Chapter 253: The Dragon and the Princess
The elves regarded the Ains, especially the humans, as their greatest enemies.
But not all elves thought that way.
There were a few elves who argued that dialogue and compromise were important, and Princess Margareta Luster was one of them.
She was a guardian of Yggdrasil and a member of the royal family that produced champions of God.
She had the most noble bloodline, except for the emperor.
Most of the power was concentrated in the parliament and the three elders, but that did not mean she was a powerless puppet.
She had a voice that people around her had to at least pretend to listen to.
That Margareta had chosen to visit the council of elders for a rare occasion, and she had singled out Drizden.
He did not want to face the young royal, but he could not ignore her either.
If he ignored her, who was directly connected to Yggdrasil, it could cause trouble for his plan.
So they met in a secret room of the council of elders.
Margareta got straight to the point as soon as she sat down.
“It is a blatant abuse of power to designate a specific individual as public enemy number one without the permission of the royal family. And I will not tolerate you using Yggdrasil recklessly.”
“…”
She started with a hasty attack.
This is why young elves are…
Drizden opened his mouth calmly.
“It was not the council of elders who designated Leobold Vandus as a public enemy, but Elder Kellodian. You have come to the wrong person.”
“Isn’t it you who is manipulating the elder behind the scenes?”
“I get that suspicion a lot. I’m sorry that I don’t know how to dispel it.”
“You’re trying to dodge again. You know very well who holds the core power in the council of elders.”
“Excuse me, Your Highness, do you know how many members are in the council of elders?”
“About 50?”
“49. There was a vacancy recently. Most of them are old, including me. They have experienced the Great War firsthand and are now waiting for their death. Why would they have any greed for power?”
“But the proportion of the council of elders in the parliament is too excessive…”
“That is the request of National Father Eilidh. You have not forgotten his words, have you? He said to consult with the council of elders on important matters in national history.”
She had nothing to say when he brought up something from 200 years ago.
Drizden wrapped it up neatly by saying that he was ready to share power.
His 300 years of life was not a joke, so he must have prepared a counterargument for whatever she said.
She had no clear evidence either, so she decided to move on to another topic.
“I heard that there was a controversy over Vandus’s annexation in the parliament this time… Is it because of the new type of Goliath called Black Knight?”
“That’s a small matter in the parliament. It’s not something Your Highness should worry about.”
“But if it worsens our relationship with human kingdoms, what could be more regrettable? As a member of Elvrande, not as a princess, I think I have the right to advise you.”
“What do you mean?”
When Drizden asked impatiently, she said something surprising as if she had been waiting for it.
“I will go to Bagran as an envoy.”
“An envoy… Do you know what kind of trouble you will get into if you go to a human kingdom?”
“Vandus is said to be a person who serves his people with sincerity. He won’t treat an envoy rudely.”
What an naive princess.
Drizden felt a headache coming on, but he did not show it.
“Is your goal to have a cup of tea and come back? Do you want to say to him who makes Goliaths to k**l elves that peace is good and we can love more?”
“Don’t we also make Goliaths?”
“We don’t make more than we need. The Belial class is definitely superior to the Bephar class, but not overwhelmingly so. But look at what Leobold Vandus made. Do you think we can’t make such Goliaths because we lack technology?”
“That…”
She hesitated to answer because she did not know much about Goliaths, and Drizden took advantage of that gap.
“Humans are always like that. They don’t know their place or their subject. They must have forgotten what happened when they advanced ether engineering with their arrogance.”
“What happened then?”
He did not say any more.
He just looked at her with eyes that said he couldn’t believe she didn’t know that.
But Margareta did not back down.
“There must be something I can do. Elves and humans have not talked enough and have many misunderstandings. From there…”
“There is no need to do that. In the end, the fate of humans is to be dominated by us elves. It’s pitiful that you try to talk to them. It would have been better to talk to the rocks in the garden.”
“No matter how much you mock me, I won’t change my decision. I will meet Leobold Vandus. I will talk to him in person.”
Drizden realized that he could not break her stubbornness.
It was amazing that a meeting between an elf princess and a human noble would take place.
The possibility of a meaningful outcome from there was close to zero.
But he thought he could create a turning point with it.
What if the princess dies?
“…If you insist, I won’t stop you.”
“Really?”
The innocent princess thought she had changed Drizden’s mind and was a little happy.
But Drizden, who was close to death, was excited by the expectation that he could wipe out the human forces with this opportunity.
His ideology had been firmly established by the Great War 200 years ago, and there was no room for wavering.
Humans are enemies of elves.
“You want to talk, so I have no reason to stop you. Please don’t forget that I also want peace. But I doubt that Leobold Vandus has that intention. It takes two hands to clap, doesn’t it?”
“I’ll ask through the official diplomatic channel.”
“That will be too late. I’m sorry to say this, but we elves don’t care about one or two years, do we? But humans are different. They are busy because they have short lives.”
“Then, what should I do?”
Drizden bowed his head slightly.
“Leave it to me. I have little power, but I can deliver your message unofficially. But if he refuses, you have to give up, Your Highness.”
