Silence.
An incomparable silence.
Everyone present stared blankly at the sleepy elf sitting on a cloud, and in their hearts, the same question exploded, 'Who is this person???'
Feeling the gazes from around her, Cocotte also came back to her senses. She stuck out half her tongue, scratched the back of her head, and said with a goofy smile, "Oh oh, sorry, I forgot."
"You're already an emperor now. I should call you Your Majesty."
Everyone else was utterly confused.
This familiar tone, and the feeling in those words,
It was as if… the person who came was someone incredible.
Aubrey was smiling cheerfully, making it impossible to tell he was supposed to be a dignified emperor.
"Councilor Cocotte."
"I still remember the last time we met. Back then, my father had not yet passed away."
'C… Councilor?'
'Another one?'
The group of people all immediately looked at Cocotte, feeling a wave of shock.
Most importantly, she was brought here by Liya Clavenna.
'Just how many councilors did the Clavenna family have?'
Some people also noticed the emperor's wording.
'His Majesty said… that during their last meeting, the previous emperor had not yet died?'
'That meant… His Majesty and her were old acquaintances.'
'So that was at least more than thirty years ago.'
'After all, Emperor Aubrey didn't ascend the throne until he was over twenty.'
'Then how old was this councilor???'
Aubrey slowly said, "With your identity, you deserve a seat… but it seems you don't really need one right now."
Aubrey was referring to the fact that she was following Liya, following the vassal of his vassal.
But this shut-in elf clearly didn't understand the emperor's deeper meaning. She only yawned, stretched, looked down at the cloud beneath her, and said dreamily, "Mm, yeah, I don't need it."
"But you don't have to call me councilor anymore. I'm working for Viktor now."
.....
"!?"
After a moment of silence, the entire palace instantly exploded.
"What!? A councilor of the Mage Council is working for Viktor?"
"What kind of ability does Viktor have to make a former councilor willingly do that?"
"And this councilor is also His Majesty's old acquaintance!"
The crowd began chattering noisily inside the hall, and for a while, the entire palace became somewhat chaotic.
But an even more shocking thing followed. The emperor spoke as if with intentional meaning, "That brat Viktor, he even has the next Elf Queen working for him?"
'The next Elf Queen!?'
The bombardment of heavy news was simply too dense; for a moment, the nobles present couldn't even react.
The entire palace seemed to become a place for the two of them to chat. Each sentence was thrown out like a bomb dropped into a calm lake, sending waves dozens of meters high.
Viktor wasn't even in the palace, yet every sentence, every word, all pointed toward Viktor.
At this moment, everyone understood.
The elf before them was actually someone who had originally been meant to ascend the throne as queen.
No wonder she looked so young, yet her tone felt even more seasoned than the emperor's.
Because the longevity of elves couldn't be faked.
Even a three-hundred-year-old elf would still look like a human in their teens, full of youthful radiance.
Elves were extremely mysterious beings. They could sense powerful natural energy, and compared to humans were even more able to receive blessings from gods.
Even those favored by elves would become extraordinarily lucky.
These special beings lived in very hidden places, extremely difficult to detect, not to mention that no one dared try to capture an elf.
Such actions would easily bring catastrophic disaster.
At this moment, the grand entrance of the Crown Prince was completely overshadowed by the appearance of this elf.
She made everyone feel a sense of unreality.
"No choice, life carries you along."
Cocotte grumbled in annoyance, then as if suddenly remembering something, she added, "Oh oh, were you all talking about something? Then I must've interrupted. I'll shut up now."
"You all continue. I'm just here to protect this girl."
Cocotte pointed to Liya beside her, then plopped onto her cloud and fell asleep.
However…
At this point, no one knew what they were supposed to say anymore.
The Crown Prince was still kneeling on one knee in place, and almost everyone had already forgotten about him.
This was supposed to be his moment of glory.
Noticing all eyes turning toward her side, Liya finally moved.
She smiled, bowed to His Majesty, and slowly said, "Sorry, Your Majesty, my brother is preparing Her Highness the Princess's lesson, so I came in his place."
There was no problem with this statement. The person who appointed Viktor as the princess's teacher was the emperor, so using the princess as a reason not to come, there was no fault to be found.
Moreover...
Viktor Clavenna was a current councilor.
A mere prince was not enough to summon a councilor.
Liya turned and looked at the Crown Prince still kneeling on one knee. Her brows lifted slightly, but her tone was full of the most sincere congratulations, "Your Highness's reputation truly spreads far and wide. The news of you slaying a demonic dragon has already spread across the Empire, everyone knows it."
"My brother also said you already have half the majesty His Majesty once had."
But many people could hear the mockery hidden within those words.
Half the majesty.
Wasn't that just half?
Aubrey slew a demonic dragon alone when he was seventeen. You're already over thirty, and you needed to bring an entire army…
It might not even be half.
These words were more than a little cutting.
Liya, however, didn't care at all. She covered her mouth and laughed lightly as she continued, "Your Highness."
