novelraw Chapter 399: To Elizabeth
Chapter 399: To Elizabeth
These past few days, the maids working within the massive Golden Palace had truly suffered.
Although their days hadn't exactly been easy since they were selected by Elizabeth to work in the Golden Palace—this Empress, who had always been Swift And Decisive, was rather strict with her subordinates in both life and work, causing the personal attendants responsible for serving her to always bear immense work pressure without even a moment's respite—
Now that the Empress Elizabeth had fallen ill and was bedridden, they still did not dare to slack off in their duties; on the contrary, they became even more tense.
The news of the Empress falling ill was unknown to the people of Naris, but for some reason, it spread like wildfire among the Pioneer Party, the Griffon Party, and the ministers she had appointed. Over the past few days, ministers continuously submitted memorials to test the current state of this Empress, but they were all answered by the bedridden Elizabeth dictating her responses to her maids.
Perhaps it was due to the handwriting and efficiency, or perhaps because of the unprecedentedly bloody purge of the Witch Research Society members nationwide since that day; the people below caught the scent of opportunity from these clues and began to stir restlessly one after another.
It was still snowing in Naris today. The heat magic in the warm rooms of the Golden Palace ran day and night without ceasing. The shifts of maids responsible for attending came and went, all solely for the pale-faced Empress of Naris, Elizabeth, who was currently dressed in gold-and-white pajamas.
At this moment, two maids were sitting by her bedside, reading aloud the letters and opinions of the ministers to her, and the unwell Elizabeth forced herself to perk up and dictate her replies.
"Reply to Reybak... Since he has decided to continue serving as the Minister of Finance, let him begin the reforms. The degree... cough, cough... must be handled well. Do not offend everyone... The areas to start with can first consider the ones I mentioned before..."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The maid below concentrated on transcribing Elizabeth's words until two other maids walked into the doorway, carrying two trays of piping hot food."Your Majesty, it's time for lunch."
"...Set it down for now. I don't have an appetite right now."
"You already didn't eat anything yesterday, Your Majesty."
The pale-faced Elizabeth supported herself on the headboard and panted twice. For the past few days, she had been somewhat muddle-headed. Ever since she fainted upon hearing the tragic news regarding Fisher, she could only place all of her scant remaining energy entirely into her work, not even daring to fall asleep. Because as long as she had some free time, the fact of Fisher's departure would linger like a nightmare...
Her tears were about to dry up from crying. Several times, tossing and turning at midnight, she seemed to have dreamt that Fisher had returned. Yet the emptiness around her upon waking still reminded her of the cruelty of reality. This sense of disparity made Elizabeth feel rather despairing, as if it was going to completely drain her, making it difficult for her to face.
But there was still such a massive nation before her, her younger siblings were still young, and Isabel was still overseas. If she let go and ignored everything, the nation she had seized with painstaking effort and her ideals would all Vanish into Nothingness entirely. This definitely wasn't what Fisher would want to see either...
"Wuu-wuu-wuu-wuu..."
Somewhat dizzy, she covered her face. Whether panting or sobbing, she let out a slight, fragile whimper. Yet a long time passed, and only her hoarse voice and trembling shoulders conveyed her emotions at this moment. All the maids present lowered their heads somewhat sadly, sharing her feelings somewhat and unwilling to speak up again.
Heaven had bestowed humans with the ability to empathize, granting them magnificent imagination and unparalleled capability for unity.
Having accompanied Elizabeth day and night, these personal maids naturally understood what kind of existence the Fisher in the photograph always placed on her desk was to this Empress. The feeling of losing him forever had to be Heart-Wrenching Pain, and this was one of the very few things Elizabeth cared about. How could she not despair to such an extent?
A long while passed before her hoarse voice transmitted from between her messily cascading golden hair, bringing a trace of joy to the maids below.
"...Give me my lunch."
"Yes, Your Majesty, please enjoy..."
