Chapter 29

Elisia smiled smoothly, pretending not to notice his somewhat disappointed appearance.

“I want to have a knight order under my command.”

“A knight order? This is unexpected.”

“…The recent incident made me realize it keenly. I need people who will move solely for me. There’s no guarantee that something like last time won’t happen again.”

She added that rather than giving investigation authority to others, it would be better to have people she could trust and rely on to act directly. After pondering deeply for a moment, Erdion rubbed his chin with his fingertips and offered his answer.

“I’ll speak to Father about it first. But it will take some time. We already need to dispatch many troops for the Dallas territory issue.”

“…Dallas?”

That blank murmur didn’t come from Elisia sitting across from him. Erdion turned to look at a maid standing by the window. She seemed to be newly hired, as he didn’t recognize her face.

“Don’t consider it rude, there’s no need to be nervous.”

Erdion smiled and turned his gaze away from the young maid who had gone pale and rigid. Then he met Elisia’s eyes again and continued their conversation. Their discussion grew lengthy. After about thirty minutes, Erdion finally rose from his seat.

While the other maids were paying their respects, only one person stood frozen in the room.

“Sir Asha?”

When Elisia found this strange and dismissed the other maids to call her separately, Anasha looked straight at Elisia as if she had never been in a daze. Her face was filled with such determination, as if she had made some kind of decision.

“Your Highness, there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”

⁕⁕⁕

“Dallas territory……”

Elisia looked up at the night sky where the moon had risen. Moonlight silently flowed down over her hair, which looked as smooth as silk threads.

“Should I grant this request?”

Her voice, like a soliloquy, circled the room before disappearing. Elisia moved away from the window frame and turned around.

“What do you think? Janan.”

A figure in the darkness knelt on one knee and bowed his head.

“Do as you wish, Your Highness.”

Though his face was hidden by the black mask he wore, the rough, deep voice that emerged was unmistakably male. A faint smell of blood wafted around him, but Elisia showed not the slightest trace of fear.

“It would be a shame if I sent her there only for her to die, wouldn’t it? She’s a capable child, worthy of being spared by you.”

Instead, Elisia looked down at him with practiced ease, curving her lips smoothly upward. The fact that Janan, who had mercilessly eliminated all witnesses, had spared her meant she was too valuable to kill.

Of course, this was possible because he had been mistaken for “an assassin who attempted to attack the Princess.”

“If you command me to dispose of her even now……”

“I’m saying this because I quite like Sir Asha too.”

This was true. Janan was the most skilled among her confidants. Anasha, who had moved faster than Janan who was trying to protect her, blocking her path and taking a defensive stance, was certainly enough to please her.

Though her combat skills weren’t yet on par with Janan’s, her agility was enough to rival his. If only she weren’t a spy belonging to the knight order, she would be a talent worth coveting enough to want under her command.

“Besides, she’s the only card I have to handle that inscrutable man, so I must treat her preciously.”

“A card to handle a man… you say?”

“Are all spies this insensitive in such matters? You notice other things so keenly.”

Elisia murmured quietly to herself as she turned her gaze away from Janan. She thought both that man who visited daily just to see the woman he liked, and Sir Asha who hadn’t noticed it at all, were quite remarkable.

5. The Distance Between Two People (2)

“I’ll grant the request I mentioned before.”

The next day, Elisia called Anyasa to her room privately. At Elisia’s surprising announcement, Anasha opened her eyes wide before looking at her with gratitude.

“But only if you grant my request in return.”

“What should I do first?!”

Anasha responded immediately, as if ready to do anything. At this, Elisia smiled meaningfully and rang the bell. At the tinkling sound, the maids waiting outside the door all entered at once.

“Get her ready.”

Ready? Just as Anasha was about to rack her brain to understand what this meant, the maids approached and grabbed her firmly from both sides. Then they began quickly dragging her somewhere.

“Your Highness? Your Highness?!!”

Unlike Anasha, who was confused about what was happening, Elisia merely sipped the tea a maid had brought her with perfect composure.

⁕⁕⁕

“Stay still just like that. And lift the corners of your mouth up again.”

Anasha was currently sitting in the flower garden located behind the Princess’s palace. She was among blooming flowers, wearing a sky-blue bonnet with ribbons and holding a lace parasol.

