In This Life, I Will Raise You Well, Your Majesty!

“Wait!”

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Shamir, who was ahead, stretched his arm back and showed his palm open.
Elisha stopped her movement and waited quietly.

Although he only felt a presence from a distance, Shamir moved again only after it had completely disappeared.

Surrounded by rocks on all sides, this place looked like a small hill viewed from the outside, and looked like a basin with a round center when viewed from above.

In order to escape from the inside of this basin, they must climb up the slope that was slanted outward.
Even if it was a road that is easy to be discovered if they were unlucky, if one of the tribesmen downstairs raised their head.

Fortunately, the slope was made of layered rocks, so one could hide for a while in the irregular shades, but it wouldn’t be of much help because they still had to keep moving to escape.

As such, the two should not stimulate the surroundings while they had yet to start running properly.

Fortunately, Shamir was adept at hiding, and Elisha’s movements were as good as those of other knights despite the lack of water energy thanks to the battle before.

With extreme prudence added to that, the two were able to reach the bare oasis without any problems.

The oasis was located on the outer rim of the basin floor.
A short walk to the back of the oasis ended at the bottom of the basin, and a slope of layered rocks emerged.

The two people who faced each other nodded and jumped from the ground mixed with soil and stones to climb onto the rocks.
When Shamir took the lead again, Elisha followed him, paying close attention to where she was stepping, trying not to deviate from the trail.

Halfway up the slope, Shamir stopped his movement and straightened his back.
He glanced back and put his thumb up towards Elisha.

“My empress, you really have a good eye.”

One didn’t know if it was a compliment for following him out of prison or a compliment for following him instinctively knowing that the place he stepped on was the safest place, but it was not important.

“It’s too quiet.”

“It’s because I’m so smart, Your Majesty.”

“Since you said the water bowl is broken, it means there are people who have broken it.
If the person who broke it is your opponent, he would have stared at you for a long time.
Wouldn’t they know that you would run like this?”

“I know what you mean, but…”

Elisha seemed to have heard the unspoken words, “They wouldn’t even think I’d do this much.”

It was weird.
If one ended the relationship in the worst condition, why wouldn’t they expect the worst situation?

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Was it because they know the opponent so well and will respond by assuming the last card they will use?

What did they want from someone who had been a pushover for more than 20 years to make him so disappointed enough to quit being one and give up on them?

“Look, look.
My empress’ eyes are so indifferent.”

“Then you saw it right.”

“Ho.”

“You said I had a good eye before.
So have you changed your mind?”

“Not yet, but that’s exactly the problem.
It means I might be really stupid.”

“Why is that a problem? Better to know than to not know.
Especially when it comes to yourself.”

“Ah, really, my empress.
How can you curse in front of me like that?”

“Seeing that you call it cursing, does it mean you admit that it is true?”

“My empress is really tough.
Even that bloody chieftain couldn’t cover my mouth, but it’s very easy for you to do.
Why did you follow me when you didn’t trust me? Did I show something more than trust to you, Your Majesty? My charms as a man, or…”

Shamir licked his lips and brought his face toward Elisha, and bent his golden eyes.
Under the moonlight, the dark brown skin and handsome, exotic face typical of the desert peoples were revealed.

But Elisha didn’t want to touch him to push him away, so she only raised her finger outstretched in front of his nose.
Shamir shrugged his shoulders and straightened his body.

They had caught their breath and checked the surroundings, so it was time to move again. Tung! Shamir’s body soared up with a small sound that could only be heard if one paid attention.

Elisha also accelerated by stepping on the shadow falling before her as a stepping stone.

***

Shamir and Elisha climbed the slope without stopping for a moment, except for one break in the middle.
After some time passed, the top of the slope appeared within reach with just one leap.

Elisha didn’t feel relieved that she was finally overcoming a crisis, but kept the tension close.

Didn’t they say “The more serious the problem, the moment when you think it’s over, the bigger the explosion afterward”? And why did the ominous hunch fit so well with the current situation?

As Shamir lifted his body into the air to climb to the top, the terrifying sound of something cutting the air approached.

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[T/N: I have no idea how to properly translate ‘cutting the air’, but I’m sure you understand, right?]

Ping! Ping!

As soon as she felt it was clearly threatening, Elisha reached out her hand.
Far from shouting and warning, there was no time to grab Shamir and pull him back.

The stream of water quickly rushed from Elisha’s hand and hit Shamir on the back.
Shamir’s body, which was about to reach the top of the slope, bounced forward.

Just like the way they climbed, the descent beyond the summit will have a steep slope with jagged rocks, so if one rolled down like that, they might become so brittle that their shape became unrecognizable…

But wouldn’t it be better than having a hole in your head?

Elisha moved without even having time to check what was passing through the place where Shamir’s head was.
Elisha, who hastily reached the summit with her toes, looked down at the outside of the basin.

Shamir tilted his head back over the edge of the protruding rock.
He raised the corners of his lips as he met Elisha’s eyes.

