The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 104

104. Elisha Dallas’s Fury

‘It seems the Lillies Duchy has been taking care of her.’

It seemed that, at least outwardly, she had entered the Lillies Duchy as a maid.

‘But why would the Lillies Duchy take in Elisha?’

It was impossible to know.

Elisha, without Marquis Dallas, was of no help to Duke Lillies.

It would have been good if Elisha had inherited the talent of Marquis Dallas, but unfortunately, she had no talent for magic.

Rather, Alex, who was walking the path of a knight, could use even simple magic.

Moreover, the losses outweighed the gains for Duke Lillies when he took in Elisha.

I don’t know why the fact that Elisha was at the Duke Lillies’ residence was not known, but if it were known, things would become quite complicated.

First of all, Duke Adrian would naturally be furious.

The nobles who followed him would also express their displeasure, and those who were angry at Marquis Dallas for kidnapping the children would not remain silent.

What could be the reason for taking in Elisha even while taking that risk?

After much deliberation, Rosette came to the conclusion that Duke Lillies’ intentions might be simpler than she thought.

‘He’s trying to keep Father in check.’

Duke Lillies’s purpose was to provoke Duke Adrian by using Elisha.

Perhaps he had been hiding Elisha in the mansion all along.

Then, perhaps today, he found out that Rosette was coming to the Empress Palace and brought her along. To provoke Rosette.

‘If I get angry here, I’ll be playing into the Lillies Duchess’s scheme.’

Rosette tried her best not to be shaken and answered the Lillies Duchess’s words in place of Elisha, who was silent.

“That’s right. I have met the Dallas Marchioness……, should I just say Elisha now? Anyway, I’ve met her a few times at tea parties.”

“Oh, my.”
The Lillies Duchess smiled brightly.

“Then you must be close.”

Rosette drew a line.

“I didn’t have any special friendship with her. I only saw her a few times when I was young, and I haven’t seen her since then.”

“Still, why don’t you say hello, Elisha.”

At the Duchess’s urging, Elisha reluctantly bent her knees and greeted her.

“It’s been a while, Duchess Adrian.”

“Yes, it has.”

Rosette didn’t want to talk to Elisha. It wasn’t Elisha’s fault, but either way, her father, Marquis Dallas, had done something to Rosette.

‘Besides, considering what Elisha did to me before I turned back time, I don’t really want to sympathize with her.’

So, before Elisha could say anything, she quickly said.

“I’m sorry, Duchess Lillies. It’s almost time for the poetry reading. I think I should go now.”

The Lillies Duchess smiled with a face that didn’t waver at all.

“Oh, dear, I took up more time than I thought. Go ahead.”

She maintained her high-handed attitude until the end. She acted as if Rosette could only come and go with her permission.

Ines, who had been watching the situation silently, had a slightly hardened expression. On the other hand, Rosette maintained a calm face and smiled.

“Yes, I think Duchess Lillies can go now, too.”

The Lillies Duchess’s smiling face hardened slightly. But that was only for a moment, and soon she replied as if nothing was wrong.

“You’re an interesting child. Come visit our Lillies residence sometime later. You can have a lot of conversations with Elisha that you couldn’t have today.”

“Anytime. Then we’ll be on our way.”

Rosette bowed once again and headed to the Empress Palace, arm in arm with Ines.

After they had moved some distance away, Ines became furious.

“Elisha, is that Elisha Dallas? Marquis Dallas, no, he’s not a marquis anymore. Anyway, that man’s daughter.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Unlike her excited self, Rosette answered indifferently.

“How can they have that child with them? His Majesty the Emperor has personally stripped him of his noble status! This is an insult to the Imperial Family and a declaration of war against Adrian.”

“Because it’s Lillies.”

Rosette shrugged, and only then did Ines mutter as if she understood.

“That’s right. Because it’s Lillies.”

“More than that, let’s hurry. We can’t keep the Empress waiting.”

Rosette patted Ines’s hand and increased her pace. Trying hard to forget Elisha Dallas’s face.

* * *

Elisha Dallas gritted her teeth as she watched Rosette’s receding figure.

‘Why are you still living happily?’

Rosette, whom she had seen again after seven years, was like a completely different person. Anyone could tell that she had the air of a high-ranking noble, and she even exuded a dignity that she didn’t have when she was young.

It was completely different from Elisha, who had fallen to the status of a commoner overnight.

Elisha recalled what happened seven years ago.

That day, she grumbled at Marquis Dallas’s words that she should not meet anyone and stay in the mansion, but she was still lazing around in her room.

Then, suddenly, the Imperial Knights stormed into the mansion and began searching the rooms, including Marquis Dallas’s office, as if they were combing through them.

-Even if you are the Imperial Knights, you can’t do this! Until my master comes…….

One of the knights held out the Emperor’s edict to the head butler, who was urgently questioning him, and said.

-Marquis Dallas has now been imprisoned on charges of kidnapping Duchess Adrian and children and conducting illegal experiments. His Majesty the Emperor has ordered us to collect evidence immediately. He said that anyone who resists can be executed immediately.

