The two fearsome grandpas were shocked to the point that they were speechless.
"B-blood red hair!!"
"C-crystal blue eyes!"
"Heavens it is you! Your Highness, Third Prince!"
No longer did the scary interrogating grandpas were seen, but shocked and astonished elders. They were stuttering as they struggled to give proper greetings to the royalty in front of them. It was too much of a shock for them.
"Please be at ease, I come here for Lady Elise..." Leon, the third prince, politely responded to their greetings.
"This.. your highness is too much for us to take in…" Grandpa Ben absentmindedly uttered.
"Indeed, the fact that you were a legendary class S mage was never known to people, even for personalities at our level…"
"And the fact that you were expecting an offspring with our young Eli.. Your highness.. This is a huge matter!" Grandpa Andi said with worries.
"I completely know the weight of this matter… However, I also have witnessed and understood your roles in Elise's life right now…" Leon paused for awhile and looked at the two grandpas with sincerity and gratitude
"Grand Master Andvari, your bravery in protecting Elise's identity knowing that you would be targeted by unknown forces as the only clue to track Elise's identity. You even went to the lengths of creating ghost buyers, so as to not leave any clues for the transactions connected to her.."
"Grand Master Reuben, the headmaster of the Farauld Magic Institute who couldn't be forced to move even by my father Emperor, took the initiative to use the highest level of Veiling Spell to ensure that no other force under class S could unravel her identity.."
"Your efforts as well as Elise's trust in you as her father figures, I find that you deserve to completely know who I really am. This is to show my gratitude towards you, as well as to prove my utmost sincerity."
He gave another respectful bow.
Overwhelmed by the acknowledgement of the royal in front of them, the two grandpas stayed silent. Now they knew why the man had been hasty in revealing himself. Most probably he had already stayed here for a few days, investigating any lead towards Eli's identity.
His encounter with Eli today was both a strike of luck and a display of strength. For just as Leon had said, they went to such lengths to cover Eli's tracks and protect her. They had made sure that she was not that easy to find.
The revelation and facts had started sinking in to everyone in the room.
A long silence ensued. Everyone focused their attention on Eli who was just sitting there blankly. No one could decipher what she really thought at that moment. Her lack of reaction made the people around her anxious, even for Leon.
He was a man that was always ready for battle. Every war and incident he took, there was no lack of taunts and vulgar insults thrown at him. It never really affected him that much. This was the first time he realized that he was anxious about another person's thoughts of him.
What does she think of him right now?
It was a tough moment for Eli. The revelations were too many for her to take in.
First, the silver haired man and the blood red haired man who rescued Elise and gave her very own name, were one and the same person. Next was that, this same man was a royal, a prince! His identity became much more complicated.
This made Eli worried about the possible connection with Elise's killer. If this man had such a high background, wouldn't it just mean that someone might have known about this affair and decided to eliminate her first? Wouldn't his identity solidify Eli's conjecture that Elise was targeted because of some 'affairs' related to him?
Third, were the things that Grandpa Andi and Grandpa Ben did to protect her.
She never knew that she was exposed to such a level of danger that the two legendary masters were forced to move. Didn't that mean that someone was almost hurt and might be possibly hurt in the future just because they chose to protect her?! Didn't that also mean that she would be forced to hide her appearance for the rest of her life to make herself and those around her safe?
Lastly, this royal prince, out of nowhere, appeared on a normal day of her life, and dropped a bomb of a marriage proposal to her?! What in the world was this? How was she supposed to feel about this?
She was not sure how to feel about the truth regarding the third prince. For whatever happened between him and Elise, she was a complete outsider. She felt that she was conceited if she would react on behalf of Elise or not.
pαndα`noνɐ1--сoМ Should she be angry on her behalf? But if she did, would it really be how Elise would like her to react? Should she just accept it? How sure was she that Elise would also decide the same thing?
As she thought of this, her outwardly expression became more apparent. Everybody in the room saw her conflicting expression. It was like she was so confused about the details that she had just taken and she didn't know how to deal with it. Like a child presented with a complicated toy puzzle, totally clueless on what to do with it.
