Chapter 216
Chapter 216: The Noble Elf
Leon placed one hand over her chest.
"I……"
The words Viktor had spoken made her heart tremble.
A surname.
For Elves, a surname was something of great importance.
A surname determined an Elf's duties and identity.
Yet Leon herself had no surname.
As head of the household, Viktor held the authority to bestow a surname upon an outsider.
Unlike Elves, who could only wait for the Divine Tree to grant one.
In human society, nobles were permitted to do such a thing.
Leon lowered her head, the 4 syllables of "Clavena" echoing through her mind.
This was something even Lady Leah could not have given her.
Before this, Leon and Viktor had not been close—they had only met a handful of times.
Though few, each encounter had left a deep impression on her.
Even so, Leon could not honestly say her impression of Viktor had been a good one.
At the very least, those incidents were not enough, in Leon's heart, to undo the poor impression he had carved into her since childhood.
And yet, why had he……
Viktor stood with both hands in his pockets, glancing back at Leon without offering any further explanation:
"If you still have questions, come back and ask Leah."
He then turned away, facing the glowing azure passage.
"But for now, I need you to carry the surname I've given you."
His footsteps crossed over the towering runic trees below, and ripples of blue spread outward with each step he took, like a vast sapphire lake suspended in midair.
A brilliant white full moon hung above the night sky, casting its light across the entire surface until it shimmered with stars.
The fierce wind swept through Viktor's black Coat, sending it thrashing wildly beneath the moonlight.
"Then follow me."
The moment the words left his mouth, Viktor reached out a hand, and Cocotte immediately floated up from below.
He reached out and grabbed her by the collar, hoisting her up.
This lazy Elf had lived up to her reputation—even in so brief a span of time, she had managed to fall asleep.
Lifted like this by Viktor, she finally woke, blinking slowly, and finding herself inexplicably suspended in midair, she stared blankly.
"Mm? Are we not at the Elven Forest yet?"
Viktor glanced down at Cocotte.
"Almost there."
Cutting a long sky-blue streak across the surface of the lake, Viktor's entire figure—together with Cocotte—was swallowed into the deep blue passage.
The little white cloud hurried after Viktor and dove in behind him.
Only Leon remained, raising her head to gaze at that deep and mysterious blue passage, her feelings impossibly tangled.
Her golden hair danced with the fierce wind, each strand flowing freely in the air.
Family.
That word felt far too distant to her.
Even though Leah had given her a name, she had never dared to imagine becoming family with Leah.
In Leon's eyes, Leah was like a star she could never reach, brilliant beyond measure.
She was the white moonlight in her heart—the person she had resolved to protect for the rest of her life.
Leon placed her hand over her chest and drew a long, deep breath.
"I will live for the name you have bestowed upon me."
Her gaze firm, she stepped out onto that gently rippling blue lake.
Through wave after wave of spreading ripples, she walked with steady, weighty steps—and entered the indigo tunnel as well.
With the disappearance of all 3, the surroundings gradually grew still.
The raging wind slowly died, leaving behind only the reflection of an immensely vast Divine Tree, standing as though it pierced heaven and earth, scattering silver light.
Across the entire edge of the blue lake, countless stars were scattered like adornments, their silver glow descending to gradually calm the rippling surface of the lake.
***
The Elven Forest.
Thick, thriving trees rose from the grassland, their dense canopy of branches and leaves slowly swallowing the golden daylight, and the sunlight that filtered through carried flower petals dancing through the air.
The morning dew glistened with crystalline radiance, hanging upside-down from branches and blades of grass; grey stones had taken on a damp and earthy breath, and flower petals poked their heads out from between the cracks.
A pair of eyes stared intently at a flower in the midst of blooming, brimming with curiosity.
Only when the flower had fully opened did a pair of sapphire-blue eyes peek out from among the weeds.
Above those blue-jewel eyes was an adorable face, golden hair pinned up high, revealing a pair of delicately pointed ears.
She plucked the freshly bloomed flower and placed it into a woven wooden basket, then turned her head—and saw countless Elves with the same pointed, tapered ears, frolicking and playing in this forest.
Some hung upside-down from branches, drinking dewdrops; others climbed to the tops of tall trees to gather fruit.
Some of the lazy ones had hidden behind stones, lying among the wildflowers, sound asleep.
Even when spotted, they showed no reaction whatsoever.
Suddenly, an Elf gathering fruit called out to the others:
"That's enough!"
The moment the words fell, even those who had been sound asleep rose to their feet. The Elves drinking dew descended to the ground, and all of them moved in unison through the forest, making their way to a clearing.
The golden daylight gradually descended, and then—a tremendously sturdy tree, scattered with silver stars, stood at the center of a continent, coming into view before all of their eyes.
Its roots stretched for a hundred miles, weaving into a vast, interlocking network, like an endless vein of life.
Silver stars seemed to dot the trunk, slender and graceful, as though the stars of the night sky flickered with faint light among the branches.
Not one of them spoke another word. All of them devoutly knelt before the great tree and began the morning prayer.
Their soft voices rose and fell, layered and varied, reciting words in a language no outsider could understand.
This was the Elves' custom—after the harvest was complete, they would always offer their gratitude to the Nature Spirit.
The Divine Tree seemed to hear their prayers; swayed by a gentle breeze, its branches and leaves stirred, scattering glimmers of silver.
