Chapter 186: The Heartbreaking Announcement
The royal palace echoed with Elystria’s footsteps as she walked quickly through the corridors illuminated by mana crystals embedded in the ancient walls. Her steps, usually light and elegant, betrayed a certain impatience. Something within her already sensed the weight of the news she was about to receive.
Recent visions continued to haunt her mind - those fragments of the future where Mordred appeared sometimes as a hero, sometimes as a merciless destroyer. She could still see those terrifying images where he massacred her people, brandishing a bloodied sword amidst the bodies of fallen dragons. Yet, despite these ominous omens, she couldn’t help but feel this inexplicable attraction toward this particular human. This contradiction had been tearing at her heart for weeks.
Arriving before the great door of the audience hall reserved for elite units, she took a deep breath to calm herself. How could she feel such emotions for one who was destined to become the enemy of her species? This thought troubled her deeply, creating an internal conflict she struggled to resolve.
The door opened slowly, revealing Ygdrasyle standing in the middle of the room, motionless like a stone statue. His face was darker than usual, his eyes fixed and empty. As a human slave, he had long learned to hide his emotions, but today, something different emanated from him.
Elystria raised an eyebrow, intrigued by this unusual behavior.
- "So, Ygdrasyle, what is this news so important that you must announce it to me yourself?"
Ygdrasyle hesitated for a fraction of a second. He had known the princess long enough to know that she held a particular interest in Mordred, though he didn’t understand the reasons. To him, a mere slave, Mordred was just another human warrior among many others. His gaze met that of the princess before he finally responded, his voice low but firm:
- "It’s about Mordred, Princess Elystria."
A slight smile, almost amused, stretched across Elystria’s lips. That name alone was enough to bring forth in her that troubling mixture of contradictory emotions. She shrugged with feigned nonchalance:
- "Mordred? So what? What catastrophe has he caused now?"
Her voice betrayed, despite herself, a hint of affection she was trying to conceal. Ygdrasyle, in his condition as a slave, couldn’t understand why the princess attached such importance to a simple human. To him, Mordred was certainly a formidable fighter, but nothing more.
Ygdrasyle remained perfectly still, his face frozen in an expression of terrible gravity. He observed the princess with that incomprehension that always characterized him when it came to Mordred. Slowly, with caution, he finally announced: