The Emperor Reverses Time - Chapter 36

Albert reminded Leonhardt of a knight’s swearing an oath upon kissing on the back of the hand of a beautiful lady.

It was a scene that would come out of a fairy tale, but for some reason, he felt very uncomfortable, as if thorns were protruding out and pricking at his heart.

‘Let’s-, let’s calm down. I can’t be jealous of this, can I? It’s only a knight making an oath to a lady. It was me who wanted Albert to be Lizzie’s escort knight in the first place. Besides, Albert is much older than Lizzie and already has a fiancée! Most of all, in the future, all those blonde hair strands will fall off and those muscles will turn into belly fat!’

Why was it so hard for children to hide their emotions?

He could understand everything in his mind, but he didn’t know why he could only pout his lips with dissatisfaction.

Leonhardt’s conscience was stabbed by Elizabeth’s wandering eyes, asking for help.

‘Do what you want to do.’

Leonhardt mouthed those words silently. He didn’t know if she understood, but even when she asked again, he would still have the same answer.

Elizabeth contemplated briefly before nodding as if she had made up her mind and formally appointed him as her escort.

Witnessing it, Leonhardt smiled happily.

There was still minor absurd jealousy within him, but since Elizabeth succeeded in making her own choice, it was more than enough.

And it was sure that Albert would be ready to do anything for her, even if he didn’t have to say anything.

“Well then, now that got a reliable adult to protect you…”

“I do…? ”

Albert again felt his instinct alarming.

He didn’t know what the Prince was up to, but it must be very irritating and bothersome. While he had to be faithful to both roles as the escort knight and the Knights Commander, he felt that with the time and stamina he had, it would be impossible for him to fulfill them.

“I’ll take you on a tour around the Imperial Palace tomorrow!”

‘Oh My God!’

Deep down inside, Albert was screaming. He wondered why his ominous intuition could never be wrong for once.

Of course, serving the Crown Prince and his fiancée was one of the honourable things he had to do as the Knight Commander and an escort knight. But besides that, he had a lot of work to do, starting with Leonhardt’s sword training,…hold on.

Swordsmanship…? He might be able to make use of it if he handled it well.

“Ahem, Your Highness.”

“What is it?”

Albert looked at Leonhardt with a strict expression.

“Recently, you have neglected your training.”

“That! … There is a good reason-…. ”

Albert turned even sterner and Leonhardt’s speech was cut off at that.

“Is the small sun of our empire now making excuses?”

“It’s not like that! Ugh…What do you want then? ”

Leonhardt realised at once that Albert suddenly became like this because there was a condition he wanted.

And Albert’s tightly furrowed eyebrows were slightly softened, proving his prediction was right.

“If it’s about guiding the lady around the Imperial Palace, you don’t have to do it yourself. But if you want to guide her yourself, then…”

“Then…? ”

Albert then drew a beautiful smile on his lips that could make any woman of the social world swoon.

“Why don’t you do it with me after finishing your training session? If I accompany you two to places where you can’t go alone, you will be able to enter and exit without difficulty. ”

“What, what place can the Crown Prince not access in the Imperial Palace!?”

“The Imperial Amory, Magic Research Laboratory. In addition to that… as you may know, there are many dangerous places in the Imperial Palace that ban children without adults.”

‘…He got me!’

Leonhardt’s expression hardened.

He intended to drag Albert around in the name of Elizabeth’s escort knight, and naturally get into the restricted areas of ​​the Imperial Palace. But he couldn’t believe it backfired. He had dug his own grave!

Elizabeth looked alternately between the smiling Albert and Leonhardt. The young prince was staring at Albert with an angry face, as if he was about to bite him at any moment now. She then turned to Bailey to realise that Bailey in her arms was asleep.

“Of course I can do it! You’ll see, I’ll wake up at dawn from tomorrow. ”

“Oh, you don’t have to do so. You just have to sleep early and get up early to grow tall.”

Albert laughed in a pleasant mood.

He was very excited to see if the boy would be able to get up early the following morning.

Contrary to the nanny’s words that Elizabeth would only be staying for a while, her temporary residence, which was prepared in a day, was even more carefully decorated than Leonhardt’s room.

He could already feel it when he first entered her temporary residence, but when he came into Elizabeth’s bedroom, Leonhardt’s room really felt like a guest room.

“Are not you tired?”

“A little… . ”

Elizabeth, who sat on the bed, smiled faintly at the deep asleep Bailey.

“Why does Bailey want to sleep there when his bed is over there?”

“It’s only for a day. Wouldn’t it be fine?”

“I don’t want to lose to a puppy.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing.”

Leonhardt pouted his lips, frustrated.

“Um, Lizzie.”

“Leon.”

At the same time, the two called each other’s names. Both were surprised and made eye contact, they then laughed it off altogether.

“Leon first.”

“Shall I? Well…Lizzie, I made a flower ring. Do you still remember? ”

Elizabeth jumped out of bed and took out a small box from her drawer.

In the box, there was an already withered flower ring.

“… Can I borrow it for a while? ”

Leonhardt said, suppressing his neck from getting choked with emotion. Elizabeth blinked in confusion but still handed over the box.

“Will you return it?”

“Of course. In fact, I’ll lend it and then give it back with interest. ”

“Interest…?”