Elisha, who had secretly come out of her room and was listening to it, lost strength in her legs and collapsed.

Imprisonment, the Emperor’s order.

Even she, who did not know the situation of adults well, could tell that the situation was going strangely.

In that way, the Knights investigated the entire mansion like a hornet’s nest and left.

-It’s okay, Ellie. I’ll go to the Lillies Duke’s residence. Duke Lillies will solve this. My father will be back safe and sound, too.

Her brother, Alex Dallas, reassured her. He wasn’t a very trustworthy brother usually, but Elisha believed him.

She thought that her father would return as he said, and everything would be resolved.

But the next day, Marquis Dallas was found murdered in prison. Starting with that, all situations spiraled to the worst.

The Emperor took away the Marquis title from the Dallas family. Alex and Elisha became commoners in an instant.

At least Alex was able to maintain the status of a quasi-noble by receiving a knighthood, but he could not confidently show his face in society.

Elisha, who had become a complete commoner, could not even set foot in society.

The label of being the child of a child abuser followed the two of them.

At that time, a person who was said to be Duke Lillies’s aide came to Elisha.

-My lord has ordered me to bring you.

Elisha was happy. She thought that since Duke Lillies was taking her, she would be able to live like before in the Duke’s residence.

But that was a misjudgment. She just didn’t work, but Elisha’s treatment was no different from that of a maid.

They gave her a solitary room that a head maid would use, but in Elisha’s eyes, who had lived as a noble, it was just small and dirty.

Instead of the finest silk, the clothes were made of a slightly better fabric than the maids wore. Of course, the texture was rougher and not as good as what she used to wear.

The same was true for meals and other things.

The Lillies Duchess, who came to see her, always emphasized.

-It’s all thanks to the Lillies family that you’re alive. If we weren’t here, would you have been able to keep your life in that gutter?

-I asked my father to bring you here. So I saved you. Be grateful to me.

-If you grow up obediently, I’ll use you as my maid later. If you become my person, I’ll take good care of you.

The Duchess spoke as if she was about to brainwash Elisha. Not only that, but she secretly brought Elisha food that only nobles would eat.

To eleven-year-old Elisha, the Lillies Duchess was the only savior. So she came to blindly follow the Duchess.

And a few weeks ago, the Lillies Duchess came to Elisha.

-You’re an adult now.

-Yes, Duchess.

-Then I can use you as my maid now. From now on, dress well every morning and come to my room.

From that day on, Elisha’s treatment at the Lillies mansion changed little by little. The employees who had treated her like an unwanted child treated her carefully, and the clothes used a better quality fabric than what she used to wear.

Elisha decided to be loyal to the Lillies Duchess, who had changed everything about her.

But a few days ago, the Duchess whispered.

-Don’t you hate the people who made you like this?

-The person who made me like this?

-Yes. I’m talking about the Adrian family.

She smiled with her fascinating red lips.

-If it weren’t for those people in the first place, you wouldn’t have ended up like this. Isn’t that right?

-If it weren’t for Adrian…….

-If Adrian hadn’t brought that commoner Duchess, your father wouldn’t have kidnapped that child and caused trouble. Isn’t that right?

After thinking about it, Elisha recalled Rosette Adrian, whom she had seen a long time ago, and gritted her teeth.

-That’s right. I think so. Duchess Adrian, if it weren’t for her…….

-But I heard that Duchess Adrian is coming back soon?

The moment she heard those words, sparks flew before her eyes.

-She’s coming back?

-Yes.

The Lillies Duchess carefully stroked Elisha’s cheek and whispered like a devil.

-Don’t you want to show that child the hell you’ve tasted?

-I want to show her.

-Then listen to me. As always.

Elisha was recalling the conversation at that time, looking in the direction where Rosette had disappeared, when the Lillies Duchess whispered.

“Aren’t you angry?”

“…….”

“That child who made you like this is being revered as a Duchess, aren’t you jealous?”

Elisha clenched her fist tightly at the words of the Lillies Duchess, who spoke as if she knew all of Elisha’s feelings.

“……I’m jealous.”

“Then follow my words.”

“Yes, Duchess.”

“Let’s go for now. I’ll tell you what you need to do later.”

The Lillies Duchess smiled as she looked at Elisha’s stiff face.

‘You stupid thing.’

Louis insisted that he had to make Rosette Adrian his own.

His ultimate plan was to seduce Rosette, marry her, and then have Adrian support him.

The Lillies Duchess also secretly supported his plan. Until she actually saw Rosette Adrian a little while ago.

‘That child can never be Louis’s partner.’

Rosette Adrian was the perfect Adrian. She tried to pretend to be calm, but she was wary of her just by looking at her.

There was no way she would become Louis’s partner, and even if she did, it would be a problem.

In that case, it was better to trample on other possibilities from the beginning.

‘Joshua, I can’t let him go to that guy. In that case, it’s better to cut off the bud in advance.’