INAT - Chapter 71

The elf continued to vent his anger as if he could not possibly let it go, even while speaking.

"After all, wasn't that power bestowed by Her? If She returns, She will surely be disappointed in the humans who use their abilities indiscriminately and take them back. If She takes that power away, this empire will be nothing but an empty cart!"

“Ah. This power?”

Thierry made a small fire at the tip of his index finger and showed it. He wiggled his finger with a look of contempt, then snapped the tip while muttering dryly.

"I could easily trample you to death even without this kind of power. Isn't that why you can't move rashly?"

The small flame that had dropped to the elf's toes had not lost its strength. The elf gritted his teeth as he stomped on the flame, which was swaying as if it would catch fire at any moment.

He shouldn't have dealt with Thierry in the first place, but seeing his face, he couldn't calm down at all.

Well, it couldn't be helped. Just how much their plans had been delayed because of Thierry.

There was no way they wouldn't know about the rumors of him scouring the continent in search of their location. Believing it was right to hide as much as possible for the sake of the future, even if it hurt their pride, they couldn't bring themselves to step forward openly and had only moved secretly from the background. To think they ended up getting caught at the very most critical moment.

"Not anymore. Now that she has awakened, the flow will change."

"Why do you keep talking as if the Princess is going to come to you guys... It makes me feel terrible."

A glint flashed in his eyes, which had held an indifferent light. Even though the light was behind him and shadows were cast on his face, his eyes shone so eerily that one could see the glint in them.

The elf's legs trembled from the overwhelming sense of intimidation pressing down on his entire body. However, on his face, which was bound by sheer stubbornness, there was nothing but the determination not to yield.

"It must be because I hit the nail on the head. The moment she learns the truth, she will absolutely never stay by your side."

"...Truth?"

"We did nothing but try to escort the One who arrived here. Wasn't it you who dragged the One from another world here in the first place?!"

"What kind of bullshit is that?"

Thierry gritted his teeth and spat out a curse through his gaps. As he gripped the bars with such strong force that he seemed to say he could no longer endure it, the bars creaked and bent.

It was clearly nonsense, but it annoyed him, fearing that he might defile Elisha's ears with that glib tongue. The gap, which had been widening as if wanting to wring his neck right then and there, came to a sudden halt at the elf's words that followed.

"The necklace you have."

"...!"

"That necklace was an ancient Elven artifact that Helena stole. Not knowing what power it possessed. You dared to use that power simply to satisfy your selfishness."

"... What?"

Helena—it was a name he hadn't heard in a long time. The image of his mother handing him a necklace when he was a child flashed through Thierry's mind.

"This necklace will become your wish. Never let it fall from you."

That urgent voice, emphasizing the fervent wish, rose in his mind as vividly as if he had heard it yesterday. Was it not just words spoken to comfort the child who would be left alone?

What did you wish for?

It was such a long time ago that he couldn't remember it right away. Thierry traced his way back, struggling to recall that moment.

“I don’t like being alone.”

Ah, he remembered.

The child, suddenly confined to a cold villa, simply wished for someone to be by his side. Driven solely by a pure desire, he wanted someone who would stay by his side for a long time.

So you're saying Elisha came because of that?

Thierry's hand slid down.

"It is an artifact that responds to the owner's earnest wishes. It has never once activated, yet what on earth did you wish for to be able to summon Her?"

Thanks to Thierry, they were able to bring Podia's soul back to this world, but the elves had always wondered about this: what exactly was the condition that activated the artifact they had attempted countless times but failed every time?

Thierry narrowed his brows and fixed his gaze, which had been fixed on the empty air for a moment. His eyes, glaring at the elf, grew deeper.

"I can't let this go. If it's hard to find any other traces anyway, wouldn't I be able to relieve this suffocating feeling by killing you, even if it means killing you?"

You could dismiss it as nothing more than the desperate struggle of a rat caught in a trap, without a single piece of evidence. However, he became afraid that if Elisha were to find out about this story, which already made him feel incredibly uneasy, her heart, which he had barely managed to open, would close again.

Thierry slowly opened his tightly clenched fist and began to set his palm ablaze.

"Your Majesty! No!"

It was then. A voice that shouldn't have been heard burrowed into his ears. The sound of approaching footsteps felt as if it were pounding on his heart.

