Chapter 456: Ch
The Cosmic Tree had requested that he gather the people of the special Elven race. It hadn’t fully revealed its ultimate purpose to him, but it had stated that it was time for the Elven race in this universe to stand up for something down the line.
It was a wish Kallus found a bit weird, but entirely acceptable to carry out. After all, it didn’t harm his plans. If anything, it only helped him build and cultivate deep trust with a powerful figure who, if things went well, might just follow him in the future.
His instincts strongly told him to follow through on this, whispering that it would bring him immense benefits! So, he had agreed, and now was the time to take action toward fulfilling the request of that ancient elder!
Whose actual name he never knew, and whose strength he still couldn’t match! Kallus sighed thinking of that, but he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and focused on Valoria.
Though she was furious, within a few seconds, she realized something terrifying: What is the point of my anger right now? She didn’t even know if, upon walking out of this room, she would truly be herself.
And if she wasn’t, would she even remember her anger? Or the vengeance she so desperately wanted? She shook her head, knowing it was completely impossible to break free with that evil red fog clouding her mind.
Worse still, she feared that with that thing inside her head, her thoughts would definitely be exposed to the perpetrators. Who knew what kind of drastic actions they would take? Especially since three of the eight major families were already heavily aligned with those sinister forces.
Yes, the moment she understood the reality of her situation, Valoria had combed through her memories and found a damning pattern. Through it, she could trace the heinous actions back to three ducal families who held Archduke positions: the Red Clover, the Brown Trunk, and the Green Leaf families.
These three families had been built alongside the Elven Empire itself, standing with the Founder Queen at the very dawn of the empire’s formation—just like the Celestial Void Empire had done a few days ago!
Consequently, these families had incredibly deep roots within the empire, possessing far-reaching connections and an influence second only to the imperial family. But looking at the current state of affairs, she could see that over the millennia, these three families had vastly increased their influence, even suppressing her own family—a reality she preferred not to dwell on, as many of her own elders had become entirely subservient to them.
If they really were in bed with the manipulator—which, according to her deduction, they definitely were—they would undoubtedly have some contingency method, a fallback mechanism to read her memories like an open book.
The moment they realized she had talked with Kallus, and that she and an outsider were onto their movements, they would know they were no longer in the dark.
What they would do next... she had absolutely no idea.
She actually had an idea about it, but she dared not think about it. She feared that her thoughts might come true and she would see something she didn’t want to see. She didn’t want to become a sinner to her race and empire any more than she already had!
It was something she was coming to hate, for this was exactly opposite to her nature and her will, causing a fierce internal clash. Even though she knew she didn’t do those things herself, nor did she want to judge like she had—punishing the good and rewarding the evil—it was just... sigh. These were just excuses, and she knew it.
At the end of the day, it was her own fault for not being cautious and falling into a trap like this unknowingly—something she never would have discovered if not for the person sitting in front of her. She was thankful for this, but she also felt heavily burdened by the knowledge. A part of her even irrationally blamed Kallus for telling her, sparking the war currently breaking out within her mind.
But she fought it, pushed aside those thoughts and urges, and looked at Lord Kallus. She asked him in utter seriousness.
"You are telling me this... I hope I’m right in assuming that since you could find it, you also have some solution for it! If so, please help me get rid of this thing! Please help me get rid of those cancerous people, and help me root out those who did this!! Please, help me."
She stood up and bowed deeply in front of him. She wasn’t going to pretend that she had a solution for her troubles, or that she alone had the strength to fight all those people and the deep corruption that had taken root throughout her empire!!
She didn’t even know if her own Imperial forces were truly hers anymore!! Not when her own family stood divided, and at least a quarter of them had already become lapdogs to the other three supreme families of Elphenhim.
She had absolutely no support at this moment! Even her good friends, the Archduke Elder Grove of the Grove family and his wife, had been deeply harmed by those treacherous people.
Those pieces of shit had manipulated the elders and even direct lineage members of the Grove family to attack Vivian and try to take her down! When that failed, the manipulators forced Valoria to shield the brat who had dared to commit the crime, hiding him away instead of handing him over to justice. This had driven a massive wedge between her and the Archduke.
Worse still, she couldn’t even reach out to the other four great families for support. In one way or another, she had ended up severely harming their interests under the influence of the fog. If not for their incredible, solid strength, those actions of hers would have shattered their very foundations!
With the hatred already built up, it didn’t matter how she explained it to them. Even if the family heads understood the situation, would their clan members—especially those who were directly harmed—understand?
No! was the definitive answer.
The only way she could ever appease them was to hand over the actual perpetrators. Only then could the enmity against her be erased. But how could she do that? With her own strength alone? It was impossible. Not when she was completely surrounded by traitors, with no idea who was loyal and who was a snake!
Understanding this, she did not hesitate to ask this person for help. Because of a massive misunderstanding, she had developed a bizarre sort of feeling toward him—a misunderstanding she didn’t consciously admit or fully comprehend. To her, the truth was simple: Kallus was hitting on her, however impossible that sounded.
Deep down, she felt that he, and only he, was someone she could truly rely on.
It didn’t matter that she knew practically nothing about him or his ultimate intentions. She had no other options left. She could only take a massive leap of faith and hope she wouldn’t be stabbed in the back!!
Kallus was astonished by her directness!! Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought Empress Valoria would act like this. Instead of trying to put on a strong front to strike a bargain that wouldn’t be too unfavorable to her, she took one look at her circumstances and wasted no time. She accepted her reality without hesitation and begged for his help!!
Putting her complete faith and trust in him was totally unexpected for Kallus—and even for the Red Empress standing beside him. The Red Empress had calculated everything in her mind, running through every possible scenario. While she had technically accounted for this exact outcome, the probability of it actually happening had been almost completely nonexistent!! Yet here it was, happening right before her eyes, a massive surprise to her as well.
But as the Red Empress calculated the broader situation, she realized that negotiating with Kallus wouldn’t have secured Valoria anything extra anyway. After all, Kallus never planned to demand something massive or unacceptable for her to fulfill. If anything, accepting Kallus’s help was doing a monumental favor for the Elven people, as they would become directly connected to the Cosmic Tree!!
The Tree was a supreme existence—not the Supreme Being, but a legendary entity nonetheless—whose favor toward elves was undeniable. A perfect example of this was how it had taken Vivian as its disciple and trained her, raising her to become one of the most powerful beings throughout their entire empire!!
Kallus stood up and pulled Valoria up from her bowed position. "You don’t have to bow like that in front of me, Empress Valoria. Please, mind your image as the empress of an entire race and empire!" he said calmly.
Hearing this, Valoria didn’t feel relieved. Instead, her face paled further, and she looked at him pitifully, thinking his words meant he wouldn’t be helping her!
