After the Banquet

The end of the heated banquet was boring.

Elisha had accomplished most of what she wanted, so it didn’t matter to her, but the expressions of those people who were leaving the banquet hall were mostly not good.

Among them, there were some who acted particularly harshly and stared at Elisha as if they were going to eat her, but she didn’t care.

Only the Archmage William, who still had something to discuss with her, informed that he would see her again tomorrow, so Elisha took the prince and left the banquet hall.

Hearing that Leon would be waiting for him, Asensio did not return to his palace, but headed to the 2nd Empress Palace with Elisha.

There would be a second banquet in the small drawing room of the annex for Leon, who had just woken up from his nap to the sound of Elisha and Asensio.

According to Elisha’s opinion, the second banquet would only have hosts and no outer guests. Even Marie had a seat, so there were four people in total.

However, as soon as something that Elisha had prepared appeared, the shabby banquet turned into a huge one.

The two brothers, who are precocious for their age, widened their eyes, and the maidservant, who was faithful to her duty and rarely showed emotions, avoided her gaze.

As much as she was a wizard, Elisha, whose life had always been close to books, was quite obsessed with child education and parenting books to become a good mother after her return.

It was common among commoners to have a handmade cake for a child’s birthday, but this idea fascinated Elisha.

As the banquet for the 3rd Prince was already held, she still wanted to create the ordinary happiness of a six-year-old child’s birthday that most children in the world would have enjoyed.

However, what Elisha overlooked was that cooking was not simply about learning, but related to the dimension of sense.

Just like rearranging mana to form magic, cooking was a creative realm that re-established the unit of ingredients that had been divided into several flavors to create a whole new one.

It wasn’t that Elisha thought she didn’t do it right.

Elisha just came up with a completely different result even with the same learning material as others.

This is the variable that the Archmage William gave praise to Elisha because it was the power that allowed her to go beyond ordinary wizards and challenge herself to a new level.

Sadly, it didn’t seem to work in cooking.

Nevertheless, the reason that this cake appeared in the world was due to the self-evaluation of whether it could earn a high score from the peculiarity of the shape and scent, not the taste that could not be eaten at least in Elisha’s mouth.

In fact, following the possibility of something uncertain was a bit far from what Elisha would usually do, but it would be right to say that her desire to see the children eating and liking what she made has overtaken other things.

It was only after the two young brothers, who looked moved with emotion, and Marie, who had a dull expression on her face, transformed their expression into a strange face that was neither crying nor smiling, that Elisha had to admit that she was being too greedy.

Elisha, who was trying to rebuke herself and swearing that she would not be arrogant, held out the fork in her hand.

The cake on the fork was topped with bright and pretty blue cream made by mixing blueberry juice that reminded Elisha of the children’s eyes.

Elisha opened her mouth.

The three people’s eyes lit up as Elisha munched the cake that had slipped into her mouth.

They were taken aback when Elisha casually ate the cake. They took another bite of the cake with their forks, saved for Marie, and wrinkled their noses.

The two brothers looked at each other and tilted their heads, then suddenly, Crown Prince Asensio burst into laughter.

Asensio picked up the silver platter in front of him, faced it towards Leon, and pointed to his tongue.

Leon’s eyes widened, then smiled wildly, and this time he pointed the silver platter in front of him to Asensio.

Maybe it’s the blue cream or the dark, muddy cake buried in the cream.

Their tongues were all bluish.

Asensio looked at his reflection again and laughed, then looked at Elisha.

Leon also looked at Elisha.

Elisha was perplexed by the dazzling look in their eyes that looked like they were expecting something, but she stayed still because she didn’t know what to do.

Then soon.. Ah! She opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out.

The children laughed.

‘I made them laugh!’

For a moment, Elisha felt something warm from the depths of her chest which swelled up and filled her whole body.

‘Something tickles.. It’s exciting.’

She didn’t know how to express this, but she wanted to keep making the children laugh like that.

Elisha, who was good at putting things into practice, immediately turned to Marie.

Marie, who was quick-witted but didn’t know how to start, tried to pretend she didn’t know what to do, but could not ignore the Crown Prince and the 3rd Prince, who were staring at her after they finished staring at Elisha.

So, Marie joined their antics with a sigh..

The children burst into laughter again, and Elisha narrowed her eyes, feeling completely relieved,

‘So, can you have more fun with bad results?’

It was truly a miracle for Elisha.

***

“Hooam..”

Leon shook his head and said that he would walk on his own feet, but fell asleep quickly after being lifted up.

He must be tired.

Because it was a very busy birthday.

“Even on his birthday, he takes care of me until the end. He’s a good kid. I’m always grateful for it.”

Asensio, who was walking next to Elisha, said.

Leon, who was worried about his brother having to return to the lonely palace alone, visited him and insisted on coming back only after the lights in the Crown Prince’s Palace were turned on and the warmth was gone..

Asensio had allowed it, so Elisha had followed him.

“The Crown Prince is also a good child.”

“Well, thank you just for the words. But, how old am I to still be called a child.”

He replied with a smile that was as bright as the day, and Elisha looked back at him, stopping her steps. This boy, who was tall enough to reach her shoulder, was born to become an adult.

