.
Artius seemed to shrink under her pointed words.
Elonia clicked her tongue, shaking her head at his pathetic display.
She caught Aaron’s eye, and he offered her a small, awkward smile.
‘We’ve both got a long way to go.’
Elonia had decided to be happy.
She was determined to experience all the joys she had been deprived of in her past life.
But both she and Artius were still unprepared for a healthy father-daughter relationship.
It couldn’t be helped.
To Elonia, Artius wasn’t “Father” yet. He was still her “enemy from the past” or her “rival.”
Besides, the very concept of a father was still deeply rooted in fear for Elonia.
She may have taken a step away from Heilan by killing Dolce, but her trauma ran deep.
Even though Vermon was dead, the wounds he had inflicted upon her were still festering.
It would take time and happiness to heal, and even then, the scars would remain.
And scars always took longer to fade than the wounds themselves.
‘Maybe it would have been easier if I was still a naive child.’
But Elonia was also Chelon.
She refused to disregard her past self.
‘Consider it payback for forgetting my dying wish.’
Unbeknownst to Elonia, Artius had never forgotten Chelon’s dying words.
In any case, Elonia decided to use Artius’s guilt to her advantage, to pave her own path towards happiness.
And today was the day.
She had something to ask of him.
But before Elonia could voice her request, Artius spoke first.
“Elonia, isn’t it tiring for you to constantly travel to the Main Palace?”
What nonsense is he spewing now?
Elonia shot him a quizzical look.
Artius continued, flustered.
“You’re still recovering. Wouldn’t it be better for me to visit you at the Imperial Princess’s Palace instead—”
It sounded plausible, but it was still nonsense.
He should have thought of that before.
‘Besides, he used to barge into the Imperial Princess’s Palace all the time. Why the sudden change of heart?’
But Elonia couldn’t afford to be honest with him, not when she needed something from him.
She had to compromise.
Elonia nodded reluctantly.
“Fine.”
“Elonia…!”
“But I have a request as well.”
“Anything at all.”
This was only the second time Elonia had ever asked anything of Artius directly.
He beamed at her, eager to please.
Elonia fought back the urge to roll her eyes and voiced her request.
“I want to learn swordsmanship.”
“Swordsmanship?”
“Yes.”
Artius had tried to educate Elonia in politics and other such matters, but he had never offered to teach her swordsmanship.
It was understandable.
‘No sane person would hand a child a sword.’
Elonia hadn’t bothered asking either.
But she had a reason for wanting to learn now.
There was something she wanted to reclaim.
‘I don’t want to forget that I was once Chelon.’
She had tried to convince herself that Chelon was gone.
But Elonia wasn’t the only one who deserved to be happy.
Chelon deserved happiness too.
And to achieve that, she needed something to validate her past, to prove to herself that she had once been Chelon.
She thought of the old, worn dagger her mother had left her.
She had clung to it even in death.
Of course, retrieving the actual dagger was impossible now.
So she would find something similar, a reminder of her past as Chelon.
That was why she wanted to learn swordsmanship.
And what better excuse to carry a sword around than being a four-year-old prodigy?
Artius, flustered by her insistent gaze, dismissed all the servants except for Aaron.
“Why do you want to learn swordsmanship?”
“I heard Father is the strongest swordsman in the Empire. But I want to learn from Mother.”
It wasn’t entirely a lie.
Artius frowned, muttering under his breath, “…I’m the strongest in the Empire, Elonia.”
“I don’t care. Mother is much more impressive in my eyes.”
Elonia wasn’t going to let him win this one.
Aaron let out a muffled snort beside them.
Artius glared at him before turning back to Elonia, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Elonia, swords are dangerous at your age. Besides, you can already use magic. You can’t learn both magic and swordsmanship.”
“But Princess Chelon was a Sword Mage.”
“!”
Artius’s eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t expected to hear that name from her lips.
Elonia, afraid of raising his suspicion, continued calmly, “And just because you can’t master both doesn’t mean I can’t learn the basics. It’s not like learning swordsmanship will make my body incapable of movement.”
“…And who told you that?”
“Rica.”
“Ri… ca?”
Artius racked his brain, trying to recall anyone by that name in the Imperial Princess’s Palace. Then, it hit him. Ricardo.
‘They’ve gotten close, haven’t they?’
So that was his nickname.
‘He gets a nickname, and I’m stuck with “Father.”‘
While he was relieved that Ricardo didn’t pose a threat to Elonia, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. That Heilan knight had gotten close to Elonia before he had.
He felt like a stepping stone, replaced by someone new and shiny.
But his petty jealousy was quickly replaced by guilt as he remembered his past transgressions.
‘It’s not impossible to learn both magic and swordsmanship.’
