Ch.124124. Delegation

“Princess…?”

Rex looked at Elin with a puzzled expression.

It was clear who the envoy from the Great Forest of Albheim, Silvaren, had addressed as “Princess.” He had been giving Elin obvious glances since the coming-of-age ceremony began. Now that the ceremony was over, he had walked directly to her and suddenly knelt down.

Great Forest. Princess. Elturas. Return.

The succession of words that emerged without giving time to think made his mind freeze.

“Lady Elin, what is the meaning of this?”

“That hand.”

Silvaren stared at Rex with calm eyes.

“The Princess’s body must be preserved in purity. I’ve turned a blind eye until now since you seemed unaware of the circumstances, and I’ve refrained from unnecessary restrictions… but I forbid any further contact. Remove yourself from the Princess immediately.”

“What?”

Rex frowned and glared at Silvaren. Undeterred by the hostile gaze, Silvaren pointed at Elin’s hand with his finger.

“Did you not understand? I said to remove yourself from the Princess.”

“Why are you calling Lady Elin a princess…”

“It’s not that you don’t understand, but that you don’t want to understand. Then let me explain kindly. Lady Elin is the Princess of Albheim, born of the most noble bloodline among all elves. She is the daughter of King Elturis, blessed by the divine World Tree.”

Rex’s eyes widened. Though the tone was truly irritating, Silvaren’s explanation cleanly erased all of Rex’s doubts.

Princess of Albheim.

A lie? An envoy from Albheim. And Silvaren, the leader of that delegation, addresses Elin as princess. How could it be a lie? If it were, Elin, and certainly Charlotte and Vivienne, would have denied it first.

“I knew this would happen.”

Charlotte muttered with a deep sigh. She knew that Elin was the Princess of Albheim. Elturis was the Elven King who ruled Albheim, and she had learned that Elin was his daughter three years ago when she asked Elin directly. She had remained silent until now because Elin seemed reluctant to reveal it herself, but now that things had come to this, there was no point in keeping it hidden any longer.

“Rex. That fellow is right. Elin is the Princess of the Great Forest.”

“Lady Charlotte, how did you know that?”

“I had my suspicions from the beginning. High Elves have different characteristics from ordinary elves, and Elin matched those traits.”

Albheim is a kind of nation where elves live together. They don’t classify status by noble ranks like humans do, but there are bloodlines that are considered noble.

High Elves.

The clan that rules the Great Forest.

“But I didn’t know of any female among the High Elves I knew. Except for one. The recently born Princess of the Great Forest. If Elin was truly the Princess of the Great Forest, as an apostle tasked with protecting the Empire, I couldn’t just stand by, so I asked her… and despite my concerns, she readily told me. But she didn’t want to reveal it to you, so I kept her secret as well.”

“…Lady Elin is a princess?”

Chloe looked at Elin with surprised eyes. Despite being together for nearly four years, she had never imagined that Elin could be the Princess of Albheim.

It was the same for Rex. High Elf? He didn’t even know much about elves as a race, so how would he know the characteristics of High Elves? He had only heard today that there was a separate High Elf bloodline.

Looking at the Albheim delegation again, he began to notice the differences from Elin. The delegates all had deep green hair, while Elin had moonlight-transparent silver hair. A stark, obvious difference that anyone would notice at a glance. He hadn’t noticed until now because he’d never had the opportunity to see other elves.

“Don’t misunderstand.”

Elin spoke in a calm voice.

“Rex, I… I didn’t want to hide anything from you. If you had asked, I would have told you anytime… really. I only kept it hidden because I was afraid your attitude toward me would change, and that you’d get caught up in troublesome matters like this. That’s all.”

Come to think of it, from the first time they met, Elin had always worn a robe that covered her. The magically treated robe concealed her appearance from others’ eyes. When asked why she deliberately hid her appearance, how had Elin answered?

Because she disliked receiving people’s attention.

Elin is beautiful, and beautiful flowers tend to attract all sorts of insects. But Elin was a flower with sharp thorns. She had the power to repel pests. Yet she still thoroughly concealed her appearance. Perhaps she was concerned about her High Elf identity being revealed.

“I’m sorry for deceiving you. Will you… hate me now?”

Elin’s voice was as quiet as usual. Her expression was different. Still rigid, with anxiety visible in her pupils. The hand she was holding remained tightly gripped, unwilling to let go. Seeing her vulnerable state, Rex forced a smile and replied.

“Of course not. I’m surprised that Lady Elin is an elven princess, of course. How could I not be? Someone I’ve been with every day suddenly becomes a princess. But so what?”

“…Huh?”

“Being a princess isn’t really a problem, is it? It’s actually a good thing. Think about it. My close friend is a princess—that’s rather fortunate for me. There’s nothing to lose. Besides, Lady Elin hasn’t done anything wrong to me. Even after hearing you’re a princess, to me, Lady Elin is still Lady Elin.”

“…”

“Why would I hate you? Or is it that now that your princess identity has been exposed, you no longer consider someone unworthy of your status like me as a friend? Was everything until now just a game, and now you need to return to your rightful place—”

“No!”

A tearing cry cut off his words. Rex blinked in confusion with a startled expression. It was a light joke he had made without much thought, but Elin shook her head vigorously with a desperate look he had never seen before.

“Absolutely not…! I don’t think that way. Rex is… my friend. So… please don’t say things like you’re not my friend or that I hate you…”

Her breathing trembled as she gasped. Elin’s complexion had turned deathly pale, as if she might collapse at any moment. This wasn’t the situation he had intended. Guilt stabbed at his chest. Her eyes, brimming with tears, only intensified his remorse. Rex hastily nodded.

“I know! I know Lady Elin would never do that. It was just a joke. I… I’m sorry.”

