Chapter 9
Sarah’s mouth fell wide open.
The baby who could only say her name was already speaking a full sentence!
She wanted to praise Elonia as a genius right away but couldn’t do so here.
As if sensing Elonia’s words, only Sarah understood, so Artius tilted his head.
“What did the princess say just now?”
“She said she doesn’t know.”
“Why?”
“I believe it’s because Her Highness still cannot speak.”
Artius rubbed his chin for a moment.
Then he asked Elonia in easy to understand words.
“Would you like me to kill those men? Answer yes or no.”
‘Ah, damn it. I’m telling you I can’t say those words.’
You stupid jerk.
Elonia shouted again.
“Dunno!”
“…If I knew the princess still couldn’t speak, I should have called for her a bit later.”
‘Why, so you can show her an execution scene if she can speak?’
While Elonia was being sarcastic, Artius got down from the throne and approached King Vermon.
And he drew his sword.
She thought he wouldn’t, but that sword eventually struck King Vermon’s neck.
Clang-
Thud……
“……”
The familiar smell of blood began to spread and silence fell over the audience hall.
Everyone in the hall tried hard to hold back their shock.
Unfortunately, Elonia’s answer to whether he would show an execution scene if she could speak was incorrect.
Artius intended to kill them even if Elonia couldn’t speak.
Felix, Vermon’s eldest son who was right next to him, was on the verge of fainting. His eyes widened as if they would pop out, his complexion turned pale, and he finally collapsed miserably, shedding tears.
Although no tears came out, Elonia, who witnessed the death of her former father before her eyes, was also just as surprised.
‘This crazy bastard…!’
He killed a person in front of his child.
Moreover, he cleanly severed the head.
King Vermon’s head rolled miserably on the floor and Artius was splattered with blood.
Nevertheless, Artius calmly turned around and smiled at Elonia.
“As expected, you don’t even blink when a person dies before your eyes.”
He was arbitrarily interpreting that she was just stunned from shock, and he asked,
“Well, how is it? I personally took the head of the one who tried to kill you.”
“……”
“An emperor must not show mercy to those who attack him. If the princess wishes, I will take that prince’s head as well.”
Elonia widened her eyes in shock.
He’s going to kill Felix here too?
“I am personally teaching the princess the principles of being a monarch. Now tell me what you want.”
When Elonia didn’t answer, Artius spoke again as if bestowing something great.
Teaching the principles of being a monarch.
With those words, all the palace people and knights gathered in the hall flinched.
There was no one who didn’t know the rumor that the Emperor hated the princess born from devouring the Empress.
And that the only role he expected from the princess was that of a successor.
If it was education, he could have entrusted it to someone else, but everyone there wondered why he was personally teaching her while even showing a murder scene.
Only Elonia seemed to know the reason.
She could clearly tell from his words just now.
‘As expected, that jerk is also planning to raise me as a war demon.’
It was a feeling of her blood running cold from disgust.
‘If I wish, he’ll cut off Felix’s head too?’
Don’t make me laugh.
You just want slaughter.
You just want to torment the child born from devouring your beloved.
No matter how much Elonia hated and despised the Heilans, she didn’t want their deaths.
Vermon was already dead, so it couldn’t be helped.
But at least Felix had to stay alive.
‘Olivia and Simon are still in Heilan.’
Her young and lovely half-siblings.
The second prince, Dolce, was incompetent.
For Olivia and Simon to grow up without lacking anything, at least Felix had to stay alive.
“……?”
Elonia made eye contact with Artius and shook her head.
‘Don’t kill him.’
And she spoke with her eyes.
Everyone couldn’t take their eyes off Elonia.
Artius made expressionless eye contact with Elonia.
A suffocating silence continued.
But in the end, Artius turned around.
‘No!’
When she reached out her hand to tell him not to kill, Artius put away his sword.
“…!”
“The princess has shown mercy to spare your measly life, Prince Felix.”
“Ah…..”
“However, since you lot may harbor impudent thoughts again, I will release you after taking a price. Every year, send young male nobles of Heilan to Ravanta as hostages. With those hostages, Heilan will be able to maintain its life.”
“U-understood, Your Majesty. Th-thank you for your mer-”
“The mercy was shown by the princess, not me. If you’re going to bow your head, bow it to her.”
“……”
At Artius’s words, Felix bit his lip as if resentful.
He glared at Elonia with an impudent gaze.
When Elonia flinched at that gaze, Artius personally stomped on his head.
“Ugh…!”
“Impudent.”
“I-I apologize. …Your Highness Princess. Thank you…for your mercy.”
Even as he was dragged away by the knights, Felix did not withdraw his hateful gaze.
He took in the sight of King Vermon’s corpse sprawled in the middle of the audience hall to the end.
Only silence remained in the audience hall.
Gulp. The sound of someone swallowing saliva was heard.
Tension hung in the air.
“Showing mercy to them. A foolish choice, princess.”
Breaking the silence, Artius opened his mouth.
“I would not have done so.”
Artius approached Elonia with his bloody body.
Wiping the blood splattered on his face with his sleeve, he spoke in a cold voice.
“Ravanta is now an empire that dominates the continent. Befitting that, the Emperor of Ravanta must have no mercy.”
Elonia glared at him without answering, and Artius snickered as if something was funny.
“…Well, you’ll find out someday even if I don’t say it now. I hope you learn the ideal image of a monarch in the future.”
‘Ha.’
It was ridiculous.
The ideal image of a monarch?
Learn from this kind of behavior?
Does he even realize what he looks like now?
‘It’s not even funny…!’
