Chapter 226
Chapter 226: Dad!
Leon lowered her head.
The Crow on her leg, without her knowing when, was staring at her, wearing a faint smile.
The question just now had come from it.
Leon was silent for a moment, then turned her head away:
"I don't..."
Weija flapped her wings and flew to the top of Leon's head, settling down steadily.
Feeling her head suddenly weigh heavier, the golden-haired Elf couldn't help but tuck her head even lower.
"I don't want to discourage you, but you are not an Elf born through the Divine Tree Yadh."
Leon froze in place, snapped her head up sharply, and only then remembered that a talking Crow was standing on top of it.
But Weija got her footing back first, landing on top of her head again.
"I understand your curiosity and impulse to uncover the truth, but isn't things good right now?"
The Crow's voice gradually echoed in her ears:
"You also have a family of your own."
"But, Miss Leah, she..."
Leon was just about to explain.
As a subordinate, how could she truly become family with Miss Leah?
But before the words could leave her mouth, a surge of Magic Power sealed her lips shut.
"What a stubborn little girl."
Weija raised her head, her single eye watching the Elves nearby enjoying a moment of familial warmth, as she explained to Leon:
"You don't really think that Viktor intended to give you the surname Clavena himself, do you."
Leon's body stiffened, freezing completely in place.
She couldn't speak, but her mind began to race wildly:
That's right—Viktor had no reason whatsoever to help her.
To Viktor, her value had only one purpose.
That was to prove that the Divine Tree Yadh could not use surnames to grant power to other Elves.
"So it was Miss Leah who..."
Miss Leah—had treated her as family?
Leon sat there in a daze, not even noticing that the Silencing Spell had dissolved away without a sound.
The Crow lowered its head, glanced at Leon, then let out a soft hehehe:
"That's not what I said—that's your own interpretation."
"But at the very least, Viktor does treat his family well."
Weija laughed softly as she lifted her head again, watching the scene of the Elves in perfect harmony not far away.
Yet within the depths of Melina's eyes, a flash of pitch-black color flickered past—unseen by any Elf.
Like a trail of drifting smoke, it quietly dissipated.
***
Two days passed, and the Elves gradually adapted to life without the Divine Tree Yadh.
"No, why is it still me?!"
Inside the Divine Tree, Cocotte suddenly shot to her feet.
She slammed a hand onto the table, and the whole room seemed to shudder.
The several Elves sitting before Cocotte looked at one another in bewilderment.
Vinia sat at the center, scepter in hand.
Her expression was calm, her gaze composed as she looked at Cocotte:
"This is the result voted upon by the other Elves. I'm sorry, Cocotte Yadh."
"As long as you remain a member of the Elven race, you must abide by this rule."
The other Elves nodded, agreeing with Vinia's words without reservation.
The Elves had established new rules.
With the death of the Divine Tree Yadh, the method of assigning positions based on surnames had been entirely abolished.
Every Elf could now create her own Elven descendants through the Divine Tree.
And so surnames, sooner or later, would become nothing more than a simple symbol of identity within each Elven family.
The system of granting positions by Elven surname was discarded at the very first opportunity.
Voting by election thus became the best available choice.
Though in Vinia's eyes, those Elves were still fools.
But at least, after learning the true nature of the Divine Tree, none of them blindly worshipped the newborn tree any longer.
The emergence of the new Divine Tree resolved the greatest problem facing the Elven race—the issue of population growth—in one stroke.
Nor did they need, as before, to offer their Natural Energy to the Divine Tree every single day.
If they wished, Elves could store this Natural Energy for themselves.
They could use Natural Energy for anything they liked.
To strengthen themselves—or, through the Divine Tree, to produce new Elves.
For the next generation of Elves born, their surnames would be determined by whoever produced them—that is, the source of the Natural Energy.
Surnames within the Elven race would no longer carry any hierarchy.
But why did the Elves still need to elect an Elven Queen?
Because they still did.
The Elves needed an Elven Queen to lead them—to build an entirely new social framework after the death of the Divine Tree Yadh.
At the very least, they couldn't let the Elves wander without direction.
Otherwise, the Elven race would have no way to progress.
"Even if your surname no longer holds the meaning it once had for an Elven Queen, you remain the most qualified Elf to become one."
Vinia looked at Cocotte and said calmly.
Cocotte panicked.
If she became the Elven Queen, wouldn't that mean her working hours would be extended again?!
"What about Viktor?! Viktor! Viktor would never agree to this!"
Vinia watched Cocotte's frantic expression, her gaze serene, and said evenly:
"As for your identity as Queen, this is also..."
At this point, she became somewhat bashful, glancing away with a faint awkwardness:
"This is also... what Father wanted."
Cocotte blinked in confusion, apparently not understanding what Vinia had said.
What, Father?
Whose father?
Father dropped from the sky?
Seeing the blank look on Cocotte's face, Vinia raised a fist to her lips, her cheeks lightly flushed, and gave two soft coughs to ease her embarrassment:
"That would be Lord Viktor."
"As you know, what does his existence mean to the Elves."
