Shadow Queen - chapter 28

Even if it took a little more time, May recognized that the enemy was a comrade and Elena waited for May’s hand.

Finally, May, who couldn’t make any choice, said her goodbyes instead of answering and left the room. Elena, who was left alone, sat on the window frame. She opened the window and raised her head, and the full moon fell.

“When the moon falls….”

Elena reached out her hand and clenched her fist like a clasp in the moonlight.

“My morning is coming.”

***

In front of the main residence of the Grand Duke all the servants gathered to see Elena off to the Frontier Academy.

“How long it’s been since you’ve come back… to be away from home again. I don’t feel comfortable.”

Grand Duke Friedrich gently hugged Elena and let her go. His face was full of anxiety about his daughter heading to the academy.

“Don’t worry about me and take care of yourself, Father.”

Elena also played a filial daughter who loved her father very much and played a kind father daughter relationship. Some maids, too, seemed to be pitiful and moved to tears.

“Liv, I’ll be right back.”

“I look forward to you becoming a more intelligent lady, Your Highness.”

“I’ll try to live up to your expectations.”

Elena, who said goodbye, loaded herself into the top-of-the-line carriage. It was not long before the horseman’s whip began to move the wheels of the carriage.

Clattering, clattering.

The carriage, which slowly began to accelerate, escaped the great house at a rapid pace. The Frontier Academy, located on the outskirts of the Empire’s capital, is about a couple of hours in a carriage. Elena sat with her chin on her hand and organized her thoughts by looking out the window at the panoramic view of the capital.

‘Whether I want to or not, I’ll see people with deep connections.’

The first person that comes to mind was Ren. He was currently attending the Faculty of Swordsmanship at the Academy, and there was a high possibility that he would get involved in some way. Because he’s a human who sees bullying Veronica as the pleasure of life.

Also, there’s him.

‘Sian.’

The emperor and husband whom she once loved more than life. They lived as a couple, but she didn’t want to see him if she could because it was a relationship that was worse than others. Because seeing him in itself reveals the hurt.

‘It won’t work out my way.’

There was no choice but to bump into each other. In particular, if they stay in a detached dormitory where only descendants of the royal family, high-ranking aristocrats above the title of duke, and descendants of the founding meritorious retainer are available, they would encounter each other.

‘I’ll pretend I don’t know him even if I bump into him by accident. Hurting each other ends with the previous life.’

By the time Elena was determined, the carriage arrived at the front gate of the Frontier Academy. After a brief identification, the carriage entered the academy.

Elena looked at the view of the academic institute outside the window. After passing the familiar clock tower, sculptures, fountains, and training grounds for the Faculty of Swordsmanship, the wall continued on the basis of the open road. Beyond that, she could see the roofs of the two-story buildings in the western style, just like small villas.

“We’ve arrived at the dormitory, Your Highness.”

When Elena pointed out the outside with her chin, Anne quickly opened the door of the carriage. When she got off, she bowed down in silence.

Elena looked around carefully. It was like a garden in a forest where the harmony between a single dormitory building, a small pool of water, and a laurel tree was well harmonized.

“Are you guys in the back? Move the luggage.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Anne, who had been distracted by the appearance, began to move her luggage hurriedly. May also rolled up her arms and helped. Hurelbard looked outside the dormitory to find out about the surrounding environment. Elena stood in the living room and reception room on the first floor and pointed out eye-catching things one by one.

“The curtains are old. Replace it. When was this done? Take it off.”

Erasing the traces of Princess Veronica, Elena filled the space with frames, curtains and carpets from the Great House. She was willing to endure this much trouble because she had to spend a year.

Elena went upstairs to the bedroom when she was somewhat organized. Elena, who looked around and checked the cleaning condition, sat on the bed with satisfaction.

“We’ll have a lot of visitors in the next few days. Don’t neglect the hospitality. Especially Anne, pay attention to refreshments. Wouldn’t May be able to follow suit if you set an example?”

“Of course! Just trust me, miss.”

Anne’s expression quickly brightened up at the word appointment. She was actually in trouble because May was older than her. In the meantime, when Elena stepped up and arranged the order, Anne had no choice but to be flattered.

This reaction was induced by Elena. Elena was planning to train Anne without using her own hands. Just using May. If Anne, who has a nasty personality, apparently would rhyme with her seniority and pamper May. Even so, she had a lot of age, and it was difficult to deal with, because it was visible that she was struggling.

‘Can you handle May?’

She was holding her breath now, but May was a poisonous snake. Otherwise, she wouldn’t even have attempted to assassinate the Grand Duke.

“Anne, go down and clean up.”

“Yes! Your Highness the Princess.”

