Tess was exceptionally serious today.
She knew, of course, that Liv had accompanied Elena to buy clothes, spending almost all of her savings in the process, and had only returned after they shared a meal.
Tess already knew Liv’s whereabouts through the bracelet on the girl’s wrist.
She didn’t need Cornflower to tell her a thing.
But it didn’t matter.
Tess wasn’t someone who looked down on commoners; she simply looked down on everyone except her own mother.
That included Julia, but it absolutely did not include Liv.
None of that was important.
What mattered was that in the letters her mother had sent recently, she mentioned that the atmosphere in the Frostwave Kingdom had gradually become strange ever since Prince Jagiello returned to the country.
The steppe cavalry that had originally been cruising the northern parts of the Archduchy of Tyro had almost all withdrawn to the eastern part of the kingdom.
They were now stationed west of the Great River, closely monitoring the movements of the elves.
Her mother had been forced to deploy two additional legions to the east of the Great River.
This was strange.
Logically speaking, the elven faction had won a great victory while the kingdom had suffered a quiet loss.
They should have continued to pressure the Republic.
It was contrary to common sense for them to back down so easily.
Either that, or the kingdom had found another way to exert pressure.
In addition, her mother focused on asking about the riots in the Republic.
After being assured that Her Majesty the Queen was safe, her mother stated she would notify the Republic’s ambassador and emphasize the need to strengthen security around the consulate.
If necessary, her mother would demand that the Republic allow the Dawn Golden Guards to be stationed at the consulate.
Finally, her mother included a meaningful sentence.
“Tess, given your personality, you’ve never been so concerned about anyone. I don’t believe it’s simply because she is the Elven Queen. After all, you’ve never been that concerned about your own mother. I only want to say that if it is as I suspect, you must protect her. She is just a chosen child; she cannot handle all of this alone.”
Tess Vilan knew what her mother meant.
She stroked the longbow beside her, “Selvien.”
The ancestors of the Windheize family had once used this longbow to hunt the bear-man—”Reyne the Skin-changer.”
During the Dragonborn War, it had also fired an arrow that pierced the left wing of the great dragon Athrasa.
As she touched the ancient oak, a warm texture met her palm.
The marks of time allowed the longbow to actually reflect the moonlight.
The symbols carved upon it in ancient Elven script had become blurred.
Only one word remained visible.
“Fate.”
These few letters had been blackened by age, deeply embedded in the oak.
If Liv were in such danger as she had been last time, Tess would pull the bowstring without hesitation.
But not now.
Liv was safe for the moment; she was with Julia to see Julia’s father, Domenico.
Tess Vilan looked coldly toward the location of Julia’s villa.
On the map spread across the table, a faint spark of fluorescence flickered within the mountain villa district.
…
Liv followed Julia into the villa’s main hall.
She wasn’t as stiff as she used to be.
She had discovered that as long as she stood there normally and acted with grace, people would be very polite or even submissive toward her.
Elf, you need to be confident!
Upon entering the drawing room, Domenico immediately stood up to greet them as usual.
However, this time, Domenico only exchanged a few brief pleasantries before inviting them to sit.
Domenico seemed to have more white hair than before.
His face was full of worry, and he forced a standard social smile.
“Miss Livyat, I asked Julia to invite you here because there is something I must tell you. This directly concerns the cooperation between the Hobric Republic and the Elven Nation.”
Liv’s heart tightened.
If it was something even Domenico found troublesome, what could it be?
She leaned forward slightly, signaling that she was listening intently.
“Recently, unpleasant voices have emerged among the councilors. This has made us very wary. Specifically, some councilors suspect that the Governor-General, and even I, have accepted bribes from the elves to facilitate this cooperation between the Republic and the Elven Nation. They even believe that the position of Rivermouth Governor offered by the elves is a sugar-coated bullet.”
Wait, people are only just now starting rumors that Domenico took bribes from elves?
Liv thought to herself.
But this was indeed related to her own interests—no, it was vital!
No matter how you looked at it, she was the Elven Queen, after all.
“But Mr. Domenico, the Republic’s foreign policy has always been very proactive and pragmatic. As far as I know, previous cooperation with the Frostwave Kingdom was also very deep. Why didn’t anyone spread rumors about Mrs. Ball collaborating with the enemy?”
Domenico immediately wore a look that said, “You should understand.”
“Uh, Miss Livyat. This involves things from thousands of years ago. You know how it is. Although everyone from the Governor-General down to the common people doesn’t really take it seriously anymore, generally speaking, sleeping in the same bed as another human won’t at least get you labeled a traitor. That is the difficulty the Governor-General and I face in our work.”
Livyat knew this, of course, but she didn’t feel it was a decisive factor.
After all, when it came to the budget proposal vote, more than two-thirds of the councilors had voted in favor, and the residents were all very happy.
Domenico continued.
“Mrs. Ball sent someone to find me. She complained that my policies are too radical. She believes that no matter who we cooperate with, we should take it step by step. Now the ‘Northern Faction’ has put her in a difficult position, and she’s at her wit’s end.”
It seemed Mrs. Ball really did just want to manage things within her tiny sphere of influence, which aligned perfectly with Liv’s previous guesses.
Domenico finally couldn’t hold it back anymore.
His beard trembled as he poured everything out in one breath.
“I know that the elves, who have distanced themselves from this world, are also curious as to why I insist on cooperating with them. This is likely your suspicion as well, Miss Livyat.”
“We have no choice. The Republic’s actual fiscal deficit is so severe that we are on the verge of bankruptcy at any moment. Those councilors look at the annual reports and cheer, thinking things aren’t that bad.”
“But those fools! Don’t they know that much of our fiscal revenue consists of banks packaging the debts others owe us and then converting that debt into equity!?”
“They have speculated and made money from it, and the Republic can keep running, but prices are skyrocketing. The residents can no longer make ends meet!”
“A bunch of idiots. Do they really think that if we lose Landingset, they can continue to make money in Areo or Port Kiolan!?”
Livyat’s heart sank.
This was also what she had surmised.
The history of her past life told her that barricades, windows, sewers, and squares were the perfect places to shoot the likes of Domenico.
Domenico rubbed his forehead wearily and continued with his head lowered.
“Therefore, we need to sell goods to the Elven Nation, because no other country sells to the Elven Nation in such large quantities. We need the Elven Nation’s goods for re-export, because no other country buys from the Elven Nation in such large quantities.”
“Most importantly, the previous Queen, Larorvia. She supported this cooperation, especially two months ago. At that time, her support grew even stronger.”
Yes, at that time, the rings of the Ancient Tree had informed the Elven Council of Elders that the “Book of Kings,” which had not appeared in the world for ten thousand years, had chosen a new Queen.
[The Ancient Book has appeared to choose a Queen for the people. Obey its will and do not doubt your new Queen. Her honorable name is now Loren Green.]
That was her.
Then, the Ancient Tree gave her a new name of honor, Livyat.
Domenico hesitated for a moment and suddenly said, “If—and I mean if—I convince the Governor-General to move a small portion of the gold reserves by sea to the Elven Nation, I wonder if the current Queen could help store and guard it?”