The situation Tristan was currently involved in had become weirder due to the unanticipated revelation. Who would have thought that the female elf who he coincidentally met during his bath time was the Elf Queen. He truly couldn't correlate the flirtatious and amorous figure he had seen with a position that fundamentally ruled an entire kingdom with absolute authority.
A question instantly popped into his mind. 'How old is she actually?'
Tristan recalled his estimation, which was between mid 30s with 40s as the upper limit. He estimated these numbers based solely on her appearance. However, when he remembered the fact that an elf's lifespan extended over a thousand years, her real age was certainly beyond his estimated number. Even so, nothing could change his opinion that the Elf Queen was definitely the most awesome MILF he had ever seen.
The queen was currently sitting high on her throne, exuding an impressive level of grandeur. She took a glance at Tristan and he swore he could see a faint smile on her face. Alas, before Tristan could take a second look, the thunderous voice of the queen's adviser, Elder Anmar, ruined the peace in the area.
"You are now standing before Queen Leena, the ruler of the Vanyar Kingdom."
Before long, Tristan saw everyone, including the Kingsblade and even Serene, bowing to the queen. Therefore, he followed.
It was then continued by Captain Raika, who gave a report of her mission to the queen. After Raika finished the report, the queen smiled and said, "You have my gratitude, Kingsblade. Now that the elf is already here. You all can return back to Arcadia."
Tristan and Raika were both surprised with the queen's words. They didn't expect such a decision to be given by the queen.
Immediately, Raika knelt on the ground with one knee. She lowered her head as much as possible and said, "Your Excellency, King Callan has ordered me to escort the elf back as soon as possible. He.. was quite adamant about this."
"Captain, I will give you a letter to bring back, helping you explain my wish to the king. Will that be enough?"
Raika was silent, seemingly thinking about the matter. Moments later, she opened her mouth, "Your Excellency, I would rather wait here if that would be the case."
Unexpectedly, the queen stood up and clapped her hands, "Very good! You are an excellent Kingsblade indeed. Under my permission, you may stay here as long as you wish." The queen then turned towards her adviser and said, "Let them roam around freely. They have my full permission."
"Your wish is my order, my queen."
At moments like this, Tristan believed he had to say his own piece. Honestly, he had enough of being dragged by the waves.
"Excuse me… My.. Excellency.." said Tristan in a loud enough voice, making everyone's attention turn towards him. Noticing that everyone was on him, he forged on with his speech, "As much as I was amazed with the beauty of your kingdom, I regrettably still have something I need to do at Arcadia. Therefore-"
"No." the queen ruthlessly interrupted Tristan before he could get his point across. It was clear that she had unilaterally made the choice for him.
"You will stay here, Tristan." said the queen while enunciating the word 'will'. "You will learn the way of the Elf."
Tristan was confused as he subconsciously muttered. "The way of the Elf?"
'What was that supposed to mean anyway?' - Tristan's mind.
The queen naturally couldn't hear his thoughts.
"Yes. This will be important for your future and ours"
Hearing that, the question marks in Tristan's mind grew even more dramatic.
"I honestly don't get it, my queen, what future?"
"Tristan, I will officially invite you to become a member of my family the Vanyar royalty. Therefore, you have to understand our custom to fit in."
At this moment, Tristan felt like he was standing in a thick fog. He was extremely lost - confused by the situation.
Ignoring Tristan's obvious condition, the queen called upon her daughter, "Serene!"
"Yes, my queen."
The queen gazed at this daughter of hers and said, "You have reached your coming of age. For it, I have prepared a marriage for you."
In the blink of an eye, Serene turned pale. She was shocked with what the queen said, and silent when the queen talked to the elder.
"Yes, it's settled. In 13 days, there will be a solstice moon. That would be the best time for marriage."
Tristan finally realized where this conversation was going, and didn't like it one bit. This had turned into a big joke! Another person would decide on who he married? What the f?
He wisely reevaluated his opinion of the queen to a madwoman.
He took a deep breath, and surprisingly, the princess did the same. Their actions attracted the others and as if there was some kind of connection between them, they at the same time said, "I object!"
The two of them were shocked and turned towards each other. They could clearly see the awkwardness on each other's faces.
Seeing the amusing sight, the queen laughed cheerfully and said, "I was right! The two of you will definitely make excellent mates for each other!"
Ignoring her mother's comment, Serene quickly approached and knelt in front of the queen.
"Mother, please take your words back!" Serene didn't even address the queen as queen anymore, and referred to her as mother - which showed how desperate she was.
"Marriage is a big thing! A momentous one, even! I can't just marry.." Serene stopped her words for a moment and gave Tristan a hateful glance. "A random elf!"
The queen was silent as she heard her daughter's words. After a while, she nodded her head and said, "You're right, daughter. This is indeed not fair for you."
"Thank you, mother!" Serene smiled widely because she had just dodged a deadly arrow.
But then, the next words spoken by the queen gave her an even bigger headache.
"Therefore, to solve this problem, we will hold the gauntlet in 10 days. We will see who else will seek to be your mate and may the best one win"
The queen glanced at the shocked Serene and said with a smile, "Is this fair now, my dear daughter?"
Serene was speechless - she was left with no words by her mother. Tristan, on the other hand, was relieved. But to be sure, he asked.
"Your Majesty, if I don't win or don't participate, then that means I don't have to get married, right? Hahaha.." This would probably be the weirdest question he had ever asked in his entire life.
The queen, however, looked at him with a teasing smile on her face.
"We, the Vanyar, are committed to being one family with the Blood Monarch. Therefore, if you don't marry my daughter then you will marry me."
"...."
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m