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"Haahh… C-Cecil…"
Elphiette was growing weaker as the water of the lake infiltrated the castle, which sank over time. She was unable to move; one of her legs was below a huge boulder, and she was sure she broke her leg bone at that.
What's worse, manipulating the entire castle golem drained all her energy, and when it went down after Gaius attacked it, due to the sudden interruption of Mana, she received a backlash, making the Mana inside of her body erupt and paralyze most of her muscles.
Her daughter's plan was great, but they never would've thought a monster like Gaius would have come here to eliminate them.
The Queen was a strong spirit magician, and after cultivating and learning from Bing Xue, she had become much tougher and stronger, although never becoming as strong as her husband physically. Her magic was developing into new and powerful forms.
However, she had yet to reach the same level as her husband, and because of this, she was found in a helpless situation once more.
"Where are you… Cecil…"
Her daughter had told her through a Telepathy Spell that she was coming to save her, but she had yet to appear. It has been twenty minutes since then, and as the castle sank into the water, things only became worse for her; half her body was already covered with water.
"Will I die here?"
Elphiette looked at the broken ceiling; she could faintly see the cloudy sky above, her eyes looked tired, and she seemed much paler than before.
"After everything I've gone through… Was there a time in my life when I could decide for myself what to do with it?"
Through her whole life, she had always been controlled by other people. Even before the conquest of her world by the Emperor's army, Elphiette was raised very strictly by her mother, the Goddess of her world and the floor of that tower.
She was someone of great strictness who didn't tolerate imperfection. Since she was a toddler, Elphiette was taught to be a "perfect princess" in everything: learning manners, how to talk, how to act, what to do, everything.
Her obsessive mother, even though she loved her, had ruined her childhood with her strict teachings and her authoritarian personality, making her someone that ended up growing up to be very shy and meek.
Elphiette was always afraid of speaking to others without them referring to her, often remaining in silence all the time.
Her five other older sisters bullied her from time to time, just to push her further down into their hierarchy, so she wouldn't receive as many benefits as the others.
And her older brother and younger brother never talked to her; taught to be knights of excellence by their parents and teachers, she never had the opportunity to interact with them, even though she always wished to at least be a good big sister for her little brother, whom she doesn't even know what has been of him after the invasion.
"My life… it has been quite miserable…"
When the invasion came, and her mother was defeated and enslaved, and so her entire family, nothing changed for Elphiette. She simply moved from one place to another, always doing what she was ordered.
This time, she was forced to marry one of the children of the emperor; the same happened to her sisters and brothers, all engaged to the emperor's youngest batch of children. It was said that he had over thirty sons and daughters, each one a ruler of various territories or even entire worlds.
She felt desperate inside; she didn't want to do any of this at all; she was never happy about being forcefully engaged to someone, but she was forced to marry Caesar, a rather silent and emotionless man.
Despite his scary presence, he was very similar to her, a man that grew up in a very strict family, forced to always nod and lower his head, to never glance at other people in the eyes, to never raise his voice against authority or those older than him.
Although she disliked the idea of marrying a man she had never met, in him, she found a part of herself, and Caesar felt the same way. As they slowly talked and got to know one another more, they began to slowly relax with the other's presence, growing closer.
Caesar at first had told her he had no intentions to force her to do anything and that this marriage was purely political; he wouldn't force her to sleep with him, even less to love him or touch him. He promised her, however, that he would protect her.
He was a true gentleman, despite everything, and Elphiette slowly fell in love with the man… It did help that he was handsome, and with long black hair and red eyes, giving him an exotic beauty that she, as an elf, found very appealing.
"But even then, there had been… good things at the end of the road… Caesar…"
She shed a tear of regret, as she knew her husband must be suffering as well, fighting against his own brother desperately. He had told her everything about Claudius, making her understand how painful it must be for him.
Elphiette didn't resent him for not coming to rescue her; she knew the situation was desperate, and even now, she didn't value her life that highly either…
Even after everything, Elphiette always thought that her life was rather worthless.
"Cecil…"
Her daughter was perhaps the greatest treasure of her, even bigger than her husband and the love she felt for him. She was her everything, that little bundle of love and cuteness she raised for years with love and care.
She gave Cecil all the love and care she wasn't given when she grew up, and her husband also tried to act this way, although his personality was quite cold, and sometimes he struggled doing so.
But perhaps because she grew up with so much love and was spoiled, the girl grew to become rather arrogant, giving them a lot of trouble sometimes.
But even then, she had great talents and allowed them to intercept an invasion…
Although at the end, it didn't seem to have helped as much because of how powerful they were.
"I guess this is… where… I go…"
She shed another tear, hoping that in her next life, she would have a better life…
Or perhaps just an average life, if anything.
"Caesar… Take care of Cecil…"
The water slowly covered her entire body, as Elphiette began to slowly drown.
Darkness began to slowly swallow her consciousness.
Her family, her mother, everything…
She couldn't remember them with as much love as she wished.
But at least… her daughter and her husband.
They were what gave her heart some light.
…
CRAAASH!
The ceiling of the castle suddenly exploded into pieces as a huge man descended from the skies, screaming his lungs out.