Anne, who responded forcefully, left the bedroom. Over the closed door, a creaking wooden staircase was heard. By the time the sound was quiet, Elena took out the emerald brooch from the drawer’s jewelry box.

“May, you should go on an errand separately.”

Elena put out the emerald brooch.

“Go to the academy and find out if there is a student named Lucia in the first year of the archaeological department. If there is, find her and give this to her.”

“Yes, Your Highness the Princess.”

“You should know one more thing. Anne should never know about this. Right now, from now onward. Do you understand me?”

May nodded silently. Her face was slightly young, but she swallowed it without asking.

After May was let out, she was so tired.

“Wait a minute. Can I get some sleep?”

Elena lay on the bed as if she were falling. Sleep poured out because of the fatigue accumulated throughout the ride in the carriage. Elena woke up after a long sleep and opened her eyes. A dark night came as the sunset stretched beyond Seosan.

“… How long has it been since I slept with such a peace of mind?”

It seemed that the tension was relieved when she left the Grand House to avoid Leabrick’s surveillance. She couldn’t believe she slept so long in broad daylight.

Knock, knock.

She heard a knock as she was touching her messy hair and clothes.

“This is May.”

“Come in.”

May, who opened the door, held out a brooch wrapped in a handkerchief.

“I heard she was in school, but I couldn’t find her. I went to the dorm and met her roommate, and she said she hadn’t seen her in a few days.”

“Really? I can’t help it. Well done.”

When May turned around and left the bedroom, Elena put the brooch back in the jewelry box.

“What kind of person are you, Lucia?”

Elena had never seen Lucia. Despite taking the same liberal arts course, Lucia never attended, so she had no chance to see her. It was even said that Lucia was the first person to sign up for classes and skip lectures all year round.

“Did you have any symptoms before the start of course?”

As she found out later, Lucia was unable to stay at the academy and attend lectures.

The northern fever, known as the indigenous disease of the northern region, is accompanied by a high fever and cough similar to a cold, showing early skin exfoliation. It was a rare disease in the empire that encompassed the central and southern parts of the continent, but was often seen among the three-nation alliance and the indigenous people of the north.

The reason why the northern fever was so scary was that there was no proper treatment. Unlike a common cold, any medicine was useless. It was enough for doctors to say that the best treatment was prevention.

Lucia said she had early symptoms of the northern fever and had rushed off for medical treatment without having enough time to take a leave of absence. Without the circumstances, she would not have even taken a leave of absence. That’s why she was never able to attend even though the name Lucia was written in the attendance book of the lecture.

Elena came up with an indelible name with Lucia. Emilio, the head of the Castol Corporation, who was named in the top ten continents. The first time she heard the name was when she was just in the wilderness. This is because rumors had spread that Emilio, the owner of the upper house, who was traveling between the North and the Empire, was pouring out huge amounts of money to treat his daughter Lucia.

Emilio happened to visit the tribe of the grasslands when he heard that some eastern grassland tribes had been completely cured of fever. Impressed by the denial to save his daughter, the tribe of grassland allowed him to stay in the grassland despite being a stranger.

Did that sincerity reach the sky? Emilio found the medicine that would eventually cure the northern fever. The medicinal herbs were laminergia petals. Looking for reasons why grassland tribes did not develop the northern fever, he noted that they regularly ate the leaves of laminergia flowers.

In the north, where the winter was long, laminergia flowers were not in bloom, so we found out that laminergia flowers were not edible like the grassland tribes. In the process, he devoted his life to bankruptcy and wasted his entire estate, but if only his daughter could be saved, that was enough. How could he compare wealth with the life of his precious daughter?

Confident of the medicine, he was buoyed by the hope of saving his daughter. He hurried to see Lucia because he wanted her to get better soon. But Lucia, who had been fighting the disease well for a long time, believing in her father that she would make her feel better, couldn’t hold out for just one day.

Emilio cried out. He sobbed and wailed in front of Lucia’s grave for days and days. Emilio, who managed to get over his feelings, wrote down a cure for the Northern fever he had learned. At the end of the year, he wrote that he hoped no one would die of the Northern Fever like his daughter. And a few days later, Emilio, who lost his reason to live, died. It was a tragic tragedy indeed.

Elena hated tragedy. This is because she had faced a tragic ending as well as them.

“Lucia, in that sense, you’re such a lucky girl.”

Elena sat at her desk and took out the finest parchment. After printing ink on a fountain pen, she wrote it down with a single stroke, folded it, and put it in an envelope.

“Your life, I’ll save it. Think of it as a price for borrowing your name.”

A year from now. Elena will be touring the academy with her name and status.

The only daughter of the castol merchant and a book-loving archaeological schoolgirl. Her name was Lucia.