“Okay. Let’s do that.”
She nodded obediently.
She had many questions to ask Vandus Grazer.
If it was true that he did not burn Yggdrasil, she was willing to reveal what she had recorded in the Infinite Library.
Shouldn’t she make an ally inside if she couldn’t outside?
He might use her, but Margareta thought it was worth it.
She couldn’t get anything without giving up something.
***
Leobold received an unexpected report from Arma.
“Master, the council of elders approved the champion training plan.”
“The council of elders? Where did you get that information?”
“Do you remember the shadow elf Delfina, whom we implanted a biochip before? She became a new champion candidate.”
“Aha…”
He felt like he caught a big fish with a bait he had thrown casually.
But there was another fish that bit the bait.
Arma displayed a hologram image of a woman in front of him.
“Margareta Luster, the current princess of the Elvrande Empire. She seems to be a little over 100 years old and has a slightly different ideology from other elves.”
“Don’t tell me she’s calling for peace with humans.”
“That’s right. She is one of the few elves who claim that dialogue is necessary. However, most of the power is in the parliament and the three elders, so her influence is not very great.”
“So what’s her relationship with Delfina?”
“She was there when Tirendell met her. If we reconstruct the situation from their conversation, it would look like this.”
The hologram played a video that Arma had created arbitrarily.
Leobold smirked as he saw the princess and Tirendell meet.
“Are they in a romantic relationship?”
“It doesn’t seem like that. The nuance of king and servant is strong in their conversation.”
“Anyway, our plan fits well with them. Look at how they grit their teeth.”
“She also openly expressed her anger at Elder Kellodian and the parliament, who postponed the retreat decision and killed their subordinates.”
“It’s unfortunate that their subordinates died, but it’s a common thing in war. They are too emotional.”
It was Leobold who made them do that, but he had nothing to say.
Anyway, Tirendell declared in front of his ally princess that he would k**l Leobold, Kellodian, and the parliament.
Delfina was watching him with interest, and Princess Margareta was trying to dissuade him.
And there, the information came out that the princess would try to talk to Leobold.
“What is she thinking?”
“She probably wants to ease the tension a little.”
“She doesn’t have any power, does she?”
“She doesn’t have any power, but her influence is not small either. And she seems to have another intention. She knows that Yggdrasil planted in the border area did not burn.”
“She is directly connected to the world tree. If I meet her, they will find out that I have two branches on my side, won’t they?”
“The possibility is low, but not zero.”
Leobold suspected that the parliamentarians who publicly claimed to be above humans would allow dialogue.
“Maybe they are planning to use the princess for something… Maybe they want to k**l her this time. She is an eyesore to the parliament.”
“And pin the blame on me and unite the elves?”
“That’s something the parliament would plan.”
Elvrande had designated him as public enemy number one, but that did not mean that all elves hated him.
Elvrande had maintained peace with overwhelming power for 200 years.
Even if wars broke out in the border areas or human kingdoms, it was none of their business.
Most elves probably did not even know Leobold’s name.
The death of the princess could unite 50 million elves, which was more than enough.
It was best to pretend to be fooled by their plan and hide the princess here.
“She is still a princess, right? Many elves must think of her as the next emperor.”
“There are not many elves who can be called royals in Elvrande… You can think of her as almost unique.”
“Good. Then let’s pretend to be fooled and hide her. Find a place for her in advance.”
“Yes, sir. But master.”
“What?”
“She’s pretty.”
Leobold took another look at Margareta.
Her skin was white as snow, her hair was platinum blonde, and her eyes sparkled like emeralds.
She was definitely beautiful.
To be honest, she was among the most attractive women he had seen since he came to Astera.
But he did not care much about women’s appearance.
“What matters is ability. No one will listen to you if you just claim something with your face. They will be too busy using you.”
Justice without power was nothing but emptiness.
In movies or novels, there were often cases where a firm will led to a good outcome, but in reality, they were only trampled on.
“As expected, I’m the best, right?”
Leobold looked at Arma’s face and smiled slightly.
She had been getting along well with Camilla lately, and she had become more whiny than usual.
It was not a real check, but it meant that she had feelings for him.
In fact, Arma had been showing emotions unlike an artificial intelligence since a long time ago.
Maybe she learned about emotions by being with humans?
But her master was a human who had almost no emotions…
Anyway, Arma was his precious existence.
He did not know what kind of ending he would face, but he was sure that Arma would stay by his side until the end.
“You’re the only one for me.”
She finally took her eyes off Leobold’s face and moved on to another report.
“The champion training plan came up here, and it’s the method we know well. They circulate the souls gathered in Yggdrasil in the Infinite Circuit to create divinity and inject it into Tirendell.”
“It’s no different from putting Grakies’s soul into Kairos.”
“If there is something to worry about, it is that their combat power will increase considerably because they have accumulated data and will create divinity themselves. Tirendell is also stronger than Kairos.”
“They might be similar to Valgard.”
If it was only one of them, it would be fine, but if Delfina also joined them, it would not be easy to resist unless it was Leobold.
Leobold felt the need to reveal Zigarion’s identity at this point.