Just as that maid was about to step forward, another maid with an anxious expression suddenly walked in swiftly from behind, instantly drawing the gaze of everyone in the room. The maid who was just about to bring the food forward glared reproachfully at this rash individual, afraid that the Empress would lose her precious appetite again because of this sudden interlude.
The intruding maid panted somewhat exhaustedly, seeming to have run a very long distance to get here.
"Um... Your Majesty, the west district councilman... Councilman Tlander requests to see Your Majesty..."
Elizabeth's long golden hair cascaded down slightly. Her brain, having not replenished its energy for a long time, operated sluggishly. Incredibly, she couldn't recall who this person was for a long time. It was the maid beside her transcribing her words, the one she trusted the most, who spoke up instead.
"Your Majesty, this councilman is a Pioneer Party member, a mediocre and pleasure-seeking playboy within the Pioneer Party... But there is one thing: he had a good relationship with Fisher when he attended the Royal Academy. I heard he rented a room together with Fisher back then."
Elizabeth's golden Prosthetic Eye twitched. She smiled mockingly and said,
"Not coming to exploit Fisher's connection earlier, but taking the opportunity now... What is he here for? If he dares to use Fisher to make demands of me, I will twist his head off and feed it to my dogs."
Hearing the murderous words of the Elizabeth before her, that maid hurriedly waved her hands. However, because she was still panting, the words she wanted to utter instantly choked in her throat, causing her to cough.
"Cough, cough, cough! No... Your Majesty, he-he didn't come to make demands... He said he has news regarding Fisher and wants to take Your Majesty to a place before he tells you..."
Leaning against the headboard, Elizabeth's stiff joints twisted bit by bit after hearing this single sentence, causing her to raise her head. Her glowing golden eyes thus looked at the message-delivering maid before her with intense oppressive pressure.
"What... did he say?"
"Hyah! Hyah!"
The winter snow was white in Naris. The long-closed Golden Palace unexpectedly opened its front gates today. A golden carriage drawn by several fine white steeds slowly drove out from the palace. In today's Naris, only one person could ride in such a carriage again: the esteemed Empress.
The signal of the Empress going out on a tour was extremely obvious, causing the expressions of many spies sent by the ministers to keep an eye on the Golden Palace gates to change drastically. They turned around and hurried to report the news to their bosses. It was believed that the news of the Empress being critically ill would Collapsing Without Attack very soon... That is, but that would also have to wait until Elizabeth reappeared before the ministers.
Only at this moment, Tlander in front of the Golden Palace, wearing a heavy black trench coat, still sported his golden slicked-back hair. Ever since Fisher left Naris, his complexion seemed to have improved significantly, not as weak as in the past. Because the Pink Pavilion had been raided and shut down, he probably no longer had the opportunity to rescue those unfortunate ladies with bitter destinies either.
Riding a horse and waiting at the gates, he immediately changed his expression upon seeing the golden carriage drawn by white horses slowly driving out. He ingratiatingly pulled his horse to the side of the road. Waiting for the carriage to stop beside him, he immediately prepared to dismount and bow respectfully.
"Your Majesty..."
As a result, just as he made a move, the curtains of the carriage didn't open. Only an extremely flat female voice transmitted from within,
"Take me directly to the destination you mentioned... If you dare to deceive me, your head will roll tonight."
Tlander broke into a sweat. It seemed this Empress hadn't mentioned what kind of reward there would be if it were true either, but overall, if it were fake, he estimated he would be able to reunite with his long-deceased ancestors tonight. This made him smile abashedly and point towards a distant road, saying,
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare, Your Majesty. I truly received news regarding Fisher. The place we are going to is not far within the city. Just let me take you there... Hyah!"
With that said, Tlander spurred his horse and left, heading toward a certain direction within the city.
