In This Life, I Will Raise You Well, Your Majesty! - Chapter 102

“So this is Barossa. It’s beautiful.”

Vera said, looking around. She smiled af if telling herself not to worry, but her face was haggard.

The knight Ash, who had separated himself at the foot of the mountain and protected her until the end, couldn’t be found, and she didn’t know what had happened to her husband, Jonathan.

“Let’s greet His Majesty first before going to the 2nd Consort’s Palace together.”

Except for Rozenin, who had gone straight east from the central estate where the portal was, Elisha and Vera went to the Imperial Palace together. As always, the emperor was checking the piles of paper piled up like a mountain in the office.

“I’ve returned.”

“All hell broke loose even when you said you’d go quietly.”

Emperor Kaiden answered.

“I apologize. The situation was bad, so the response became too much.”

“Even though the exact facts of what happened in the West have not yet been revealed, everyone is talking about the same thing. The 2nd Consort kills more people than the tree standing in Rotinan. Is this true?”

“She came forward to save us, mother and son. If it wasn’t for the 2nd Consort…”

“I don’t think I asked you. Did the duke teach you to talk to the emperor without permission?”

“Th-that…”

Vera, who had gathered up her courage thinking the emperor was rebuking Elisha, quickly shut up. Before the silence fell, Elisha said.

“I haven’t counted, so I don’t know. If you need the data, I’ll make sure to count next time.”

“Right, that’s what makes you my consort.”

His voice had no highs or lows, so it wasn’t clear whether it was a compliment or a sneer, but it didn’t matter. Elisha put the envelope she had received from Vera on the table.

The emperor stretched out his long, white fingers and picked up the envelope. Instead of opening one of the letters right away, he poked the edge of the table with the corner of the envelope.

Elisha asked.

“Is there no contact from the West?”

“What do you mean by no contact? Every day, they send me correspondence and protest against influential families. Telling me that the evidence you bring is all lies, an attempt to persecute them.”

“Then tell them to come up to Barossa. Since they’re saying it’s unfair, we must check who’s right.”

“They know they can’t win. They won’t come. They are likely to launch a rebellion this time.”

“Why would they do such a pointless thing if they can’t even win?”

As if Elisha’s words were surprising, the emperor lifted the envelope and pointed the edge of it at her.

“Did you not make it like that? There’s no point in clumsy negotiations. If you stay still, I’ll cut your throat and let the Western nobles have their revenge.”

“Did they not bring it upon themselves? Why was it because of me?”

“Madam Anne, who is acting as the duchy’s hostess, is a pushover. Not long after you went to the duke’s estate, she commissioned a desert tribe for a sneak attack and led the West to catastrophe. It’d be fine if that’s all it was. But now Sir Jonathan’s wife, who is said to be quiet, gathered the maids and the knights who had been favored by Sir Jonathan separately, worked the duke’s and his people from the bottom up step by step, and knowing that Anne was trying to harm you, voluntarily brought evidence to you, who then helped her escaped. What do you say, 2nd Consort? Am I still wrong?”

Elisha looked at Vera next to her. Vera nodded up and down as if there were no mistakes.

“Since Your Majesty has spoken, then it must be true. Your Majesty, you seem to have gotten a lot of information about the duke’s estate. Do you have any information about Master Jonathan? The mother and son are worried.”

“There was no mention of him dead. There wasn’t even mention of him coming back from the outside, so maybe he ran away as his wife did.”

Elisha thought the latter would’ve been better, but Vera cried because she was satisfied with no bad news. The emperor took turns looking at the two women and opened his mouth.

“2nd Consort, what you wished for when you came to tell me about that woman has not changed yet, to make the nobleman Jonathan Verdin and his wife the masters of the duchy and to recognize the young child as the successor?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Anyone on the other side, anyone aside from the new duke and his wife, who have made great contributions to me and you, will be in the same league with the treasonous duke and his first son and his wife.”

