Although Olivier had left, the atmosphere inside Yaoguang Palace did not ease because of it.
The envoys of the Empire and the Kingdom were still at each other’s throats, neither side willing to take a single step back in their verbal sparring, though further physical contact never occurred.
Both sides were intentionally avoiding a direct conflict.
However, the elves, acting as hosts, had no intention of easing the tension and simply continued to enjoy their food.
If not for the fact that their chests still rose and fell with their breaths, the envoys would have suspected whether these elves were actually puppets created by the Elven King.
It was not until the arrival of the Elven King, Alvain, that the atmosphere in Yaoguang Palace finally softened.
“It seems I am late. My apologies, everyone.”
As he sat upon his throne and offered a gentle smile to the envoys below, the noble heroes from the Empire and the Kingdom finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But the attention of Winnidith and Isabella was entirely focused on the woman who had followed behind Alvain and now stood in attendance beneath the throne.
She was Vilda’s mother—the Priestess of the Elven Race, Elshir Villanos.
The two girls quietly exchanged glances, and Winnidith stealthily activated her Elemental Vision.
Among the eight elements that constitute a living being, the emerald wind element and the green wood element were particularly eye-catching, while the black that symbolized the dark element was huddled in a corner of the body just like the other elements.
This level of dark element was even less than the residue she had captured back then.
‘Did I misunderstand her?’
The moment that thought arose, Winnidith’s Spirit Perception began to warn her frantically.
Clearly, her suspicion was not misplaced.
‘That means she has a strong enough camouflage… Hurts, hurts, hurts! I know this person is dangerous, so Spirit Perception, stop warning me! My head hurts so much I can’t even think!!!’
Winnidith clutched her head and tearfully hid in Isabella’s arms to avoid anyone noticing something was wrong.
“Hmph, my old man was so rushed to call me, but then he’s this late himself.”
“Leah.”
Having been caught right after speaking ill of her father, Leah immediately straightened her body.
A smile that looked more painful than crying was forced onto her face as she looked toward the figure on the throne.
“I am here, Father. Please give me your instructions.”
The moment those words were spoken, the envoys of both countries revealed looks of surprise.
Clearly, none of them had expected Leah to have such a well-behaved side.
Even Isabella and Winnidith were surprised.
‘What are you looking at? Is it that strange for a daughter to be well-behaved in front of her father?!’
No matter how exasperated Leah felt, she could only honestly wait for her father’s criticism.
She waited nervously for a long, long time (though it was actually only a short while) before she finally heard his light words.
“As the princess of the elves, you have not fulfilled your responsibilities as the heir. Tell me, how should I punish you?”
Leah’s expression immediately turned bitter.
“I… I was wrong.”
“That is good.”
From beginning to end, Alvain’s gaze did not linger on Leah for even a second, yet he had this proud and overbearing Elven Princess completely under control.
“Since that is the case, you will stay in the Moonlight Palace starting tonight. You are not permitted to leave without my permission.”
“Okaaaay~~~”
Leah puffed out her cheeks and reluctantly complied.
Yaoguang Palace was pin-drop silent.
They had not expected that while the royalty of two countries was present, the Elven King would choose to handle his family matters first, acting as if he had never even noticed them.
This father and daughter were truly carved from the same arrogant mold.
But no one would get angry because of this.
This was the Natural Forest, the Elven King’s territory.
Here, whatever he said or did was right.
Moreover, rumors had long circulated among the nations that within the borders of the Natural Forest, the Elven King was the strongest existence beneath the gods.
“Vilda, as her personal maid, you shall monitor the princess’s actions on my behalf. Do not allow her to leave without my permission.”
Vilda’s body trembled slightly.
With a mix of relief and helplessness, she lowered her head and replied.
“Yes.”
“You may leave.”
Having finished his family matters, Alvain reclined on his throne.
Every person and elf his gaze swept over lowered their heads to avoid his majesty.
Only when his gaze passed over Olivier did the latter not lower his head; instead, Olivier waved his hand and greeted him kindly.
Alvain’s gaze lingered on him for 2 seconds, but he shifted his eyes elsewhere without giving any response.
Gradually, his gaze settled on Leah, who was saying goodbye to her friends.
“Goodbye! I’ll take you two out for a good tour of the City of Emerald Shadows in 2 days.”
Leah knew she was being used as an example to warn others, but so what?
She didn’t like this kind of atmosphere anyway.