Word of the Empress's carriage had spread long before it came out. Although it was an emergency and the Golden Palace hadn't prepared to block the roads, when many pedestrians and carriages on the road saw that golden imperial carriage from afar, they immediately parted automatically to make way. Therefore, the journey of this trip wasn't long. Elizabeth had consumed a little food in the carriage. Whether it was the food or the currently unconfirmed news regarding Fisher, her spirit was nonetheless much better now.
"Your Majesty, we've arrived."
Not long after, the carriage slowly came to a halt. Tlander's voice transmitted from outside. Elizabeth smoothed out her clothes and donned a black veiled hat, concealing the greater half of her somewhat sickly appearance at this moment.
She refused the supporting arm of the maid beside her and alighted from the carriage wearing pure black fur clothing. The golden guards following behind surrounded this place so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through. She turned her head to look, and what appeared before her eyes was an incredibly ordinary three-story house in the city of Naris. Yet perhaps the building before her was somewhat special, because its owner was an elderly woman named Martha, and the solely and exclusively tenant here was Fisher Benavides.
"Fisher's house... What are we doing here?"
Long ago, after Fisher fled Naris and Elizabeth's search proved fruitless, she had ordered people to come here and take almost all of Fisher's belongings to the Golden Palace. As a result, nothing was discovered. Regarding them purely as her own precious collection, she placed them in her bedroom to Seeing The Object And Missing The Person. And now, Tlander had actually brought her here once again.
Tlander bowed respectfully. Looking at the golden knights following behind her, he squeezed out a forced smile.
"Your Majesty, anyway, just follow me and that'll be right."
Elizabeth didn't speak. The golden knight behind her instead took a step forward, preparing to draw his sword. This frightened Tlander so much his legs gave out and he dropped to sit the snow.
"Don't don't don't, don't kill me!! It really is here... I didn't deceive Your Majesty!"
Seeing this, Elizabeth raised her hand vertically, signaling for the knight behind her to stand down. She cast a glance at the small house before her. Perhaps because she missed Fisher too much, she suddenly also wanted to go see the place where he once lived.
"Alright, lead the way. Where are you taking me... A maid and a knight will suffice to follow. The rest remain on standby downstairs."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Hearing Elizabeth's permission, Tlander hurriedly wiped the sweat off his forehead and scrambled up from the ground. It was only at this moment that he rather admired Fisher. To be able to maneuver around Elizabeth for so many years right in front of her, this truly wasn't something an ordinary person could do...
"This way, Your Majesty."
He knocked on the door. After waiting for a long time, the door slowly opened, revealing the cautious elderly woman inside. Who else could it be but Ms. Martha?
It was just that ever since Fisher left, her dyed black hair seemed to have turned completely white again. Looking at the lineup outside the door, she trembled in fright, yet subconsciously bowed towards the Elizabeth wholly shrouded in black.
"Oh my... Your Majesty... Empress, why... today..."
"Ms. Martha."
Elizabeth unprecedentedly returned a bow, frightening Ms. Martha into feeling even more uneasy. She was somewhat worried that Fisher had been found, or perhaps they were going to lay hands on her... She seemed to have heard that the boy Fisher was currently wanted by the Golden Palace. This news had caused her to be unable to sleep for several nights.
Fortunately, Tlander was beside her. Ever since Fisher left, he frequently visited to look after Ms. Martha, which was the only reason she hadn't broken down.
"Ms. Martha, Her Majesty wishes to see the room Fisher used to stay in. You shouldn't have put any new things inside the room, right?"
"No! Absolutely not... I'm still waiting for the day Fisher can return..."
As she spoke, Ms. Martha realized she had said the wrong thing again. She hurriedly covered her mouth, no longer daring to say anything more. But fortunately, Elizabeth still didn't show any reaction.
"That's good, that's good... Your Majesty, please follow me. Where I'm taking you is precisely Fisher's former room."
Tlander took the lead and stepped into the rental house. Elizabeth didn't move. Instead, the knight who had been holding the sword behind her earlier stepped in first to check. Only then did Elizabeth follow suit, heading upstairs with a maid.
