Chapter 476 - 436: The Sin of Arrogance

Chapter 476: Chapter 436: The Sin of Arrogance

The elf gave a slight bow. His etiquette was flawless, impeccable even, yet utterly devoid of warmth.

He had long, silver hair like frost and snow, cascading like a waterfall down his dark green robes. His face was so exquisite it could have been carved from ice, and his narrow, gray-blue eyes held a distant coldness and arrogance that pushed everyone away.

"I am Elrond, a vassal of Duke Angry Wind. His Grace is occupied with military affairs and has dispatched me to receive you."

Velin returned the bow, his movements just as precise.

"It is an honor."

Elrond led them into a reception hall.

The luxury of the place was staggering. The tables and chairs were carved from single, solid blocks of Agarwood, the cups held dew that shimmered with a faint light, and the tapestries hanging on the walls actually moved.

"Please, have a seat."

Elrond waved his hand, and several elven maids brought out platters of fruit.

Each piece of fruit was translucent and crystalline, exuding an enticing aroma.

"Do try some. These are ’Starlight Berries,’ which grow only beside a Moon Well." Elrond elegantly plucked one and placed it in his mouth. "In the human world, a single one of these could probably be traded for a fine horse, no?"

This was a show of dominance.

He was flaunting their wealth, showcasing the disparity in resources between their two sides.

Velin didn’t touch the fruit. He simply watched Elrond in silence.

"Your Excellency, we came for grain."

"Of course, of course."

Elrond wiped his hands, the smile on his face widening.

"We have heard something of the Sealand Duchy’s plight. That boorish Second Empire has blockaded your sea routes—truly barbaric behavior."

He sighed, putting on an air of profound sympathy.

"As your neighbors, we cannot bear to watch human commoners starve. Elves are a peace-loving race, always willing to lend a helping hand."

As he spoke, he drew a prepared parchment Scroll from his sleeve and gently pushed it across the table to Velin.

"This is the ’Special Mutual Aid Agreement’ we have drafted. As long as you sign it, the granaries of the Ironwood Line will be open to you."

Caroline immediately reached for the Scroll, unrolling it to read.

Her expression changed after reading just three lines.

The further she read, the more ragged her breathing became—out of sheer anger.

"This is your idea of ’mutual aid’?"

Caroline slammed the Scroll on the table, her voice trembling.

"Granting you mining rights to all mines in the western Forest Sea Province? Allowing elven troops to be stationed in our border cities under the guise of ’escorting grain’? And we have to accept the Duke’s ’tax guidance’?"

She shot to her feet, pointing at Elrond’s nose.

"This isn’t mutual aid! This is a plan to turn the Sealand Duchy into your colony! This is a treaty of treason!"

The smile on Elrond’s face didn’t waver.

He didn’t even glance at Caroline. His gaze was fixed on Velin, his gray-blue eyes glinting like a Hunter watching his prey.

"Lord Velin, this lady seems a bit agitated."

Elrond said slowly and deliberately.

"You must understand, no one can save the Sealand Duchy now but us. The Empire wants your lives, while we... we only ask for a few insignificant rights."

"It’s a fair trade."

He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a low, venomous whisper full of temptation.

"Besides, we wouldn’t mind supporting a ’cooperative’ friend in the process, someone who could become the true master of the Sealand Duchy. For instance... you."

He was suggesting that Velin betray the Prince-Regent and become a puppet of the elves.

The air in the hall froze.

Caroline’s hand was already on the hilt of her sword. A single word from Velin, and she would draw it, even here, in a place filled with elite elven warriors.

’These long-ears have it all figured out.’

’They don’t want to get involved in a human war; they just want to profit from the crisis. They plan to take control of the Sealand Duchy without spilling a drop of blood, turning this human Duchy into a buffer zone and resource depot for their own conflict with the Empire.’

Velin picked up the Scroll, his fingertips gently stroking the rough surface of the parchment.

