Episode 158
Elonia arrived at the dungeons.
She needed to confirm the origin of the chimeras.
This was a task Artius should have handled. But now, all his duties fell upon her.
She drew her rapier.
“Sorry.”
A sickening sound echoed as the blade pierced flesh, and blood splattered onto her boots.
Two days after Artius collapsed,
“We don’t know when that monster will appear again! We must prepare for war!”
The Noble Council meeting, held without Artius, was chaotic.
The nobles, emboldened by the Emperor’s absence, voiced their opinions freely, their voices echoing through the hall.
They were insane. Even without Artius, Elonia was the acting regent.
Duchess Asta, her expression displeased, interjected,
“We already concluded that war is not an option. And you’re in the presence of Her Highness. Lower your voices.”
“But!”
The familiar refrain. But this, but that.
Elonia, however, wasn’t as angry as Duchess Asta had expected. They challenged Artius constantly, so it wasn’t surprising they would challenge her as well.
But she couldn’t let them mistake her composure for weakness.
She leaned back on the throne, resting her chin on her hand, and complained softly,
“Enough with the ‘buts’. My ears are starting to hurt.”
She met the gaze of the noble who had just spoken and added, her voice deceptively sweet,
“My eardrums are delicate. If I go deaf, I won’t be able to hear your opinions. Perhaps you should be more careful?”
“But—!”
“And it’s rather unbecoming to raise your voice at a child. You should watch your blood pressure, and your hairline.”
Elonia smiled, her words like daggers wrapped in silk.
The nobles at risk of hair loss and high blood pressure cleared their throats awkwardly.
‘Who said Her Highness was kind?’
‘Blood pressure, maybe, but mentioning hair loss is taboo, isn’t it?’
Even Artius hadn’t mentioned hair loss. Duchess Asta, blessed with a full head of hair, sighed in relief.
‘She’s handling this well, despite her grief.’
She wanted to tell Elonia she didn’t have to push herself so hard, but the situation didn’t allow for it.
Elonia, knowing she couldn’t afford to show weakness, erased the smile from her face and said,
“Of course, I’m not planning to sit idly by. We have much to do, and I have no intention of wasting time on petty arguments. His Majesty and I were already planning to deal with the chimeras.”
“H-how, Your Highness?”
“To completely eradicate the chimeras from Ravanta, we must send back the hostages.”
“The hostages?”
Why bring up the hostages now?
The nobles already knew Elonia opposed the hostage system.
Duchess Fiona asked suspiciously,
“Why release the hostages now? Without them, Heilan will act even more recklessly. And the people will panic.”
Other nobles nodded in agreement.
They knew Heilan had abandoned the hostages after the incident at the Peace Treaty Zone. But their presence in Ravanta still provided a sense of security, however illusory.
But Elonia, based on her experiment last night, was certain.
“Garnethia.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Garnethia brought forward a dark blue box. Inside were five large green orbs.
Elonia picked one up.
“Do you know what this is?”
They shook their heads.
“It’s a chimera core. The core of the monster that ravaged the academy and the Peace Treaty Zone.”
Murmurs filled the hall.
“How can there be so many of those dangerous objects…?!”
“Does that mean five chimeras appeared?”
Elonia nodded.
“One near the border, and two yesterday, at the academy and the Peace Treaty Zone.”
They hadn’t heard about the one near the border. And that still left two unaccounted for.
“Then where are the other two…?”
“They didn’t appear. They were killed in the chimera rampage before they could transform.”
Her words were cryptic, but no one dared to interrupt.
Elonia placed the orb back in the box and continued,
“There were casualties in the Peace Treaty Zone. Four deaths. We recovered all the bodies, except for two.”
Two chimeras appeared yesterday.
Two bodies disappeared.
Anyone with a shred of intelligence could connect the dots.
“Yes. The chimeras are the Heilan hostages.”
“Gasp…”
Shock rippled through the hall.
Elonia had also been horrified.
She hadn’t believed it until she dissected the recovered hostage bodies herself.
“I confirmed it with my own hands. Both had identical green orbs embedded near their hearts. All the Heilan hostages must have these cores implanted in them.”
“How could they do such a horrible thing…?!”
How could they mutilate their own children, implanting such objects in their chests, and send them away as hostages?
They were horrified. They knew Vermon was cruel, but they hadn’t expected this from Felix.
But Elonia knew Felix was capable of such atrocities.
“To prevent the chimeras from running rampant in Ravanta, we must send the hostages back. Does anyone object?”
Who would object?
After the potion of luck incident, and now this?
But one noble still hesitated.
“But wouldn’t that strengthen Heilan’s military power? The hostages are still leverage for peace. Releasing them might trigger a war.”
A few other nobles nodded in agreement.
Elonia, having anticipated this, presented her alternative plan.
“It’s better to hold one shark captive than a hundred minnows. We’ll just bring in another hostage.”
Another hostage?
They looked at her, puzzled, and Elonia, her eyes cold and sharp, said,
“Felix Heilan.”
“Ha!”
Felix scoffed, reading the letter from Ravanta.
A hostage?
How dare they designate him as a hostage?
“How dare Ravanta!”
He threw the letter on the floor, his face flushed with anger.
A pale hand reached out to soothe him.
Tristan, climbing onto the throne behind Felix, embraced him, cradling his head.
“Calm down, Your Majesty.”
“How can I?! They know who’s superior now, and yet, they dare to designate me as a hostage! I should turn them all into chimeras and destroy Ravanta!”
“I told you not to do that.”
Tristan chuckled softly, stroking Felix’s hair.
“I don’t want to be the god of a small land. It would take too long for the humans to repopulate.”
“I know, I know. But…”
“Your Majesty, my king. This is an opportunity. Ravanta has everything we desire.”
Tristan caressed Felix’s cheek, listing Ravanta’s assets.
“A large population of healthy humans, countless corpses buried beneath their soil, two apostles, and even the sacrifice.”
“But you won’t be there.”
“Your Majesty, wherever your heart is, that’s where I’ll be.”
Felix’s anger subsided at Tristan’s gentle words.
Tristan stroked his hair, as if praising a child.
“Don’t be impatient.”
“…But they know about the chimeras.”
“What does it matter?”
Felix looked up at him, confused. Tristan simply smiled and said,
“As long as I’m by your side, you’ll always walk the path of victory.”
So prepare to go to Ravanta.
After the meeting, Elonia went to check on Artius.
Knock, knock.
She knew who it was and let him in.
“Your Highness, how is His Majesty?”
It was Valerian. He must have finished treating Lucius.
Elonia shook her head. Valerian hesitated, unsure how to comfort her, then began treating Artius.
His complexion improved slightly, but there was no significant change.
After a long silence, Elonia asked,
“…How powerful is Madicte?”
“According to the scriptures, she’s quite powerful. The problem is, the Calamity God is said to possess similar power.”
It was a strange question, but Valerian answered diligently.
According to Lucius, Tristan had escaped from the Calamity God.
Elonia, her thoughts racing, gently placed her hand on Artius’s and looked up at Valerian.
“I need you to do one more thing for me, Valerian.”
Eliminating Felix would be easy without Tristan.
They had to be prepared before he arrived.
A month after Artius collapsed,
The hostages were sent back to Heilan.
And Felix arrived in Ravanta.