Chapter 578: Problems of Witches and Trees
Eleonor was seated on her throne in the main hall of the Witch Kingdom, her elbow resting on one of the ornate arms and her fingers lightly supporting her chin. The throne was tall, made of dark stone, ancient silver, and living runes that moved slowly across its surface like lazy serpents. Behind her, immense stained-glass windows filtered violet light over the polished floor, giving the hall a solemn appearance that perfectly matched the position of Witch Queen.
Before her, however, that solemnity was slowly dying beneath the weight of accumulated reports.
Exelia stood beside the throne, impeccable as always. Her posture was that of a general even during administrative tasks, shoulders straight, gaze firm, and voice clear as she read each document. A pile of scrolls floated to her left, sustained by magic, while a smaller pile remained to her right, composed of the reports already analyzed. Unfortunately, the pile on the left seemed determined not to shrink.
"Report on the increase of incidents involving magical familiars in the residential areas of the third district," Exelia read, maintaining a serious expression. "Three spectral owls passed through private walls during the early morning, two alchemical cats were found selling potions without a license, and a pet salamander partially burned down a community library."
Eleonor raised an eyebrow.
"Was the salamander registered?"
"It was."
"Then fine the owner, not the salamander."
Exelia made a small note with the floating quill beside her.
"Next report. A territorial dispute between two minor witch families resulted in an unauthorized duel in the western market. The duel ended when both parties accidentally transformed half the spectators into frogs."
"Deaths?"
"None."
"Permanent trauma?"
"Two merchants still croak when they get nervous."
Eleonor sighed.
"Financial compensation and mandatory magical control lessons for everyone involved."
Exelia made another note.
The reading continued for some time. There were border issues, complaints from minor nobles, overdue taxes, disputes between clans, magical experiments conducted without authorization, three formal duel requests against the same baroness, and an extremely detailed report about someone who had summoned a demon just to win a board game argument. Eleonor listened to everything with surprising patience, although her expression made it clear that part of her soul had already abandoned the hall in search of something more interesting.
When Exelia finally finished the last scroll, the document rolled itself up and floated to the completed pile. The general remained silent for a few seconds, looking at the empty space where a mountain of accumulated work had once been. Then she released a tired sigh, deep enough to partially break her military posture.
"Your Majesty, you need to stop hearing all the month’s reports in a single day."
Eleonor laughed softly.
"I prefer to solve everything at once."
"That is an extremely efficient way to torture everyone involved."
"But it works."
"It works because everyone around you is afraid to complain."
Eleonor tilted her head, amused.
"And yet you complain."
"I am your general. Complaining about your poor decisions is part of my function."
"My decisions are not poor. They are concentrated."
"That is an elegant way of saying you turn a month of administration into a battle of endurance."
Eleonor smiled more clearly, leaning back on the throne.
"I do not want to always be busy solving small crises. If I concentrate everything into one day, the rest of the month remains free for more important matters."
Exelia looked at her from the side.
"More important matters, such as avoiding meetings?"
"Mainly."
"Your Majesty."
"Exelia."
The two stared at each other for a few seconds, until Exelia gave up with another sigh. Despite the formal tone, there was familiarity between them. The general could reprimand Eleonor in ways few people in the Witch Kingdom would dare attempt, and Eleonor, in turn, seemed to find it more amusing than offensive.
The silence that followed was lighter. Most of the work had been resolved, the hall was calm, and the guards positioned by the columns remained motionless. Even so, Exelia did not seem completely relieved. Her gaze shifted to the stained-glass windows, where the violet light was beginning to darken slowly with the advance of afternoon.
Eleonor noticed.
"You are restless."
Exelia remained silent for an instant before answering.
"I miss Kael."
Eleonor’s expression softened.
"So do I."
Exelia looked at the queen.
"It has not been long, I know. But since he left, everything feels strangely empty."
"Kael has that effect," Eleonor said. "When he is present, he creates problems. When he is absent, he leaves everyone worried about the problems he may be creating somewhere else."
"That is a very accurate description."
"Unfortunately."
Eleonor rested her fingers on the arm of the throne, thoughtful.
"But I admit he is taking longer than I expected."
Exelia frowned slightly.
"Do you think something happened?"
"With Kael, something always happens."
"That is not reassuring."
"It was not meant to be."
The two remained silent for a few seconds.
Then the space at the center of the hall opened.
The portal appeared with a sudden distortion, mixing scarlet mana, golden light, and a deep shadow reminiscent of ancient scales. The guards raised their weapons immediately, but Eleonor merely lifted one hand, ordering them to remain where they were. Exelia had already placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, her eyes attentive to the portal.
From inside the opening, Elion emerged first.
She looked irritated, as usual, but there was something different in her expression. It was not exactly anger. It was a kind of exhaustion mixed with impatience and confusion. Right behind her came Nidhogg, in humanoid form, carrying a cloth bag in one hand and maintaining a strangely careful look toward the third person crossing the portal.
Yggdrasil appeared last.
Eleonor blinked.
The appearance of the World Tree was so defeated that even the guards seemed to lose part of their tension. Her red hair was disheveled, her eyes still slightly swollen, and the dress made of leaves and vines looked wilted, as if it had gone through a severe emotional drought. Some flowers attached to the fabric hung sadly, and a small dry branch fell to the floor as soon as she took her first step into the hall.