"You truly are a great hero."
Albany remained kneeling where he was, but all others could only see his still-upright back.
No one knew what the Crown Prince was thinking, but everyone understood, the glory that was supposed to belong to him had been completely crushed to dust once the Clavenna family arrived.
Aubrey waved his hand and looked at Albany, still kneeling with his head lowered, and said calmly, "Rise, Albany."
"After a long journey, you should return and rest."
"…Yes, Father."
Albany slowly stood up, dragging his clanking armor, and slowly walked out of the palace.
Owiser watched his elder brother leave, but he did not feel much joy.
At this moment, with the emperor's attitude so clear, many nobles faintly understood something.
At some point, the Clavenna family was no longer limited by the title of count.
With all the titles they held, it seemed they no longer needed to play childish noble games with the princes like ordinary aristocrats did.
———
"Ha! Feels great!"
Liya held a cup of wine and gulped it down in huge swallows.
Inside a dim tavern, Liya sat at a wooden table holding an oversized mug, shouting loudly.
One cup down, her face was already flushed.
Liya had never drunk alcohol before. As a merchant, she needed to keep her mind sharp at all times.
But today, she truly felt what "refreshing" meant.
The ugly expressions of those nobles, one shocked face after another, it made her feel the pleasure of no longer needing to fake politeness with those people.
She didn't even need to care about the princes' attitudes, not even about openly mocking the Crown Prince in front of His Majesty.
Of course, Liya knew very clearly why she could do all this.
She had a towering brother.
But the contributor beside her couldn't be forgotten either. Liya raised her cup and loudly said, "All thanks to you, Cocotte. You have a drink too."
Cocotte hugged a large mug, sitting opposite Liya, looking troubled at the big cup in front of her.
This type of wheat ale, she had never tasted it.
As an elf, even among her own people, she only drank nectar or fruit wines made from fresh fruits.
Liya watched her with squinted eyes and then lifted her mug again, taking another heavy gulp.
Yes, this was leveraging power.
When Viktor told her to bring Cocotte along, Liya understood Viktor's intention.
A former councilor, Cocotte's value wasn't just her ex-councilor status or her current fourth-tier strength.
Having stayed in the Mage Council for decades, even if Cocotte were a pig, she would have countless followers.
And she was an elf on top of that.
With Cocotte at her side, Liya could completely ignore the ugly faces of those nobles, and she could even freely mock the Crown Prince she disliked the most.
As for why she disliked him, she had never even met him, yet he already wanted to marry her?
Liya did not want to become some political marriage tool, and once she gained enough background to ignore a prince, she would use that advantage to its fullest.
These were things Viktor didn't even need to teach her.
Soon, Liya drank a bit too much. Her head felt unclear, and her vision became blurry.
Her words turned messy.
Eventually, she forgot where she was, collapsed face-first onto the table, and fell asleep snoring.
She didn't even realize that a hand rested on her shoulder.
"How much did she drink?"
Viktor's voice sounded lightly, and Cocotte, hugging her huge mug, yawned.
"Just two cups. Honestly, her alcohol tolerance isn't as good as mine."
Viktor looked at the eight empty cups in front of Cocotte and raised an eyebrow.
"You're being modest."
Cocotte kept yawning nonstop. Her activity level today had clearly exceeded her limit, and she continued, "Since you're here, I'm going back first."
Outside, the cloud floated and drifted into the room. Cocotte flopped onto it headfirst, and the cloud slipped out through the window carrying her away.
Viktor looked at the completely drunk Liya, thinking about how to bring her back.
Seeing her collapsed on the table, he ultimately gave up on teleporting with her.
Teleporting with someone required the other person's mind to be clear and aware that they were inside a teleportation.
Otherwise, they might fall into some random void in spatial turbulence.
He tried to help Liya stand, but it was obvious she couldn't walk properly at all.
So he bent down, lifted her arms onto his shoulders, and carried her on his back.
Without space on his shoulders, Vega had nowhere to perch.
It could only stand on Viktor's head, turning his hair into a bird's nest.
"…Viktor?"
Liya's confused voice sounded, but she quickly received a reply that reassured her.
"Mhm."
Being carried on his back, Liya half-squinted her eyes and pressed her cheek against his broad back, smiling foolishly.
"I know… hic… you wanted me to vent properly, that's why… you had Cocotte follow me."
"Thank you."
Viktor didn't respond. He casually placed a bag of Geo on the table, then cast a wind-control spell to make his body incredibly light.
Carrying Liya, he stepped out through the window.
Under the night sky, Viktor carried Liya and flew steadily toward home.
His speed was controlled perfectly; with the stability of the spell, there wasn't even a trace of wind around them.
And so, Viktor clearly heard the girl's soft murmur behind him, "Brother… when we were little."
"Why… did you not like me…"
Whoosh…
The magic seemed to lose a bit of stability.
Gradually, for the first time in a long while, wind brushed past Viktor's ears.
As if responding.
As if silent.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/XenosX
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