He didn’t slam the table and rise in fury as Caroline had expected. Instead, he sighed softly, raised a hand to rub the bridge of his nose, and let a look of exhaustion show on his face.

"Your Excellency Elrond," Velin’s voice was a little hoarse. "Your proposal... is indeed, as you say, our only way out of this."

The smile on Elrond’s lips deepened.

But then Velin’s tone shifted. "However, this is a matter of great importance. The journey here was arduous, and my companion and I are exhausted. In our current state, I fear we cannot properly scrutinize an agreement that concerns the fate of our nation. If we were to sign it in a daze, it would be a form of disrespect to your side as well."

He looked up, his gaze sincere. "I wonder if you would allow us to rest here for a day? Once we have recovered our strength and studied the terms carefully, we can give you a formal answer."

Elrond raised an eyebrow, a flash of contempt passing through his eyes.

’Humans truly are fragile creatures,’ he thought. ’Just a trip through the forest is enough to exhaust them. This is nothing more than a weakling’s final, desperate struggle for a shred of dignity in the face of the inevitable.’

"Of course." Elrond waved his hand magnanimously. "To us elves, a day is but the blink of an eye. You may stay in the guest house and rest well. And while you’re at it, ’think carefully’ about what the wise choice is."

"Thank you for your generosity."

Velin gave a slight bow and carefully put away the Scroll.

"Caroline, let’s go."

Though Caroline was filled with suspicion and wanted to say something upon seeing Velin’s seemingly weak state, a subtle look from him stopped her. She suppressed the urge to draw her sword, grit her teeth, and followed him out of the main hall.

The window lattices of the Thorn Guest House were woven from living vines. Among the emerald leaves bloomed a few small, unknown white flowers, releasing a scent that made one drowsy.

Velin stood at the window, gazing at the scenery outside.

Beyond the window was an open lawn, and further in the distance, a landing platform for Giant Eagles, encircled by massive trees.

"That’s the thirty-second time."

Caroline paced back and forth across the room, her high heels clicking on the wooden floor. She seemed agitated, snapping her folding fan open and shut with a sharp crackle.

"Since we checked in yesterday afternoon, those long-ears haven’t shown their faces again, aside from bringing us a ’dinner’ of nothing but dew and fruit. This is house arrest, Velin. They’re giving us the cold shoulder, trying to make us lower our standards out of anxiety."

Velin didn’t turn around, his gaze still locked on a black dot that had just landed in the distance.

"No, Caroline. They’re not giving us the cold shoulder."

Velin turned, walked to the table, and picked up a quill to draw a crude coordinate system on a piece of scrap paper.

"They simply don’t take us seriously."

Caroline stopped pacing and raised an eyebrow at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Look here." Velin tapped several black dots on the paper with the tip of his quill. "The elven Giant Eagle cavalry changes shifts every four hours. But in the past day, three waves of Giant Eagles with no emblems have broken this pattern. After landing, they didn’t go to the rest area, but flew directly southeast."

Velin drew a circle in the southeast corner of the map.

"That’s the direction of the ’Wall of Sighs’."

Caroline leaned in, looking at the crude lines.

"Are you saying... there’s fighting on the front lines?"

"Not just fighting—a high-level engagement." Velin tossed the quill aside and leaned back in his chair. "Look at the messengers’ boots. They’re caked in red clay. The soil around Moon Shield Castle is black Humus Soil. Only near the Ironwood Line, on the border with the Holy Second Empire, does the soil take on that dark red color, due to years of scorching from war and the local geography."

Caroline was quick to understand.

"Duke Angry Wind isn’t in Moon Shield Castle."

"Exactly."

Velin snapped his fingers.

"Our dear advisor Elrond was lying. Or rather, he didn’t feel the need to weave a perfect lie for a bunch of ’short-lived mortals.’ In their eyes, humans could never comprehend the complex flag signals and dispatch frequencies of the elven army, so they didn’t even bother to conceal it."

It was sheer arrogance.

