Chapter 133: Elves Rejection
"What did the Elven Council replied?" Mark asked, his voice calm yet tinged with a seriousness that made everyone glance at Nichole, waiting for his answer.
To that, Nichole responded with a subtle frustration, "They said that the caretaker of the World Tree is too young and is not experienced enough to handle a case as complex as this one."
Hearing that, Alice leaned forward slightly, her brows furrowed with concern as she asked, "Did you not even ask them to try, just once? Was there no room for negotiation or trust in their ability?"
Before Nichole could say anything, Maelis — Irvin's father — let out a low, derisive chuckle, and with an expression that carried both sarcasm and superiority, he turned to Alice and said,
"Why are you suddenly acting like you care? Weren't you the one who thought this was all nonsense just few weeks ago, claiming it wasn't worth worrying about?"
Alice's eyes instantly narrowed, her calm expression became dark as she stared at him.
But before she could say anything, Nichole replied in a composed but firm voice, "Do you truly believe I should've taken that kind of risk? What if they had failed during the attempt? What if something had gone wrong and she had died because of it? Would you be willing to bear that outcome?"
And just like that, the room fell quiet, because as much as they all hated to admit it, his words made too much sense.
No one wanted to carry that weight on their conscience, especially not when the chances of failure were that high.
"Then who is going to tell Master about this decision, and how it turned out?" Lydia asked, her voice barely above a whisper, as she looked around and realized that no one seemed prepared for that particular responsibility.
There was a long pause, and no one answered, because each one of them knew that telling him would not only trigger his fury toward the Elves but possibly extend to them as well, for allowing things to reach this point without a better solution.
Breaking the silence, Lucan finally spoke, his tone more practical than emotional as he asked, "Did the Elves mention if anyone, specifically any human child has entered their territory recently?"