Chapter 206: Is This How Royalty Behaves?
Several days’ journey from the elven kingdom, an elegant carriage made its way down a dirt road pulled by a group of powerfully built beastmen.
The carriage was luxurious, dark wood with carved details, red velvet curtains on the windows, and padded seats upholstered in fine leather.
It was the kind of vehicle that made it clear whoever was traveling inside belonged to royalty.
And inside were two women.
The first had short black and white hair, a pair of wolf ears poking through the strands, and a tail of the same color that swayed lazily at her side.
She was sprawled carelessly across one of the seats, with one leg hanging off the edge and a piece of meat in her hand that she gnawed on without the slightest trace of manners.
The second was completely different.
She had long white hair that fell straight over her shoulders, an extremely pale complexion that bordered on porcelain, and lips of a bluish hue that stood out against the rest of her face.
She sat with her back straight and her hands in her lap, with a tired expression.
"Princess..." the pale woman said in a voice that sounded just as exhausted as her face. "I know at this point it’s probably useless to keep insisting, but I must: coming to the elven lands on your own is not a good idea."
The black-haired woman took another bite of her meat without even looking at her.
"Emi, stop going on about it," she replied with her mouth half full and a completely carefree tone. "If the rumors are true, everything will be fine."
"That’s precisely what worries me..." Emi replied, letting out a sigh. "I still find it hard to believe this story about a single human managing to take control of the elven kingdom on his own."
The princess finished chewing and shrugged.
"The news surprised me at first too," she admitted, wiping the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. "A human taking control of the elven kingdom sounds like the raving of some crazy old man."
"Exactly."
"But after seeing that many elves asking for asylum in our kingdom," the princess continued, "I knew something had definitely happened."
Emi didn’t respond right away. Much as it annoyed her to admit it, the princess had a point.
Over the past few days, a considerable number of noble elves had arrived at the borders of the beastman kingdom asking for asylum.
And all of them with the same version of events: a group of humans had taken control of the elven capital, killed the council, and proclaimed a new ruler.
"Certainly..." Emi said with a small smile that broke her tired expression for a moment. "Seeing those arrogant elves begging for our help was more than satisfying... After centuries of looking down on us, now they were crawling to our door."
"See? Even you enjoyed it."
"But that doesn’t change the fact that all of this could perfectly well be a trap," Emi continued, recovering her serious tone. "What if this whole ’Emperor of Death’ business is nothing but a farce? It wouldn’t be the first time a kingdom fakes a crisis to conceal something."
The princess rolled her eyes.
"You’re too negative, Emi..."
"I’m realistic."
"You mean paranoid," the princess said, throwing the meat bone out the carriage window. "And anyway, whatever the case, we can’t turn back now. We’re only a few days away."
Emi let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Princess..." she said, looking at her with an expression that mixed resignation and concern. "One of these days your recklessness is going to get us both killed."
The princess burst out laughing.
"Bah! Drama queen," she said, flopping back onto the seat. "Listen to me, Emi... If I want even the slightest chance of taking the throne from my brother, I have to take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way."
"..."
"And tell me, what better opportunity than being the first to go and befriend this so-called Emperor of Death?" the princess continued with a confident smile. "If I can establish an alliance with him while the others are still deciding whether he’s real or not, I’ll have a huge advantage over my brother and his pack of bootlickers."
Emi crossed her arms.
"And what makes you think you’ll be welcomed with open arms by this human? For all we know, he could hate everyone equally," she asked with a furrowed brow. "After all, if what the elves say is true, he showed no consideration toward them."
"I don’t think that’s the case," the princess replied with confidence.
"And what are you basing that certainty on?"
"According to the accounts from the elves who asked for asylum," the princess replied, her tail wagging animatedly, "this human is not only married to the queen, but also has an entire harem of women who follow him everywhere."
"...And what does that have to do with what I asked?"
"One of those women is a rabbit girl," the princess said with a smile.
"...I still don’t see your point."
The princess let out a sigh as if what she was explaining were obvious.
"Think about it, Emi," she said, leaning toward the white-haired woman. "If that rabbit girl is truly one of his lovers, that means that for all that he’s human, he has no prejudice against other races."
Emi thought about it for a moment.
"And what makes you think that rabbit girl is his lover and not simply a sex slave or something of the sort?" she asked. "Having one of ours with him doesn’t necessarily mean he treats her as an equal."
The princess considered it for a second.
"I hope that’s not the case..." she replied finally. "Because if it turns out he treats them like slaves, then we really would be fucked."
And after saying that, the princess let out a carefree laugh, as if the possibility of walking straight toward her own death were the funniest thing in the world.
Emi watched her laugh for a few seconds and couldn’t help thinking the same thing she always did.
This idiot, gluttonous, reckless princess who laughed in the face of danger as if it were a game, and whom she had spent years trying to keep alive through sheer force of will, was going to end up getting herself killed one of these days.
She let her head fall back against the seat and closed her eyes.
"I should have retired when the queen gave me the chance..." Emi murmured with regret.
And hearing her, the princess only laughed louder.
