Chapter 172 172: The Tasks Are Never Over [Pt1]

The morning in the Akatsuki kingdom was not any different from the empire. Elysia had gotten up early to see the sun. She had felt that maybe something would change if she looked at the sun.

But all it did was make her miss her home. The bright red sky reminded her of Eve's bright hair while the golden glow of the rising sun was reminiscent of the Crown Prin-Emperor she had left behind.

The early house of the morning made Elysia feel restless and lonely for some reason.

"Is it your habit to wake up this early every day? Or were you not able to sleep well last night? If you tell me the reason then I can try and rectify it for you."

Elysia jolted as she looked behind her. Chrome had managed to sneak up on her. He was well dressed and put together even at this early house of the morning.

And since Elysia had seen him head toward his quarters last night, she was sure that the emperor had woken up at the crack of dawn.

"I just like the atmosphere at this time of the day. No one is around and it is really quiet. It gives me time to think about myself." 'And also makes me feel lonely.'

Elysia did not voice the feelings she was feeling. Maybe she was afraid to share her thoughts with someone openly like this.

"Yeah. It is really quiet right now. A direct contrast with the mess our court usually is. And by the way, how did you like our court? This was your first trip here, right?"

Elysia was, once again, taken aback by the sudden question. But her silence was enough to convey her thoughts.

"That bad, huh? I can understand since you did not get the best first impression of us and I apologize for that. But even so, I would like to ask you to keep an open mind about our people. They are not bad but just a little different. I am sure you know what I mean."

Elysia wished she did not have to understand. But she did understand and it made her sigh.

Elysia could not help but keep an open mind as someone who often misunderstood herself. First impressions were not everything and you oftentimes needed to give a person a second or even a third chance to show their true self.

"I understand. I will keep an open mind about these people then. And also-"

"Your majesty, where are you? We have a meeting to reach."

The calmness and serenity of the early morning hours were broken by a loud and annoying yell. Elysia had to cover her ears so that the sudden voice does not hurt her.

Whoever was speaking right now was too loud and annoying.

"Shit. Looks like it is time for me to head out now. Ah, have a nice first day here and go wherever you want to. No one will stop you if you want to do something so take advantage of that fact."

Chrome had a silly but uncomfortable smile on his face. Elysia could see that he did not want to head to work but he had no other choice.

'Well, it was Chrome's choice to become the emperor so he will have to bear the consequences for his actions now. There is nothing I can do for him."

Elysia just smiled as Chrome ran away from the scene. He looked like a convict who was trying to escape jail time.

Pretty soon, the man who had called for Chrome reached Elysia as well. He looked not only annoyed but stressed as well.

"Lady Dirac, have you seen our emperor anywhere? We need to start the meeting but the emperor decided to take a small stroll. And before we knew it, he had disappeared on us."

Elysia could not keep her giggles in as she heard the annoying complaints from the royal retainer. He was trying to sound respectful but he just sounded like an annoyed girlfriend who had been denied for the first time by her lover.

The image in Elysia's mind finally broke her resistance down and she ended up laughing out loud.

The retained looked alarmed to see Elysia break down but he did not comment on it.

Or rather, he could not comment on it since Elysia was a guest their king had specifically pointed out. And she was also Lucas Dirac's sister.

"Chrome ran away that way. I am sure you will be able to catch up to him if you hurry now."

The retained looked startled at Elysia's help. No one had ever helped him this openly before because they did not want to lose their emperor's favor.

The new emperor was not only spiteful but also short-tempered. As such, no one spoke against him except Lord Dirac. But it seemed like his sister was similar to him in this regard.

It made the retainer decide to give this native girl another chance. She might prove to be useful to him in the future.

Of course, Elysia did not know all that. She just smiled and accepted it when the retainer bowed to her and left her there.

She had no idea if Chrome was caught in the end or not but Elysia decided not to think too much about it.

It was not until later that she realized that the feeling of being alone she had felt before was nowhere to be found once she encountered people. Maybe this kingdom was not as bad as Elysia's first impression had been.

///////////////////////////////////////////

It was a bright morning with a lot of hustle and bustle. Everyone was busy except Elysia. Even though Lucas had gotten busy with the official territory business he was responsible for their mother's family.

Elysia would have loved to help him out but she did not know what needed to be done.

She would be more of a hindrance than an asset to him if she interfered.

But there was a silver lining among all these problems for Elysia. And it was that Sorias and Enma had arrived during the early hours of the morning along with her luggage.

They were both currently resting while Elysia checked her bag for things. There seemed to be more material than Elysia had packed, making her curious.

Especially the last bag which Elysia did not even remember owning. She had no idea what could be in that but it looked vaguely familiar.

Elysia zipped it open and saw a small slip of paper. She was hit with a wave of caution when she picked up the paper and her heart gave a painful tug as soon as she read the white paper.

'You ran away again? Well, come back once you are done. You will always have a home with us.'

'Ps~ Adam is pissed and is threatening to lock you up. We had to lock him up so that he could not come after you.'

'Pss~ Try to send a message to Eve soon so that she does not burst. It was hard to keep her sitting here as well.'

Elysia laughed as she read Sara's message. It was short but reassuring, finally confirming the identity of the person who had sent her this bag.

Elysia loved many things in the bag, especially the edibles she had been sent. She decided to share it with the people around her since there was a time limit before they would go bad.

It warmed her heart to see all this being prepared for her.

She emptied the bag, only to find a small unidentified bag at the bottom of it. It was black and had no symbols on the box.

But there was a familiar feeling of power inside the box that made Elysia curious. But the note that came with the box made Elysia stop before opening the box.

The handwriting belonged to the Head Priest and Elysia had half a mind to throw it away.

Elysia could not do that. She was not such a big bastard to deny The Head Priest this favor. So she decided to give the Head Priest the benefit of the doubt.

She would deliver this box to the temple that was in the Akatsuki Empire. And that would be the last favor she ever do for the temple. Hopefully.

"What is this?"

Elysia picked up the paper clipping that fell from beneath the box. It brought a smile and tears to Elysia's eyes at the same time.

"This is so like them. I am so disappointed to not be able to see them in action."

Elysia put the paper clipping back. It showed Adam and Eve looking annoyed as they tried to hold the annual party. They were clutching each other's arms but their uncomfortable expression broke apart any illusion that they liked each other.

It was the pre-engagement party picture that the temple had let out for their Saintess and it was eye-catching for sure. Elysia was happy to see them getting alone well even without her.