He was a man with a long neckline.
Not to mention, he must have survived if he could still chatter like that.

“My empress, you have saved my life.
This is incomparable to a few water bowls.”

“What? Now you want to be a pushover towards me?”

“Can’t I? I’ll go easier on Your Majesty, too.
Since it’s something I’m already used to.”

“If there is something one wants to throw away, just throw it in the trash can.
Don’t try to pass it on to others.
It’s a nuisance.”

If it was only Perry wanting to chime in as usual, she would’ve tried to freeze him, but… This was a wolf pretending to be an individual, even though he lied flat on his stomach to be tamed by humans with his own will.

She was always worried and warned Leon to not pick up anything, so as a mother, she herself should not pick up anything.
And more than anything…!

Pababakk! Pak! Pakk!

Sharp arrows flew towards Elisha’s heel and pierced it.

Now was not the time to worry about that.

Apart from Elisha, whose strength had weakened, there was Shamir.
And since they had climbed all the way up from the bottom, he couldn’t have not noticed this much.

However, the enemies should not know which slope they would climb, so it should be said that they were waiting in advance with several bases at the top.
This might be the final confirmation Shamir had hoped for, but it wasn’t a very good ending.
Elisha went straight past Shamir and glided down the steep incline,

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“Huh? Your Majesty? Are you leaving me alone? So cold-heartedly?”

Shamir wanted to follow.

Shwa! Shwa! Shwa!

The arrows that were slightly missing Elisha had no mercy on Shamir.

“Oh dear!”

Chae-chae-chaeng! Chaeng!

Shamir, who had already pulled out his crescent sword, deflected the arrows and stuck close to Elisha.
The intention of the enemies was evident, seeing that the offensive was loosened a little.

“That one is more heartless than Your Majesty.
Still, we were colleagues until recently.
Compared to the ashes, our empress is the night breeze of an early spring in the Santiano Empire.
It’s cold, but I know that flowers will bloom tomorrow.”

While muttering, he caught Elisha, who nearly stumbled on the edge of the rock.
Elisha, who had fierce eyes, reached out instead of replying and grabbed Shamir’s gold hair strongly and pulled it towards her.

“Don’t think whatever you want.
Wasn’t the first bowl of water that that person offered you like a cool oasis to quench your thirst in this desert? I don’t want to keep up with your play anymore, so if you don’t want to end here, wake up and work with your leg when you join the army.
I have a place to go back to, and I hate being caught in the middle of nowhere.”

Although the tone was low, Shamir’s golden eyes widened because of Elisha, who radiated the momentum that would have been enough to split people with her eyes.
Elisha let go of his hair, which she was grabbing somewhat roughly, and accelerated.

Shamir, who had paused for a moment, shut his mouth this time and followed her, wielding his crescent sword.

Kang! Kaang!

Arrows bounce off in all directions.
Perhaps because they knew Shamir’s skills, the enemies focused on ranged attacks rather than risking to approach.

To Elisha, it seemed like they were just pretending to shoot, because it was not threatening as they did not really target herself.

Pang! Paang!

Elisha created a stream of water that deflects or strikes the arrow.
Occasionally, she helped Shamir.

As the two tried to disappear over the slope faster than expected, the enemies above were perplexed.
They intensified the offensive as soon as their companions waiting at other points on the summit joined in.

It was difficult enough to get out of the basin topography, but the process of moving away from there was just as difficult.

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It was true that they had to run away with their back exposed to enemies looking down from above, and they couldn’t ignore the fact that the enemy’s long-range attack weapons were added with gravitation force, making it more powerful.

As a result, Elisha and Shamir, who had come down more than half of the slope, persevering in the midst of multiple misfortunes, were in a mess.

The two eventually managed to escape to a distance that arrows could not reach, but the enemy continued to attack while chasing down the steep slope, cutting off the flow.

Elisha looked down.
How much time did they have left?

“Huft.
Huft.”

Rarely, there was a sound of breathing in the field.

“Hold on a little bit, Your Majesty.
I took a quick look, and all the useful guys in the tribe were back there.
So, as long as we go down the slope, we’ll be fine…”

Before Shamir could finish speaking, a cloud of dust rose between the two of them.
Their gazes naturally turned to the place where the sand and the night meet.

The boundaries were blurred like a halo.
And what one could see in between was the numerous carriages and horses running towards the basin!

The native tribes who were supposed to attend the conference flocked together at once, as if they had planned it, faster than Shamir knew.

So, Shamir realized.
That he had only made his choice today, but his chieftain had already made the decision long ago.

“Haha! Ha!”

Shamir showed his teeth and laughed as if it were fun.

“As expected, it’s not going to be so easy.”

Likewise, Elisha mumbled out of place.
Contrary to the saying that it was easy, she looked devastated enough.

But Elisha knew from numerous experiences.
That this would be the best situation for her to go through.

“Shamir, you really betrayed us.”

Then a man of great stature who appeared from the top of the slope said.

Thud! Thud!

The chieftain Aran approached the two of them with a loud voice and a strong footprint.