Chapter 62 - This Is Who I Am (2) (1/2)

RotFK Ch. 62 This Is Who I Am (2)

Elena could not understand why he was upset. Carlisle’s voice rose as he spoke.

“Didn’t you promise you would stay by my side as much as possible?”

“Yes. With the condition ‘if possible.’”

“If you wanted to keep your promise, you should have come to me the moment you sensed danger.”

“I couldn’t do that. The bridge was going to collapse when all the explosives were fitted. Then the people on the bridge and Your Highness would’ve–!”

Carlisle cut her off.

“What if you got hurt?”

Elena stiffened. He was right that the situation was dangerous. But Elena was confident she could stop them. She had frequently risked her life in the past, and this life would be no different, from the moment she promised to protect him. But all Carlisle pointed out were the dangers.

“You’re smart enough to threaten me by asking me to give up on my contract marriage.”

“…?”

“If you got hurt, you don’t understand how angry I would be.”

Elena paused. She hadn’t thought that far, but to be fair, she hadn’t much time to think about it when she was busy saving Carlisle.

“…I understand what you’re saying. But if I didn’t stop them, your life might have been in danger. Shouldn’t gratitude come first in a situation like this?”

“There’s a chance I may die, but just because a bridge collapses it doesn’t mean it’s a guarantee.”

Something bitter surged in her chest. She never imagined he would be so upset that he wouldn’t even offer a simple word of gratitude. She would never make such a remark against someone who saved her life, no matter how worried she was.

“Yes, even if you survived, the countless people on the bridge–”

“You should think of me before you care about the countless people on the bridge.”

“…?”

“I told you, if you get hurt, I could lose my mind…”

His gaze turned heavy and burned bright as daylight in the darkness. His intense stare was fixed exactly on Elena.

“Have you thought about what I would do with them if you were injured? I could rip off their limbs so they looked dead, but were still alive.”

Elena was momentarily speechless.

He was serious. His calm voice uttered cruel words without hesitation.

“Then if you die…what do you think I’ll do then?”

If injury alone could drive him to this terrible state, and she couldn’t imagine what he would do beyond that. Carlisle continued in a lower voice.

“…The Ruford Empire may have to prevent me from becoming emperor.”

Why? What on earth was he going to do?

Elena could not keep up with how Carlisle so easily brought up these gruesome stories. She knew he worried about her, but this was beyond rational. It may have been Elena’s fault that she went away from his side without a proper explanation, but the contract had already allowed her to act as knight. Now Elena’s mission was to change her terrible future. The life of the family was on her shoulders. No matter how much Carlisle hated it, she would defend him and make him emperor.

Elena replied in a calm voice.

“Caril…I want to be empress, and that is why I entered a contract marriage with you. But that doesn’t mean I’m a doll waiting for you inside a glittering palace.”

She called his by his pet name to soothe the atmosphere and convince him to allow her to keep her contract term as much as possible. Whether her heart was conveyed or not, Carlisle’s fiery eyes seemed to softened a little.

“There are some things I understand about Caril, and some things I don’t.”

But the point was…

“…This is who I am.”

Elena was not just a pretty noblewoman in a beautiful dress. She was also a knight clad in armor who wielded a sword.

“I will wear this armor, whether you want me to or not.”

Suddenly, there was a loud popping sound coming from the direction of the festival. Perhaps the end of the festival was approaching.

A breeze stirred and scattered red petals in the air, which began to dance like snowflakes around Elena as she stood in her black armor. The petals were the same color as her vivid crimson eyes shining from beneath her helmet. The hard armor and red petals were a contradiction yet harmonious at the same time.

A beautiful lady by day, and a cold swordswoman by night.

“…Don’t try to change me.”