Chapter 75

Anatoly, the Empress, smiled gently and said to me, "It's a shame that the matter with your monster didn't end well. But it was for the sake of preventing another accident, so I hope you understand."

She patted my shoulder and asked with eyes sparkling with expectation, "Um... Can I have dinner alone with the General today?"

"..."

"Elliot is a kind child, so he will understand, right?"

She chuckled and said as if to herself, "Ah, I haven't yet figured out what to say to my brother. If I tell him I was almost in danger, he'll be furious... Ah, will the General help me?"

"Yes."

"Thank you!"

Father answered dryly.

Anatoly, the Empress, linked her arm with Father's and led him away.

"..."

I stared at their backs for a moment before turning around.

Tap, tap.

I walked calmly as if nothing had happened and stopped in a secluded spot.

It was a place hidden by shadows, out of sight from others.

I quietly took out the communication stone and connected the call without hesitation.

[This is Michelan.]

Michelan answered immediately, as if he had been waiting.

"We need to prepare for an attack."

[Is it the Empress?]

"No."

Even in the dark shadows, a sharp light shone from my eyes.

Like a predator crouched in the bushes, ready to tear its prey to pieces.

"Anatoly, the Empress."

I knew who had orchestrated this.

It wasn't the Empress or a bold official of the palace.

They ultimately gained nothing.

In this situation, only one person got everything they wanted.

Anatoly, the Empress.

This incident was all her doing.

'How dare she try to take Dad with such a ridiculous scheme?'

I gritted my teeth.

* * *

Han Jihyuk hurried into the duchy.

"Under no circumstances should you leave the young lady alone."

Michelan's warning filled his mind.

He quickened his pace and entered the VIP room where Elliot was in the duchy.

"You're here?"

"What happened?"

Contrary to his worries, Elliot was sitting calmly.

But Han Jihyuk knew very well that this was when Elliot was even more terrifying.

"Didn't you hear from Michelan? It was all the Empress's doing."

"Anatoly, the Empress? But she's just a fool."

"Whether she's pretending or really a fool, this time it's definitely her doing."

Han Jihyuk was puzzled by Elliot's confident statement.

Didn't he order Michelan to investigate because there was no evidence?

"Why?"

"A gentle child like Ragon wouldn't suddenly become vicious without a reason."

"Of course not."

"And if he really lost his mind and became vicious, Anatoly's maid would have been eaten by now."

"Hmm..."

"It took quite a while for me to hear the screams and arrive at the scene."

"..."

"Of course, it was only about five minutes. But compared to the time it would take a monster to kill a defenseless maid, what do you think?"

"Indeed, it's an excessively long time."

"She must have screamed in advance and waited for people to come before doing something to Ragon."

The sound of people running through the forest would be noisy, making it easy to time.

"Besides, Anatoly wanted Ragon dead. Everyone agreed that Ragon needed to be dealt with, but the one who led the sentiment was the Empress."

"To cover up the evidence, I guess."

"Exactly."

"Huh!"

Han Jihyuk let out a breath of disbelief.

To corner Elliot and get the Diamond like that.

"What kind of woman is she? Wow, what...!"

He was so flabbergasted that he couldn't even think of what to say.

"Quickly inform the General—"

"No."

Han Jihyuk, who had jumped up, was held back by Elliot.

"Why? You should tell him so he doesn't fall for that crazy woman's schemes."

"If Dad finds out, he'll be heartbroken. He'll think I got hurt because of him."

Elliot bowed his head.

'I absolutely don't want that.'

It's wrong for the victim to be more heartbroken than the perpetrator.

Han Jihyuk, who had been staring at the bowed Elliot, sighed, "Huh..."

He sat down again.

After all, the one who was most flabbergasted and angry wasn't himself but Elliot.

After a moment, Han Jihyuk, who had been looking out the window to suppress his anger, asked Elliot, "So, what will you do now...?"

Startled, Han Jihyuk, who had turned his head to Elliot without thinking, stiffened.

Elliot's eyes were gleaming in the shadowed face.

'What, what...?'

The gaze was so fierce that it made him shudder.

This was the first time he had seen Elliot with such a terrifying expression.

'Well, she is a daughter who loves her father terribly.'

Moreover, how much Elliot had adored Ragon.

It took exactly a year for the steel crow to grow to adulthood.

During that time, Elliot never let Ragon out of her arms, raising him with great care.

They slept with their heads touching, she fed him, and they played together every day.

'After raising him with her own hands, to lose him like this...'

When Han Jihyuk arrived at the duchy, Decones was leading soldiers into the forest.

By now, Ragon must have already...

Han Jihyuk placed his hand on Elliot's shoulder.

"I don't know what you'll do, but I'll help you."

"..."

At such times, Elliot is incredibly terrifying.

If the opponent makes a move, she won't let them off easily.

'No doubt, Anatoly is in for big trouble.'

Elliot looked at Han Jihyuk and smiled, curling her lips.

The child fiddled with the silver birch flute in her hand for a long time without saying a word.

It was the beginning of a storm.

* * *

The next day.

The duchy was tense, as expected after such a big incident yesterday.

Despite this, Astra, the Duke, remained silent and showed no reaction.

Though he must be in a bad mood, no one knew what he was thinking, so the servants had to be cautious.

Moreover, Anatoly, the Empress, was openly parading around with the Diamond.

Only the Empress was chatting and laughing, while the Diamond looked lifeless and expressionless.

Everyone in the duchy knew.

The Diamond was only socializing with the Empress for the sake of his daughter.

