"What's the situation?"
I didn't detect the mood of people stuck in a war when I returned to the town. The town was the forefront of the frontlines, in essence, yet the townsfolk were still walking around unfettered. They smiled and chatted merrily. Business was booming in the town for the first time. There were plenty of people drinking in spite of the sun still shining in the sky. Carriages went back and forth on. By my predictions, the carriages should've been carrying resources for the frontlines. Some carriages purchased things from business in the town and delivered them straight to the frontlines. A place specifically for treating the wounded had been set up; interestingly, it was so desolate that there were only two doctors chatting away at the door. I couldn't see how there was a war. Plus, the town was a frontline when everyone was so laid back.
"There's no way there can be no wounded in a war, can there? Why is there no wounded? Are they actually fighting a war or out on a tour? Could the war have been unbelievably successful that humanity didn't even have one wounded person? That's make believe. There should be wounded personnel," I reasoned.
Even Veirya kept staring at the carriage that passed by the three of us. The foods they covered underneath rainproof fabric on the carriages caught her attention. Leah, however, pinched her nose and complained, "There's so much alcohol. The entire street reeks of alcohol. Papa, Leah feels slightly dizzy…"
"Alcohol?" Perplexed, I repeated Leah's statement then watched carriages pass us.
They all looked the same and presumably transported wine. I had never participated in any war, including wars in ancient times. That said, based of my limited experience, I expected the soldiers on the frontlines to require weapons instead of wine. They couldn't possibly need to transport that much wine even if they needed to kill time.
"If they're sending so much wine to the frontlines, are they going to fight or not? Is this really a war?" I mulled.
Veirya shook her head. She peered in the direction that the carriages left: "Wrong. The army. Shouldn't. Drink so much wine."
I commented, "What is Her Majesty doing…? Could the elves have been defeated already? Is the frontline already celebrating? I don't know. I'm not sure what the situation on the frontline is."
Veirya responded with a slight nod, but didn't offer any input.
Judging by the situation in the town, the war should be looking optimistic for humanity. After all, I was mentally prepared to have the elves occupy our town. I didn't expect the town to still be in one peace and everyone so joyous. Seldom did I see humanity so confident.
We returned to our place. The main hall was empty, and nobody came looking for us. When we went through the long corridor, I saw the Elven Queen quietly sitting in the centre, facing the fountain in silence. Ciara stood leaning on a pillar in silence. Ciara turned in our direction when she heard our footsteps. The Queen turned to ask Ciara if we were back. The Queen then turned to face our direction with a smile: "You are back, Your Lordship?"
"I am," I replied
Veirya glanced at me then grabbed hold of Leah's hand. The two of them immediately joined forces and looked at me with admonishing and displeased gazes, making me feel as if I was sitting on pins and needles. I didn't know what to say. The two picked up their pace, leaving me behind. They opened the door and went home. In the end, however, Veirya turned around to glance at me one last time. She was expressionless, but I could tell she was cranky. From what I deduced, she permitted me to interact with the Elven Queen under the condition I stuck within an apparent time limit. If I stayed too long, Leah and she would let me have it. That was fine by me. I'd come in after a quick word.
I went and sat down next to the Elven Queen. She still had her lips curled up into gentle smile. In front of her was the fountain and flower garden. Our trip was short, but the flowers had begun to grow a little in that time. It began to rise from the soil and straighten up. Unfortunately, flowers had yet to grow; we just had leaves. Nevertheless, it had to bloom soon, probably around summer.
The elven as she turned to face me. At peace, she asked, "Are you happy this time?"
I shook my head with a helpless smile: "No. I was tricked. Man, it was my first time being fooled here. I didn't think a dwarf of all people would fool me, either. Not to mention that he was Veirya's comrade. I didn't think Veirya's former comrade would pull an underhanded stunt in an attempt to scam Veirya. I honestly was caught off guard. God damn, it angers me."
"You need not be angry. It is only normal to be deceived. There is no way for us to know what someone has in mind or how they change. I am a prime example. I, too, never thought Lucilia would betray me."
The Elven Queen took a while to find my hand. She placed my hand gently on her face. My fingers gently slid across her eye cover. The fabric felt lifeless. For a while, I didn't say a word. In the end, I opined, "It must hurt a lot."
"Uhm, it does." The Elven Queen nodded. She changed her hand position, tightly clasping my hand. She then gently placed my hands on her face. In a gentle voice, she pleaded, "Therefore, please touch me more. Please continue touching my eye, like this."
My body jolted. I felt a chilling sensation up my spin. I turned my head around to see Veirya standing at the door after opening it and calmly watching me, especially my hands on her cheeks. Every strand of hair on my body stood up. She didn't have a sword on her, but her threatening aura was just as intimidating as when she had her sword on my neck…
I quickly pulled my hands back. The Elven Queen seemed to realise what happened and, therefore faced the door and smiled: "Is that Lord Veirya? You truly are so fortunate to be able to go out together with His Lordship. Can you not give us some time?"
"No." Veirya's answer couldn't be any simpler.
The Elven Queen laughed; however, she didn't let go of my hand. Instead, she stood up and, with a smile, declared, "In that case, I shall go back with His Lordship. That should be fine, right? I just need His Lordship."
Veirya didn't respond this time. She still looked at me with the same gaze, though…
"This has nothing to do with me!! It's not my fault!" I wanted to cry.
Boom! As I cried out in my mind, a deafening explosion shocked me. The ground underfoot quaked. Before I even had the time to recompose myself after the explosion, I heard another explosion and then another.
I panicked as I looked toward the direction the explosions came from. It wasn't the sound of thunderclap; the sound came from underground in the distance. To be precise, it came from the within the forest…