Chapter 4
Let’s be strangers now
Episode 4
The damp dawn air, as if heavy with dew, filled her lungs with every breath.
Elisha blinked slowly, gazing out at the distant horizon stretching before her.
It was a landscape completely different from what she was used to.
Instead of meticulously manicured trees, there were sparse, wild woods; instead of white marble, there were reddish earthen roofs that stood out in stark contrast.
These were things never seen within the Imperial Palace, and thus, the sight was quite foreign to Elisha.
‘I usually used teleportation magic whenever I went out for subjugations or expeditions.’
Besides, she rarely left the palace grounds to begin with.
Elisha tilted her head slightly to the left, closing and opening her eyes once more.
She hadn’t ventured out because there had been no reason to leave the Imperial Palace. She wasn’t the type to enjoy wandering outside for no purpose.
But now, a reason had surfaced.
Elisha tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear as it fluttered in the breeze, letting out a faint breath.
‘Eli…sha.’
The image of him struggling to call her name through his fading breath kept flickering in her mind.
A face turned pale, white hair peeking through the black, wrinkles around the eyes carved by time—and the way he smiled even as all those features contorted in pain.
‘Lastly, I have… a favor… to ask of you.’
The late Emperor Bernhardt.
‘Once my funeral… is over…’
Even while gasping for air, Bernhardt had continued to speak.
It was in front of everyone. Not just Elisha and Erich, but the knights, aides, and high-ranking nobles who stood by his side.
Therefore, Bernhardt’s request was not directed at Elisha alone.
‘Hold a national wedding… with Erich…’
The final testament the late Emperor Bernhardt had left for everyone to hear.
Elisha closed her eyes tightly and steadied her breathing.
Erich was right, and her own prediction had been correct.
Bernhardt was a man who kept his word no matter what, and Elisha had indeed become a more capable talent than Erich, just as he had hoped.
‘A capable talent.’
That was precisely the problem.
The Imperial Chief Mage.
An honorable position that could not be bought with wealth or bloodline, earned purely through skill.
Naturally, for the nobles, it was far more beneficial to induct her as an adopted daughter of a noble house than to take issue with her origins.
Of course, that was only true as long as Elisha remained at the palace.
‘I wonder if they’ve realized by now.’
The fact that she was gone.
Elisha tilted her head to the right as she thought.
Just in case, she had left a letter in Erich’s office, but it didn’t really matter if he read it or not.
Regardless, this was what he had always wanted.
So, in a way, everyone had finally returned to their proper places.
However, if there was one problem…
‘Usually, I’d be asleep at this hour.’
Staring at the sun slowly rising beyond the horizon, she let out a small sigh.
She had left the palace to keep her promise to Erich before it was too late, but…
‘I don’t actually know where to go.’
The region where Bernhardt had found her? She couldn’t even remember it clearly anymore.
In the first place, she had almost no memories of her life before that.
Besides, even if she went back, there would be nothing but the ruins of the past waiting for her. There was no need to waste mana on a pointless endeavor.
Not that her mana would be depleted by something as simple as long-distance teleportation magic.
‘For now, I just want to sleep.’
Elisha tapped the ground with the toe of her boot and tilted her head.
It seemed best to see if there was a place to stay nearby.
She recalled reading in books that there were places for travelers to lodge.
‘I should head toward the city center first.’
Since she hadn’t left the capital, the problem was that everywhere looked like a city center to her.
“…What a hassle.”
While that small mutter drifted on the wind, a small magic circle appeared beneath Elisha’s feet.
Erich wouldn’t come looking for her anyway, so staying in the capital for a few days wouldn’t be a bad idea.
It might be nice to observe how people lived during that time.
The moment she finished her thought, a bright light burst from the magic circle.
Elisha blinked once, her face expressionless as always.
Right now, she just wanted to rest.
* * *
“Elisha is…”
At the same time, inside the Emperor’s office.
A man muttered, his lips pursing as he looked at the staff and letter placed neatly on the desk as if on display.
It was Dante Renaud, Erich’s longtime friend and the Magic Knight Commander of the Imperial Palace.
He had wondered what urgent matter required him to show up at the palace at the crack of dawn.
“She’s really gone?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe she just wanted some fresh air…”
“Elisha is someone who has never stepped foot outside the palace unless it was for a specific task.”
