Carlisle shot a glance towards Zenard standing outside, and Elena gave a nod of her head and answered.
“I think I should look into it.”
Carlisle looked regretfully at Elena and kissed her on the forehead.
“…It’s hard to get you all to myself.”
She could not help but smile at the longing in his words. After the war with the Duchy of Lunen, Elena and Carlisle spent many leisurely hours alone as they traveled. She found it silly that he expressed dissatisfaction at every small disturbance, yet she found it endearing at the same time.
Carlisle released Elena from his embrace and spoke in a soft voice.
“Bring the letter.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
With permission given, Zenard stepped into the tent. He noticed Carlisle’s resentment, however, and quickly apologized.
“I seem to have interrupted your private time. I’m sorry.”
“You should be.”
Elena quickly poked Carlisle in the ribs for his remark, then turned towards Zenard.
“Thank you. These are the letters I’ve been waiting for.”
“Not at all. It was delivered to the Imperial Palace first before arriving here, so they are late. Please take that into consideration, and let me know if there’s anything you need.”
“I will.”
Zenard handed the two letters to Elena, bowed politely, and left the tent. She watched Zenard’s retreating figure, then soon looked down at the envelopes, where the seals of the Krauss and Astar families were stamped on them respectively. Her heart was in her throat, and she was nervous to check the contents.
‘I hope it has some good information in it.’
Overall, it didn’t matter if she couldn’t remove the curse from the Imperial Family. She loved Carlisle so much that her feelings towards him weren’t affected by it, and she also considered the child growing inside her to be precious. Apart from that, however, her heart lamented over Carlisle’s unhappy childhood and the hatred he carried for the black scales.
And so, Elena wanted to remove the curse as much as possible. If their child were to inherit it, it would be quite painful for Carlisle as well. She didn’t know how much guilt he would feel passing on the curse to his own child.
As she stared moodily at the letters, Carlisle, who was watching her from the side, gave her a questioning look.
“What kind of letters are those?”
Elena was interrupted from her bleak thoughts, and she raised her head to look at Carlisle. His blue eyes were filled with worry, and her gaze couldn’t leave his perfectly sculpted face. It was the face of the man she loved, the one she imagined over and over whenever times were difficult.
She held the letters in her hand, then pointed to the bedside where she was sitting.
“Come sit down here.”
Carlisle’s expression hardened suspiciously, but he sat down where she indicated without complaint.
“What is it?”
“There’s no reason to be nervous. I just thought it would be a good idea to talk this over with you before I opened these letters.”
“Yes. You can tell me anything.”
Elena couldn’t help but smile as Carlisle waited expectantly for her story.
“In truth, as soon as I found out I was pregnant, I made a request to the heads of the Krauss and Astar families. There is a tribe that worships the sacred dragon. Maybe you’ve heard of them.”
“…”
Carlisle’s expression turned guarded. He always withdrew when he heard stories about his cursed blood. He stared at Elena for a moment, then lowered his eyes and looked at her stomach.
“You wouldn’t have to worry if it weren’t for me. I’m sorry…”
“No, don’t say that. I don’t want you to apologize from now on.”
Elena grasped Carlisle’s hand, which was much larger than hers. His hands were roughened and calloused from years of holding a sword, but to Elena, they were strong and friendly. Warmth bloomed at where they touched, and she continued.
“No matter the contents of these letters, I will do my best to break this curse. But don’t misunderstand. Even if I do this for you and our child, it doesn’t mean that I dislike you. Even if I can’t find a way to end this curse…it won’t change anything.”
Carlisle’s eyes swam with complicated emotions, but Elena’s gaze was steady as she looked straight at him.
“I love you. No matter what you are.”
She slowly raised her hand to cup his perfect face.
“Even your scales look impressive to me.”
Carlisle remained silent for some time. However, he did not look as conflicted as before, as if a heavy burden had been relieved from his mind. He looked up at Elena with a tender gaze and smiled. She was the only one in the world that ever saw him look like this.
“You are quite the incredible woman, my wife. I didn’t think I could be any happier, but here I am.”
Carlisle took Elena’s hand that was on his face, and pressed his lips against it as he looked at her.
“I’m glad that I met you. And I’m glad that you are the woman I fell in love with.”
A soft smile glimmered on Elena’s lips.
“I feel the same way. And you don’t know how grateful I am to carry the dragon’s blood with me after I was kidnapped.”
Elena endured many physical hardships while in the early stages of pregnancy, and even ended up riding on horseback and fighting Paveluc. The child never would have survived the difficult journey if it were weak.
“A normal child wouldn’t be able to bear it. I believe our child is healthy because they resemble you, and so they stayed with me until the end. Because of that, I could never give up.”
Even if she killed Paveluc and ended the war, Elena didn’t think she would smile as she did now if something went wrong with the pregnancy. She was immeasurably grateful that the child in her stomach was still safe. Carlisle replied with a smile.
“It seems that the little thing already understands its filial duty to its parents.”
Elena gave a small chuckle, then waved the two envelopes in her hand.