Elves are born of nature and revere nature.
And the 6 elements that exist within nature are the most vital things to the Elves.
They must draw Natural Energy from these elements.
And Calamities are the embodiment of these 6 great elements made manifest.
So Viktor—who possessed 3 Calamity Cores of Origin—was, to the Elves, no different from their own father.
On top of that, Viktor had personally slain the Divine Tree Yadh, liberating the Elven race from the shackles that had bound their minds.
Though the liberation was not entirely complete, with time, the Elves would come to understand.
With the death of the Divine Tree Yadh, their society would develop in a better direction.
"Of course, in public settings, I would not address him as Father—you may rest assured on that point."
Vinia said this composedly, in the face of Cocotte's bewildered stare.
"Because Lord Viktor is not an Elf, we cannot compel him to lead us."
"So he recommended you to us."
In that instant, upon hearing these words, Cocotte felt as though her mind was about to shatter.
It felt somehow like... the sensation of being sold by someone, yet still having to count the money for them.
"Wh—why?"
Weren't she and Viktor comrades standing on the same side?
Seeing Cocotte's confusion, Vinia kindly explained:
"Lord Viktor said—"
"He feels that having a true Elven Queen working at his estate would bring a great deal of prestige to the Clavena Family."
BOOM!
In an instant, it was as though a bolt of lightning from a clear sky had detonated beside Cocotte's ears.
Cocotte's mind went completely blank, and she froze on the spot.
She truly could not come to terms with this reality.
For a reason like that—she was supposed to become Elven Queen?
Of course, that wasn't the only reason.
It was only after hearing Vinia's subsequent words that Cocotte could barely bring herself to accept it.
"And moreover, we need a leader who is familiar with the world outside the Elven Forest—someone who can build a bridge between the Elven Forest and the outside world."
After breaking free from the control of the Divine Tree Yadh that had lasted for hundreds upon thousands of years, the outdated and narrow thinking of the Elves made Vinia realize—
How profoundly impoverished their understanding of this world truly was.
No wonder that among the Elves who had left the Elven Forest, hardly any had ever returned.
"And so, we intend to open the Elven Forest to the outside world and engage with other nations."
"For the first nation, I would like to choose the Kingdom of Carencia as the Elves' first attempt."
Vinia gripped her scepter, her manner utterly serious.
After all, given the connection between Cocotte and Viktor, establishing diplomatic relations with the Empire would be far easier than with any other nation.
And Viktor was an Imperial Count—on top of which, the Empire's publicly expressed attitude toward Elves had always been one of goodwill.
Cocotte understood her meaning, and though she could accept it, she still wanted to push back a little.
Pointing at herself, she hurried to add:
"But I'm a retainer of the Clavena Family! A retainer—do you understand what that means?!"
Cocotte's meaning was unmistakable.
If a retainer of an Imperial Count became the Queen of the Elven Forest, wouldn't the entire world conclude that the Elven Forest was about to become a vassal state of the Empire?
However, Vinia shook her head:
"On this point, Lord Viktor has also made it clear to me."
"Among the human Empire, there is a saying."
"My vassal's vassal is not my vassal."
"And furthermore, while you are Queen, that does not mean your standing is above any of ours."
The Divine Tree Yadh was dead, and every Elven surname had lost its meaning.
Even Vinia herself, as High Priestess, stood in complete equality with the other Elves.
Because the Divine Tree had died, the identity of High Priestess had lost its purpose.
If any of the other Elves wished, any of them could become a "High Priestess."
Naturally, even if the Elven Queen were in service to the Clavena Family, Cocotte would not represent the entire Elven Forest.
On a related note, after the destruction of the Divine Tree Yadh, the Elves had finally discovered its most immediate benefit.
They no longer needed to work.
The Elves' labor had existed to produce Natural Energy, and all that Natural Energy had been offered up to the Divine Tree Yadh.
But now, the Divine Tree Yadh was dead.
And so those Elves who didn't even want children—those who simply wanted to do nothing—could now hang themselves from any tree they pleased.
Thirsty, they could drink the morning dew. Hungry, they could feast on the wind.
Of course, Elves as unambitious as that were still the minority.
Like Cocotte, for instance.
Vinia shot Cocotte a look of exasperated disappointment, then said:
"Once you become Elven Queen, you won't be required to do any work."
"You simply need to carry this title and continue living in the Clavena Family as you always have."
"Then it's settled—I'm becoming Elven Queen!"
In other words, Cocotte only needed to exist as a Living Mascot.
Cocotte blinked at Vinia at this point:
"Why do I keep feeling like you'd be far more suited to be Queen than me?"
At Cocotte's remark, Vinia pressed a hand to her forehead, let out a long sigh, and rose from her seat with her scepter in hand.
"Don't misunderstand—I have no capability to serve as Elven Queen."
"I still have to go home and raise my child."
She stood where she was, glanced at the bewildered Cocotte, a trace of warmth in her eyes.
I hope you understand—I have never once thought of taking your place.
But I can, and I am willing, to do so.
For your sake. With everything I have.