“The number of gracious lands in the West that Your Majesty will rule directly will increase. I believe you will be very pleased with the young duke couple.”

“If you do something nice to me, I will too. So if you want to do something bad, think about it first. Your boy, your little child, and that duke couple. Oh, there you go. Zile said that a young woman, an owner of a group, looked at you as if she were looking at her first love. Is that true?”

His words near the end were a bit strange… but the rest were good enough. Be careful not to forget. It was a pretty expensive warning. Failure to do so would result in significant repercussions.

In addition, the word “owner of a group” was deliberately attached.

Did he dig in the back of the man who had come to the 2nd Consort’s Palace the other day, or did he get the information of Rozenin and Count Gotham from a report made by Zile halfway through?

“Rosenin is of the Eastern faction. She’s making pocket money using the group secretly from her father. She’s still young.”

“She’s got a lot of credit for this. Should I give it to Count Gotham?”

“If you give it to me, I’ll take care of it.”

All of this would remain in her debt, but Rozenin still needed time to grow appropriately and strong, not to be restrained.

Elisha could’ve hidden more from the emperor if her face hadn’t been unexpectedly revealed to the Zelot Knights in the West.

However, Rozenin was not the only one who was unexpectedly revealed. Elisha had also confirmed the face of the Zelot Knights. This would be a card that could be used later.

They followed the emperor’s most secret orders. Where they were, there was the emperor’s will. The black, deep malice.

And information was the best thing merchant could make money from.

“But, there’s a thing Duke Verdin said. If his daughter-in-law had really done such a horrendous thing, why would she have left evidence of her weakness? What do you think?”

Elisha felt the same way. She was a bit skeptical about it, but…

“Isn’t it because she didn’t want to be abandoned alone?”

The emperor gestured as if to let her continue.

“Madam Anne must have said that she had handled the dealings with the desert tribes well, but who knows what will happen and how the trail will remain, especially the West being incredibly unstable at the time.”

The miracle that Elisha had shown, the support of the common people of the western territories, and the attack and disappearance of the consort who had shaken the continent beyond the empire that followed…

Imagine that she had a foot in the door despite failing. Even if she was the daughter-in-law of a duke, wouldn’t she feel chilled?

“I heard that Your Majesty put much pressure on the West then.”

“Pretty much, I did.”

After hearing the emperor’s answer, Vera, who had a look of bewilderment next to her because she did not understand, asked Elisha.

“If she were that nervous, shouldn’t she have gotten rid of the evidence more? If something goes wrong, not only Anne herself but the duke and the entire West will be shaken up.”

“That’s exactly why I think the madam didn’t get rid of the evidence. She knew that when the traces of her actions were revealed, Duke Verdin would sacrifice herself, Count Dout and the influential Western families with close ties to Count Dout, just so he could escape alone. So, in case of an emergency, she was trying to bring the duke and the Western nobles into the mud by using the solid evidence she was holding. If the duke’s daughter-in-law, Anne, testifies with her mouth in addition to evidence, people can’t help but believe it.”

At Elisha’s explanation, Vera’s face turned blue, asking How could that be? but the emperor nodded.

“She’s a woman who wants to kill people out of jealousy. How can she give up her life easily? She’s doing this to survive. They don’t have a cause to put forward, and they aren’t well prepared, so they won’t win but will do their best to hold on. That’s not impossible when the West is united. We cannot continue to withdraw our troops from the border with other countries, so if time is delayed, there will be a moment when we have to compromise. That’s what they’re aiming for.”

“Leaving the situation be would make things difficult.”

This would leave a bump in the empire Ascencio would inherit. The more you left it, the more it grew in volume and the deeper the roots were.

“That’s right, so we must be thoroughly prepared and not let the other nobles dream of doing the same thing. There will be a meeting soon. It’s your business, so be sure to attend.”