Eleonor stared at her daughter.
"What happened?"
Elion pointed at Yggdrasil with her thumb, as if presenting a particularly absurd administrative problem.
"We are trying to console her."
Exelia looked at Yggdrasil.
Then at Elion.
Then at Nidhogg.
"Console... Yggdrasil?"
"Yes," Elion answered with absolute seriousness. "We are taking her shopping, to eat something, and those things. She is in denial."
Eleonor kept her face still for an instant.
"Denial about what?"
Elion opened her mouth to answer, but Nidhogg discreetly raised a hand, as if trying to prevent the most disastrous possible phrasing. Elion ignored her completely.
"About having seen Kael and Sylphie making up for lost time with too much enthusiasm inside her Realm."
The entire hall fell silent.
Not an ordinary silence.
It was a deep, immediate, almost sacred silence, the kind of silence that appears when information crosses every expected boundary of civilized conversation and leaves every person present unsure what expression they should use. Exelia remained with her hand still on the hilt of her sword, but her posture had completely locked. The guards avoided looking at one another. One of the runes on Eleonor’s throne stopped moving.
Eleonor looked at Elion.
Elion looked back without showing any regret.
Nidhogg covered part of her face with one hand.
Yggdrasil released a small sound, almost a sob, and hugged her own bag against her chest.
"I was not prepared," she murmured. "It was a hundred years of spiritual education, divine ascension, discipline, roots, responsibility, and self-control. One minute with him and she forgot everything."
Elion immediately turned to her.
"She did not forget everything. She is in love."
"She was sitting on his lap."
"That is also normal."
"He carried her to the bedroom."
"That is also normal."
Yggdrasil brought her hands to her face.
"Not for a divine successor."
Elion opened her mouth, probably to shout again, but Nidhogg placed a hand on her shoulder before the situation could worsen.
"Do not yell at the emotionally unstable tree inside your mother’s hall."
"She is speaking badly about my son."
"She is traumatized by romance."
"That is not an excuse."
Eleonor remained silent, still seated on the throne, staring at the scene before her with an expression that mixed disbelief, amusement, and the ancestral exhaustion of someone realizing that her own bloodline had turned yet another primordial entity into a domestic problem.
Exelia was the first to recover part of her composure.
"So, to clarify, Kael is alive."
"Yes," Elion answered.
"He found Sylphie."
"Yes."
"And Yggdrasil is in crisis because they are together."
"Exactly."
Exelia closed her eyes for an instant.
"Naturally."
Eleonor finally let out a low laugh.
Everyone looked at her.
The Witch Queen supported her face with one hand, her eyes shining with amusement she did not even try to hide.
"My family never disappoints."
Yggdrasil looked at her with a wounded expression.
"This is not funny."
"Perhaps not for you."
"I raised a goddess."
"And she fell in love with my grandson."
"She was already in love before."
"Then you had a hundred years to get used to the idea."
Yggdrasil looked as if she might cry again.
Nidhogg quickly offered her a cookie taken from the bag.
"Eat before answering."
Yggdrasil silently accepted the cookie.
Eleonor observed Nidhogg consoling Yggdrasil inside the hall of the Witch Kingdom, Elion about to defend Kael’s honor against the World Tree herself, and Exelia trying to mentally reorganize all of this as if it were a military report that could possibly be filed.
After a few seconds, the queen looked up at the ceiling of the hall and sighed.
"Kael spent only a few weeks away and already managed to turn primordial enemies into shopping companions."
Elion crossed her arms.
"He is efficient."
"He is a walking diplomatic disaster."
"Also."
Yggdrasil bit the cookie with a dejected expression.
"I only wanted her to maintain a little divine composure."
Eleonor slowly rose from the throne.
"My dear, if there is one thing you need to learn about people in love, it is that divine composure is usually the first casualty."
Nidhogg nodded with exaggerated wisdom.
"Especially when tall men with red hair are involved."
Elion pointed at her.
"Stop talking about my son in that tone."
"I did not say anything bad."
"You thought it."
"That should not count."
Exelia released a tired sigh, realizing that the entire month’s reports might have been the simplest part of that day.
Eleonor descended the throne steps with elegance, approached Yggdrasil, and analyzed the entity from top to bottom. Then she lightly touched one of the wilted leaves of her dress.
"Shopping, food, and distraction seem like a good idea."
Yggdrasil sniffed.
"You think so?"
"I think you need to leave your own realm before you start drying out because of your student’s love life."
"That was cruel."
"It was honest."
Nidhogg raised the bag.
"I brought money."
Elion looked at her.
"From where?"
"Do not ask questions that could compromise our outing."
Eleonor smiled.
"Excellent. Exelia, cancel the rest of the afternoon’s appointments."
Exelia looked at the empty pile of reports.
"There were no more appointments."
"Then invent a cancellation to keep the tradition."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Yggdrasil looked around, still dejected, while the three women began organizing an emergency outing to prevent the World Tree from continuing to cry over a couple in love. The awkward silence had passed, but it had left behind an absurd certainty.
Kael was well.
Sylphie was very well.
And Yggdrasil urgently needed dessert.
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