A Shift in the Silence
In the midst of the uncomfortable silence, Veronica, gauging Diana's mood, tentatively broached the subject.
"...Come to think of it, you said you saw the elf who attacked us, right, Lady Diana?"
"Yes. Elf hair—this, like."
Nodding at Veronica's question, Diana held out the fork in her hand.
'Elf hair... fork...? Oh, is she trying to describe silver hair?'
A silver-haired elf immediately came to mind.
"...It might have been the 'Silver Wolf,'" Veronica said.
"Wolf...? Wolf, Diana's enemy! Bad! Bad!"
"Ah, not that wolf. It's a... kind of nickname? Saria Yassen, the leader of the forest rangers. She's probably one of the strongest among the elves."
"...Sa, ria?"
Veronica recalled the expressionless elf she'd glimpsed briefly during negotiations with the elven elders.
Silver hair and green eyes. A tall female elf with striking features.
'I have something to report, so I came.'
She'd boldly entered the office where the elven council and the kingdom's delegation were in conference—without permission.
'Saria?! What insolence—'
'Ah, so the meeting with outsiders is today?'
Even under the elder's rebuke, she placed the report on the round table before finally leaving.
From start to finish, she'd acted as if the human delegation wasn't even there, which had left a deep impression on Veronica.
Later, she'd heard from the Royal Guard:
'It's a measure they took because accidents keep happening whenever the Silver Wolf gets involved.'
'I heard last time a delegation came, she broke three soldiers' wrists...'
'A few years ago, she even crushed our squad leader when he challenged her to a duel.'
Every time Saria interacted with humans, some big or small incident erupted. The elves tried to keep her away from human delegations as much as possible, but with her heavy responsibilities as leader of the forest rangers, their paths inevitably crossed now and then.
To prevent needless trouble, the council had ordered Saria not to speak to human delegations.
To humans, Saria was just an arrogant elf. But among her own kind, she had a good reputation and fervent support from her ranger subordinates.
Her attitude was rude, but she always executed her duties perfectly. That's why the council hadn't pressured her too harshly—until now.
'This incident might have weakened her position a bit.'
No matter the excuses, the fact remained: Saria had let Veronica, who tried to invade the Sanctuary, escape.
A blemish on her perfect record. Creating cracks from there would be easy—especially for someone as lofty as Saria, who'd never fallen before.
The council would likely use this as an excuse to curb and check her.
'Whether that's good for me... I'll have to think on it more.'
Veronica frowned slightly, about to sink deeper into thought—
Shiiik—Pfook.
"...!"
A fork flew past Veronica's face and embedded in a bamboo stalk. Her eyes widened at the sight of the impaled insect.
"...Lady Diana?"
"Crack, I'll put in too, troublesome. Dangerous element, no say."
"R-Right...?"
As if nothing had happened, Diana pulled the fork from the bug's back and asked with an even brighter smile than usual.
"Question, Saria, Diana, jar put in, culprit?"
A strange chill ran through the air. Diana's cheerful voice sounded almost like a promise: if Saria was the one who'd trapped her in that jar, she'd skewer the elf like this.
'No way my Lady Diana would do that.'
Shaking her head to deny reality, Veronica replied calmly.
"Probably not."
"Saria, Rakan, exchange have. No?"
Of course, Saria did treat humans coldly, but she had her principles.
She didn't like humans and ignored them, but she never attacked first without reason.
Guiding human delegations to the Elf Village was a rotating duty among the rangers. Saria, as one of them, sometimes handled it—and surprisingly, she guided them diligently through the Great Forest without a word.
In short, Saria strictly followed elven norms. She never would have agreed to let humans invade the Sanctuary.
"Ah, probably...? The two, no connection seem...."
Veronica had only heard about Saria from the guard; she'd never dealt with her directly. She couldn't vouch for the info.
Watching Veronica trail off ambiguously,
"Hmm—. Future, have too?"
"...?"
Diana, pondering deeply alone, soon flashed a mischievous grin.