It was unusual for a woman of no public standing to attend a meeting for war, but no one in the Empire would find it strange anymore. Just like the Queen of Sword Katrina of the Zeon Empire.

“Am I going to the battlefield too?”

“Is there any reason not to use what you have? Besides, aren’t you particularly good at killing people? Since you are still worshiped in the West, you will surely cause more bloodshed to be stopped. If you claim to be my loyal subject, shouldn’t you go take the ball and bring it back to me?”

Instead of answering, Elisha bent her right arm and placed her palm over her heart.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The emperor stared at her for a moment and beckoned her to leave. He hadn’t spared even a single glance at Benjamin since the beginning.

When the three came out, the knights of the Imperial Palace who stood guard outside greeted them politely. It was like dealing with a superior who had returned from an outside mission.

Unlike the Zelot Knights, who disappeared like a shadow as soon as they entered the Imperial Palace, the three slowly walked towards the 2nd Consort’s Palace.

“If we go west, we’ll make it our top priority to find Jonathan. I’ll look into the information separately, so don’t worry too much.”

“Thank you, 2nd Consort.”

“Were you surprised earlier?”

“What?”

“Because I’m going to set up you couple as the new duke. Without asking you first, I proceeded with the idea on my terms. It must have been difficult.”

“…”

Vera didn’t hate it, but it was difficult because she didn’t know how to accept the news that she couldn’t follow.

“If the duke is punished as the leader of the rebel group, all of the duke’s bloodline except you, Master Jonathan, and the little master Benjamin, will die. The whole West will be overturned, and there will be people with a grudge against you. Without strength, you cannot protect yourself or your child.”

Elisha turned her gaze to Benjamin, who was in Vera’s arms. Elisha had heard from Vera that the little boy had saved his mother repeatedly.

It was hard to say if something had changed because they had gone through hard times together and overcame them, but the awkward air current between the mother and son had softened quite a bit.

Elisha was even more fond of Vera, who had thanked Benjamin for saving her rather than calling him a monster, after watching the boy sticking a branch into the enemy’s eyeball.

“You don’t have to think about it yet. Let’s talk about it together when we meet Jonathan.”

“I will make you many clothes while I’m at the 2nd Consort’s Palace.”

Unlike in the past, women’s trousers were widespread across the continent, and gifts were still coming in, but Elisha talked about her new favorite color she had found with Leon without saying much.

When they arrived at the 2nd Consort’s Palace, the family members came out as if they had been contacted in advance.

“Mother!”

Leon was the first to run and hug Elisha. Elisha took the child in her arms and kissed him once on the top of his head, once on his forehead, and once on his two cheeks.

With a broad smile, Leon responded to his mother similarly. Then he reached out to Benjamin, whom he had not seen in a long time. Benjamin didn’t take his eyes off Leon’s clear blue eyes for even a moment and grabbed his outstretched hand.

“I missed you, my little brother!”

“… Me, too.”

They held each other tightly and did not separate, so Vera and Elisha lowered the children from their arms. The sight of two small children standing side by side, holding hands tightly, was like dolls.

“Is this our 3rd Prince’s little brother? Won’t you introduce him to us?”

When Shamir appeared with a smirk and twinkle in his eyes, cold energy erupted from Benjamin in an instant.

“Whoa, you told me there will be only two children who hate me in this palace! 2nd Consort is a liar!”

“It was because only two children besides Leon would be close to you in this imperial palace. Now that there are three, it is natural to increase the number by one.”

When Elisha answered calmly, Shamir hummed.

“The older brother, the older sister, and the little brother all hate me! But it’s okay. The 3rd Prince likes me!”

Ignoring Shamir’s song, which had a strange tone, Elisha went inside, greeted by the family members. A ball of black cotton rolled over from the other side.

She wondered when her family had grown so much, but she didn’t hate it.

She was home.

It meant that her shoulders, which had been loaded with strength, could be loosened and relaxed.