"ELPHIETTEEEE!"
His scream of horror and panic slowly made her consciousness come back, despite her lungs being almost filled with the cold water.
SPLASH!
The man jumped into the water, kicking the boulder crushing her leg and then dragging the woman into the skies, carrying her with his arms.
"Ugh…! G-Guh…"
"E-Elphiette! Your lungs!"
He quickly rushed to the shore, using his hands and pressing her chest, making her slowly vomit all the water in her lungs.
"Cough, cough…! Aghh…! Cough…!"
If she hadn't become tougher physically thanks to her cultivation, she would've already died.
And yet, as she gasped for air while coughing, she slowly rested over the mud, looking at the sky.
She was alive…
"C-Caesar…?"
He saw a man with long black hair and red eyes at her side, looking all scared; his expressionless face was no more, as he showed her all his emotions.
"What a relief…! Elphiette…!"
He hugged her, embracing her in the warmest hug he had ever given to her, warming her cold body and making her feel relieved.
"Caesar…!"
She started crying as well, hugging him and not letting him go.
"I-I didn't want to die… I was so scared… Why didn't you come earlier…!"
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…!"
The man smiled lightly, holding her hands as Elphiette blushed a bit, feeling dizzy and feverish.
And then…
FLUOSH!
She felt his Ki and Mana flowing into her body, making her feel warmer and restoring her energies and stamina rapidly.
"C-Caesar, your energy…! This is…? Is it okay?"
"It's fine… Do you feel better now?"
"A-A bit better… yes…"
Elphiette glanced at her husband, her long blonde hair falling down, her emerald eyes, her beautiful face; it made Caesar fall in love with her all over again.
"I'm sorry for everything I've done… Elphiette."
"Eh?"
"I've failed you as a husband; I've committed so many mistakes; I've done everything wrong…"
"Caesar…"
"I… I don't deserve you… I'm sorry."
Elphiette smiled a bit, caressing his face.
"You dummy… There's nothing to be sorry about…" She said, looking at his face. "Well, maybe a few things, but… Not like you said."
"But haven't I made you suffer? Our marriage was forced, and…" Caesar muttered.
"It might have been, but… I genuinely love you, Caesar, not because of some Stockholm syndrome or whatever… But because I genuinely fell in love with you and who you are." Elphiette smiled, blushing a bit. "D-Didn't you go with me too?"
"A-Ah…" Caesar felt embarrassed. "To be honest, I… fell in love the moment I saw you."
"Eh?!"
"I had never seen such beauty with my own eyes before… Thinking that you were engaged with me made me so excited… But at the same time, I knew you were only a victim…" he sighed. "That's why I tried to not act like someone in love; I wanted to… not make you feel uncomfortable."
"Y-You dummy…"
Elphiette smiled as she kissed his lips, and Caesar then kissed her back; their love was stronger than ever before now, their Souls and Auras resonating with each other.
Within Elphiette's chest, the concentration of her Spirit Energy and her Husband's Aura crystallized, and this crystallization created a permanent bond with him.
FLAAASH!
"Uwah?!"
"Huh?!"
The two were scared at first as the rainbow light encompassed them, but it slowly dissipated as they felt a connection like never before, a connection between hearts.
"What happened? This is… Why do I feel such a strong spiritual power within me?" Caesar wondered. "And this connection with you… I can feel your love and your warmth…"
"T-This is… I can't believe it…!" Elphiette muttered. "I was born without a Spiritual Heart, I was deemed talentless in my family and yet… H-How is this possible?! I created one and… I-I accidentally contracted you as my familiar…?!"
"E-Eh?!" The King gasped in disbelief.
"I'm so sorry! T-This doesn't mean I enslaved you or something! It's just a connection that's—" the queen panicked.
And yet, her husband laughed a bit.
"Hahaha… Hahaha!" He laughed carefreely, finding the whole situation hilarious.
"C-Caesar…" She looked at her husband laughing genuinely for the first time, surprised he was capable of many more emotions than she thought. "Haha… I-I guess it was a bit funny, but…"
"It's fine… I accept this little contract," Caesar smiled. "If it means my heart is yours, Elphiette…"
He kneeled before her, kissing her hand gently.
"I swear on my name that I will serve you well."
"E-Eh?!"
Elphiette was having a hard time understanding everything, from one thing to another…
It was honestly too much for her!
But this power she felt, this connection, and the new strength she and her husband had gained…
A power like nothing ever seen before in their worlds, it might open the way for a brighter future for the two of them.
"Ahh! Where's Cecil?! I forgot! Oh my god, I'm such a terrible mother!" Elphiette panicked, almost making her husband fall into the mud.
"S-She's fine! Calm down, she's here," Caesar said, as he gently grabbed something that was wrapped on his back with several clothes; it was Cecil sleeping.
"My daughter! Cecil!" Elphiette cried, hugging her. "I-Is she okay?!"
"She's fine and healthy… Just knocked out," Caesar sighed. "A lot happened to her… We'll need to talk about this later."
"W-What could have happened to my girl?" Elphiette wondered, unable to think of her daughter as ever doing something wrong.
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