Elonia clenched her fists, trembling, and glared at Artius.
She understood the cold treatment.
The grief of losing a beloved empress does not heal in such a short period of time.
But how can he behead a person in front of his daughter who can’t even speak properly yet and tell her to learn from it?
‘I didn’t let you live this way so you could act like this.’
Why does he keep breaking his promise to her, to Cheron?
Did he want to trample Heilan that much even by making a false promise?
Did he want to kill her that badly even by making a false promise?
Artius couldn’t hide his intrigued expression at Elonia’s resentful gaze.
“Everyone, leave us.”
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”
At Artius’s command, not only the knights guarding the audience hall but also Sarah withdrew.
Sarah couldn’t hide her worried gaze until the end, but Elonia sent her off with a look saying it was okay.
Only the father and daughter exchanging murderous glances remained in the audience hall.
Artius opened his mouth.
“Not shedding a single tear, let alone crying when a person dies before your eyes. A baby who glares at a murderer without fear.”
Elonia glared at him without blinking even at the murderous aura of the Sword Master.
You think I’d be scared of something like this?
“Indeed, not an ordinary baby.”
“…!”
Artius’s finger touched her forehead.
He was trying to read Elonia’s mana like last time.
This time, he definitely read it.
However, unlike that day, there was no change in their expressions.
“Princess. Do you remember using magic to kill a person last time?”
Being exposed as a mage didn’t matter anymore.
If he wanted to send her to war, so be it.
Like King Vermon, drive his young daughter to the battlefield and work her like a hunting dog until she dies, so be it.
She could do that much.
She never wanted to go back to that place, but if he ordered it, she had to do it since she was born as his daughter.
However.
“I heard even Cheron didn’t kill people as a baby, impressive. You’ve already surpassed Cheron.”
After hearing those words, even if she went, she wanted to grab that jerk by the collar and beat him until she felt better.
He neglected the child his beloved wife left behind at the cost of her life and betrayed her last wishes, and now he kills a person in front of a baby and tells her to learn from it.
And he spouts such nonsense.
She was furious that she couldn’t speak now.
She just hated and resented Artius.
She wanted to pour out all kinds of hatred and resentment on him.
Seeing a tiny baby glaring at him as if genuinely trying to kill him, Artius couldn’t hide his intrigued expression.
“I wonder when you’ll start talking. Then I could find out all the impudent thoughts the princess is having now.”
“Heh, die. (Seems like I can do it after you die.)”
“I look forward to what the princess will say to me by the time you start speaking.”
“Bast. (Bastard or damn thing. I’ll kill you soon.)”
Elonia faithfully answered with a lot of meaning compressed in her babbling, but there was no way he would understand.
The father and daughter had a murderous staring contest.
“Looks like you understand words quite well. You’ll be able to speak soon too.”
The one who turned away first was Artius.
Toward Artius’s receding back, Elonia boldly raised both her small and cute middle fingers.
‘You damn thing. Polish your neck and wait until I’m fully grown. I’ll really kill you…!’
How nice would it be if she never met that jerk until she could freely use swords and magic like before.
Contrary to that wish, from that day on, Artius began to visit Elonia every day.
* * *
“When on earth will you be able to speak?”
‘Ah, that annoying guy….’
How did it come to this?
Elonia was extremely tired of this situation.
“Is a child’s development usually this slow?”
After that day, for some reason, Artius began to visit Elonia every day.
Elonia glared at Artius like an unwelcome guest while being held in Sarah’s arms.
At first, she hated him visiting so much that she cried and threw everything she could get her hands on, telling him to get lost.
She couldn’t stand the sight of him after King Vermon’s execution.
Even so, there was nothing but soft and fluffy pillows or dolls in the baby room, especially in the cradle.
Things that wouldn’t hurt even if hit.
But that jerk didn’t even let himself get hit by such things and dodged annoyingly, asking,
“Why is the princess acting like that?”
“……”
Sarah couldn’t answer anything then.
The expression of the advisor behind Artius was also quite a sight.
‘There’s no confidence to win since words don’t work.’
She had long given up on civilized conversation.
Not only did words not work, but in a baby’s body, she couldn’t speak much, so Elonia spoke through actions.
First, every time Artius visited, she showed a rotten expression.
And no matter what he said, she didn’t react and deliberately lay flat in the cradle during his speech, pretending to sleep.
It was the people around who had their hearts clenched at the baby princess’s bold actions.
As if he couldn’t kill her since she was the only successor, Artius would only frown and leave the room, repeating the routine.
Still, she had to wonder if he was great or persistent for visiting every day.
“Why can the princess say that woman’s name but not mine?”
“Your Majesty. Princesses at Her Highness’s age usually can’t speak. If you wait just a bit more-”
“But she says the young lady’s name.”
“That’s probably because I’m the closest to Her Highness….”
Sarah answered in a meek voice, but with a hint of pride.
Elonia had figured out the pattern now.
That person who acts like he’ll kill people indiscriminately actually has a clear distinction between those who can be killed and those who can’t.
Sarah is Elonia’s wet nurse personally appointed by Philemia.
No matter how out of line Artius is, he doesn’t kill Sarah.
“Sarah!”
So Elonia smiled brightly and ostentatiously rubbed her cheek against Sarah’s.
Then Artius’s face twisted.
‘Sarah is my only family. Don’t interfere with the harmonious time between non-blood-related family, and the blood-related father can go over there.’
The more vicious Artius’s face became, the more Elonia acted cute to Sarah.
And making eye contact with Sarah with sparkling eyes, she spoke the words she had secretly practiced hard.
“Sarah, like!”