“Highest Authority”

Eleanora looked up and found Alexander’s shadow fall on her, protecting her from everything.

‘Father...’

Alexander moved his hands to cover Eleanora eyes as he created a sheild to protect her at the same time.

With one swift movement of his sword, the remaining five assassin was killed at once but their blood and screams didn’t reached Eleanora because of the protecting sheild.

‘What is he doing?’

Eleanora was eager to find out what Alexander was doing but in the end, before she could remove his hands to see, Alexander had carried her on his lap and walked away from the scene.

After some time, when Alexander made sure that there was no one behind them, he gently put down Eleanora to observe her.

“Am fine... Papa.”

He twirled her around and examined her carefully to only find some calluses on her hands for using the sword.

.....

Alexander sighed and kneeled down while blowing on her wound like he used to do when she was little.

“You did well, Ele...”

Alexander spoke as he stroked her head with a gentle warm gaze.

“You are not angry?”

“Why should i?”

Eleanora was a little shocked because she thought Alexander would be mad because she risked her life but seeing the proud look on his face, she felt proud too.

“This is what we Dalton’s are. We will never be afraid or run away from danger and face them bravely. This is what a true knight and the heir of the Dalton should do...”

‘Heir of Dalton?!’

Eleanora’s eyes widened in surprise as she heard her father’s words.

That’s mean her father is determined to cancel their marriage and make her the Duke of Dalton!

But at the thought of breaking of her marriage with Cathain made her feel upset for some unknows reasons.

The smiling face of the crown prince who took the arrow for her while begging her to give him a chance to prove his sincerity kept lingering in Eleanora’s mind.

‘What are you thinking, Ele? Jena is here, it would take him no time to fall for her like before again. He loved her so much that he executed me for her unborn baby, made our duchy fall...

He might be changed now but i didn’t thought that he kill you in the past right? So what gives me the possibility that he won’t change in this life?’

‘I gave him my everything but never gotten a single ounce of love or warmth from him, how can i get it without doing nothing in this life?’

As Eleanora was lost in thoughts, she didn’t realized when she walked all the way to the emperor’s room with Alexander, who was feeling low inside by seeing Eleanora emotionless again.

But as she was about to step in the room, Eleanora paused for a moment.

This is the room which she wasn’t allowed to enter even after being the empress.

This is where she stood in the past and watched Jena sitting beside Cathain, while he slept soundly.

This is where the past Cathain had bought her back after she fall down the staircases and lost her first baby in this room.

How she begged the him to believe her that something was wrong with that maid and the medicine they gave her.

But, he just quitely closed the door, telling her to rest without any mourning or remorse for their lost baby.

No one remorse for her child where she was executed for a miscarriage, it was clearly a framing trap but he didn’t believed her.

“Ele?”

historical

Alexander’s voice bought her back to the reality and she stepped into the room with a heavy heart.

Cathain had already woken up and as she saw Eleanora’s dark expression again, he knew what was on her mind.

He knew what happened in this room with ‘Empress Eleanora’ from his visions.

He clenched his fists into a ball tightly as he couldn’t look into her cold eyes again.

‘Am sorry, Ele...’

...

In the room, Four dukes of the empire and Marquis Roselia was present beside the emperor.

Alexander knew this was all plotted by Duke Raven.

The assassination must be sent by Republic Kingdom.

When Duke Raven failed to use Kingdom Rua to start a war against Republic to make the empire weaker in army, he used Kingdom Republic directly to start a war.

In their previous life, The negotiation and War against Republic had terribly failed even if they won the war.

Their was no tressure in Dark sea and they suffered a heavy lose in financial, not to mention the sacrifice of one third soldier knights.

Their was three knight squadron at that time.

The first knight squadron leader, Duke Alexander Dalton, who trains the first royal knights team.

The second knight squadron leader, Duke Keiran Rupert Heartz, who lead the second royal knights team.

Then finally, The third knight squadron leader, Eleanora La Dalton, who specially trained the war soldiers.