After the queen's death, Kristin Garcia had entered the palace as the young princess's nursemaid. But everyone knew she was the king's mistress.
No one dared openly criticize her staying in the queen's palace guest quarters.
Over time, those quarters had become far more luxurious than the queen's own rooms.
Crash!
Kristin slammed the antique wooden table and vented at her subordinate standing before her.
"What the hell happened?!"
"...We're investigating with full effort."
The subordinate bowed deeply, pausing his report. Kristin glared at his calm demeanor before irritably scanning the report again.
'What the hell went wrong?'
The report on recent events in elven territory.
Nothing had gone according to plan from start to finish. Kristin nervously bit her nails.
Kristin and her children weren't officially part of the royal family. If the king died now, their position would collapse overnight.
Before the old king croaked, she needed him to name her queen.
So she'd bribed a maid and timed it for the king's tea time with Veronica, dosing him into a coma.
Hypnos. A potent anesthetic herb that induced deep sleep, irreversible without awakening grass from the Great Forest.
The elves had supplied the Hypnos to her faction.
In exchange: once she became queen and her son ascended, treat elven lands as a sovereign nation, not mere territory.
Easy cooperation secured.
First, send Veronica's delegation. Use her failure to fetch the grass to paint her incompetent.
Then send her own son in the next group to retrieve it, leveraging the feat to force the king's recognition.
But the guard's annihilation. Veronica's disappearance.
...Crumple.
Kristin gripped the incomprehensible report tightly.
The delegation should have been stonewalled by the elven council, wasting days before returning empty-handed.
But as they returned, they split.
The official delegation that showed their faces. And the guards disguised as porters and servants, secretly escorting Veronica.
No issue with the delegation. But the guards disguised as a caravan and headed straight for the Sanctuary.
Grit—.
'A traitor among the elves...? Or a third party?'
How they'd learned of the grass there was a mystery.
Either way, if they'd infiltrated, at least get caught—or leave Veronica behind.
Instead, the idiots charged in with her and got wiped out by the rigid ranger leader Kristin hadn't bought off.
"What do the elves say?"
"They claim they have no idea why the princess and guards moved like that."
"...Tch."
The kingdom was already on edge after the crown prince's death.
Even if they invaded first, nearly wiping out royalty and escorts was no small matter.
Luckily, the council sensed something off and intervened quickly.
Had those dumb rangers killed Veronica on the spot, war between races might have erupted.
'...At least the worst was averted.'
Kristin slumped into her chair, tossing the crumpled report on the table and clutching her forehead.
She retraced her plan calmly.
The guards dead, Veronica missing—plan derailed badly, but...
'Wait?'
Upon reflection, the situation wasn't that bad.
The elves had already declared Veronica missing.
The girl had slyly learned magic behind her back, but she was still just an eleven-year-old.
In the deadly Great Forest, where promising adventurers perished, a kid with some spells and no guards wouldn't survive.
'...She's as good as dead by now.'
The last obstacle to her queenship had removed itself. She could even press the elves on the plan's failure for negotiation leverage.
This crisis might be an opportunity.
'Veronica went for awakening grass, vanished in a monster attack.'
'Guards died protecting her to the end.'
'With the elves' cooperation on the story, we can smooth it over.'
Decision made, Kristin swiftly reassembled her shattered plan in her mind.
"What about the guard rabble?"
"They're demanding to search for the princess, even if it means war. We're stalling, but how long...?"
"...Fine. If they want to go that badly, let them."
A seductive smile curved Kristin's lips.
"No need to block the guard captain. In fact, make it easy for as many guards as possible to join the search party."
"...Understood."
Her subordinate's face twisted oddly, but Kristin offered no explanation.
Her son slays the beast that devoured his little sister, avenging her. Retrieves the grass in her stead.
'Dumb as a rock, but strong.'
With the opposing guard captain along, he'd serve as perfect escort and witness for her precious boy.
The pieces fit nicely now—satisfying enough.
"Fetch Bern."
"Yes."
Watching her subordinate leave, Kristin savored the cooled black tea with elegant poise, a pleased smile on her lips.