Tlander unlocked the room first but didn't enter. The knight was just about to go in and search but was stopped by Elizabeth. Her golden eyes scanned Tlander up and down before she finally walked into the room Fisher had previously lived in on her own.
The furnishings here hadn't changed in the slightest, preserved exactly the way they were when Fisher lived here by the meticulous Ms. Martha. The simple interior decoration was just like Fisher's personality; he had never spent excessively on his lifestyle. The most valuable things in the entire room were probably the unused Magic Material placed by the windowsill and the books on the bookshelf.
Blankly, Elizabeth swept her gaze over every inch and millimeter of this tiny room until it landed at the end of the room, on a desk placed by the window that he usually used for work and research. She could even envision how he used to write here.
If it were summer, the window before her would definitely be wide open. He liked to get some fresh air while researching, especially listening to the bustling traffic and people conversing outside. Of course, when it rained was the best. He also very much liked the freshness after the rain, liked listening to the melody of raindrops striking the bricks. If it were winter, he would close the window, occasionally writing some words on the white fog formed by the water vapor condensing on the window from the cold, looking clearly through that spot at the snow-white expanse and the myriad of lit windows outside...
Because these were all his habits that Elizabeth firmly remembered when she was still by his side. When he was agonizing over his thoughts and research, he would use Cigarettes, but this habit didn't happen when his side. Because every time she saw his actions, she would cough lightly, and he would tactfully stop, merely pinching her palm instead as a substitute.
It seemed she remembered everything, as if the days before that separation were just yesterday, never having drifted far away.
"Your Majesty, please carefully inspect the position behind that desk. Pull the desk out a little, ha..."
Tlander's voice transmitted from outside the door again. Other than Elizabeth, no one else had entered.
Hearing this, Elizabeth arrived beside the desk, rejecting the knight behind her who intended to help. The golden color in her eyes flickered slightly, and then she pulled that heavy desk where Fisher worked backwards a distance with one hand.
Subsequently, as instructed by Tlander, she looked inward along the narrow space separated by the desk and the wall, but saw absolutely nothing.
Just when Elizabeth thought Tlander was playing a trick on her, she suddenly felt an extremely faint magical fluctuation within it...
Her brows furrowed, and she reached out her hand to confirm it time and time again. Only then was she truly certain that there really was a Spatial magic of a very, very low Ring level hidden behind the desk.
After studying it for a while, she finally determined that it seemed to be a nested Spatial magic.
The outer layer was a Spatial magic with a Ring level of one, emitting magical fluctuations that were almost negligible. And within the Spatial magic lay the profound magic. The Ring level of that magic was very high, but because it was concealed within the outer layer of Spatial magic, its magical fluctuations were hidden.
Just from this extremely ingenious design alone, one could easily glimpse into Fisher's astonishing magical talent. And this little trick he designed had clearly easily deceived the personnel Elizabeth sent here to search. Even though she had dispatched a Magician over to eliminate any magical hidden compartments that might be concealed within the room at the time, the result was that they only found a bizarre mask Relic and a map of the Kadu Witch's tower here.
So then, what exactly lay within this magic that Fisher had hidden so deeply?
Elizabeth reached out her hand and came into contact with the outer layer of magic. The high-ring magic hidden within transmitted its fluctuations. Inside was yet another high-ring Spatial magic, engraved onto a fountain pen concealed within the previous Spatial magic.
Clutching that fountain pen, Elizabeth backed out and sat on the bed beside her. Taking a deep breath, she slowly activated the magic upon that fountain pen...
"Buzz, buzz, buzz~"
To Elizabeth's surprise, after the Spatial magic upon that fountain pen was activated, there weren't any extremely precious treasures or Relics hidden within. What tumbled out and appeared from within were two stacks of neatly organized envelopes.
The moment Elizabeth saw those envelopes, her pupils subconsciously shrank slightly, as if she had seen something extremely shocking.