If one had a greater aptitude for magic, it would be difficult to manifest their sword aura, and vice versa.
That was the reason Chelon had become a legendary Sword Mage.
Not only did she possess overwhelming mana and the ability to cast multiple large-scale spells simultaneously, but she was also on the verge of manifesting her sword aura.
Chelon had aimed for a realm considered impossible by all accounts.
‘…Though she ended up dying in the process.’
In any case, mastering both magic and swordsmanship required grueling training.
Even if Chelon had made it look easy, it was still too much for Elonia at her age, and he didn’t want to subject her to such hardship.
Artius massaged his temples.
Sensing his hesitation, Elonia pressed on, her small voice relentless as she chipped away at his conscience.
“You’re letting me have my way with the Main Palace visits. And you didn’t force me to study day and night after claiming that I was a fast learner. So why won’t you let me learn swordsmanship?”
“S-swords are dangerous. They’re sharp…”
“That’s a silly excuse. You should have banned magic too, then. At least I can move a sword away from me. Magic is invisible and unpredictable.”
“Elonia, you may not remember this, but you almost died when you were a baby because of your magic—”
“That was when I was a clueless baby. Are you saying I’m still incapable of telling right from wrong?”
“That’s…”
Artius was speechless.
Her words were accurate and irrefutable.
He grasped at straws, desperately searching for a valid excuse.
“You may think you’re all grown up, but you’re still a child, Elonia. Children are fragile…”
“I collapsed because you overworked me, not because I’m fragile.”
“…Where did you even learn to talk like that?”
“Llewellyn and Rica.”
“…”
“Don’t tell me you’re going to take away my playmate and my teacher just because I’m using informal language?”
“…”
Aaron was about to burst into laughter.
Watching Artius get verbally pummeled in real time was incredibly satisfying.
Even Artius, with his sharp tongue, was no match for Elonia.
Pushing around a defeated Artius was child’s play.
In the end, Elonia emerged victorious.
“…Very well. But don’t overexert yourself.”
“I won’t have to, since you’re no longer forcing me to study.”
“…I’m sorry about that—”
“Pfft.”
This time, Aaron couldn’t hold back his laughter.
Artius shot him a sharp glare, and Aaron quickly schooled his features, pretending he hadn’t laughed at all.
“My apologies—”
“Leave.”
And with that, even Aaron was dismissed.
However, just because his audience was gone didn’t mean Artius could enjoy his breakfast in peace.
Elonia, feeling a sense of satisfaction at finally getting her way, finished her meal and skipped back to the Imperial Princess’s Palace.
That afternoon, when she heard that Artius had collapsed from exhaustion, she couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
***
A few days later, Elonia began her swordsmanship lessons with the Emperor’s permission.
Contrary to her expectations, her teacher wasn’t Duke Asta, but Ethan.
It wasn’t a huge disappointment.
After all, learning swordsmanship was merely a means to an end.
She would have preferred Ricardo as her teacher, but he was already her magic tutor.
“I’ll do my best, Your Highness.”
“You too, Ethan.”
Elonia nodded, lost in thought.
‘What’s the average level of swordsmanship for kids these days?’
She had no frame of reference.
Geniuses rarely understood the struggles of ordinary people.
‘Well, I’ll just swing it around for now. Then, when Alberich visits, I’ll ask for a demonstration and adjust accordingly.’
Alberich was said to be a prodigy, so she just needed to be slightly worse than him.
Normally, she would start with physical training before moving on to sword techniques, but since she was still recovering, they decided to begin with the basics of handling a sword.
Just as Elonia thought she could finally carry a sword openly without arousing suspicion, Ethan handed her…
“…A wooden sword?”
It was a wooden sword that looked more like a toy.
Ricardo, who had been observing them from afar, burst into laughter at the sight of Elonia’s dumbfounded expression.
A former War Demon wielding a wooden sword! It was too hilarious!
“Ahahaha, oh my god, I can’t…”
“…”
Elonia shot him a glare, her expression unamused.
Ricardo immediately straightened up, stifling his laughter.
A former War Demon could kill with a wooden sword if they wanted to.
He knew that, but his lips refused to cooperate, twitching with suppressed amusement.
Ethan, shooting him a look that said he was beyond saving, carefully addressed the disgruntled princess.
“Your Highness? Is something wrong…?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Elonia shook her head and took the wooden sword.
‘Right. No sane person would hand a real sword to a four-year-old.’
Artius might have been clueless, but at least Ethan had some common sense.
Still, she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.
If Ricardo were her teacher, she would have gotten her hands on a real sword by now.
‘Well, beggars can’t be choosers.’
At this rate, it would be a while before she could get her hands on a proper sword.
She couldn’t have everything she wanted right away.
Elonia decided to be content with this for now.