They all felt pity for her, especially Grandpa Andi, who was the closest to her. He knew how determined Eli was in her future single mother life. But now all these things must be confronted. She had to take everything into consideration. As much as Grandpa Andi wanted to help, it was all up for Eli to decide.
Eli looked around the people in the room, her eyes begging for an answer. What she saw was faces looking back at her one with a face of worry, one with a face of pity, one with a face of anticipation and nervousness. No answers could be seen. No answers could be given to her.
"I can't take this all.. I am more confused than ever.." was the only words she managed to utter, with her trembling voice, so close to breaking down.
She started to realize that she was a mess.
She was but a child unprepared in dealing things such as this. She had clenched a fair amount of victories and losses whether in music, studies or work. She suffered many hardships during her previous life. She had struggled for money, she suffered the pain of losing a loved one, she had once experienced the cruelty of a sudden death.
She thought that she was already strong enough to withstand the endeavors she might be facing during her new life as a mother. She thought that as a person who had gone through a lifetime full of adversities and pain, she would no longer suffer the feeling of disappointment in herself. She taught that after going through the experience of death, no problem could ever make her feel fear and insecurity.
But she was naive!
She was naive to think that those she had experienced from the past - were all the things life has to offer.
She was naive to think that she had already seen enough of life, that she already possessed the wisdom to deal with these complexities in front of her. She was naive to think that she could live a carefree life free of dangers, controversies and complications, that the only problem she would deal with was the problem of raising Little Han.
She was too naive...
'Oh Great Father, I don't know what to do!'
Out of options she uttered a soft prayer in her heart. No one, except The Great One knew what really happened in the heavenly realm, what Elise felt and what she, Eli was feeling right now. She could only turn to him for an answer.
Her shoulders started to tremble, as she hung her head low dejectedly. Droplets of warm tears fell on top of her clenched fist that was resting on her lap.
"What should I do, O Great Father? How to deal with all this?" she was so dejected that her mouth had voiced out the deepest concern of her heart.
Seeing that she had already broken down, everyone was in panic.
Baobao and Wisey alarmingly went into her side. Baobao gently knelt beside her. He gave a low unthreatening growl, the gentlest he could give. His fluffy paws kept patting Eli, his eyes round and tearful, like a puppy dog, pleading for Eli not to cry.
Wisey sat silently on her lap, with her wings trying to wipe out Eli's tears. She was mentally saying comfort words to Eli, 'It's all right, everything will be fine, everything will fall into its place..'
"Aiyoo young Eli.." The two grandpas were heartbroken upon seeing her cry too. They stayed at Eli's side, one patting her head, the other one rubbing her downcast back. "Susssh, we are here, we'll all find the right answers"
Leon was at a loss. Seeing Elise in front of him cry, he suddenly felt guilt in his heart. He wanted to comfort and calm her down. However, his body stayed frozen as he didn't know how to deal with that feeling. He knew that as a gentleman, he had to comfort the lady in distress who was already in front of him. But because of guilt and his lack of experience, his body and brain didn't know exactly what to do.
Everyone knew that her breakdown was not only caused by the third prince's sudden proposal. But everything that was revealed ever since they entered the room, including its respective implications to Eli and Little Han's life. To them, she was just a young woman, trying to be responsible for her own mistakes and choices. She wasn't that mature enough to deal with it all.
"I'm sorry I don't have any answer to all of this..." she started to wail and say her feelings aloud to everyone in the room.
She raised her head and looked at the two grandpas, "Boohoo, I'm sorry Grandpa Andi, Grandpa Ben, I caused you great danger and trouble...Waaaah.."
Her heart wrenching childlike cries filled the study. She also looked towards Leon, tears rolling continuously in her eyes, her head shaking as if saying no to him,
"I'm sorry because I'm scared..."
"I'm sorry because I caused you this mess..."
"I'm sorry because I am too weak to accept your request..."
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