326 – Prosperous Western Territory – 6
Fortunately, Prince Ma was able to protect his dignity and honor.
“God, look at this kid. He’s so small.”
“Looks like he was just born. He’s cute.”
Because a real child (10 years old) who surpasses a child (over 100 years old) has appeared. Just as humans love Sigorjav puppies, these elves showed great interest and cheers when a human child appeared. Being a child of another race is not a problem in front of cuteness.
“Hey, would you like to try this?”
The little duke trembles while holding Marghetta’s hand tightly as if it were a lifeline. The blond elf, who was happy to see that, showed the little duke a huge cotton candy.
And the little duke, who opened his eyes wide at the sight of the pink cotton ball, hurriedly corrected his expression. Of course, it was refined according to the standards of the small duke, and in the eyes of others, it was there.
“Hey, I’m Liliana Salon, Duchess of the Duke of Salon! I’m not a kid!”
She didn’t even say that she was a little girl, and from the way a cow duke or a child treats an elf she’s seeing for the first time, she’s overflowing with innocence. It’s just a pity that only the Duke doesn’t know that.
Anyway, the blonde elf, who looked at the little duke as if he was cute, smiled and slightly lowered his head.
“I’m sorry, Duke. I was rude to the person who will rule this land from now on. It’s an apology, so would you accept it?”
The respect of non-humans of a different race, the lip service of being the one who will rule this land in the future. Thanks to this, the mood of the small duke, who had been feeling energetic, was rapidly relieved. Even the luscious pink cotton ball was transformed into an apple gift, so they must be happy.
While everyone’s eyes were on the little Duke with such sparkling eyes and cotton candy in his mouth, the red-handed elf who had hugged the little prince opened his mouth slightly.
“Have you met any other elves besides us?”
At that, Lord Ma shook his head. Officially, the reservation is the only place in the imperial territory where heterogeneous people live, and this is the first time that Prince Majong has come to the reservation. He obviously had no chance to see the other elves.
“No. I haven’t seen it yet.”
“Then I bet even Rafaela-sama didn’t see it.”
Then the caught elf touched his chin as if he was in trouble.
‘Who is Rafaela?’
It’s good to think about it, but wouldn’t it be the order to tell you who it is? Ma Jong-gong doesn’t know who he’s talking about, so he’s just blinking.
Still, as if he realized his mistake, the caught elf, who was silent for a while, quickly opened his mouth.
“This is your grandmother. She is also the elder, the representative of our elves.”
“Yes?”
The existence of the grandmother was suddenly revealed. I was surprised because it was a remark I hadn’t even thought of, but the shock seemed to have been added to his party, Prince Majong.
The vacant voice that was hard to believe came from the mouth of Jong-Gong Ma proves it.
Due to the remarks of the caught elf, the next tourist destination was automatically determined. Although it is ambiguous to call it a tourist destination because it is a residential district for heterogeneous people, there is nothing that cannot be done with the permission of the residents.
An area that ordinary tourists would never enter. I was able to see the unknown world, but no one opened their mouths or showed signs of excitement. The eldest person in human society is depressed, but who can’t read the atmosphere and make a fuss?
‘Maternal grandmother.’
I also had a complicated head. Of course, since Ma Jong-gong’s mother was not born from an egg, it is natural for Ma Jong-gong to have a grandmother.
However, Prince Ma was unaware of the existence of his maternal grandmother, and it is said that he had not heard of his maternal family even when his mother was alive. So, before his mother ran off the reservation, he had a good guess that something bad was going on with his mother—
‘He was an elder?’
Elder, the title of a leader who leads the elves. Although, unlike humans, the title of elder is not hereditary through blood, but if she is the daughter of an incumbent elder, she is bound to be treated with dignity.
But Ma Jong-gong’s mother kicked the treat away and fled from her sanctuary. In addition, she kept quiet until the last moment about her own birth. From the perspective of King Ma, there is no choice but to think that there is a serious discord between his mother and mother’s family.
“Hey, excuse me.”
“Ah, yes, yes. What’s going on?”
When I approached the red-handed elf who was glancing at the walking demon with his head down, the red-faced elf immediately greeted me with a smile.
It’s a friendly response, but it feels strange. Are you still being treated like a little baby?
“Beatrix hasn’t heard anything about her maternal family from her mother. Is it okay to show her face all of a sudden?”
Anyway, when I asked a valid question, the caught elf put on a somewhat embarrassed expression.
“So we have to meet more. Elder, you’ve been really depressed since Ariadne left.”
“Yes?”
This is unexpected again. I thought she was in a state of disarray after a big fight.
At my reaction, the red-handed elf looked at Ma Jong-gong again and chanted a small incantation while using magic. It is a mana flow familiar to the familiar chant, sound blocking magic.
“It’s true that Ariadne got into a fight with the elder, but she didn’t really have a serious fight.”
The explanation that followed after he sighed was complicated and futile.
The current elder is said to be over 600 years old. He is a deceased person who lived 300 years before the establishment of the Kpelofen Empire, which means that he is a victim of history who intuited the ruin of the Apels Empire in real time.