The vast trunk stretching a hundred miles seemed wrapped in the Milky Way as it descended toward the roots.
A formation of Elven guards stood beneath the Divine Tree in the silver shroud, wearing wooden armor and gripping silver wooden spears, their expressions grave and solemn.
After a while, one Elf gradually descended from high above.
She was clad in a pristine white gown, wearing on her head a wreath woven from grass that flowed with a shifting green radiance. In her hand she held a wooden scepter, her bearing solemn and dignified.
She stepped on falling leaves and landed steadily on the ground.
Upon seeing who had arrived, the guards bowed respectfully toward this Elf:
"We pay our respects to the High Priestess."
The Elven High Priestess—Vinia Jekdela.
The surname Jekdela had, from generation to generation, been the guardian lineage of the Divine Tree Yadh.
The High Priestess would check the Divine Tree's body at all times, to prevent any crisis that might befall their mother from growing beyond control.
Vinia smiled warmly, nodding to the guards and greeting them one by one.
The guards felt a surge of warmth in their hearts at the sight of the High Priestess's smile.
Despite holding such an exalted position, she treated even these guards with such kindness, as equals.
In truth, however, Vinia had never thought of it that way.
A smile rested on her face, yet the ugliness within her stood in stark contrast to the beauty it wore:
A bunch of fools, truly thinking that because I flash them a smile, I see them as my equals?
My surname is the noble Priestess line, and you are nothing more than guards.
With Her Majesty the Queen absent, I am the most distinguished Elf among all Elves.
Clever as she was, Vinia would never let that show. She kept her smile, scepter in hand, and walked to stand before the Divine Tree.
She tilted her head back, gazing upward into the sky—the vast trunk soared into the heavens, piercing through the clouds.
"Divine Tree Yadh, please allow me to perceive on your behalf, and banish all crises from the Sacred Spirit."
With the prayer from Vinia's lips, the scepter slowly sank into the ground.
Green starlight radiated from the scepter, sending waves of green rippling outward in all directions, spreading further and further—gradually climbing up the Divine Tree, sweeping over the massive trunk again and again, emanating a shimmering green glow.
After several waves passed through, the scepter gradually stilled its light.
Following the daily inspection, the High Priestess felt, as usual, no trace of any anomaly within the Divine Tree.
Today's work was done. She could return and rest.
Just as Vinia was about to leave, a guard suddenly spoke up, addressing her:
"High Priestess, when will our Queen finally return?"
Vinia turned toward the voice, her lips parting slightly, her brows lowered as she looked at the guard.
She narrowed her eyes and smiled with warmth, a gentle aura emanating from her.
"There is no need to worry."
"The Divine Tree will always watch over us."
That was what she said aloud—but within her heart, Vinia was perfectly calm:
The Queen? She abandoned every last one of us long ago.
Vinia had always believed that even without Cocotte, the Divine Tree Yadh would never stand by and watch the Elves slowly march toward extinction.
Because the Elves were born and nurtured from the Divine Tree Yadh itself.
In the end, it would surely choose another Elf to become the new Queen—for the sake of the Elven race's continuation.
Vinia looked forward to it: serving that new, as-yet-unknown Elven Queen.
She had always believed this.
Not every Elf, however, was a wise soul like her.
And so, she needed to constantly reassure these fools, to keep the Elves ever mindful of hope, and to await each new day with a heart full of bright expectation.
"The Queen's return is inevitable. All we must do is wait patiently."
She clasped both hands before her chest, then spread them open, taking on a posture as though she were embracing the Divine Tree in her arms, her eyes radiating a look of fervent anticipation.
The guards, watching the High Priestess's sacred bearing, felt boundless reverence.
Vinia felt their reverent gazes upon her, and within her heart, she gloated quietly.
But in that very instant—a sensation like an earthquake rippled outward, and the entire base of the Divine Tree was seized with an intensely rapid trembling.
Vinia could no longer keep up her composure. She looked around in all directions and asked with confusion:
"What is happening?"
Suddenly, 3 phantom silhouettes transformed into 3 beams of differently colored light and climbed up the Divine Tree, gradually merging into it.
A storm rose at the same moment, the blazing sun gradually turning a deeper, gold-tinged crimson, and the grass and trees beneath their feet began to flourish and grow with vigor.
All the Elves throughout the Elven Forest sensed it. Each one stopped what they were doing and looked toward the Divine Tree.
In a daze, they seemed to see it.
High above in the sky—a long, white shadow, gliding through the clouds.
Beholding the blazing sun and the storm that spread across the entire land, and the wildly growing grass and trees—in that moment, it was as though something shattering had arrived.
It filled them with a feeling of willing submission from deep within, an urge to face the direction of the Divine Tree and kneel in reverence once more.
The same feeling climbed its way into Vinia's heart as well, and she—well-traveled and knowledgeable as she was—recognized in an instant where this power came from.
"……A Calamity?"
Suddenly, a delicate, clean little hand tapped Vinia on the shoulder.
Vinia snapped out of her daze and lowered her gaze from above the Divine Tree.
It was an Elf.
She sat atop a pristine white cloud, her back to the Divine Tree.
A surge of golden radiance emanated from her, as though a halo of light enveloped her body, making her appear impossibly divine.
"Oh, Vinia."
"So you were really looking forward to my return."