She was only reluctant to part with her two new friends.
‘Hehe, didn’t he just tell me that as long as I use a disguise, I can come out whenever I want by having Vilda monitor me?’
Leah’s mood improved greatly, and she even began to think about how she would show Winnidith and Isabella around the City of Emerald Shadows.
After Leah and Vilda left, it was finally time for the Elven King to meet the delegations of the two countries.
According to custom, the delegations needed to present the meeting gifts they had prepared.
“Lord Alvain, this is a treasure gifted by the Alendine Kingdom to our neighbor, the Natural Forest.”
As three Alendine maids opened the three wooden boxes they carried, one piece of exquisitely crafted jewelry after another appeared before everyone.
An elderly Alendine man with a graying beard introduced them with a flushed face.
“The gemstones in these three pieces of jewelry all come from the most exquisite parts of a single Wind-Whisper Jade. They are the gemstones with the highest wind element content in the world. Just by wearing them, the wearer’s perception of the wind element will be doubled!”
“His Majesty believes that such treasures are a match made in heaven for the Elven Race. He ordered the most skilled craftsmen in the kingdom to work on them, supplemented with various gold, jade, and jewels. He further had magic circles engraved on them to turn them into three magic tools to be presented to Lord Alvain as a gift to show the Kingdom’s sincerity.”
“At the same time, His Majesty also mentioned that there are vast amounts of Wind-Whisper Jade within Alendine. If you are interested, the Kingdom can open a special trade route. All construction costs will be borne by Alendine.”
The old man’s words were confident.
The task his King had given him was merely to open a commercial route with the Natural Forest, and Alendine was even covering all the construction costs.
He could not think of any reason for the Elven King to refuse their request!
Sure enough, when he saw Alvain lift his head to look over, the old man’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest with excitement.
“Elshir.”
Alvain did not answer the request directly but instead handed the matter over to Elshir.
“I am here, my King,” Elshir turned and responded.
“The Holy Tree is about to bear fruit. You shall be responsible for this matter.”
“As you command.”
Elshir nodded slightly.
She did not show the slightest bit of joy from beginning to end, which made the old man feel a bit annoyed.
‘People say elves are the longest-lived race, but what is there to be proud of when they all live like puppets?’
The old man shook his head.
He would be responsible for the planning of the trade route and the trade itself next; he could think these things in his heart, but he must never let them show.
Furthermore, there was something even more important for him to witness next.
‘I want to see what kind of treasure the Empire can use to surpass us this time!’
The old man looked at the awkward imperial envoys with schadenfreude.
Like many elderly people in Alendine, he held a hatred for the Robert Empire that could be called an obsession.
As long as they could make the Empire uncomfortable and gain pleasure from it, they would be more than happy to do so even if it cost them their entire fortune.
“Lord Alvain, the Empire has prepared Mystic Pattern Red Ore produced in Red Peak City and many gold, silver, and jewels. Please have a look.”
“Heh.”
The old man sneered publicly, and soon, the entire Yaoguang Palace was filled with the mocking laughter of the Alendine delegation.
These things were far too inferior compared to the gifts provided by Alendine!
While Mystic Pattern Red Ore was indeed an important resource, its greatest use was for etching Life Magic.
Everyone knew that the experts in the field of Life Magic were all in the Empire.
Therefore, to use the Mystic Pattern Red Ore, the Natural Forest would have to hire mages skilled in Life Magic from the Empire.
To tuck such schemes into a meeting gift for another country, the Empire truly had no sense of grace left.
The imperial envoys were also aware of this.
Thus, in the face of Alendine’s ridicule, they uncharacteristically failed to argue back and simply endured the mockery in silence.
“I understand. Since the Robert Empire has shown such sincerity, the Natural Forest cannot lack a return gift.”
What put them at ease was that Alvain did not show any expression of dissatisfaction.
He simply pointed randomly at an official and told him to select a return gift of sufficient sincerity for the Empire.
The level of importance could not compare to that given to the Alendine Kingdom, but at least a shred of dignity was preserved.
After thanking Alvain, they retreated.
However, the Empire’s momentum was clearly dampened afterward, leading to everyone being filled with pent-up frustration as they left.
Isabella watched all of this indifferently.
Even when the Empire was being humiliated, the Princess did not offer any defense.
She only took the opportunity to quietly let her gaze cross with Alvain’s once before sinking back into silence.