Chapter 27: Chapter 27

Unfamiliar adults were sitting in front of her.

Slowly blinking, she wondered who those people were, it seemed that she had seen them somewhere… Elizabeth, who was lost in thought, was startled when she finally recognised their identities and leaped up of her seat.

“Y-your Majesty the Emperor! And the Empress! This…this foolish girl…has been disrespectful… P-please, have mercy on me…”

Her head began spinning and eyes shaking. Difficult words were floating around in my head, and her tongue was hardened, making it difficult to pronounce.

‘Why are the two of them here? Where are we?’

The Emperor raised his eyebrows and exchanged glances with the Empress.

“Elizabeth, sweetie.”

“Ye-yes! Your Majesty the Empress!” she gasped.

In response to Elizabeth’s frantic reply, the Empress burst out laughing.

She found her cute and lovable, but on the other hand, she also felt sorry for how hard she had to learn to become like that.

Elizabeth thought hard to grasp the meaning of the Empress’ laugh.

Her heart started pounding so wildly that even Leonhardt, who was sitting next to her, could hear it, and it felt like a cold sweat was pouring out of her palms.

“Have you ever come out of the Duke’s house, dear?”

“Pardon…?”

Elizabeth only blinked blankly when she heard that.

The Empress, unaware of the loud thumping in her chest, tried to readjust the corner of her lips and tapped on the window of the carriage.

At that, Elizabeth’s eyes grew even wider.

Through the transparent glass window, trees were swiping past like rough scribbles.

“A carriage…?”

Elizabeth mumbled absent-mindedly and shook her head.

She often had memories of her watching her father ride the carriage through the window in her room.

She sometimes rode with her mother, it was rare for her to ride the carriage on her own.

Even during those rare occasions when she got to go out, her mother said she should always draw the curtains so as not to get sunburnt.

“Looks like it’s the first time you’re coming out in a long time. How could they…”

“I will get used to it soon! I will practice every day! If I take a carriage every day…”

‘I was meant to ask if Elizabeth have motion sickness, but it must have sounded different to Elizabeth.’

The Empress waved her hand belatedly, signifying that was not what she meant.

“There is no need for that. Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

Elizabeth continued to shake her head vehemently. She then brought her face closer to the windshield of the carriage.

The trees, the clouds, and the fields that were filled with early bloomed flowers disappeared behind her back as soon as she caught sight of them.

“Dear child must love the carriage ride. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to build a new carriage for her. What do you think, Your Majesty?”

“The empress’s will is my will.”

“Yo-Your, Your Majesty…!”

Elizabeth, who was admiring the scenery by the window sill, turned to stammer upon remembering the situation she was in.

For a moment, the carriage shook as if its wheel had caught on a large stone.

“Kya!”

“Lizzy!”

Leonhardt freaked out almost instantly and quick-wittedly caught her. Thanks to that, Elizabeth was able to safely land on the fluffy red velvet cushions of the carriage with Leon.

“I- I’m sorry, Leon! Your..Your Majesty..! I-I did not mean…”

“…Sweet child…She’s going to run out of breath. Your Majesty, please smile more kindly!”

Hearing the Empress’s words, Leonhardt frowned and turned toward them.

Smile? kindly? His father? He could never imagine that.

However, the Emperor slowly began to raise both ends of his lips, obedient as the Empress said.

Leonhardt doubted his own eyes.

“Child, If the Crown Prince doesn’t listen to you, just tell me anytime. If you wish, I will drive him out of the border.”

“Father?!”

Leonhardt called him out of astonishment, but the Emperor did not listen to him as he drew on his face the smile he had only shown to the empress to calm Elizabeth’s tension.

“Starting from the moment you step foot into the Imperial Palace, you are no longer a member of Elysium, but a member of the Imperial Family. Just keep that in mind.”

“The Imperial Palace…? I am going to the Imperial Palace? What about my mother? Is my father coming too?”

The faces of both the Empress and the Emperor crumpled at once.

However, as Elizabeth blinked innocently, the two instantly fixed their expressions and returned to their initial composure.

“Dear, you will be living in the Imperial Palace from now on. It’s the place you’ll be living once you become the Crown Princess anyway, it just happens a little early. Sweetie…Do you want to live with your parents?”

“Yes…Your Majesty.” Elizabeth’s eyes were flitting anxiously, unsure.

Leonhardt, who was sitting next to her, pulled the hem of her dress and whispered.

“If you move into the Imperial Palace, you won’t ever be beaten again. You also don’t have to study boring subjects, Lizzy. Instead, you can do anything want, and you can be with me.”

Leonhardt held Elizabeth’s hand as if to tell her to believe in him.

‘As the heir of this country, if he doesn’t want to study, he just runs away. It’s not like there’s a law that determines one cannot be called Crown Prince if he does not study anyway. Lizzy, won’t you tell them that we’re going to live at the Imperial Palace together, huh?’

Elizabeth still didn’t know what he was trying to say.

But she liked the idea that she could be with Leonhardt if she were to live in the Palace.

Eventually, the girl shook her head as the final answer.

The Empress swept a hand down her chest as she found it fortunate. The Emperor, who pretended to be indifferent, looked out of the window again with relief.

“Umm, Leon…”

“Yes?” The answer came from the Emperor, not Leonhardt.

“We still have a long way to go, so get some more sleep.”

How could she dare to show such disrespect in front of His Majesty the Emperor!

The inside of the carriage was warmed by the spring sunlight, and the red velvet cushions were too soft.

‘Still, I can’t sleep! I must act like a lady…’

Elisabeth thought as she forced her heavy eyelids to stay open as the Emperor finished speaking.

But the thought, in less than ten minutes, became hazy as exhaustion prevailed. Elizabeth was weary from all the fainting and waking up just to burst into tears again.