“As you may have guessed, I was the one who led the downfall of Testarossa.”
A cold silence fell over the conference room.
Around Sion, currents of magic surged— tick! tick!—causing the air to tremble.
Her intent was clearer than words. To anyone watching, it was clear she was on the verge of exploding.
Seeing this, Rohan urgently spoke up.
“Continue the conversation. I will keep my promise.”
““!””
The Chief Elder and Sion each interpreted Rohan’s words in their own way.
To Chief Elder Levin Maxwell, it sounded like a promise to take full responsibility under the name of Hex.
Sion on the other hand recalled the promise she had made with Rohan in the dormitory.
“……..”
Sion, who had been glaring at the Chief Elder, rolled her eyes and shot him a sidelong glance.
When her gaze fell on Rohan who had spoken up and Clara sitting beside him, a sense of calm washed over her.
She reined in the surging magic within her before letting out a long exhale.
I’ll hold back now. I must hold back.
If she were to lose her composure and act impulsively here, she might never get the chance to hear the answers she sought.
Sion silently thanked Rohan in her heart for stopping her.
“Of course, from the Princess’s perspective, you must have many doubts. After all, the awkward questions you’ve been asking us elders have become increasingly varied over time.”
“……..”
“Time is short, so I’ll only share the key information that connects everything.”
After Levin Maxwell said those words, he glanced at Rohan as if seeking approval.
When Rohan nodded his head, the Chief Elder began to reveal a past unknown to Sion.
“You must be wondering why I and the elders who followed me acted as we did and how we dealt with Weber Testarossa, who ruled Tigrova as its sovereign until the appearance of the Snow Tiger Emperor.”
The order the Chief Elder received from the man who claimed to be Hex’s messenger was to confess and show the vessel’s mental strength.
The Chief Elder spoke in a firm tone, mixing blunt words into his sentences.
Sion clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. She suppressed the emotions threatening to burst forth at the blatant admission of harming her father.
“The Princess’s father, Weber Testarossa, even after losing all authority in defeat, knew no shame. He was delighted, saying that the Snow Tiger Emperor would grow Tigrova into a powerful nation.”
As Sion remained silent, trying to cool her boiling anger, the Chief Elder seized the momentum and continued.
“After that, he gathered us and made a proposal. He suggested that we work together with the new ruler, the Snow Tiger Emperor, for the prosperity of the nation. He even excitedly told us that the Snow Tiger Emperor had requested that the elves of the coniferous forest remain in Tigrova and hold key positions.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
Maxwell emphasized this as if it was the most critical point.
Sion couldn’t understand what the problem was with that statement. Even if they had been defeated, it seemed like an ideal progression.
“Your Highness. Elves cannot be ruled by beastmen.”
“Why? What’s the reason?”
The Chief Elder let out a faint laugh as he saw Sion questioning him in the same way Weber Testarossa had.
Until now, he had carefully chosen his words when speaking to the princess. But thanks to Hex’s messenger, he could now lay bare his true feelings, and it even excited him.
“How can you even ask that? Noble elves are not beings who can be ruled by lowly beastmen. Isn’t that obvious?”
“…Chief Elder. Have you gone mad?”
The anger Sion had been struggling to suppress seeped out, filling the conference room with a heavy atmosphere.
But the Chief Elder who was confident in Hex’s messenger remained unshaken.
“Our guest is watching, so please refrain from extreme language. I am perfectly sane. Aren’t there many elders who share my sentiments?”
Levin Maxwell gestured toward the elders crawling on the floor.
Though they had been beaten by Rohan and were in no normal state, none of those who remained conscious raised any objections.
There wasn’t even a hint of remorse in their eyes.
Rohan quietly observed the Chief Elder and Sion.
Levin Maxwell’s tendencies were being expressed more blatantly and aggressively than in Abyss City.
Crazy old man.
An elf who clung to extreme supremacism and outdated stubbornness, unable to keep up with the times. After living for so long, his rigid way of thinking had become utterly inflexible.
Rohan had known from the start what kind of values this old man held, but now that he had a shield to hide behind, his reckless tongue knew no bounds.
The Chief Elder still hadn’t stopped talking.
He seemed to take pleasure in revealing everything to Sion, which was sickening to watch. Perhaps that very repulsiveness was the reason the Reverse Reverence Society had come knocking.
“He refused to accept our petitions against associating with beastmen, so this rift was inevitable from the start.”
“Then tell me, what should my father have done?”
“He should not have grown complacent just because a good ruler emerged. He should have challenged him again to reclaim our sovereignty.”
“You speak so easily, since you have never fought a battle yourself.”
“Princess, a ruler’s duty is to do what must be done. Whether it is difficult or not is irrelevant.”
Sion realized something with absolute certainty.
No matter how long they spoke, she and this old man would never understand each other.
“Look at Tigrova’s might and the fame of the Snow Tiger Emperor. My father made the right decision for the situation. His only mistake was not rooting out the trash and keeping them by his side.”