He couldn’t be a child, and he shouldn’t be a child. But then, what happened?

In the end died without ever being a child.

“Is there something wrong?”

As his pale blue eyes turned to me, Elisha’s breath was caught.

“The aftermath of what happened in the Silver Hall today will begin tomorrow. Your Highness the Crown Prince will be placed in the midst of a great turbulence. You must be prepared, but I will ask you again. Are you okay?”

“I’m okay. It’s alright. However, I’m more worried that Marquis Blemir will make a fuss about how we were still in the mood to hold a small banquet at the 2nd Empress’ Palace a little while ago. Haha!”

Asensio, who answered, glanced at Leon on Elisha’s back and stepped forward first.

Elisha followed Asensio.

As they stood in front of the Crown Prince’s Palace, Asensio greeted her, saying that this was as far as he could go to send them off.

When Elisha did not leave after being greeted, Asensio asked.

“Does the 2nd Empress have anything more to say?”

Elisha nodded her head.

“In order to prepare for the various situations to come, I have an earnest request to the Crown Prince.”

A request.

‘As expected.’?Asensio lightly bit the inside of his mouth.

And forced himself to smile.

“Please speak.”

“From now on, the Crown Prince will have to do something really difficult, something that has never been done before. If successful, it will lower the vigilance of those who are watching us and give Marquis Blemir enough time.”

“I’m ready. The 2nd Empress takes great care of me, so of course I have to do it well.”

“I’m glad. Then do as I say, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

Asensio, who was puzzled not knowing what she meant, clenched his lips at Elisha’s subsequent words.

“When you’re not okay, and when it’s hard, please try.”

“..Yes?”

“Try to ask me to stroke your head, or ask me to lift you up if your legs hurt.”

“2nd Empress, what do you mean by that?”

“What the Crown Prince will do in the future is to play with Leon and lean on me like a child. I will listen to your childishness to the fullest extent and spoil you. Only then will I hand you to Marquis Blemir.”

“But..”

“Your Highness isn’t young, but that doesn’t mean you’ve come of age, right? You haven’t put in a lot of effort in the past, and you won’t get lost even if you follow your heart for a while.”

Elisha sent a calm gaze to Asensio.

Asensio had a very strange experience today.

The 2nd Empress, whom everyone met in the Silver Hall, presided over the situation like the strongest and most arrogant queen in the world..

..was like a sweet but clumsy mother, bringing homemade cake from her 2nd Empress’ Palace and clasping her hands while awaiting their evaluation.

And now.

The 2nd Empress in front of him was as wise as a sage who knew all the secrets of the world, and she seemed like a strong adult who wanted to hide him behind her back from all the dangers of the world.

For the first time, Asensio saw the image of an adult trying to protect him, a child, rather than a knight trying to protect him, a prince.

How dazzling is this version of the 2nd Empress, to whom Asensio also clung to, who is said to be no different from flowers without fragrance because they’re nothing except for being beautiful, and is like a doll without emotion.

In the Silver Hall, Blemir said that if Elisha was hiding something, she would definitely show it around this time after the party.

The turning point has arrived.

“Then..”

Asensio hesitated.

Elisha waited patiently for what this sweet and upright prince would say for the first time in her life.

Then the words flowed out.

“Bake me a cake for my next birthday, and let’s all sit around and eat like today.”

‘Ah.. He is also a lonely child.’

Elisha opened her mouth, while the corners of her trembling eyes were slightly bent.

“This is only natural. Think about it a little more, Your Highness. Something that you really want to do. This is a ‘promise’.”

As Elisha did to Leon, she gently stroked Asensio’s hair.

Elisha’s fingertips were damp, as if it was too much to carry even a small six-year-old child on her back.

Asensio seemed to have something more to say, but when he saw Elisha’s condition, he pushed her back, telling her to go and rest.

Elisha turned around and went back to the 2nd Empress’ Palace.

When she returned to her palace, Elisa laid Leon on his bed in the annex, and then she entered the central building where her residence was.

Inside, Marie was waiting for Elisha.

When Elisha was taking off her dress in front of the bathroom, she said that after Marie had finished removing her makeup and helping her bathe, she wanted to be left alone.

Elisha opened the bedroom door and entered.

She sat straight down on the edge of the bed.

It was a really long and tiring day.

‘But, wasn’t that a lot of fun?’

Elisha, who was leaning her back in a sitting position, felt a throb in her wrist and lifted it up in front of her.

Marquis Blemir’s handprints were clearly seen on the spot where she was bruised from his violent behavior in the morning.

In the past, opinions were divided about the death of Marquis Blemir.

The sword master was chasing down the rebels who escaped to an empty mana stone mine when the mine collapsed and killed him..

But there weren’t only one or two strange things.

Elisha’s, who was thinking about the past, eyelids slowly closed.

In the darkness inside her eyelids, the evil spirits of the past were going crazy again, but Elisha gladly intervened among them and danced the blood dance with them.

She herself was fine.

Because when she opened her eyes, there would be Leon and Asensio.

Therefore..

Elisha’s consciousness sunk deep, with one of her hands resting around her heart.

She sat a little longer.

‘This nightmare is for you.’