Bagran was stable enough, and now he just had to lay down the infrastructure, so there seemed to be no big problem.
“It’s time to reveal your appearance.”
“Finally.”
Zigarion trembled with excitement.
He was happy to think that he would reveal his existence to the people of Bagran.
“It’s time to show my power. Hehe, everyone will kneel before Zigarion, right? Oh, should I choose a decent territory to rule? I’d like a rich one if possible.”
“There’s something you need to know about that.”
“What is it?”
They whispered and shared the plan of the empress, and Zigarion’s expression changed.
“I have to shout for justice and peace? Why do I have to do that?”
“That’s how we can pressure the western lords. It looks better than intervening directly. This is the fastest way to unify Bagran completely.”
He could conquer them by force, but that would spill unnecessary blood.
“I’ve never thought about that. It doesn’t suit me.”
“Do you want to do it or not?”
“Ah, fine.”
Sometimes violence was the fastest way.
Zigarion grumbled but showed a subtle expectation for the scenario that Arma had prepared for him.
“The blue dragon Zigarion, who appeared in Astera for the first time since the Great War, was enraged by the inhuman slavery of the western lords, including Duke Townsend, and rose up with his wings… But there was slavery even during the Great War? There was never a time when slavery did not exist in Astera’s history.”
“Really? Then let’s make him a young dragon who woke up from his sleep. He doesn’t know much about the world, but he has a powerful force.”
“Hmm…”
“And as a bonus, if you kidnap the princess of Elvrande, that would be best.”
“What? I have to kidnap the princess of the empire?”
He thought he would say no to that, but he didn’t.
“That’s what a dragon should do!”
“Did that happen often?”
“When I was young, my father used to tell me stories like that in Lare. He said you should choose a kingdom with a lot of wealth if you kidnap a princess. A place that does a lot of construction is good, right?”
“Yeah…”
Anyway, Zigarion seemed to be satisfied with being known as a dragon of justice and peace.
Kidnapping the princess of the empire was not something a dragon who shouted for justice and peace would do, but it was something he did secretly anyway, so it didn’t matter much.
Now he just had to wait for Elvrande to contact him.
****
Elvrande contacted Leobold secretly through Denova.
The message was that someone important wanted to meet him.
Leobold pretended not to know and accepted the offer.
“But I’ll decide the place and schedule.”
“By the way, her name is Margareta Luster. She is the princess of the empire.”
Revealing her royal status meant that he had to prepare an event suitable for her position.
But Leobold had no intention of doing that.
“Even if she is the emperor of the empire, my policy will not change. The place is Bagran’s palace, and the airship is limited to one. And there will be no great event.”
“…Will Zaium think well of that?”
“That’s not your concern.”
The mayor frowned, but he couldn’t overturn what had already been ordered from above.
That’s how it went, and Zaium also noticed it.
Prince Barak made a serious face when he heard the news.
“The princess of Elvrande is meeting Count Vandus? We heard that from Elvrande, right?”
“It seems that it was a matter that was carried out so hastily that they didn’t sort out their internal affairs, Your Highness.”
Duke Prozan tried to appease him.
After all, it was natural that it took some time to communicate since they were not connected.
Prince Barak cleared the misunderstanding after talking to Leobold.
“That’s fine, but I’ll send you a communication device. Report to me first if something like this happens again.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
The prince seemed to take a wait-and-see stance, but the other forces of Zaium were not.
Several nobles, including Archduke Pangral, criticized Count Vandus for holding a meeting with the imperial princess, and that too in Bagran.
―What is the count doing! The visit of the imperial princess is the first time ever, and he wants to do it in Bagran, which is as small as a mouse’s tail!
―And he even limited the airship to one and said he wouldn’t have any special events. This is not a courtesy to the royal family.
They were not completely wrong.
Even if they were hostile, diplomats were not touched by an unwritten rule, and if the other party was a princess, they had to be more courteous.
The position of the princess was enough to deserve such treatment even if she did not have much power.
But Leobold only said one thing at the official ceremony.
“The princess also agreed to this event.”
They all shut their mouths when they heard that the party agreed.
Anyway, the visit of the Elvrande princess caused a lot of commotion in Zaium, as well as Bagran and neighboring countries.
Some people hoped that the long-standing hostility with the elves would be resolved by this visit.
But that would never happen.
Time passed and Princess Margareta boarded an airship with a few knights and maids.
Elvrande’s fleet was only going to escort her to the border area.
In other words, it was Leobold’s responsibility if something happened in the human kingdom.
Margareta seemed to know or not know that, but she looked very excited.
“I’ve never left Elvrande since I was born.”
“It’s quite large, so I guess so.”
Leobold watched her hair flutter in the strong wind through Siviri satellite and gave instructions.
“She won’t be able to go back when Zigarion’s appearance is known. Make him appear at the right timing.”
And soon after, when the floating continent’s vanguard received the airship with the princess at the border area,
A dragon appeared in Rozelon, the capital of Bagran.
The citizens were shocked when they saw his huge blue wings spread across the sky.
“It’s a dragon! A dragon has appeared!”
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