There were two stacks of envelopes before her eyes. The one on the left was entirely housed in golden letter paper, with the traces of vermilion, already broken wax seals on the surface. Clearly, such an expensive method of correspondense wasn't Fisher's style. Those were the letters she had once sent to him.
With slightly trembling fingers, Elizabeth picked up that thick stack of envelopes. The last letter wishing him a happy birthday remained as eye-catching as ever. Going further down in order,
"Happy Birthday", "A Peaceful Spring", "A Peaceful Winter", "A Peaceful Autumn", "Happy Godlin Festival"...
"Wishing you a happy birthday", "I have safely returned to Naris", "All is well", "Party invitation", "Tea party invitation"...
"Happy birthday, Fisher", "I've been assigned duties by Royal Father and will be leaving Naris in a few days. I want to see you one last time, to give me one final chance to explain, okay?"...
"Fisher, don't ignore me", "I will be waiting for you in the academy library, you must come", "Listen to my explanation, okay, Fisher? I beg you"...
"Happy birthday, Fisher!", "I heard there's a machinery exhibition over the weekend, how about we go together?", "I bought two dresses. One is floral, and the other is pure white. Which one do you think is better?", "Congratulations, Champion of the Griffin Race! The promise I gave you still counts~", "Formal invitation for an eighteenth birthday"...
"Hello, I am Elizabeth Godlin from the Military Institute. I have some academic matters I wish to discuss with you. Please reply upon receipt", "Regarding borrowing the internal card for the library, I have privileges given solely by the principal here. If you don't mind, please feel free to use it as you please", "I heard you are interested in magic. It just so happens I have a tea party with Helson, the Dean of Magic, this weekend. If you don't mind, you can come drink tea", "Sorry, I only just found out last week was your birthday. I hope you won't mind my belated blessings".
Elizabeth blankly stared at those perfectly preserved golden envelopes. From their very first acquaintance until the present, every single letter she had sent to Fisher was here, stored by him within the hidden magic of his room, undiscoverable by anyone else. And it was precisely the contents of these letters that served as proof to everything about their past romance.
In addition to this stack of golden envelopes, there was another stack of comparatively very simple white envelopes. Elizabeth's eye sockets slowly turned pink. She picked up those letters somewhat Unable to Wait, because she recognized at a glance that those white letters were the ones Fisher used.
But the letters he sent to her were all stored in the Golden Palace. What exactly were these letters here...
"To Her Highness the Crown Princess, it is very unexpected to receive your letter. I am already aware of the academic questions you described. I did not focus on your original question, therefore..."
A word was misspelled at the back. It seemed Fisher only realized it when reviewing it later, thus invalidating all the subsequent content.
This was his reply to the very first letter she wrote wanting to get to know him, using academic questions as a front. As a result, Fisher actually went and looked up information at the Military Institute and gave a serious reply.
Back then, when Elizabeth received the reply, it was an incredibly perfect letter with rigorous phrasing, one from which people couldn't pick out any flaws. Yet here, Elizabeth saw several "discarded letters".
"To Elizabeth, I have received the privilege card you sent me. Thank you very much for your generosity. I also hope to see you in the library this weekend..."
There were no typos this time, but perhaps that big boy back then thought "hope to see Elizabeth in the library" was a bit too straightforward and embarrassing, so this letter was invalidated as well...
Mm, the letter she received back then definitely didn't contain this sentence. So it turned out he actually wanted to see her back then... How truly regrettable. If he had written that back then, they would have gotten together several months sooner, right?
"To my dearest Elizabeth. I believe the white dress looks better. From an aesthetic standpoint, the floral dress is more brightly colored. However, you are already beautiful enough yourself and no longer require clothing complementing you to make you stand out. The simple white serving as the color of your clothing couldn't be more suitable. From a historical perspective, Kadu venerates the ascetic black..."
