The Book Of Flowers

The Decision is Round

"Well, whoa. I was surprised to see you dare to show yourself here, Countess Eleanor" The fat man said to Eleanor who was sitting before him

Eleanor, and Albert standing behind her silently did not reply, upsetting the fatty

Looks like there's quite a few of my friends that are drawing their attention here. But I don't like to see the gazes of those who seem to think of us as slaves and inferior to them

I wonder why Verdea who has noble blood can act more polite than them

Yep. That kid who always acted like he was, I just called him polite, compared to these people. And I only need to examine them once

All right, I'd better start this meeting instead of wasting more time

"So, as you know, we Elves are the cause of chaos in Crux today. No need to explain the details of the problem, right?"

All the eyes of the nobles instantly looked at me furiously

"Short to the point, I only want 3 things from all of you"

"Wait on!! How dare you ask for things from us when you've done the mess!!" A king said

Ah this guy. King Julius Orion. One of the ruling kings in a superpower with power and justice

His burly appearance was enough to convince me that he was a strong person, not just from the muscular side. I never thought I'd see him again after he became king

"So, your Honor, Julius, why do you think we're doing this mess?"

"..."

"We have only one reason when it comes to problems with other races since time immemorial. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, but we do not repay evil for evil. Want proof?"

"... What's?"

"I'm sure that you already know that none of the soldiers you sent to hinder us were seriously injured, let alone dead"

"..."

"Then? Putting aside the incident 5 years ago, you have also tried to harm the nobles around the world for some reason. Isn't that a crime?" Leiwan interrupted

"Then you think enslaving innocent people is good?"

...

They tried to drag me towards that big mistake apparently. They still don't know that I'm not the real culprit, but convincing them right now would be a waste of time

I flicked my finger. Not long after, the 2 Elves brought Eloy and Yuriel into the meeting area, but bonded. Eloy on the other hand, had to be covered in her mouth and tied as tightly as possible because she was trying to fight back. The two of them were set up not far behind my chair so the nobles could see that they were still fine

The nobles focused on them with cold sweat pouring out, seeing that the two people they had to save were now still in my grasp

"So, how about we go back to those 3 things?" I asked

"... Alright. Tell me everything" Rosalia finally said

I smiled at her even though she couldn't see my face behind this veil

"First, I want you to return the shards of shining blue gemstones to us"

...

"You mean this stone?" Rosalia asked, thrusting the 2 pieces of spirit stone fragments

"Yes. You might think this is some kind of magic stone that holds great power. You could say so, but rather, this was the spirit stone belonging to the first Elf"

"Huh?" Rosalia said with a huffed face. But he immediately pulled back his emotions before being discovered

"Then why do you want it back?" Rosalia asked

"Because of the power of this first Elf we used to confirm Miralius. If he's not around and we're running out of his mana, where are we going to live?"

"... What a good point"

Rosalia then hesitantly began to thrust the two stones closer towards me. I took it with pleasure

Technically, the destruction of our kingdom might be in their favor

But I understand very well that everyone here agrees on one thing. We will all go through this meeting with the conclusion of a peaceful path

So they don't argue at all. They just want to know if we can talk or not

"There's still one that hasn't been returned to me"

I looked towards Yuriel who was standing behind me. He silently stared, before then sighing

"I'll return it later. I made the stone as a necklace, but a king took it because he was interested"

Eloy immediately rebelled and looked like she wanted to hit Yuriel

"alright. I'll look forward to it"

I turned back to the table

"Secondly, I want you to give me time to prove that our race is not the perpetrator of the 5-year-old incident"

"Huh!?" Leiwan was surprised

"Impossible! The Chief Judge standing behind you said that you were the culprit!!" Julius again exclaimed

"How come? Can you explain the details?" I asked

"He had already researched the Mana of the invaders in the Hortensia kingdom before that incident. There were even enough witnesses at the scene who noticed that you were running away from an area like a gang of criminals!"

Is that so...? So he slandered hm...?

"That's all?"

"... What do you mean just that?"

"How about I say, we 'run' from there because at the same time Miralius was also attacked?"

"...!"

Bingo!

You can't dodge, can you?

"You're just trying to twist the reality of King Julius. You are all human too. The real culprit of the incident appeared before us back then, and I suddenly felt something painful in my body due to this forced spirit stone being removed. That's why we left quickly without caring about anything

You refused to look any further and instead chose a scapegoat for you to blame in the incident, simply because of something that was caught at a glance. Is that the justice that you hold, king Julius?"

...

