“So, Te-Si-Wei-Lan-Your-Highness, you just want to watch me make a fool of myself, don’t you, you wicked villainous noble lady!”
Livyat pointed at Tesvelan, puffing her cheeks in anger, her ears red to the very roots, making her long ears look even more like a rabbit’s.
And since they were in a café, her words, though full of indignation, came out in a small but intensely emotional voice.
It sounded almost like a whisper.
“Some silly Fufu didn’t even bother to ask, so how was I supposed to explain? Should I have shouted, ‘Hey, you commoner over there, listen up, I am the noble Tesvelan Windheiz, step aside—’?”
Tesvelan grinned mischievously at Livyat, the tips of her elven ears quivering slightly, as if she wanted to poke Livyat’s ears again, but was quickly fended off by a swift hand chop.
“So in the end, you’re the Kingdom of Elves’ greatest spy!” Livyat huffed.
“Is that so? Why do I feel like you’re the Kingdom of Elves’ greatest spy, Your Majesty?”
Tesvelan replied with perfect seriousness.
“What do you mean I’m the greatest spy? Isn’t the Queen your mother?”
Livyat exclaimed in surprise.
“Seems like that won’t be the case for much longer. Livyat… Miss, my mother sent me a letter saying, after a dozen meetings with the Council of Elders, they’ve decided to respect this ancient Book of Choosing the King—that’s what they’re calling it now—and according to its decree, following tradition, the throne is to be passed to you.”
Tesvelan carefully recalled her mother’s letter, sharing her mother’s decision with Livyat.
“Wait, your mother’s going to abdicate to me? Didn’t you try to persuade her otherwise? I have no experience being a queen!”
Livyat started to panic.
Previously, when they spoke about matters of the queen, she had no real sense of it, but now she realized things weren’t going as she’d predicted.
Anxiety crept in like a bone-deep malady, impossible to shake.
She gradually found it hard to breathe.
“Yes. So Mother said, even if the abdication ceremony is held and you are proclaimed queen, she will continue as regent. Until, until the elves believe your political experience is enough to wield the queen’s authority.”
Tesvelan watched Livyat’s panicked, birdlike face, pondering whether her mother’s abdication was truly the right choice.
“But, I trust Mother’s judgment. If she thinks the Book of Choosing the King must be followed, then she must have her reasons. Besides, the Ancient Tree has shown no objection. So, relax a bit, Miss Livyat. Just because you are given the crown, doesn’t mean you must bear the weight alone—this is far better than most chosen queens.”
Tesvelan’s tone turned a little grave at the end.
Both fell silent.
Livyat took small sips of her coffee, this time with a double portion of sugar, but it was still so bitter.
She couldn’t imagine how, in her previous life, she survived three cups of extra strong Americano every day when preparing for exams.
After hesitating for a long while, she plucked up her courage to ask, “The Kingdom of Elves always seems indifferent to the outside world. Do they really not know what’s happening out there?”
Tesvelan picked up a piece of fried sweet pastry, took a small bite of the crispy crust, and chewed thoughtfully, as if trying to offset the coffee’s bitterness.
“Mother and the Council of Elders are not opposed to an active diplomatic policy, but the Kingdom of Elves carries too much historical baggage. So much that every nation west of the Great River wants to use it as a bargaining chip in negotiations.”
Oh, right.
A few days ago, while reading history books, she discovered several volumes had blanks when it came to certain periods of their country’s history—they could only quote elven records, or those from the Kingdom of Camelot west of the Western Mountains.
Undoubtedly, through comparative research, that era must have been a time of rampant elven tyranny, though the books themselves were found only deep within the bookshelves.
Perhaps modern scholars could access more information on these matters.
She decided to research on her own instead of just listening to Tesvelan .
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Tesvelan , but as the daughter of Queen Larorvia, Tesvelan was bound to have her own perspective.
“The Iron Fortress Kingdom?”
Livyat continued, referring to the dwarven nation to their east, west of the Great River.
“The Frostweave Kingdom. Mother’s letter said they placed orders for two river warships just last month.”
Tesvelan shifted the topic, “Miss Livyat, I heard that Lady Julia invited you to the ball this weekend, but you still haven’t gotten your evening dress ready. I could lend you one of mine, but our heights don’t match.”
“I really don’t understand these things, and I can’t afford it, either. I asked Sister Julia to help me find a second-hand dress, maybe from some noble lady who sold hers.”
Livyat truly didn’t dare step foot into those upscale boutiques on Hanglu Avenue.
“Miss Livyat. If you really do become queen in a few months, and word gets out you once wore a second-hand dress to such a ball, my mother would be so furious she’d swallow the Destiny Disc of the Ancient Tree whole. So the consulate will cover this expense. Please, pick out whatever you like.”
“I don’t know. If I have to live like a noble lady…”
“This isn’t about living like a noble lady. These past days, you’ve only worn those two new female uniforms they issued you. Sure, you look lovely in uniform. But don’t you want to try the clothes girls like?”
Tesvelan hesitated, feeling uncertain herself—her own sense of fashion was nothing special, so she couldn’t give Livyat good advice.
“But… Your Highness Tesvelan, you don’t know. Maybe during the day, when I’m with you and Sister Julia, I feel quite happy. But at night, lying on the apartment bed, I have no mood to even think about what to wear…”
Looking at the nearly cold coffee, the unfiltered grounds rising to the surface, Livyat’s mood felt just like that cup.
Leaning back in her chair, she hesitated for a long time before voicing her question, “Te…Tes, lately I thought I was slowly adapting to all these sudden emotions, but I don’t know why—my hearing has become so sensitive. I can hear Aunt Susie next door coughing as clear as day.”
“More than that, every sound from outside—people passing by, the coughs of old folks, men complaining, women sighing, even cats and dogs scampering from one end of the street to the other—my emotions just spin out of control. I’m just like the neighbor’s girl; whenever she sees the stray cat run out the door and disappear, she always cries.”
Livyat actually realized long ago.
The so-called girls who cry often, they cry for the same reasons she does.
Hormones are strange things.
As for that other feeling, it reminded her of her favorite painting from her previous life, ‘Mystery and Melancholy of a Street.’
She felt as if she was standing on that mysterious street, in the shadows cast by the buildings, under white arcades, with a lonely girl rolling a hoop, an old-fashioned truck with an empty cargo hold and open doors—all of it illogical and somehow terrifying.
Tesvelan seemed to ponder for a long time, then spoke in a gentle, slow tone, “Sharp hearing is a key sign of your transformation into an elf; I’m sure you’ve noticed your ears changing too. But I think, for anyone stepping into a girl’s youthful awakening, tears will come often.”
“Tears of joy, tears of sadness, even just seeing passersby coming and going, vanishing down one street or another, their voices fading until they’re gone—that too is a girl’s experience. Miss Livyat, I’m glad you became a girl without skipping your girlhood, but starting to experience it from the beginning.”
At that moment, Livyat felt the hands holding her coffee cup being gently enclosed and wrapped by another pair.
Looking up, she saw Tesvelan’s pale blue eyes shining with tenderness: “Miss Livyat, I’ll do everything I can to protect your life here in Landingset. Also, just call me Tes.”
“Tes. Then call me Liv, please. Don’t use ‘Miss’ anymore.”
Livyat felt her small hands wrapped warmly, as if wearing gloves—the warmth seeped from her fingers right into her heart.
“But you don’t always have cold hands and feet, right? I heard that’s some sort of illness…”
Tesvelan had meant to say it was a phlegmatic disorder.
At that, she heard the strangest wail from a young girl.