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chapter 13
Elisia opened her mouth, pretending to be calm.
“…It’s nothing.”
Grrrroooowl.
But this time, the sound was even louder.
“…?”
Kaiel’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Elisia cursed inwardly.
Come to think of it, she could barely remember eating a proper meal since entering the Imperial Palace. She had been running around all day because of the preparations for the banquet, and earlier, she had only managed to grab a single piece of bread instead of having dinner.
Kaiel asked in his still-hoarse voice,
“…Don’t tell me.”
“……”
“Are you hungry?”
Elisia refused to answer until the very end.
But Kaiel wasn’t so oblivious that he couldn’t take her silence as an answer.
“You haven’t eaten properly this entire time while working, have you?”
His tone sounded almost like an interrogation, which needlessly put Elisia on edge.
“It isn’t something Your Majesty needs to concern himself with.”
Kaiel stared down at her for a long moment.
“Follow me.”
Elisia followed behind Kaiel with a bewildered expression, caught completely off guard by the unexpected situation.
After passing through the corridor and entering a private dining room, she found that a late meal had already been prepared. It seemed to have originally been intended for Kaiel alone.
A steaming bowl of soup, freshly baked bread, and thinly sliced meat were neatly arranged across the long table.
Elisia stopped at the doorway, momentarily at a loss for words.
“…Why are you standing there instead of coming in?”
Kaiel asked as he leaned back in his chair.
“……”
Elisia instinctively felt like stepping backward.
The whole situation was strange.
Kaiel never ate meals even with his own family. Alix had tried countless times, but had failed every single time.
And yet, he was inviting a maid who was worth less than the dust beneath the Emperor’s feet to his dining table.
“Sit here and eat with me.”
Kaiel gestured toward the seat beside him.
“That’s…”
Not only was he asking her to eat with him, he was telling her to sit right beside him. As Elisia hesitated, the smile disappeared from Kaiel’s lips.
“Are you planning to disobey me?”
“That’s not it. How could I possibly…”
“Then I suppose I’ll have to execute the chef, his assistants, and all the servants who prepared this food.”
Elisia stared at him in disbelief.
What a lunatic.
The problem was that she knew he really was the kind of man who would cut off someone’s head over a reason like that.
“No, Your Majesty.”
Before his mood could change again, Elisia hurried over and sat down beside him.
In truth, she hadn’t eaten properly since the previous night. The delicious aroma that had been wafting through the banquet hall earlier had made her stomach twist with hunger.
She quickly picked up the fork and knife with both hands, but instead of reaching for the food, she simply stared blankly at the table.
“……”
Before she lost her name, sitting at such a luxurious table and eating expensive food had been nothing unusual.
Maidservants had always waited on her, while beautiful music constantly played around her.
There had even been a maid specifically assigned to lift the hem of her beautiful dresses whenever she walked around the estate. Anyone could tell just how influential the Lotner ducal family was.
But what about her now?
She was sitting there in an old, stiff, rough maid’s uniform, holding expensive cutlery with hands covered in wounds.
And right beside her sat the very man who had taken everything from her, casually pouring himself wine.
It was enough to drive her mad.
“Is something wrong?”
Elisia couldn’t answer Kaiel’s question. She could do nothing at all.
Instead, she shook her head and reached for the bread in front of her, taking a large bite.
The bread was so warm and soft.
A tear rolled down one cheek, adding a salty taste to the bread.
Kaiel seemed to lose his appetite as well. He set down his fork and stared crookedly at Elisia as she silently continued biting into the bread.
That was when it happened.
A knight approached Kaiel and whispered something into his ear.
“Give me your report.”
With Kaiel’s permission, another knight who had been waiting outside the banquet hall hurried over.
“We thoroughly searched for and executed everyone belonging to the families that participated in the rebellion. The Broid family, the Eshton family, the Lotner family…”
Clang!
The moment Elisia heard the name Lotner, the knife in her hand slipped and fell to the floor.
We never plotted a rebellion.
If you must destroy the entire family, then please, at least spare my innocent daughter.
She could vividly hear the desperate cries of her father, who had begged for her life.
As she remembered that day, the day when everything had collapsed in an instant, Elisia’s entire body trembled.
“The Lotner ducal family.”
A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
“They were the ones who remained on Alix’s side until the very end.”
Elisia bit hard into the inside of her lip.
“They swore loyalty before the Emperor, only to commit treason behind his back.”
“……”
“I can understand why the former Emperor became so ill.”
Even as he insulted her father, Elisia couldn’t say a word. She could only tightly bite her lips.
“Did you make certain that the Lotner ducal family was executed as well?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. The Duke and Duchess were executed, and we have confirmed that they had no direct descendants.”
Of course.
The record of Elisia Lotner, the only daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Lotner, had been completely erased.
There was only one person who knew the truth.
Elisia herself.
Her eyes, already red and swollen, filled with clear tears.
It was as though she had received absolute confirmation not only of her parents’ disgraceful deaths, but also of the fact that her very existence had been completely erased.
“We cannot leave behind the seed of a traitor. Continue tracking them down and report to me. Do not let a single one escape.”
Kaiel wiped his forehead tiredly as he issued the order.
After the knights left, silence descended upon the banquet hall.
Kaiel quietly watched Elisia, who no longer touched her food.
“Have you lost your appetite? I thought you said you were hungry.”
“I… have a bit of a headache.”
Elisia barely managed to answer, the tip of her nose red from holding back her tears. The thought that she must not show Kaiel any weakness suddenly struck her, but she was having too much trouble controlling her emotions.
“I’m sorry. I’ll clean everything up.”
Elisia abruptly stood and began clearing the table with her back turned toward Kaiel.
She had entered this place determined to take a terrible revenge on Kaiel, yet she had fallen apart merely upon hearing news about her family.
I can’t be like this.
Crying was the worst possible thing she could show Kaiel.
She resented herself for being so weak, yet she found it increasingly difficult to hold back the tears welling in her eyes.
“Lisea.”
Even though she heard the scrape of a chair behind her, Elisia ignored it and picked up an empty plate.
“Where did you get the nerve to ignore me when I call you?”
At that moment, Kaiel grabbed Elisia by the shoulder and forcefully turned her around.
His eyes, cold as frost, immediately bore down upon Elisia’s tear-filled eyes.
“Can’t you even recognize your own name?”
“That’s not it…”
“Or did I call you by the wrong name?”
“Your Majesty, I truly don’t understand why you’re acting like this…”
Elisia instinctively tried to take a step back, but Kaiel’s hand pressed firmly down on her shoulder, pinning her in place.
“If something is mine, I never let it go. No matter how ruthless the method may be.”
“……?”
She was bewildered.
Elisia couldn’t understand what Kaiel was talking about.
Why was he calling her his?
What did he mean by saying that his methods might be ruthless?
Even when the next words left his lips, Elisia still couldn’t comprehend anything.
“Elisia Lotner.”
His voice was low.
“You were mine to begin with.”