“So, shall we take a look?”
“Alright.”
At last, Elena opened the envelope with Krauss’ seal on it and pulled the letter out. Elena and Carlisle both read the letter at the same time.
[To Her Majesty the Empress.
I’ve learned about the tribe you inquired about.
It was very difficult to locate them, as they are vagrants that don’t remain in one place for a long time. Once they move locations, it’s unknown where they go next, thus contact is difficult.
However, currently they are residing close to the Ruford Empire, so please reply quickly if you want to contact them.
I will do my best.]
Elena’s expression brightened. She had prepared for the worst outcome and expected they might not be able to find the tribe, but her plan seemed to be yielding results. Carlisle also seemed pleased.
“Now let’s read the letter from the head of Astar.”
“Yes.”
She opened the letter from Astar next. It contained additional information about the tribe.
[The tribe that you inquired about had suffered from a severe drought in the kingdom they lived in last year, and life is very difficult for them.
As the head of Astar, we know what food and medicines they want.
If you wish, we can prepare the goods and contact them.]
In summary, Krauss knew the location of the tribe, while Astar gave information on how to bargain with them. Indeed, they were the most resourceful people in the empire. A smile broadened across Elena’s face.
“I promised to give a generous reward to whoever gave me the most information, but I might have to reward both.”
“Go ahead. Ask Astar to prepare the items the tribe wants, and we can ask Krauss to be a go-between so we can meet.”
“Yes, that’s a good plan.”
Elena gave a vigorous nod. Carlisle looked at her expression of delight then glanced back to the letters.
“Since the tribe’s location changes frequently, shall we meet them first and then return to the Imperial Palace afterwards?”
“Ah, that’s true. It will take a lot of time to stop by the palace and then come out here again.”
What’s more, the letters arrived at the Imperial Palace first before being rerouted to Elena, which had already eaten up their time. More importantly, the more her baby grew, the more difficult it may be to act. Elena wanted to meet the tribe as soon as possible and find out if there was a way to break the dragon’s curse.
Carlisle, still looking at Elena, spoke in a low voice.
“If that is what you wish, let me help you from now on.”
“Really?”
“As I said before, it gives me great pleasure to serve you.”
“Thank you. It’s reassuring to hear that you take action.”
Carlisle grinned at the remark.
“Then I will live up to your expectations. I’ll prove to you how capable your husband is.”
In truth, Carlisle hadn’t even thought about removing the curse. There was no reason for it. No matter how wretched the ability, the previous emperors had let the bloodline continue because of its power.
But not Carlisle. He never liked the fact that he had dragon’s blood in his veins, but he believed things would never change even if he broke the curse.
Now that Elena was pregnant with their child, he had a change of heart. He didn’t want his curse to be transferred to the child. But Elena’s wish was the most important reason.
“In the beginning, I would have said it was impossible to remove the curse. But now that there might be a way, I just can’t walk past it. So don’t worry, I’ll solve it.”
His words were the height of arrogance, but since Carlisle was the one who said it, it felt natural. He was the Emperor of the Ruford Empire. He would dig up every detail of the dragon’s curse, even if it took him years to do so. Elena nodded happily.
“Yes, I believe you. But as I said, I don’t care if it’s impossible. We’ll just do as much as we can.”
“Yes.”
He leaned forward and kissed Elena on the forehead.Then, he raised himself up from the bed with new resolve on his shoulders.
“Don’t bother writing while you’re pregnant. Your wrist will hurt.”
“Ah, well—”
“I’ll tell Zenard to reply to them. We’ll also redirect the procession so we can stop by the tribe’s location.”
As usual, Carlisle did thorough work. Elena smiled and gave a nod.
“Alright.”
“Let me take care of this from now on. You should stay in bed and get some rest.”
“Yes, I will.”
Carlisle looked at Elena as if he wasn’t ready to leave her side yet, but he soon exited the tent. Elena smiled in contentment as she watched him leave. Carlisle had offered himself to her, but she felt like she had gained a thousand troops and horses.
***
Contact with the tribe happened quickly.
Once again, Elena witnessed the thoroughness and accuracy of Carlisle’s work. He exchanged information with the two family heads, coordinated the goods the tribes wanted, and directed the procession to the area where the tribe was staying. Fortunately, it wasn’t too much of a detour from the Imperial Palace.
At last, Elena, Carlisle and thousands of soldiers arrived in a dense forest of natural beauty. Through Krauss’ arrangement, several tribesmen in unusual dress were waiting for them at the meeting place. The most noticeable of them was a white-haired old man.
Seugeu—
Carlisle was on horseback, and when he raised his hand, the army of soldiers stopped in place at once. It was just a small display of how well-disciplined the Ruford soldiers were.
Ttagag, ttagag.
Carlisle approached the tribesmen on his horse and spoke in a clear voice.
“Are you the tribe that worships the dragons as gods?”
The tribesmen already knew that the Emperor of the Ruford Empire was coming, so they pressed their hands together like a prayer as a greeting. The white-haired elder stepped forward and answered.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Chief Chanatha.”
