Elizabeth watched everyone who was eating with a smile on her face. She finally felt that she had done something useful for her people.
"Please listen to me," Elizabeth said suddenly, attracting everyone's attention.
People looked at her with curious expressions.
"I will introduce myself again. I am Elizabeth Silverlake, daughter of Duke Xavier Silverlake." She said in a brief pause.
"I know the situation in Kiron City is dire. When I arrived in this city, I thought I couldn't make it prosperous, but I remembered that I was not alone. Even if I fail, I promise to strive to improve this city. A Lord is nothing without its people, so I ask for a vote of confidence from all of you."
Those words came from the bottom of her heart. When she was a child, she felt something was missing in her life. She didn't know exactly what it was, but she needed to find something or someone. She'd lived a long time with this emptiness in her heart, and even if she tried to forget it, she couldn't. Maybe it was just in her head, but...
'That emptiness disappeared when I met you.' She thought of Aizen.
"Elizabeth-Sama, we trust you!"
"Elizabeth-Sama, you are our last hope!"
The situation of the population was so bad that they tried to hold on to the only ray of hope that emerged. They didn't want to live in this endless suffering, and Elizabeth was the only hope for them at the moment.
Elizabeth watched everyone with a smile on her face.
"I will not let them down."
-
'She is trying to win the support of people…' The girl thought as she watched Elizabeth.
The old Lords didn't bother to win the support of the people, but Elizabeth even threw a big feast in celebration.
"Nee-san, isn't it better that we run away?" Tael asked. He was afraid Elizabeth would do something to them.
"We can't. She's much stronger than we are." She replied with a thoughtful expression.
"So what are we going to do? What if she puts us in prison?"
"No worries, I'll try to negotiate with her." The girl said with an expression of conviction.
-
The feast was over, and Elizabeth returned to her room. When she entered the room, she saw the two children she had saved sitting on her bed. They were scared, thinking of a way out of this situation.
"You don't have to be scared. I won't hurt you. I called you two here to extend an invitation." Elizabeth explained.
"Invitation?" 2x
"Yeah, but how about you guys introduce yourselves?"
"...Well, I'm Tael. I'm 12 years old, and my dream is to become a great warrior to protect my family and the people I love." Tael replied with a determined expression.
Tael is a handsome boy with light brown eyes and hair. He had a very toned body due to constant training. Elizabeth could also see several scars on his body.
"Oh… You're a talented child. I'm sure you'll make a great warrior." Elizabeth said with a smile.
'So many scars… they must have been through difficult situations.'
"Thank you, big sister!" Tael thanked her with bright eyes.
"Tael…" The girl looked at her brother with a strange expression. She already expected Elizabeth to be able to capture her brother easily, but she wouldn't let that happen.
"And you? What's your name?" Elizabeth asked the girl.
"Izumi, 13 years old," Izumi responded quickly.
Izumi is a beautiful girl with brown hair and eyes. Her features are similar to Tael's, but she has few scars on her body.
"I see…"
Elizabeth realized that Izumi was a very dense and contained girl. Her suspicious looks toward Elizabeth.
"Well, you can sleep here today. I've prepared a room for you." Elizabeth wanted to talk to them about something else, but she decided to put it off until tomorrow.
Izumi and Tael were a little hesitant but accepted the invitation.
-
*Snoring!*
Izumi looked at her brother was sleeping without the slightest worry in the world.
*Sigh!*
"I should check this place out." She got out of bed, opened the door, and left the room.
The hallway was dark, poorly lit, but she wasn't afraid. She walked towards Elizabeth's room with slow steps, trying to soften the sound of her footsteps.
When she arrived at Elizabeth's room, she saw a small opening in the door. She put her eyes between the opening and saw that Elizabeth wasn't in the room.
'Where did she go?'
Izumi continued walking down the hall until she heard some muttering. She walked towards the sound and saw Elizabeth in another room.
She looked at Elizabeth was rolling around on the bed like a little girl in love. She was muttering someone's name, but Izumi couldn't hear.
Izumi felt that she saw something she shouldn't and decided to leave, but when she turned her back, Elizabeth was already ahead of her.
"What are you doing here?" Elizabeth's expression was stern, making Izumi swallow hard.
'How can I forget to close the door?!'
Despite the stern expression, she was embarrassed.
This was Aizen's room, but Elizabeth came here every night because she missed him. She knew he was busy with his business and would soon be back, but it was still difficult for her.
"E-Elizabeth-Sama, I wasn't sleepy s-so I decided to walk. S-Sorry if I bothered you." Izumi said hastily.
*Sigh!*
"Go to your bedroom." Elizabeth sighed and decided to calm down.
"O-Okay." Izumi ran away.
…
'This girl…'
-
"Nee-san, I've never slept so well in my life!" Tael woke up with a satisfied expression.
"Don't be so happy. We don't know why that woman protected us." Izumi said, remembering yesterday's events.
A maid entered the room and invited Izumi and Tael to lunch.
"We will!" Tael ran with a joyful expression.
-
After Tael and Izumi had lunch, they went to talk to Elizabeth. They had to admit that the food was delicious.
"So why did you save us?" Izumi asked as she looked at Elizabeth with sharp eyes.
"To keep the celebration from being ruined. Also, Tael-"
"You want to recruit him, right?" Izumi interrupted Elizabeth.
"Yes, you two have potential," Elizabeth replied, surprised to see that Izumi had discovered her intention. Even using the word "you two", she was interested in Tael.
Izumi's talent for magic was below average, but Tael was different. However, he wouldn't agree to abandon his sister, and Elizabeth wouldn't kick her out either. So she decided to recruit both of them.
"...You don't have to lie to me. I know I have no talent for magic..." Izumi muttered with her head down.
"Nee-san…" Tael looked at her with a worried expression. "Nee-san, no worries. I will always protect you."
Tael's words made Izumi a bit happy, but she never wanted to depend on her brother forever.
"Magic isn't everything in this world. You can live here as long as you need to." Elizabeth tried to comfort her.
"Tael, I want to train you to be the person who will protect this city in the future, do you accept?"
Tael's eyes widened as he heard Elizabeth's words. He never imagined that a Duke's daughter would recruit him for such an important post.
He clenched his fists with a conflicted expression. That had always been his dream, to be a great warrior who could protect his family. Now he had that opportunity in his hands.
"Elizabeth-Sama, I swear I will protect this city with everything I have. However, I have one condition." Tael said with a determined expression.
"Say."
"I want you to help us find our family."
"Tael!!" Izumi was furious to hear her brother's words. Elizabeth could see the hatred in her eyes as she listened to Tael's words.
"Can I Know the reason?"
"I need to get stronger to prove they made the wrong choice. I'm in your care, Elizabeth-Sensei." Tael knew his words would make his sister angry, but he wouldn't change the condition.
*Sigh!*
"All right." Elizabeth agreed.
Even though Izumi was angry, she couldn't do anything about it, so she left the room.
"Nee-san!" Tael tried to stop her, but Elizabeth stopped him.
"Leave her. She needs to do some thinking for herself." Elizabeth said.
Tael was hesitant but nodded.
'Nee-san, I'm doing this for us.'