Thierry's heart sank at the small hand that soon grabbed his arm.

***

I stood beside Thierry and cautiously looked up at him. His body did not move a muscle, but his eyes were trembling slightly like lanterns flickering in the wind.

"How did you get here..."

Soon, he barely managed to squeeze out a voice and averted his gaze.

He seemed so shaken mentally that he didn't even notice me nearby. He looked so unstable that he couldn't even detect the presence of Wagen, who was standing right behind him.

"I apologize. I made the independent decision to bring her here, thinking that the Princess would also wish to meet him. Please forgive my disloyalty."

Wagen squeezed his eyes shut with a look of despondency. I glanced at him once, then gently shook Thierry's arm, which was still stiff.

"No, Your Majesty. I asked to be taken there because I wanted to speak with an elf. It seems I am closely involved."

"That is correct. Great One, please do not be deceived by that wicked man!"

The elf reacted faster. He pressed himself against the bars, his eyes flashing.

"...Wicked man? Don't elves hate all humans? I don't understand why you keep calling me a great person."

"You do not need to hide anything from me. Besides, since you are the reincarnation of such a great dragon, how could I dare compare myself to a lowly human like you?"

It was a tone bordering on conviction. It felt as if the elf's eyes were gleaming with madness, sending shivers down my spine.

"Could you please stop saying that? It's a bit of a burden. I feel a bit uncomfortable because it feels like I've become a cult leader... And even if you talk big about being a dragon or whatever, I'm still just a human right now."

"...If you wish, I will do so. That isn't important right now."

The elf smirked and looked at Thierry. His gaze was full of impure intentions, so I bit the inside of my mouth and stroked Thierry's arm down, naturally taking his hand. I felt his stiff hand tremble slightly and slowly grasp mine.

Then, the elf grabbed the bars again with a bang, as if having a seizure, and whispered quickly.

"Open your eyes to the truth. We have indeed been waiting for you. However, it was not us, but that very human who brought you from another world!"

"...I heard. Did you say it was because of the necklace?"

Thierry's hand, which was holding mine, tightened.

"Yes. It is nothing but the absolute truth. That necklace is an artifact imbued with the power to grant wishes, and we were able to detect that you came to this world as that power was activated."

"How did you know? How did you know?"

"We can recognize you no matter what you look like."

“So how?”

"..."

The elf answered with silence. He had acted as if he were about to tell everything, but instantly changed his attitude as if he could not answer the truly important part.

I noticed that the elf, who was quietly lowering his eyes, had his nerves turned toward my side.

'I feel like if I just sweet-talked him, he might tell me something else... but it would be difficult in this state, right?'

No matter how I looked at it, it seemed difficult to ask for more details as long as Thierry was by my side. I was lost in thought, wondering what to do, when he tightened his grip on me as if he had sensed my thoughts.

It was just the right amount of force until a moment ago, but now it was so strong that a moan escaped my lips.

"Ah, Your Majesty, is that your hand?"

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

As I whispered softly and waved my hand, he flinched in surprise and relaxed his grip. I took the opportunity to pull my hand away and touched it with my other hand.

"Are you okay? Before I knew it... Let's go see the royal physician."

"May I talk for a moment?"

"...Uh?"

"It won't take long. Please?"

"Why?"

The whispering voice trembled slightly. When I turned my head to look at him, his face, as he looked down at me, was filled with anxiety.

I almost reached out to touch him at his pitiful expression, but I held back my feelings. It felt like I shouldn't get any closer to him now if I wanted to hear something different from the elf.

"Your Majesty..."

"...Do whatever you want.”

When I called out to him pleadingly, he paused for a moment before giving an answer mixed with a sigh. I felt conflicted by that response, which could hardly be called an acceptance, but it was a situation that could not be helped.

Thinking that I would go out later and clear up any misunderstandings, I gestured to Wagen, who was standing behind me.

In fact, I would never have come here if it weren't for Wagen, who suddenly showed up at my room and told me that Thierry was going to meet an elf, so it would be best for me to act discreetly given how guilty he felt.

Fortunately, Thierry turned his back first. Wagen followed behind him, then turned around and spoke to me.

"I will be waiting at the halfway point. Please give me two rounds of applause when I finish speaking."

“I will.”

I watched Thierry's retreating figure and turned my head when he was out of sight.

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