Free Web NovelBright moonlight scattered in specks beneath the dense canopy of leaves.
After finishing the medicine adjustments, Vieya left the recovery house with Jasmine. They walked on foot for about an hour and a half before returning to the Elven Royal City.
Tonight, the Elven Royal City was brighter than usual. All the bioluminescent streetlamps along the roads were lit. As Vieya passed a tavern, lively and upbeat music burst out from inside, radiating a warm, steaming vitality.
Tonight was Aislin’s celebration banquet.
Just like the process when previous Elven Queens were chosen, while a banquet was held in the palace tonight, all elves in the city were also given a holiday.
The Elven Queen had invited Vieya as well, and had even specially told her that all the elves from the Four Great Families would attend tonight—perfect for drawing one vial of blood from each family.
With the blood of the Four Great Families, the thorns on the World Tree could be melted, allowing entry inside.
Then, following the established procedure, Flaviel would be buried beneath the roots of the World Tree, watered, and once the World Tree’s fruit ripened, Flaviel would be able to crawl back out from within the fruit...
By all logic, Vieya should have been excited at this point—staying glued to the Elven Queen’s side, waiting for the handover ceremony between her and Aislin to finish, then impatiently dragging her straight to the base of the World Tree to dig a pit and plant the Demon King.
Thinking of this, Vieya sighed again. If she could still communicate with the residual soul of Flaviel housed within the dragon horn, perhaps her mood wouldn’t be swinging so wildly.
‘Forget it. Leave it to fate. Prepare mentally for failure in advance—there will be plenty of chances in the future anyway. For now, the right path is to live the present well.’
Suddenly—
Vieya noticed her daughter slow her steps and lift her head to look toward the distant sky. Curious, Vieya followed her gaze—and then froze as well.
Above the palace complex in the core area of the Elven Royal Court, the sky had lit up, as if ignited by the overflowing atmosphere of celebration.
The night sky at this hour should have been pitch-black, yet now the clouds above the palace complex glowed with white light, reflecting against the brightly illuminated underground city below.
It was like the ancient nights of long ago, when people hadn’t even mastered the art of making torches and could only huddle together for warmth in caves to endure the darkness—until suddenly, someone pulled out an electric lamp and with a ‘pa’ sound, lit up the pitch-black cave.
Tonight’s Elven Royal City was so beautiful it made one feel dazed.
This was a sight Vieya had never seen in the several decades she had walked this land. She didn’t believe in God, yet she couldn’t help recalling a line from some scripture—God saying ‘Let there be light,’ and thus separating light from darkness, giving birth to the alternation of day and night.
“Mom, are we going there to attend Sister Aislin’s banquet?” Jasmine hooked a finger and gently tugged at Vieya.
The city was reflected in her pupils, like a clear, luminous river of stars.
Vieya nodded, raised her hand, and rubbed Jasmine’s head. “Your Sister Aislin specifically reminded us, and even had her mom remind us again. If we don’t go, she might get angry and come looking for us early tomorrow morning.”
With that, the two crossed the long street and headed toward the magnificent palace complex ahead, bright as day.
From far away, Vieya could already see Aislin standing near the main gate, craning her neck as she waited for someone.
Tonight, Aislin had changed into an elegant white gauze dress. Her layered side-swept bangs and long side locks were clearly styled with care. Her beautiful silver hair cascaded over her shoulders, looking as if it were wrapped in a soft haze under the bright celestial light.
“Hi~”
The moment she spotted Vieya’s figure, Aislin eagerly raised her hand and waved in the air. A smile bloomed on her soft, vivid face, a faint blush coloring her cheeks, her brows delicate and lovely.
She waved at Vieya nonstop in greeting, her lips really looking like they had the texture of jelly and ice cubes. freeweɓnøvel.com
“I thought you were going to use the Pigeon Technique again and pigeonhole my banquet!” Aislin pretended to be angry, huffing. “The banquet started more than half an hour ago, and you’re only strolling over now.”
“Ah, this...” Vieya blanked out for a moment. She wanted to check the time but realized she wasn’t wearing a watch. Then inspiration struck, and she smoothly changed the subject. “Sister Aislin, you look really beautiful tonight. The dress is very pretty too.”
“R-really?”
Aislin froze. She’d only basked in the praise for less than half a second before quickly realizing the slime was running her in circles.
Heh. This slime really did have quite a knack for fooling people...
Aislin thought to herself. But after that interruption, she no longer felt like staying angry. She coughed lightly to clear her throat and led the slime and her daughter into the palace.
Inside, the lights were dazzling. The fragrance of fruits filled every corner of the air. Groups of elven girls chirped among themselves about who knew what, occasionally sneaking glances in Vieya’s direction.
Now Vieya finally understood why the streets outside had been so deserted earlier—everyone had run over here to party.
She guessed that the palace complex had lifted its guards for the day. All elves could enter and exit freely without reporting or having their passes checked.
Along the way, they encountered many elves moving in groups. By all rights, with such a mixed crowd it should have been chaotic, yet Vieya didn’t sense the slightest hint of disorder. Everyone got along in perfect harmony.
There were even some elven girls whom Vieya had beaten to tears just yesterday. Now they actually dared to muster up their courage and bring her fruit.
“Th-then, anyway, take this fruit!”
A black-haired elf who looked about thirteen or fourteen in human years hurried up to the slime girl, forcefully stuffed a strange, ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) misshapen red fruit into her hand, then flushed bright red, said nothing, and turned around to run off.
“......”
Vieya fell silent for a moment. She then said helplessly to Aislin, “Do you think she’s still holding a grudge from yesterday and came over to give me something like this...” She looked at the red fruit in her hand, which resembled a zombie’s heart, and her mouth twitched. “Can this thing even be eaten? She’s not trying to poison me, is she?”
“That’s called a July Fruit. It’s not poisonous. It’s sweet—you can eat it directly.”
As Aislin explained, she added casually, “It’s like how humans give chocolate to someone they like. Some elves have a similar habit, except they replace chocolate with July Fruit. The rough meaning is: favor that can be touched—terrifying, but sweet.”
“???”
Vieya was completely baffled. She suddenly felt like the thing in her hand had turned into a hot potato.
No, wait. That black-haired little elf just now looked so small—how had she already learned all those human twists and turns? Had she been beaten into Stockholm syndrome or something?
That was way too terrifying!
“Mom, you’re really popular. All kinds of girls...”
Jasmine, who had witnessed everything, looked on with envy. She lifted her small face to look at Vieya, but her voice inexplicably sank.
“So... is this the real reason you brought me here?”
