Volume 4, Chapter 4 – Royal Family Secrets

The sun quickly receded from the earth, and the sky turned from orange-red to a deep, tranquil blue. Although the distant horizon was still bright, for the plains where the group had stopped, night had already arrived.

Unlike the eerie and dark countryside of human nations at night, the fields of Silvar were dotted with lantern-like lights, creating an atmosphere of mystery and romance.

This was a sight unique to Silvar.

The source of this lantern-like glow was a plant called the ‘Lantern Stem.’ It lay dormant during the day, but at night, a flower stem would rise from its main stalk and emit a faint yellow light, attracting nocturnal insects to spread its pollen.

Planting Lantern Stems along both sides of a road allowed them to serve as streetlights, preventing nighttime travelers from getting lost.

Under normal circumstances, Lantern Stems were not as competitive as other plants, so only elves, with their skill in natural magic, could cultivate them over such a large area. Natural magic could alter the composition of the soil and strengthen a plant’s life force, allowing the Lantern Stems to grow strong and healthy.

“Sigh.”

Her gaze returning from the nearby Lantern Stems, Fia, sitting on a wooden stump, let out a long sigh. The dancing flames of the campfire illuminated the troubled expression on the elf princess’s otherwise cold face.

“What is it, Your Highness?”

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Anastasia, holding her mithril longsword, looked up from where she sat opposite Fia. She was still dressed in the same green cloak, but unlike in the human kingdoms where she always wore her hood up to hide her pointed ears, Anastasia’s expression had relaxed considerably since entering Silvar. The feeling of extreme tension was gone.

“…It’s nothing.”

Fia sighed again.

Anastasia raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in her expression.

“To say it’s nothing while sighing like that… it doesn’t look like nothing at all. You’ve seemed preoccupied ever since Renee left the carriage this afternoon. Did she say something to you?”

“…It wasn’t anything particularly important.” Continuing that conversation might expose Renee. Fia glanced at the drowsy Liti and Milu leaning against her—Liti was leaning on her, and Milu was leaning on Liti. She decided to change the subject. “Anastasia, what kind of person is our mother?”

They would be returning to the royal palace soon; she had to understand her mother’s personality first.

“That is…”

As if recalling an unpleasant past, the smile on Anastasia’s face gradually faded, replaced by a look of bitterness.

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“She is your mother, Your Highness. If my own affairs were brought up in front of other nobles, His Majesty would be displeased.”

“Tsk.”

Seeing that Fia was about to speak, Anastasia quickly continued.

“Veronica Alexia Yushir is the current Elf King, Yelido Alexia Florenst’s cousin, and she is also the current Elf Queen. Although she is over four hundred years old, her appearance is as youthful as a human woman in her thirties. However, due to certain past events, Queen Veronica does not like to speak with people, and her health is very poor. Her face is always pale whenever she attends important occasions. Most importantly… Most importantly, her relationship with you is very delicate…”

“Because the Elf King’s blood runs in my veins?”

Fia had already heard that the Elf Queen was the Elf King’s cousin, so she wasn’t surprised when Anastasia said it.

According to the version she heard from Liti, due to their long lifespans and slow aging, the ethical concepts of the elf race were far more chaotic than those of humans. It was common for a granddaughter to marry her grandfather, or for a son to marry his mother. In comparison, marriages between siblings seemed quite normal. This was one of the reasons Liti felt she could attract the Eldest Princess’s attention.

Feeling that continuing to answer would be an insult to the royal family, Anastasia bit her lip lightly, looking very hesitant.

“Renee isn’t here. You can speak freely, Anastasia.”

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Renee was in the carriage, sleeping, as she was assigned to the second half of the night watch.

“Ve-very well. Queen Veronica was once an optimistic and friendly imperial princess. But ever since she married His Majesty, she became melancholic and her temperament turned violent, especially towards you, Your Highness. She all but ignored you. This subordinate once heard Count Evan mention after drinking that when Queen Veronica was pregnant with you, His Majesty had people guarding her 24 hours a day. This was not to protect the Queen, but to protect you in her womb.”

“Because from the moment she knew she was pregnant with you, Queen Veronica tried every means possible to prevent your birth. She even snatched you from the hands of the serving woman who delivered you, right after you were born, intending to throw you out the window. If His Majesty hadn’t long suspected that she would harm you and stayed by the bedside, the consequences would have been unimaginable.”

In short, her own mother despised her, not only ignoring her as she grew up but also trying to kill her in the cradle.

As Fia was thinking, Anastasia continued.

“To ensure you could grow up safely, His Majesty entrusted you to the care of other childless Royal Consorts after your birth. With the exception of the Second, Third, and Seventeenth Royal Consorts, all the others have raised you at one time or another.”

“The Second and Third Royal Consorts should be the mothers of the Second Prince and Liti, respectively, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then what’s the story with the Seventeenth Royal Consort?”

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Although the Elf King had seventeen wives, he only had three children: herself, the Second Prince, and Liti. Fia didn’t understand why there was an extra Seventeenth Royal Consort.

Anastasia set her mithril sword aside and turned slightly, explaining in a rather ladylike posture.

“The Seventeenth Royal Consort is a wife His Majesty married recently. It happened about two months ago, around the time we left the Elf Kingdom for the Milcandis Holy Kingdom. Before we left, His Majesty announced his intention to take a seventeenth wife, but because the war had not yet ended, the wedding was postponed until its conclusion. The Seventeenth Royal Consort was born into a commoner’s family and would normally have no chance of becoming an imperial consort, but because of her good affinity with the Holy Tree, she was fortunate enough to be chosen as His Majesty’s wife.”

Although Anastasia didn’t explain why a good affinity with the Holy Tree would lead to one becoming a royal consort, Fia could imagine the reason. The importance of the Holy Tree to the elf race was immense, as it was tied to their heritage. For a commoner to have a reaction with the Holy Tree directly challenged the supreme status of the royal family. Marrying her and absorbing her into the royal family was the best solution.

Even so, the Elf King was truly promiscuous.

Fia couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.

“By entrusting me to the other consorts, wasn’t the Elf King afraid they would secretly do away with me? For instance, feeling that my existence would hinder the future of their own children. Is the royal family really that harmonious?”

“Not exactly harmonious… but the attitude of those thirteen consorts towards you was nearly unanimous. No one harmed you. His Majesty declared your status as the crown princess at your birth and made it clear that no new members of the royal family would be born until you inherited the throne. If anything were to happen to you, the consort raising you, and even their family behind them, would be collectively punished. This meant that during your formative years, the remaining thirteen consorts would have no offspring. At the same time, the consorts also bore the responsibility of protecting you.”

“In addition, His Majesty would frequently visit you while you were in their care, which correspondingly increased the number of times he met with those consorts. There was also a system where the consort raising you in any given year would receive an unimaginably large stipend. As a result, every consort cherished and protected you.”