Of course he can't talk anymore. My tongue is more dangerous if I really want to drop their arguments

Then, as I expected, all eyes were on Rosalia. Everyone knows why, because he was the one who spread the news that we were using the projection in the sky that day

He himself simply responded with, "It seems I should find out this from that trusted man of mine. I'll ask for more explanation from him"

I've been on a pitam ride. These savages pissed me off because none of them looked sorry. If only I had a quick way to exterminate their stupid egos

"But if you know who the real culprit is, who is that person?" Ask the fat guy to me

"... You wouldn't believe me if I said it now. That's why I asked for time to give clear evidence, and not just mere words

But, I'll say one thing. The perpetrator of the Miralius attack, and who may also have been responsible for the incident, was a man named Walter Herb"

Everyone was shocked to hear that. The king of the Xiang kingdom alone was seen sweating coldly. I'm guessing there's something between him and Walter that's hidden right now

Rosalia simply lowered her head and tried to look non-obtrusive by closing her eyes

And of the five of them, unfortunately I have to choose the weakest first. However, being weak does not mean being useless

Getting rid of Walter would be very useful to limit Rosalia's stealthy movements. Then, I will proceed with annihilating Darwin and his army

I still need time, Rosalia Hortensia. But, please start counting down your destruction from this second. I'll start with that sailor first

The nobles are seen whispering with each other. When they agreed, King Julius again represented them

"alright. We'll give you enough time. We will be looking forward to the real evidence"

"Thank you for being humble. Also, my friend Cyan Keith would be very helpful in finding Walter Herb. They used to be shipmates, and now they are hostile because of a conflict

Think of it as a business to keep us all satisfied. After all, there's no one better at tracking down Walter Herb than his former partner isn't there?"

I introduced Cyth to them. Cyth himself just kept quiet while continuing to turn the other way

I'll apologize to him later. He looks riled up because I told him about his past

"... I-i understand. We'll also prepare a ship to hunt down that sailor named Walter"

Responding to Julius, I nodded in understanding and began to focus on the last part

"All right, the last one...

I want you to allow Verdea Hortensia and Artorius Hortensia to return to the kingdom of Hortensia"

"!!!"

"T-wait! Why do you bother asking for that? Even if you don't ask, we'll bring them back!" Darius interrupted

"Is that so? But you are not aware of one thing. Their return to Hortensia means my return to Hortensia"

"How can!?"

Huh...

"Do you forget or do not know? I have sworn allegiance to them both to the very end of their lives. In short, I am both of their servants. Even King Damien would not be able to ban me at will, let alone you, the third prince. The contract was still valid since they were both alive and well"

"Ugh...!"

Also, this move will be brilliant. Artorius I will put as a spy for us to watch over Rosalia, under the guise of sending a letter to me as usual to make news

Even if Artorius was wounded even to the point of his death, we would not be suspected at all because he was not in Thyme castle, but in another family castle

I'm sorry Artorius. But you also need to be useful. All this also happens with you as the root

"Just calm. I will leave this decision to my two masters. If they've chosen I'm just following"

And that's absolute. Their orders are my duty

...

Wait, why am I goosebumps?

Heh...?

I stared at where the cold air was coming from, right beside me, where the higher-ups were sitting

The higher-ups...

"V- Vainzel's. You didn't even tell us about it" Zaphir said limply

Oh yea... The higher-ups besides the five people knew nothing of the contract between the three of us...

Maybe I should have told them in the first place, but I was afraid they would yell angrily at me. They even looked riled up and lethargic when they listened to me just now

"I'll explain everything later. Please hold back your emotions" I said in a nervous tone

Zaphir looked like he wanted to explode, but he only held back his anger by knocking on the table in front of him stiffly many times

"So that's why he's so loyal to this kid..." Cyrus continued on with a disappointed face, followed by a resigned laugh

"Already! Don't talk about it any further!"

Ignore them. I haven't heard anything from the two people I asked a question about

"So?"

They both seemed hesitant to return to Hortensia, especially Artorius

"I think... It might be better if we just go back to Thyme castle" Verdea said, then nodded to confirm his intentions

"alright. I'm fine too. Although I am still quite afraid to go there" Artorius said confidently

Good, they followed the script

"It's been decided" I continued, then turned to the nobles

"... Whatever! As long as you don't act suspicious, Oberon!" Darius said, followed by Rosalia who nodded once

"It could also be good for our relationship with Miralius, my sister" Rosalia said in a pleased tone

...

...

...

Good relationship with Miralius...?

"You guys misunderstood one thing" I interrupted

They both looked at me. The atmosphere became cold and piercing as they realized my visage was riled up

"I told you that I'm the servant of both of them clearly. I'm sure that there's no part of me or that they say that I'm going to work with you"

"Oberon?"