During the war with Republic in their previous life, more then half of the knights from the second team died or suffered from serious injury.

So when the war with Rua Kingdom started, There was only first team and Eleanora’s third team left to fight.

They couldn’t left the capital unguarded either, so Eleanora only had half of the first team’s knights along with her own small team.

Even after winning the war, it made the empire suffer a heavy loss, which was very hard to recover.

With the weak army and poisoned emperor, Duke Raven had cunningly removed Dalton Duchy and the empress to successfully covet the throne.

After Eleanora’s death and Alexander’s imprisonment, The other two dukes of Heartz and Richardo, including marquise Roselia also stopped helping their emperor.

Together with Cathain’s madness over the dead Eleanora, the fail of the empire was given for sure if they hadn’t sacrificed their souls to return in the past.

Alexander doesn’t think that Jennifer La Liana Raven would choose to help her father this time too, but that doesn’t mean the duke will sit back while doing nothing.

He must have made some deal with Kingdom Republic to start this war.

While he was lost in thoughts, the knights who was sent to investigate the assassin’s had returned with a panicked face.

“It’s Kingdom Republic! This is a war declaration!”

The room fall silent. Alexander had expected this since earlier, where Eleanora clenched her fists.

‘In the end, I still couldn’t stop the war...’

But Eleanora was determined to make people suffer less then before. She can at least do that even if she couldn’t stop the war.

The difference is, in their past life, it was the Empire which declared war and now it’s the other party.

“But why would they suddenly declare war on...us”

Cedrick Raven spoke but also become quite as the Duke’s warning gaze fall on him.

“What will we do? The emperor is in this state...”

Duke Raven spoke with a concerned tone even if he was smiling inside as his plan worked out.

Except the thing that Eleanora is okay.

He made the deal to help them to get the saintess to Kingdom Republic to do their research on holy powers.

So they developed a poison which could stop one from using their magic powers for some days and make them weak, in that way they won’t even able to ran away.

But he will have more chances. At least the emperor is injured now, so the powers will go to the crown prince and as long as he keeps feeding him the mind controlling magic poison, he will succedd.

Duke Heartz will go the war for sure as the first squadron leader has to stay to protect the capital.

So he can also poison Alexander and Eleanora at the same time and the emperor would die soon too.

‘Everything is perfect...’

But soon, his perfect plan was broken.

When everyone was discussing about the war, Eleanora kneeled beside the emperor and tried to heal him, which she successfully did.

“Father!!”

Sensing Emperor Valerian’s movements, Cathain rushed to him weakly and sat beside him.

“Are you okay? How are you feeling?!”

But Emperor Valerian was feeling so weak that he couldn’t speak.

.....

He weakly took of his magic heirloom ring which represented the person with the highest authority in the empire.

“Father!! What are you doing!!”

Emperor Valerian put that magic ring into Cathain’s finger slowly, which would fit into the wearers finger automatically and tried to smile at him gently for the first time.

Cathain grabbed his hands tightly as he placed his forehead on his hands while trying to hold back his tears.

The father and son never shared a good relationship or had any proper conversation.

But right at this moment, Cathain could feel his love and trust for him.

He was always mad at his father, the emperor because he trained him harshly. He wasn’t allowed to sulk in anyway from studies or training.

The emperor made the crown prince strong, so strong that almost nothing could make the crown prince react anymore.

He couldn’t express his feelings to the girl he loved and got mislead by people. Finally ended up killing her, then regret it to the point he didn’t cared about the empire he was supposed to protect anymore.

But in this life, he was different. He felt emotions and know how to love the girl, except how to make her forgive or accept him.

But it won’t hold him back from getting her.

‘I will be the son, the emperor, the husband and father that everyone wanted me to be this time. Please bless me so that i can do that, Father...’

‘I will protect our empire and my love... as well our child’s this time.’

Emperor Valerian tried his best to comfort Cathain and after a long time, he finally spoke.

“From now on, whatever the crown prince says is my words... he is the person with the highest authority and will raise to throne right after i die...”