The proud elves believed humans were as short-lived as they were short-witted, and disdained the very idea of guarding against their observations.

"So what do we do?" Caroline snapped her fan shut, a sharp glint in her eyes. "Since the man in charge isn’t here, waiting a hundred years will be useless. Do we just break out?"

"Forcing our way out is the worst option. This is their territory. Even on the outskirts, there are at least two hundred Rangers watching us."

Velin took a neatly folded piece of parchment from his coat.

The paper was new, but the ink on it had an ancient air.

It was something... special... that he had stayed up all night writing in the Ancient Elven Language.

"Since they look down on human intellect, we’ll use the very thing they’re most proud of to slap them in the face."

Velin looked toward the shadows in the corner of the room.

"Xiaolan."

The air distorted slightly, and a young woman’s figure emerged without a sound. She was dressed in a tight, gray-black infiltration suit, with even her silver hair wrapped in a headscarf.

"Here."

"The elven Magic Barrier is extremely sensitive to fluctuations in Magic Power. Any invisibility spell or Teleportation Magic will trigger the alarm."

Velin handed the parchment to Xiaolan.

"But they’ve overlooked the most basic form of physical infiltration. In their minds, no creature can pass through the thorn woods without disturbing the Wind Elements. Go. Plant this in the satchel of that messenger with the red-clay boots who just landed."

Xiaolan took the note, nodded seriously, and said, "Understood."

Her figure dissipated once more, as if she had never been there at all.

Caroline stared at the empty corner and asked, a hint of irritation in her voice.

"In a situation like this, what could you possibly have written that would be useful? A love letter?"

"Something more exciting than a love letter."

Velin smiled and turned his gaze back to the deceptively calm forest outside the window.

"I’m teaching His Grace the Duke how to fight a war."

「The next morning.」

Just as sunlight began to pierce the canopies, the doors of the Thorn Guest House were forced open.

Elrond strode in, leading a squad of fully armed elven guards.

The advisor’s expression was grim today. He had clearly slept poorly, or perhaps he was just annoyed at having to deal with these "troublesome insects."

"Lord Velin."

Elrond dispensed with even the most basic pleasantries. He stood directly in the center of the hall and tapped the floor with his green Gemstone-inlaid staff.

"Regarding the Special Mutual Aid Agreement, I trust you have come to a decision. Unfortunately, the Duke’s patience is limited. Given the pressing military matters on the front lines, we can no longer host you. If you do not intend to sign now, then please leave."

It was an order to leave.

And a brutally blunt, even humiliating one at that.

Caroline, sitting on the sofa with a cup of black tea, let out a cold laugh.

"Is this the Evergreen Council’s way of treating guests? You won’t even grant us the time for a cup of tea?"

"For friends, we have fine wine." Elrond tilted his chin up, looking down his nose at Caroline. "For insatiable opportunists, we have only the door."

The guards took a menacing step forward, the tips of their long spears glinting coldly.

Velin stood up and brushed off the non-existent dust from his clothes.

"In that case, we will take our leave."

He agreed so readily that it took Elrond by surprise for a moment.

"However, Your Excellency Elrond." Velin walked to the door, then suddenly stopped and looked back at the advisor. "I hope you’ll be more careful when handling official documents in the future. After all, some things can be deadly if they end up in the wrong place."

"What are you babbling about..."

Before Elrond could finish, a sudden gust of wind pressed down from above.

"SCREECH—!"

The shriek of a Giant Eagle rattled the roof tiles, making them clatter.

A golden eagle, twice the size of a normal Giant Eagle, landed with a THUD on the lawn in front of the guest house. The downdraft from its enormous wings knocked the two elven guards at the door to the ground.

Elrond’s face paled.

That was Duke Angry Wind’s personal herald!

An Elf Knight in dark golden battle armor leaped from the golden eagle and strode into the guest house. He didn’t even glance at Elrond, walking straight up to Velin. He removed his helmet, revealing a face beaded with sweat.

"Which one of you is Velin Klein?"