“What garbage.”

Charlotte clicked her tongue with a grimace.

“Rex has his flaws too, I see. I thought you were perfect in every way, but it seems your character is a bit rotten.”

“Not just a bit, but quite a lot, don’t you think?”

Vivienne and Chloe whispered in serious tones. Having committed the offense, he couldn’t defend himself. Rex closed his mouth and turned his head away.

“…Princess?”

Silvaren muttered in disbelief.

Though the hands that remained clasped despite his warning bothered him, what astonished him even more was the emotion Elin showed toward Rex. Goodwill? It wasn’t such a shallow emotion. Romantic affection… no, not that either. It was too deep and heavy to be called affection.

Obsession. Silvaren hastily erased the word that came to mind.

It wasn’t a thought befitting the Elven Princess who should remain pure and flawless throughout her life. But. Even if he wanted to ignore it, he couldn’t. The scene before him forced understanding upon Silvaren.

Silvaren had also heard Elin’s shout just now. He had been certain that this human called Rex was clinging to Elin, but was it all a misunderstanding? Why? Elin’s demeanor caused Silvaren discomfort.

Though not a High Elf himself, he had lived for a very long time. A warrior who protected Albheim. A direct subordinate of the ruler Elturis. Among the many orders given by Elturis was one to escort the young Princess Elin.

The Elin he had seen in the past was not like this. She never showed the typical childish whims, her dull emotions rarely changed, and she rejected communication with others. Elin had been a girl detached from life, like a terminally ill patient facing death.

‘…Because that’s how she was guided to be.’

Ten years had passed since Elin left Albheim. Just ten years. An extremely short period for an elf. And by elven standards, Elin was still practically a child. That made it all the more incomprehensible.

How could a mere decade, a mere instant, change Elin so drastically?

“Why with a mere human…”

“Rex is my precious friend.”

When Silvaren stammered in a hollow voice, Elin answered with a resolute face.

“Don’t call him a mere human.”

His confusion intensified at those words. He could never have imagined Elin defending someone.

‘She has changed.’

Could it be? Silvaren recalled what his lord had told him before coming to Elysium. At the time, it had seemed too extreme a measure, but now, facing Elin, he was convinced.

‘My lord was right.’

The world had corrupted Elin’s purity. One might think, what’s the big deal about becoming friends with a human? But for the grand purpose of the elves, even Elin “becoming friends with a human” could be an obstacle.

Something that must be avoided at all costs.

Recalling his lord’s orders, Silvaren straightened his kneeling posture.

“Princess. As I said, Lord Elturis has commanded your return.”

“…My father?”

“Yes.”

He wasn’t worried about missing the way. Elin’s wand was made from a branch of the World Tree, the divine tree of the Great Forest. Even though separated, the wand remained spiritually connected to the World Tree, and its location could be easily tracked if desired.

He had come to Elysium for the Imperial Princess’s coming-of-age ceremony, and coincidentally, Elin was also in Elysium. The timing was perfect in many ways. Now all that remained was to return to Albheim with Elin.

Even Elin’s changes would instantly revert to “normal” once she stood before the World Tree.

“Why?”

“…Pardon?”

Elin had never once defied Elturis, and when orders were given, she followed them blindly regardless of the reason. So Silvaren momentarily failed to understand Elin’s response.

“Why do I have to go back?”

“Princess, didn’t I tell you? Lord Elturis has ordered your return…”

“Yes, but why? The agreed time hasn’t ended yet. Father gave me permission to travel freely around the continent for thirty years. I haven’t even reached half of that time, and he’s telling me to come back?”

Those words were true. After her birth, Elin had spent decades within the Great Forest. That was expected to continue. However, King Elturis, pitying his daughter’s fate, wanted to give Elin a brief taste of freedom, and so she was allowed to travel outside the Great Forest.

The promised time was thirty years. But King Elturis, who had been monitoring Elin’s activities through the World Tree, revoked that promise. Though not even half the promised period had passed, he ordered Elin’s return.

He hadn’t prepared any pretext to persuade her. Silvaren had naturally assumed that Elin would immediately comply with the order.

“…Do you intend to betray the greater cause?”

Silvaren uttered in a cold voice. He couldn’t force her to come. If it were elsewhere, perhaps, but this was the Imperial Palace, the heart of Elysium. The Emperor and three Imperial Apostles were all gathered nearby. If he caused a disturbance, he would be immediately subdued, and Albheim would suffer consequences as well.

It was a pointless concern. Elin had certainly changed. She expressed her thoughts, developed emotions, and showed discontent. But once the greater cause was invoked, Elin could not defy Elturis.

She had been raised that way.

“Did Father… truly say it was for the greater cause?”

“Yes.”

“…I understand.”

As expected, Elin nodded obediently. An expressionless face that revealed no emotion. That was good enough. Silvaren cared more about completing his assigned mission than about Elin’s thoughts.

“Wait.”

Just as he was about to leave with Elin, a hand suddenly grabbed Silvaren’s shoulder.

“What is it? We’re in a hurry.”

“How can you just take someone away without explanation?”

Rex retorted with an incredulous expression. Greater cause? Ordered to return? Rex didn’t understand the meaning of those words.

But one thing was certain: Elin was about to leave for somewhere. And the bond between Rex and Elin was not shallow enough for him to simply stand by and watch.

No, even before considering their bond. How could she leave like this without any explanation?

“Lady Elin. Where are you going?”

“My homeland. To Albheim.”

“I understand you need to go home, but isn’t this too much? We’ve spent time together, at least we should say proper goodbyes…”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“…What?”

Elin tilted her head and said:

“It’s obvious that you’re coming with me, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“Huh?”

“Ah.”

Rex couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.