She awkwardly lifted the corners of her mouth, but they soon trembled and fell back down.

The situation was as follows: The young painters sponsored by Elisia regularly painted portraits at the Princess’s palace, and today the noblewoman who was supposed to model had fallen ill and couldn’t come.

Just when they needed a model, Anasha happened to catch Elisia’s eye.

Wearing a noble dress with abundant frills was a first in Anasha’s life. Though she was initially happy and excited, after sitting still like a stone for two hours, her bottom was starting to get sore. Having to maintain her expression on top of that was torture.

“Excuse me… how much longer?”

“We’re almost done. Come on, smile brightly again.”

Anasha forcibly pulled up her lips. It felt like being tortured while wearing pretty clothes. After enduring for who knows how long, the sun had started to set, though it had certainly been daytime when they began.

When the painter put down his brush with a satisfied face, indicating completion, Anasha threw aside the parasol and flopped backward. For a while, she heard the sound of art supplies being packed up, and soon the painter’s footsteps faded away.

He was probably going to tell the Princess they had finished. In the meantime, she thought she could rest for a bit. Planning to lie there for at least 10 more minutes, she was sprawled out comfortably when she heard footsteps nearby. Anasha slightly moved her eyelashes.

As a shadow fell over her head, she opened her eyes as if she had been waiting. Seeing the familiar face backlit by the sunset, Anasha abruptly sat up.

“Commander!”

Her joy doubled at seeing him right in front of her when she thought she wouldn’t get to see him today since she couldn’t escort him out. Anasha chattered around him, asking how he knew to come here, but belatedly realized he was being unusually quiet.

Just as she was about to ask what was wrong, she suddenly remembered what she was wearing.

“Oh, um, this! Well, you may have heard from the Princess, but there were circumstances.”

The dress was one thing, but the bonnet with fluttering lace was a bit embarrassing. She tried to untie the ribbon under her chin with fumbling hands, but it wasn’t working as she intended.

“I’ll explain the circumstances later. But how did they tie this……”

At that moment, a large hand approached her cheek. Anasha drew in a shallow breath instinctively. The ticklish sensation brushing against her fine hair was followed by the large hand quickly moving away.

Belatedly, Anasha discovered a small flower petal held between his long fingers. Realizing he had simply removed a flower petal for her, her body relaxed as if she had never been tense.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

“…Oh right! Could you untie this for me?”

Anasha pointed to the ribbon under her chin, asking him to untie it. When Rihirt obligingly moved his hand to undo the ribbon knot, she quickly took off the bonnet.

“Let’s go now. I’ll escort you out.”

But before they could leave the garden, she had to stop in her tracks.

“Are you on your way to guide him out? How diligent.”

Elisia, who happened to be entering the garden, smiled gently as she looked at the two of them.

“Well, it’s not like I have much else to do.”

When Anasha answered as if embarrassed, Elisia deepened the smile on her lips.

“Since you’re already beautifully dressed up, it would be a shame to just work hard and take it off right away. How about going out?”

“What?”

“It would be perfect to dine at an elegant place, see a performance, and finally view the night scenery. So, may I ask you to escort Sir Asha?”

The words that followed were directed not at Anasha, but at Rihirt standing beside her. Anasha’s mouth fell open. Escort? A word she thought would never be associated with her in her lifetime!

Regardless of how excited and fluttery she felt, it was too sudden. Moreover, the Commander wasn’t saying anything. Anasha, believing that his proper and kind personality would prevent him from refusing, quickly interjected.

“Isn’t this a bit sudden? The Commander might be busy this evening……”

“Surely you’re not busy, are you?”

Elisia looked at Rihirt with gently curved eyes. Though it was clearly a soft and kind gaze, Anasha somehow felt like she was exerting unspoken pressure.

“But if I go out, the Princess’s secret guard……”

“My brother sent new guards today. It will be safer than usual, so don’t worry.”

“B-but if the dress gets dirty……”

“It’s fine if it gets dirty. I was planning to give it to Sir Asha anyway.”

“No! Even if you gave it to me, I wouldn’t have anywhere to wear it, and I couldn’t put it on by myself.”

“That’s true. Since it’s a dress you can’t wear normally, you should enjoy it while you have it on now.”