In the first place, what is the reason why various kinds of heterogeneous tribes live closely together in a reservation built in the empire, and even in one duchy? Due to the human supremacy of the Apels Empire, countless different races suffered catastrophes, and at the end of the Apels, a bastard like Hitler went crazy enough to ascend the throne three times in a row. Thanks to this, the number of this species has rapidly decreased to the extent that it has entered the extinction visible zone.
“Most of the elves alive today were born around the time the empire was established, so they have little resentment towards humans, and the empire treats them well, so… But they don’t live as long as the elder.”
Even though he escaped hell by cooperating with humans, he said that he still couldn’t forget the disaster he suffered from humans.
Of course, the state that oppressed the different races did not take its anger out on Apelsni Kfelopen. I just don’t want to deal with humans again, so I just shut myself up in a heterogeneous reserve. It is said that such elves do not even set foot in the commercial district.
“But when Ariadne said she would leave the reservation, the elder got angry too, and he said that if he didn’t listen, he would think he was someone other than his daughter…”
“You’re out.”
“Yeah…”
Apart from his mother, who became a stranger after hearing what he said out of anger, isn’t that a f*cking big shot from Apels? Even after they were destroyed, they were nuisances, and in many ways they were great bastards.
From noble mtl dot com
“Since he brought me here himself, the elder is the one who has to take responsibility for his tribe, but he wasn’t so ruthless as to push his fellow countrymen into the human world, saying let’s catch his own daughter, so he’s been in pain until now.”
The expression of the red-haired elf sighed again, filled with pensiveness. How could he feel at ease when he had to inform the elder who was suffering from such a heartache that his daughter had died?
Anyway, now that I know the approximate reason, he thanked the red-handed elf and approached Ma. The caught elf had an expression that expected me to explain it well to Lord Majong, but—
“That’s right.”
There was no particular need for that. In a short word, Lord Ma silently nodded his head.
I don’t know about the elves in the sanctuary, but there’s no point in using magic in front of Lord Majong. In fact, from the standpoint of the elves, what would they do with the idea that the little kid left behind by a friend who had run away was the king of magic?
“Even an elder must have suffered a lot in the past, and it would be shocking to hear the news that his daughter has left.”
“Yes, I guess.”
Gong Ma finally opened his mouth to answer the added explanation. Regretful. How does a granddaughter feel when she has to inform her mother’s death to her mother, whom she sees for the first time?
“Beatrix, I know that’s too much to say, but to that elder—”
“I know you don’t have to say it. As the only granddaughter, you should be friendly.”
I tried to speak as carefully as I could, but Lord Ma nodded his head knowingly. I’m in a position to deliver a terrible message, but at least I have to comfort the elder as the daughter’s granddaughter. That’s Majonggong’s best.
‘It must be crazy.’
It was even more pitiful to see Majonggong like that. Fortunately, the elves I saw in the commercial district had no hostility towards humans, so they treated the mixed-race Majonggong kindly, but I don’t know how the elders who are full of antipathy towards humans will come out.
As is often the case in novels, a half-blooded Majonggong can be treated as a mongrel, or it can be treated as a plague that ate his mother.
It’s painful either way.
When I entered the residential district of the elves, I saw so many elves that it was incomparable to the commercial district. And it is only natural that human beings who should be in the commercial district visited the residential district and their eyes were fixed.
“Human? Is the tourist lost?”
“Is this a place you can come back to if you get lost? Clarisse brought you there in the first place.”
“But isn’t that Ariadne?”
And the calm gaze quickly turned into interest and turmoil. Since an elf, who is the daughter of an elder who left the house, has appeared, this must have been natural.
“Everyone get out of the way. We have to meet the elder first.”
Still, thanks to the caught elf, Clarisse, I was able to advance without being swept away by the crowd. When he said that he had to meet the leader with a serious face, even the curious elves withdrew.
I’m glad. If I had been captured by elves of this size, I would not meet the Elder until the sun went down—
‘What is it?’
I witnessed the miracle of Moses in an unexpected place. A miracle in which the crowd in front of us split left and right in an instant. Are you keeping it out of the way to make it easier to go? The elves are so considerate.
“Ariadne came?”
Of course, as soon as I saw the elf at the end of the crowd, I realized it wasn’t.
The noisy elves bow their heads to greet you, a woman with white hair like Lord Majong, but a normal long-haired woman with long hair up to her waist. There were some wrinkles, but rather, you could tell who it was because of those wrinkles.
‘That elf is the elder.’
At the same time, I was surprised to learn that the aging of a being over 600 years old ends with a few wrinkles. Jang Su-jong is great.
“That immature guy is finally here.”
The elder strides forward with a light frown. She seems to have been nearby and noticed the commotion and came to visit first.
‘Damn it.’
But it was a bad visit, so I broke into a cold sweat. The order shouldn’t be like this.
It would be shocking to hear the news that her daughter died while staying still, but when she first heard the fake news that her runaway daughter had returned, she said, ‘She is actually dead.’ How desperate would it be to hear the same thing?
“If she’s going to come back after all, what is she out for—?”
The elder came toward us with an expression of half anger, half relief, and trembled.
“…Who are you?”
And then, I bit my lip slightly at the words that followed.
A mother with enough maternal instinct to immediately recognize that she is not a daughter. What should I explain to such a mother to lessen the shock?