Chapter 286: Public Relations Campaign

Mark walked through what remained of the village, Aria at his side, silently taking in the aftermath of the battle.

The destruction was considerable.

There were burned and collapsed houses, streets covered in rubble, columns of smoke rising here and there against the afternoon sky.

And, above all, there were bodies.

Hundreds of them.

The vast majority were demi-humans, victims of the massacre Alice had unleashed, though numerous elves could also be seen among them.

’They got lucky... luckier than they probably realize,’ Mark thought, watching a group of villagers gathering the bodies of their fellow townspeople.

If he and his wives had arrived just a little later, even a few minutes, there wouldn’t have been anyone left to save.

And the most ironic part of it all was that they hadn’t even planned to stop there.

In fact, they had only ended up landing because Mark needed to use the bathroom.

They’d been flying for hours, so he had asked the druid to descend a bit so he could stretch his legs and relieve himself in peace on solid ground.

And it was right then, while they were descending, that Alice had spotted that enormous advancing force of demi-humans moving toward the small village in the distance.

’Fate has a peculiar sense of humor...’ Mark thought with a hint of irony.

But his reflections were interrupted by light footsteps running toward him.

It was the two small elves from before.

"Thank you for saving us!" both said at once, bowing awkwardly. "Us and our mom and dad!"

Aria crouched slightly to their level, with a warm smile.

"You don’t have to thank us," she said sweetly. "Our Master didn’t save you expecting anything in return. He did it because he cares about you, and about every citizen of the kingdom, from the bottom of his heart."

"Really?" one of them asked.

"But of course," Aria replied without hesitation. "Nothing matters more to the Master than the wellbeing of his people. So don’t worry about thanking him, seeing you safe is thanks enough for him."

The two children looked at the hooded figure with eyes shining with admiration, before giving one last bow and running back to their parents.

Mark waited until they were far enough away before speaking again.

"From the bottom of my heart, huh?" he muttered quietly, amused.

Aria let out a short laugh.

"Obviously," she replied just as quietly, with a knowing smile.

After walking a little further, the two of them reached the spot where the surviving warriors had gathered.

And the moment they saw Mark approaching, they all reacted at once.

One after another, the warriors dropped to their knees and bowed their heads, showing absolute respect in his presence.

"Your Majesty!" one of them said, his voice heavy with nervousness. "We... we don’t have enough words to express our gratitude."

"If it weren’t for you and your companions, this village, and all of us, would have been wiped out," another continued. "We owe you our lives... each and every one of us."

"It’s an immeasurable honor that our sovereign came in person to defend us," another added, not daring to lift his gaze.

Aria, true to her role, didn’t let the opportunity slip by.

"What can I say? That’s our Master for you," she said with obvious pride. "He always looks out for his people, no matter how far away they are. So you should consider yourselves fortunate to have such a noble and devoted ruler."

Mark had to make an effort not to laugh at how shamelessly Aria kept building up his image.

She truly had a gift for it.

Meanwhile the elves seemed increasingly moved by her words, and Mark quickly noticed the shift in their expressions.

The fear many had shown at first was beginning to fade, gradually replaced by respect, admiration, and something bordering on devotion.

"If I may, Your Majesty... I must confess we had heard all kinds of stories about you," one of the elves said, still kneeling. "They said you were a cruel, ruthless tyrant, but... after what you’ve done for us today, it’s clear we were completely wro—"

"What the hell are you saying?!" another elf interrupted him, giving him a desperate elbow. "How could you speak like that in front of His Majesty?! Do you want us all executed?!"

A tense silence fell over the group.

But Mark, far from getting angry, simply let out a soft laugh.

"Relax, I know those rumors perfectly well, and they don’t offend me in the slightest," he said with a carefree wave of his hand. "But they’re nothing more than lies spread by former nobles who lost their privileges when I came to power."

He tilted his head slightly.

"So I don’t blame you for believing them," he said in the kindest tone he could fake. "After all, it’s easy to fear someone when the only things you’ve heard about him are as terrible as what they say about me."

Those words erased whatever trace of fear remained in the elves.

They now looked at him with an almost fervent loyalty, as if they had just found a leader worth dying for.

But just then, hurried footsteps could be heard approaching again.

It was the druid, coming back at full speed, visibly agitated.

"Your Majesty!" he said, stopping in front of Mark. "Forgive the interruption, but I just received word from Lady Alice."

"Go ahead. Speak."

"She managed to completely disperse the group of demi-humans," the druid reported enthusiastically. "And while a good portion managed to flee into the forest, she succeeded in capturing several of their main leaders alive."

He paused briefly to catch his breath before continuing.

"That’s why she’s requesting you come as soon as possible... she wants your presence during the prisoners’ interrogation."

"Very well," Mark said with a slight nod. "Tell her we’re on our way."

The druid bowed and hurried off.

Mark turned one last time toward the elves, who were still kneeling before him.

"Get up," he ordered in a kind tone.

Everyone obeyed instantly.

"You fought bravely, so now rest, and make sure the wounded get the care they need."

Mark paused briefly before continuing.

"I have to go now, since I still have some matters to attend to, but you all can go on ahead, there’s no longer any threat."

The elves continued expressing their gratitude as Mark turned his back and walked away, toward where Alice was waiting for him alongside the prisoners.