“Maybe she just got overwhelmed because of the wedding…”
Before Dante could finish, Erich picked up the letter with a sharp movement and shoved it toward him.
Dante slowly read through the letter that had been thrust into his arms.
This handwriting, these sentences, this boldness…
“It’s definitely Elisha’s.”
Dante eventually muttered, brushing back his platinum-blonde hair. His violet eyes continued to scan the letter.
To think that Erich was someone who couldn’t even take care of himself… well, by Elisha’s standards, that was probably true.
But that wasn’t the important part.
“I wouldn’t marry you if my life depended on it!”
The moment Dante finished speaking, Erich’s face contorted violently. Watching him, Dante spoke again as if possessed.
“But really, if the choice was between marrying Elisha or going to a monastery…”
“Dante Renaud.”
“My apologies, Your Majesty.”
It had been so long since he’d seen such a stunned expression on Erich’s face that he couldn’t help it.
Dante apologized, his eyes darting around. At the same time, a heavy silence hung over the office.
The only sound filling the room was the breathing of the two men.
“Back then, that…”
Erich finally spoke, his brow still furrowed. His voice sounded more like a monologue than a statement directed at anyone.
“Was just a meaningless comment from a young, naive child.”
Like a child saying they would marry their parent when they grew up, it was something everyone should have laughed off and moved on from. It was a tantrum that should have faded with time.
“To call it a meaningless comment, you said it quite consistently. It’s also a fact that you disliked Elisha. I heard you two even fought right before the Previous Emperor passed away.”
Dante, who had been listening to Erich, spoke up pointedly. Erich immediately narrowed his eyes.
“It’s more strange to be welcoming when someone suddenly appears and threatens my position.”
A young girl who had appeared out of nowhere and received the blatant favor of the Emperor.
To Erich, it was natural to view her unfavorably, and even feel as though his position was being threatened.
Not that he had ever actually harmed Elisha.
Of course, it was true that they had a disagreement recently, but…
“That’s a separate matter.”
“Well, if you say so.”
“…”
“Anyway, the urgent issue is that the ‘Grand Mage’ Elisha has disappeared.”
Dante spoke, his eyes fixed on the staff resting on the desk.
“The succession has only just finished, and your foundation isn’t fully solid yet. If the absence of the Grand Mage becomes known, it will be a huge blow.”
There might even be schemes from those eyeing the Empire, taking advantage of the situation.
His cold, rational voice cut through the air of the office. Erich nodded, pressing his fingers against his brow.
“Issue a gag order to the maids of Solteir Palace. Officially, we’ll say Elisha has gone on a brief vacation.”
“You won’t be able to keep that up for long. Rumors have a way of spreading.”
People would already look down on her for taking a vacation right before the wedding; if she didn’t show her face for weeks, suspicion would naturally arise.
It wouldn’t be long before Elisha’s disappearance came to light.
At Dante’s words, Erich closed and opened his eyes. An unreadable light flickered in his blue eyes.
“That’s why I must find her.”
Erich spoke in a low voice.
“Whether she’s within the Empire or has fled abroad. I just need to find her and bring her back.”
As soon as Erich finished speaking, a sense of foreboding washed over Dante.
Oh, boy.
“Dante Renaud.”
Erich called Dante’s name in a voice that was perfectly businesslike. Dante instinctively swallowed hard and looked at his lord.
He hated bothersome tasks, yet he had a feeling he was about to be saddled with the most bothersome one of all.
The fact that he had been summoned to the palace immediately upon waking was already a bad sign.
“Just in case you’re thinking it, don’t pick me. I’m a very busy man, despite how I look.”
The moment he finished the thought, Dante spoke up first. Erich ignored him completely and continued.
“Now that I think about it, you’ve loved scavenger hunts since you were a child.”
No, I haven’t.
“I’ll give you a vacation too.”
I don’t want that kind of vacation.
“Scour the entire continent if you have to, but find Elisha and bring her back.”
“Why are my bad feelings never wrong…?”
Dante Renaud muttered with a look of agony. Erich didn’t even glance at him, staring intently at the staff sitting before him.
Elisha was a person who kept her promises no matter what. Having realized that fact painfully through this incident, it was now time to use it to his advantage.
Once he found her and brought her before him, then…
“We’ll have to make a new promise.”