Even as Sion growled with an aggressive tone,
The Chief Elder remained indifferent, merely recounting the past as if nothing else mattered. As long as he could speak his piece, he believed he would never lose an argument.
Because just listening to him would be enough to twist Sion’s stomach.
“Allow me to continue. Even if we were weakened by defeat, what power could we possibly have to harm Weber Testarossa?”
“……..”
“Weber Testarossa was truly formidable. Even to my untrained eyes, it was hard to believe he was of the same kind as us. A man worthy of the phrase ‘one-man army’.”
“You bastards… you made a deal with someone.”
“Yes. The esteemed figures of the Reverse Reverence Society lent us their help.”
He confessed without hesitation, seeing no need to deny it.
Sion had never heard of this group before, but she could already guess what the Chief Elder believed Rohan to be.
“If that was your plan, you should’ve just killed me too. Why go through the trouble of deceiving me and bringing me all the way here?”
With her question, the elf girl glared at the Chief Elder as if she were ready to pierce him through.
Her voice grew lower, reminiscent of a beast ready to tear out a throat.
“It’s a simple matter. You, Princess, were the condition of the deal.”
“The deal…?”
“Recall the education you’ve received up until now. Haven’t you worked tirelessly to become the bullet that would bring down the ruler of Tigrova?”
For Sion, there was no need to think deeply.
Memories of those times immediately came to mind.
“So, all that talk about making me kill the Snow Tiger Emperor and reclaim Tigrova, instilling in me the ideology of looking down on humans and beastmen…. that was all part of the deal?”
“It was both a deal and the common sense of the world.”
“Ha…! Chief Elder. Didn’t you choose the wrong backers? They seem awfully timid to me.”
For the first time, Sion’s words had an effect.
The Chief Elder’s wrinkles and eyebrows twitched.
“Princess, be careful with your words.”
“Look at the situation. It’s just the truth.”
Sion had pieced together the general flow.
It was clear that the Snow Tiger Emperor was a figure greatly despised by those big shots hiding in the shadows, and that the Reverse Reverence Society lacked the merit or confidence to eliminate him directly.
And so, they intended to nurture potential blades, then endlessly challenge him until results were achieved.
She was certain there were other schemes at play as well.
Because of these bastards, my parents….
The faces of her parents were clearer to her than the realization that her life had been wasted.
Knowing the truth, she was beyond angry. It was simply ridiculous.
“Chief Elder. You betrayed your kin, abandoned a life of wealth, and holed up in these ruins to train me as a weapon. What exactly were you promised in return?”
“Many things were promised. But the most notable, of course…”
The Chief Elder’s face grew ecstatic at the mere thought.
He lifted the sleeve of his robe, revealing an arm that was unnaturally smooth and elastic, devoid of a single wrinkle.
“Youth.”
“What?”
Had she misheard?
A voice of disbelief escaped Sion’s lips.
“Princess, as you know, I am not a warrior. I was born as a long-lived species, so of course I would live longer than humans. But compared to those who have honed their martial skills, my life would undoubtedly be shorter.”
“….…”
“That’s why it was so sweet and alluring. The opportunity to become young once again.”
“You were fooled by nonsensical sweet talk. Betraying your kin and selling them out to defy the natural order. Aren’t you ashamed?”
“Hex-nim’s power is no sweet talk. I believe it because I’ve experienced it and seen it with my own eyes.”
Levin Maxwell remembered clearly.
The ability of Hex, a high-ranking member of the Reverse Reverence Society, who toyed with an elf. Where he repeatedly aged and rejuvenated the elf before finally killing them.
The power that had briefly returned him to his youth. The remnants of it still lingered within him.
“…Chief Elder, you’re crazy. Completely crazy.”
“You wouldn’t understand this terror, Princess. Those who fear death the most are not children or youths in the prime of their lives. It’s the elderly, standing at the brink of the end.”
As the Chief Elder rambled on, recalling his encounter with the Reverse Reverence Society, Rohan clicked his tongue.
He knew the truth.
Hex’s ability was not as flexible as it seemed. There were many issues the man himself chose not to mention.
“………”
Sion realized that further conversation was pointless.
The person before her was a madman.
Now that she knew the truth and the organization behind it, there was only one thing left to ask.
“One last question.”
“Speak.”
“Where are the kin you claimed to have helped escape to other nations?”
Levin Maxwell paused as if trying to recall a forgotten fact.
Then he informed Sion in an utterly casual tone.
“If you dig deep enough in Tigrova, you’ll find at least some bone fragments.”
She had heard enough.
Sion struck the ground with a crackle of lightning.
Crack!
Her kick sent the Chief Elder who was still seated tumbling over the other elders sprawled on the floor.
“Ugh!”
Had it not been for the robe he wore, that single strike would have surely killed him.
That’s why he was bewildered.
Was the messenger, who had promised to protect him, slow to react?
“Chief Elder, I’m not hitting a person right now. It feels like I’m hunting a monster.”
“!”
Sion stepped closer with her footsteps clicking sharply.
The Chief Elder shifted his gaze to Rohan, seeking his help.
But Rohan remained seated in his place as he silently watched him.
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