"I still hate you, all the humans who slandered us. If there's one relationship I'm going to have with you, it's just a calculation. Calculation to make you all look like fools for accusing us wrongly

Be thankful I didn't ask you to apologize to the higher-ups sitting in this row. I know you won't like it 'cause it'll just demean you, won't it?"

...

"You may accuse me or hurt me, but you drag them into it with your punishment. In addition, thank God I did not decide to finish you off, for I myself was more than enough to do so

But, I don't really like violence that won't end. So I'm just gonna stay on that calculation path, unless you guys mess with me again during this proving period"

Everyone is silent. The nobles and kings looked creeped in fear, while the higher-ups just kept quiet and did not budge. But Rosalia was still firm. He even returned my gaze with a petty face as if he was challenging me

"Vainzel is enough. You intimidated them too much" Artorius said

"I have no regrets at all, Your Majesty. At least they should understand that one thing" I replied

Artorius was silent giving a troubled look

"alright. I'd better close the meeting this time. And remember, I will only follow two humans in this world. Don't expect all of you here to be on good terms with the Elves even until your death. Pray for the best for all of us"

I woke up, then turned around. Quickly, it then cuts the bond belonging to Yuriel and Eloy

"Peach what I'm asking. I'm not happy with people who break promises"

With that last word, I walked away towards Miralius. Verdea and Veskal also immediately woke up, then the higher-ups, representatives of Andromeda, and Artorius

All of us from the stronghold of Miralius left those nobles who were still silent on their seats

...

"Dam... They're scary...!" Leiwan said in a nervous tone while propping his head up on the table

"What shall we do, your majesty? Those Elves must be put away!" A Duke from the kingdom of Orion said

"You didn't hear what he said?" Julius replied. "We have to keep our promise to him. Give them time"

The nobles other than the kings were instantly furious with it, but did not dare to verbally take it out before the king from the Orion kingdom

"I'm ashamed of myself. Oberon is right. We all refuse to look further"

He held his head while he was down on the table

"My late father will be ashamed when he finds out I've committed this sin"

...

"King Julius~ you're too rude to yourself. Do not be swayed by their words" A king said

He opened his fan, then began to flick the thing in front of his face

"How do you know they won't do anything anymore. They're still suspicious you know?"

"King Shen. You also don't have any real evidence that they did it, do you?" Julius avenged the king

The narrow-eyed king in black and white clothes typical of Xiang kingdom was just a small grin. He played that long mustache while continuing to wag with the other hand

"Fuck" Someone then said, making everything quiet

All eyes then turned towards Eloy who was still standing behind my chair earlier. He was seen biting his tongue while holding on to the explosive anger

"I will exterminate them for this humiliation...!" He said again

The eyes of judgment are headed toward him. Some took it for granted because of a stupid-sounding word, and others were confused by what he said

"Hm~ the pitiful King. But I like your determination" Shen said

"Submit for a while king Eloy. You-"

"Silent bastard! You don't know anything!" Eloy cuts Julius off

Amidst that, Rosalia only sighed

"Your intentions are vulgar, Eloy. Naturally Yuriel always complains to others like me" Rosalia said

"Silent low woman! I'll show you where you are!"

He moves forward intending to hurt Rosalia. But in the second that followed, he was hit by an unknown figure, throwing him towards a tree until Eloy was hit hard

"You're too loud, Edwin" Rosalia said

"Sorry princess. This is what will happen if I reflex" Edwin retorted

Rosalia just sighed looking at Edwin's face that showed no remorse

"Just help him wake up. If he faints, take him. Grandpa, let's go"

Edwin immediately did as Rosalia ordered. Meanwhile, the nobles began to get up from their seats following Rosalia and Yuriel went back to their ship

"... Mr. princess-"

"Silent. I don't want to hear anything" Rosalia cut Yuriel off

Yuriel just walked back in silence and lowered her head

"I have a lot to discuss with the four of you, especially about that bastard sailor"

Rosalia looked angry at that moment. He continued walking as if he was eating it slowly

Not one bit did he think that I would frankly express hatred in front of everyone like that. And because of that, his vigilance towards me also began to increase

He had already prepared all the things he would have done had I tried to block his path again. If necessary, he had even prepared a plan to get rid of me

If he gets caught, it's over. He had to do something, even if it was just to buy more time. The goal is near. He also needs time. Who will reach his time first, between me and him, that person will make others fall into failure

But the two of us did not plan to retreat at all. It's war. There is only one side that will win and walk forward

Surely, I don't want to lose