"Sigh... I thought the General was usually expressionless, but seeing his face lately, it wasn't expressionless at all."

"Exactly. A corpse would be better than that."

"Miss Elliot must be feeling bad too, right?"

"Not just feeling bad. Our young lady must be heartbroken."

The servants and maids sighed worriedly.

Elliot was the kindest among the three-year-olds.

While the other three-year-olds treated the staff like objects, only Elliot treated them like people.

"Bye!"

The lively three-year-old Elliot, who used to run around and greet everyone, was still vivid in their minds.

She's still cute now, but back then, she was really adorable.

"Sigh, how gloomy Miss Elliot must be..."

While the staff were expressing their concerns.

Elliot, on the other hand,

"Hello, Empress Anatoly!"

─greeted the Empress with a bright face.

The Empress, who had deliberately come to find her, smiled awkwardly.

"Oh, what brings you here?"

Usually, the Empress couldn't stand not having Elliot by her side.

She used to insist on being called 'Mom' and made all sorts of strange remarks.

But now, with the Diamond by her side, she even seemed annoyed by Elliot.

However, the Empress soon glanced at the Diamond and smiled widely.

"Seeing Elliot again today after yesterday makes me happy."

Anyone could tell she was pretending to be happy, but Elliot nodded cheerfully.

"Yes!"

"But wouldn't it be better to stay in your territory?"

"My territory?"

"Yes. It's all for Elliot's sake. After what happened yesterday, even adults sometimes give children cold looks."

"I know, but..."

Elliot, looking sad, tried to sound brave.

"But I wanted to give the Empress a gift!"

"A gift?"

"Yes! A thank-you gift!"

"Oh, what is it?"

Though she pretended to be curious, Anatoly wasn't really interested.

'Frankly, it would be a better gift if she just disappeared instead of trying to interfere between me and the Diamond.'

But the Diamond cherished his daughter.

He couldn't ignore a gift that his daughter had prepared with effort.

"Here it is!"

Elliot handed over a beautifully crafted jewelry box.

It contained the jewels Astra, the Duke, had given to Elliot.

"Thank you for saving me and Dad. This is all I have to give..."

"Oh, thank you."

Anatoly took the jewelry box without even looking at it properly.

"Go on now."

Anatoly dismissed Elliot with those words.

'Now that the obstacle is gone, we can be alone again.'

Anatoly smiled happily and looked at the Diamond.

Her face became dreamy as she traced his prominent nose and long, delicate eyelashes.

'How... could someone be so beautiful?'

She marveled every time she saw him.

Being alone with him like this made her think back to the first time they met.

It was when she went to the royal academy to congratulate them.

Daimond Astra was there.

Among all the students, he stood out like a spotlight.

She could only see Daimond.

Anatoly fell in love with Daimond at first sight.

To think that the man she had only dreamed of was real!

After that, she pursued Daimond enthusiastically.

But Daimond never opened his heart to her.

'No, it's not that he didn't open his heart, but he couldn't.'

Of course.

Astra and the royal family had a bad relationship.

Even if he wanted to open his heart, he couldn't.

In the end, she even attempted suicide to persuade him to change his mind.

'But because of that, I had to go abroad for further studies.'

The Empress didn't like that she was in love with Astra's man.

After that, Daimond stayed in Astra's territory, and she couldn't see him.

But seven years ago, she heard news about him.

Daimond Astra had a daughter!

At that time, she felt like she was going crazy.

'To think that another woman kissed him!'

The thought made her brain boil with heat.

What kind of being was his daughter, born to another woman!

Anatoly bribed Astra's staff to secretly get a portrait of Elliot.

A cute girl with blonde hair and red eyes, just like him.

But from the girl's face, she could see more than just Daimond.

'The facial features are completely different. Does she resemble her birth mother?'

She couldn't forgive seeing another woman in Daimond's daughter.

But she loved him, so she endured and endured.

And she reached out to Elliot in a kind manner.

'And finally, I've come this far.'

Sitting across from Daimond, spending time like lovers.

'I'll tell my brother I want to marry Daimond as soon as I return to the palace.'

Now that Daimond's heart is with her, no one can stop her.

* * *

Anatoly spent the whole day with Daimond.

She looked at him regretfully as he returned to his territory for work.

Daimond also seemed reluctant, looking at her.

'Don't worry. We don't have to be apart anymore.'

Just wait a little longer.

While lost in thought, she heard a maid's voice.

"What should I do with this box?"

The maid was referring to the jewelry box Elliot had given.

'How could she be so cunning at such a young age...?'

It was pitiful that she knew how to win favor with gifts at such a young age.

'I'll have to teach her well if I marry him.'

Of course, she couldn't let her interfere between her and Daimond.

"Throw it away."

Anatoly said coldly and entered the bedroom.

The maid glanced at the closed bedroom door and opened the jewelry box.

'Wow...'

The box was filled with dazzling jewels.

'This is the jewelry box Elliot gave, right?'

It was well-known that Elliot had come to the Empress with the jewelry box.

'Sure enough, Astra is amazing. A ten-year-old has all this.'

The maid ran her hand over the jewels.

"Wow..."

She couldn't help but sigh.

'Since the Empress said to throw it away, it's not a sin to take it.'

'Even if it's not very valuable, it's still something.'

The maid took all the jewels from the box.

She started whistling.

After putting the jewels in her pocket, she moved to serve.

At that moment.

A dark, cloud-like black smoke escaped from the maid's pocket and silently seeped into the shadows.

But the maid didn't notice at all.

That the smoke was a monster.