This one was written far too seriously again. Let alone the fact they had already confirmed their romantic relationship, wouldn't being rigorous like this be Insensitive To Romance? The Fisher of that time clearly realized this problem as well, so he invalidated this letter too. Anyway, by the time Elizabeth got to receive it later, his answer had become just right once more. He said,
"I'm sorry, because your beauty makes me feel that no matter what clothes you wear, it's perfect. If I really must compare which one is better, please wear them to school next week and let me see for myself."
Clutching the letter paper that Fisher had amended time and time again before finally finalizing and sending out, Elizabeth suddenly felt a sourness in her nose and couldn't bear but lower her head.
The knight outside the door uncomfortably retreated downstairs, leaving only that maid quietly guarding the doorway. Tlander outside didn't know exactly what was happening inside, only faintly hearing the sound of choking sobs.
There were not many subsequent letters, because after her eighteenth birthday, they separated. Fisher no longer amended his letters time and time again like he used to, taking it so seriously that he only sent it after confirming perfection.
Yet even so, there were still a few discarded letters like these. Furthermore, they weren't from a long time ago, but from just half a year ago.
"To Elizabeth, I have received your birthday wishes, thank you for your letter. I'm very sorry that I no longer address you as 'Your Highness'. I don't know whether this brings you joy or displeasure, but regardless, it has been a very long time since I addressed your name in this manner. Even merely writing it upon paper right now brings a sense of reuniting after a long separation."
"Since we parted, I have gone to Chevalie, to Kadu, and recently to the Southern Continent. Experiencing many things, I can more or less be considered to have grown and changed a little, gaining a few new perspectives on certain matters as well. In particular, regarding my departure in the past, only now do I suddenly feel that my departure back then was so childish and immature. If only I could have..."
Written to this point, there was another large, large swathe of crossing out.
Even though he was twenty-eight, even though he had already been separated for a very long time, it seemed he was still hesitating just like her...
This exceedingly, exceedingly recent letter was ultimately not sent out either. The letters delivered to Elizabeth's desk remained just as polite and lifeless as they had been after their separation...
It was just that, at the very end of this letter that ultimately wasn't sent out either, where large, large swathes of content were smeared over out of hesitation, the ending right there was the only part Fisher didn't smear over. It merely read,
"Regardless, anyway, let's meet up and see each other again."
The paper was crumpled bit by bit. Looking at that handwriting, only now did Elizabeth know that half a year ago, before she initiated that Heaven-shattering conspiracy, they were once so close for a fleeting moment, possessing such beautiful possibilities...
But... now...
"Tlander... who is it... Who told you the location of these letters..."
"Uh..."
Seeing Elizabeth directing questions to the outside, the maid at the doorway finally made way, allowing Tlander outside the door to step out sheepishly.
"It's Fisher."
Elizabeth blankly turned her head, murmuring somewhat Unbelievable,
"What... what did you say?"
"I-I'm really not joking! He's the one who sent the message! This guy hid his letters with you so deeply; besides him, who the hell knows there was a record of his romance with you here... No... I mean, Your Majesty, um, it was Fisher who asked me to come."
"He's still alive! Where is he? Why... why didn't he come to see me? That night, after he clashed with the Witch Research Society..."
"I don't know. He didn't say, and I don't know what happened to him before..."
In the room, Elizabeth's golden eyes stared at the Tlander holding his hands up in surrender outside the door. Only after confirming he wasn't lying did she sit back down on the bed, remaining blank for a long time without uttering a single word.
"But, Your Majesty... There's a reason he asked me to bring you to see these letters. He seems to have some difficulties he needs to resolve right now, difficulties you cannot help with."
"He merely said that he hasn't forgotten his promise with Your Majesty, and that he will return to Naris one day..."
Elizabeth slowly raised her head. Amidst the terror and unease that had lasted for a very long time, difficult to dissipate all day long, through Tlander's mouth, she seemingly finally awaited the response from the person she had yearned for day and night.
Fisher, exactly like the final sentence written upon that unsent letter, truly and genuinely said to her,
"Regardless, anyway, let's meet up and see each other again."