Elizabeth tilted her head. But Leonhardt just shrugged. 

“Well then…I just want to say that…thank you.”

“Thank you?”

“I’m still new to things, but everyone is kind to me… Now, I don’t get beaten, nor do I have to wear corsets. I get to wear shoes comfortable, to have Bailey, and meet lord Bern…”

What? Lord Bern? Leonhardt, who had been listening to Elizabeth’s words, got his expression distorted instantly at the name.

“And above all, Leon always grabbed my hand,  supported me from behind, and is always by my side. ”

Elizabeth felt her hearting palpitating and her cheeks became warm.

But she was no longer unfamiliar or frightened by this sensation. The tickling thing that she thought to be a seed in her chest, had rooted deep enough, and was now starting to show off the green cotyledon in earnest. 

“Thank you, Leon.”

Elizabeth beamed brightly.

At that moment, Leonhardt saw the hallucination of a pair of white wings rising behind Elizabeth’s back.

It was just for a very short moment, but they were definitely wings.

He thought it was just a rumour that the Elysium was an angel’s descendant, but it might be true after all.

“Thank you, Lizzie.”

“Sorry?”

“Please… Give me a chance. ”

“A chance?”

Elizabeth once again tilted her head, perplexed. A chance? What chance?

However, instead of answering, Leonhardt gave Elizabeth a quick good night kiss on the forehead. He then ran out of her bedroom before she could even react.

It seemed that if he stayed there any longer, his current body of a child, which was not good at masking emotions, would burst into tears.

Before going to bed, Leonhardt asked the nanny to call the best jewelry craftsman in the empire.

“Jewelry craftsman?”

“I want to give something to Lizzie.”

The nanny covered him with a blanket with a smile on her face, as the young Leonhardt, who always thought of his fiancee, was adorable.

“Of course, I will call the most skillful person there is.”

The following day, Leonhardt gave the box borrowed from Elizabeth to the jewelry craftsman.

“I want a flower that never withers. Can you make it? ”

***

As expected, he didn’t come.

The place where Leonhardt trained with other knights was empty today.

‘It’s a great opportunity to escape from today’s military meeting though…’

He comforted himself by thinking that it would at least be better than overstraining himself, but at the same time, he was still a little upset and disappointed.

‘I thought I met a child who showed the qualities of a Sword Master…’

“Sir Bern, it’s time for the meeting.”

“I’ll be there soon.”

Albert looked at the empty space with lingering eyes and headed into the building with his lieutenant.

However, contrary to Albert’s expectation that Leonhardt was asleep, he was roaming around the Imperial Palace, holding Elizabeth’s hand as soon as he finished eating.

Everyone they encountered was surprised to see Elizabeth, but they soon realised she was the girl of the rumour and greeted her with a smile.

“Good morning, Miss Elizabeth.”

“Did you sleep well? Is there anything that cause you discomfort last night?”

“I wondered if you have had breakfast? If there is any food you would like to eat, please let me know.”

At first, Elizabeth was a little flustered at the kind greetings she had never once received in the Duke’s house, but then she answered them one by one with a shy smile.

“Yes. I slept well. Did you have a good night sleep too, miss? Bailey took one of my pillows, but I had another one so it was fine. The eggs benedict I ate for breakfast was very delicious, and…”

“Lizzie. No need to use honorifics. Rather, they will be uncomfortable.”

Leon sighed and whispered in Elizabeth’s ear. Elizabeth then turned towards the maids.

As Leonhardt said, they were astonished to hear that respectful way of addressing from the the Crown Prince’s fiancee, the Crown Princess, and the future Empress.

“But these people live in the Imperial Palace…”

“You don’t have to use honorifics toward anyone in the imperial palace except for father and mother. So it’s okay.”

“His Highness is right. Please make yourself as home, alright?”

“Is that…really… okay?”

“Of course! Now, Miss Elizabeth. What was the last thing you were trying to say again?”

“Um…”

Elizabeth slightly bit her finger as she traced her memory. What was she trying to say?

“…I forgot.”

With her head down, Elizabeth smiled awkwardly. Before long, she added.

“Have a nice day.”

Although she had forgotten what she was going to say, she remembered what she had to say.

With those words, Elizabeth hid her body behind Leonhardt’s back.

Leonhardt looked at Elizabeth, who hid behind him, covering her cheeks with her hands. The maids found her adorable as she shied away from them, using Leonhardt as shield for her.

***

“Over there, Leon.”

“Huh?”

Elizabeth, taking Leonhardt’s hand as they strolled through the garden, pointed her finger at the tower in the distance.

Leonhardt shifted his gaze along the direct Elizabeth’s fingertip was pointing to without much thought, and his expression crumpled at once.

“Leon?”

“Liz-, Lizzie, shall we go see something else other than that? Ah! You haven’t seen Bailey’s dad yet, have you?”

“Wow, there’s a tower on the lake!”

“That…That’s right. It’s really weird, is it not? So other than that…”

“Can we go over there?”

Leonhardt looked into Elizabeth’s glittering eyes and wished, prayed, that the ‘over there’ she spoke of would be somewhere near the lake.

But Elizabeth quickly rephraseed her intention bluntly, smartly and clearly.

“I want to go to that tower over there!”