A Wish to Grab Happiness

Volume 8, Chapter 190: The Queen of the Elves

In front of the fortified gate of Garoua Maria, I lightly rubbed my drowsy eyes.

*dong…* *dong…* The sound of a big bell echoed in my sleeping head. A peculiar dull pain, which resembled a hangover, crawled from my feet to my body and ran up to my spine.

「…You didn’t have to call me separately, did you? Anyone could fulfill this task.」

My unhappy voice caught her ears.

「If you don’t show up now, when on earth are you going to do a proper job? Your Lady has come to visit this place. Then, of course, your role as my knight is to meet me first.」

While moving her lips, Eldith, who stood in front of me, smiled back, contrary to my unhappy words. Unlike the illusion that once appeared in Garoua Maria, the real Eldith finally arrived at the city gate.

Eldith. She officially became the Queen. She was also given the title “Fin” and proclaimed as Fin Eldith.

She became the ruler of the Hanging Gardens of Ghazalia, the realm of the elves, and, like Caria and Filaret, she was a member who once belonged to the journey of salvation party.

But now, the appearance and the atmosphere emanating from Eldith were far from what I once knew of her.

It would be no exaggeration to say that she once had an imbalance in her spirit. She had no interest in anything else other than the hero Helot Stanley. Eldith often looked at the world with cold eyes, even though she was there to save people from menacing enemies. She was like a symbol of bottomless horror or destruction. That was the impression of a girl named Eldith who still existed in me.

But what about the Eldith who stood in front of me now?

Her gorgeous blue eyes had a clear will. Sophisticated movements emanated from her body down to the movement of her fingertips. Every action showcased a different aura from before.

The atmosphere around her was unquestionably that of a commander. Her coldness, which she once showed in the previous journey, and her mental fragility, like when she hesitated to make a decision in Ghazalia, was not seen in Eldith today.

Standing in front of Garoua Maria with a significant number of soldiers and vassals, she appeared to be an unmistakable Lord Elf.

I see. She lacked many qualities even though she was born from a royal family. But right now, she showed responsibility and awareness as a Queen. She did change a lot in a short period of time.

I personally felt that Eldith was somewhat timid, or had fragile traits that were seen as weaknesses, imprinted in the depths of her heart. This transformation was a little surprising. It was not a bad thing, of course, but it made me feel like I was the only one left behind.

However, why did she call me when I was in confinement? She would not do such a thing if she behaved dignifiedly as a Queen. On the contrary, it would be a disgrace for her to rely on a single human man.

Such feelings exuded even at the edge of my words and attitude. After all, I spoke with Eldith with dissatisfaction as if I was moody.

「Listen, Lugis. Today is a joint meeting of Ghazalia and the Heraldic religion, and you are the only human being at my side.」

It felt as if the owner of a store slowly talked to an apprentice who was bad at remembering things.

The vassals surrounding Eldith gazed at me with piercing eyes after they heard my rude tone and Eldith’s unusual reply. Their eyes rounded as they listened to the conversation between me and Eldith with frowning looks.

While stroking my lips with my fingertips, Eldith continued to speak.

「Then you should have a proper attitude. Listen well, Lugis. I will clarify your standing position today.」

Eldith’s words seemed to entangle my limbs in a mysterious way. Her tone felt a little different in nature from the wind-stroking, ear-wringing voice.

I felt an unpleasant premonition quietly running to my spine. By the way, did Ann say that Eldith was asking for my delivery? That was why she said I had to clarify my attitude. Eldith was probably telling me that implicitly.

However, there was one thing I didn’t understand. It seemed that Eldith was asking for my delivery in a procedural manner.

Why? I just didn’t understand the reason why.

Eldith and I certainly joined hands once in Ghazalia to defeat our common enemy, Eldith’s uncle Fin Lagias.

But that’s all there was between Eldith and me, so to speak. Before defeating our enemy, I just lived in the same tower as her for a while and exchanged a few words.

Then, why? I was not a bigot. The world of the downtrodden was a place where you could not live just because you had a bad perception of others. Being sensitive to the emotions and fluctuations of other people was not something relevant to one’s life but it was part of someone who lived as a poor person since they could relate to each other’s pain.

That’s why I understood to an extent that Eldith had some special emotions for me. Of course, they may be line with a misunderstanding. If I were misunderstanding her feelings, then I would feel embarrassed for sure.

However, I still didn’t understand the reason for her demand. After all, I used Eldith for my own purposes. It felt as if I brainwashed Eldith, who did not have intentions of doing a revolution at first, to act and wake up the soldiers.

When did a foundation happen that gave birth to such emotions?

Despite sympathizing with my circumstances, I thought Eldith would distance herself from me rather than trying to take me to Ghazalia. I stared at her in the eyes, but couldn’t read her true intentions. Even if I felt that her intentions were not bad, she could feel upsetting feelings in the back of her viscera.

I wondered what kind of plans she had in her mind. A faint darkness scratched my mind as I searched for answers.

Eldith got off the horse in front of the fortified gate of Garoua Maria and wanted me to take her hand.

When the Ghazalian vassals and I rounded our eyes at her sudden gesture, Eldith took my hand forcibly and walked forward.

Naturally, I was pushed into that momentum. Rather than taking my hand away from hers, I had no choice but to follow Eldith’s steps.

After all, I felt apprehensive because I didn’t quite understand the current situation. The appearance of the cold-hearted Eldith that I often saw in the past came to my mind every time I blinked my eyes.

The emotions I felt when I thought that Caria and Filaret had special feelings for me were now in my heart too, meshing with all the other odd feelings.

What was this feeling? I felt an emotion close to fear that I could have made a tremendous mistake along the way. Did I do everything according to my free will? Or did I make a mistake that could cause me a great deal of pain? Such fear kept licking my spine without stopping.

My dry lips quivered.

「You know what? I never thought you’d become a very respectable Queen, huh. It’s a big difference from when you felt scared in that tower.」

I spoke to Eldith with a small voice. Only she could hear that small voice.

The vassals would not like it if I spoke such words to their Queen since they could interpret my words as disrespectful. They could even slash me to death on the spot.

For a moment, I wondered what kind of reply she would give after hearing my words. I looked at her, but her words were not coming out of her mouth. Perhaps, I spoke something shocking.

Did I say something that strange? I just spilled the words that came to my mind.

After a moment of silence, Eldith replied in a somewhat suspicious language.

「What are you talking about? Isn’t that what you said before? You told me to be a great Queen… I’m just doing what you said I should do. Or did you have any other instructions for me?」

Eldith’s beautiful and glittering blue eyes were facing me directly. The power of her arm against mine became stronger. The expression on Eldith’s face showed that her answer was a natural answer to my words.

I had no idea what kind of words I should return to her. I could only walk slowly on the road towards the meeting chamber, while leaking a deep sigh from my lips.

I’ve already made a decision. That’s why I decided to declare it at the meeting. However, those words were strangely heavy and slid down to the back of my throat without notice.